orth as if not particularly desirous of learning who were the
torch-bearers.

"Don't stand up," he whispered, fearing that some of his companions
would rise to their feet in their excitement.

There was a possibility that the fugitives had not been detected, though
the probabilities were against such a hopeful fact. It would have seemed
to an uninterested spectator that if the Iroquois were aware that the
party whom they were seeking had embarked, they would have kept them
under surveillance until they learned where they were likely to land,
and then would have made preparations to capture them as they left the
boat. Such was the simplest plan, and it would have been more effective
than any other. That they had neglected to do so was ground for the hope
of the Mohawk that he and his friends were still undiscovered.

It was equally probable that the redmen on the southeastern shore,
having learned that their game was coming into their hands, had signaled
the fact to their allies across the Susquehanna, so that they might be
prepared for the retrograde movement which was actually made. Under the
circumstances, there was but one thing remaining for the Mohawk to do,
and that was to drift with the current until below the point where the
last light had shown itself, and then to make an effort to land.
Fortunately, the woods were dense at this place, so that if they could
secure a foothold once more, there was a good prospect that this natural
protection could be turned to account. And this was what the guide now
attempted to do.

Stooping low in the boat, so that his head and shoulders barely appeared
above the gunwale, he held the pole ready to use any instant it might be
required, and patiently awaited the moment when the flat-bottomed craft
should reach the point desired. The excitement was the more intense
because none dared move, and all were in a state of expectancy that made
the suspense of the most trying nature. It seemed to the whites as they
peeped cautiously over the low gunwale of the scow, that the moon threw
double the light that it did when they were in the middle of the river
and anxious to gain a view of the land they were seeking to reach. Again
and again Rosa was sure she saw shadowy figures stealing along in the
darkness, watching them with the keenness of so many lynxes, and quite
as frequently she was equally sure she detected stealthy movements by
the sound of the moccasin-covered feet on the bank.