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Hawk-eye woke Duncan early the next morning.
'We must go,' he said. 'I will get the canoe. Wake Miss Cora
and Miss Alice. But do not make any noise.'
Duncan went to the back of the cave. 'Cora. Alice,' he said
quietly. 'Wake up.'
Suddenly there were shouts and cries outside. Duncan ran to
the front of the cave. The sound of guns came from the forest.
There were many Indians on the other side of the river.
'Hurons!' thought Duncan.
Then Duncan saw Hawk-eye. The scout was shooting from the
flat rock. Duncan saw a Huron fall into the rushing water.
Then the other Hurons ran back into the forest. Hawk-eye came
back into the cave.
'They have gone,' he said.
'Will they come back?' asked Duncan.
'Yes, they will come back,' replied Hawk-eye. 'Miss Cora and
Miss Alice must stay here in the cave. We will go to the rocks
and wait for the Hurons.'
Duncan, Hawk-eye, Uncas and Chingachgook sat with their guns.
They sat behind some rocks near the waterfall. They waited.
Minutes passed. Then an hour passed. Suddenly they heard the
wild cries of the Hurons again. Four Indians ran across the
flat rock towards the cave. Chingachgook and Uncas fired their
guns. The first two Hurons fell to the ground. The third Huron
jumped on Hawk-eye. Each man had a knife. But Hawk-eye was
stronger than the Huron. He killed the Huron with his knife.
The fourth Huron fought with Duncan. Uncas ran to help the
officer. The young Mohican killed the Huron. Then Uncas and
Duncan ran back to the rocks.
The Hurons on the other side of the river started to shoot
again. And Chingachgook shot at them. The shooting went on
and on. Rocks and trees near the cave were broken in a hundred
places. But
Hawk-eye and his friends were not hurt. And Cora and Alice
were safe in the cave. Hawk-eye saw a Huron in a tree on the
other side of the river. The scout lifted his long gun and
fired. There was a cry and the Indian fell from the tree.
'I have no more bullets,' said Hawk-eye. 'Uncas! Go to the
canoe. There are some bullets in the canoe.'
Uncas ran quickly across the flat rock. But he was too late.
A Huron was pushing the canoe across the river! Duncan, Hawk-eye
and the two Mohicans went back to the cave.
'What can we do now?' asked Duncan.
Hawk-eye thought for a few minutes.
'There will be guards on the paths,' he said. 'The Hurons
will watch every path. We must swim. We must jump into the
river. The rushing water will take us past the Hurons.'
The scout looked at Cora and Alice.
'We cannot swim,' said Cora. 'Alice and I will stay here.
Go to General Munro at Fort William Henry. General Munro must
send soldiers.'
Chingachgook, Uncas and Hawk-eye talked quietly together.
Then Chingachgook ran out of the cave and jumped into the
river. A moment later, Hawk-eye put down his long gun and
followed Chingachgook. The rushing water took them away. Cora
looked at Uncas.
'Go with them,' she said. 'I will stay,' said the young Mohican.
'No!' said Cora. 'Please, Uncas. Go with them!'
Uncas was unhappy. But he jumped into the water too. Cora
looked at Duncan.
'I am going to stay,' said Duncan. He looked at Alice. 'I
cannot leave you.'
There were shouts and cries from the Hurons on the flat rock.
Duncan looked out of the cave. The Hurons were looking behind
the rocks near the waterfall.
'They are looking for us,' thought Duncan.
He went quickly back into the cave.
'Our friends will bring help soon,' he said to Cora and Alice.
Cora was afraid. Her face was white. She cried out. Duncan
turned ... and he saw the terrible face of Magua!
'Where are the Mohicans?' asked Magua. 'Where is the scout,
Hawk-eye ... The Long Gun?'
Suddenly, the cave was full of Hurons. One of them picked
up Hawk-eye's gun.
'They have gone,' said Duncan. 'They will bring help soon.'
The Hurons were angry. They were going to kill their prisoners.
But Magua spoke to them, quickly and quietly. Then the Hurons
took Duncan, Cora and Alice to the flat rock. One of the Hurons
brought the canoe.
'Get into the canoe!' Magua said.
Duncan and the sisters got into the canoe. Magua and the Hurons
took them across the river. The prisoners got out of the canoe
on the other side of the river. Magua and five Hurons stayed
with them. The other Hurons walked away into the forest.
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