THE KEEPERS OF THE TRAIL

A Story of the Great Woods

by

JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER

Author of "The Young Trailers, " "The Forest Runners, " Etc. 

Appleton-CenturyNew York

Copyright, 1916, byD. Appleton and Company

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not bereproduced in any form without permission of the publishers. 

Copyright, 1944, by Sallie B. Altsheler

Printed in the United States of America

FOREWORD

"The Keepers of The Trail" deals with an episode, hitherto unrelated, inthe lives of Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Shif'less Sol Hyde, Long Jim Hart, and Silent Tom Ross. In point of time it follows "The Forest Runners, "and, so, is the third volume of the "Young Trailer" series. 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

 I. HENRY IN HIS KINGDOM 1

 II. THE BIG GUNS 23

 III. THE INDIAN CAMP 41

 IV. THE DEED IN THE WATER 61

 V. THE FOREST JOKER 83

 VI. THE KING WOLF 101

 VII. THE FOREST POETS 123

 VIII. THE PATH OF DANGER 140

 IX. THE KEEPERS OF THE CLEFT 164

 X. BESIEGED 187

 XI. THE SHIFTLESS ONE 207

 XII. ON THE GREAT TRAIL 230

 XIII. FIVE AGAINST A THOUSAND 251

 XIV. HOLDING THE FORD 270

 XV. THE GREAT CULMINATION 293

THE KEEPERS OF THE TRAIL

CHAPTER I

HENRY IN HIS KINGDOM

A light wind blew over the great, primeval wilderness of Kentucky, thedense, green foliage rippling under it like the waves of the sea. Inevery direction forest and canebrake stretched in countless miles, thetrees, infinite in variety, and great in size, showing that Nature hadworked here with the hand of a master. Little streams flashing in silveror gold in the sunlight, flowed down to the greater rivers, and on abush a scarlet tanager fluttered like a flash of flame. 

A youth, uncommon in size and bearing, stepped into a little opening, and looked about with the easy, natural caution belonging to the nativeof the forest who knows that danger is always near. His eyes pierced thefoliage, and would have noticed anything unusual there, his ear was sokeen that he would have heard at once any sound not a part of the woods. 

Eye and ear and the indefinable powers of primitive man told him noenemy was at hand, and he stood on the green hill, breathing the fresh, crisp air, with a delight that only such as he could feel. Mighty wasthe wilderness, majestic in its sweep, and depth of color, and the lonehuman figure fitted into it perfectly, adding to it the last andfinishing touch. 

He blended, too, with the forest. His dress, wholly of fine, tanneddeerskin, was dyed green, the hunting shirt fringed, hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins alike adorned with rows of little beads. Fittingthus so completely into his environment, the ordinary eye would not haveobserved him, and his footsteps were so light that the rabbits in thebush did not stir, and the flaming bird on the bough was not frightened. 

Henry Ware let the stock of his rifle rest upon the ground and held itby the barrel, while he gazed over the green billows of the forest, rolling away and away to every horizon. He was a fortunate human beingwho had come into his own kingdom, one in which he was fitted supremelyto reign, and he would not have exchanged his place for that of anytitular sovereign on his throne. 

His eyes gleamed with pleasure as he looked upon his world. None knewbetter than he its immense variety and richness. He noted the differentshades of the leaves and he knew by contrast the kind of tree that borethem. His eye fell upon the tanager, and the deep, intense scarlet ofits plumage gave him pleasure. It seemed fairly to blaze against thebackground of woodland green, but it still took no alarm from thepresence of the tall youth who neither stirred nor made any sound. 

Another bird, hidden behind an immense leaf, began to pour forth thefull notes of a chattering, mocking song, almost like the voice of ahuman being. Henry liked it, too, although he knew the bird was flinginghim a pretty defiance. It belonged in his world. It was fitting that onesinger, many singers, should live in his wilderness and sing for him. 

A gray squirrel, its saucy tail curved over its back, ran lightly up anoak, perched on a bough and gazed at him with a challenging, red eye. Henry gave back his look, and laughed in the silent manner of theborder. He had no wish to hurt the swaggering little fellow. His heartwas bare of ill will against anything. 

A deep, clear creek flowed at the base of the hill, and a fish, snappingat a fly, leaped clear of the water, making a silver streak in the air, gone in an instant as he fell back into the stream. The glimpse pleasedHenry. It, too, was a part of his kingdom, stocked with fur, fin andfeather, beyond that of any other king, and far more vast. 

The brilliant sunlight over his head began to dim and darken. He lookedup. The van of a host, the wild pigeons flying northward appeared, andthen came the great wide column, millions and millions of birds, returning from their winter in the south. He had seen the huge flightsbefore, but the freshness and zest of the sight never wore away. Nomatter how far they came nor how far they went they would still beflying over his forest empire. And then would come the great flocks ofwild ducks and wild geese, winging swiftly like an arrow toward thenorth. They, too, were his, and again he took long, deep breaths of adelight so keen that it made his pulses leap. 

From the wood at the base of the hill came a crackling sound as ofsomething breaking, and then the long crash of a tree falling. He went alittle way down the slope and his moccasins made no sound in the grass. Gently pulling aside the bough of a sheltering bush he saw the beaversat work. Already they were measuring for lengths the tree they had cutthrough at the base with their long, sharp teeth. 

The creek here received a tributary brook of considerable volume, andthe dam erected by the beavers had sent the waters far back in a tinysheet like a little lake. But as Henry saw, they were going to raise thedam higher, and they were working with the intelligence and energy thatbelong so peculiarly to the beaver. Four powerful fellows were floatinga log in the water, ready to put it into place, and others on the bankwere launching another. 

It was one of the largest beaver colonies he had ever seen, and hewatched it with peculiar enjoyment. He killed the beaver now andthen--the cap upon his head was made of its skin--but only when it wasneedful. The industrious animals were safe from his rifle now, and hefelt that his wilderness had no more useful people. 

He looked at them a long time, merely for the pleasure of looking. Theyshowed so much skill, so much quickness and judgment that he was willingto see and learn from them. He felt, in a sense, that they werecomrades. He wished them well in their work, and he knew that they wouldhave snug houses, when the next winter came. 

He left them in their peace, returned to the brow of the hill, and thenwalked slowly down the other side. He heard a woof, a sound ofscrambling, and a black bear, big in frame, but yet lean from thewinter, ran from its lair in the bushes, stopped a moment at fifty orsixty yards to look hard at him, and then, wheeling again in frightenedflight disappeared among the trees. Henry once more laughed silently. Hewould not have harmed the bear either. 

A puffing, panting sound attracted his attention, and, walking fartheron, he looked into a glade, in which the grass grew high and thick. Hehad known from the character of the noise that he would find buffaloesthere, and they numbered about a dozen, grazing a while, and thenbreathing heavily in content. He had seen them in countless herds on thewestern plains, when he was with Black Cloud and his tribe, but south ofthe Ohio, owing to the heavy forest, they were found only in smallgroups, although they were plentiful. 

