noon
So Donald was obliged to control himself as best he could , and bear the sufferings of his companions in silence , but his mind was ever filled with plans for escape . Whenever he succeeded in attracting Christie 's attention , he sought by meaning glances at a certain canoe smaller than any of the others , and then off over the lake , to convey an idea of what was in his mind , and was led to believe from the other 's expression that he understood . From Bullen , however , he could gain no satisfaction in this way , and concluded that the paymaster was not so quick-witted as his brother officer . At length one noon the war-party reached a point near the ruins of Sandusky , where they found a number of Shawnees , who were about to ascend Cedar Creek to their villages on the Scioto . These had with them several casks of rum , one of which was , after a long talk , transferred to the canoe in which Donald travelled . Then , to his intense grief and dismay , his own party resumed their journey , with the exception that Christie was left behind in the hands of the strangers . The slave had been sold , though he did not realize the fact until he started to enter the canoe in which he had come , and was forcibly restrained while it was pushed off .