The arms of Deerslayer were not pinioned, and he was left the
free use of his hands, his knife having been first removed. The
only precaution that was taken to secure his person was untiring
watchfulness, and a strong rope of bark that passed from ankle to
ankle, not so much to prevent his walking, as to place an obstacle
in the way of his attempting to escape by any sudden leap. Even
this extra provision against flight was not made until the captive
had been brought to the light, and his character ascertained. It
was, in fact, a compliment to his prowess, and he felt proud of
the distinction. That he might be bound when the warriors slept he
thought probable, but to be bound in the moment of capture showed
that he was already, and thus early, attaining a name. While the
young Indians were fastening the rope, he wondered if Chingachgook
would have been treated in the same manner, had he too fallen
into the hands of the enemy. Nor did the reputation of the young
pale-face rest altogether on his success in the previous combat, or
in his discriminating and cool manner of managing the late negotiation,
for it had received a great accession by the occurrences of the
night. Ignorant of the movements of the Ark, and of the accident
that had brought their fire into view, the Iroquois attributed the
discovery of their new camp to the vigilance of so shrewd a foe.
The manner in which he ventured upon the point, the abstraction or
escape of Hist, and most of all the self-devotion of the prisoner,
united to the readiness with which he had sent the canoe adrift,
were so many important links in the chain of facts, on which his
growing fame was founded. Many of these circumstances had been
seen, some had been explained, and all were understood.

While this admiration and these honors were so unreservedly bestowed
on Deerslayer, he did not escape some of the penalties of his