The wind was blowing toward him, and standing partially behind a hugeoak he watched them. They were the finest and largest inhabitants of hiswilderness, splendid creatures, with their leonine manes and hugeshoulders, beasts of which any monarch might be proud. He could easilybring down any one of them that he wanted with his rifle, but they weresafe from all bullets of his. 

He looked at them a while, as a man would gaze at a favorite horse. There was a calf among them, and whenever it wandered from the middle ofthe glade toward the edge of the forest the mother would push it back. Henry, studying the woods there, saw just within their shadow the longslinking figures of two gray wolves. He knew their purpose, but he knewalso that it would not be fulfilled. 

He watched the little forest drama with an interest none the lessbecause it was not new to him. He saw the gray shadows creeping nearerand nearer, while the calf persistently sought the woods, probably forshade. Presently the leader of the herd, an immense bull, almost black, caught an odor, wheeled like lightning and rushed upon the wolves. Therewas a single yelp, as one was trampled to death, and the other fledthrough the forest to seek easier prey. 

The buffaloes returned to their grazing and the foolish calf, warned bythe danger from which he had been saved, stayed in the middle of theglade, with his elders as a wall around him. Henry smiled. He hadforeseen the result, and it was wholly to his liking. He passed aroundthe opening, not wishing to disturb the animals, and went northward, always on soundless feet. 

A stag, catching the human odor on the wind, sprang from a thicket, andcrashed away in wild alarm. Henry laughed again and waved his hand atthe fleeting figure. The stag did not know that he had no cause to dreadhim, but Henry admired his speed. A flock of wild turkeys rose from abough above his head, and uttering preliminary gobbles, sailed away ina low flight among the trees. He waved his hand at them also, andnoticed before they disappeared how the sunlight glowed on their bronzefeathers. 

It was a fine morning in his kingdom, and he was seeing many forms ofits life. He remarked a bee tree, and thought it probable that therunaway bear would make a try there some day for honey. Then he stoppedand looked at a tiny blue flower, just blooming in the shelter of abush. He examined it with appreciation and touched the delicate leafvery gently, lest he break it away. Little and fragile, it had its placenevertheless in his realm. 

His course led him back to the creek, here very deep and clear andrunning over a gravelly bottom. After looking and listening for a littlewhile, he undressed, laid his rifle and other weapons on the very edgeof the bank, where he could reach them in an instant, and droppedsilently into the water. It was cool and he shivered at first, but as heswam the warmth returned to his veins. 

He was a splendid swimmer, and he was careful not to splash or make anyother sound that could be heard far. It was glorious there in the water, and he was loath to leave it. He lay on his back, floated a little withthe current, and then with strokes strong, swift and silent, swam backagain. 

His eyes looked up into a blue sky, sprinkled with many little whiteclouds golden at the edge. The huge flight of pigeons had passed and nolonger dimmed the sun. He could just see the last of the myriads on theedge of the northern horizon. But there was a sudden flash of blackacross the blue, and a hawk shot down into the forest. A bald eaglesailed in slow majesty above the trees, and, well within the shelter ofthe foliage near him, many small birds were twittering. The air over hisrealm as well as the forests and waters was full of life. 

He came out, allowed himself to dry in the sun, while he flexed andtensed his powerful muscles. Then he dressed. The swim had been good, and he was glad that he had taken the risk. He was aware that the forestcontained inhabitants much more dangerous than those he had looked uponthat morning, but he had not yet seen any sign of them, and he was onewho had learned to use his opportunities. 

After luxuriating for a little while on the grass, Henry, rifle onshoulder, walked swiftly forward. He had a definite purpose and it wasto rejoin his four comrades, Paul Cotter, Shif'less Sol Hyde, Long JimHart and Tom Ross, who were not far away in the greenwood, the five, since the repulse of the great attack upon the wagon train, continuingtheir chosen duties as keepers of the trail, that is, they werecontinually on guard in the vast forest and canebrake against theNorthwestern Indians who were making such a bitter war upon the youngKentucky settlements. 

Henry had known that they would come again. Kentucky had been a hugehunting ground, without any Indian villages, but for that reason it hadbeen prized most highly by the savage. The same reason made the groundall the more dangerous for the white people, because the Indians, unhampered by their women and children, came only with chosen bands ofwarriors, selected for supreme skill in battle and forest lore. Noseekers of new homes ever faced greater dangers than the little whitevanguard that crossed the Alleghanies into the splendid new land beyond. Hidden death always lurked in the bush, and no man went beyond thepalisade even on the commonest errand without his rifle. 

It was a noble task that Henry and his comrades had undertaken, to actas watchers, and it appealed to them all, to him most because he wascontinually in the wilderness that he loved so well, and he felt that hewas doing a much greater work than when he was felling trees, andhelping to clear a place for crops. As for himself he would never havecut down a single tree, although there were millions and millions ofthem. Nature held nothing that he admired more. He knew no greaterdelight than to stand on a high hill and look on the forest, deep green, waving in the wind, and stretching to the complete circle of the horizonand beyond. 

He was now in one of the loneliest stretches of the wilderness, farnorth of Wareville, and no great distance from the Ohio. A day's marchwould take him to a favorite crossing of the savages, and that was whyhe and his comrades were in this region. He increased his speed, settling into the long swinging gait which the scouts of the borderalways used, when they would hasten, but, in a half-hour, he stoppedsuddenly and his figure seemed to vanish utterly in a dense mass ofgreen bushes. 

Henry, now hidden himself, had seen. It was only a trace that scarcelyany eye save his would have noticed, but in a place where the earth wassoft he had observed the faint imprint of a moccasin, the toes turninginward and hence made by an Indian. Other imprints must be near, but, for a little while, he would not look, remaining crouched in thethicket. He wished to be sure before he moved that no wearer of amoccasin was in the bush. It might be that Yellow Panther, redoubtablechief of the Miamis, and Red Eagle, equally redoubtable chief of theShawnees, were at hand with great war bands, burning to avenge theirdefeats. 

He did not move for fully ten minutes. He had acquired all the qualitiesof those who live in constant danger in vast forests, and, like theanimal that hides, his figure and dress blended completely with thegreen thicket. The air brought no menace to either eye or ear, and thenhe stepped forth. 

He found the imprints of five or six pairs of moccasins farther on, andthen they became so faint that the best trailer in the West could notfollow them, although he believed that they had been made by a huntingparty. It was customary for the Indians on their great raids to detach anumber of men who would roam the forests for food, but he decided thathe would not try to follow them any longer. He would not be deflectedfrom his purpose to join his comrades. 

Leaving the broken trail he sped north by west, the forests and thicketsgrowing thicker as he advanced. At one point he came to a vast canebrakethat seemed impassable, yet he made his way through it almost withoutslackening speed, and came to a grove of oaks, so large and so densethat the sunlight never entered there. He stopped at its edge andimitated the long, haunting cry of the owl. In a moment or two a notelike it, but distant and faint, came. He uttered the cry a second time, and heard the reply. 

Hesitating no longer he entered the oak grove. These trees with theirgreat mossy trunks were the finest that he had ever seen. Some peculiarquality of the soil, some fertilizing agency beneath had given them anunparalleled growth. The leafy roof was complete, and he advanced as onewho walks down a limitless hall, studded with a myriad of columns. 

