of your warriors; yes, than all of
them together!«
    Could one have looked upon such a scene with indifference, he would have
been amused at the gravity with which the savages listened to the translation of
this unusual request. No taunt, no smile mingled with their surprise, for Hetty
had a character and a manner too saintly to subject her infirmity to the
mockings of the rude and ferocious. On the contrary, she was answered with
respectful attention.
    »My daughter does not always talk, like a chief at a Council Fire,« returned
Rivenoak, »or she would not have said this. Two of my warriors have fallen by
the blows of our prisoner; their grave is too small to hold a third. The Hurons
do not like to crowd their dead. If there is another spirit about to set out for
the far off world, it must not be the spirit of a Huron; it must be the spirit
of a pale face. Go, daughter, and sit by Sumach, who is in grief; let the Huron
warriors show how well they can shoot; let the pale face show how little he
cares for their bullets.«
    Hetty's mind was unequal to a sustained discussion, and accustomed to defer
to the directions of her seniors she did as told, seating herself passively on a
log, by the side of the Sumach, and averting her face from the painful scene
that was occurring within the circle.
    The warriors, as soon as this interruption had ceased, resumed their places,
and again prepared to exhibit their skill. As there was a double object in view,
that of putting the constancy of the captive to the proof, and that of showing
how steady were the hands of the marksmen, under circumstances of excitement,
the distance was small, and, in one sense, safe. But in diminishing the distance
taken by the tormentors, the trial to the nerves of the captive was essentially
increased. The face of Deerslayer, indeed, was just removed sufficiently from
the ends of the guns to escape the effects of the flash, and his steady eye was
enabled to look directly into their muzzles, as it might be, in anticipation of
the fatal messenger that was to issue from each. The cunning Hurons well knew
this fact, and scarce one levelled his piece without first causing it to point
as near as possible at the forehead of the prisoner, in the hope that his
fortitude would fail him, and that the band would enjoy the triumph of seeing a
victim quail under their ingenious cruelty. Nevertheless each of the competitors
was still careful