Hardly had he done so, when he saw the form of a burly French hunter stealing through the forest toward the spot where the attack had been made on the pack-train. Fortunately, the Frenchman did not look toward Dave, so he and his companions, and their steeds, were not discovered.
"That fellow is up to no good, that is certain," thought the youth, and lost no time in arousing his companions.
"A Frenchman, eh?" said Jadwin. "More"n likely one of the crowd come back to see if he can"t take away what was left of the loot."
Making no noise, they followed the Frenchman, who was dressed in the conventional garb of the hunters of the Great Lakes. The newcomer moved forward swiftly, and they had all they could do to keep up with him.
The spot reached, the Frenchman gazed around with evident dismay. Probably he had expected to see what had been left of the pack-train still there.
"Gone!" he muttered, in his native tongue. "I have had my trip of thirty miles for nothing."
After a careful look around, he returned to the forest, and set off at a quick pace in the direction from whence he had come.
"Shall we leap upon him and make him a prisoner?" asked Dave, in a whisper.
"No," replied Jadwin shortly. "Keep quiet."
Dave now understood what was in the trapper"s mind, and kept still, and in a moment more the Frenchman was out of sight, moving swiftly to the northwest.
"I will follow him on foot and blaze the trail with my hunting knife," said Jadwin, to Dave and Sanderson. "You can come after me with the horses. He will probably go straight to where the rest of the rascals are in camp."
In a minute Jadwin was off and the others were not slow to follow. As before mentioned, the trail led to the northwest, through an unusually thick growth of sycamores and hemlocks. Fortunately the way was well defined, being used by many wild beasts, in their trips between the Ohio and the Great Lakes.
The French hunter and trapper was a rapid walker, and Tadwin did not catch sight of the fellow for two hours after starting on the trail. Then he located the man sitting on a slight knoll, resting. He at once halted and kept his position until the Frenchman moved again, when he followed as before.
During the entire day the following was kept up in this fashion. Late in the afternoon the Frenchman stopped to prepare himself a meal, building a tiny fire between some stones for that purpose. Seeing this, Jadwin walked back a short distance and there met Dave and Sanderson, who had followed his blazed trail without difficulty.
"He"s a good walker," was Dave"s comment, as the three partook of food themselves. "How much further do you think he"ll go to-night?"
At this query Jadwin shrugged his shoulders. "Tell you that, Dave, after he goes to sleep," he answered dryly.
The horses were tethered, and all three stole forward to take another look at the stranger. To their surprise he had sunk back in some bushes beside his little fire and was fast asleep.
"He is not going very much further to-night," whispered Dave. "Just listen to him snore!"
A consultation was held, and Dave was for stealing up while the man slept and seeing if his pockets contained anything which might lead to his ident.i.ty. Jadwin and Sanderson were willing, and watched the young pioneer with deep interest as he moved slowly forward, screening himself by the very bushes that served the sleeping man as bed and pillow.
The Frenchman slept soundly, so the youth ran but a small risk of awakening him. With great caution he searched one pocket after another, finding a small amount of silver and several letters. With these he returned to Jadwin and Sanderson, and the three withdrew to look over the communications.
Tony Jadwin could read a little French, and in his labored manner he spelt out the two letters Dave had captured. By these they learned that the Frenchman was named Louis Glotte and that he belonged at Detroit, the settlement taken from the French by the English after the fall of Montreal.
Both spoke of money to be made out of the English and were signed "Jean."
"That must mean Jean Bevoir!" cried Dave. "This Glotte must be another of Bevoir"s rascally companions."
"To be sure," put in Sanderson, "And Bevoir must mean the attack that was made on the pack-train."
"I think he will rejoin Bevoir by to-morrow sure," said Tony Jadwin. "And then we may learn what has become of Sam."
While one or another remained on guard during the night the others slept.
Dave, it must be admitted, was impatient to learn what had really become of his old frontier friend, and it was some time before he could bring himself to slumber. Near at hand was an owl hooting weirdly through the night.
Under ordinary circ.u.mstances they would have scared the bird away, but now they did not dare, for fear of arousing Louis Glotte"s suspicions.
The sun was just coming up when Sanderson called softly to the others.
"He"s moving," said the hunter, and in a few minutes Jadwin took to the trail as before, and the others came after with the horses.
The way was now more difficult than ever, and they had numerous small streams to cross. Then they came to a river, and before Jadwin could catch sight of the Frenchman again the fellow was in a canoe and hurrying to the other side.
"Now we are in a pickle truly," declared Dave. "How are we to get to the other side without a boat?"
"Wait until he"s out of sight and I will show you," answered Jadwin.
Louis Glotte soon disappeared among the bushes, and then Jadwin led the way to where a fallen tree lay. "Tie up the horses," he ordered, and it was done. Next the tree trunk was pushed into the stream and all straddled it.
By means of rude paddles cut from tree boughs they ferried themselves to the opposite sh.o.r.e.
"Wait! I see something!" murmured Dave, after having gone through the bushes which lined the water"s edge.
"So I do see something," came from Jadwin. "Lay low until I investigate, boys."
Dave and Sanderson secreted themselves in the bushes and waited. Tony Jadwin disappeared and it was the best part of half an hour before he returned.
"Just as I thought," he said. "The Frenchmen and the Indians have a village back there, on the bank of a creek that flows into this river. Jean Bevoir is there, and also Jacques Valette, and I rather think all the stolen goods are there also."
CHAPTER XX
GUARDING THE TRADING-POST
"Did you see anything of Sam Barringford?" asked Dave, who was just then thinking more of his old friend than of his father"s belongings.
"I did not. But I shouldn"t be surprised if those Frenchmen and redskins had some prisoners," answered Jadwin. "They have one wigwam that they are guarding closely. If it doesn"t contain prisoners, it contains something of great value."
For quarter of an hour the frontiersmen and Dave talked over the situation, but could not solve the problem of what was best to do next.
"To attack would be foolhardy, even if we hid ourselves among the trees,"
said Sanderson. "They"d drive us from cover sooner or later, and kill us."
"One of us might go back for help," suggested the young pioneer.
"I was thinking of that. But that would take time, and your father couldn"t spare enough men to make it worth while. As near as I can make out there are six Frenchmen in the camp and nineteen red men, or twenty-five fighters in all. The most we could muster up would be ten or a dozen. That would be two to one."
"If they have any captives, and especially Sam Barringford, I wish we could release them."
"Let us wait until nightfall," suggested Ira Sanderson. "Something may turn up."
Not far away was a slight rise of ground, and behind some bushes on this they hid themselves. From this quarter they could get a fair view of the village and note much of what was going on.