He seized a number of brittle twigs and began to break them, while he stamped upon others with his feet. The noise made it appear as if the Delawares were leaving the shelter. Deceived by the trick, a number of alert Mohawk scouts peeped anxiously from behind their trees. The Delawares laughed softly as they discovered them. Aware that they had been tricked, the enraged Mohawks sent a harmless volley of arrows into the barricade.
"Hi, hi, that made them mad," laughed Crooked Foot.
For a long time afterward they saw nothing further of their foes. They had little doubt that the scouts still kept watch behind the trees, but they were anxious to know what had become of the tricky Mohawk leader and the rest of the war party. More than half of the day had passed, and the Delawares believed there was slight danger of attack before night. Their minds turned to Running Fox and their people. They believed that he had reached the camp, and that a great war party of Delawares was already speeding to their rescue.
"If the Mohawks wait a little longer, we will fool them," said Dancing Owl.
"Perhaps they will creep up to us when it gets dark," Spotted Deer told him.
"Perhaps our people will come by that time," suggested Turning Eagle.
"No, they cannot get here so quick," declared Yellow Owl. "I have been thinking about it. If Running Fox got to the camp I believe they will come soon after the next sun appears. That is a long time to wait. I believe the Mohawks will try to do some big things before the night goes away."
At that moment they suddenly learned what had become of the crafty Mohawk leader and the warriors who had followed him to the edge of the swamp. A ringing shout rose behind them. They turned to find a company of Mohawks rushing upon them. At the same time the warriors who had been concealed behind the trees ran in from the opposite direction. Attacked from both sides, the Delawares were momentarily bewildered. Their foes were at the barricade before they recovered from their surprise.
"Come, Delawares, fight for your lives!" cried Spotted Deer.
The Mohawks had abandoned their caution and were exposing themselves with unusual recklessness. Unable to reach their foes with arrows, they were attempting to force their way into the tangle of logs to beat down the Delawares with their war clubs. The fight soon became a fierce hand-to-hand struggle. The Delawares, however, had the advantage. Protected by the dense cover, they fought with a desperate ferocity that astonished their foes. Spotted Deer drove his arrow through a Mohawk who had clambered over the barricade and was about to crush his skull with his war club. Yellow Wolf seized another warrior and threw him back into the arms of his comrades. Crooked Foot and Turning Eagle fought side by side and drove back the Mohawks with a deadly volley of arrows. Dancing Owl struck down a warrior who was about to kill Yellow Wolf. Then the Mohawks gave way and rushed to cover. The attack ended as suddenly as it began.