I did not realize I posted a duplicate of 16 for chapter 17. Let me know if this comes up as a new chapter for you guys now!

The boat ride back seemed longer than it actually was. Cora did not speak, consumed by anxiety over what she would do with Alice until Spring. Nathaniel held her with the blanket wrapped around her, and thought it best not to try to console her. Worries ran through his mind as well, for Uncas. Alice truly seemed to have gotten over him, but he could tell Uncas's heart was still broken over whatever had caused the rift between them. Now he would have to see her everyday, and if homesteading together, he would have to work alongside her. Chingachgook knew his son to still be in love, and he suspected Alice's refusal to return to England had less to do with falling in love with the Wilderness than she proclaimed. He still worried of a relationship in the near future. Uncas, recovered from his exhaustion, was confused. He had thought he wanted Alice to go, so his heart could heal, but now he realized that he was relieved she did not leave. Alice sat back in quiet confidence, a devious look of victory written all over her face.

As, they arrived to the pier, many curious stragglers watched as the young girl who had gone overboard, and her two rescuers, climbed off the boat. They were met with applause, which they did not know how to respond to. Alice's mind was elsewhere, planning still for the things they would need in their new home. She looked at Nathaniel and stated, "You're going to need a bigger wagon."

The new wagon was twice the size of the last, and filled to the brim with building materials the men had sought out while the women did their shopping, as well as kitchen supplies, household items, apples and vegetables for the root cellar, and preserved foods to last them through the winter. And Alice's trunk. A pig and milking cow trailed behind. Their horses were strong and no doubt could carry the extra weight. Sadly, Alice was unable to get the bathing tub she had wanted. Or the feather mattress. Chingachgook took the reigns as they left the city, while Alice and Cora talked on one side of the wagon of their plans for the coming months, and Nathaniel and Uncas walked beside each other on the other side. It was a rare chance for the two brothers to speak, as Nathaniel had been so often with his new wife the past couple of months.

"So, brother, how does married life find you?"

"Better than it ever did you."

"Very funny."

"It is not something I ever planned on, but I would not change a thing... except..."

Nathaniel looked on in deep thought.

"What is it, Nathaniel?"

"She is very quiet... when we..."

"Say no more," Uncas replied discreetly.

This is something the brothers would never discuss with anyone else but each other.

"How am I to know if I am pleasing her?" Nathaniel asked in barely a whisper.

"How quiet?"

"Very."

"Well, you have not had much opportunity for privacy."

"I can't even hear her breathing."

"That's pretty quiet," Uncas replied, not sure how to answer this question.

"Have you given her a-"

"Yes, of course. I think so. I'm not really sure."

"I'm not sure if I can help you out on this. I never had that problem with her sister."

Nathaniel gave Uncas a warning glare, knowing his wife would be furious if she knew how far Alice and Uncas had taken their relationship.

Uncas put his hands up in surrender.

"Don't worry. "That's all over."

"What did happen between the two of you that it ended so suddenly?"

"I was never completely sure. I guess both sisters are mysterious in their own ways."

Nathaniel could tell Uncas's mood was declining at this sudden turn of conversation.

"But, you are over her, now?"

"Yes, completely," Uncas said while scratching his chin.

Uncas was a terrible liar. He always scratched his chin when he tried to deceive someone, and this did not go unnoticed by Nathaniel.

He changed the subject to the new homestead. It had been purchased with silver saved up over the past decade, as Chingachgook, Nathaniel and Uncas had spent most of their time hunting, trapping and trading. They were rarely in need of money, and buried their savings in spots they knew they could find easily, where no one else would ever look. For once in need of it, they dug up much on their journey to New York, sometimes going off course a bit to get to it. They would get more as they traveled Northwest of Albany to their new land. The rest was buried on the Cameron's old land. They would return their when they felt ready. They saw the silver as belonging to them all equally, and from Nathaniel's point of view, that meant the homestead would be just as much his father's and brother's as it was his, even if it was his name on the deed.

"We'll need to put up a wigwam first, so we have somewhere to sleep and stay warm right away." said Nathaniel. "The days are still warm, but the nights are getting colder."