Two miles and turning around a hill he came to a cup in its far side, hidden so well that the unknowing would have passed it unseen. But hecalled and his four comrades answered from the cup. Parting the bushesHenry entered and they gave him a low but joyous welcome. 

The cup, almost circular, was not more than ten feet across, but the sunshone in it and the ground was warm and dry. Just beyond the far edge alittle spring gushed from under a stone and trickled away, whisperinggently through the bushes. 

Paul was the only one of the four who had risen. He stood now erect, thestock of his rifle resting on the ground, the customary attitude of thewaiting borderer, his fine, intellectual face bright with interest. 

"Did you see anything, Henry?" he asked. 

"O' course he saw somethin', " drawled Shif'less Sol. "Did you ever knowthe time when Henry went anywhar without seein' anythin'?"

"Paul meant did he see anythin' wuth tellin', " said Long Jim. "You'realways talkin' too much, Sol. Why did you want to bust in on a boy thatwas askin' a decent question?"

"I never talk too much, Long Jim Hart, " said the shiftless oneindignantly. "Now an' then I hev to talk a long time, 'cause I know somuch that I can't git it all out between sunrise an' sunset, an' thehours then are mighty crowded, too. I reckon that you'd never needmore'n five minutes to empty your head. "

"Mine's a good head an' it never has any swellin' either. "

"Give Henry a chance, " said Paul smiling. "How can he ever tell usanything, when you two are filling all the woods with the roar ofargument?"

The debaters subsided. Silent Tom Ross said nothing. His chariness ofspeech often saved him much breath. Besides, Tom was contented. He knewthat if Henry had found anything worth telling and thought fit to tellit he would do so at the right time. 

"Give me some venison, " said Henry. "I've walked a long way, and I'mhungry. "

Paul produced a piece from a deerskin knapsack that he carried andHenry, sitting down in the circular opening, ate. Paul lay down againand all of them waited. 

"Indians, " said Henry at length, waving his hands toward the east. 

"How many?" asked Shif'less Sol. 

"I could not tell, but I think it's a large band, either Miamis orShawnees. Perhaps Yellow Panther and Red Eagle have come back. "

"Like as not, " said the shiftless one. "They're the kind to come. "

"Huntin' scalps, " said Tom Ross, speaking for the first time. 

"And it's our business, " said Paul, "to see that they don't get 'em. "

"So it is, " said Long Jim. "A man hates to lose his hair, 'speciallywhen he's got such thick, beautiful hair as mine. I've heard that a bigprize fur my scalp has been offered to all the Injun nations across theOhio. Still, danger heats up my courage, an' I'm right proud uv bein' amarked man. "

"We must find out all about that band, " said Tom Ross. "Which way wuzthey goin'?"

"The trail so far as it showed led to the east, " replied Henry, "but youcouldn't tell anything by that. I'm quite sure it was made by hunterssent out for buffalo or deer to feed the main band. There's lots of gamearound here, which shows that the Indians haven't been roving over thisregion much. "

"I've seen all kinds, " said Long Jim. "It jest walks or flies right upto our rifle barrels, an' ef it wuzn't fur the danger I'd like to showyou fellers the grand way in which I could cook a lot uv it. "

"Right thar, old hoss, I stand up fur you ag'in' the world, " saidShif'less Sol, "but I reckon we ain't lightin' any fires jest now. "

"No, " said Henry. "I think we'd better stay here the rest of the day, and keep ourselves in hiding. The main band, whatever its size orwherever it is, seems to have plenty of flankers and hunters, and if weran into them, as we surely would, we wouldn't have any chance to watch'em later on. "

"Right, o' course, " said Shif'less Sol, and the others agreed insilence. 

The five lay back upon the dry leaves, depending upon hearing chiefly, to warn them of the possible coming of an enemy. The undergrowth was sodense about the cup that no one fifteen yards away could see them, andthey were able to hear even a creeping warrior, before he could comethat near. Hence they reposed without alarm, and, bold forest runnersthat they were, eternally on guard, they took their ease with a certainsense of luxury. 

It was about the middle of the afternoon, and the sun was at itsbrightest, the rays being vertical. From their woodland cup they lookedup at a circle of shining blue sky, continually crossed by tiny whiteclouds, following one another in a regular procession from south tonorth. The majesty of the wilderness and the illimitable covering offorest green appealed to Paul but little less than to Henry. He, too, felt the great lift of the spirit, danger or no danger. 

The five enjoyed the wilderness, every one in his own way, Henry andPaul because their souls were stirred by it, Shif'less Sol because itwas always unfolding to him some new wonder, Tom Ross because it was ahunting ground without limit, and Long Jim because nearly every kind ofgame found in it could be eaten, after it had been cooked by his masterhand. 

But they did not speak now. The people of the border, save in theirhomes, never talked much. The caution bred by the necessity of the woodsbecame a habit. They acquired an extraordinary power over voice andnerves. Like a Hindu, a man could lie silent and motionless for hours. In this respect they had the quality of the Indian and the five at leastcould match his native cunning and training, and, in addition, bring totheir own aid a superior intellectual power. That was why they werekings of the woods. 

The sun passed the zenith and the rays were no longer vertical, but itwas almost as bright in the cup as ever, while the sky itself had lostnothing of its shining blue tint. Paul presently said:

"I notice a shred of brown or gray against that brilliant blue. Now allthe little clouds are white, and this sadder color has no businessthere. Besides, it's a blur. Would you say it's smoke, Henry?"

Henry, who had been listening rather than watching, opened his eyes andstared intently at the faint smudge on the sky. 

"Yes, it's smoke, " he said, "and as the wind now comes from the southit, too, is traveling that way. Don't you think so, Sol?"

"O' course, Henry. Now you see thar's a little bigger patch o' grayfollowin' the first, an' it ain't so mighty high above us, either. "

"Yes, I see it. Read the book for us, Sol. "

"Lookin' at them thar two bits o' gray which Natur' didn't put up in thesky, but which somehow came from the hand o' man, I kin spin the talejest ez it is. That's smoke up thar. It can't come from any kind o' aforest fire, 'cause it's early spring an' the woods are too green toburn. Thar ain't no white people in these parts 'cept ourselves an' efthar wuz they wouldn't be so foolish ez to build a fire that sends upsmoke. So it's bound to be Injuns. They're a big band, so big that theyain't afeard o' bein' attacked. That's the reason why they're sokeerless 'bout thar smoke. An' 'cause the band is so big it ain't jesthunters. It's a war band bound south ag'in the settlements to git scalpsin revenge for all the braves they've lost. Do I tell the truth, Henry?"

"To the last detail. "

"Thoroughly good logic, " said Paul. 

"What's logic?" asked Long Jim. 

"I'll illustrate, " replied Paul. "When you see a deer, take aim at himwith your rifle and shoot him through the heart, you feel quite surewhen he drops dead that it was you who killed him. Logic tells you that, and so that is logic. "

"I reckon I know now, " said Long Jim, rubbing his chin. 

"Tom, " said Henry, "about how far from us is the fire that makes thatsmoke?"

