“Mayhew is right, Roger,” said Dick, “and the chances are as ten to one that we are heading straight for the big lake right now.”
For some time they made steady progress. Possibly they covered as much as two miles when the guide was suddenly observed to come to a full stop. Both of the boys followed suit. They were not ten feet behind Mayhew, so it was possible for them to exchange words with him in low tones. Dick it was who found his voice first, for Roger grew so excited he became dumb for the time being.
“What is it, Mayhew?” asked Dick, half-elevating his gun, which contained the only charge of powder and lead they possessed, and under such conditions might be looked on as their sole means of defense in case of threatening peril.
“There are Injuns near by,” came the answer. “I saw a feathered head rise above yonder bush; and, as I live, there are others on either side of us. It looks as though we were surrounded!”
CHAPTER XXX
ALLIES WITH COPPER-COLORED SKINS
When Mayhew made that dire announcement it sent a foreboding of coming trouble straight to the hearts of his young companions.
If the wily red men had succeeded in surrounding them, so that there was no chance of escape, they might as well give up all hope of saving themselves from capture. Poor Roger, who had so recently been brimming over with confidence concerning the ultimate success of their expedition to the camp of the Frenchmen, now found himself sinking once more into a pit of despair.