CHAPTER VIII—A NARROW ESCAPE
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.