d.

The admonition of the red scout was not forgotten, and when they spoke
it was in whispers, while frequent pauses were made, in answer to the
faintest possible "'Sh!" of Lena-Wingo, who was conducting matters with
his proverbial caution. Minturn saw something suggestive in the fact
that their guide was leading them away from instead of toward the river,
for the depths of the wood was not the place to look for the canoe, of
which they stood in so much need just then. He suspected there was
another reason, which would soon become apparent. Ned might have noticed
the same fact and made inquiry about it, had he been capable of
appreciating anything besides the delight of holding the hand of his
beloved. That was happiness enough to last him at least for the time in
which the journey continued, and he cared very little whither their
guide led them, so long as he did not separate him from Rosa.

Where all was shrouded in such darkness, neither of the fugitives, with
the exception of the Mohawk, was able to keep anything like a knowledge
of the precise course which they were following. The ground was
familiar to all, and indeed there was not one who had not been over it
so frequently that he or she would have identified it in the daytime.
But when all was indistinguishable, in the darkness of the night, they
could only trust to the skill of the dusky guide, who seemed able at any
time to pick his way with unerring accuracy through the trackless
forest.

In the earlier portion of the evening there was no moon, but after
starting a faint one was observed in the sky, and enough of its rays
penetrated the branches overhead to afford considerable assistance to
the three who were threading their way as best they could in the track
of the Mohawk. A few minutes after the moon was noticed, all were
startled by hearing the discharge of a gun at no great distance on their
left--that is, away from the river. They paused and listened, expecting
something to follow that would explain what the report meant. But the
stillness remained as profound as that of the grave, the night being so
quiet that there was scarcely a rustle among the branches overhead,
while not even the soft flow of the river reached their ears.

The pause was only a few minutes in length, when the cautious journey
was resumed, still heading some little distance away from the stream
which they were so anxious to cross. Rosa had observed this fact before,
but she felt