"Smoke, 'less there's a terrible lot uv it, don't hang together long, "replied Ross, looking up thoughtfully at the little gray clouds. "But Ireckon them two thar wuz broke off from a much bigger piece at thestart, an' are gittin' smaller ez they come. But thar main camp ain'tmore'n two miles from here, Henry. "

"Just about that, I should say. We'd better look 'em over tonight, hadn't we?"

"Jest ez you say. You're the leader, Henry. "

"We'll do it, if we can, but I'm thinking we'll have to be mightycareful. I've an idea that the woods are full of warriors. I don't wantto be burned at the stake. "

"But Jim Hart here would make a most bee-yu-ti-ful torch, " saidShif'less Sol. "Slim an' nigh on to six feet and a half tall he'd lightup the whole woods, ef he wuz set on fire on top fust. "

"Ef you wuz set on fire on top, " said Long Jim, "thar wouldn't be muchburnin', 'cause a blaze can't feed on emptiness. "

"Thar goes another o' them little gray patches, " said Silent Tom. "Thatmeans they're still feedin' the fire--fur cookin' too, 'cause they don'tneed it to warm by. The hunters must hev brought in a power o' game, 'cause when the warriors do eat, an' they hev plenty o' it to last, theyeat in a way no white man can match. "

"I suppose that was the way of the primitive man, " said Paul, who waswont to think about origins and causes. "He was never sure of his food, and when he had it he ate all he could. "

Henry uttered a slight warning hiss, a sibilant breath, scarcely more, and the five shifting a little, grasped their rifles in such a mannerthat they could be pushed forward at once, and listened with all theirears. Henry had heard a light footfall, and then the faint sound ofvoices. He drew himself to the edge of the covert and he did it with somuch skill that not a leaf or a blade of grass rustled. 

Lying flat on the ground, and, looking underneath the boughs of thetrees and bushes, where only the trunks and stems were in the way, hesaw the legs of four men, the upper parts of their bodies beingcompletely hidden by the foliage. Henry knew, nevertheless, that theywere three Indians and one white man. The white man was disclosed by histhicker legs and his toes which turned out. All were clothed much alikein deerskin leggings, but Henry could make no mistake. 

It was equally evident to him that the white man was not a prisoner, because he walked quite freely. Once he passed ahead of the threeIndians, and then he dropped behind. If a captive, he would have walkedjust behind one warrior and the other two, in Indian file, would havewalked close behind him. 

Henry saw also that they were carrying heavy weights, because theystepped slowly and with a certain stiffness. There was a rigidity andtension that strong men walking easily would not have shown. Unquestionably they were successful hunters, carrying game to a greatgluttonous band feasting with energy two miles away. 

"Three Shawnees and Braxton Wyatt, " whispered Shif'less Sol, who hadcrept to his side. "Don't you remember that he had jest the faintest bito' bow in his legs? An' thar's that bow. Why, I'd know them legs anywharin the world. "

"That's so, " said Henry. "Now I wonder what his wicked mind is devising. There's no hater like a renegade. "

"You may be shore he's thinkin' o' harm to our people down below, " saidthe shiftless one. "I'm glad we're here to see 'em. "

Henry nodded in agreement, and they whispered to the others that Wyattand three Shawnees were passing. Henry and Sol knew that they wereShawnees, because they had red beads in a row on their leggings, wherethe Miamis wore blue ones. 

"Ef I wuz to steal down a bit through the bushes an' shoot that traitorright squar' through his black heart, ez I could do easy, I'd be savin'the lives o' innocent men, women an' children, " said Shif'less Sol. 

"It is likely, " said Henry, "but you mustn't do it. Somehow I can't seea man shot from ambush. Besides, it would give the alarm, an' wemightn't be able to carry on our work. "

"I didn't say I wanted to do it, but it's pow'ful temptin'. "

"Yes, I know, but it's silence and waiting for us. "

The four pairs of legs, three Indian and one white, passed on. Tenminutes later they heard a long whoop from one point, and a long whoopfrom another point answered. They were not war cries, merely signals, and the five appreciated more than ever the invisibility of their littleretreat. There was not more than one chance in a hundred that awandering warrior would stumble upon it. 

Other calls were heard through the forest, and then the faint sound of achant dying swiftly. 

"They're merry, " said Paul, with swift intuition. "Maybe they have somescalps already to rejoice over. "

It was a bitter reminder to Henry, and yet it might be true. A smallband, traveling fast, might have struck an unguarded settlement, and, returning, might be here now with the great band, bearing theirsanguinary trophies. Five only, no matter how brave and skillful, couldnot watch the whole border. 

"There's nothing to do, " he said, "but wait for darkness. "

Not one of them had risen to his feet, and they merely sank back ontheir elbows, again relying more upon ear than eye. They relaxed, butthey were ready for instant action, should the need come. 

They would not have very long to wait now. The sun was so far over inthe west that it cast slanting rays and shadows were gathering at thebase of the cup. It was growing colder and the rising wind sang amongthe green young leaves. A vast red sun hanging low over the westernwilderness tinged the forest, as if with fire. To an ordinary humanbeing it would have been an awful sun in its flaming majesty, frightening him, lost in the forest, by its mysterious immensity, butthe five, either separately or alone were too familiar with the greatspectacle to feel fear. 

"It's an uncommonly red sun, " said Tom Ross. 

"And they say that means battle, " said Paul, who had read much for a ladof the frontier. 

"I s'pose so, " said the shiftless one, "an' it may mean a storm, but Ireckon in this case it's more likely to p'int to rifles an' tomahawks. "

The splendor of the west in its crimson and gold deepened. Higher up inthe heavens were glorious terraces of blue and pink. The boughs of thedistant trees stood out as if they were wrapped in living fire. 

"Magnificent!" said Paul, for whom its magic never palled. 

"And now it's fading, " said Henry. 

"The shoulder of the world is coming up between, " said Paul. 

"What do you mean by that?" asked Long Jim, "when with your own eyes youkin see the sun movin' 'roun' behind the earth. "

"The sun doesn't move, Jim, that is, so far as we're concerned, but wedo. We roll around ourselves every day and night. At the end of the daythe earth is between us and the sun, and in the night when we roll backaround we face the sun again. "

"You've read a lot of books, Paul, forty or fifty, I s'pose, an' Ibelieve most that you say, but you can't make me believe a thing likethat. Don't I see the sun set, an' don't I see it rise? What's print toa fellow's eyes? Print can lie, but your eyes don't. "

Paul did not deem it worth while to argue. In a few more minutes the sunwas hidden behind the turning earth, leaving great bands of gold andblue and pink, which, in their turn, faded fast, giving place to thegray of coming twilight. 

The five ate venison, and drank from the tiny brook at the edge of thecup. Meanwhile, full night came, and they prepared to go forth and seewhat they might see. 

CHAPTER II

THE BIG GUNS

Despite the brilliant sunset, the night was dark, drifting cloudsveiling the moon at times, while the stars lay hidden behind mists andvapors, making the conditions suitable for those who wished to scout andspy upon an enemy, as fierce and implacable as the Indian. 

