“It was Ira!” he cried, and retraced his steps to the stream, expecting to meet his grandson on the way. Disappointed in this, he crossed the river to the scene of the death dance. There was the tree that had been used as a stake, the scattered wood, the severed cords, but no prisoner.
“I know who it was,” he muttered, after carefully examining the clearing. “It was that other young devil, Joe Fisher. He not only in some way learned about Ira’s cross; but has got one in imitation of it, and just fooled those redskins to rescue the prisoner.”
In his rage he hurried back to Colonel St. Leger’s tent with the tale.
“A skilful trick,” was the only comment of that officer, who, now that his anger had cooled, was secretly glad the young scout had been saved from a terrible death.
“But you ought to send out men to find and make certain both are burned at the stake,” Master Daggett growled.
“Look here, my friend,” the colonel replied, becoming tired of the constant interference of his guest, “why don’t you search for them? When you have located the lads, I’ll give you as many men as may be needed to capture them.”
“A capital suggestion, colonel,” the half-crazy man cried. “I’ll do it. Good luck to you, as well as to myself,” and he hurried away to the tent he shared with his son-in-law.
Hiram Le Geyt was within, and listened eagerly to the story his father-in-law poured forth while making ready for the tramp. He took the same view of Late Wentworth’s rescue that the older Tory had; but it suggested to him two possibilities which had not entered the former’s mind. Had something happened to his son, and the talisman fallen into rebel hands? The question awakened his fears, and he decided to visit Burgoyne’s camp at the first opportunity. Then again, might not the announcement of an approaching army of rebels so fill the Indians with alarm, that they would desert Colonel St. Leger, leaving him with a force too small to cope with the Yankees?
Like his son Ira, he was familiar with the language of the savages, and, leaving his father-in-law to follow out his own whims, he hastened to the encampment of the dusky allies. He found that the tidings of a coming army had already spread among the savages like wild-fire, and although none had yet started for their villages, there was an uneasiness among the entire company which betokened grave disaster.
Doing what he could to allay the fears among the braves, he learned some facts which greatly mystified him. The description which the warriors gave of the person who had so suddenly come among them, did not accord with the ideas he had formed of young Fisher’s appearance, while what the Indians had to say about the man who had given them the friendly warning, did tally well with the likeness of his own son. Could it be that his father-in-law had made a mistake? If so, why had Ira set the captive free? Where had he gone? Was the report of a great force, coming to the rescue of the fort correct? Perplexed by the many questions which were crowding into his mind, he turned abruptly on his heel and went back to the British camp to talk the matter over with Colonel St. Leger. He found the officer so little disturbed by the strange occurrence that he was angered.