Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 3).djvu/44

 utterance of the forbidden name. Each pipe dropped from the lips of its owner, as though all had inhaled an impurity at the same instant. The smoke wreathed above their heads in little eddies, and curling in a spiral form, it ascended swiftly through the opening in the roof of the lodge, leaving the place beneath clear of its fumes, and each dark visage distinctly visible. The eyes of most of the warriors were riveted on the earth; though a few of the younger and less gifted of the party, suffered their wild and glaring balls to roll in the direction of a white headed savage, who sate between two of the most venerated chiefs of the tribe. There was nothing in the air or attire of this Indian, that would seem to entitle him to such a distinction. The former was rather depressed, than remarkable for the proud bearing of the natives; and the latter was such as was commonly worn by the ordinary men of the nation. Like most around him, for more than a minute, his look too was on the ground; but trusting his eyes, at length, to steal a glance aside, he perceived that he was becoming