t Rattlesnake Gulch, held
a suspicion that the pioneers might turn back on their own trail and
make a stand in the cabin, and he instructed these two warriors to
remain and signal the fact to him, probably by some peculiar discharge
of their rifles.

While one of them was moving through the woods, the other remained near
the canoe and fell into a doze. It was at this juncture that Jethro
Juggens entered the cabin unobserved. Soon after, the second Indian
returned to the neighborhood of the other, who had awakened, and noted
with amazement the loss of the boat.

One of these warriors set out to recover it, with what result has
already been made known. The other remained in the vicinity of the
clearing to watch things until his return. Discovering the presence of
one of the party in the building, but, without any means of knowing his
identity, he set out to dislodge him.

The voices which Jethro insisted he heard outside the door could very
well have been the voice of a single warrior, such subterfuges being
among the most common with the American race. After the man[oe]uvring
back and forth between this Shawanoe and the youth, the former must have
grown uneasy over the prolonged absence of his companion who had set out
to recover the canoe. Abandoning the cabin with one or more occupants,
he hurried along the river bank. This enterprise was more successful
than the other, for he recovered the boat without the slightest injury
to himself.

Thus it came about that when Jethro Juggens emerged from the cabin,
bandaged and swathed from above the crown of his head to the soles of
his feet, the extraordinary precaution was useless, and he might have
walked forth with the assurance of one who was master of the situation.

But had he done so that which we have now to make known could never have
taken place.

CHAPTER XVIII.

"IT'S AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NOBODY ANY GOOD."

Although Jethro Juggens was not in the slightest danger of molestation
by the Shawanoes from the moment he emerged from the cabin and started
across the clearing, he was not to escape all danger and a great scare.

He chafed at the binding of the linen armor about his ankles. He was
impatient to walk faster, and could not do so in that situation. His
strength was great, but a Hercules could not have overcome the obstacle
without loosening it. Glancing to the right and left and on all sides,
and seeing nothing threatening, he decided to end the