"
All this while the canoe, with the form of Hetty erect in one
end of it, was dimly perceptible, though the greater drift of the
Ark rendered it, at each instant, less and less distinct. It was
evident no time was to be lost, lest it should altogether disappear.
The rifles were now laid aside as useless, the two men seizing the
oars and sweeping the head of the scow round in the direction of
the canoe. Judith, accustomed to the office, flew to the other end
of the Ark, and placed herself at what might be called the helm.
Hetty took the alarm at these preparations, which could not be made
without noise, and started off like a bird that had been suddenly
put up by the approach of unexpected danger.
As Deerslayer and his companion rowed with the energy of those who
felt the necessity of straining every nerve, and Hetty's strength
was impaired by a nervous desire to escape, the chase would have
quickly terminated in the capture of the fugitive, had not the
girl made several short and unlooked-for deviations in her course.
These turnings gave her time, and they had also the effect of
gradually bringing both canoe and Ark within the deeper gloom, cast
by the shadows from the hills.
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