some hours before dawn robin gore came to an abrupt pause, and looking over his shoulder, held up his hand to command silence. then he pointed to a small mound, on the top of which a faint glow of light was seen falling on the boughs of the shrubs with which it was crowned.
the moon had just set, but there was sufficient light left to render surrounding objects pretty distinct.
“that’s them,” said robin to walter, in a low whisper, as the latter came close to his side; “no doubt they’re sound asleep, an’ i’m puzzled how to wake ’em up without givin’ ’em a fright.”
“musha! it’s a fright that wapaw will give us, av we start him suddenly, for he’s murtherin’ quick wi’ his rifle,” whispered larry.
“we’d better hide and then give a howl,” suggested stiff, “an’, after they’re sot up, bring ’em down with a familiar hail.”
the deliberations of the party were out short and rendered unnecessary, however, by wapaw himself. that sharp-eared red man had been startled by the breaking of a branch which larry o’dowd chanced to set his foot on, and, before robin had observed their fire, he had roused roy and nelly and hurried with them to the summit of a rocky eminence, from which stronghold they now anxiously watched the proceedings of the hunters. the spot to which they had fled for refuge was almost impregnable, and might have been held for hours by a couple of resolute men against a host of savages.
robin, after a little further consultation, resolved to send the black swan in advance to reconnoitre. this he did, contrary to his wonted custom of taking the lead in everything, because of an unaccountable feeling of dread lest he should not find his children there.
black swan at once stepped cautiously forward with his rifle, ready cocked, in the hollow of his left arm, and his finger on the trigger-guard. step by step he moved towards the encampment without making the slightest noise, and with so little motion that he might easily have been mistaken for a dark shadow. raising his head over the edge of the encampment he gazed earnestly into it, then he advanced another pace or two, finally he stepped into it, and, standing erect, looked around him. with a wave of his hand he summoned his comrades to advance. robin gore’s heart beat hard as he approached, followed by the others.
meanwhile they were closely watched by roy and wapaw. when the black swan’s head appeared, roy exclaimed in a whisper, “an injun—d’ye know him, wapaw?”
“he is one of our tribe, i think,” replied the indian, in the same low voice, “but i know him not; the light of the fire is not strong.”
“if he’s one o’ your tribe,” said roy, “it’s all up with us, for they won’t be long o’ findin’ us here. keep close to me, nell. i’ll stick by you, lass, don’t fear.”
wapaw’s brows lowered when he saw the black swan step into the encampment, and make the signal to his comrades to advance. he raised his rifle, and took deliberate aim at his heart.
“roy,” he whispered, “get an arrow ready, aim at the next man that steps into the light and let fly; i’ll not fire till after you, for the smoke would blind you.”
roy obeyed with a trembling hand. notwithstanding the rough life he had led in those wild woods of the west, he had never yet been called on to lift his hand against a human being, and the thought of taking life in this deliberate and almost murderous way caused him to shudder; still he felt that their case was desperate, and he nerved himself to the deed.
another moment, and robin stood beside the black swan. roy tried to raise his bow, but his heart failed him. wapaw glanced at him, and said sternly—
“shoot first.”
at that moment obadiah stiff stepped into the encampment, and, stirring the embers of the fire with a piece of stick, caused a bright flame and showers of sparks to shoot upwards. this revealed the fact that some of the party were white men, so wapaw lowered his rifle. a single glance of his practised eye told him who they were. laying his hand suddenly and heavily on roy’s shoulder he pressed him down.
“come, let us go,” he said quickly; “i must see these men alone, and you must keep close—you must not look.”
he said the latter words with emphasis; but in order to make sure that they should not have a chance of looking, he led his young companions to a point whence the encampment could not be seen, and left them there with strict injunctions not to quit the spot until he should return.
in a few seconds wapaw stepped into the circle of light where robin and his party were all assembled, and so rapid and noiseless had his movement been, that he was in the midst of them almost before they were aware of his approach.
“wapaw!” exclaimed walter in surprise, “why, you seem to have dropped from the clouds.”
“sure it’s a ghost ye must be,” cried larry. the indian took no notice of these remarks, but turned to robin, who, with a look of deep anxiety, said—
“have ’ee seed the childer, wapaw?”
“they are safe,” answered the indian.
“thank god for that!” cried robin, while a sigh of relief burst from him: “i believe ye, wapaw, yer a true man an’ wouldn’t tell me a lie, would ye?”
the tone in which the hunter said this implied that the statement was scarcely a true index to his feelings, and that he would be glad to hear wapaw assure him that he was indeed telling the truth. but this indian was a man of truthfulness, and did not deem it necessary to repeat his assertion. he said, however, that he would go and fetch the children, and immediately quitted the camp. soon after he returned with roy and nelly; he had not told them, however, who the strangers were.
when roy first caught sight of his father he gave a shout of surprise, and stood still as if he were bewildered. nelly uttered a wild scream, and rushed forward with outstretched arms. robin met her more than half way, and the next moment folded his long-lost little one to his bosom.