"All that color when the sun went down means rain, " said Tom Ross, whowas weatherwise. 

"But not tonight, " said Henry. 

"No, not tonight, but tomorrow, sometime, it'll come, shore. Themwarriors hev built up their fires mighty big. Can't you smell thesmoke?"

The wind was blowing toward them and upon it came the faint odor ofburning wood. 

"They're indulging in what we would call a festival, " said Paul. "Theymust have an immense bonfire, and it must be a huge camp. "

"Beyond a doubt, " said Henry. 

Examining their weapons carefully they left the cup, dropping into theirusual order, as they made their silent way through the forest, Henryleading, the shiftless one next, then Paul, followed by Long Jim whileSilent Tom covered the rear. There was no noise as they passed. Theyslipped by the boughs and every moccasined foot instinctively avoidedthe rotten stick that would break beneath its weight. 

As they advanced the odor of burning wood grew stronger. It might nothave been noticed by the dwellers in peaceful lands, but it was obviousat once to senses trained like theirs in the hardest of all schools, that of continuous danger. Henry twice heard the swish of a heavy nightbird over their heads, but he knew the sound and paid no attention toit. Faint sliding noises in the thickets were made by the littleanimals, scuttling away in fright at the odor of man. 

They crossed a shallow valley, in which the forest was extremely dense, and emerged upon a low hill, covered with oak, maple and elm, withoutmuch undergrowth. Here Henry was the first to see a low, barelydiscernible light upon the eastern horizon, and he called the attentionof the others to it. All of them knew that it was the glow of the Indiancampfire, and apparently nothing but heavy forest lay between them andthe flames. 

They held a consultation, and agreed that Henry and Shif'less Sol, thebest two trailers, should go forward, while the other three shouldremain in reserve to cover their retreat, if it were forced, or to goforward to possible rescue, if they did not return before morning. Thedecision was reached quickly. The superiority was accorded at once andwithout jealousy to Henry and the shiftless one. 

But they moved forward in a group, until the glow rose higher and grewbrighter. Then the three who were to stay lay close in a clump of bushesgrowing near the base of a great elm that Henry and Shif'less Sol markedwell. Faint whoops or their echo came to them, and they knew that thewarriors were rejoicing. 

"A mighty big camp, bigger even than we thought, " said Silent Tom. 

"We'll soon see, " said Henry, as he and his comrade in the daringventure slid away among the bushes. Then the two went forward withunbelievable skill. Not even the ear of a warrior could have heard themfifteen feet away, and they never relaxed their caution, although theydid not believe that the Indians were keeping very close watch. 

They had seen at first a glow more pink than red. Now it was a deepscarlet, showing many leaping tongues against the forest. The odor ofburning wood became strong, and they saw sparks and wisps of smokeflying among the leaves. Long fierce whoops like the cry of animals cameat times, but beneath them was an incessant muttering chant and the low, steady beat of some instrument like a drum. 

"The war dance, " whispered Henry. 

The shiftless one nodded. 

They redoubled their caution, creeping very slowly, lying almost flatupon the ground and dragging their bodies forward, like crawlinganimals. They were coming to one of the openings, like a tiny prairie, frequent in early Kentucky, sheltered on the side they were approachingby a dense canebrake, through which they were making their way. 

The open space was several acres in extent, and at the far end weretepees, which the two knew were intended for chiefs of high degree. Inthe center burned an immense bonfire, or rather a group of bonfires, merged into one, fed incessantly by warriors who dragged wood from theadjoining forest, and threw it into the flames. 

But it was not the sight of the fire or the tepees that stirred Henry. It was that of hundreds of Indian warriors gathered and indulging in oneof those savage festivals upon which nobody could look at night withouta thrill of wonder and awe. Here primeval man was in his glory. 

The Indians of North America were a strange compound of cruelty andcunning, leavened at times by nobility and self-sacrifice. Most of thetribes were perfect little political organizations, and the league ofthe Iroquois was worthy of a highly civilized race. They were creaturesof circumstances, and, while loyal to friends, they were merciless toenemies, devising incredible methods of torture. 

It was this knowledge that made Henry shudder as he looked upon thegreat camp. He knew the Indian and liked him in many respects--hiscaptivity in the northwest had been no pain--but he was white and hemust fight for the white man, and hence against the red. 

The warriors were intoxicated not with liquor, but with the red fury ofthe brain. Vast quantities of game, freshly dressed, were heaped uponthe earth. Every man would seize a piece to suit himself, broil ithastily on coals and then eat. He ate like the savage he was, and theamounts they devoured were astonishing, just as they could fast anamazing number of days, if need be. 

Whenever one had eaten enough for the time he would rush into a mass ofdancers near the eastern edge of the opening. Then he would begin toleap back and forth and chant with unnatural energy. They could keep upthis manner of dancing and singing for many hours, and they quit it onlyto obtain more food or to fall down exhausted. 

"It's the war dance, " whispered Henry. 

Shif'less Sol nodded. It was, in truth, just approaching its height asthe two crept near. Four powerful warriors, naked except for the breechclout, were beating incessantly and monotonously upon the Indian drums. These drums (Ga-no-jo) were about a foot in height and the drummer useda single stick. The dance itself was called by the Shawnees, Sa-ma-no-o-no, which was the name bestowed upon this nation by theSenecas, although the Iroquois themselves called the dance Wa-ta-seh. 

Few white men have looked upon such a spectacle at such a time, in thevery deeps of the wilderness, under a night sky, heavy with driftingclouds. The whole civilized world had vanished, gone utterly like a wispof vapor before a wind, and it was peopled only by these savage figuresthat danced in the dusk. 

Near the trees stood a group of chiefs, among whom Henry recognizedYellow Panther, the Miami, and Red Eagle, the Shawnee, imposing menboth, but not the equals of an extremely tall and powerful young chief, who was destined later to be an important figure in the life of HenryWare. They stood silent, dignified, the presiding figures of the dance. 

The war drums beat on, insistent and steady, like the rolling of waterdown a fall. The very monotony of the sound, the eternal harping uponone theme, contained power. Henry, susceptible to the impressions of thewilderness, began to feel that his own brain was being heated by it, andhe saw as through a dim red mist. The silent and impassive figures ofthe chiefs seemed to grow in height and size. The bonfires blazedhigher, and the monotonous wailing chant of the warriors was penetratedby a ferocious under note like the whine of some great beast. He glancedat the shiftless one and saw in his eyes the same intense awed lookwhich he knew was in his own. 

The mass of men who had been dancing stopped suddenly, and the chantstopped with them. The warriors gathered into two great masses, a lanebetween them. Save the chiefs, all were naked to the breech clout, andfrom perspiring bodies the odor of the wild arose. 

The fires were blazing tremendously, sending off smoke, ashes and sparksthat floated over the trees and were borne far by the wind. Atintervals, prolonged war whoops were uttered, and, heavy with menace, they rang far through the woods, startling and distinct. 

Then from the edge of the forest emerged about forty warriors paintedand decorated in a wildly fantastic manner and wearing headdresses offeathers. The drums beat again, furiously now, and the men began todance, swinging to and fro and writhing. At the same time they sang awar song of fierce, choppy words, and those who were not dancing sangwith them. 

