ON THE TRAIL
It was barely light when the anxious Delaware scouts hastened to the
river to study the tracks at the spot where the fire had been. Running
Fox spent only a few moments at that place. Then he moved along at the
edge of the water. He soon found the marks of several canoes, and
stopped to examine them. There were many tracks on the shore. It was
evident that the skillful young scout had found a clew. He crouched low
to the ground and studied the footprints with great care. His companions
watched hopefully. Then he suddenly left them, and went farther along
the river. He coursed to and fro between the woods and the water like an
eager wolf on the trail of game. At last he disappeared into the forest.
His friends waited patiently. They believed he was working out some clew
which he had discovered at the spot where the canoes had been lifted
from the water. It was a long time before he returned. Then they saw him
approaching slowly along the edge of the woods. He appeared to be
following a trail. In a few moments he called his friends. As they
joined him he crouched and pointed to several moccasin tracks which were
scarcely discernible on an open patch of ground.
"My friends, I have found out about this thing," Running Fox said, as
his eyes flashed excitedly. "Come, we will go back where those canoes
were, and I will tell you about it."
When they arrived at that spot, Running Fox again stooped to examine the
tracks. He seemed to be studying them even more carefully than before.
Several times he measured them with his hands. Then he rose and smiled
confidently at his friends.
"Yes, my brothers, I know about this thing," he said. "I will tell you
about it. I believe Spotted Deer was brought here in one of those
canoes. See, here are the tracks of some one who stepped out of one of
those canoes. He stood here by himself. Those other tracks are all
around him. I believe the warrior who stood alone was a prisoner. Those
other people stood around to look at him. I believe that prisoner was
Spotted Deer. I believe some one brought him across the water in a
canoe. My brothers, I do not believe the Mohawks had anything to do with
it."
His friends exclaimed in surprise. If Spotted Deer had been brought
there in a canoe, they believed it must have been the Mohawks who had
brought him. It was some moments before they recovered from their
astonishment. Then they began to question Running Fox.
"Who do you believe brought Spotted Deer here?" Painted Hawk asked him.
"The Shawnees," said Running Fox.
"Dancing Owl saw Mohawks in those canoes," Crooked Foot reminded him.
"Yes, I believe the words of Dancing Owl," declared Running Fox.
"Now you must listen close. When I saw these tracks I knew there
was a prisoner in one of those canoes. I believe it was Spotted
Deer. Turning Eagle says some people took him away toward
the-place-where-the-sun-sleeps. I believe it was the Shawnees. Then I
said, 'The Shawnees must have come in those canoes. That prisoner got
out of one of those canoes. Dancing Owl saw the Mohawks take the canoes
away. How did it happen? I will try to find out about it.' Then I went
along the river. I looked sharp. Pretty soon I found a track. Then I
found another. Then I found some more. They were coming this way. They
kept close to the woods. I saw where some one had been standing. Then I
said, 'These people stopped here to watch something. They were cautious.
I believe they were scouts.' I followed up those tracks. I went fast.
Pretty soon I came to a place where two canoes had been pushed into the
bushes. Then I began to think about it. Now I will tell you what I found
out.
"I believe the people who came here in those canoes were Shawnees. I
believe the people who came here on foot were Mohawks. I believe the
Shawnees took those canoes from the Mohawks. I believe the Shawnees saw
Spotted Deer. I believe some were ahead of him and some were behind him.
I believe the Shawnees who were ahead of Spotted Deer made those big
fires to light the river. Then he could not pass. I believe the other
Shawnees came up with him. I believe Spotted Deer tried to get away and
bumped into a rock. Then they caught him and brought him to the big
fire. Then they got afraid and stopped that fire. Then they went up into
the woods where Turning Eagle found those signs.
"Then I believe the Mohawks came down here after those canoes. They saw
the fires. They crept down through the woods. The Shawnees heard them
and ran away. Then the Mohawks took away the canoes. My friends, I
believe Spotted Deer is in the Shawnee camp. That is how I feel about
it."
"Running Fox, I believe what you say is true," Painted Hawk said,
excitedly. "You are as sharp as Woakus, the fox."
"Yes, yes, Running Fox has found out about it," declared the others.
"Well, my friends, there is no use talking about it," Running Fox told
them. "We must try to do something. Turning Eagle, show me the place
where those people were lying down."
