Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 3).djvu/45

 an object of general attention. Then he arose, and lifted his voice amid the general silence.

"It was a lie," he said; "I had no son! He who was called by that name is forgotten; his blood was pale, and came not from the veins of a Huron; the wicked Chippewas cheated my squaw! The Great Spirit has said, that the family of Wiss-en-tush should end—he is happy who knows that the evil of his race dies with himself! I have done."

The father then looked round and about him, as if seeking commendation for his stoicism, in the eyes of his auditors. But the stern customs of his people had made too severe an exaction of the feeble old man. The expression of his eye contradicted his figurative and boastful language, while every muscle in his swarthy and wrinkled visage was working with inward anguish. Standing a single minute to enjoy his bitter triumph, he turned away, as if sickening at the gaze of men, and veiling his face in his blanket, he walked from the lodge with the noiseless step of