Habakkuk McEwen entered upon his strange mission with ardor. A few
seconds carried him beyond sight of the fire, and he pushed forward
until fully two hundred yards distant, when he paused, and listened.
He heard nothing of the Iroquois, who could not be far away.
"Over yonder lies the trail that leads to Stroudsburg," he said to
himself, "and this is the first fair start that I've had since getting
into this neighborhood. Such a promise as I made ain't binding; the way
Fred Godfrey has been going on, I think he's able to take care of
himself, and it's about time I did the same. I'm off for Stroudsburg,
and nothing short of an earthquake shall stop me _this_ time."
And thereupon he started like a frightened deer through the dark woods,
with the resolve that when the morrow's sun should rise he would be
many a mile to the eastward, and far beyond the reach of Jake Golcher
and his Senecas.
Meanwhile, Fred Godfrey, having done such good service for his friend,
was equally alert in making the most of it. He did not forget that the
sound of his rifle would direct the Senecas to the spot whence it came,
and should he remain five minutes in the tree he would be at their
mercy.
Consequently, the smoke had scarcely risen from the muzzle of his
weapon, and the death-shriek of bloody Black Turtle was yet echoing on
the air, when he came down as nimbly as a monkey and hurried from the
spot.
The shot that he had fired was one of those unexpected things that
startled the Senecas into temporary inaction, just enough to serve a
quick-witted person like Fred Godfrey.
He was loath to leave the vicinity of the camp, but self-preservation
commanded it, and he did not pause until a safe distance away.
His dread was that the Senecas would take revenge upon the whites for
the death of their comrade, and the youth meant to return to a position
that would enable him to interfere again, even though the risk were
tenfold greater than before.
But Fred had not listened more than a couple of minutes when he was
detected by an Indian, who must have followed him some distance through
the woods.
"Ugh! S'render--me kill!" growled the savage, bearing down upon him with
upraised tomahawk.
"Surrender, eh? That's the way I surrender!"
And, to the terror of the red man, he found the muzzle of a pistol
placed against his nose.
"Ugh! no shoot--me good Injun--ugh! Good Yengese!"
And the valiant fellow, ducking his head, and dodging from side to side,
like the Digger Indians of California, in the vain effort to distract
the aim of his enemy, went threshing through the wood without any regard
to noise or dignity.
Lieutenant Godfrey could have stopped his career without trouble, merely
by pressing the trigger; but he did not do so. He was a civilized
soldier.
"Go in peace," laughed Fred, putting his weapon away. "Heaven knows I do
not wish to take human life!"
As the youth had now reached a point where he could feel safe from his
pursuers, he proceeded to reload his rifle.
In the darkness it required care, and was a task compared to which that
of breech-loading of to-day is nothing. The few beams of moonlight that
had disclosed him and the Seneca to each other helped him to pour out
the powder from the horn around his waist, and to adjust the quantity in
the pan of his flintlock.
"If I continue this picking off of warriors, one at a time," muttered
Fred, "I will be able to thin them out before morning."
He was reminded of the delicacy of his position, by hearing low
whistling on his right.
"Doubtless that is the one I drove away," was his reflection. "He wants
to call some of his brothers before I leave, so he can reward me as an
Indian likes to reward one who shows him mercy. But, hello!"
Like a flash came the thought that the peculiar signals that had been
going on for some minutes were not those of an Indian, but of his
friend, Gravity Gimp.
"I do believe it is he, calling to me," said the lieutenant, as he
stationed himself in the shadow of a tree, and, holding his weapon ready
for use, cautiously answered the hail, which sounded clear and distinct
on the still summer night.
Instantly came the reply, and then he replied in turn, so that
communication was established, and whether the other was a friend or
foe, it became evident that he was approaching.
The lieutenant did not feel free from fear, for he was aware of the
subtlety of the foes against whom he was contending, and nothing was
more natural than that they should resort to such a simple artifice to
mislead him.
He therefore ceased answering the call when it came close, but held
himself ready to fire and withdraw the instant he should detect the
deception.
A figure was dimly seen in a small, moonlit space in front, advancing
upon him in a crouching posture. Fred fastened his eyes on the shadowy
outlines, and he grasped his gun with both hands.
Just then the half-bent man straightened up, and, with a relief that was
delightful, Fred recognized the form of Gravity Gimp, who had been
hunting and signaling so industriously for the last fifteen minutes.