Frostburg mining journal., 1883-12-08
CONTINUED STORY.
N~~N-~-~-~-N.-~-.-----
THE
LAST OF THE MOHICANs
By
j. Fenimore Cooper.
Continued from last week.l

Duncan were not thrown away, for
it awakened the powers of the sisters
in such manner that they awaited
the result in silence. A second yell
soon followed the first, when u rush
of voices was heard pouring down the
island, from its upper to its lower
extremity, until they reached the
naked rock above the cayerns, where,
with "a shout of savage triumph, the
air continued full of horrible cries
and screams, such as man alone can
utter, and he only when in state of
the fiercest barbarity.
The sounds quickly spread around
them in every direction. Some call
ed to their fellows from the waters
edge, and were answered from the
heights above. Cries were heard in
the startling vicinity of the chasm
between the two caves, which MN
gled with the hoarser yells that arose
out of the abyss of the deep ravine.
In short, so rapidly had the savage
sounds diffused themselves over the
barren rock, that it was not difficult
for the anxious listeners to imagine
they could be heard beneath, as in
truth they were above and on every
side of them.
In the midst of this tumult, tri-
umphant yell was raised within afew
yards Of the hidden entrance to the
cave. Hayward abandoned every
hope, with the belief that it was the
signal that they were discovered.
Again the impression passed away,
as he heard the voices collect near
the spot where the white man had SO
reluctantly abandoned his rifle.
Amid the jargon of Indian dialects
that he now plainly heard, it was
easy to distinguish not only words,
but sentences, in the patois of the
Canads. A burst of voices had shout
ed simultaneously, "La Tongue Car
abine!" causing the opposite woods tc
re-echo with a name which, Hayward
well remembered, had been given by
his enemies to celebrated hunter
and scout of the English camp, and
who he now learnt for the first time
had been his late companion.
"La Tongue Carabine! La Tongue
Carabinew passed from mouth tc
mouth, until the whole band appeared
to be collected around a trophy which
would seem to announce the death o.
its formidable owner. After vocif
erous consultation, which was, Al
times, deafened by bursts of savage
JOY, they again separated, filling the
air with the name of foe, whose
body, Hayward could collect from
their expressions, they hoped to fine
concealed in some crevice of tn,
island.
"Now," he whispered to the trem
bling sisters, snow is the moment o
uncertainty If our place of retrea
escapes this scrutiny, we are still
safe. In every event, we are assured
by what has fallen from our enemies
that our friends have escaped, and il
two short hours we may look fol
succor from Webb"
There were now q few minutes o
fearful stiffness, during which Hey
ward well knew that the savages con
Quoted their search with greater Wig
lance and method. More than one,
he could distinguish their footsteps
as they brushed the sassafras, caus
ing the faded leaves to rustic, and tin
branches to snap. At length
the pile yielded a little, a corner o
a blanket fell, and faint ray of ligh
cleaned INTO the inner part of tn,
cave. Cora folded Alice to he.
bosom in agony, and Duncan sprans
to his feet. A shout was at tha
moment heard, as if issuing from tho
centre of the rock, announcing that
the neighboring cavern had ut Iengtl
been entered. Ina minute, the mum
Der and loudness Of the voices in
dicated that the whole party collected
in and around that secret place.
As the inner passage of the tive
caves were so close to each othel
Duncan, believing that escape was NJ
longer possible, passed David an(
the sisters, to place himself be
tween the latter and the first onse
Of the terrible meeting. Grown DIES
perate by his situation, he drew neal