A minute later, Hetty was seen on her knees in the
other end of the canoe, repeating the prayers that had been taught
her in childhood by a misguided but repentant mother. As Hutter
laid down the glass, still drawn to its focus, the Serpent raised
it to his eye and turned it towards the canoe. It was the first
time he had ever used such an instrument, and Hist understood by
his "Hugh!," the expression of his face, and his entire mien, that
something wonderful had excited his admiration. It is well known
that the American Indians, more particularly those of superior
characters and stations, singularly maintain their self-possession
and stoicism, in the midst of the flood of marvels that present
themselves in their occasional visits to the abodes of civilization,
and Chingachgook had imbibed enough of this impassibility to suppress
any very undignified manifestation of surprise. With Hist, however,
no such law was binding, and when her lover managed to bring the
glass in a line with the canoe, and her eye was applied to the
smaller end, the girl started back in alarm; then she clapped her
hands with delight, and a laugh, the usual attendant of untutored
admiration, followed.
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