CHAPTER VIII--A NARROW ESCAPE
At daylight the lads continued along the ridge upon which they had spentthe night, until they found a spot which offered them a long,unobstructed view of the river. Then they settled themselves to watchfor their foes. The mysterious owl calls on the previous night hadconvinced them that some of the Mohawks were still down the river, andthey hoped before long to see them. They waited patiently until half ofthe day had passed, but no one appeared.
"Perhaps they are moving through the woods on foot," suggested SpottedDeer.
"Perhaps," replied Running Fox. "We have watched a long time, but wehave not seen any one. I believe the Mohawks have passed some other way.Come, we will go ahead."
They advanced through the forest with great caution, for they knew thatthey might come face to face with their foes at any moment. Watchful,and alert to their peril, therefore, the lads took every precaution.Nothing escaped their notice. They stopped suspiciously each time thewind stirred the leaves; they strained their ears to catch a warning inthe most familiar sound. The fact that the Mohawk canoemen were paintedfor war suggested the possibility of a large war-party somewhere near athand. The Delawares knew that under those circumstances many sharp-eyedscouts were roaming through the woods on all sides of them.
Toward the end of the day the lads heard a wild turkey calling. Itseemed to be somewhere on a ridge to the eastward, and they stopped tolisten. It was a common sound in the woods about the Delaware camp, andunder other circumstances they would have given little attention to it.However, with the owl calls fresh in their minds, the Delawaresimmediately became suspicious. Running Fox placed his finger across hislips, and looked warningly at Spotted Deer.
"I will keep as still as Achpoques, the wood mouse," laughed SpottedDeer, as he recalled his blunder with the owl calls.
They listened some time before the call was repeated, and then they wereunable to discover anything suspicious about it. Nevertheless theydetermined to wait until they heard it again. The next time, however,Running Fox thought he detected an unfamiliar note. He had hunted wildturkeys since he was old enough to pull a bowstring, and he was anexpert at imitating their call.
"I do not like that," he told Spotted Deer. "No, I do not believe it isGulukochsun."
"Well, we will listen again," said Spotted Deer. "I did not hearanything wrong about it."
However, as the familiar gobble again rolled through the woods RunningFox was compelled to acknowledge that he found it entirely natural.Still he was not satisfied.
"This is not the time when Gulukochsun sounds his war-cry," he declared,suspiciously.
"I have been thinking about that," replied Spotted Deer.
Then as they continued to listen they heard an answer. It sounded as ifit came from the opposite side of the river. The lads looked at eachother and nodded significantly. When they heard the call a second timethey detected several strange notes that proclaimed it false. They feltcertain that it came from a human throat.
"Perhaps some hunter is trying to draw Gulukochsun over there,"suggested Spotted Deer.
"No, I do not believe it," said Running Fox. "A hunter would come overhere to find Gulukochsun."
"Yes, that is true," agreed Spotted Deer.
The counterfeit call was soon answered, and then the gobbling ceased.The lads were filled with suspicion. They began to mistrust that bothcalls were false. They believed that Iroquois scouts were againexchanging signals.
"Perhaps these are the same people who talked with the words of Gokhos,"said Spotted Deer.
"Yes, that may be true," replied Running Fox. "Well, I believe they aregoing to meet down there at the water. We will steal down there and havea look at them."
"That will be a dangerous thing; to do," said Spotted Deer.
"Yes, we must be very careful," Running Fox told him.
Then they began a daring advance toward the river. They believed thatthe scout whom they had heard first was still somewhere behind them, andthey hoped to reach the river ahead of him, They moved swiftly,therefore, watching and listening for the first warning of danger. Whenthey finally got within easy bow-shot of the water they concealedthemselves in a dense thicket of willows. Then they watched anxiouslyfor their enemies to appear. It was not long before they again heard theturkey call on the other side of the river. A few moments after it hadceased, an answering gobble sounded from the woods directly back ofthem. It was so perfect that if they had heard it under any othercircumstances they would have been entirely deceived.
"Now watch sharp," cautioned Running Fox.
At that instant they saw a solitary warrior moving swiftly along in theshadow of the trees on the opposite shore. In a few moments he dragged acanoe from the bushes, and paddled rapidly across the river. He hadbarely landed before another warrior passed noiselessly within severalbow-lengths of the concealed Delawares, and joined him at the edge ofthe water.
"They are Mohawks," whispered Running Fox.
