die, and the Shawnee leader had declared that his people would listen to her words. Spotted Deer had slight hope of being spared. He knew the hatred which the Shawnees had for the Delawares and he believed he would be made the victim of their vengeance. Still he had passed safely through many perilous days of captivity among the fierce Mohawks, and the thought gave him courage. If the Shawnees delayed his execution, he believed his friends might discover his plight in time to rescue him. He relied particularly upon his friend Running Fox, a famous young warrior who was the son of the great Delaware war chief, Black Panther. The lads had shared many perilous adventures and each had implicit confidence in the loyalty and ability of the other. Spotted Deer felt sure that, once alarmed at his absence, Running Fox would make desperate efforts to find him. If he finally learned of Spotted Deer's predicament, the latter knew that nothing but death would prevent him from extricating him from his difficulty.

"Running Fox will come," he assured himself.

Then he suddenly realized that, even if his friends should find his trail, they might arrive too late to save him. The thought sobered him. He feared that if the Shawnees planned to kill him they would carry out their intention with little delay. They, too, might anticipate an attempt by the Delawares to rescue him. He realized that the coming night might bring his death. For an instant the idea startled him. Then he drove it from his thoughts, and made an earnest appeal to Getanittowit, the Great One.