about noon
The way led wholly through woods , and it seemed to him that the heat lay particularly heavy under the boughs of the great trees which served to enclose it and which shut out wandering breezes . But he would not complain . He strove manfully to keep up with the others , step for step , although his breath was growing shorter . Henry about noon looked back , noticed that Paul was laboring , and stopped for a rest of a half hour . Two or three hours later they struck a great trail , one so large that all knew at least five hundred warriors must have passed . It was obvious that it had been made by Girty and his army , and they saw with a sinking of the heart that it was hours cold . The Indian force was much ahead of them , and its trail led straight away to Fort Prescott .