state of inactivity.
The returning day brought them a view of the approach of the Ark through the
loops, the only manner in which light and air were now admitted, the windows
being closed most effectually with plank, rudely fashioned to fit. As soon as it
was ascertained that the two white men were about to enter by the trap, the
chief who directed the proceedings of the Hurons took his measures accordingly.
He removed all the arms from his own people, even to the knives, in distrust of
savage ferocity when awakened by personal injuries, and he hid them where they
could not be found, without a search. Ropes of bark were then prepared, and
taking their stations in the three different rooms, they all waited for the
signal to fall upon their intended captives. As soon as the party had entered
the building, men without replaced the bark of the roof, removed every sign of
their visit, with care, and then departed for the shore. It was one of these who
had dropped his moccasin, which he had not been able to find, again, in the
dark. Had the death of the girl been known, it is probable nothing could have
saved the lives of Hurry and Hutter, but that event occurred after the ambush
was laid, and at a distance of several miles from the encampment near the
castle. Such were the means that had been employed to produce the state of
things we shall continue to describe.
 

                                   Chapter XX

 »Now all is done that man can do,
 And all is done in vain!
 My love! my native land, adieu
 For I must cross the main,
 My dear,
 For I must cross the main.«
                                                    Robert Burns, »It was a' for
                                                   our Rightfu' King,« ll. 7-12.
 
In the last chapter we left the combatants breathing in their narrow lists.
Accustomed to the rude sports of wrestling, and jumping, then so common in
America, more especially on the frontiers, Hurry possessed an advantage, in
addition to his prodigious strength, that had rendered the struggle less unequal
than it might otherwise appear to be. This alone had enabled him to hold out so
long, against so many enemies, for the Indian is by no means remarkable for his
skill, or force, in athletic exercises. As yet, no one had been seriously hurt,
though several of the savages had received severe falls, and he, in particular,
who had been thrown bodily upon the platform, might be said to be temporarily
hors de combat. Some of the rest were limping, and March himself