His thoughts were called from these speculations by the party having him in charge. They came to a halt, and acted as if they had discovered something of an alarming character. Several warriors darted to cover, as if in quest of something in the undergrowth, while the others stood listening and peering into the woods about them. It was natural that Ned should suspect the presence of Lena-Wingo when he saw this, and his heart beat high with the hope of some rescue organized by that scout, who was so fertile in all the expedients of the war-path. Had he reflected, he would have known that if the Mohawk had attempted any such thing, he would have managed it in such a way that the Iroquois would not have discovered it so readily. The halt lasted but a few minutes, when the warriors who had gone into cover so suddenly reappeared, a few words were exchanged, and the march was resumed.
"I'd like to know what all that was for," thought Ned. "We have come quite a distance," he added, looking up and about him, "and we ought to be very near the camp of Colonel Butler by this time."