"
"But de house am gone--de horses--de corns--eberyt'ing but me."
The young soldier continued musing for a moment and then asked:
"How far from here is the settlement to which Mrs. Prescott has gone?"
"Ten, fifteen or forty miles."
"Can't you tell me more precisely than that?"
"Somewhere atween ten and forty or fifty--dat's all I can tell."
"Have you ever been there yourself?"
"Offin--horseback."
"You know the way?"
"Jes' as well as did from de house to de barn."
"How would you like to go there?"
"What! alone?" asked Cato, the old look of terror coming back to his
countenance.
"Certainly--you have been there and back you said, didn't you?"
"Yes, but bress your soul! de Injines wan't about den."
"I guess there were as many as there are this minute."
"Oh! gracious! I don't want to go alone. What made ye ax me dat
queshun?"
"Why, I thought this, Cato. You see I expect Oonomoo to return to this
place by nightfall, when I intend to accompany him to the Shawnee
village where Miss Mary is held captive----"
"Goin' to git her?"
"We hope to. I was going to propose that you should make your way to
the settlement and carry the news of this sad affair to Mrs. Prescott
and her daughter, assuring her that the Huron and myself will do all we
can to rescue Mary. They must have seen the light, last night, and no
doubt are dreadfully anxious to learn whether it was their mansion or
not.
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