Prev | Current Page 393 | Next

Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851

"Oak Openings"

When the commander-in-chief calls together his
principal officers, something usually comes of it. Who knows but
this very council is called in order to take opinions on the subject
of besieging or of storming our new garrison? Prudent soldiers
should always be ready for the worst."
"I have no fear, so long as Peter is with us. That chief is listened
to by every red-skin; and while we have him among us there will be
little to care for. But we are getting near to the bottom and must
work our way through these bushes with as little noise as possible.
I will keep the dog quiet."
The manner in which that sagacious animal now behaved was truly
wonderful. Hive appeared to be quite as much aware of the necessity
of extreme caution as either of the men, and did not once attempt to
precede his master his own length. On one or two occasions he
actually discovered the best passages, and led his companions
through them with something like the intelligence of a human being.
Neither growl nor bark escaped him; on the contrary, even the
hacking breathing of an impatient dog was suppressed, precisely as
if the animal knew how near he was getting to the most watchful ears
in the world.


Pages:
381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405