"They are very sly and very brave," Spotted Deer cautioned him. "I believe they are getting ready to do something. We must watch sharp."
They waited in great anxiety to learn what their foes intended to do. The delay encouraged them. They felt sure that Running Fox was speeding toward the Delaware camp, and the thought made them strong. Once advised of their predicament, they knew that their people would make desperate efforts to arrive at the swamp in time to save them. The longer the Mohawks postponed the attack, therefore, the stronger became the hopes of the Delawares.
"Perhaps they will hold off until it gets dark again," suggested Dancing Owl.
"No, I do not believe it," said Spotted Deer. "They are talking about how to do this thing."
Soon afterward the Mohawks returned within bow-range. They commenced to taunt and threaten and sing their war songs. Then they began to move closer. The heavy stand of timber offered them splendid shelter. They darted quickly from tree to tree, and the Delawares caught only swift, momentary glimpses of them. It was a crafty, cautious method of attack which enabled the Mohawks to advance upon their foes with little peril to themselves.
"They are getting close, we must stop them," Crooked Foot said, anxiously.
"Wait," cautioned Spotted Deer. "If you shoot your arrows you will hit the trees. Wait until the Mohawks rush in."
He had barely finished speaking when an arrow imbedded itself in the tree trunk behind which he crouched. He had been seen by one of the Mohawks. The thought made him more cautious. Aware that the Mohawks were watching for a chance to kill them from ambush, the Delawares realized that it might be fatal to expose themselves.
"Keep quiet," Spotted Deer warned them. "The Mohawks are watching sharp."
Then, for some time, neither Delawares nor Mohawks showed themselves. The former crouched low in their shelter, waiting for their enemies to begin the attack. The Mohawks stood behind trees with their arrows ready and their eyes fixed hopefully on the tangle of tree trunks which sheltered their foes. The Delawares were well pleased at the caution displayed by the Mohawks. They knew that each moment of delay increased their chances of rescue. Several times they saw the faces of their foes peering cautiously around the trees, but the mark was too small to warrant risking their arrows. Then some one addressed them in the Delaware dialect.