They also gradually increased the
distance between the fugitive and her pursuers, until Judith called
out to her companions to cease rowing, for she had completely lost
sight of the canoe.
When this mortifying announcement was made, Hetty was actually so
near as to understand every syllable her sister uttered, though the
latter had used the precaution of speaking as low as circumstances
would allow her to do, and to make herself heard. Hetty stopped
paddling at the same moment, and waited the result with an impatience
that was breathless, equally from her late exertions, and her desire
to land. A dead silence immediately fell on the lake, during which
the three in the Ark were using their senses differently, in order
to detect the position of the canoe. Judith bent forward to listen,
in the hope of catching some sound that might betray the direction
in which her sister was stealing away, while her two companions
brought their eyes as near as possible to a level with the water,
in order to detect any object that might be floating on its surface.
All was vain, however, for neither sound nor sight rewarded their
efforts. All this time Hetty, who had not the cunning to sink
into the canoe, stood erect, a finger pressed on her lips, gazing
in the direction in which the voices had last been heard, resembling
a statue of profound and timid attention.
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