He had abandoned the wish of saving him,
and was no longer disposed to retard the more serious part of the
torture. This change of sentiment was, in effect, communicated to
the young men, who were already eagerly engaged in making their
preparations for the contemplated scene. Fragments of dried wood
were rapidly collected near the sapling, the splinters which it
was intended to thrust into the flesh of the victim, previously to
lighting, were all collected, and the thongs were already produced
that were again to bind him to the tree. All this was done in
profound silence, Judith watching every movement with breathless
expectation, while Deerslayer himself stood seemingly as unmoved as
one of the pines of the hills. When the warriors advanced to bind
him, however, the young man glanced at Judith, as if to enquire
whether resistance or submission were most advisable. By a significant
gesture she counselled the last, and, in a minute, he was once more
fastened to the tree, a helpless object of any insult, or wrong,
that might be offered. So eagerly did every one now act, that
nothing was said. The fire was immediately lighted in the pile,
and the end of all was anxiously expected.
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