noon
It was the prevalent opinion , however , that they had been influenced by veneration for the ancient treaty , that had once made them dependent on the Six Nations for military protection , and now rendered them reluctant to encounter their former masters . As for the tribe itself , it had been content to announce to Montcalm , through his emissaries , with Indian brevity , that their hatchets were dull , and time was necessary to sharpen them . The politic captain of the Canadas had deemed it wiser to submit to entertain a passive friend , than by any acts of ill-judged severity to convert him into an open enemy . On that morning when Magua led his silent party from the settlement of the beavers into the forests , in the manner described , the sun rose upon the Delaware encampment as if it had suddenly burst upon a busy people , actively employed in all the customary avocations of high noon . The women ran from lodge to lodge , some engaged in preparing their morning 's meal , a few earnestly bent on seeking the comforts necessary to their habits , but more pausing to exchange hasty and whispered sentences with their friends . The warriors were lounging in groups , musing more than they conversed and when a few words were uttered , speaking like men who deeply weighed their opinions . The instruments of the chase were to be seen in abundance among the lodges ; but none departed .