The lane wound around and around, and, as the singers and dancers wentforward they increased in vehemence. They were transported, like men whohave taken some powerful drug, and their emotions were quicklycommunicated to all the rest of the band. Fierce howls rose above thechant of the war songs. Warriors leaping high in the air made theimaginary motions of killing and scalping an enemy. Then their longyells of triumph would swell above the universal chant. 

All the while it was growing darker in the forest. The heavy driftingclouds completely hid the moon and stars. The sky was black andmenacing, and the circular ring of woods looked solid like a wall. Butwithin this ring the heat and fury grew. The violence and endurance ofthe dancers were incredible, and the shouting chant of the multitudeurged them on. 

Henry caught sight of a white figure near the chiefs, and he recognizedthe young renegade, Braxton Wyatt. Just behind him was another and olderrenegade named Blackstaffe, famed along the whole border for his cunningand cruelty. Then he saw men, a half-dozen of them, in the red uniformsof British officers, and behind them two monstrous dark shapes onwheels. 

"Can those be cannon?" he whispered to Shif'less Sol. 

"They kin be an' they are. I reckon the British allies o' the Injuns hevbrought 'em from Detroit to batter down the palisades o' our littlesettlements. "

Henry felt a thrill of horror. He knew that they were cannon, but he hadhoped that the shiftless one would persuade him they were not. They wereprobably the first cannon ever seen in that wilderness, the sisters ofthose used later with success by the Indians under English leadershipand with English cannoneers from Detroit against two little settlementsin Kentucky. 

But startled as Henry was, his attention turned back to the dancers. Oldcustoms, the habits of far-off ancestors, slumbered in him, and despitehimself something wild and fierce in his blood again responded to theprimeval appeal the warriors were making. A red haze floated before hiseyes. The tide of battle surged through his blood, and, then, with afierce warning to himself, he stilled his quivering body and crouchedlow again. 

A long time they watched. When a dancer fell exhausted another leapedgladly into his place. The unconscious man was dragged to one side, andleft until he might recover. 

"I think we've seen enough, don't you?" whispered Henry. "I'd feelbetter if I were further away. "

"Stirs me like that too, " said Shif'less Sol. "It ain't healthy fur usto stay here any longer. 'Sides, we know all we want to know. This is abig war party, mostly Miamis and Shawnees, with some Wyandots an' a fewIroquois and Delawares. "

"And the English and the cannon. "

"Yes, Henry, an' I don't like the looks o' them cannon, the first, Ireckon, that ever come across the Ohio. Our palisades can turn thebullets easy 'nuff, but they'd fly like splinters before twelve poundround shot. "

"Then, " said Henry with sudden emphasis, "it's the business of us fiveto see that those two big guns never appear before Wareville or Marlowe, where I imagine they intend to take them!"

"Henry, you hit the nail squar' on the head the fust time. Ef we kinstop them two cannon it'll be ez much ez winnin' a campaign. I thinkwe'd better go back now, an' j'in the others, don't you?"

"Yes, I don't see that we can do anything at present. But Sol, we muststop those cannon some way or other. We beat off a great attack atWareville once, but we couldn't stand half a day before the big guns. How are we to do it? Tell me, Sol, how are we to do it?"

"I don't know, Henry, but we kin hang on. You know we've always hung on, an' by hangin' on we gen'rally win. It's a long way to Wareville, an'while red warriors kin travel fast cannon can't get through a countrycovered ez thick with woods an' bushes ez this is. They'll hev to cut aroad fur 'em nigh all the way. "

"That's so, " said Henry more hopefully. "They'll have to go mighty slowwith those big guns through the forests and thickets and canebrake, andacross so many rivers and creeks. We'll hang on, as you say, and it maygive us a chance to act. I feel better already. "

"They ain't likely to move fur a day or two, Henry. After the dances an'the big eatin' they'll lay 'roun' 'till they've slep' it all off, an'nobody kin move 'em 'till they git ready, even if them British officerstalk 'till their heads ache. They're goin' on with the dancin' too. Hearthem whoops. "

The long shrill cries uttered by the warriors still reached them, asthey stole away. Henry passed his hand across his forehead. All thatstrange influence was gone now. He no longer saw the red mist, and hisheart ceased to beat like a hammer. The healthy normal forest was aroundhim, full of dangers, it was true, but of dangers that he could meetwith decision and judgment. 

They returned rapidly, but occasionally they looked back at the redglare showing above the trees, and for most of the way the faint echoesof the whoops came to them. When they approached the bushes in whichthey had left the others Henry uttered a low whistle which was promptlyanswered in like fashion by Silent Tom. 

"What did you see?" asked Paul, as they emerged from their hiding place. 

"Nigh on to a thousand warriors, " replied Shif'less Sol, "an' it was amighty fine comp'ny too. We saw two chiefs, Yellow Panther, the Miami, an' Red Eagle, the Shawnee, that we've had dealin's with before, an' ourold friend Braxton Wyatt, an' the big renegade Blackstaffe, an' Britishofficers. "

"British officers!" exclaimed Paul. "What are they doing there?"

"You know that our people in the East are at war with Britain, " saidHenry, "and I suppose these officers and some men too have come fromDetroit to help the warriors wipe us out in Kentucky. They've broughtwith them also two very formidable allies, the like of which were neverseen in these woods before. "

"Two new and strange allies, Henry?" said Paul. "What do you mean?"

"Something that rolls along on wheels, and that speaks with a voice likethunder. "

"I don't understand yet. "

"And when it speaks it hurls forth a missile that can smash through apalisade like a stone through glass. "

"It must be cannon. You surely don't mean cannon, Henry?"

"I do. The big guns have crossed the Ohio. The Indians or rather theEnglish with 'em, mean to use 'em against us. It's our business todestroy 'em. Sol and I have agreed on that, and you are with us, are younot?"

"O' course!" said Tom Ross. 

"Uv course!" said Long Jim. 

"Through everything, " said Paul. 

"What do you think we'd better do right now?" asked Ross. 

"Go back to the cup and sleep, " replied Henry. "It'll be safe. TheIndians will be so gorged from their orgie, and will feel so securefrom attack that they'll hardly have a scout in the forest tomorrow. "

"Good plan, " said the shiftless one. "I expect to be in that shadylittle place in a half-hour. Long Jim here, havin' nothin' else to do, will watch over me all through the rest of the night, an' tomorrow whenthe sun comes out bright, he'll be settin' by my side keepin' the fliesoff me, an' me still sleepin' ez innercent ez a baby. "

"That won't happen in the next thousand years, " said Long Jim. "Efthar's anything fannin' you tomorrow, when you wake up, a Shawnee or aMiami warrior will be doin' it with a tomahawk. "

They quickly retraced their course to the cup, being extremely carefulto leave no trail, and were about to make ready for the night. Every oneof them carried a light blanket, but very closely woven and warm, uponwhich he usually slept, drawing a fold over him. The dry leaves and theblankets would make a bed good enough for any forest rover at that timeof the year, but Henry noticed a stone outcrop in a hill above them andconcluded to look farther. 

