he awoke
instantly when Robert touched him gently on the shoulder.

"What is it, Dagaeoga?" he whispered. "You have seen something! Your face
tells me so!"

"My face tells you the truth," replied Robert. "There is a valley only a
few hundred yards from us, and, in it, are about four hundred warriors,
armed for battle. All the signs indicate that they are going eastward in
search of our friends."

"You have done well, Dagaeoga. You have used both eye and mind. Was
Tandakora there?"

"No, but I'm convinced he soon will be."

"It appears likely. They think, perhaps, they are strong enough to
annihilate the rangers."

"Maybe they are, unless the rangers are warned. We ought to move at once."

"But the fog is too thick. We could not tell which way we were going. We
must not lose the trail of the Great Bear and Black Rifle, and, if the fog
lifts, we can regain it in the morning, going ahead of the war band."

"And then the warriors may pursue us."

"What does it matter, if we keep well ahead of them and overtake the Great
Bear and Black Rifle, who are surely going toward the rangers? We will put
out the fire, Dagaeoga, and stay here. The fog protects us. Now, you sleep
and I will watch."

His calmness was reassuring, and it was true that the fog was an almost
certain protection, while it lasted. They smothered the fire carefully, and
then, Robert was sufficient master of his nerves, to go to sleep, wrapped
in the invaluable buffalo robe. The Onondaga kept vigilant watch. His own
ear, too, heard the occasional sound made by human beings in the valley
below, but he did not stir from his place. He had absolute confidence in
Robert's report, and he would not take any unnecessary risk.

An hour or two before dawn a wind began to rise, and Tayoga knew by feeling
rather than sight that the fog was beginning to thin. If the wind held, it
would all blow away by sunrise, and the rain with it. He awakened Robert at
once.

"I think we would better move now," he said. "We shall soon be able to see
our way, and a good start ahead of the war band is important."

They made a northward curve, passing around the valley, in which the camp
of the warriors lay, and, when the sun showed its first luminous edge over
the horizon, they were several miles ahead. The steady wind had carried all
the fog and rain to the southward, but the forest was still wet and
dripping.

"And now," said Tayoga, "we must pick up anew the trail of the