Hurry. Laws don't all come from the same quarter. God has given
us his'n, and some come from the colony, and others come from the
King and Parliament. When the colony's laws, or even the King's
laws, run ag'in the laws of God, they get to be onlawful, and ought
not to be obeyed. I hold to a white man's respecting white laws,
so long as they do not cross the track of a law comin' from a higher
authority; and for a red man to obey his own red-skin usages, under
the same privilege. But, 't is useless talking, as each man will
think fir himself, and have his say agreeable to his thoughts. Let
us keep a good lookout for your friend Floating Tom, lest we pass
him, as he lies hidden under this bushy shore."

Deerslayer had not named the borders of the lake amiss. Along
their whole length, the smaller trees overhung the water, with their
branches often dipping in the transparent element The banks were
steep, even from the narrow strand; and, as vegetation invariably
struggles towards the light, the effect was precisely that at which
the lover of the picturesque would have aimed, had the ordering
of this glorious setting of forest been submitted to his control.
The points and bays, too, were sufficiently numerous to render the
outline broken and diversified. As the canoe kept close along the
western side of the lake, with a view, as Hurry had explained to
his companion, of reconnoitering for enemies, before he trusted
himself too openly in sight, the expectations of the two adventurers
were kept constantly on the stretch, as neither could foretell
what the next turning of a point might reveal. Their progress was
swift, the gigantic strength of Hurry enabling him to play with
the light bark as if it had been a feather, while the skill of his
companion almost equalized their usefulness, notwithstanding the
disparity in natural means.