Half-King, and White Thunder (who was here) and the others, were in Mingo war-paint, like Scarouady. That looked serious. Sitting, the Hunter fished into the little hide sack that he carried inside his shirt, and he, too, daubed his cheeks with vermilion. He had told Washington that he would be Indian again; and now Indian he was.
Then, after what seemed like another long time, without any warning sound two figures suddenly stepped from the dark into the fire-light. They were the Buck and Guyasuta, with rain-water running down their painted faces.
They sat. Pretty soon Half-King said:
“Guyasuta may tell us what he and the Buck found.”
“We followed the back trail of the two men and found where they came from,” reported Guyasuta. “They came from a company. The company will be camped not far away. We think it is the same company that was spying near Gist’s place.”
Tanacharison did not speak, for a minute. He was making up his mind. Then he said:
“You are right. The two men are going to the fort at the Forks. The company will wait till they return. If the English wish to fight, now is the time.” And he said to Robert: “You go back to Washington. Tell him his brothers the Mingo know where fifty of the French are, getting ready to strike him. Let him come here at once, with his men. We will show him how to surprise the French before they grow greater in number, for they have sent off two men whose tracks we have seen.”
Out went Robert, into the dark and rain. The camp of Washington in the Great Meadows was no distance at all, by day; he should have reached it in an hour; but to find it tonight was a very different matter. Before he saw its candles glimmer through the wet blackness he feared that he had lost it.
He did not waste any time with the sentries—he slipped through the lines without being hailed and was at Washington’s tent.