At daylight the lads continued along the ridge upon which they had spent
the night, until they found a spot which offered them a long,
unobstructed view of the river. Then they settled themselves to watch
for their foes. The mysterious owl calls on the previous night had
convinced them that some of the Mohawks were still down the river, and
they hoped before long to see them. They waited patiently until half of
the day had passed, but no one appeared.
“Perhaps they are moving through the woods on foot,” suggested Spotted
Deer.
“Perhaps,” replied Running Fox. “We have watched a long time, but we
have 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 that
they 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 the
wind stirred the leaves; they strained their ears to catch a warning in
the most familiar sound. The fact that the Mohawk canoemen were painted
for war suggested the possibility of a large war-party somewhere near at
hand. The Delawares knew that under those circumstances many sharp-eyed
scouts were roaming through the woods on all sides of them.
Toward the end of the day the lads heard a wild turkey calling. It
seemed to be somewhere on a ridge to the eastward, and they stopped to
listen. It was a common sound in the woods about the Delaware camp, and
under other circumstances they would have given little attention to it.
However, with the owl calls fresh in their minds, the Delawares
immediately became suspicious. Running Fox placed his finger across his
lips, and looked warningly at Spotted Deer.
“I will keep as still as Achpoques, the wood mouse,” laughed Spotted
Deer, as he recalled his blunder with the owl calls.
They listened some time before the call was repeated, and then they were
unable to discover anything suspicious about it. Nevertheless they
determined to wait until they heard it again. The next time, however,
Running Fox thought he detected an unfamiliar note. He had hunted wild
turkeys since he was old enough to pull a bowstring, and he was an
expert at imitating their call.
“I do not like that,” he told Spotted Deer. “No, I do not believe it is
Gulukochsun.”
“Well, we will listen again,” said Spotted Deer. “I did not hear
anything wrong about it.”
However, as the familiar gobble again rolled through the woods Running
Fox 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 if
it came from the opposite side of the river. The lads looked at each
other and nodded significantly. When they heard the call a second time
they detected several strange notes that proclaimed it false. They felt
certain 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 over
here 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 both
calls were false. They believed that Iroquois scouts were again
exchanging 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 are
going to meet down there at the water. We will steal down there and have
a 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 that
the scout whom they had heard first was still somewhere behind them, and
they hoped to reach the river ahead of him, They moved swiftly,
therefore, watching and listening for the first warning of danger. When
they finally got within easy bow-shot of the water they concealed
themselves in a dense thicket of willows. Then they watched anxiously
for their enemies to appear. It was not long before they again heard the
turkey call on the other side of the river. A few moments after it had
ceased, an answering gobble sounded from the woods directly back of
them. It was so perfect that if they had heard it under any other
circumstances they would have been entirely deceived.
“Now watch sharp,” cautioned Running Fox.
At that instant they saw a solitary warrior moving swiftly along in the
shadow of the trees on the opposite shore. In a few moments he dragged a
canoe from the bushes, and paddled rapidly across the river. He had
barely landed before another warrior passed noiselessly within several
bow-lengths of the concealed Delawares, and joined him at the edge of
the water.
“They are Mohawks,” whispered Running Fox.
Spotted Deer was about to reply when one of the warriors suddenly turned
and looked directly toward their hiding place. The lads felt quite sure
that they had been discovered, and their hearts bounded wildly at the
thought. Still it seemed impossible for the low whisper from Running Fox
to have reached the figures at the edge of the water. However, after a
moment or so the warrior had again turned to his companion, and the lads
breathed easier. Then they heard a bird stirring about noisily in the
undergrowth, and they understood why the warrior had looked toward their
hiding place. They instantly realized the danger that threatened them,
for both warriors were now looking intently toward the willows. The
Delawares feared that in another moment their suspicious foes might
decide to investigate the sound. Discovery seemed near at hand. They
realized that they must do something to quiet the fears of their
enemies. There was not a moment to spare. The lads looked anxiously into
each other’s eyes. Then the bird resumed its noisy search for food. One
of the warriors prepared to send an arrow into the willows. At that
moment Running Fox discovered the bird scratching among the leaves. The
bird saw him at almost the same instant, and as he moved cautiously it
sounded an alarm and flew above the bushes. The Mohawk laughed and
lowered his bow. The danger had passed.
Spotted Deer started to say something, but Running Fox placed his finger
across his lips and warned him to be still. Their narrow escape had made
him doubly cautious, and he feared that the lightest whisper might reach
the sensitive ears of those alert scouts. They were conversing
earnestly, and although they talked in guarded tones the lads distinctly
heard the low unintelligible hum of their voices. They listened eagerly
for they would have given much to know what was being said. However, the
Mohawks were talking too cautiously to give them a clue. Besides, the
Delawares doubted that they would have understood the Iroquois dialect
even if they had heard it. Once the warrior who had crossed the river
swept his arm toward the west, and the lads believed that he was
describing something of importance which he had discovered in that
direction. The Delawares studied the two men closely. They saw at once
that they were not the warriors whom they had seen the previous day.
These Mohawks were both great stalwart men in the prime of life. Their
faces, too, were painted black in token of war. It was evident that they
were scouts searching the forest for signs of their foes. In a few
moments they entered the canoe, and poled it rapidly up the river.
“Come, we must follow them,” declared Running Fox. “I believe the
Mohawks are gathering a great war-party. We must find out where they
are.”
