They would know
well enough we couldn't get ashore, without leaving tracks as they
would make out, and they would reckon to pick up our trail fast enough,
in the wood, and to overtake us before we had gone many miles.
"Now, you see, we have doubled on them. The varmint in the woods will
search the edge of the lake in the morning, but it's a good long
stretch to go over, and, if we have luck, they mayn't strike on our
landing place for some hours after daylight. In course, they may hit on
it earlier; still, it gives us a chance, anyhow. Another thing is, we
have twenty miles less to travel through the woods than if we had to
start up there, and that makes all the difference when you've got
redskins at your heels. If we don't have the bad luck to come across
some of the varmint in the woods, I expect we shall carry our scalps
back to Fort William Henry.
"Now you had best sleep till daybreak. We sha'n't get another chance
till we get into the fort again."
With the first dawn of morning, they were on their way. Striking
straight back into the woods, they walked fast, but with the greatest
care and caution, occasionally making bends and detours, to prevent the
redskins following their traces at a run, which they would have been
able to do, had they walked in a straight line.
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