"I can make it, don't worry about that," answered the old frontiersman, confidently.
The matter was talked over, and it was decided that Jadwin should leave at once, before it became too light. He departed by way of a small tunnel which had been dug under the palisade and which came out of the ground in a hollow tree on the edge of the forest. This tunnel was something new, having been dug at James Morris's direction immediately after the traders return to the post during the previous summer.
"The Indians may be in camp near that tree," said the trader. "If so, you'll have your hands full keeping out of their sight."
As it happened some of the red men were close to the hollow tree when Jadwin reached the outer end of the tunnel. But he outwitted them by climbing up inside the tree and then swinging from that tree to the next, from which he dropped behind some brushwood and sneaked away without the Indians suspecting his movements.
The coming of morning was hailed with relief by those inside the trading-post. The vigil of the night had been an exacting one and all were more or less worn out. But sleep was as yet out of the question.
"We must keep awake until we hear from Jadwin," said James Morris. "I trust he returns by the middle of the afternoon."
Asked by his uncle to do so, Henry prepared a hasty breakfast for all hands, of which they partook freely. It was scarcely finished when one of the frontiersmen, stationed near the gates, announced that an Indian was showing himself, bearing a branch and a white flag.
"What do you want?" called out James Morris, as he showed himself at the gates.
"Want to talk to white brother," answered the red man.
"Go ahead and talk, but don't come any closer."