"Well, my brothers, we must try to find out about this thing," declared Running Fox. "It would be foolish to go ahead until we know about it. I am the leader. I will tell you what I propose to do. We must cross the water and talk with our friends. There is only one way to get over there. We must use this canoe. We cannot do that until we close that hole. Come, we will pull the canoe into the woods and fix it. Then we will wait until it gets dark. Then we will go to meet our friends."
They carried the canoe some distance into the woods. Then, while Dancing Owl watched the river, Running Fox and Yellow Wolf scouted through the woods searching for pitch. They found it in hard nodules on the trunks of many of the pines and spruces, and they soon gathered a sufficient quantity. Then they returned to Dancing Owl who said that he had seen nothing to cause alarm.
"It is good," said Running Fox. "Pretty soon we will be ready to go across the water."
They made a small fire between two logs and placed a large flat stone across them. When it became heated they placed the pitch upon it. It took a long time for the pitch to soften. When it finally began to melt they daubed it upon the ends of flattened sticks and hurried to the canoe. Then as Dancing Owl and Yellow Wolf held the jagged edges of the bark in place, Running Fox applied a thick coating of hot pitch over the tear. It was necessary to make many applications both on the inside and outside of the canoe to render it water-tight. When the task finally was completed the day was well advanced.
"Now we will cross the water and meet our friends," proposed Dancing Owl.
"No, my brother," Running Fox cautioned him. "We must wait. We made a fire. Perhaps the Mohawks saw the smoke. Perhaps they are watching the water. We will wait until it gets dark."
"Yes, we must wait," agreed Yellow Wolf.