watched. Having reached this wise
conclusion he disappeared in the woods, seeking the second Indian, but
before the two could come together the canoe had worked loose and was
gone.

The three hidden in the bushes had watched the Indian as well as the
dusk would permit and they read his mind. They knew that when he turned
away he had gone for help and they knew equally well that it was time
for the full power of the current to take effect.

"Shove it off, Tayoga," whispered Willet, "and I think we'd better help
along with some strokes of our own."

"It is so," said Tayoga.

Now the wandering canoe was suddenly endowed with more life and purpose,
or else the current grew much swifter. After an uneasy stay with the
boughs, it left them quickly, sailed out toward the middle of the
stream, and floated at great speed between banks that were growing high
again. The friendly dark was also an increasing protection to the three
who were steering it. The heavy but rainless clouds continued to gather
over them, and the canoe sped on at accelerated speed in an opaque
atmosphere. A mile farther and Willet suggested that they get into the
canoe and paddle with all their might. The embarkation, a matter of
delicacy and difficulty, was made with success, and then they used the
paddles furiously.

The canoe, suddenly becoming a live thing, leaped forward in the water,
and sped down the stream, as if it were the leader in a race. Far behind
them rose a sudden war cry, and the three laughed.

"I suppose they've discovered in some way that we've fled," said Robert.

"That is so," said Tayoga.

"And they'll come down the river as fast as they can," said Willet, "but
they'll do no more business with us. I don't want to brag, but you can't
find three better paddlers in the wilderness than we are, and with a
mile start we ought soon to leave behind any number of warriors who have
to run through the woods and follow the windings of the stream."

"They cannot catch us now," said Tayoga, "and I will tell them so."

He uttered a war whoop so piercing and fierce that Robert was startled.
It cut the air like the slash of a sword, but it was a long cry, full of
varied meaning. It expressed satisfaction, triumph, a taunt for the foe,
and then it died away in a sinister note like a threat for any who tried
to follow. Willet laughed under his breath.

"That'll stir 'em, Tayoga," he said. "You put a little dart squarely in
their hearts, and