erous knife. For near a minute they stood
looking one another in the eye, and gradually exerting the power of
their muscles for the mastery.

At length, the toughened sinews of the white man prevailed over the less
practiced limbs of the native. The arm of the latter slowly gave way
before the increasing force of the scout, who, suddenly wresting his
armed hand from the grasp of the foe, drove the sharp weapon through his
naked bosom to the heart. In the meantime, Heyward had been pressed in
a more deadly struggle. His slight sword was snapped in the first
encounter. As he was destitute of any other means of defense, his
safety now depended entirely on bodily strength and resolution. Though
deficient in neither of these qualities, he had met an enemy every way
his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded in disarming his adversary, whose
knife fell on the rock at their feet; and from this moment it became a
fierce struggle who should cast the other over the dizzy height into a
neighboring cavern of the falls. Every successive struggle brought them
nearer to the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and conquering
effort must be made. Each of the combatants threw all his energies into
that effort, and the result was, that both tottered on the brink of the
precipice. Heyward felt the grasp of the other at his throat, and
saw the grim smile the savage gave, under the revengeful hope that he
hurried his enemy to a fate similar to his own, as he felt his body
slowly yielding to a resistless power, and the young man experienced the
passing agony of such a moment in all its horrors. At that instant of
extreme danger, a dark hand and glancing knife appeared before him; the
Indian released his hold, as the blood flowed freely from around the
severed tendons of the wrist; and while Duncan was drawn backward by the
saving hand of Uncas, his charmed eyes still were riveted on the
fierce and disappointed countenance of his foe, who fell sullenly and
disappointed down the irrecoverable precipice.

"To cover! to cover!" cried Hawkeye, who just then had despatched the
enemy; "to cover, for your lives! the work is but half ended!"

The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and followed by Duncan, he
glided up the acclivity they had descended to the combat, and sought the
friendly shelter of the rocks and shrubs.

CHAPTER 8

"They linger yet,
Avengers of their native land."--Gray

The warning call of the scout was not