Each now
took the glass in turn, and the castle, and every thing near it,
was subjected to a scrutiny still more rigid than ever. There the
moccasin lay, beyond a question, floating so lightly, and preserving
its form so well, that it was scarcely wet. It had caught by
a piece of the rough bark of one of the piles, on the exterior of
the water-palisade that formed the dock already mentioned, which
circumstance alone prevented it from drifting away before the air.
There were many modes, however, of accounting for the presence
of the moccasin, without supposing it to have been dropped by an
enemy. It might have fallen from the platform, even while Hutter
was in possession of the place, and drifted to the spot where it was
now seen, remaining unnoticed until detected by the acute vision
of Hist. It might have drifted from a distance, up or down the
lake, and accidentally become attached to the pile, or palisade.
It might have been thrown from a window, and alighted in that
particular place; or it might certainly have fallen from a scout,
or an assailant, during the past night, who was obliged to abandon
it to the lake, in the deep obscurity which then prevailed.
All these conjectures passed from Hutter to Hurry, the former
appearing disposed to regard the omen as a little sinister, while
the latter treated it with his usual reckless disdain.
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