There was but a
breathless instant, when the whole band, old and young, women and
children, abandoning the lifeless body of the Panther where it lay,
raised the yell of alarm and followed in pursuit.
Sudden as had been the event which induced Deerslayer to make this
desperate trial of speed, his mind was not wholly unprepared for
the fearful emergency. In the course of the past hour, he had
pondered well on the chances of such an experiment, and had shrewdly
calculated all the details of success and failure. At the first
leap, therefore, his body was completely under the direction of an
intelligence that turned all its efforts to the best account, and
prevented everything like hesitation or indecision at the important
instant of the start. To this alone was he indebted for the first
great advantage, that of getting through the line of sentinels
unharmed. The manner in which this was done, though sufficiently
simple, merits a description.
Although the shores of the point were not fringed with bushes,
as was the case with most of the others on the lake, it was owing
altogether to the circumstance that the spot had been so much used
by hunters and fishermen. This fringe commenced on what might
be termed the main land, and was as dense as usual, extending in
long lines both north and south.
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