WAITING AND WATCHING
Although the mysterious stranger had assured them that the trail to the
top of the ridge was unguarded, the Delawares believed that the more
difficult route through the woods might be safer. As they began the
steep, exhausting climb, the clouds suddenly broke and Mauwallauwin
flooded the valley with his soft, mystic light.
"It is a good sign," declared Running Fox. "Great Mauwallauwin has sent
the light to show us the way."
When they finally reached the summit of the ridge they hastened to the
spot where they had left their friends. The latter were greatly
surprised at the sudden return.
"You have come back--it is good," said Painted Hawk. "Now I know that my
brother Spotted Deer is alive."
"Yes, he is alive," Running Fox told him.
"Did you see him?" Crooked Foot asked, eagerly.
"No," replied Running Fox.
"Then how do you know about it?" Turning Eagle inquired, curiously.
"Listen, my friends, I will tell you about it," said Running Fox.
"Something mysterious has happened to us. We were going to the Shawnee
camp. Then we heard the call of Gokhotit, the little red owl. It is the
signal which Spotted Deer makes. It was very soft. It came from the
timber. We stopped. I began to think about Spotted Deer. Then we heard
it again. We went toward the place where it was. We said, 'Perhaps it is
Spotted Deer.' We could not tell about it. We were very cautious. When
we got close, we got ready to fight. We said, 'Perhaps it is the
Shawnees.' Then I made the call. Pretty soon we heard it come back. It
was close by. Then I called out very soft. I said, 'Spotted Deer.'
Pretty soon some one talked to us. 'Spotted Deer is in the Shawnee
camp,' that person told us. It sounded like an old woman. We looked hard
but we could not see any one. It was very dark. Perhaps that is why we
could not see that person. Perhaps there was no one there. I cannot tell
about it. It sounded mysterious. We kept still. We did not know what to
do."
"Yes, yes, tell us about it," Turning Eagle said, eagerly, as Running
Fox paused.
"Well, my brothers, pretty soon that voice came again," said Running
Fox. "It said, 'Do not be afraid, Delawares. I have come here to help
you. Perhaps I can save Spotted Deer. You must listen to my words.'
"When we heard those words we did not know what to do. Then I called
out. I said, 'Who are you?'
"'The Shawnees call me the Mystery Woman,' that voice told us.
"Then I said, 'It is a Medicine Person.'
"Well, my friends, then we listened sharp. That person told us what we
went down there to find out about. Now I will tell you about it. Spotted
Deer is tied up in the Shawnee camp. The Shawnees will kill him when Big
Dog, the great Shawnee chief, returns from the hunt. Big Dog will cross
this ridge. Big Dog will go down that trail that Yellow Wolf told us
about. That mysterious person told us that we must not go to the camp.
Scouts are watching around the village. That person told us we would
surely be killed if we tried to go there.
"Then the voice stopped coming to us. We waited a long time. We listened
sharp. We did not hear anything. Then I called out. Nothing came back.
We waited a long time. Then I called out again. Nothing came back. Then
we heard the call of Gokhotit, the little red owl. It was far away near
the Shawnee village. Then we turned around and came here. Now I have
told you about it."
"Running Fox, if that person was a Medicine Person a great thing has
happened to you," said Crooked Foot. "It is mysterious."
"My brothers, I do not like this thing," Painted Hawk declared,
uneasily. "Perhaps that mysterious person was a Shawnee. Perhaps the
Shawnees are trying to catch us. Perhaps they are trying to keep us here
until a war party comes out from the village."
"Yes, I believe that is what they are trying to do," agreed Turning
Eagle. "We must watch out."
"My friends, I do not believe the Shawnees had anything to do with it,"
Running Fox told them. "Perhaps it was a mysterious Medicine Person.
Perhaps it was some one else. I do not know who it was. But I believe
that person came there to help us. I believe the words of that person.
Come, Yellow Wolf, you are a great warrior, tell us how you feel about
it."
"Yes, Yellow Wolf, you heard this thing, tell us about it," urged
Painted Hawk.
"My friends, I believe we must do what that person told us to do," said
Yellow Wolf. "I do not know who it was but I believe what Running Fox
says is true. I believe that person came there to help us."
"Running Fox, you are a great war leader; Yellow Wolf, you are a great
scout; we will listen to your words," said Painted Hawk.
"It is good," replied Running Fox. "Now I will tell you what I propose
to do. Yellow Wolf, you must lead us to that trail. Some of us will stay
at the top. Some of us will go down and watch below. Two must watch. The
rest must lie down and sleep. I will watch below. Yellow Wolf, you must
watch at the top. If the Shawnees try to come up that trail, I will hear
them. If Big Dog tries to go down that trail, Yellow Wolf will hear him.
I will ask Painted Hawk and Turning Eagle to go with me. Crooked Foot
and Dancing Owl must stay with Yellow Wolf."
Yellow Wolf led the way along the crest of the ridge until they came to
the place where the steep, narrow trail wound down the hillside. Then
they separated to carry out the instructions of Running Fox.
"If you hear the call of Gokhos three times, you will know that there is
danger," Running Fox explained as he departed down the hillside.
The Delawares took turns at watching through the night, but they neither
saw nor heard anything to alarm them. At daylight they met at the top of
the ridge. Then Running Fox announced another important discovery.
"My friends, when we were coming up here we found many tracks on that
trail," he said. "Yes, Spotted Deer went down there. We found his
tracks."
"How do you know that," Painted Hawk asked, curiously.
"We saw some places where some one slid along," said Running Fox. "That
person could not use his hands to hold himself back. Then we said, 'That
person was a prisoner.' Then we knew it was Spotted Deer."
Having passed the night without alarm, and discovered signs which seemed
to prove that Spotted Deer had passed along the trail, the Delawares
became less suspicious of the mysterious stranger. It appeared as if her
words had been verified.
"I believe what that mysterious person told us is true," said Turning
Eagle.
"Well, she did not send the Shawnees here," said Running Fox. "Perhaps
Big Dog will come. We must keep watching."
"Is Big Dog alone?" inquired Painted Hawk.
"No," said Running Fox. "Two warriors are with him. That mysterious
person told us about them. They are Many Beavers and Striking Bear. She
says they are very brave."
"If she knows these things, she must be a Shawnee," declared Crooked
Foot. "If she is a Shawnee, I believe she is trying to fool us."
"I believe she knows these things because she is a great Medicine
Person," Running Fox told him. "If she is a Shawnee, how does she know
about that signal? Spotted Deer did not tell the Shawnees about it. My
brothers, I do not know who that strange person is, but I believe she is
working against the Shawnees. I believe she is trying to help us."
His confidence quieted the suspicions of his friends. They, too, began
to rely upon the aid of the mysterious stranger. Having discovered them
near the village, it was evident that she had concealed the fact from
the Shawnees. The Delawares took hope in the thought.
"Well, we will wait here and see if her words come true," said Yellow
Wolf.
"Yes, we will watch for Big Dog," Running Fox told him.