There was one answer to both questions that made sense. They were on their way to an important gathering, and they believed themselves surrounded by allies. Was it possible that they were converging with other war parties for an attack on Fort Pitt? Were they so certain of victory that they felt the Ohio Valley was already won? Had they joined together in such overwhelming numbers that their boldness was driving them to carelessness?
Shingiss had warned him last winter that the nations of the northwestern wilderness were joining forces to drive whites out. Nicholas was now certain that if they didn’t hurry, they would arrive at Fort Pitt only to find it already under siege—and their access to it blocked. But even if they reached the fort, they would not be safe. If Fort Pitt was not already under siege by the time they arrived, it soon would be.
Nicholas had wanted to lead Bethie and her baby to safety. As the days passed, he began to fear he was only leading them into greater danger.
***
“Ihate to wake you, Bethie, but we need to keep moving.”
She felt Nicholas kiss her cheek, struggled to wakefulness from a dreamless sleep.
By the time she’d finished her breakfast of roast chicken and corn cakes and fed Belle, Nicholas had the fire out, the saddlebags packed, and the horses ready.
They followed the river as it made a sudden sweep northward toward its joining with the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, keeping as usual to the cover of the trees. But they hadn’t ridden far when they came across the burnt ruins of another farm.
Nicholas dismounted. “Stay here, Bethie. I don’t want you to see this.”
But Bethie didn’t need to get any closer to realize what she was seeing. Lying in the grass around the charred remains of a cabin were several human bodies, the air above them thick with flies. She turned Rosa’s head away from the slaughter, drew air deep into her lungs, fought to keep her breakfast.
Nicholas was soon back, his face grim. He strode over to his stallion, mounted. “This happened a few days ago.”
She fought her queasiness, tried to be strong. “D-do you think it’s the same ones?”
He drew alongside her. “No. This band is much larger—I’d say perhaps as many as thirty warriors. But they’re headed toward Fort Pitt just like the others.”
“’Tis the uprisin’ you spoke of, is it no’? These attacks cannae be mere chance.”
He nodded. “It’s time we forsook the river and rode across country straight for the fort. We can reach Fort Pitt by dawn if we ride hard. Can you manage it, Bethie? It will be long and rough, and there’s likely to be trouble.”
She looked at him through eyes filled with trust. “I will go where you lead and do my best no’ to be a burden.”
He reached across, cupped her cheek. “You’re not a burden.”
They turned their horses to the east and rode through hilly, forested country. Despite the need to cover ground quickly, Nicholas kept the horses at a walk, unwilling to risk riding headlong into an encampment of warriors or finding themselves in an ambush.
They passed two more burnt farmsteads before noon, though there were no bodies at the second. As the two farms were located fairly close together, Bethie suggested that perhaps the occupants of the second farm had heard what was happening to their neighbors and had fled.
Theyhadfled, but they hadn’t gotten far. Nicholas spotted their bodies a half mile from their home. He led Bethie in a wide arc around the carnage.
It was early afternoon when he motioned for Bethie to stop.
Something didn’t feel right.
Zeus snorted, jerked at the reins. The stallion’s ears twitched, faced back.
Behind them.
They were being tracked.
Quickly, Nicholas read the landscape. Unsure how many men were approaching, he needed a defensible position. Then he kicked in his heels, urged Zeus to a canter. “Hurry, Bethie!”
A half mile ahead of them two steep hills rose from the ground. He knew that a small brook ran between them down a narrow gully, a natural place for travelers to water their horses—and the perfect spot for an ambush.
It took only a few minutes for them to reach the brook. Nicholas reined the horses to low-hanging branches near the water, grabbed his rifle, shot, and powder, then helped Bethie dismount.
“Nicholas, what—” Her eyes were wide, her face pale.
“We’re being followed. Quick. Up here.”
