Dropping behind a pace or two, he followed Stephen's movement in line with the tree. The Indian, fearing an assault, halted for a moment, and by this they gained several rods. The ruse was repeated two or three times, and they were now half-way to the fort.
Here Stephen seemed to be wellnigh exhausted and ready to despair. He said to John,
"Run ahead and save yourself. I'm a goner, anyway."
But the other replied:
"I'll not leave you. Don't give up. Keep up your heart and we'll beat them yet."
Bigfoot, feeling sure of his prey, had slackened his pace for the others to overtake him, and the four together were coming on rapidly. John now determined on the only plan which might possibly save them both. He said to Stephen:
"We must separate. As we pass the big hickory, do you bear to the right while I go to the left. Bigfoot will follow me, and you can outrun the others. When you strike the clearing, yell to warn the women. I'll do the same. Go it, now, and do your best!"
This plan gave the boy new hope, for Bigfoot had been his especial terror. As he thought, too, of his mother and sisters, and their danger, he sprang forward from the big hickory and ran bravely.
The savages paused a moment, and then, as John had foretold, the big Indian took the left course, followed by the swiftest of the others.