Instead of steering in a direct line to the point, then distant
from the ark less than a quarter of a mile, Deerslayer laid the
head of his canoe diagonally towards the centre of the lake, with
a view to obtain a position from which he might approach the shore,
having his enemies in his front only. The spot where Hetty had
landed, and where Hist had promised to meet them, moreover, was on
the upper side of the projection rather than on the lower; and to
reach it would have required the two adventurers to double nearly
the whole point, close in with the shore, had not this preliminary
step been taken. So well was the necessity for this measure
understood, that Chingachgook quietly paddled on, although it was
adopted without consulting him, and apparently was taking him in
a direction nearly opposite to that one might think he most wished
to go. A few minutes sufficed, however, to carry the canoe the
necessary distance, when both the young men ceased paddling as it
were by instinctive consent, and the boat became stationary. The
darkness increased rather than diminished, but it was still
possible, from the place where the adventurers lay, to distinguish
the outlines of the mountains.
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