He kept as much under cover as was convenient, and reached
the kitchen, just as the band broke into the defences, and burst
open the door of the blazing and already roofless hut. Here Peter
paused, unwilling to seem inactive in such a scene, yet averse to
doing anything that a sensitively tender conscience might tell him
was wrong. He knew there was no human being there to save, and cared
little for the few effects that might be destroyed. He did not join
the crowd, therefore, until it was ascertained that the bee-hunter
and his companions had escaped.
"The pale-faces have fled," said Bear's Meat to the great chief,
when the last did approach him. "We have looked for their bones
among the ashes, but there are none. That medicine-bee-hunter has
told them that their scalps were wanted, and they have gone off!"
"Have any of the young men been down to the river, to look for their
canoes?" quietly demanded Peter. "If the canoes are gone, too, they
have taken the route toward the Great Lake."
This was so obvious and probable, that a search was immediately set
on foot. The report was soon made, and great was the eagerness to
pursue. The Kalamazoo was so crooked, that no one there doubted of
overtaking the fugitives, and parties were immediately organized for
the chase.
Pages:
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687