Night fell mercifully bringing an end to that horrible day. The party that had escaped the massacre in the valley had paddled downriver for two hours until Chingachgook deemed it necessary for them to disembark. The river they'd followed ended in a series of falls, the last being Glens Falls, which had a drop of a considerable height.
They landed half a mile upriver from the edge, and Uncas and Nathaniel released the vessels into the current in an attempt to dissuade the Huron from continuing their chase. Meanwhile, Chingachgook considered their options. They could not make for the George Road as it would be surely watched; there were no settlements close by in which to seek shelter, and going on to Fort Edward would place them in danger once again. Uncas and Nathaniel could push themselves to the limits of their strength and the women, though unprepared, knew what to expect of a journey in the woods, but the old man was wary of the officers. They would want to head to Albany immediately, and with two wounded men slowing them down, they would not be able to travel as he wished. Thus the old Mohican made his decision.
He led the party towards the edge of the falls and down a rocky ledge where, hidden among the foliage, was the yawning mouth of a cave. The constant rush of water had weathered down the cliff wall until a large chamber was created underneath. It wasn't perfect, but it would provide them with a relatively safe space to rest and consider their strategy. Inside, the thick, rough walls somewhat muffled the sound of the water so that it became a low rumble that seemed to emerge from the very depths of the earth. They followed a winding tunnel that ended in a series of niches and crevices.
As they each found a suitable place to lie down, Cora approached Duncan. "These men," she began, "do they need aid?"
He gave her a look of surprise, as though he'd expected her to never speak another word to him again. "Thank you, they are not doing very well."
One of them, a boy close to Alice's age, had an ugly gash across his forehead. He was deathly pale after the loss of so much blood but remained conscious enough to inform Cora there were some bandages he'd brought along in his pack and which she could use. The other had taken a knife to the knee and the rough blade had cut straight to the bone. He grimaced in pain and even cried out once or twice as Cora cleaned his wound and then wrapped it as tightly as possible to stopper the bleeding.
Duncan watched her work with a mixture of pride, love, and sadness. He had mistakenly judged her by the standards of society, caring only that she was a beautiful, accomplished woman of good breeding, yet only now he was realizing just how valuable she was. Cora was kind, just, brave, and selfless; the sort of woman who could weather anything on her own, and he had lost his chance with her.
"They'll be fine for now, though there is not much I can do without proper tools," she announced, rising to her feet. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Duncan quickly rearranged his features to wipe the forlorn look he'd been wearing, but Cora had seen it and she felt the dread of guilt swarm within her.
"Duncan..."
"Thank you for your service," he interrupted. "I am sure they'll be able to rest now."
The dismissal was rude and sharp, but there was little Cora could do. She slipped back to where her sister had laid down and joined her to try and get some rest. She fell asleep almost instantly, but her dreams were tainted with images from the ambush.
In them, she saw the battle play over and over again, the outcome growing more gruesome. She saw Alice dead, trampled under the hooves of an enormous horse and Nathaniel laying face down with an arrow shaft sticking out of his back. But what frightened her the most was the sight of her father, his chest bloodied, his eyes staring vacantly at the sky.
"Cora, wake up!"
The young woman bolted upright with a low scream, gasping violently, her face covered in a cold sweat. A pair of hands caught her by the shoulders and she struggled against the grip until she heard Nathaniel speak.
"It's alright. It's me."
His presence soothed her a little, but fear hung over Cora like a storm cloud and despite her best efforts, she could not stop trembling. Beyond Nathaniel, she saw Alice and Uncas, both watching her with equal masks of concern.
"You were having a nightmare and I couldn't wake you up," her sister said, hugging herself. "You kept crying and calling out for Papa."
The icy hand of fear clutched Cora's heart as she recalled the last bits of her dream. She drew back from Nathaniel and stared fixedly into his eyes.
"My father... Did you see my father?" She asked in a terrified whisper.
"Come, you need some air," he said softly, helping her to her feet. He then turned to Uncas, giving him a significant look. "Stay with Alice, brother."
Taking her hand, Nathaniel led Cora to an outcropping close to the endless roar of the falls where they could not be overheard. There, the light from the moon shone through the curtain of water and he was able to distinguish her features a little better.
"I kept dreaming that everyone I loved was dead," was the first thing she said. "You, Alice and my father. You were all just... gone."
"Cora..." he began with uncertainty bleeding into his tone as he had no idea of how to break the terrible news to her.
