Part I

THE DECEIT

For several hours they continued in relative silence, rarely speaking. They did not stop except to choose a direction in which to pick their path over an ever narrower and harder trail. Cora felt the growing unease that Captain Hayward attempted to hide and saw that Alice did as well. It seemed that only Mr. Gamut and Will were spared the growing apprehension that their way had been lost or they had been led astray. A time came when they halted to drink from their flasks and Captain Hayward addressed their guide. She could not hear the words spoken, but the outcome was that Captain Hayward took the fore and led them slowly onward. At times he would call them to halt and then ride ahead only to return with a deeper frown each time.

Then one time he did not return as quickly and in his place finally came a grizzled man with deeply sun browned skin whose long hair was greying. He first came to stand before the guide and then, when he had satisfied his curiosity, he turned to look upon them. He came first to Alice and spoke gently to her and then to Will before he returned from whence he had come.

A few moments later Captain Hayward rode back. He seemed to have aged several years, if that were possible, but he came immediately to Alice and asked after her well-being.

"I hope you are not too tired, Miss Elise, to continue on?"

"No," she replied, "only hungry. It is Will you ought to worry over. He has never ridden this far before. He is only a boy."

Captain Hayward agreed and addressed Cora. "Is there anything I might do for you, my lady? Are you very fatigued?"

"No, Captain. I have no doubt I could continue for some hours yet. Will you not tell us who that man was?"

His face became contemplative, but he only shook his head. "You are truly your father's daughter, Miss Monro, and I do not doubt your willingness and ability to bear my burdens, but this is not the time. I am sure though, that your curiosity will be satisfied in time. Eat and refresh yourselves, I will speak to our guide, I hope to continue on soon."

Cora nodded her agreement and quickly, though stiffly, dismounted while he rode off. She rolled her shoulders as well as she could in the confines of her riding habit and stretched her legs. From her saddlebags she unpacked some of Anna's cooking. It was not quite fresh, having been sitting there for the greater part of the day, but it had not spoiled. She split it between her two younger siblings and herself. They ate together—Cora leaning on her horse while Will sprawled on the ground and Alice remained mounted—teasing each other and pointing out the curiosities in the forest around them.

Behind them, in the direction of Captain Hayward and the guide—his name was Magua, Cora had learned—came a crash, as of dry brush and leaves breaking and being whipped to and fro, then the pounding of running feet, and almost at the same moment the loud crack and echo of a gun. Will sprang towards Cora and clutched her waist while she twisted to reach the pistol which was hidden by her jacket. Alice screamed and her horse tried to bolt only to be stopped by the dangling reins catching on a branch. The pony, too used to the sound of weaponry, being a horse raised in the Province, didn't stir an inch, though he raised his head with interest at the gelding's panic. Cora laid a comforting hand on her sister's quivering steed and whispered, "Elise, bring him under control. Teach him not to be afraid."

Alice struggled for a few moments with the gelding before she was able to quiet him. Will was still whimpering, and Cora's mount was twitching uncertainly under the vast strain of the terror and stress that had stained the air. "Shhh, that's it, steady now. Steady." One hand caressed her brother's cheek while the other held the pistol in a firm and familiar grip. "You'll be safe, I won't let anything near you, sweet. Shh, steady." It was impossible to decipher who she was intending to address. Her eyes lingered on no part of the forest for long and she could have been speaking to any of the horses or her siblings or all of them together.

They were utterly alone. Captain Hayward had disappeared in the momentary confusion and Mr. Gamut had not yet returned. The woods seemed to their inexperienced ears to be deadly silent. Cora's heart hammered in her ears, but her arm was steady. Several minutes passed in tense silence.

Cora had realised that her senses were not strong enough to pierce the gloom of the deepening twilight, so she watched her horse for a cue that anyone approached. The movement was quick—the mare's ears pricked to one side and she turned her head so that she could watch her right flank, she shifted uneasily. Cora's arm snapped up but she did not fire. Captain Hayward stepped out of the shadows purposefully, but when he noticed her weapon he paused. She lowered her pistol slightly as he and those following him emerged. The strange man followed him holding a hand to his cheek. For a long moment she regarded them and they her.

Her gaze over the three strangers. The first to catch her eye was undoubtedly the eldest. What hair he had not shaved off was steel grey and his face was wrinkled and browned by many days under the hot sun. He stood easily in his place, his hands at his sides wholly relaxed and confident. He reminded her, oddly, of one of her pseudo-uncles who had retired from the army only the year before. His shoulders were broad and his chest was bare except for paints and ornaments. His legs were also uncovered and the short skirt around his waist and the dangling implements on his belt completed his outfit.

The next man was taller than the first, he, unlike the other, wore the muted clothing favoured by the provincial woodsmen of the area. His greying hair was long and he wore a thick beard, the tips of which were a russet red. In his hand was a long, well loved, hunting piece.

