"
The three, now four, slept but little that night and they pressed
forward all the next day, their anxiety to reach the fort before an
attack could be made, increasing. It did not matter now if they arrived
exhausted. The burden of their task was to deliver the word, to carry
the warning. At dusk, they were within a few miles of the fort. An hour
later they noticed a thread of blue smoke across the clear sky.
"It comes from the fort," said Tayoga.
"It's not on fire?" said Robert, aghast.
"No, Dagaeoga, the fort is not burning. We have come in time. The smoke
rises from the chimneys."
"I say so, too," said Willet. "Unless there's a siege on now, we're
ahead of the savages."
"There is no siege," said Tayoga calmly. "Tododaho has held the warriors
back. Having willed for us to arrive first, nothing could prevent it."
"Again, I think you're right, Tayoga," said Robert, "and now for the
fort. Let our feet devour the space that lies between."
He was in a mood of high exaltation, and the others shared his
enthusiasm. They went faster than ever, and soon they saw rising in the
moonlight the strong palisade and the stout log houses within it.
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