"She is hid in the woods, waiting for Oonomoo."
"Did she send Niniotan for him?"
"She sent him this morning, and he searched the woods until now, when
he found him in this opening."
"When did Fluellina and my son leave their home on the island in the
water?"
"Last night, shortly after the moon had come above the tree-tops, they
left in the canoe, and they went far before the morning light had
appeared, when they dared not return."
"And when saw you the Shawnees?"
"Yesterday, after you had gone, a canoe-full of their warriors passed
by the island in their canoe. We saw them through the trees, and hid
in the bushes until they had passed, and they searched until night for
us."
"Where is Fluellina hid?"
"Close by the side of the stream which floats by the island, but many
miles from it."
"How long will it take Niniotan to guide Oonomoo there?"
"Four or five hours. The wood is open and clear from briers."
"And are the Shawnees upon Fluellina's trail?"
"If the eye of the Shawnee can follow the trail of the canoe, he has
tracked us to the hiding-place."
This conversation being carried on in the Huron tongue, of course the
others failed to catch its meaning; but Lieutenant Canfield suspected,
from the singularly hurried and excited manner of Oonomoo, that
something unusual had occurred with him. Never before had he seen him
give way to his feelings, or speak in such loud, almost fierce tones.
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