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Jesse waited for Iondaee to move back casually into the crowd of people. Once clear, Jesse carefully stood up, not wanting to wake the sleeping girl. He then trotted over to the creek and gracefully jumped it in a single bound. With quiet speed, Jesse circled around and behind where he thought the noise from the creek originated. He slowed his pace as he approached the brook, carefully pacing his steps away from twigs and branches, moving as silently as possible. Now only a few steps from the water, he froze. His brown fur was the perfect camouflage for the woody background. He was now invisible to all but the most observant eye. He had to wait only a minute until a slight movement caught his eye. In the shadow of a maple, a figure eased forward with ghostly silence. The shadow then drifted from one tree to the next, easing his way toward the unsuspecting villagers. There was no doubt of his intention. Even from this distance, he could see the bow drawn, the quiver on his back full of deadly ammunition. Iroquois.
Jesse stepped forward. On the bank of the creek was an egg-shaped boulder. He raised his hoof and brought it down hard on the rock. Clop! The warrior spun around. Jesse leaped away from the water and dashed into the woods. He waited for the searing pain of an arrow ripping into his chest, but it never came. Even though he was sure that the Iroquois warrior had an easy shot at him, he did not release the arrow. Iondaee was right. A warrior would not be distracted, even by easy prey. A warrior in battle wanted only one thing, victory.
Jesse bounded ahead for another minute and circled the village. He never once believed he was brave, and now here he was preparing for battle against the Iroquois. Iondaee told him that if it were only a scouting party, there should be no more than four warriors. With luck, they might be able to handle the situation. If it was a war party, then there could be possibly hundreds of warriors closing in around them. If that were the case, then the villagers would not stand a chance against such a huge force. Their lives depended on what Jesse saw next.
It seemed to take an eternity for Jesse to weave through the forest to the trail the villagers had followed. Knowing he was now behind the intruders, Jesse eased his way forward, stepping only on mud or grass to help hide his approach. His ears could pick up the chattering of Iondaee's people. He moved behind the trunk of a massive oak tree and surveyed the area. On first glance, it appeared he was alone, but a gnawing tingle in his stomach told him there was danger somewhere nearby.
There! Two shapes suddenly appeared and vanished along a line of tree trunks. They were invisible in the shadows of the leafy bushes that bordered the trail. Jesse couldn't even pick up their movements with his sensitive ears. He waited another minute. The two warriors separated and moved behind a clump of bushes. Jesse continued to look in all directions but he could detect no one else. Iondaee would have to somehow defeat three well-hidden and armed Iroquois. Jesse shouted as loudly as he could.
“There are three in total. One coming towards you by the creek and two others along the edges of the path.”
A burst of deep laughter from the camp was his signal. Iondaee had heard him. He was to follow the two on the path until Iondaee made his first move. Jesse was surprised to see fires suddenly light up within the camp-site. People muttered relief at the source of heat, having become damp from the earlier rain. Women and children gathered around the fires, the warmth lightening their spirits. The fires also helped Jesse focus upon the silhouettes of the two warriors ahead of him. They were scanning the group, quietly discussing the situation. Jesse could pick up faint bits and pieces of conversation. They were trying to decide if the group of Wendat women and children were completely defenceless. It seemed that they had not spotted Iondaee before coming upon the villagers.
Finally, it was decided that one would approach the people while the other remained hidden in the bushes. If they were truly defenceless, they would not put up a fight. The villagers would then be taken back to the Iroquois villages in the south. Jesse tensed at the thought of his friends being taken by force. He could not let it happen. Where was Iondaee?
The lead Iroquois warrior pulled out his large hunting knife and walked into the light. The other, still hiding behind a bush, aimed his bow, ready to shoot at the slightest sign of danger. The sight of the stranger brought screams of terror from the women and cries from the children.
“Who is your leader?” the warrior demanded, striding up to the frightened people.
There was a murmur from the crowd. Finally, an old woman, shawled and bent over, approached the warrior. Her legs trembled with each step.
“I am the elder of the village,” she offered. “What do you want with us? We mean you no harm.”
“I am Mindan, from the Iroquois nation. You and your people now belong to us. You will return with us to our village.”
Shrieks and wailing echoed throughout the crowd. The old lady stepped forward and shook her head. “We are not your property. We are Wendat. You have no say in our matters, and we do not wish to go with you to your village.”
The crowd hushed. The warrior's face reddened in anger. He could not believe the old woman had dared to challenge him. He roughly spun her around, grabbed her across the chest and placed his knife to her throat.
“This is what happens to anyone who dares to challenge my commands!” he shouted to the frightened crowd. “Shall I make an example of your foolish elder who…“
Before the warrior could finish his sentence, the air was knocked out of his lungs by a powerful elbow from the old woman. The woman's other hand lashed up over her shoulder and caught the warrior square on the forehead, causing him to stagger backwards. The shawl fell off her head. It was not an old woman, but Iondaee in disguise. He grabbed the stunned warrior, punched him in the lower back and sent him sprawling. A woman stepped forward, waiting for the warrior as he staggered towards her. From behind her back, she lifted a branch and crashed it down on top of his head, knocking him out cold. “That's for my husband.”
Jesse recognized her as Asitari's wife, Tutayac. But his attention quickly returned to the second warrior. Momentarily stunned by what he had just witnessed, the warrior regained his composure and rose to his feet. His bow took dead aim at Iondaee. Jesse leaped ahead. He could see the fingers about to release the bow string. He could only hope he would be in time. Jesse rammed the warrior like a freight train hitting a stubborn moose. The arrow, jarred off course by the impact, slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree. The warrior collapsed into a groaning heap.
Jesse tried to shake the stars from his own head. As his mind cleared, he quickly scanned the forest for other signs of movement, and then back to Iondaee. He was safe! Iondaee, now in a low, warrior stance with bow in hand, explored the perimeter of the camp, moving wolf-like through the bushes, checking for intruders. Jesse joined in the search. The two finally met near the bush that grew beside the moaning Iroquois warrior. Iondaee grinned in the flickering light.
“I think we did it.”
Jesse looked at him nervously, “What about the other Iroquois by the creek? He's still out there!”
“I used your tapping rock signal as a diversion. While he was looking at you, I was able to take him by surprise.” He nodded at Jesse's fallen warrior. “Let's take this one to the women, and then we can go fetch the third.”
Iondaee dragged the unconscious warrior back to the camp. It had been a long and draining day for everyone. The women were more determined than joyful at the knowledge that they had won the battle. Their temporary freedom was horribly tainted by their tremendous loss.
Strips of leather were found and the women went to work at tying up their captives. Iondaee approached
