But the morning passed without any demonstration from the forest.  Many of the boat builders began to believe it was a false alarm, and murmured at the continuous and hard labor on the breastworks, but Colden, knowing that Willet and his friends were to be trusted implicitly, held them to their tasks.  The hunter also looked into the question of food supply and found it ample.  They had brought much food with them from Albany and the forest had furnished much more.  There was no occasion for alarm on that point, since the siege could not be a long one.  Noon came and no sign of the enemy.  Willet began to think the attack would be postponed until night, as St. Luc doubtless had learned already that he could not carry the place by surprise.  But he relied most upon the word of Black Rifle who had not yet returned from the forest.  The dark scout came back about the middle of the afternoon, and he told Colden and Willet that he had seen nothing of Daganoweda and his Mohawks, though there were indications in the forest that they had defeated the Hurons the night before.  But St. Luc Was at hand, not much more than a mile away, where he had pitched a camp.  More French and Canadians had arrived and he now led a force of at least five hundred men, the great majority of whom were warriors.  He thought an attack would be made after dark, but in what form it was impossible to say.

“Which means,” said Colden, “that I must have sentinels who will never relax their vigilance.”

“Particularly as the night is going to be dark,” said Willet.  “There’s a haze over the lake now, and the sun will set in a mist.”

The twilight was heavy as he had predicted, and it was soon black on the mountains and the lake.  But within the camp fires were burning, throwing a cheerful light, and many guards were posted.  Crude but effective fortifications stretched all along the forest side of the camp, and Willet, Black Rifle and Tayoga were among the stumps in front of them.  No enemy would be able to hide there even in the night.  Wagons in which they had brought their supplies were drawn up in a circle, and would form an inner line of defense.  Robert was with Grosvenor and Wilton near the center of the camp.

“Knowing the French and Indians as I now do,” said Wilton, “I never doubt for an instant that an attack will come before morning.  My experience at Fort Refuge is sufficient indication.  It is strange that I, who was reared not to believe in fighting, should now be compelled to do it all the time.”

“And while my profession is fighting,” said Grosvenor, “I always expected to fight in the open fields of Europe and now I’m learning my trade in the deep forests of North America, where it’s quite another sort of business.  How long do you think it will be, Lennox, before we hear the owls hoot and the wolves bark?”

Robert laughed.

“We’ve had a lot of such signals in the last few days,” he replied, “but in this country battles are not always opened with ’em.  Still, I dare say we’ll hear ’em.”