Long before the sun had cast its rays on the tree tops, the Indian encampment was astir. The sky was just beginning to grow grey with the coming dawn when the hasty morning meal had been finished and the fires stamped out. The Indians also had seen the camp fires of their enemies across the bay, and they took especial pains in the morning to keep their blazes small and hidden in the slight hollows. Silently the two white boys and their red companions stole to the water's edge, launched their birch canoes and paddled away from their temporary camp. A heavy mist hung over the water and they wished to be well along before the sun's warm rays dispelled the blanket that hid them.

"It feels good to be able to paddle," said Dick.

The party in Fritz's canoe was right along side of his and the boys were able to keep up a quiet conversation at the start.

"Ve would by now be half to death frozen already," replied the Dutch boy, plying his paddle vigorously.

"Let's put a little energy into our strokes," suggested Dick. "We'll try to get up in the lead and keep the pace up."

"I am already pushing so fast as I can," replied Fritz.

"Then we'll leave you at the tail end in about five minutes," said Dick, as he dug his paddle blade deep into the water and sent the frail canoe ahead by leaps and bounds. The Indians in Dick's canoe caught the idea at once, and although Fritz and his companions started right after them, they were not able to catch up. Dick soon was parallel with the chief's canoe and here his companions stopped paddling and looked at Telca for instructions.

"Ve haf caught you so soon," panted Fritz, drawing up abreast at that moment.

"You never would have if we hadn't stopped so as not to lose you," answered Dick.

"Sometimes you are right, not, and this is it," said Fritz.

"Which way now, chief?" asked Dick of the Indian.

"You can follow Telca," said he, and speaking to his bow companion, the chief suddenly drove his own craft out ahead of the others and with a quick succession of powerful strokes was soon several lengths in the lead.

Dick Dare and his party were soon after the flying leaders, but the chief and his paddling mate were well matched, and strain as they might, the others could do no more than hold their own, and never gained a foot. If they had started to overtake Telca, he could undoubtedly have drawn away from them with a little added effort, for the two in the foremost canoe seemed not to be exerting themselves to their fullest.

Half an hour's paddling of this kind brought the leaders almost over to the other shore, and some distance further to the West. The chief now ceased paddling entirely and held his shining blade in the air as a sign for the others to slow up with him. Their nearness to the shore made silence necessary, and when the sternmost craft had come up, they all moved forward very cautiously.

"That was warm work," said Dick quietly. "The chief can certainly give us lessons in paddling."

"Another half minute and I surely haf been a deader," replied Fritz. "Such vork I nefer did yet, in veeks before."

Keeping close to the shore, the little flotilla went onward until they reached a small brook opening into the bay. Here they could see the narrow road running close to the water's edge.

"We land here," ordered Telca, turning his canoe toward the bank.

"What are you going to do with the canoes?" asked Dick. "It seems a shame to destroy them."

"We will all get out except four of the young men," said Telca. "They will tow the birch boats to the land out there, and we will send word to our brothers, the Delawares, where the Redman has hidden them. They may have them, for they were our friends when we came across the mountains twelve moons ago."

"I'm glad they are not going to be wasted. They are such beauties," Dick said. "And that idea of having us all go ashore here and hiding them around the peninsular is a fine one."

The Indians quickly stepped out, gathered up their few possessions and their rifles, and roped the canoes together so that the four young men whom Telca had picked out might convey the whole string to the hiding place.

"Young men catch up to us soon," volunteered Telca. "We will not wait."

"Hope they do," replied Dick. "We aren't any too strong now and every man will count if we run into that British troop again."

"Young men will be with their people by the end of this sun," responded Telca, confidently. "Young men travel fast."

"Mein gootness, I'm glat ve don'd haf to race like those fellars," said Fritz. "Und also I could vish Tim Murphies vas mit dem."

"Why?" asked Dick.

"Dot Irisher, I vould haf his legs run off alreaty," chuckled Fritz.

"I wish we knew for certain where he and Tom are," replied Dick.

"Berhabs they vould call on us this efening," said Fritz.

"Well, wondering won't do any good, so let's move along. The tribe are striking off along the trail, and if we want to go with them at all we had better hurry. These Indians are awful fast travelers when they want to be."

Dick and Fritz picked up the rifles they had borrowed from the Indians and set off after the party. The pace was swift and they were soon in the rougher and less traveled trails. The red men moved without any apparent effort and glided noiselessly along, yet covering the ground in very quick time. The women, although carrying light burdens, were just as accustomed to the trail as their masters, and made no complaint as they followed their leaders.

"If I should von of those red wimmins marry, yet, I vould do no more vork already," said Fritz.

"And I just hope that if you get anyone to take care of you for the rest of your life, that it's one of the kind that keeps you moving," replied Dick, laughing.

"Dot's just my luck wot is, to got von like it," grumbled Fritz.

"This is sure enough a rough path," said Dick, as they stumbled over the roots of a giant tree that stretched across the trail.

"Yah, this is for roughness a vonder," replied Fritz.

In spite of the difficulties of the trail, however, the band made exceptionally rapid progress and with but a brief halt at noon-day for a hasty meal and a short breathing space, they pushed on again and by night-fall were far into the mountains.

That evening Dick asked Telca about the four young men whom they had left with the canoes.

"They will sleep with us before the next sun," replied the chief.

Dick didn't say any more on that subject, but he was still wondering where they were and whether or not they would have come across any trace of the pursuing party when he dropped off to sleep. Fritz had already fallen fast asleep and with the exception of the three solitary outposts, all were resting after their hard march.

A peaceful silence settled on the camp and the little fire-embers burned low and were not replenished. Silently from the darkness came the little woods creatures and gazed with black snapping eyes at the invaders of their forest home. Even the sentinels grew drowsy and had to change their positions to keep from falling asleep.

