“It is so,” said the Onondaga.

“Well, we’re thankful that his foul blow went wrong.  You’ve had a mighty narrow escape, Robert, my lad, but we’ve gained one good tomahawk which, you boys willing, I mean to take.”

Tayoga handed it to him, and with an air of satisfaction he put the weapon in his belt.

“I may have good use for it some day,” he said.  “The chance may come for me to throw it back to the savage who left it here.  And now, as our sleep is broken up for the night, I think we’d better scout the woods a bit, and then come back here for breakfast.”

They found nothing hostile in the forest, and when they returned to the hollow the thin gray edge of dawn showed on the far side of the lake.  Having no fear of further attack, they lighted a small fire and warmed their food.  As they ate day came in all its splendor and Robert saw the birds flashing back and forth in the thick leaves over his head.

“Where did the Ojibway get his canoe?” he asked.

“The Frenchmen like as not used it when they came down from Canada,” replied the hunter, “and left it hid to be used again when they went back.  It won’t be worth our while to look for it.  Besides, we’ve got to be moving soon.”

After breakfast they carried their own canoe to the lake and paddled northward to its end.  Then they took their craft a long portage across a range of hills and launched it anew on a swift stream flowing northward, on the current of which they traveled until nightfall, seeing throughout that time no sign of a human being.  It was the primeval wilderness, and since it lay between the British colonies on the south and the French on the north it had been abandoned almost wholly in the last year or two, letting the game, abundant at any time, increase greatly.  They saw deer in the thickets, they heard the splash of a beaver, and a black bear, sitting on a tiny island in the river, watched them as they passed.

On the second day after Robert’s escape from the tomahawk they left the river, made a long portage and entered another river, also flowing northward, having in mind a double purpose, to throw off the trail anyone who might be following them and to obtain a more direct course toward their journey’s end.  Knowing the dangers of the wilderness, they also increased their caution, traveling sometimes at night and lying in camp by day.

But they lived well.  All three knew the importance of preserving their strength, and to do so an abundance of food was the first requisite.  Tayoga shot another deer with the bow and arrow, and with the use of fishing tackle which they had brought in the canoe they made the river pay ample tribute.  They lighted the cooking fires, however, in the most sheltered places they could find, and invariably extinguished them as soon as possible.

“You can’t be too careful in the woods,” said Willet, “especially in times like these.  While the English and French are not yet fighting there’s always danger from the savages.”