CHAPTER XXVI
THE WHITE SHAWNEE AGAIN
Again turning to his left, Peleg, still followed by his friend, ran swiftly toward the border of the cornfield.
The cries and whoops in a measure had died away, and from what he could hear Peleg concluded that some of his friends had escaped from the field and were being pursued in their flight toward the fort.
When Peleg and Israel found they were near the road, on the opposite side of which stood the forest where the Indians had made their ambuscade, they peered cautiously in all directions, but were unable to see any of their enemies. That another band of warriors had followed in pursuit of the men who had escaped from the first attack and from the fight in the cornfield was most likely, they concluded.
Peleg whispered: "The safest place for us is where the Indians were hidden. They have gone from there and will not come back to look for any of us."
Israel nodded his head in assent, and, firmly grasping their rifles, the boys darted across the road and gained the shelter of the trees. When the two young scouts were convinced that their immediate presence had not been discovered, Peleg said to Israel: "Are you sure you can find your way if we again separate?"
"Yes," answered Israel. "But the Indians are between us and the fort. Do you think we can ever get through?"