Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 2).djvu/214

 but it appeared as calm and peaceful as if its solitude had never been disturbed by the foot of man.

"I see nothing," he said, "but land and water; and a lovely scene it is!"

"Hist!" interrupted the scout. "Ay, Sagamore, there is always a reason for what you do! 'Tis but a shade, and yet it is not natural. You see the mist, Major, that is rising above the island; you can't call it a fog, for it is more like a streak of thin cloud"—

"It is vapour from the water."

"That a child could tell. But what is the edging of blacker smoke that hangs along its lower side, and which you may trace down into the thicket of hazle? 'Tis from a fire, but one that in my judgment has been suffered to burn low."

"Let us then push for the place and relieve our doubts," said the impatient Duncan; "the party must be small that can lie on such a bit of land."

"If you judge of Indian cunning by the rules you find in books, or by white sagacity, they will lead you astray, if not to