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"I question if Peter Sitz expects that any one from Cherry Valley will follow Thayendanega's snakes. He knows their strength, an' is man enough to understand what might be the price of an attempt to rescue him."
More than once would we have run upon a party of savages Thayendanega's scouts or hunters had it not been for the almost excessive precautions Sergeant Corney insisted on taking, and in such case there was no other course than to hide as best we might, and wait until the enemy was pleased to move on.
Thayendanega's so-called braves did not give us very much opportunity to display our skill as marksmen, however. Within five minutes after the curs discovered that we were straining every effort to reduce their number, they hugged the encampment mighty snug, and I am of the opinion that General St.
"Think you Thayendanega's wolves will lose the prisoners whom they counted on seeing at the stake, without some effort to retake them?" the old man asked, sharply, and John Sammons replied: "All that we understand; but reckon on puttin' a goodly distance between us an' yonder encampment before to-morrow mornin'. Unless there is an accident the escape will not be known for many hours, and then should we have so much the lead that we could count with some degree of assurance upon gaining Cherry Valley."
We'll have no more mutiny, an' all hands will be starved to death before the enemy gets possession of the fortification." "What about the other three men?" Jacob asked, in a whisper, not daring to trust his voice lest it should betray the fear in his heart. "I reckon their turn will come soon perhaps to-morrow night. Thayendanega's 'noble red men' can't afford to waste their victims.
"Thayendanega's camp lies southeasterly from the fort; but how far it may be from the trail, I cannot say." At this moment the report of a rifle from the direction of where the outermost sentinels were stationed startled every one, including those bloodthirsty colonels, and for a moment all stood silent and motionless, waiting to learn the cause of the alarm.
Leger sent in hot haste a messenger to learn what we wanted, thinking, most like, we had made up our minds to surrender, he was informed that Colonel Gansevoort was willing to grant an hour's truce that the British and Indian dead might be buried. This the enemy accepted, and I was surprised to see that never one of Thayendanega's beauties came forward to carry off the slain of his tribe.
"That can't be possible!" I cried, sharply. "There's never one among them who does not know full well what the result will be if Colonel Gansevoort surrenders the fort! St. Leger's promises would be as the idle wind when Thayendanega's followers wanted victims for the stake!"
To me the strange part of it all was that these very simpletons who were howling so loudly for surrender would be among those counted as prisoners, and I failed utterly to understand how they could figure themselves as being better off in the power of Thayendanega's wolves, than in the fort where they had a chance of fighting to the death.
Thayendanega's wolves did not count on keeping us waiting very long; but as soon as the sun had set began crossing the river with their unfortunate prisoners, singing and shouting, as if the capture and torturing of these unarmed men was some signal act of bravery.
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