The air soon filled the
cloth, and when the scow was got under command, and the sail was
properly trimmed, it was found that the direction was southerly,
inclining towards the eastern shore. No better course offering
for the purposes of the party, the singular craft was suffered to
skim the surface of the water in this direction for more than hour,
when a change in the currents of the air drove them over towards
the camp.
Deerslayer watched all the movements of Hutter and Harry with
jealous attention. At first, he did not know whether to ascribe
the course they held to accident or to design; but he now began to
suspect the latter. Familiar as Hutter was with the lake, it was
easy to deceive one who had little practice on the water; and let
his intentions be what they might, it was evident, ere two hours
had elapsed, that the ark had got sufficient space to be within a
hundred rods of the shore, directly abreast of the known position
of the camp. For a considerable time previously to reaching this
point, Hurry, who had some knowledge of the Algonquin language,
had been in close conference with the Indian, and the result was
now announced by the latter to Deerslayer, who had been a cold,
not to say distrusted, looker-on of all that passed.
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