The captain smiled on his old follower, and Joyce thought that never had he seen the fine manly face of his superior beam with a calmer, or sweeter expression, than it did as he returned his own pressure of the hand.  The two adventurers were both careful, and their descent was noiseless.  The men above listened, in breathless silence, but the stealthy approach of the cat upon the bird could not have been more still, than that, of these two experienced warriors.

The place where Joyce was left with the men, might have been fifty feet above the roof of the cabin, and almost perpendicularly over the narrow vacancy that was known to exist between the rocks and the lean-to.  Still the bushes and trees were so thick as to prevent the smallest glimpse at objects below, had the shape of the cliff allowed it, while they even intercepted sounds.  Joyce fancied, nevertheless, that he heard the rustling bushes, as the captain forced his way into the narrow space he was to occupy, and he augured well of the fact, since it proved that no opposition had been encountered.  Half an hour of forest silence followed, that was only interrupted by the tumbling of the waters over the natural dam.  At the end of that weary period, a shout was heard in front of the mills, and the party raised their pieces, in a vague apprehension that some discovery had been made that was about to bring on a crisis.  Nothing further occurred, however, to confirm this impression, and an occasional burst of laughter, that evidently came from white men, rather served to allay the apprehension.

Another half-hour passed, during which no interruption was heard.  By this time Joyce became uneasy, a state of things having arrived for which no provision had been made in his instructions.  He was about to leave his command under the charge of Jamie, and descend himself to reconnoitre, when a footstep was heard coming up the path.  Nothing but the deep attention, and breathless stillness of the men could have rendered the sound of a tread so nearly noiseless, audible; but heard it was, at a moment when every sense was wrought up to its greatest powers.  Rifles were lowered, in readiness to receive assailants, but each was raised again, as Nick came slowly into view.  The Tuscarora was calm in manner, as if no incident had occurred to disconcert the arrangement, though his eyes glanced around him, like those of a man who searched for an absent person.

“Where cap’in?—­Where major?” Nick asked, as soon as his glance had taken in the faces of all present.

“We must ask that of you, Nick,” returned Joyce.  “We have not seen the captain, nor had any orders from him, since he left us.”

This answer seemed to cause the Indian more surprise than it was usual for him to betray, and he pondered a moment in obvious uneasiness.

“Can’t stay here, alway,” he muttered.  “Best go see.  Bye’m-by trouble come; then, too late.”

The serjeant was greatly averse to moving without orders.  He had his instructions how to act in every probable contingency, but none that covered the case of absolute inaction on the part of those below.  Nevertheless, twice the time necessary to bring things to issue had gone by, and neither signal, shot, nor alarm had reached his ears.