"So it would be, Great Bear, but others are coming up from the south, and we would go directly into their arms."
"What do you mean, Tayoga?"
"A number of men are advancing, and I think they are warriors."
"Then we have merely slipped out of one trap to fall into another."
"It is possible, Great Bear. It is also possible that those who come are friends. Let me put my ear to the earth, which is the bringer of sound. It is clear to me that those who walk toward us are warriors. White men would not tread so lightly. I do not think, Great Bear, that any force of the Indians who are allied with the French would be coming up from the south, and the chances are that these be friends."
He sent forth the call of a bird, a beautiful, clear note, and it was answered instantly with a note as clear and as beautiful.
"They are friends!" said Tayoga joyfully. "These be the Ganeagaono!"
"Ganeagaono?" exclaimed Grosvenor.
"Mohawks," explained Robert. "The Keepers of the Eastern Gate. The leading warriors of the Six Nations and friends of ours. We are, in truth, in luck."
Ten dusky figures came forward to meet them, and with great joy Robert recognized in the leader the fierce young Mohawk chief, Daganoweda, who once before had come to their help in a crisis. But it was Tayoga who welcomed him first.