Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 1).djvu/115

 that the exertions of the scout had ceased.

"You are at the foot of Glenn's," returned the other, speaking aloud, without fear of consequences, within the roar of the cataract; "and the next thing is to make a steady landing, lest the canoe upsets, and you should go down again the hard road we have travelled, faster than you came up it; 'tis a hard rift to stem, when the river is a little swelled; and five is an unnatural number to keep dry in the hurry-skurry, with a little birchen bark and gum. There, go you all on the rock, and I will bring up the Mohicans with the venison. A man had better sleep without his scalp, than famish in the midst of plenty."

His passengers gladly complied with these directions. As the last foot touched the rock, the canoe whirled from its station, when the tall form of the scout was seen for an instant gliding above the waters, before it disappeared in the impenetrable darkness that rested on the bed of the river. Left by their guide, the tra-