Sam Barringford, after that, related his night’s adventures in detail. At no time had the Indians seen him or suspected his presence, and he had been so close that he had even stolen a gun belonging to one of them, a weapon of ancient French make, which he now had with him.
Having no desire to run into the “hornets’ nest” which the old frontiersman had described, Joseph Morris determined to move onward by another route. This suited Barringford, but he was of a mind to attack the Indians because of the plot they had concocted.
“We must teach ’em a lesson,” he said. “If we don’t, it won’t be safe travelin’ for us at any time.”
This was considered sound advice by many present, and in the end it was decided that six men should climb the hill ahead, coming out above the Indians if possible. The rest of the expedition, in the meantime, was to move onward around the cliff, making a wide detour, to avoid all possible contact with the enemy.
“I want to go with Sam,” said Henry to his father, and was at last permitted to accompany the old frontiersman. Dave had to remain with the others, to help take care of the horses and the sick man.
Sam Barringford knew exactly where he was going, having traveled the ground several times in the past. He was a natural-born woodsman, and never forgot a locality once he had visited it. To him trees and rocks were the same as signboards to a dweller in the city. The only time he got lost was when a territory was entirely new to him.
The way was by no means an easy one and, when the top of the hill was reached, the tramp through the snow had taken the wind out of more than one of the detachment. The men and Henry rested for a few minutes, and then, cautioned by Barringford, moved slowly and cautiously over the hilltop in the direction of the trail far below.
“Halt!” whispered Sam Barringford, presently. “I see an Injun!” And he pointed out the red warrior two hundred feet or more below them.
The Indian was watching the trail below, and soon he was joined by ten or a dozen others. The Indians were totally unconscious of the fact that some white men were looking down upon them, and their eyes were fixed steadfastly upon the trail below, watching for the first appearance of the Morris expedition.
“What a trap!” murmured Henry. “Had we been caught in it, nothing could have saved us.”