The expedition had to remain in camp for the best part of a week, and during that time provisions ran exceedingly low. To stock the larder several of the men, and also Dave and Henry, went out in the near-by woods and shot whatever came into sight. The two youths were fortunate in bringing down several wild turkeys of good size and also uncovered a sleeping bear that they killed with ease. This meat came in when the stock of provisions was at its lowest, and proved highly acceptable.
At last the trail seemed to be fit to use once more, and Joseph Morris ordered the advance to be made. It was hard walking, either on foot or on snowshoes, and many times the poor horses refused to go another step and had to rest for an hour at a time. Six miles were all they could cover the first day after starting, and the youths felt as tired as if they had walked five times that distance. Moving the sick stranger was a harder task than ever, but nobody thought of leaving him behind.
The second day, however, brought an improvement. They gained a small creek flowing into the Kinotah and followed this to the larger stream. Walking on the ice was easier than in the snow. Occasionally one or another would slip down, but nobody complained.
“We are at the old post!” cried Dave, as the burnt district came into view. They stopped for dinner on the spot, and then took their way down the Kinotah to the Ohio.
The weather was now moderating rapidly, so that during the middle of the day the sun was positively warm. Much of the snow turned to slush and water, freezing a little at night and thawing more than ever during the day. The surface of the river became wet, and Joseph Morris cautioned all against stepping on ice that might be rotten.
“If this weather keeps on it won’t be long before there is a spring freshet,” remarked Sam Barringford. “Queer how quickly things change in nature.”
“That big snowfall about wound up the winter,” answered Henry, and he was right, as it afterwards proved.
It was Joseph Morris’s plan to halt when about a mile from the trading post and then go forward with Sam Barringford and one or two others and reconnoiter the situation. As the expedition neared the post all kept on the alert for the possible appearance of Bevoir or any of his crowd.
“For all we know Moon Eye may not be in the post at all, but somewhere on the outside, on guard,” said Dave, who accompanied his uncle and Barringford when reconnoitering.
Mr. Morris, Barringford, and Dave advanced with extreme caution. It was another warm day, with the sun shining brightly and the snow melting rapidly on all sides. They kept among the bushes and trees until they came to a point where they could see a corner of the stockade plainly.