CHAPTER XVII.
ENCOMPASSED BY DANGER.
At the first warning of Haldidge, Haverland comprehended the threatened danger in an instant. Catching Ina in his arms, he sprang into the wood, sheltering himself behind a tree so quickly that Ina, till that moment, did not comprehend the meaning of the startling movements around her.
"What is it, father?" she whispered.
"Keep quiet, daughter, and don't move."
She said no more but shrunk beneath his sheltering form, believing that his strong arm was capable of protecting her against any foe, however formidable.
Graham, at the alarm, had leaped toward Haldidge, and the two sheltered themselves within a few feet of each other. The shot of the hunter had been fatal, for that yell, which the North American Indian, like the animal, gives when he receives his death-wound, was heard, and the fall h ad also reached his ears.
Minute after minute passed away and nothing further was heard of the savages. This silence was as full of meaning, and as dangerous as any open demonstration upon the part of the Indians. What new plan they might be concocting was a mystery to all but themselves. At length Graham ventured to speak:
"What do you suppose they're up to, Haldidge?"
"Hatching some devilish plot, I expect."
"It seems it requires a good while to do it."
"Don't get impatient; they'll show themselves in time."
"Have you any idea of their number?"
"There were something like a half-dozen prowling around."
"There is one less now at any rate."
"I suppose so; but there's enough left to occasion a little trouble at least. Where did Alf go with the gal?"
