The darkness was certainly full of wicked spirits, and they were seeking prey.

So many owls and bears and panthers could not be abroad at once in a circle about him.

But Tandakora shook himself and resolved to stand fast.

He encouraged his warriors, who were already showing signs of fright, and refused to let any one go.
But the forest chorus grew.

Tandakora heard the gobble of the wild turkey as he used to hear it in his native west, only he was sure that the gobble now was made by a spirit and not by a real turkey.