"
"Will we bofe git on de hoss?" asked the frightened negro.
"No; it will do no good. Let us take to the woods. Hush! What's
that?"
Just as they were about moving, the sharp report of a rifle came upon
their ears, and with a loud whoop the Shawnees rushed off in a body,
taking an easterly direction, which was different from that followed by
the soldier and negro. Now that all immediate danger was gone, the two
remained behind, to learn, if possible, the cause of the mysterious
shot and subsequent action of the Shawnees.
It was not until night, when Oonomoo, the Huron, returned, that the
cause was made known. He had approached several hours before, and seen
the savages in consultation, and divined the cause of it. To divert
them from pursuing his two friends, whom they would most certainly have
captured, he discharged his piece among them, and then purposely showed
himself to draw them after him. The stratagem succeeded as well as he
could have wished. He easily eluded them, until they had followed him
some distance in the woods, when he made his way back again to the
clearing, where he rejoined the Lieutenant and the negro.
CHAPTER V.
THE HOME OF THE HURON.
Tis nature's worship--felt--confessed,
Far as the life which warms the breast!
The sturdy savage midst his clan,
The rudest portraiture of man,
In trackless woods and boundless plains,
Where everlasting wildness reigns,
Owns the still throb--the secret start--
The hidden impulse of the heart.
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