The plan worked out well. The dogs swallowed the pieces of meat greedily, and when Fred coaxed them with friendly words, spoken in Pequot, they wagged their tails and showed signs of conciliation.
Slowly Fred crawled out of the log, still feeding the hungry animals of the meat that remained.
Soon he had succeeded in winning their friendship, and when Matthew finally came out from the retreat, the dogs were completely won over.
Together they walked on, the dogs following them, as if they had been friends for many years.
"If we could only get rid of these beasts," Matthew sighed; "they will finally betray us."
"We'll give them the slip soon enough, just as we did to their masters,"
Fred smiled; "wait."
The opportunity was soon granted them, for when suddenly a rabbit jumped out of the thicket, Fred sent them leaping after it, for he was well acquainted with the Indian way of hunting with dogs.
"Now we run straight forward, and the dogs will forget us and finally return to their masters."
They walked rapidly, and to their joy arrived after some time at the place where the log house had stood. While they had made no progress, they at least knew where they were, and could manage a way to reach Hartford.
"We must see whether our horses are still here," Fred said, as he hurried down the bank.