Читать книгу The Trail of Black Hawk онлайн

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Standing where Deerfoot had stood Joseph ran his hands over the hark of the huge oak tree. Sure enough, steps large enough and deep enough to render climbing comparatively safe had been cut into the side of the tree. They were just about as far apart as the rungs of a ladder and having once started on the strange stairway it was very easy to continue. Joseph and Robert speedily discovered this condition and soon were following Deerfoot as he directed them and were moving nearly as rapidly as the Indian himself.

In a very brief time all three had reached the first huge branches of the oak. Here a small platform had been built, consisting of only two or three planks, but they were so arranged that when the three fugitives lay down there was sufficient room for them all. These planks had been cunningly concealed by branches and moss, though naturally the boys did not know this in the darkness. It was about all they could do to make out the indistinct outlines of the nearby trees.

The description of their activities required more time than Deerfoot and his two companions consumed in their efforts to gain this place of refuge. In a very short time they were lying prone on the platform and peering eagerly down into the depths of the forest. They had moved cautiously and silently and well it was that they had made no noise. Scarcely were they settled in the place before shadowy forms began to flit past them in the dim light below.