It came from the direction of the very spot where he supposed his friends must now be.
The next moment he had sufficient proof that in this he was not mistaken.
A wild cry of terror and alarm, followed the shout of the savages, and then the report of a rifle, and soon after, that of a pistol.
The cry came from the lips of Mrs. Wilson and Ruth, and the shots must be fired by the settler and the Yankee.
The main body of the red-skins must have passed on before so noiselessly that they had not been observed, and these had lain in wait for the fugitives, who, all unsuspicious of danger in that direction, had walked directly into the ambush thus prepared for them.
For only a moment did the scout stand riveted to the earth, as though turned to stone by the knowledge of the fearful danger his friends were in.
The next, he had shot forward as straight as an arrow from a bow, directly for the spot from whence the tumult arose.
He heard the report of another rifle, which he doubted not was that of Ned, and then two or three in quick succession, which he thought must doubtless be in the hands of some of the savages.
The tumult continued until he was almost to the spot from whence it came, and then it suddenly ceased.
“What could this mean?” he asked of himself, as he came to a sudden halt.