They made their way into the woods and soon came upon the remains of the
fire behind the rock. Running Fox examined the signs. He agreed with
Turning Eagle that one of those who had slept there was a prisoner.
"It must have been Spotted Deer," declared Running Fox. "Now we must try
to find him. Come, we will follow those people."
He led the way along the trail. For some distance it was plain and easy
to follow, and Running Fox marveled at the carelessness of his foes. It
appeared that the travelers had little fear of being pursued.
"The Shawnees are like foolish old women," said Yellow Wolf. "They leave
many signs."
Toward the end of the day, however, the trail began to grow indistinct
and difficult to follow. The woods were freer from undergrowth and the
travelers seemed to have become more cautious. They had left few signs.
The Delawares were compelled to travel more slowly. Running Fox grew
impatient at the delay.
"It is bad," he said, irritably. "It will take us a long time to reach
the Shawnee village. Perhaps it will be too late to help Spotted Deer."
"If Spotted Deer is with these people, perhaps he will leave a sign,"
suggested Turning Eagle.
"I am watching sharp," Running Fox told him.
Soon afterward they lost the trail on a barren, rocky hillside. There
were neither tracks nor signs to guide them, and they halted in dismay.
Then they separated and began to search. Some moved along the slope,
others went along the summit of the ridge.
"Perhaps it is a trick," Crooked Foot said suspiciously. "Perhaps those
people have turned off. Perhaps they are not Shawnees."
The possibility was disturbing. Running Fox, however, felt confident. He
believed they would find the trail at the base of the ridge. His hopes
were verified when Turning Eagle suddenly called:
"Here are tracks," he said.
They hurried down the hillside and found the trail continuing toward the
west. They followed it until the end of the day when it led them to a
little stream that flowed from the north. Running Fox stopped and looked
sharply at Dancing Owl. Dancing Owl nodded understandingly. It was a
familiar spot.
"This is the place where Running Fox and Spotted Deer took me away from
the Shawnees," he told his companions. "They were very brave. They
fought back many Shawnees."
The year previous, Dancing Owl had been captured by the Shawnees, who
were taking him to their village, when Running Fox and Spotted Deer
discovered his plight. They followed swiftly on the trail and overtook
their foes at the stream. Then the daring Delawares crossed the water
below their enemies and concealed themselves in the bushes on the
opposite side of the stream. As the Shawnees were crossing, the two
young Delawares made a fierce attack from ambush and threw the Shawnees
into such confusion that Dancing Owl was able to escape. Then the three
Delawares sped safely away while the bewildered Shawnees were hiding in
the woods in fear of an attack from a large war party of Delawares.
Dancing Owl told the story to his friends with great delight.
"It was a great thing to do," laughed Yellow Wolf. "The Delawares are
too sharp for the foolish Shawnees."
"Yes, yes," agreed Dancing Owl. "If Spotted Deer is alive we will fool
the Shawnees and carry him away."
"Well, if the Shawnees have killed Spotted Deer, I do not care what
becomes of me," declared Running Fox. "I will go into the Shawnee camp
and keep shooting my arrows at the Shawnees until they kill me."
As the day was almost at an end the Delawares decided to spend the night
beside the stream. Aware that the Shawnees might send scouts back along
the trail to make sure that they had not been followed, Running Fox
determined to take precautions.
"My friends, it would be foolish to stay here," he said. "I see that
those people stopped here. Perhaps some of them will come back and find
us. We will go along the water until we feel safe."
"It is good," said Painted Hawk.
They moved a considerable distance down the stream until they came to a
dense stand of spruces. The heavy forest offered a splendid hiding
place, and they determined to remain there until daylight. The night
passed without alarm, and at dawn they crossed the stream. Then they
again set out along the trail.
"We must look sharp," cautioned Running Fox. "Perhaps scouts have stayed
behind to watch. If they see us they will run to their people. Then they
will kill Spotted Deer."
They saw nothing to arouse their suspicions, and at sunset they stopped
at a little spring in the bottom of a wooded ravine. They soon found
signs which made it plain that their foes had spent the night at that
place.
"These people did not make a fire," said Running Fox. "I believe they
were afraid. Perhaps they thought some one was close behind them."
