Uncas looked on as Hawkeye paced back and forth along the riverbank searching for any signs the Hurons had left behind. Chingachgook stood some distance from his two sons, his keen eyes keeping watch over their surrounding.
"They stopped here," Hawkeye murmured as he knelt examining the ground around him. "Least wise long enough to rest and drink from the river."
Uncas nodded in agreement. "Think the women have been harmed?"
Hawkeye got to his feet, "Don't worry brother, the women and Heyward have been brought this far—the Hurons will take them the rest of the way. They are a prize for their Chief."
Nodding again, Uncas said, "I know you speak the truth brother, but I fear for..." His voice trailed off as he fingered the rawhide bracelet entwined with the strip from Alice's dress. For now, it was all he had of his beloved. He fought the impulse to say her name aloud. Hawkeye was well aware of his love for Alice, but he had yet to tell their father and Uncas was unsure how Chingachgook would react.
Touching the younger man's shoulder, Hawkeye replied, "Don't worry, your Alice is stronger than you know." Shouldering his musket, he pointed down river. "Trail heads off in that direction."
Grabbing his own rifle, Uncas quickly followed his brother and father as they picked up their pace. They needed to find the women and Heyward before it was too late.
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Even before the sun had risen above the mountains, the Hurons had continued their push toward their homeland. As the hours passed, the speed with which the group traveled seemed to increase. Magua pressured everyone in his mania to reach the Huron village. No one was spared his anger.
Walking behind Cora, Alice's thoughts returned to the day she first met Magua in Albany. Although Duncan hadn't introduced the sisters, she remembered the strange feelings she had whenever she was near him. He had chilled her to the bone, but having had no experience with the natives, she had written off her uneasiness to a simple case of nerves and the excitement of seeing her father again. A part of her now wished she had paid more attention to how she had felt.
Alice suddenly felt the skin on her arms begin to crawl. Glancing to her left, she caught sight of Magua's black eyes watching her as he walked past. In the short time she had been under his control, she felt certain he wanted nothing less than her death and the death of her sister. His hatred of them was unfathomable, his reasons, a total mystery and she realized she would probably never know why he felt as he did. A sudden jerk on the bindings gripping her wrists brought her mind back to the present and she stumbled slightly before regaining her footing and continuing to trudge behind her sister.
"Alice?" Cora whispered.
"I lost my footing." Alice lied, not wanting to worry her sister. What good would it do to tell Cora her thoughts?
The Huron holding the rope around Cora's neck pulled impatiently causing her to lurch to the right. Thinking quickly, she stumbled into a clump of bushes, snapping a few branches, before regaining her footing and shuffling after the man. She knew that somewhere behind her, Nathaniel was pursuing them. Since her capture, she had made a concerted effort to leave as many signs as possible for him to follow. She hoped that this latest one would continue to lead him in the right direction.
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With arms and legs pumping in perfect unity, lungs drawing air in quick, shallow gulps, Hawkeye sprinted to the top of a large rocky incline. Trailing close behind were Uncas and Chingachgook. The three of them moved steadily up the mountainous slope without pausing to rest. Images of Cora's mournful face filled Hawkeye's mind, driving him on, and giving him the strength he needed to reach the summit.
Upon reaching the top, he paused to get his bearings. A cluster of broken branches caught his eye and he moved toward them. Examining the foliage limbs, Hawkeye could see they were fresh breaks with sap still oozing down the wood. Pointing to his discovery, he spoke urgently in Mohican to his father and brother before plunging into a dark, tangle of trees near him.
Uncas paused long enough to glance at Hawkeye's discovery before he too sprinted into the thicket followed closely by Chingachgook.
The darkness of the woods finally opened into a sun-speckled, well-worn trail. Unmistakable signs of a large party's recent passing covered the dirt path. Noting the direction, the trio picked up their pace even more, hoping to intercept the Hurons and their captives before they reached their destination.
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The sun had started its downward spiral when the Huron's and their captives finally arrived at their journey's end. Pausing on a ridge overlooking the village, Cora got her first look at what lay below. A large number of long, birch bark lodges lay in neat rows around a central clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a small, raised platform, obviously a gathering point for the people who lived there. Though teeming with life, the village seemed tranquil as those below went about their daily affairs. As she looked on, an odd feeling began to take hold of Cora.
Since being seized under the falls, Cora had pushed aside her own nagging fears of what would eventually happen to all of them. Nathanial had said, stay strong, not to give in and so she had, keeping her true feelings from Alice. It was only now, with the Huron village in sight, that she felt her iron resolve beginning to crumble. The exhaustion she had fought so hard to keep at bay began to seep into every pore of her body. A sudden tug on her bindings jolted her from her thoughts. Lowering her head, she followed her captor, wondering how this would all end for everyone involved.
As she was led down the hillside behind her sister, Alice couldn't stop small tremors from racking her slender frame. Fear, like icy fingers, clutched at her, turning her face pale, her eyes large and vacant. The apprehension she felt at what awaited them, made her breath come in short, ragged gasps.
Hearing the change in her sister's breathing, Cora turned slightly, offering her a wane smile. "Don't worry. All will be well."
Nodding, Alice still couldn't push aside the overwhelming fear swirling inside her. Instead, she tried to focus on Uncas and the hope that they would once more be together.
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It wasn't long after the Hurons and their captives had entered the village that Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook appeared out of the woods. Taking cover behind a rocky outcropping, Hawkeye pointed to a large gathering in the center of the village. It wasn't hard to see Heyward and the women, along with their captors standing before a small, raised platform.
"We are too late!" growled Nathaniel, slamming his fist against the rocks. His eyes swept the surrounding area, hoping to find a way to reach the captives. Finally turning to his father, he said, "I must go down. It is the only way."
Knowing he could not change his son's mind, Chingachgook nodded silently. Handing his rifle, powder horn and, bag to Uncas, Nathaniel murmured, "I will bring her back, brother."
Uncas smiled weakly. He hated that he couldn't follow his brother.
Nathaniel pulled the wampum belt from his chest. Clutching it tightly in his left hand, he turned from his father and brother. Making his way down the path, he strode into the heart of the Huron village.
