t William Henry. Refusing to listen to any objection, he took from
his vest a curious musical instrument, and, placing it to his mouth,
drew from it a high, shrill sound. This done, he began singing in full
and melodious tones one of the New England versions of the Psalms.

Magua whispered something to Heyward, and the latter turned impatiently
to David Gamut--such was the singer's name--and requested him in the
name of common prudence to postpone his chant until a safer opportunity.
The Indian allies of Montcalm, it was known, swarmed in the forest, and
the object of the party was to move forward as quietly as possible.

As the cavalcade pressed deeper into the wild thicket, a savage face
peered out at them from between the bushes. A gleam of exultation shot
across his darkly painted lineaments as he watched his victims walking
unconsciously into the trap which Magua had prepared.

_II.--In the Nick of Time_

Within an hour's journey of Fort Edward two men were lingering on the
banks of a small stream. One of them was a magnificent specimen of an
Indian--almost naked, with a terrific emblem of death painted upon his
chest. The other was a European, with the quick, roving eye, sun-tanned
cheeks, and rough dress of a hunter.

"Listen, Hawk-eye," said the Indian, addressing his companion, "and I
will tell you what my fathers have said, and what the Mohicans have
done. We came and made this land ours, and drove the Maquas who followed
us, into the woods with the bears. Then came the Dutch, and gave my
people the fire-water. They drank until the heavens and the earth seemed
to meet. Then they parted with their land, and now I, that am a chief
and a Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine but through the trees, and
have never visited the graves of my fathers. When Uncas, my son, dies,
there will no longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores. My boy is the
last of the Mohicans."

"Uncas is here," said another voice, in the same soft, guttural tones.
"Who speaks to Uncas?" At the next instant a youthful warrior passed
between them with a noiseless tread, and seated himself by the side of
his father, Chingachgook. "I have been on the trail of the Maquas, who
lie hid like cowards," continued Uncas.

Further talk regarding their hated enemies, the Maquas, who acted as the
spies of Montcalm, was cut short by the sound of horses' feet. The three
men rose to their feet, their eyes watchful and attentive, and their
rifles