The interior
of the "castle" was as faultlessly neat as its exterior was novel.
The entire space, some twenty feet by forty, was subdivided into
several small sleeping-rooms; the apartment into which he first
entered, serving equally for the ordinary uses of its inmates, and
for a kitchen. The furniture was of the strange mixture that it
is not uncommon to find in the remotely situated log-tenements of
the interior. Most of it was rude, and to the last degree rustic;
but there was a clock, with a handsome case of dark wood, in a
corner, and two or three chairs, with a table and bureau, that had
evidently come from some dwelling of more than usual pretension.
The clock was industriously ticking, but its leaden-looking hands
did no discredit to their dull aspect, for they pointed to the
hour of eleven, though the sun plainly showed it was some time past
the turn of the day. There was also a dark, massive chest. The
kitchen utensils were of the simplest kind, and far from numerous,
but every article was in its place, and showed the nicest care in
its condition.
After Deerslayer had cast a look about him in the outer room, he
raised a wooden latch, and entered a narrow passage that divided
the inner end of the house into two equal parts.
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