to go and obtain the assistance of one of
his companions, should Rochford, in the meantime, not have arrived. He
was evidently anxious that none of us should accompany him, as we might
suspect that his friends were runaway blacks. Of course, he was not
aware that I was very well assured of that fact. We had barely time to
take a hurried breakfast when he returned, accompanied by another negro,
who undertook to put us on the Indians' trail. As there was not a
moment to be lost, we immediately mounted, and, led by the two blacks,
pushed on as fast as they could run. At last they stopped and pointed
to the north-west.

"Dis nigger say dat way dey go," said Pompey.

That he spoke the truth we had no doubt, as the trail was sufficiently
distinct even for us to distinguish. There were numerous footprints, as
well as the marks of a horse's hoofs.

"You find Massa Rochford, come back to de wood, we stay dar free days,
in case you want us," he added.

We thanked him for the assistance he had given us. He neither asked
for, nor evidently did he expect any, reward; indeed, had he done so, we
had nothing to give him.

He and his companion hurried away, anxious to escape the risk of
encountering any of the Indians, although the blacks were generally
treated kindly by the natives; and we pushed on at a much faster rate
than before.

At length we came to a spot where it was evident, from a still
smouldering fire, that the Indians had encamped during the previous
night, and had probably only lately left. The trail, which led off to
the right, showed that there were not more men than we could easily cope
with. We pushed on, therefore, in the hope of soon coming up with them,
and ascertaining whether Rochford was among them, and if so, whether he
was a prisoner or at liberty.

In a shorter time than we expected we caught sight of a party of
Redskins--there might have been about a dozen--with a man on horseback
in their midst. They did not appear to have discovered us, as the turf
over which we were galloping was soft, and prevented the sound of our
horses' hoofs being heard. As we got nearer, to my surprise I saw that
there were two men instead of one on the horse. The hindermost looked
round for a moment and caught a glimpse of us. His dress showed that he
was not an Indian, though he was at too great a distance to enable me to
distinguish his countenance. Suddenly the horse started off from among
the Indians on f