"We do not know," replied the woman, sadly; "but a tale spread, coming out of darkness throughout which none could see, that the Black Eagle had gone against our brethren, the Mohawks and Onondagas. It was said they had unburied the hatchet, and cut down the tree of peace before the door of the Oneidas."
Otaitsa clasped her hands together, bent her head, and took some steps toward the door of the lodge, and then, turning to the two men who had followed her, she said, bitterly: "And ye were absent when the Black Eagle called for warriors! Ye were right, for ye are women, and have only courage to torment a captive."
Thus saying, she passed on with a quiet step into the lodge, and there, when no eye could see her, gave way in tears to all the sad and bitter feelings of her heart.
CHAPTER XX
Through the widespread woods which lay between the extensive territory occupied by the Mohawks and the beautiful land of the Oneidas, early in the morning of the day, some of the events of which have been already recorded, a small troop of Indians glided along in their usual stealthy manner. They were in their garments of peace. Each was fully clothed according to the Indian mode, and the many-colored mat of ceremony hung from their shoulders as they passed along, somewhat encumbering them in their progress. They took the narrow trails; but yet it was not so easy for them to conceal themselves, if such was their object, as it might have been in another dress and at another time; for, except when passing a still brilliant maple, or a rich brown oak, the gaudy coloring of their clothing showed itself strongly either against the dark evergreens or the white snow.
The party had apparently traveled from night into day, for as soon as the morning dawned the head man of the five stopped, and, without changing his position--and thus avoiding the necessity of making fresh prints in the snow-conversed over his shoulder with those behind him. Their conversation was brief, and might be translated into modern English thus:
"Shall we halt here, or go on farther? The day's eyes are open in the east."
"Stay here till noon," said an elder man behind him. "The Oneidas always go to their lodge in the middle of the day. They are children. They require sleep when the sun is high."
Another voice repeated the same advice, and springing one by one from the trail into the thicket, they gathered together under a wide-spreading hemlock, where the ground was free from snow, and seated themselves in a circle beneath the branches. There they passed their time nearly in silence. Some food was produced, and also some rum, the fatal gift of the English; but very few words were uttered, and the only sentences worth recording were:
"Art thou quite sure of the spot, brother?"