Yet she seemed not to hear him. "I know he would have turned back at the first sign of trouble, yet we saw nothing of him during the attack. Did you see my father, Nathaniel? Did you?"
It killed him to break her hopes in this manner, but he could not allow Cora to harbor false hopes when there were none. "From a distance," he said as he took her in his arms.
Cora leaned against him and listened as he whispered a few, short sentences. Her expression did not change, but she shut her eyes and buried her face against his shoulder, suppressing her sobs as the biting wave of pain passed over her.
The man who'd taken upon himself the task of giving her and Alice all the love and attention they needed after their mother's death, who'd sacrificed his career and fortune to remain close to them; Colonel George Edmund Munro, her beloved father, was no more.
"I am so afraid, Uncas," Alice whispered as she leaned her head against the young man's shoulder. "What is going to happen to us?"
The couple had sat down in the place the sisters had been occupying and with the cover of darkness to their advantage, they were free to display their affection for each other.
Uncas nestled his cheek against the top of her head and sighed. "We wait for morning. If nothing happens, then we set out."
"To Albany?"
"No. It is certain the roads will be watched. We head for the Mohican Trail. My father's relatives winter in a settlement north from here; they'll shelter us there."
"Oh!" Alice exclaimed. She was a little put off by this as she had expected to return to civilization with the same haste they had left it, but at the same time, she felt a swoop of excitement at the prospect of seeing a real native settlement.
"But what about Papa?" she asked. "If he gets there first and doesn't find us, he'll be sick with worry!"
Uncas remained quiet. Nathaniel had asked him not to tell her about Colonel Munro's death until he had spoken with Cora first, but Uncas had argued against it.
"She's not as sensitive as you believe her to be and she has just as much right as Cora to know."
However, unable as they were to come to an agreement, they had turned to their father for counsel.
Chingachgook had not said much about his sons' growing attachment to the English women, but he was not pleased; not for Nathaniel and certainly not for Uncas. Though the sisters showed they could adapt to the circumstances, the old man was afraid they would turn the young men's minds and take them away from that which he was trying to salvage: his culture and heritage. And yet, Chingachgook's was a kindly nature and despite his reserves, he could not bring himself to abandon them to the law of the land.
"It will be a difficult moment and you cannot know what their reaction will be, but they have to know. Let Nathaniel speak with Cora first so that she may be prepared when her sister asks but, do not hide the truth from Alice."
"Uncas?" Alice pressed him.
He braced himself and pressed his hand to her cheek. "I don't know that many could have survived, love. We barely made it out ourselves."
"But the attack began behind us…"
Alice recalled the madness that had ensued during the attack; screams, gunfire, smoke, and blood. Who knew how many lives were lost in the chaos? She and Cora had nearly perished themselves.
"Papa is dead, then," she stated.
"I am so sorry."
There was only dense silence and for a moment Uncas began to despair. He had expected the young woman to break down crying, burying herself in his arms, or to have her pull at her hair in the madness of grief, yet this muted acceptance unsettled him more. He pushed her from him, wishing to see her face, wishing to know what was crossing her mind, but Alice resisted and instead drew him closer. Her mind accepted her father's passing and mourned it, but a sudden, fierce desire for life, for him had flared up inside of her.
Despite the unshed tears that clung to her lashes, she sought out Uncas' lips by mere touch and met them with her own. He was shocked at her behavior, yet could not very well turn her away. She needed him, needed this to get over the pain of loss, and if this was the way to of it, then he was going to love her as best he could. Therefore Uncas responded with equal passion to Alice's kisses and soon he found he was pulling her on top of him. One hand cupped the back of her neck to better reach the delicious sweetness of her lips, while the other pressed the small of her back, bringing her to him.
Alice sighed, giving way to her instincts, recalling another night, another moment, in which she and Uncas had been close like this. Closer still. Then he had loved her by the firelight, tenderly leading her, yet never pushing her farther than she'd wanted to go. She had felt embarrassed, guilty, yet full of curiosity. Now, her caresses were more purposeful, her kisses more passionate and her desire to lose herself acuter.
The cover of darkness as their ally, the young couple abandoned itself to its desire, aware of the uncertainty of their future, yet unwilling to let it rule their will to live.
It was some time before dawn when a chorus of howls cut through the sound of rushing water. Chingachgook had taken the watch before daybreak and he was already on his feet, weapons at the ready, when the other men gathered with him. Alice and Cora held each other, waiting in breathless silence.
