"Well, that makes a different matter of it; do as you think best."
Believing that his sister had come to his view of the case, Jo so stated to Ned, and there was no further hesitation. While this little conference was going on, Worrell remained seated, acting as if he had no concern in the matter. He busied himself in examining his rifle, and making sure it was in order. A minute or so before Jo was prepared to make a definite proposition to him, he rose to his feet, and a.s.sumed an att.i.tude of intense attention, as though some faint signal had fallen on his ear. Then as the young scout turned to address him, he spoke first:
"Well, I guess I"ll have to bid you good-morning."
"And why so?" asked Jo, in some surprise.
"To tell the truth, this is too dangerous a place to stay any longer. I hear sounds in the woods that lead me to think there are some of the redskins not very far off, and I prefer to dig out; maybe it"ll be safer and better for you to wait till Lena-Wingo comes back, and he"ll get you out better than I can."
"No one could do better than the Mohawk if he were only here, but the trouble is he isn"t here just now, and we"ve come to the conclusion that it is not safe to wait for him. Where do you mean to go?"
"Oh, there"s a little hiding-place up here a way, where I"ll crawl into, for, when I"m in there, you may trot out all the redskins in the valley, and I"ll go to sleep while they"re hunting. I don"t care if Lena-Wingo is among them. I ca"c"late to spend some time there till the Indians get a little scarcer."
"What will you do for food?"
"I"ve got _that_ fixed," replied Worrell, in a voice and with a manner that implied there was nothing to fear on that score.
"Well, if you will allow us to go with you--"
"Allow you!" exclaimed the man, in a gushing mood. "Haven"t I been wanting you to go with me ever since I stopped and found in what trouble you were? Why, come along, and I"ll put you in a place where you can stay a month, if you want to, without a living soul finding out where you are."
"We"ll do it, and be forever grateful for your kindness; but you say even Lena-Wingo will be unable to find out where we are hiding. We must let him know where we are when he returns and misses us."
"That can be fixed. When we see him looking for us, we can step out and let him know we are around, and he"ll be there in a second, of course."
"All right, then; lead the way."
The man placed himself at the head of the party, Jo following, while Ned and Rosa brought up the rear. The first move of Worrell impressed the youths in his favor, for he headed toward the mountain close at hand, a course that would suggest itself to one who was hunting a hiding-place.
It looked as if he understood his business, and knew where to take them to find what they wanted. There was no material change in the appearance of the forest through which they were making their way, except that it grew somewhat rougher and more difficult to traverse, though the company continued to journey without any hesitation in their rate of progress.
They pushed along for quite a distance in this manner, when their guide halted, as if he had again detected something that did not suit him. He stood with his head bent in the way they noticed before starting, but said nothing.
"What"s up now?" asked Jo, who thought they might as well understand everything as they went along.
"It"s queer," replied their companion, in a low voice, "but I"ve fancied once or twice that I heard signals in the woods just such as have caught my ear when I knew the redskins were looking for some of us. Night before last, I picked up a poor chap--Tom Haley, a settler living near me, and was on my way to another place to hide him, when we heard the same sort of sounds, and we stopped to listen to "em, but we hadn"t stood more than five minutes when they come down on us. The first notice we had was the banging of about a dozen rifles, and that was the last of poor Tom. I was lucky enough to get away, but I don"t want to meet any more neighbors like that."
This was not cheerful or soothing information, and the three fugitives felt anything but comfortable.
"Haven"t you heard the sounds?" asked Worrell, addressing the three.
None of them had noticed anything, and Rosa asked:
"What do they resemble?"
"Nothing so much as the faint call of the whip-o"-will, so low and soft that the ear can hardly catch it."
"It is strange that you should be the only one to notice it," she continued; "are you sure that you weren"t mistaken?"
"It may be I was, but my experience with the Iroquois has made me very suspicious; but I do hope I was off the track, for it may prove a bad thing if I wasn"t."
"Do you hear it now?"
"Hark! let us listen."
All stood motionless, and scarcely breathing. But nothing resembling the sounds described by their guide was noticed.
"It _does_ look as if I was mistaken," said Worrell, brightening up. "I hope I was."
"It could be very well the other way," said Ned Clinton. "The Indians may have made a dozen calls to each other, but they were not likely to keep it up very long. A few signals would accomplish all they want."
Nothing was to be gained by argument over the question, in which all was conjecture, and they moved on once more. It was not five minutes before their guide paused again, but it was only for a moment, and he said nothing. He acted as if he fancied he caught something suspicious, but seeing the whites with the appearance of attention, concluded he was mistaken, so long as nothing of the kind fell upon their ears. By that time the afternoon was well advanced, and the day was somewhat warmer than before.
None of the fugitives had gained a moment"s sleep during the preceding night, while the exhaustion and privation of the past few days were so severe that they experienced the need of rest and food. Ned and Jo felt that the man could not do them a greater favor and kindness than to lead them into some retreat where they could recuperate in this respect,--sleep being needed more than anything else. Jo turned about while they were walking cautiously forward, and whispered to Ned immediately behind:
"Watch the route we take."
Ned nodded his head to signify he understood him. At intervals they reached and crossed small s.p.a.ces of natural clearings, where Rosa and the youths scanned all the country that could be brought under their field of vision. In no instance were these very extensive, and the view resulted in nothing tangible as regarded the movements of their enemies.
Much of the ground which was pa.s.sed was rough and covered with stones.
Upon these they stepped so carefully that they left a trail which it would require the keenest eye of the Indian warrior to detect and follow.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE HIDING-PLACE.
Twenty minutes or more was consumed by Worrell, in conducting the fugitives to the hiding-place, where he promised they should be secure from all molestation from their enemies. In making this journey they walked slowly, often pausing to examine the ground pa.s.sed over, and to listen for those unfavorable signals which the straggling settler was sure he heard from the Iroquois. Thus it was that, in spite of the time consumed in making the expedition, they were really at no great distance from the starting point, and both Ned and Jo were confident that they could retrace their steps without difficulty.
"Here we are!"
As the guide uttered these words, he paused before a ma.s.s of boulders, or large stones, where there was an abundance of undergrowth, and the trees were so numerous that the view in all directions was almost cut off.
"I see we are here," responded Ned. "But what for?"
"Here is the hiding-place I told you about."
"Where?"
All three were looking inquiringly around, but their eyes saw nothing that could explain why the man called this a place of concealment.
"Do you mean that we are to crouch behind some of these stones, just as you did behind the rock, when you found I was looking at you?" asked Ned Clinton, with a laugh.
"Not exactly. Wait and I"ll show you."
He walked forward a few steps further and turned to the right, approaching a large stone that looked heavy enough to require the strength of a Hercules to stir it. Nevertheless, with one hand he turned it aside, it being so nicely poised that there was no trouble in using it as a door on hinges. Drawn back, the astonished whites saw the entrance to a cave beyond. The indications were that, at some remote time, the stones had been placed in position by a party of aborigines of the country, and used by them as a retreat or dwelling.
"It is the very place," said Rosa; "for I have been inside."