The last of the group was the youngest and tallest. Like the others his shoulders were strong and broad. His head was shaved except for the very back. He was sweating profusely, and his cotton shirt clung to his form. A longbow hung down his back. He seemed an odd mixture of culture, neither like the first, who looked wholly the part of the native tribesman, nor like the other, who was undeniably a Provincial trapper. He, of the three, was the one who seemed most interested in herself and her family.

She met his curious gaze and found an unlooked for reassurance there in his gentle eyes that she had not felt since Captain Hayward had joined them on their hare-brained journey. She lowered the pistol and holstered it.

Will pulled away from her waist and took his pony's bridle and the tension was broken. Captain Hayward approached and explained the presence of the strangers. He finished his explanation saying: "They have agreed to guide us to Fort Edward and specifically to protect the three of you. I have promised two things in your name."

"Name them Duncan," Cora vowed, "and I shall see they are done, even up to fifty pounds."

He shook his head, "They ask for no compensation, only you shall be silent and do not interfere with anything that might happen."—neither woman responded—"Anything, even if —"

"—one of us was dying," Cora interrupted, whispering bitingly. His mouth shut and he scowled. "You have sworn that in our names, Captain," she continued, "and I tell you: It will not soon be forgiven. But ease your heart some, I have no intention of seeing anyone in my care come to harm." She turned away coldly and took her horse's reins. Then she addressed herself to the group of men: "We are ready to follow."

The man with the gun—the trapper, she termed him—gestured to the youngest of them and said, "This is Uncas, he will take you to the edge of the Hudson, ma'am."

The man in question nodded to her and then beckoned her after him. She followed. Alice, more forgiving and having the fault of loving him, allowed Captain Hayward to help her dismount before she followed. Will tugged his pony after them and Captain Hayward was left to trail behind, cursing Colonel Webb and the twist in life that had forced him to accept the terms he had. The other two fell in after him, quietly conversing.

They found Mr. Gamut at the steep bank's edge. The river coursed steadily along below, black in the twilight. Alice approached him and stood beside him. They discussed their shared love of music while Cora stood by watching the river. Will listened to the soft murmur of the voices and the distant roar of the distant upstream cataract. The others stood together in a loose group, discussing their next moves, several paces away. Both Indians carried guns in hand or slung across their back.

"Hold!" Mr. Gamut exclaimed, and suddenly the attention of everyone on the bank was upon him. He had ceased for a moment to listen to Alice's recount of listening to a particularly well studied string-quartet in Albany and had overheard a few sentences from the group. "Spare the foal of Miriam! It is the comely offspring of a faithful dam, and would willingly injure naught." Cora's eyes followed the exclamation to the startled foal, who could have been no older than a few weeks, and then to the men in question.

"When men struggle for the single life God has given them," the man addressed, the trapper, stated dangerously, "even their own kind of seem no more than the beasts of the wood." There was a deathly silence as his words penetrated their ears. "If you speak so loudly again I shall leave you to the mercy of the enemy. Draw to your arrow's head, Uncas; we have no time for second blows."

She turned in time to see that he had stepped several paces away and watch him swiftly shrug the bow off his back and lift it. He drew an arrow and fit it to the sting. There was a soft, barely audible whistle as it flew from its place and pierced the foal. She turned away from the sight but still heard the splash as the foal was pushed into the river. There was a second splash, and she heard Will let out a strangled cry. With a grim face Cora squeezed her brother's shoulder.

"Hush now, Will, it is done. It cannot be undone." She lifted her eyes in time to see the faithful pony floating down the river. She shook her head and rested it against her own horse's neck. The mare was fidgeting restlessly but she calmed at her mistress's touch. The boy held onto her waist tightly but only said,—

"Pepper didn't do anything wrong."

"No," she agreed, "but he was unnecessary. You will ride with me when the time comes."

He released her and looked sceptically up at her. "How? You ride sideways. I would fall off."

Cora, still looking down at her brother, smiling a little now replied, "I hardly consider a saddle to be a necessity. I can ride astride quite well, and she is strong enough to bear two grown men—you will hardly be of any weight to her at all. Here, hold her reins." She handed them into her brother's eager hands and turned and deftly unbuckled the saddle. She lifted it and the blanket off her mare's back and set it upon the grass.

"There," she said. She ran a hand over her mount's sweaty back. "See how broad her back is?"

Uncas had approached them from behind to lead the horse away, as he and the old Indian had done for the other horses, but he paused. Noticing his presence, Cora removed the bit from her horse's mouth but kept the bridle on her. She handed the reins over to him. He nodded and smiled before he led the horse off. Cora watched uncertainly, wishing Captain Hayward had consulted her concerning what was to be done to her own horse but unable to object because of the promise he had given in her stead.