Останній з Могікан
Chapter 12
"Ourcaptorshadtheprecautiontoseeusshodlikethemselves,"saidDuncan,raisingafoot,andexhibitingthebuckskinhewore.
"Ay,’twasjudgmatical,andlikethemselves;thoughweweretooexparttobethrownfromatrailbysocommonaninvention."
"Towhat,then,areweindebtedforoursafety?"
"Towhat,asawhitemanwhohasnotaintofIndianblood,Ishouldbeashamedtoown;tothejudgmentoftheyoungMohican,inmatterswhichIshouldknowbetterthanhe,butwhichIcannowhardlybelievetobetrue,thoughmyowneyestellmeitisso."
"’Tisextraordinary!willyounotnamethereason?"
"Uncaswasboldenoughtosay,thatthebeastsriddenbythegentleones,"continuedHawkeye,glancinghiseyes,notwithoutcuriousinterest,onthefilliesoftheladies,"plantedthelegsofonesideonthegroundatthesametime,whichiscontrarytothemovementsofalltrottingfour-footedanimalsofmyknowledge,exceptthebear.Andyetherearehorsesthatalwaysjourneyinthismanner,asmyowneyeshaveseen,andastheirtrailhasshownfortwentylongmiles."
"’Tisthemeritoftheanimal!TheycomefromtheshoresofNarragansettBay,inthesmallprovinceofProvidencePlantations,andarecelebratedfortheirhardihood,andtheeaseofthispeculiarmovement;thoughotherhorsesarenotunfrequentlytrainedtothesame.
