Nathaniel's movements were quick and assured, as he gathered up their gear from the small clearing, but she saw some fear within the whiteness of his eyes, which did little to quell the panic now rising in her throat.
Uncas, his hand grasped around his rifle, tried to rise to his feet, but then doubled over. His face contorted into pain, but still he made no noise. Nathaniel crouched on the ground next to him, throwing Uncas's left arm around his shoulder and indicating wordlessly to Cora that she should do the same with the other. They hoisted him up, Cora's legs shaking slightly with the weight, leaving Alice to collect the blanket that had lain under him. Her eyes took in the clearing, undisturbed, as if they had never been there, and she realized that she had been looking for the older man. What had happened to Chingachgook?
She might have asked, but Nathaniel's face was hard and set, as he focused on bearing most of Uncas's weight against his body once they began to move further into the woods.
What was out there?
Alice followed as they maneuvered up the rise of the hill, the large trees giving way to scrubby brush and deep-set rock formations. Her eyes squinted into the half-risen morning sun as it rippled through the sky, bathing the world below in soft golden light. Nathaniel moved them towards a cluster of shoulder-high stones, arranged in a small half-circle, and eased Uncas down against one of the rocks, leaving him in the care of Cora. He took up a half-crouch on the ground in front of them, his rifle primed and ready in his hands.
Alice sat on the ground next to Cora, tucking her knees under her chin, suddenly feeling very cold.
"Where is your father?" she half-whispered to Nathaniel's back.
His head turned towards her, but his body remained in a state of readiness.
"He was scouting earlier and came across a party of four or five," Nathaniel replied in clipped tones. "Wasn't sure if they were following us or just going somewhere."
"Did something happen to him?" Her voice rose with an edge of panic.
The corner of his mouth curled slightly upwards.
"I'd worry more about them, miss." He paused. "He's getting out in front of them, making a false trail in the other direction. Once he's lost them, he'll double back and meet up with us here."
He appeared so confident in this that it seemed pointless to question him further. She laid her head back against the rock, closing her eyes and letting her breathing turn even.
She must have fallen asleep, as her eyes opened on the sight of Cora keeling down on the ground next to Nathaniel, her hand and head resting on his shoulder. She turned to her right, where slightly behind her Uncas leaned, sleeping against the stones, his chin tucked against his chest and his hand still wrapped around the long barrel of his gun. Despite the weapon, he looked peaceful and undisturbed. She looked down to see wet blood seeping into the center of his shirt.
Instinctually, she scrambled towards him, his eyes opening immediately with her movement. As she crouched by him, he followed her line of vision, inhaling sharply as he saw the dark stain spreading across the fabric. He pulled up his shirt as she gently stretched back the cotton bandage, her eyes looking for any damage to the stitches. But they had held, surprisingly enough, the blood simply trickling from the spaces in between them, clearly brought on by his exertions.
She looked up at him, relief written on her face, their eyes catching and then settling on one another. She felt paralyzed, warmth flooding her cheeks, a not dissimilar heat filling her stomach and rising upwards towards her chest. She snatched her hands away, turning her face from him as she rose to her feet. As she stepped forward, she nearly ran into the imposing form of Chingachgook, who caught her pale arms in his grasp, but then released her just as quickly. She moved to the other side of the rocks, her face still flushed, as she listened to raised voices in a language not her own, Chingachgook's words unintelligible but the tone unmistakable.
Nathaniel moved to join the other two men, the danger now seemingly past, while Alice found her sister, and wrapped her arms in Cora's.
The men conversed as the two sisters sat side-by-side, Alice leaning slightly into Cora and Cora's cheek resting against Alice's head. The noise was slightly soothing to Alice, the words having no meaning, seemingly a rushing water of sounds, and containing none of the tension she had heard earlier.
After a time, Nathaniel turned towards them. Clearly something had been decided.
"We can't take you to Albany," he said. "At least not yet."
Alice was shocked. Certainly he couldn't mean that they would spend more time than was necessary in this wild place?
"It's not more than two or three nights to get us out of the Huron lands, but we have to get Uncas somewhere safer soon. Somewhere he can heal up. But the nearest town is too far, as is the summer camp of the Delaware." He paused, running his hand over his forehead. "Once he's better, we can take you back."
"Where will we go?" Cora asked calmly. Alice whirled to face her sister: how could she be agreeing to this?
"The cabin we came across, before the fort. It's been burnt out, but we can repair it, make it sound. At least for a month or two."
Alice's eyes widened. People had been murdered at that cabin. This is where they want to take us?
But Cora did not look fazed. Alice turned back to look at Nathaniel.
"There's really no other choice," he said, his voice quieter.
Alice knew there was a choice. She could walk and walk until she could go no further, until she found the edge of this savage country. The thought of finally going home made her chest ache. Hoping for some support, her eyes sought Uncas's, but he was looking down at the ground, refusing to meet her gaze.
She wanted to cry, but she wouldn't do it in front of them.
Nathaniel nodded, as if they were all in agreement, and then turned back towards his father and brother. Cora took Alice's hand, rubbing the girl's thin fingers in her palm, but Alice said nothing.