I trod in silence behind him, and wondered at this almost superhuman knowledge of the forest that could observe such things as these, which to me were as a closed book. My musketoon in my right hand, I had hurried on after him, but now I halted in an instant, for again I heard the cawing of the crow in the woods, seemingly in front of us. The Indian too had stopped suddenly, and we stood motionless. As we stood there from every bush and tree there seemed to rise a hideous, painted figure. With a yell, so horrible and ferocious that my blood almost congealed in my veins at the sound, they were upon us with brandished tomahawks and clubs. Like a flash I struck flint and steel, and ignited the fuse of my gun; at least one of these demons would be silenced forever. Leveling my gun at the foremost one as he leaped at me, I pulled down, but even as I did so, Manteo with one quick blow of his arm struck the gun upwards, so that it harmlessly exploded in the air. Before I could draw my sword, a score had caught me by the arms and shoulders, and hurled me headlong to the ground. My companion made no defense, and a dozen grasped and in the twinkle of an eye disarmed him, and secured his arms with thongs of deerskin. Several had bound my hands behind me, and they now jerked me to my feet--I stood disarmed, a prisoner among the Cherokees. Without a word they placed us in the midst of the band, and at a long swinging trot began a journey to the north-west. My heart was bitter within me as I hurried along. I had been betrayed by one whom I thought was my friend and as true as steel; he had doubtless decoyed me here so that he could deliver me into the hands of these Indians, probably allies of Dunraven, and they were now most likely carrying me away to deliver me into his hands. There was one melancholy consolation in it--I would see Margaret once more, though it be under such circumstances as these. All day long they kept up this swift pace, stopping only a few moments for dinner, and the evening was beginning to deepen into twilight, but still they kept on their steady way. Manteo trotted by my side, but I said no word to him, and he had said naught to me. I had begun to despair of ever resting again, when the loud shouts of our captors and the answering yells in reply informed me that we were about to enter their encampment.