"Wait till I come back, " he said, and he pushed his way through thebushes. 

The outcrop was of the crumbling limestone that imparts inexhaustiblefertility to the soil of a great region in Kentucky. It is this decayingstone or a stone closely akin which makes it the most wonderful caveregion in the world. 

Higher up the slope Henry found deep alcoves in the stone, most of themcontaining leaves, and also a strong animal odor, which showed that inthe winter they had been occupied as lairs by wild animals, probablybears. 

Looking a little farther he found one that penetrated deeper than therest. It might almost have been called a cave. It was so placed that atthat time of night the opening faced a bit of the moon that had made away through the clouds, and, Henry peering into the dusky interior, judged that it ran back about twenty feet. There was no odor to suggestthat it had been used as a lair, perhaps because the animals liked thealcoves better. 

He threw in some twigs, but, no growl coming forth, he entered boldlythrough an aperture about three feet across and perhaps five feet high. He stepped on smooth stone, but as soon as he was inside he stopped andlistened intently. He heard a faint trickling sound, evidently from thefar side of the cave, which appeared to be both deeper and wider than hehad thought. 

Henry surmised that the sound was made by running water, and standing along time, until his eyes could grow used, in some degree, to the duskyinterior, he, at length, made out the opposite wall which was of whitestone. Stepping carefully he found that a tiny stream flowed in a groovemade by itself, coming out of one side of the wall and disappearing inthe other. 

It was such a thin little stream that it created no dampness in the caveand Henry, drinking some of the water from the palm of his hand, foundit fresh and cold. He experienced a singular pleasure in discovering thewater, one that he did not understand. Perhaps it was a prevision. 

He explored fully this room in stone, and found it dry and cleanthroughout. His ancestors, hundreds of thousands of years ago, wouldhave rejoiced to find such a place, and Henry rejoiced now for reasonswhich were akin to theirs. He returned quickly to the cup. 

"We won't sleep here, " he said. 

"Why not?" asked Paul. 

"Because I've found a better place. "

"But this is fine. "

"I know, but I have a finer. "

"What is it?"

"A beautiful stone mansion, built generations ago. It has no furniturein it now, but we don't need any. It's built very solidly and it's beenwaiting for us a long time. "

"A hole in the limestone, " hazarded Shif'less Sol. 

"Partly right. It's more than a hole. It's a room, and we've had greatluck to find it, I tell you, this stone room specially made a millionyears ago for our use. "

"Well, it's been waitin' a good while, but we're here. "

"Come along, I'll lead you, " said Henry, "and be sure not to leave anytrace of a trail. This house is intended for us only, and we don't wantany wandering warriors, no matter what their nation, knocking at ourdoors. "

"Hurry, " said Shif'less Sol. "I'm gittin' pow'ful sleepy. "

Henry led the way, and, as he did so, taking a comprehensive look at theheavens, he was glad for other reasons as well as safety that they hadfound their stone house in the hill. The bit of a moon was gone and theclouds hung lower and darker. He felt the damp in the air. 

The mouth of the cave was almost hidden by a heavy growth of bushes, butHenry, pulling them aside a little, pointed to the opening. 

"In there with you, " he said to Long Jim, who was nearest. 

"Who? Me?" said Long Jim, "an' run squar' into a b'ar's mouth? Let Solgo. He's the fattest, an' the b'ar would like him best. "

"No bear is inside, " said Henry. "I've seen to that. A herd of aboutfifty was in there, the first bear herd I ever saw, but I killed themall with my knife and threw them down the cliff before I saw you. "

"Then ez you've cleared out the place, Henry, " said Long Jim, "I guessit's all safe, an' here goes. "

He bent down from his mighty height and entered, the others followingsilently in single file, swallowed up by the dusk. Then they stood in agroup, until they could see one another, the faint light from the doorhelping. 

"Well, " said Henry, proudly, "haven't I done well by you? Isn't our newhouse equal to my announcement of it?"

"Equal, and more than equal!" exclaimed Paul with enthusiasm. "Why, wehaven't had such a place since that time we lived on the island in thelake, and this is a greater protection from danger. "

"An' we hev plenty o' water, too, I see, " said Shif'less Sol. "Look atthe river over thar, runnin' along ag'in the wall. 'Tain't more'n threeinches wide, an' an inch deep, but it runs fast. "

"I've no doubt that a cave family lived here two or three hundredthousand years ago, " said Paul, his vivid fancy blossoming forth atonce. 

"What are you talkin' about, Paul?" said Long Jim. "People livin' heretwo or three hundred thousand years ago! Why, the world is only sixthousand years old! The Bible says so!"

"In the Biblical sense a year did not mean what a year does now, Jim. Itmay have been a thousand times as long. Men did live in caves severalhundred thousand years ago. A book that Mr. Pennypacker has says so. "

"If the book says it, I reckon it's so, " said Long Jim, with theborderer's sublime faith in the printed word. 

"The man of that time was a big, hairy fellow. He didn't have even bowsand arrows. He fought with a stone club or ax of stone. "

"An' do you mean to tell me, Paul, that a man with jest a club could goout an' meet the arrers of the Injuns? Why, all uv them warriors kinshoot arrers pow'ful hard an' straight. What chance would the man withthe club hev had?"

"There were no Indians then, Jim. "

"No Injuns then!" exclaimed Long Jim indignantly. "Why the fust whiteman that ever come through these parts found the woods full uv 'em. Itake a heap from you, Paul, 'cause you're an eddicated boy, but I can'tswaller this. "

"I'll prove it to you some day, " said Paul laughing, "but whether youbelieve me or not this place suits us. "

"How much venison have we got, Tom?" asked Henry. 

"'Nough in a pinch to last three days. "

"Now you fellers kin keep on talkin' ef you want to, " said the shiftlessone, "but ez fur me I'm a man o' sense, a lazy man who don't work whenhe don't hev to, an' I'm goin' to sleep. "

He spread his blanket on the stone floor, lay down and kept his word. 

"We might as well follow, " said Henry. "Sol's a man of intelligence, and, as he says, when there's nothing to do, rest. "

"I ain't sleepy, " said Tom Ross. "Guess there's no need uv a watch, butI'll keep it awhile, anyhow. "

He sat down on his blanket and leaned against the wall, near the mouthof the room. The others stretched out, even as Shif'less Sol had done, and breathing a sigh or two of satisfaction followed him into a landwithout dreams. 

Although Henry's sleep was dreamless, it did not last very long. Heawoke in three or four hours. It was quite dark, but, as he lay on hisback and gazed steadily, he was able to make out the figure of SilentTom, crouched on his blanket beside the door, his rifle across hisknees. Although saying nothing Henry had paid attention to what Paul hadsaid about the ancient cave man, and now it was easy for his fancy totransform Ross into such a being. The rifle on his knees was his stoneclub, and he watched by the opening all through the night lest an enemyshould come. For the present, at least, it was as much reality asfancy, because here was the cave, and here they were, guarding against apossible foe. 

"Tom, " he called softly. 

