"Yes, Great Bear, the Ojibway is cunning. After hurling the tomahawk he
would not stay to risk a shot from Lennox. He was willing even to
abandon a weapon which he must have prized. Ah, here is his trail! It
leads through the forest toward the lake!"
They were able to follow it a little distance but it was lost on the
hard ground, although it led toward the water. Robert told of the shadow
he had seen near the farther bank, and both Willet and Tayoga were quite
sure it had been a small canoe, and that its occupant was Tandakora.
"It's not possible that St. Luc sent the Ojibway back to murder us!"
exclaimed Robert, his mind rebelling at the thought.
"I don't think it likely," said Willet, but the Onondaga was much more
emphatic.
"The Ojibway came of his own wish," he said. "While the sons of Onontio
slept he slipped away, and it was the lure of scalps that drew him. He
comes of a savage tribe far in the west. An Iroquois would have scorned
such treachery."
Robert felt an immense relief. He had become almost as jealous of the
Frenchman's honor as of his own, and knowing that Tayoga understood his
race, he accepted his words as final.
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