The thought disturbed him. He had planned to continue traveling through the night in the hope of gaining upon the Mohawks. Still he disliked to go ahead without hearing from the scouts on the other side of the river. He waited impatiently. Then he repeated the signal. Again it failed to bring an answer. Running Fox grew uneasy.
"It is mysterious," he told Yellow Wolf. "I do not know what to make of it. Perhaps something bad has happened to our friends. Perhaps the Mohawks were hiding over there."
"No, I do not believe anything has happened to our brothers," Yellow Wolf told him. "We came here very fast. We followed a trail. Our friends could not come so fast. It is hard going on the other side of the river. They fell behind. I believe they will come."
"Well, Yellow Wolf, I see that what you say may be true," said Running Fox.
Then for some moments he remained silent. His mind was filled with disturbing possibilities. He found it difficult to come to a decision. He realized that each moment of delay lessened his chance of overtaking the Mohawks. Still he wished to know what had happened to his friends. It seemed foolish to go ahead until he heard from them. It was possible that they might have encountered the Mohawks, or found Spotted Deer or some signs of him. Running Fox finally determined to wait.
The three scouts had barely seated themselves at the edge of the woods when they heard the call of Gokhos a short distance farther down the river. Their spirits rose at the sound, for they realized that their friends were safe.
"Our brothers have come," said Dancing Owl.
"It is good," Running Fox replied, with much relief.
A moment afterward he replied to the signal There was no answer. He had not expected any. Having located him he knew that his tribesmen would continue along the river in silence. Too many signals might arouse the suspicions of any foes who might be loitering in the vicinity.
"Come, my brothers, we will go ahead," said Running Fox. "When our friends come they will make the signal. When they do not hear anything they will know that we have gone. Then they will go ahead. We will keep going until we get to the place where the big fires were. Then we will stop and rest. When it gets light we will look around."