“Did I not say you would be a sachem some day, Dagaeoga?  You have read aright.  An Onondaga warrior could not have done better.  The two lynxes are on a bough ten feet from the ground, and perhaps in their foolish hearts they think because they are so high above the earth that we cannot reach them.”

“You’re not going to shoot at ’em, Tayoga?  We don’t want to waste good bullets on a lynx.”

“Not I, Dagaeoga, but I will make them acquainted with something they will dread as much as bullets.  It’s right that those who come to look at us should be made to pay the price of it.”

“So you think that Monsieur and Madame Lynx have looked long enough at the illustrious three?”

“Yes, Dagaeoga.  It is time for them to go.  And since they do not go of their own will I must make them go.”

He snatched a long brand from the fire, and whirling it around his head, and shouting at the same time, he dashed toward an old dead tree some distance away.  Two stump-tailed, tuft-eared animals, uttering loud ferocious screams, leaped from the boughs and tore away through the thickets, terror stabbing at their hearts, as the circling flame of red pursued them.  Tayoga returned laughing.

“They will run and they will run,” he said, throwing down his brand.

“You don’t give ’em much chance to see us, Tayoga,” said the hunter.  “Since we’re on exhibition tonight you might have let ’em look and admire a while longer.”

“So I could, Great Bear, but I do not like the lynx.  Its habits are unpleasant, and its scream is harsh.  Hence, I drove the two of them away.”

“I suppose you’re right.  I don’t dare care much about ’em either.  Now we’ll rest and see what other visitors come to admire.”

Tayoga sat down again.  Their packs were put in a neat heap near the three, Robert’s and Willet’s swords, and Tayoga’s bow and arrows in their case resting on the top.  Robert threw more wood on the fire, and contentedly watched the great, glowing circle of light extend its circumference.

“We knew we’d find peace and rest here,” said Willet, “but we didn’t know we’d be watched and admired like people on the stage at a theater.”

“Have you seen many plays, Dave?” asked Robert.

“A lot, especially in London at Drury Lane and other theaters.”

“And so you know London, as well as Paris?”

“Well, yes, I’ve been there.  Some day, Robert, I’ll tell you more about both Paris and London and why I happened to be in such great cities, but not now.  We’ll keep our minds on the forest, which is worth our attention.  Don’t you hear a tread approaching, Tayoga?”

“Yes, Great Bear, and it’s very heavy.  A lord of the forest is coming.”

“A moose, think you, Tayoga?”

“Yes, Great Bear, a mighty bull, one far beyond the common size.  I can tell by his tread, and I think he is angry, or he would not march so boldly toward the fire.”