Останній з Могікан

           Theyhadmadetheirlittlecircuittotheleft,andwerealreadyincliningagaintowardstheright,having,asHeywardthought,gotovernearlyhalfthedistancetothefriendlyworks,whenhisearsweresalutedwiththefiercesummons,apparentlywithintwentyfeetofthem,of—

           "Quivalà?"

           "Pushon!"whisperedthescout,oncemorebendingtotheleft.

           "Pushon!"repeatedHeyward;whenthesummonswasrenewedbyadozenvoices,eachofwhichseemedchargedwithmenace.

           "C’estmoi,"criedDuncan,dragging,ratherthanleadingthosehesupported,swiftlyonward.

           "Bête!—qui?—moi!"

           "AmidelàFrance."

           "Tum’asplusl’aird’unennemidelàFrance;arrête!oùpardieujeteferaiamidudiable.Non!feu,camarades,feu!"

           Theorderwasinstantlyobeyed,andthefogwasstirredbytheexplosionoffiftymuskets.Happily,theaimwasbad,andthebulletscuttheairinadirectionalittledifferentfromthattakenbythefugitives;thoughstillsonighthem,thattotheunpractisedearsofDavidandthetwofemales,itappearedasiftheywhistledwithinafewinchesoftheorgans.Theoutcrywasrenewed,andtheorder,notonlytofireagain,buttopursue,wastooplainlyaudible.WhenHeywardbrieflyexplainedthemeaningofthewordstheyheard,Hawkeyehalted,andspokewithquickdecisionandgreatfirmness.

           "Letusdeliverourfire,"hesaid;"theywillbelieveitasortie,andgiveway,ortheywillwaitforreinforcements."

           Theschemewaswellconceived,butfailedinitseffect.