“Lead the way to the canoe, Dave!” cried Henry. “And here, take one of these rifles. If they press us too closely, fire!” Dave took the weapon handed to him, and side by side they rushed toward the river. Hardly had they gained the shelter of the forest when the red warriors were in full pursuit. One caught up a dying brand from the fire, and swinging it in a circle soon had it burning brightly for a torch. Fortunately for the two young hunters, Dave had noted the trail to the river with care, so that he did not get mixed up, even though it was dark and misty. But Henry could not run very fast on account of his lame ankle. “I’m glad we are to—to go by way of the—the river,” he gasped. “I—I can’t run much further!” The Indians were yelling wildly, and one of them let fly an arrow which whizzed through the bushes at their side. Dave caught his cousin by the arm, to aid him, and an instant later another arrow flew directly between their heads. “They must see us, Henry. Come, can’t you run just a bit faster?” “I’ll—I’ll try,” gasped Henry, and gritted his teeth, so great was the pain in his ankle. The forest now came to an end, but luckily for the youths the river was bordered with thick brushwood. Into this they dove, and in half a minute more reached the point where Dave had left the canoe in readiness for immediate flight. “It’s gone!” cried the young hunter, in dismay. “The canoe?” queried his cousin. “Yes, I left it right here.” “Then we are lost!” Sick at heart, they caught each other by the arm and listened. The Indians were close at hand. What was to be done? “Let us try to trick them!” whispered Dave, and caught up a stone that was handy. He threw it into the water with a splash, and then threw another stone after it. This accomplished, he drew Henry into the bushes, and both made their way down the shore for a good hundred feet, walking in shallow water to conceal the trail. The mist over the water was thicker than in the forest, and when the Indians came out on the shore they could see little or nothing, even though they swung the torch in all directions. “They leaped into the water,—I heard them,” said one warrior, in the Indian language. “I heard them too,” answered another. “They must be swimming for the other side.” “We’ll get into the canoe and look around,” put in a third. They ran to where the long canoe had been left, and then uttered cries of anger at finding the craft missing. “They have taken the canoe!” “If that is so we cannot catch them—the mist will hide them from view.” “Moon Eye will be angry when he finds his best canoe gone,” grumbled the Indian who could speak English. “And my bow is gone too!” The Indians continued to walk up and down the river bank, looking for some trace of the two whites. They could not imagine who had come to Henry’s rescue, but thought it must be somebody from Fort Pitt, and were much disturbed, thinking that some English soldiers might be in that vicinity.