"You will have time enough to look them up after we have found out whether you are telling us the truth or not," declared Sam. "I have my suspicions that you are trying to get us into some trap, and as I told you before, if you are I shall fill you full of lead the first thing. If I find you are trying to trap us, you cannot complain if I do just what I tell you I shall do."
"Me no wan' go," repeated the young man.
"You are going whether you want to go or not," retorted Sam Oliver brutally. "Are you coming with us, Peleg?" he inquired, turning to the young scout.
"I am," said Peleg quietly. He had made his decision instantly in his desire to protect or help the young visitor, whose suffering in the prospect of being compelled to betray his father had deeply stirred the heart of the young hunter. Aware that there was no escape from the demand, the white Shawnee turned and led the way into the forest.
The men who were following him were continually alert, suspicious as they were of the treachery of their guide, and fearful of the presence of other Shawnees in the forest through which they were moving.
The confidence of Sam Oliver, who followed close upon the heels of the stranger, in a measure strengthened the courage of his followers.
Peleg, who was next behind the leader, was as observant of the hunter as he was of the signs in the woods. He was convinced, too, that the young stranger was using time either to delay his followers or to give them an opportunity to abandon their demand for him to be false to the foster-father who had cared for him since his childhood.
If such thoughts had been in the mind of the young white Shawnee they were not expressed and certainly were not fulfilled. There was no escaping the demands of Sam Oliver and his companions.
At last, when an hour or more had elapsed, the guide stopped and, raising his hand in token of silence, in a low voice explained that they were approaching the tree in which the iron kettle had been concealed.
Instantly the demeanour of the settlers changed and they began to creep forward more stealthily. Every man was alert to discover the presence of the Indian who still might be near the place where the kettle had been hidden.