Последний из Могикан
Chapter 14
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.