Spotted Deer was about to reply when one of the warriors suddenly turnedand looked directly toward their hiding place. The lads felt quite surethat they had been discovered, and their hearts bounded wildly at thethought. Still it seemed impossible for the low whisper from Running Foxto have reached the figures at the edge of the water. However, after amoment or so the warrior had again turned to his companion, and the ladsbreathed easier. Then they heard a bird stirring about noisily in theundergrowth, and they understood why the warrior had looked toward theirhiding place. They instantly realized the danger that threatened them,for both warriors were now looking intently toward the willows. TheDelawares feared that in another moment their suspicious foes mightdecide to investigate the sound. Discovery seemed near at hand. Theyrealized that they must do something to quiet the fears of theirenemies. There was not a moment to spare. The lads looked anxiously intoeach other's eyes. Then the bird resumed its noisy search for food. Oneof the warriors prepared to send an arrow into the willows. At thatmoment Running Fox discovered the bird scratching among the leaves. Thebird saw him at almost the same instant, and as he moved cautiously itsounded an alarm and flew above the bushes. The Mohawk laughed andlowered his bow. The danger had passed.
Spotted Deer started to say something, but Running Fox placed his fingeracross his lips and warned him to be still. Their narrow escape had madehim doubly cautious, and he feared that the lightest whisper might reachthe sensitive ears of those alert scouts. They were conversingearnestly, and although they talked in guarded tones the lads distinctlyheard the low unintelligible hum of their voices. They listened eagerlyfor they would have given much to know what was being said. However, theMohawks were talking too cautiously to give them a clue. Besides, theDelawares doubted that they would have understood the Iroquois dialecteven if they had heard it. Once the warrior who had crossed the riverswept his arm toward the west, and the lads believed that he wasdescribing something of importance which he had discovered in thatdirection. The Delawares studied the two men closely. They saw at oncethat they were not the warriors whom they had seen the previous day.These Mohawks were both great stalwart men in the prime of life. Theirfaces, too, were painted black in token of war. It was evident that theywere scouts searching the forest for signs of their foes. In a fewmoments they entered the canoe, and poled it rapidly up the river.
"Come, we must follow them," declared Running Fox. "I believe theMohawks are gathering a great war-party. We must find out where theyare."
Once the canoemen had disappeared around a long wooded arm of the shore,the Delawares left the willows, and hurried through the woods in pursuitof them. They kept a safe distance from the water for they feared thatthe crafty Mohawks might suddenly return on their trail to make surethat no one was following them. The lads had a vague idea that they werenearing the headwaters of the river, and they began to look for severalprominent landmarks which had been described to them. Toward eveningthey saw the first of them, a great granite-topped mountain on theopposite si
de of the river. They had often heard it mentioned by theDelaware scouts, and they realized that they were close to the greatMohawk trail, which began at the headwaters of the river and extendedmany leagues into the north. They also knew that the Shawnees enteredthat region from the westward, and their trails, too, were to be foundsomewhere in the vast forest beyond the river. The young Delawaresrealized, therefore, that each stride was taking them into more perilousground, and they advanced with great care.
As the long evening shadows finally began to reach out over the water,the Delawares feared that their foes were again about to escape undercover of the darkness. The possibility made them more daring, and theyhurried along closer to the river. They had not gone far, however, whenthey discovered the Mohawks moving slowly along near the shore. Justbefore dark they landed, and dragged the canoe into the shadows.
"I believe they will stay at that place until it gets light," saidRunning Fox.
"We will watch for their fire," said Spotted Deer.
"They will not light a fire," declared Running Fox. "Now I will tell youwhat to do. It would be foolish to go any nearer to them, before it getslight. We will stay where we are. When the light comes I will tell yousomething else."
"Well, you are the leader," replied Spotted Deer. "I will listen to yourwords."
When it grew dark they crawled beneath the drooping branches of a largespruce. Then as the night wore on, and they heard nothing from theirfoes, they stole silently to the river. All was black, and still, andmysterious, and they were glad to return to their hiding place beneaththe spruce.
As the first gray hint of dawn appeared in the east Running Fox awakenedSpotted Deer, and led the way to the river. They waded carefully intothe water and swam to the opposite shore. Then they stole silentlythrough the woods until they were opposite their enemies. Dropping totheir hands and knees, they crawled into the fringe of bushes that linedthe water. Then, as the light strengthened, and they peered eagerlybetween the branches, they saw three overturned canoes dimly outlined inthe shadows on the other side of the river.
