For the first time in his life he was
in the vicinity of enemies, or had good reason to think so; and
that, too, under all the thrilling circumstances of Indian surprises
and Indian artifices. As he took his stand at the window, the ark
was just passing through the narrowest part of the stream, a point
where the water first entered what was properly termed the river,
and where the trees fairly interlocked overhead, causing the
current to rush into an arch of verdure; a feature as appropriate
and peculiar to the country, perhaps, as that of Switzerland, where
the rivers come rushing literally from chambers of ice.
The ark was in the act of passing the last curve of this leafy
entrance, as Deerslayer, having examined all that could be seen of
the eastern bank of the river, crossed the room to look from the
opposite window, at the western. His arrival at this aperture was
most opportune, for he had no sooner placed his eye at a crack,
than a sight met his gaze that might well have alarmed a sentinel
so young and inexperienced. A sapling overhung the water, in nearly
half a circle, having first grown towards the light, and then been
pressed down into this form by the weight of the snows; a circumstance
of common occurrence in the American woods.
Pages:
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126