"Then we will need to see to the animals, put up a fence for pasturing, a coop for the chickens, and a barn with stables for the horses, cow and pig," Uncas said.

"Only then, will we be able to start on the cabin, and we'll have to use green wood," said Nathaniel.

"Yes," continued Uncas, "If you want to build a more stable cabin next year we can cut extra wood this year and give it a year to dry. We'll have to work quickly if we want to be done by the first snow."

"If we're going to rebuild next year, we may as well use round logs this year. We can worry about squaring them next year."

"Yeah, the cabin will go up more quickly with round logs, and we are short on time."

"Will you and father stay in the cabin with us?"

"We'll probably stay in the wigwam. Give you and your very quiet wife some much needed privacy."

"What about Alice?" Nathaniel wondered out loud. "It only makes sense that she would stay in the cabin with us, but-"

"Then you would no longer have your privacy. We'll think of something."

On the other side of the wagon an altogether different conversation took place.

"I suspect we will continue to sleep outside in the beginning, because it will take a couple of weeks to build the cabin." said Cora

"Cora, I think it's going to be longer than that before we have a cabin to sleep in. There will be other things to do when we arrive, like seeing to shelter for the animals."

"And what will we do while the men are building?"

"If the grass is tall, we can help clear the land. We will also be doing all of the cooking, so I will have to arrange an outdoor cooking area. There may also be wild herbs to forage, berries, nuts, and possibly apples."

"What about a garden? I know how much you loved our garden at home."

"Its far too late in the year to plant a garden. We will surely need a kitchen garden next year, but the earliest we might start planting anything would be March or April. I will use the winter to draw out a plan for the garden."

Cora paused then, at the mention of next Spring. She had said Alice could Winter with them; not stay forever. It was still her hope to have Alice return to civilization next Spring.

"You're thinking about how you still want to send me back in the Spring."

Cora did not speak. If only Alice could go and then return on her own volition in a few years. Then she would not feel the guilt of keeping her here.

Alice thought of Uncas, and how little time she had to make him love her again. If she could, they could run away together and maybe go back to stay in Ongewasgone's village.

As they travelled back north, night soon fell, and they all settled into the sleeping routines they had developed. The men still took turns keeping watch, typically, Chingachgook, then Nathaniel, then Uncas. Uncas had grown accustomed over the years to falling asleep quickly and rising early due to this order. Nathaniel was always the one to wake him at three in the morning, for the last three hours of watch before dawn. Six hours a night of sleep was all any of the men could realize as the result of this necessary precaution, and their bodies had grown used to it. When they felt it was safe to start a fire, Alice and Uncas always made sure to sleep on opposite sides. On the nights they went without a fire, they lined up in a typical order that left the two of them as far apart as possible.

Neither understood if they did it to convince others or each other that they no longer harbored unreturned affections. Or if it was to avoid temptation.

On one such night, Alice began to stir an hour into Uncas's watch.

"No, Magua!" she pleaded in her sleep. "Please, let me return to my family!" she begged. "Please, do not kill my love," she pleaded, crying in urgency. She began to sob in her sleep.

'It's only a dream," Uncas told himself.

But, Uncas could take this no more. He went to her and lay beside her, placing his musket on the ground. He enfolded her in his arms, and she began to calm.

"You are safe, now," he whispered into her ear. "I will not let anything happen to you."

His intention was to hold her like this for a few moments more. Until she fell back into a peaceful sleep.

Uncas awoke to a moccasined foot in his back, nudging him to wake up. It was light outside. All were asleep besides his father and brother, who had awoken early to find Uncas had abandoned his post, lay his musket at his side, and fallen asleep holding a woman of great danger to him. His father had completed his watch for him, but now, would give hime no leniency for his dereliction of duty.

Since both Alice and Uncas had walked several hours the night before, they were both relegated again to the back of the wagon so neither exerted themselves too much. It was a bit cramped now, but there was room for them both. As Nathaniel guided the horses forward, Alice saw Chingachgook hand Uncas a thick branch slightly shorter than his forearm. Uncas asked no questions, apparently knowing what he was to do with it. He grabbed from his bag, which they had retrieved from under the waterfall on their trip South from Mohawk land, several tools. He began to scrape the bark from the stick, then spent much of the morning smoothing it. He bored 3 holes into it on one end, and then grabbed a hide from his bag, from which he cut 3 long strips. He fed them through the holes and tied them off, braided the three strips together, and then tied them at the end. Alice realized he had made a whip. Whatever for?

