"I found that out long ago, but you don't know where he has gone?"
"No more than you. You seem interested."
"Well, Red Jack and me are old friends, and if I knowed where he was I might go out to hunt him up and give him a point or two about the lay of the land in these parts."
"I suppose you are acquainted with it all?"
"Well, I ain't the man to boast, and don't know that it is bragging to tell the truth. But if there is a spot I don't know all about in this neighborhood I'm ready to pay a good reward for a sight of the same."
"It seems to me you might be able to do us a good turn."
"I'll do anything in the world for you and the lady, if I have the chance. What have you in mind?"
"We feel that, as long as we occupy this position, we are in danger of being swooped down upon by the Iroquois—"
"You can bet on that! Didn't I tell you a minute ago how many narrer escapes I made while poking round in these woods? Why, it ain't an hour ago since I saw three Indians that must have been some of the painted Iroquois who are looking around for you!"
"Is that the case?" asked Jo Minturn, rising to his feet and walking closer to their visitor. "How far off were they?"