"That is strange," whispered Spotted Deer.
"The Mohawks have found one another," said Running Fox.
A short time afterward they saw a lone figure at the edge of the forest.They felt certain it was one of the Mohawk scouts. He stood in theshadows watching the river. Then he hastened across the narrow beach,and dropped at the edge of the water to drink. As he rose he lookedacross the river, and the lads thought they recognized him.
"He is one of the warriors who found the canoe," said Spotted Deer.
"Yes, now I see what has happened," replied Running Fox. "When we heardthe calls of Gokhos, then that warrior and his friend were talking withthe warriors we followed here. Now they are all together. Pretty soonthey will meet the war-party."
The Mohawk had already returned to the woods, and the lads watchedanxiously. Then they saw four figures gather about the canoes. They hadlittle difficulty in identifying them as the four scouts whom they hadseen previously. The Delawares were somewhat puzzled, however, when theMohawks carried two canoes to the water, and left the third lying at theedge of the woods. Then three of the warriors entered the two canoes andpaddled up the river. The fourth Mohawk, whom the lads recognized as theyounger of the two who had searched for the canoe, remained behind. Hestood some moments looking after his companions, and when they passedfrom sight he turned up the beach and disappeared into the forest.
"I believe the Mohawks have found some signs of the Shawnees," declaredRunning Fox. "They have left that warrior to watch. It is bad. Now wecannot follow them. We must wait and see what he is going to do."
"Perhaps he will wait there until the war-party appears," said SpottedDeer.
The possibility disturbed them, for they knew in that event they wouldbe in a serious predicament. It was a long time before their suspensewas ended. Then the Mohawk carried his canoe to the water, anddisappeared down the river. The Delawares had not expected thatmaneuver, and they were unable to guess a reason for it.
"Perhaps the Mohawks have found the Shawnees, and that warrior has goneto watch them," suggested Spotted Deer.
"Perhaps," replied Running Fox. "I do not like it. Perhaps there aremore Mohawks behind us. Yes, the war-party may be moving the other way."
The thought alarmed them. As soon as the solitary warrior had passedfrom sight, therefore, the Delawares hurried up the river on the trailof his companions. When half of the day had passed they reached theheadwaters of the river. They had failed to overtake the Mohawks, andthey were somewhat at a loss to know just what to do.
"It is bad," declared Running Fox. "We have come to a dangerous place.We have lost sight of the Mohawks. We must be very careful until we findtheir trail."
"Perhaps they are watching this place," said Spotted Deer.
"Well, we will creep around as softly as Quenischquney, the panther,"replied Running Fox.
They scouted cautiously about the headwaters of the river until theyfound a narrow trail leading toward the north. When they stooped andexamined it they found evidence which convinced them that some one hadpassed over it that very day. They had little doubt that it was thethree Mohawks whom they had followed up the river.
"Perhaps this is the trail that leads to the great Mohawk camp," saidSpotted Deer.
"No, my father told me different," declared Running Fox. "This trailleads to a big lake. Beyond that there are no trails. It will be hard tofind the Mohawk camp."
They were moving carefully along the trail when they were halted by thesound of voices directly ahead of them. It was evident that the speakerswere almost upon them, and the startled lads darted into the bushes anddropped to the ground. In a few moments they saw two of the Mohawkcanoemen returning along the trail. They were walking slowly and lookingintently at the ground. It looked as if they had dropped something, andhad come back to find it. The Delawares were on the verge of panic, forthey believed that the sharp-eyed scouts would be almost sure todiscover their trail. However, when the Mohawks passed by withinbow-length of them the lads took hope. When they had gone from hearing,Running Fox sprang to his feet and called upon Spotted Deer to followhim.
"Come, we must fool those warriors, and get a good start," he said.
They ran directly along the trail, being careful to leave plenty oftracks. They had not gone far, however, before they heard the shrill cryof Nianque, the lynx, ringing through the woods behind them.
"That is a danger signal," Running Fox declared, excitedly. "Thosewarriors have found our trail. Now we must run far back into the woodsand hide."
They turned from the trail, and sped through the forest like frighteneddeer. Then the lynx cry again sounded from the trail, and in a fewmoments they heard it answered from the north. They knew that thewarriors who had discovered their trail had warned their comrade, andthey believed that they would soon be pursued.