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Chapter Three: The Huron War Party

Among the trail of rich green grass and forest trees, two groups of British soldiers marched in perfect cadence with each other, each officer carrying his own rifle and a pack upon their backside. In front of the men, two women rode on horseback; their figures covered in tight fitted riding dresses and veiled hats. The two munro sisters could easily be distinguished from each other since both contrasted very differently in the fact that one appeared more maturely developed and darker than the other. Alice, the youngest sister, was taller and her slender frame revealed no similarities to her elder sister.

In between the two companies, three horses carrying baggage closed the gap, along with Major Heyward who rode atop his own steed wearily behind.

The interior of the forest, as they ventured deeper, became darker, for the canopied area allowed very little light to peak though the heavily branched trees. They had been traveling for quite a number of hours and while silently gazing at the forest atmosphere, Cora noticed her sister begin to dose off in her saddle. "Alice?"

Rousing from her brief fatigued state, Alice heard Duncan question worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Nodding, Alice asked, "Can we rest soon?"

"Absolutely," he replied, trotting his horse to the front column in order to speak with their Mohawk guide, Magua.

Alice never spoke to anyone about it, not even Cora, but upon meeting him this morning, Alice had a very unsettling feeling about him. A vibe of resentment and hatred seemed to radiate around his person... and the cold, vacant look in his eyes did not help to ease her suspicions. Of course, their father had sent the man as a guide... so he couldn't be too bad then, could he? Her father must obviously trust the Mohawk enough. If he didn't, he would have waited for them to be escorted by one of his regiment's scouts instead of Magua himself.

Glancing briefly at Cora with a bit more vigilance, Alice continued on riding, her hands grasping more tightly around the reins of her horse.

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Among the deep ravines and light flowing streams of the forest, Uncas, Nathaniel, and Chingachgook traveled silently on moccasined feet, each carrying a rifle in hand. They had parted from the Cameron cabin not too long ago, just as the other men had. The only difference was they were heading to Kentucky, the others were going toward Fort William Henry. All three, despite their long journey, carried themselves with a posture of alertness.

Chingachgook glanced below him into the stream, stopping abruptly as he noticed that a rock had been turned from its bed. Someone had recently passed through here. His sons, aware of both his actions and his discovery, stopped. Uncas, moving up on his father's flank, climbed back toward the trees, searching. His investigation proved to be fruitful as he took notices of other signs.

Realizing that something was wrong, all three began to soundlessly track the steps of the area's previous occupants, carefully examining disturbed patches of grass, soil, and rocks.

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"Form company! Left face! March!"

Rounds were fired just as savage cries ripped from deep within the brush of the woods. The freshly wounded bodies of British officers hit the ground, followed by yet more exploding rounds. Smoke from muskets rose, blanketing around the chaos that had, only moments ago, just broken out.

Shrieking, Alice tried to stay on her bolting horse, but was unsuccessful as it dodged sideways, spilling her rather tersely to the earth below.

Scrambling from her bucking horse, Cora grabbed Alice from the ground, her arms encircling the younger woman protectively. Both sisters looked on in terrified horror as Hurons sprang down onto the line of redcoat soldiers, their tomahawks and musket shots slicing into flesh.

As the British regiment's men dropped like flies, more Hurons began to inch closer to their proximity. Seeing this, Heyward stepped in front of the huddled women, his sword raised. They were severely outnumbered and Duncan readied himself to die...

Shots were suddenly fired from the distance, hurtling the bodies of Hurons into the ground from the impact of the speeding blows. Three men, unseen but scattered in different areas, attacked from the ravine, each dispatching the Huron attackers.

Unaware of her endangerment, Cora hugged her sister tightly. She was oblivious to the rifle aimed at her head and Nathaniel, having noticed the woman's predicament, aimed his own, it's point drawn to the Huron Indian a few feet ahead.

Falling to his knees as the Huron shot in his direction, Nathaniel aimed through the smoke... only to find that the man had disappeared.

Confused, Heyward grabbed a musket, aiming it at yet another Indian... not realizing that the person he was aiming at was not a Huron. "No Duncan!" Cora shouted, aware of his error.

The musket was suddenly jerked from his fingers. "I guess your aim isn't any better than your judgment," Nathaniel barked.

Moments later, a deadly silence filled the air and Cora, still stunned but functioning, slowly helped Alice to her feet, her arms still hugging her close.

Their three rescuers made themselves known, each with a weapon in hand. Alice, still hugging her sister, looked at them curiously. Her gaze fell on the one that approached... and she found her feet moving toward him as she saw what he was about to do.

Releasing and scaring the horses away, Uncas was about to walk back... only to have one of the young women, the light haired one, attack him.

Finding her voice, Alice shouted, "Stop it! We need them to get out!"

Her determination to escape was suddenly forgotten as Alice found herself being gently restrained by strong hands. Her wide blue eyes flew to his... and Alice was startled by the sudden emotion that coursed through her; her pulse began to quicken and she could practically hear her heart racing... and she was too stunned to tell if it was out of fear or from the way he was looking at her.

A hand touched her shoulder, pulling her back away from him and Alice turned to see her sister at her side.

"Why the bloody hell did he do that to the horses?!" Heyward asked, directing the question to Nathaniel.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" He replied.

"Too easy to track," Uncas answered matter-of-factly, surprising Heyward with his easy English. "They can be heard for miles... find yourself a musket."

Nathaniel glanced briefly at the wounded and then back to Heyward again, advising quietly, "Your wounded should try walking back to Albany. They'll never make a passage North."

"We were headed to Fort William Henry."

Chingachgook exchanged a couple of words to Nathaniel in Mohican and then started off in the other direction.

"We'll take you as far as the fort," Nathaniel informed, tossing a musket to Heyward. "If we're going to take you, we need to move fast... or would you rather wait for the next Huron war party to come by?"