Although the mysterious stranger had assured them that the trail to the top of the ridge was unguarded, the Delawares believed that the more difficult route through the woods might be safer. As they began the steep, exhausting climb, the clouds suddenly broke and Mauwallauwin flooded the valley with his soft, mystic light.

"It is a good sign," declared Running Fox. "Great Mauwallauwin has sent the light to show us the way."

When they finally reached the summit of the ridge they hastened to the spot where they had left their friends. The latter were greatly surprised at the sudden return.

"You have come back—it is good," said Painted Hawk. "Now I know that my brother Spotted Deer is alive."

"Yes, he is alive," Running Fox told him.

"Did you see him?" Crooked Foot asked, eagerly.

"No," replied Running Fox.

"Then how do you know about it?" Turning Eagle inquired, curiously.

"Listen, my friends, I will tell you about it," said Running Fox. "Something mysterious has happened to us. We were going to the Shawnee camp. Then we heard the call of Gokhotit, the little red owl. It is the signal which Spotted Deer makes. It was very soft. It came from the timber. We stopped. I began to think about Spotted Deer. Then we heard it again. We went toward the place where it was. We said, 'Perhaps it is Spotted Deer.' We could not tell about it. We were very cautious. When we got close, we got ready to fight. We said, 'Perhaps it is the Shawnees.' Then I made the call. Pretty soon we heard it come back. It was close by. Then I called out very soft. I said, 'Spotted Deer.' Pretty soon some one talked to us. 'Spotted Deer is in the Shawnee camp,' that person told us. It sounded like an old woman. We looked hard but we could not see any one. It was very dark. Perhaps that is why we could not see that person. Perhaps there was no one there. I cannot tell about it. It sounded mysterious. We kept still. We did not know what to do."

"Yes, yes, tell us about it," Turning Eagle said, eagerly, as Running Fox paused.

"Well, my brothers, pretty soon that voice came again," said Running Fox. "It said, 'Do not be afraid, Delawares. I have come here to help you. Perhaps I can save Spotted Deer. You must listen to my words.'

"When we heard those words we did not know what to do. Then I called out. I said, 'Who are you?'

"'The Shawnees call me the Mystery Woman,' that voice told us.

"Then I said, 'It is a Medicine Person.'

"Well, my friends, then we listened sharp. That person told us what we went down there to find out about. Now I will tell you about it. Spotted Deer is tied up in the Shawnee camp. The Shawnees will kill him when Big Dog, the great Shawnee chief, returns from the hunt. Big Dog will cross this ridge. Big Dog will go down that trail that Yellow Wolf told us about. That mysterious person told us that we must not go to the camp. Scouts are watching around the village. That person told us we would surely be killed if we tried to go there.

"Then the voice stopped coming to us. We waited a long time. We listened sharp. We did not hear anything. Then I called out. Nothing came back. We waited a long time. Then I called out again. Nothing came back. Then we heard the call of Gokhotit, the little red owl. It was far away near the Shawnee village. Then we turned around and came here. Now I have told you about it."

"Running Fox, if that person was a Medicine Person a great thing has happened to you," said Crooked Foot. "It is mysterious."

"My brothers, I do not like this thing," Painted Hawk declared, uneasily. "Perhaps that mysterious person was a Shawnee. Perhaps the Shawnees are trying to catch us. Perhaps they are trying to keep us here until a war party comes out from the village."

"Yes, I believe that is what they are trying to do," agreed Turning Eagle. "We must watch out."

"My friends, I do not believe the Shawnees had anything to do with it," Running Fox told them. "Perhaps it was a mysterious Medicine Person. Perhaps it was some one else. I do not know who it was. But I believe that person came there to help us. I believe the words of that person. Come, Yellow Wolf, you are a great warrior, tell us how you feel about it."

"Yes, Yellow Wolf, you heard this thing, tell us about it," urged Painted Hawk.

"My friends, I believe we must do what that person told us to do," said Yellow Wolf. "I do not know who it was but I believe what Running Fox says is true. I believe that person came there to help us."

"Running Fox, you are a great war leader; Yellow Wolf, you are a great scout; we will listen to your words," said Painted Hawk.

"It is good," replied Running Fox. "Now I will tell you what I propose to do. Yellow Wolf, you must lead us to that trail. Some of us will stay at the top. Some of us will go down and watch below. Two must watch. The rest must lie down and sleep. I will watch below. Yellow Wolf, you must watch at the top. If the Shawnees try to come up that trail, I will hear them. If Big Dog tries to go down that trail, Yellow Wolf will hear him. I will ask Painted Hawk and Turning Eagle to go with me. Crooked Foot and Dancing Owl must stay with Yellow Wolf."

Yellow Wolf led the way along the crest of the ridge until they came to the place where the steep, narrow trail wound down the hillside. Then they separated to carry out the instructions of Running Fox.

"If you hear the call of Gokhos three times, you will know that there is danger," Running Fox explained as he departed down the hillside.

The Delawares took turns at watching through the night, but they neither saw nor heard anything to alarm them. At daylight they met at the top of the ridge. Then Running Fox announced another important discovery.

"My friends, when we were coming up here we found many tracks on that trail," he said. "Yes, Spotted Deer went down there. We found his tracks."

"How do you know that," Painted Hawk asked, curiously.

"We saw some places where some one slid along," said Running Fox. "That person could not use his hands to hold himself back. Then we said, 'That person was a prisoner.' Then we knew it was Spotted Deer."

Having passed the night without alarm, and discovered signs which seemed to prove that Spotted Deer had passed along the trail, the Delawares became less suspicious of the mysterious stranger. It appeared as if her words had been verified.

"I believe what that mysterious person told us is true," said Turning Eagle.

"Well, she did not send the Shawnees here," said Running Fox. "Perhaps Big Dog will come. We must keep watching."

"Is Big Dog alone?" inquired Painted Hawk.

"No," said Running Fox. "Two warriors are with him. That mysterious person told us about them. They are Many Beavers and Striking Bear. She says they are very brave."

"If she knows these things, she must be a Shawnee," declared Crooked Foot. "If she is a Shawnee, I believe she is trying to fool us."

"I believe she knows these things because she is a great Medicine Person," Running Fox told him. "If she is a Shawnee, how does she know about that signal? Spotted Deer did not tell the Shawnees about it. My brothers, I do not know who that strange person is, but I believe she is working against the Shawnees. I believe she is trying to help us."

His confidence quieted the suspicions of his friends. They, too, began to rely upon the aid of the mysterious stranger. Having discovered them near the village, it was evident that she had concealed the fact from the Shawnees. The Delawares took hope in the thought.

"Well, we will wait here and see if her words come true," said Yellow Wolf.

"Yes, we will watch for Big Dog," Running Fox told him.