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THE MOHICANS.
105

CHAPTER VI.

"Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide:
He wales a portion with judicious care;
And 'Let us worship God,' he says, with solemn air."—Burns.

Heyward and his female companions witnessed this mysterious movement with secret uneasiness; for, though the conduct of the white man had hitherto been above reproach, his rude equipments, blunt address, and strong antipathies, together with the character of his silent associates, were all causes for exciting distrust in minds that had been so recently alarmed by Indian treachery. The stranger alone disregarded the passing incidents. He seated himself on a projection of the rocks, whence he gave no other signs of consciousness than by the struggles of his spirit, as mani-