a discovery that might be made by the parts of the dress the
young man still wore, as well as by the general appearance of his head.

"Lift," said the Iroquois in the sententious manner of his race; and by
a trifling effort the canoe was raised from the rock, held a moment
in the air to empty it, and then placed carefully on the water in its
proper position. All three held it firmly, lest it should escape
from their hands under the pressure of the violent current, while the
Iroquois, who led, of course, being at the upper end of the boat,
took the direction of the eastern shore, or towards the spot where his
friends waited his return.

As the Delaware and Jasper well knew there must be several more of the
Iroquois on the rift, from the circumstance that their own appearance
had occasioned no surprise in the individual they had met, both felt the
necessity of extreme caution. Men less bold and determined would have
thought that they were incurring too great a risk by thus venturing into
the midst of their enemies; but these hardy borderers were unacquainted
with fear, were accustomed to hazards, and so well understood the
necessity of at least preventing their foes from getting the boat, that
they would have cheerfully encountered even greater risks to secure
their object. So all-important to the safety of Mabel, indeed, did
Jasper deem the possession or the destruction of this canoe, that he had
drawn his knife, and stood ready to rip up the bark, in order to render
the boat temporarily unserviceable, should anything occur to compel the
Delaware and himself to abandon their prize.

In the meantime, the Iroquois, who led the way, proceeded slowly through
the water in the direction of his own party, still grasping the canoe,
and dragging his reluctant followers in his train. Once Chingachgook
raised his tomahawk, and was about to bury it in the brain of his
confiding and unsuspicious neighbor; but the probability that the
death-cry or the floating body might give the alarm induced that wary
chief to change his purpose. At the next moment he regretted this
indecision, for the three who clung to the canoe suddenly found
themselves in the centre of a party of no less than four others who were
in quest of it.

After the usual brief characteristic exclamations of satisfaction, the
savages eagerly laid hold of the canoe, for all seemed impressed with
the necessity of securing this important boat, the one side in order to
a