Both were fastidious, wishing to get no stain upon
their clothing, and, their task completed, they carefully washed their
hands and knives at the edge of a brook. Then as they lifted up their
burdens the whining and growling in the bushes increased rapidly.
"They see that we are going," said Tayoga. "The wolf even without the
soul of a warrior in it knows much. It is the wisest of all the animals,
unless the fox be its equal. The foolish bear and the mad panther fight
alone, but the wolf, who is too small to face either, bands with his
brothers into a league, even as the Hodenosaunee, and together they
pull down the deer and the moose, and in the lands of the Ohio they dare
to attack and slay the mighty bull buffalo."
"They know the strength of union, Tayoga, and they know, too, just now
that they're safe from our weapons. I can see their noses poking already
in their eagerness through the bushes. They're so hungry and so
confident that they'll hardly wait until we get away."
As they passed with their burdens into the bushes on the far side of the
little opening they heard a rush of light feet, and angry snarling.
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