11 Captured!

CHAPTER 11 Captured! The next morning, the men of Fort William Henry lined up outside the walls to march to their ships. Women and children ran back and forth, packing as much as they could carry. Munro stood by with a broken heart. Duncan saw him and walked over. "What can I do to help, General?" "My daughters!" he answered. "Have you made arrangements for them?" Duncan asked.

"Today I am only a soldier," Munro answered. "All of these men are my children. It's hard for me to worry about Cora and Alice as well. Will you help them, Duncan? I know I can trust you with their lives, especially now that you and Alice are to wed." Duncan ran to the house to find Cora and Alice ready to leave. Cora was pale, but she held her tears. Alice did not. "The fort is lost," Cora said. "What will happen to all these people?" "Cora," Duncan said, "you must think of yourself and Alice now. Your father and I will see to the troops. Please, you need to be safe." She brushed her cheeks with her handkerchief and said, "We'll be fine. No one would harm the daughters of a general. Besides," she added, "David is with us." Duncan turned to the musician and said, "David, it's good to see you. You need to be very careful. We may still be in danger. I can

hear the Huron's war drums in the distance. Montcalm may have signed the treaty, but I am sure Magua and his men are still intent upon a fight." David nodded. "I will stand by. Not to worry, Duncan. The girls are safe with me." A horn signaled that it was time to leave. French guards were already standing at their posts, and the fort was flying French flags. "Let's go," Cora said to Alice. "This is no place for us." The two girls stepped in line, holding on tightly to each other. Magua and his men were hiding in the woods. They watched as the men and women of the fort marched by. When the time was right, Magua let out a powerful whoop and came running. Munro's men did the best they could to defend themselves, but there were too many of Magua's Hurons. Cora and Alice stood still. They were too scared to move. General Munro galloped

away from his daughters to find Montcalm and force him to keep his word about ending the fighting. David stood in front of the girls. Not knowing what else to do, he started to sing. Magua's men found this so strange that they stopped in their tracks. But when Magua saw that it was the Munro girls who were being protected, he ran over. "Come with me and you will live," he said roughly. "Never!" Cora answered. Magua did not reply. Instead, he grabbed Alice, who had fainted, and sped away with her. "No!" Cora shouted, and ran after them. "Leave her! Put her down!" Cora chased Magua through the forest until they reached the meadow where his horses were. Magua lay Alice down on a horse and pointed at Cora. She stepped up and held tight to her sister. David, who had run behind Cora the entire way,

got on the other horse. "What are you doing?" Magua shouted at David. "I will not allow you to just take them. If you kidnap them, I am coming along," he said. "You understand you are my prisoner," Magua said to him. "I do." Magua nodded and led them away into the woods. The ruins of the fort smoked as five men made their way through the battleground. Munro and Duncan were looking for Alice and Cora. Hawkeye and the Mohicans were there as well. They had been watching from the woods and came as soon as they saw the destruction that Magua's men had caused.

Finally Uncas called over to them—he had found Cora's scarf. Hawkeye and the Mohicans looked more closely at the part of the forest where Uncas had found the scarf. "Wait," Hawkeye said as Chingachgook pointed to a marking on the ground. Hawkeye showed the other men how the footprints on the ground changed at a certain point. It looked as if one of the girls had been dragged. "They have been taken captive." Uncas came forward again and handed Hawkeye something. "It's the musician's pitch pipe. He must have been captured as well," the scout declared. "And Alice?" Munro asked. "I am sure she is with them, even if we have not seen the signs," Hawkeye answered. General Munro stooped down to look at Cora's footprints while Hawkeye spoke to Uncas and Chingachgook. The Mohicans went down a different path. Minutes later, Hawkeye heard the