They soon stopped for lunch, and while Alice and Cora set out a humble meal, Alice watched the three men walk solemnly into the woods. Uncas still held the whip.

"Cora, what are they doing?"

Cora hesitated briefly.

"Uncas, fell asleep during his watch last night, and now Nathaniel says he has to be punished. It would be the same had it been any of them."

Cora decided to leave out the part about Uncas being found holding Alice, as she did not want to give cause for Alice's feelings for him to be renewed.

"But, Cora, Uncas must still be exhausted from all that his body has been through. How can they not give him allowance for that?"

"It is not our business, Alice. We must not interfere with their ways, even if we do not understand them."

Alice shuttered in shock when she heard the first crack of the whip. They began to come in succession, and she could not bare it. She got up to run to them and stop what they were doing. Cora's efforts to grab her to stay were of no help. Alice began to run into the woods and followed the sounds of the whip.

Uncas stood with his feet planted firmly on the ground. He had removed his shirt and handed it wordlessly to Nathaniel. He raised his arms up and held tight to a tall tree branch, in order to brace himself for the continuing blows.

As any civilization requires a system of law and order, so had the one his father had grown up in. This was a comparably minor punishment for a rather serious offense. He had put his family in danger, and he knew it. Still, this was a decidedly more just punishment than the ones the white men often meted out, such as hanging a man to death for stealing bread. Who was the savage? His flesh burned and felt raw, but he knew he had not not received enough blows yet to break much skin. He stood silent with each lashing, but tensed in response to the pain each time his father tore through the air with the tool he had crafted himself for this purpose. He held his breath in anticipation of each strike, letting it out after, and then breathing in again quickly to prepare for the next. He had lost count, but knew it would soon be over.

"Stop it! Stop hurting him!" came the cries of Alice as she emerged from the trees and saw Chingachgook deliver the final lash to Uncas's skin. This one cut deeper than the others. Uncas could tell by the force of the final blow that it was the last, and he let himself fall to the ground on his hands and knees.

He turned around to see Alice looking on in horror.

"Stay out of it Alice."

He reached his hand out to Nathaniel for his shirt, and raised his arms up in obvious pain as he slid it down the length of his body. He stood back up and let out a deep breath.

"How could you do such a thing?" she demanded in anger and disgust.

None of the three men answered her as they began to walk back to the wagon. Alice could see they all looked glassy eyed, Chingachgook more than any, and clearly this was not something they took pleasure in. But it was still barbaric to her. She still did not understand the dangerous world they lived in. She walked behind them and saw as streaks of blood slowly seeped through Uncas's shirt. She began to cry quietly when she saw this. On arrival to the wagon, the three men began to eat their daytime meal as if nothing had happened, though it was evident Uncas was in great pain. Alice could not eat and returned to the back of the wagon to await their departure. When Uncas joined her in the wagon he carefully eased himself down at the end with his legs hanging over the back. He spoke in quiet shame to his father, in Mohican, and his father answered back. Alice could not speak the language, but she was starting to understand many of the words when the men conversed amongst each other. Uncas had just apologized to his father. And his father, while patting his son's good shoulder, had told him he was proud of him for taking his punishment like a man.

For those wondering, my research indicates that using whips as punishment by Native Americans is accurate, as well as relatively minor compared to some other things used. If it seems too brutal, please try to understand the following:

1. I chose something degrading, as it was like pouring salt on his wounds when Alice witnessed it; an added emotional element.

2. In laying down his weapon to comfort Alice and then falling asleep, he risked everyone's life. It was a serious offense which required a serious punishment.

3. It's always nice to have another reason for Alice to nurse Uncas back to health.

4. Chingachgook and Nathaniel were clearly not happy about having to do this; they took no pleasure in it, but it was how Chingachgook was raised.

5. White men were no better when it came to proportionality of punishment.

6. It illustrated his love for her. In laying down his weapon and holding her to comfort her, he knew he risked a painful and humiliating punishment, and did it anyway.