In the meanwhile the Pathfinder was far from being out of danger; for the first minute, admiration of his promptitude and daring, which are so high virtues in the mind of an Indian, kept his enemies motionless; but the desire of revenge, and the cravings for the much-prized trophy, soon overcame this transient feeling, and aroused them from their stupor.  Rifle flashed after rifle, and the bullets whistled around the head of the fugitive, amid the roar of the waters.  Still he proceeded like one who bore a charmed life; for, while his rude frontier garments were more than once cut, his skin was not razed.

As the Pathfinder, in several instances, was compelled to wade in water which rose nearly to his arms, while he kept his rifle and ammunition elevated above the raging current, the toil soon fatigued him, and he was glad to stop at a large stone, or a small rock, which rose so high above the river that its upper surface was dry.  On this stone he placed his powder-horn, getting behind it himself, so as to have the advantage of a partial cover for his body.  The western shore was only fifty feet distant, but the quiet, swift, dark current that glanced through the interval sufficiently showed that here he would be compelled to swim.

A short cessation in the firing now took place on the part of the Indians, who gathered about the canoe, and, having found the paddles, were preparing to cross the river.

“Pathfinder,” called a voice from among the bushes, at the point nearest to the person addressed, on the western shore.

“What would you have, Jasper?”

“Be of good heart —­ friends are at hand, and not a single Mingo shall cross without suffering for his boldness.  Had you not better leave the rifle on the rock, and swim to us before the rascals can get afloat?”

“A true woodsman never quits his piece while he has any powder in his horn or a bullet in his pouch.  I have not drawn a trigger this day, Eau-douce, and shouldn’t relish the idea of parting with those reptiles without causing them to remember my name.  A little water will not harm my legs; and I see that blackguard, Arrowhead, among the scamps, and wish to send him the wages he has so faithfully earned.  You have not brought the Sergeant’s daughter down here in a range with their bullets, I hope, Jasper?”

“She is safe for the present at least; though all depends on our keeping the river between us and the enemy.  They must know our weakness now; and, should they cross, no doubt some of their party will be left on the other side.”

“This canoeing touches your gifts rather than mine, boy, though I will handle a paddle with the best Mingo that ever struck a salmon.  If they cross below the rift, why can’t we cross in the still water above, and keep playing at dodge and turn with the wolves?”

“Because, as I have said, they will leave a party on the other shore; and then, Pathfinder, would you expose Mabel, to the rifles of the Iroquois?”