"Perhaps some of the Mohawks followed them," Crooked Foot told him.
"No," replied Running Fox. "Those Mohawks came to get their canoes. When
they got them they went away. They were close to our village. They were
afraid of our people."
"Yes, I saw them go away," said Dancing Owl.
They spent the night in the ravine, and at dawn they again set out on
the trail. It was not long before they found signs which gave evidence
that the Shawnees were advancing with less caution. The Delawares
believed that they were approaching the Shawnee camp. The thought roused
them to their peril. They realized that at any moment they might
encounter a company of Shawnee scouts.
"We have come into the country of our enemies," running Fox warned them.
"We must watch out."
A moment later he stopped suddenly and picked something from the ground.
He stared at it in amazement. Then his face lighted with joy. He began
to laugh. He held a buckskin knife-sheath above his head.
"See!" he cried, "Spotted Deer has left a sign. This thing belongs to
him."
His companions crowded eagerly about him. They passed the knife-sheath
from one to the other. It was of Delaware workmanship and bore a design
similar to the one which they had seen on the blade of the paddle. There
was no doubt that it belonged to Spotted Deer. They felt sure that the
crafty young warrior had purposely dropped it to guide them on the
trail. The thought filled them with hope.
"It is good," said Running Fox. "Now we know that Spotted Deer is in the
Shawnee camp."
Although he fully understood the peril to which Spotted Deer was
exposed, Running Fox was greatly relieved to know that his friend had
escaped falling into the hands of the Mohawks. Aware of the intense
hatred which those fierce foes had for Spotted Deer and himself, he knew
that they would have wasted little time before taking vengeance upon the
unfortunate captive. He was somewhat more hopeful, however, of finding
Spotted Deer alive in the Shawnee camp.
"Here are more signs," he told his friends.
They loitered for a moment to examine a freshly broken branch. It had
been twisted toward the west. They knew, at once, that it was the work
of Spotted Deer.
"The Shawnees have untied the hands of Spotted Deer," laughed Yellow
Wolf. "See how he is using them."
They continued to find other clews. Bent twigs, broken branches and
loosened stones appeared at frequent intervals. The trail, too, had
become wide and plain. It was evident that Spotted Deer was using his
feet as well as his hands to leave signals for his friends. His
stratagem made it possible for them to hurry along with little
uncertainty. Then they came to a spot where the undergrowth was broken
and trampled. They stopped to examine it.
"Some one fell down at this place," Running Fox said, soberly.
He stooped and began to look closely at the broken bushes. Then he
examined the ground. His companions believed that he was searching for
evidence to prove that Spotted Deer had been injured. They, too, looked
upon the spot with alarm. They feared that the Shawnees might have
suddenly detected Spotted Deer in the act of leaving a clew, and struck
him down in their anger.
"Perhaps the Shawnees have killed our brother," said Running Fox, as his
eyes flashed threateningly. "Come, look through the bushes."
Alarmed by his words, the Delawares separated and circled carefully
about the spot. They searched faithfully but found nothing to confirm
their fears.
"It is good," said Running Fox. "We will go ahead."
New clews assured them that Spotted Deer had passed the spot in safety.
Encouraged by the thought, they rushed along at a furious pace. Running
Fox was determined to reach the Shawnee village at the earliest possible
moment.
"We must go fast," he said. "Perhaps the Shawnees are about to kill
Spotted Deer."
The possibility roused the Delawares to frantic efforts and they sped
through the woods with no thought of fatigue. Shortly after midday they
came upon the place where the Shawnees had spent the third night. They
saw the ashes from a fire, and they believed that the nearness of the
village had made the Shawnees bold.
"Come, we must go faster," cried Running Fox, as he hurried on.
Darkness had already fallen when they finally stopped on the summit of a
steep, wooded ridge. Then as they looked down into the valley on the
other side, they suddenly discovered the fires in the Shawnee village.
For some moments they looked in silence. They thought of Spotted Deer
and their hearts filled with ominous doubts. Was he still alive?
"Well, my brothers, there is the camp of our enemies, the Shawnees,"
said Running Fox. "Pretty soon some of us will go down there and try to
find Spotted Deer. If he is alive, we will take him away. If he is dead,
I will rush into the camp and kill many Shawnees."