Then of a sudden all the little feathered and furred folk vanished into the wood. The Indian outposts crouched silently behind protecting trees, and then ran to the sleeping camp and hurriedly awakened it. A shot and then another had come to their ears faintly, borne on the night wind from far down the valley. Even as they roused the tribe more firing could be heard, and Dick and Fritz, like their red comrades, hurried to grasp their weapons and prepare for trouble.

"I'll bet it's those four Indians in some sort of trouble with the British," said Dick, remembering his thoughts of earlier in the evening. "Your young men, isn't it, chief?" he asked of Telca.

"Not know," responded that Indian, looking rather anxious about the matter, however. "Indian find out soon."

"We'll be with you while you are finding out, then," said Dick.

"Yah, I will be finding oud who has been shots firing into mein sleep yet," Fritz added.

The men of the tribe all filed off into the darkness, following Telca's lead, and Dick and the German boy followed. With all their knowledge and experience in wood-craft, the two Patriots found it difficult to keep up with the running Indians, but they managed to hold their own, although Fritz grunted considerably when he fell over an old log in his path.

Suddenly the men in the front halted and gathered about in a circle. Dick, coming up behind them, saw that they were grouped about three half-naked Indians whom he took to be the young men they had left behind. Evidently one of them was missing. The Indians were talking excitedly in quick, sharp sentences, and Dick gathered that they had come upon the Redcoat camp, taken a few shots at the pickets, and in the running fight that had followed one of them had fallen and had been overtaken before they could help him. They were uncertain as to whether their comrade had been wounded or had been overpowered. At any rate he was now a prisoner in the camp of their enemies, and even the older men counselled an attempt at rescue. They were eager to be avenged on their ancient enemies.

"We will bring our brother back with us. Let us remember our little sister also," said Telca.

"Ve haf no love lost on those Britisher fellows, too," said Fritz. "A few shoots vill berhabs stop their chasing us the whole vorld ofer."

"If you see two white boys in camp without uniforms, that is, Redcoats, don't fire at them," said Dick to the Indians. "They may be our brothers, held by the red coats as prisoners."

Telca communicated this to the warriors, and again they spread out and moved swiftly through the black forests. Here and there, little natural glades let in the starlight, and helped them to follow each other, but for the most part, all was inky darkness around them.

Almost before he expected it, Dick saw the twinkling fire lights of the English camp below them. Their pace decreased to a more careful one, and the whole party spread out into a fan shape, without any orders, each man his own general, as is the Indian custom.

Dick and Fritz were far to the right and they began a stealthy approach toward the British. Their comrades were soon hidden from view, except for Telca, who kept near them. They had drawn close to the line that should have marked the posts of the British pickets when Dick, Fritz and Telca caught the sound of a voice close at hand. No figures was visible, which afterward proved to be an important thing, but nevertheless, the three paused and listened intently. Telca finally motioned the boys to creep forward again. They were all mystified about the lack of soldiers about the fires in the distance. The blazes burned brightly, but no forms showed between them and the silent red-men. Suddenly from the other side of the circle came the call of a night bird, and the tribe knew that the other end of the line had reached their position. When Telca answered that call the fight was to begin. But the chief never had to answer it. The sound of the bird call had just died away into silence when a voice near the little group said softly in a rich Irish accent,

"Faith and it's stiff Oi'm afther gettin' to be. If——"

"Tim! Tom!" called Dick, quietly.

But he had spoken too soon. There was a British soldier with Tom and Tim, and behind them, about twenty yards, were a full row of men lying in wait for just such an attack as was threatening them.

The English trooper leaped to his feet and fired his rifle directly at the spot from whence came Dick's voice. In the darkness the shot fortunately went wild, but the alarm had been given and the battle was on.

Telca, taking careful aim, dropped the soldier where he stood and Tom and Tim, firing their guns wildly over their heads, dashed off into the woods away from Dick and his companions. They hoped by so doing to get out of the way of the bullets from the British behind them, and also lead the oncoming troopers astray as to Dick's position, for Tom feared that Dick and Fritz might be alone and therefore might be captured.

The two boys were far from being alone, however, as the whole British force soon discovered. The woods around them became a mass of shooting tongues of flame, and the sharp fire of the attacking Indians soon forced the Redcoats to take shelter behind the trees and rocks. For a full half hour the Indians circled about the cordon of troops, firing and yelling and making the night fiendish with their blood-curdling cries. Several of the English, more exposed because of the fires burning behind them, fell, wounded or killed. But their numbers were too great for the redskins to overcome and they were gradually driven back at various points and finally forced to cease firing and retire in the darkness. The fight had been brisk while it lasted and several times it looked as if the Indians might break the defence and complete their victory. But in the end, the greater numbers of the British succeeded in repulsing the attack, and with the loss of one man and several slightly wounded, the Indians retired into the forest, abandoning the attempt to rescue their captive brother.

"Vas has happened to dot Tom und Tim Murphies?" queried Fritz as they hurried back to the Indian encampment. "Dot fool Irisher ran the woods off in, like the crazy feller he iss, und Tom vas following him after."

"They saved you and Telca and I by doing it," replied Dick. "It certainly led the British astray for a minute."

"Maype Tim has some senses after all, alreaty," said Fritz, thoughtfully. "I vould nefer tell him so yet."

"Well, they seem to be in all right with the British and we can always hope to be warned, at least, if we get into danger."

"Und now, vere are ve going at?" asked the Dutch boy as they reached camp and found the squaws ready to move on.

"Going to march some more," replied the chief. "Redcoat man too near."

Fritz gave a longing glance at his heap of pine boughs, where he had hoped to pass the rest of the night, shouldered his gun, and trudged off with a sigh after Dick.