"They are close by," Chingachgook said a few minutes later when the night returned to its former silence.
"Excuse me, but how do you know?" Duncan asked impertinently.
"A lot can be gathered by listening to the creatures that live in the land. The wolves were disturbed by someone in their territory, their call is a warning to stay away."
"In that case, we'll need to be ready. Have you any powder or ammunition?" Nathaniel asked the officer.
Duncan pursed his lips tightly. He had followed the men out of a sense of duty to Cora and Alice, but he regretted it now. He would have rather made a stand that allowed these men to lead them into a death trap with little hope of escape. Grudgingly, he checked the satchels he and the other soldiers had brought along. There was ammunition for two rifles at most and what little powder they had was damp from their incursion on the river and from the humidity caused by the waterfall.
"None that can be of use to us," he said, revealing his findings.
Suddenly, Alice gave a small cry and pointed somewhere beyond the cascade. Cora followed the invisible line and saw with paralyzing fright the dancing spots of light that flickered on the far side of the cliff, not far from the crevice where they'd entered into the cavern.
Seeing the dancing lights come closer, Chingachgook spoke softly to his two sons. Nathaniel answered back through gritted teeth and a small argument broke out among them in quick Mohican. Uncas stood outside the circle, watching them impassive, yet from time to time his eyes shifted to Alice.
After a few minutes in which Cora thought she heard Alice's and her name called out more than once, the old man motioned towards the falls and spoke firmly, but Nathaniel shook his head adamantly.
"Yes, go," Cora said in an urgent tone.
Nathaniel looked at her with wretchedness drawn on his features. "There's no powder. Nothing we can defend ourselves with. The Huron will kill us first and then take you as prisoners. But if we go, there is a chance there won't be a fight."
"What sort of bloody plan is this?!" Duncan exclaimed, enraged.
But Cora, stepping up, put her hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. "You have already done more than enough for us. Save yourselves!"
Nathaniel did not budge and Cora, knowing their time was running short, turned to Chingachgook giving him a firm nod.
The old man's face did not change in expression, but he was surprised and pleased by the young woman's boldness. He called to his younger son and without waiting for him, he jumped from the ledge, leaving no trace he'd ever been there.
Uncas readied himself, but before he leapt, he took a long glance at Alice. There was no time to say anything, but there was also no need. She knew he loved her and their parting, though momentary, would not break the bond they'd made.
The lights had disappeared into the cave and they were but moments away from being discovered and still, Nathaniel could not bring himself to leave.
"If the worst should come and one of us should die, something of the other does too... "
"No!" He growled, grabbing Cora roughly by the arm. "You're strong. You submit. If they capture you, they will take you north. You stay alive, no matter what! I will find you. Whatever happens, however far I have to go… I will find you."
Unable to trust herself if she spoke, Cora only nodded and stepped back several paces, feeling the separation cut into her like a knife. Nathaniel watched her for a few moments longer with the same intensity as when he'd sought her out in the infirmary a lifetime ago, and then he took a running leap into the cold void.
The young woman saw his shadow become lost in the darkness of the churning waters below and she prayed he had survived the fall. She would have wished to peer over the edge of the outcropping, but at that moment Alice gave a small scream of fear.
She turned just in time to see two natives run their knives through the wounded soldiers' chests even as they struggled to rise to their feet. Duncan rushed at them but was easily overtaken by a third, large man who lunged at him, beating his face with a powerful punch. Seeing Duncan down on the ground, blood pouring from his lips, Cora rushed to protect Alice, though it was clear the natives had no true intent in hurting them.
A lean man stepped forward, detaching himself from the band of warriors, and Cora recognized him as Magua, the man who'd betrayed them on the George Road and her father's murderer. The leader looked fierce and unforgiving, his eyes glinting as he searched the cave for a sign of the three men who'd succeeded in thwarting him twice before.
Satisfied there was no one to jump out and attack, he turned his gaze on the sisters and gave a short, sharp order. Three of the men grabbed them roughly and bound their hands in tight, leather thongs.
Dawn was breaking above the mountain peaks as the group exited the cave under Glen's falls; Magua at the head, followed by his men and the three prisoners he'd successfully taken. Feeling happier than he had in a year, the native gave a commanding bark in Huron and then, setting the pace, led the column to the mountains in the north.