of the dangers, and he would never forget that he had the promise of
Tododaho, greatest, wisest and noblest of the chiefs of the
Hodenosaunee, who had gone to a shining star more than four hundred
years ago.

He sat down under one of the trees and sleep remained far from him. He
still listened with all the power of his sensitive hearing for any sound
that might come in the forest, and after awhile he took his bow and
quiver from their case, putting his quiver over his shoulder. He covered
his rifle with the leaves, and holding the bow in his hand stole away
among the trees.

The faintest of sounds had come to him, and Tayoga did not doubt its
nature. It was strange to the forest and it was hostile. The mystic
spell was still upon him, and it heightened his faculties to an
extraordinary degree. He had almost the power of divination. A hundred
yards, and he crouched low behind the trunk of a great oak. Then as the
moonlight fell upon a small opening just ahead he saw them, Tandakora
and two warriors.

The Ojibway was in full war paint, and the luminous quality of the
moon's rays enlarged his huge form. He towered like Hanegoategeh, the
Evil Spirit, and the figures upon his shoulders and chest stood out like
carving. He and the two warriors also carried bows and arrows, and
Tayoga surmised that they had meant to slay in silence. His heart burned
with rage and he felt, too, an unlimited daring. Did he not have the
promise of Tododaho that he should pass through all dangers and receive
great rewards? He felt himself a match for the three, and he did not
need secrecy and silence. He raised his voice and cried:

"Stand forth, Tandakora, and fight. I too have only _waano_ (the bow)
and _gano_ (the arrow), but I meet the three of you!"

Tandakora and the two warriors sprang back and in an instant were hidden
by the trees, but Tayoga had expected them to do so, and he dropped
down, moving silently to another and hidden point, where he waited, an
arrow on the string. He knew that Tandakora had recognized his voice,
and would make every effort, his shoulder healed enough for use, to
secure such a prize. The Ojibway would believe, too, that three must
prevail against one, and he would push the attack. So the Onondaga
remained motionless, but confident.

Nearly ten minutes of absolute silence followed, but his hearing was so
acute that he did not think any of the three could move without his
knowledge. Then a slight sliding s