Her parents
were expected to return to the cabin by noon, and she reasoned
that they would be in pursuit before the Indians had gone very
far. As the savages were on foot, and her father would no doubt
follow them on horseback, he might overtake them before dark. The
uneasiness expressed by her captors during the afternoon
encouraged her in the belief that her friends were in pursuit.
A little before sunset, two of the Indians went back to
reconnoiter, and the other seven, with the captive, continued on
in the forest. Shortly after sunset, the two Indians who had
fallen behind joined the others, and all held a short
consultation, which the white girl could not understand.
The conference lasted but a few moments, and then the savages
hastened forward with Helen to a creek, where the banks were
sloping, and the water shallow enough for them to wade the
stream. By the time they had crossed, it was quite dark. The
night was cloudy, and distant thunder could occasionally be
heard.
The Indians hurried their captive to a place half a mile from the
ford, and there tied her with strips of deerskin to one of the
low branches of an elm.
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