The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper Page A

and to thrust his dark
visage beneath. It might have been a minute before the Teton chief drew
back, and seated himself with the whole of his form without the linen
tenement. Here he sat, seemingly brooding over his discovery, for many
moments, in rigid inaction. Then he resumed his crouching attitude,
and once more projected his visage beyond the covering of the tent. His
second visit to the interior was longer, and, if possible, more ominous
than the first. But it had, like every thing else, its termination,
and the savage again withdrew his glaring eyes from the secrets of the
place.
    Mahtoree had drawn his person many yards from the spot, in his slow
progress towards the cluster of objects which pointed out the centre of
the position, before he again stopped. He made another pause, and looked
back at the solitary little dwelling he had left, as if doubtful whether
he should not return. But the chevaux-de-frise of branches now lay
within reach of his arm, and the very appearance of precaution it
presented, as it announced the value of the effects it encircled,
tempted his cupidity, and induced him to proceed.
    The passage of the savage, through the tender and brittle limbs of the
cotton-wood, could be likened only to the sinuous and noiseless winding
of the reptiles which he imitated. When he had effected his object,
and had taken an instant to become acquainted with the nature of the
localities within the enclosure, the Teton used the precaution to open a
way through which he might make a swift retreat. Then raising himself
on his feet, he stalked through the encampment, like the master of evil,
seeking whom and what he should first devote to his fell purposes.
He had already ascertained the contents of the lodge in which were
collected the woman and her young children, and had passed several
gigantic frames, stretched on different piles of brush, which happily
for him lay in unconscious helplessness, when he reached the spot
occupied by Ishmael in person. It could not escape the sagacity of one
like Mahtoree, that he had now within his power the principal man among
the travellers. He stood long hovering above the recumbent and Herculean
form of the emigrant, keenly debating in his own mind the chances of his
enterprise, and the most effectual means of reaping its richest harvest.
    He sheathed the knife, which, under the hasty and burning impulse of his
thoughts, he had been tempted to draw, and was passing on, when Ishmael
turned in his lair, and demanded roughly who was moving before his
half-opened eyes. Nothing short of the readiness and cunning of a savage
could have evaded the crisis. Imitating the gruff tones and nearly
unintelligible sounds he heard, Mahtoree threw his body heavily on
the earth, and appeared to dispose himself to sleep. Though the whole
movement was seen by Ishmael, in a sort of stupid observation, the
artifice was too bold and too admirably executed to fail. The drowsy
father closed his eyes, and slept heavily, with this treacherous inmate
in the very bosom of his family.
    It was necessary for the Teton to maintain the position he had taken,
for many long and weary minutes, in order to make sure that he was no
longer watched. Though his body lay so motionless, his active mind was
not idle. He profited by the delay to mature a plan which he intended
should put the whole encampment, including both its effects and their
proprietors, entirely at his mercy. The instant he could do so with
safety, the indefatigable savage was again in motion. He took his way
towards the slight pen which contained the domestic animals, worming
himself along the ground in his former subtle and guarded manner.
    The first animal he encountered among the beasts occasioned a long and
hazardous delay. The weary creature, perhaps conscious, through its
secret instinct, that in the endless wastes of the prairies its surest
protector was to be found in man, was so exceedingly docile as quietly
to submit to the close examination