Once the canoemen had disappeared around a long wooded arm of the shore,
the Delawares left the willows, and hurried through the woods in pursuit
of them. They kept a safe distance from the water for they feared that
the crafty Mohawks might suddenly return on their trail to make sure
that no one was following them. The lads had a vague idea that they were
nearing the headwaters of the river, and they began to look for several
prominent landmarks which had been described to them. Toward evening
they saw the first of them, a great granite-topped mountain on the
opposite side of the river. They had often heard it mentioned by the
Delaware scouts, and they realized that they were close to the great
Mohawk trail, which began at the headwaters of the river and extended
many leagues into the north. They also knew that the Shawnees entered
that region from the westward, and their trails, too, were to be found
somewhere in the vast forest beyond the river. The young Delawares
realized, therefore, that each stride was taking them into more perilous
ground, 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 under
cover of the darkness. The possibility made them more daring, and they
hurried along closer to the river. They had not gone far, however, when
they discovered the Mohawks moving slowly along near the shore. Just
before dark they landed, and dragged the canoe into the shadows.
“I believe they will stay at that place until it gets light,” said
Running Fox.
“We will watch for their fire,” said Spotted Deer.
“They will not light a fire,” declared Running Fox. “Now I will tell you
what to do. It would be foolish to go any nearer to them, before it gets
light. We will stay where we are. When the light comes I will tell you
something else.”
“Well, you are the leader,” replied Spotted Deer. “I will listen to your
words.”
When it grew dark they crawled beneath the drooping branches of a large
spruce. Then as the night wore on, and they heard nothing from their
foes, they stole silently to the river. All was black, and still, and
mysterious, and they were glad to return to their hiding place beneath
the spruce.
As the first gray hint of dawn appeared in the east Running Fox awakened
Spotted Deer, and led the way to the river. They waded carefully into
the water and swam to the opposite shore. Then they stole silently
through the woods until they were opposite their enemies. Dropping to
their hands and knees, they crawled into the fringe of bushes that lined
the water. Then, as the light strengthened, and they peered eagerly
between the branches, they saw three overturned canoes dimly outlined in
the 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 the
shadows watching the river. Then he hastened across the narrow beach,
and dropped at the edge of the water to drink. As he rose he looked
across 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 heard
the calls of Gokhos, then that warrior and his friend were talking with
the warriors we followed here. Now they are all together. Pretty soon
they will meet the war-party.”
The Mohawk had already returned to the woods, and the lads watched
anxiously. Then they saw four figures gather about the canoes. They had
little difficulty in identifying them as the four scouts whom they had
seen previously. The Delawares were somewhat puzzled, however, when the
Mohawks carried two canoes to the water, and left the third lying at the
edge of the woods. Then three of the warriors entered the two canoes and
paddled up the river. The fourth Mohawk, whom the lads recognized as the
younger of the two who had searched for the canoe, remained behind. He
stood some moments looking after his companions, and when they passed
from sight he turned up the beach and disappeared into the forest.
“I believe the Mohawks have found some signs of the Shawnees,” declared
Running Fox. “They have left that warrior to watch. It is bad. Now we
cannot follow them. We must wait and see what he is going to do.”
“Perhaps he will wait there until the war-party appears,” said Spotted
Deer.
The possibility disturbed them, for they knew in that event they would
be in a serious predicament. It was a long time before their suspense
was ended. Then the Mohawk carried his canoe to the water, and
disappeared down the river. The Delawares had not expected that
maneuver, and they were unable to guess a reason for it.
“Perhaps the Mohawks have found the Shawnees, and that warrior has gone
to watch them,” suggested Spotted Deer.
“Perhaps,” replied Running Fox. “I do not like it. Perhaps there are
more Mohawks behind us. Yes, the war-party may be moving the other way.”
The thought alarmed them. As soon as the solitary warrior had passed
from sight, therefore, the Delawares hurried up the river on the trail
of his companions. When half of the day had passed they reached the
headwaters of the river. They had failed to overtake the Mohawks, and
they 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 find
their 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 they
found a narrow trail leading toward the north. When they stooped and
examined it they found evidence which convinced them that some one had
passed over it that very day. They had little doubt that it was the
three Mohawks whom they had followed up the river.
“Perhaps this is the trail that leads to the great Mohawk camp,” said
Spotted Deer.
“No, my father told me different,” declared Running Fox. “This trail
leads to a big lake. Beyond that there are no trails. It will be hard to
find the Mohawk camp.”
They were moving carefully along the trail when they were halted by the
sound of voices directly ahead of them. It was evident that the speakers
were almost upon them, and the startled lads darted into the bushes and
dropped to the ground. In a few moments they saw two of the Mohawk
canoemen returning along the trail. They were walking slowly and looking
intently at the ground. It looked as if they had dropped something, and
had come back to find it. The Delawares were on the verge of panic, for
they believed that the sharp-eyed scouts would be almost sure to
discover their trail. However, when the Mohawks passed by within
bow-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 follow
him.
“Come, we must fool those warriors, and get a good start,” he said.
They ran directly along the trail, being careful to leave plenty of
tracks. They had not gone far, however, before they heard the shrill cry
of Nianque, the lynx, ringing through the woods behind them.
“That is a danger signal,” Running Fox declared, excitedly. “Those
warriors have found our trail. Now we must run far back into the woods
and hide.”
They turned from the trail, and sped through the forest like frightened
deer. Then the lynx cry again sounded from the trail, and in a few
moments they heard it answered from the north. They knew that the
warriors who had discovered their trail had warned their comrade, and
they believed that they would soon be pursued.