Chapter 25

Summary

Duncan contemplates David's words until the chief orders the room cleared and asks him to heal the woman. Duncan is unsure what to do but is saved from embarrassment or worse when the bear keeps growling, which the chief interprets as a sign that he should leave Duncan to do his work alone.

The bear turns out to be Hawkeye in disguise. He explains how Uncas was captured in an ambush and how he then stole the bear costume from the tribal conjurer, in order to sneak in and save him. He explains that David meant that Alice was probably in one of the nearby apartments in the cavern. The apartments are separated by low walls, and he climbs up one to look for her. After finding her, he tells Duncan where she is, but makes him wash off his paint before he goes to her.

Alice and Duncan are overjoyed to see each other. He tells her that Munro has agreed to their marriage. Alice is thrilled, but she wants her father's permission in person. Meanwhile, unnoticed by them, Magua has entered the cave through another entrance. Magua taunts them and is about to inform the others when Hawkeye, disguised as the bear, approaches him. Magua, who thinks the bear is merely the tribal conjurer in disguise, dismissively walks past him and is caught in a "bear's hug." With Duncan's assistance, Magua is gagged and tied.

Alice in the meantime has fainted. Hawkeye tells him to conceal her in Indian clothes. Duncan comes out with her and the bear and tells the Hurons that he has removed the evil spirit and trapped it in the cave and that he is taking the woman away to finish the cure by using herbs. He warns them not to enter the cave but to guard the door in case the evil spirit should try to escape.

Away from the village, Alice recovers. Hawkeye leads them to a path that will take them to the Delawares. Hawkeye, meanwhile, plans to return to the village to try to save Uncas. They try to stop them, but he tells them that Uncas is like a son to him and that he cannot leave him to his fate. After he heads back to the village, Alice and Duncan continue on their way.

Duncan displays tremendous courage in this chapter. He bravely faces Magua when trapped by him and manages to trick the Indians into thinking that he is a healer, in order to rescue Alice. While he still needs to be prompted on Indian customs by Hawkeye, he is learning how to speak to them using their own style.

Alice, true to form and to the conventions of the sentimental novel, swoons when Magua catches them and remains unconscious until safely away from the village. She is too delicate to witness danger, unlike her sister Cora, who is very practical and courageous. Interestingly enough, her delicacy is best recognized by the ever- observant Hawkeye, who warns Duncan that Alice would be startled if she saw him in Indian dress. "Young women of white blood give the preference to their own color," he says. Duncan and Alice's reunion is heartfelt, if somewhat conventional, but again, Alice's puritan nature overcomes her joy. She tells him in ladylike fashion, "Give me the sacred presence and holy sanction of [my father] before you urge me further."

In a touching scene, Hawkeye reveals another aspect of his character. While he has heretofore been portrayed as a man of action and nearly unmatchable heroism, here he poignantly reveals that his expertise in the wilderness has come at some expense. He knows little of the ways of men and women in the settlements. He understands that Duncan must feel some strong love for Alice, for which he is willing to risk his life, but the only way he can understand it is by comparing it to the fatherly feelings he has for Uncas, with whom he has shared much hardship and joy.

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