"Until nearly daylight," replied Willet. "Then we can land, take the
canoe into the bushes and rest. What do you say, Tayoga?"

"It is good," replied the Onondaga. "We are not weary, because the
river, of its own accord, has borne us on its bosom, but we must sleep.
We would not wish to appear heavy of eye and mind before the children of
Onontio."

"Well spoken, Tayoga," said the hunter. "An Iroquois chief knows that
appearance and dignity count, and you were right to remind us of it. I
think that by the next sunset we'll be meeting French, not the Canadian
French that they call _habitants_, but outposts made up mostly of
officers and soldiers from France. They'll be very curious about us,
naturally so, and since your new friend Dayohogo has announced that you
are a great orator, you can do most of the talking and explaining,
Robert."

"I'll talk my best," replied young Lennox. "Nobody can do more."

As agreed, they drew the canoe into the bushes shortly before daylight,
and slept several hours. Then they returned to the river and resumed
their journey. By the middle of the afternoon they saw signs of
habitation, or at least of the presence of human beings. They beheld two
smokes on the right bank, and one on the left, trailing black lines
against the blue of the sky, but they were all far away, and they did
not care to stop and determine their origin.

Shortly before sunset they saw a camp fire, very close on the eastern
shore, and as they drew near the figures of men in uniform were visible
against the red glow.