Ross looked around. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"I'm restless. I can't sleep any more, and, as I'm going to stay by theopening, you'd better persuade yourself to go to sleep. "

"Are you bent on watchin', Henry?"

"Yes, I intend to sit up. "

"Then I'll go to sleep. "

He lay down on his blanket, and Henry took his place by the wall. 

CHAPTER III

THE INDIAN CAMP

The position of the great youth was comfortable, as he sat upon hisblanket, the curve of the wall fitting into the curve of his back, hisrifle resting across his knee, and his figure motionless. He carried inhis belt a pistol, the keen hatchet of the border and also a longhunting knife, but it was the rifle upon which he depended mainly, abeautiful piece, with its carved stock and long blue barrel, and in thehands of its owner the deadliest weapon on the border. 

Henry, like Tom, did not stir. He was a match for any Indian inimpassivity, and every nerve rested while he thus retained completecommand over his body. He could see from his position the bushes beyondthe opening, and, above them, a broad belt of black sky. He rejoicedagain that they had found this cave or rather stone room as they calledit. 

The dark heavens were full of threat, the air heavy with damp, and lowthunder was just beginning to mutter. Tom Ross had read the gorgeoussunset aright. It betokened a storm, and the most hardened hunters andscouts were glad of shelter when the great winds and rains came. Thedryness and safety of the room made Henry feel all the more snug andcontent, in contrast with what was about to happen outside. It seemed tohim that Providence had watched over them. Truly they had never known afiner or better place. 

His mind traveled again to those old, bygone people of whom Paul hadtalked, how they lived in caves, and had fought the great animals withstone clubs. But he had a better room in the stone than most of theirs, and the rifle on his knees was far superior to any club that was evermade. His nerves quivered beneath a thrill of pleasure that was bothmental and physical. His eyes had learned to cope with the dusk in theroom, and he could see his four comrades stretched upon their blankets. All were sleeping soundly and he would let them sleep on of their ownaccord, because there was no need now to move. 

The mutter of the thunder grew a little louder, as if the electricitywere coming up on the horizon. And he saw lightning, dim at first andvery distant, then growing brighter until it came, keen, hard andbrilliant, in flashing strokes. Henry was not awed at all. Within hissafe shelter his spirit leaped up to meet it. 

The thunder now broke near in a series of fierce crashes, and thelightning was so burning bright that it dazzled his eyes. One boltstruck near with a tremendous shock and the air was driven in violentwaves into the very mouth of the cave. Shif'less Sol awoke and sat up. 

"A storm!" he said. 

"Yes, " replied Henry, "but it can't reach us here. You might as well goback to sleep, Sol. "

"Bein' a lazy man who knows how an' when to be lazy, " said the shiftlessone, "I'll do it. "

In a few minutes he was as sound asleep as ever, while Henry continuedto watch the storm. The sky was perfectly black, save when the lightningblazed across it, and the thunder rolled and crashed with extraordinaryviolence. But he now heard an under note, one that he knew, the swish ofthe wind. It, too, grew fast and he dimly saw leaves and the branches oftrees flying past. It was certainly good to be in the snug stone covertthat he had found for himself and his friends!

The lightning became less bright and the thunder began to die. Then thewind came with a mighty sweep and roar and Henry heard the drops ofrain, striking on leaf and bough like bullets. He also heard the crashof falling trees, and one was blown down directly in front of theopening, hiding it almost completely. He was not sorry. Some instinctwarned him that this too was a lucky chance. The rain came in driventorrents, but it passed the mouth of the cave and they were as dry andcomfortable as ever. 

The thunder and lightning ceased entirely, by and by, and Henry sat inthe dark listening to the rush of the rain, which came now in a strongand steady sweep like the waves of the sea. He listened to it a longtime, never moving, and at last he saw a thin shade of gray appear inthe eastern sky. Day was near, although it would be dark with the storm. But that need not trouble them. On the other hand it would be to theiradvantage. The great camp of the Indians would be broken up for a while, and they must long since have sought what shelter they could find. Theycould not advance for two or three days at least, while the five lay ina splendid covert only two miles from them. 

Laggard day came, with a dusky sky, obscured by heavy clouds and therain still pouring. It was several hours after sunrise before it ceasedand the sky began to clear. Then the others awoke and looked out. 

"A big storm and I never heard a thing, " said Paul. 

"No, Paul, " said the shiftless one, "you didn't hear it but it came offanyway. You're a mighty good sleeper, you are, Paul. Put you atween finewhite sheets, with a feather bed under your body an' a silk piller underyour head, an' I reckon you'd sleep a week an' be happy all the time. "

"I suppose I would. It's a sound conscience, Sol. "

"I heard somethin' once, " said Long Jim, "but knowin' I wuz in the bestplace in the world I didn't open my eyes. I jest went to sleep ag'in an'now, ef thar wuz anythin' to cook an' any place to cook it I'd git thefinest breakfast any uv you fellers ever et. "

"We know that, Jim, " said Henry, "but we'll have to stick to the driedvenison for the present. You'll find plenty of drinking water over thereby the wall. Do you notice that our river has risen a full inch?"

"So it has, " said Paul. "The rain, of course. Since we've had this nobleinn I'm not sorry about the storm. It will stop the march of that Indianarmy. "

"And also hide any trail that we may have left yesterday or lastnight, " said Henry with satisfaction. 

"What do you think we ought to do now, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. 

"Eat our breakfasts, that is, chew our venison. I don't believe we cando anything today, and there is no need, since the Indians can't move. We'll stay here in hiding, and at night we'll go out again to explore. "

"A whole day's rest, " said the shiftless one, with deep approval. "Nothin' to do but eat an' sleep, an' lay back here an' think. I'm noteddicated like you an' Henry, Paul, but I kin do a power o' hardthinkin'. Now, ef Jim tries to think it makes his head ache so bad thathe has to quit, but I guess he's lucky anyway, 'cause we're always doin'his thinkin' fur him, while he's takin' his ease an' bein' happy. "

"Ef I had been dependin' on your thinking', Shif'less Sol, " said LongJim, "my scalp would hev been hangin' from an' Injun lodge pole longago. "

"Well, it would look well hangin' thar. You hev got good thick hair, Long Jim. "

They finished their breakfast, and all of them sat down near theopening. The fallen tree, while it hid the aperture, did not cut offtheir own view. They were so close to it that they could see wellbetween the boughs and leaves. The rising sun, brilliant and powerful, had now driven away all the clouds. The sky was once more a shiningblue, all the brighter because it had been washed and scoured anew bywind and rain. The green of the forest, dripping everywhere with water, looked deeper and more vigorous. Down in the valley they heard thefoaming of a brook that had suddenly become a torrent, and which withequal suddenness would return to its usual size. 

They remained all day in their retreat, seeing thin threads of smokethree or four times against the blue sky, an indication that thewarriors had built their campfires anew, and were trying to drythemselves out. Indians as well as white men suffer from rain and coldand Henry knew that they would be sluggish and careless that night. There was a bare chance that the five might get at the cannon and ruinthem in some manner, although they had not yet thought of a way. 

It was decided that Henry and Shif'less Sol should make the secondexpedition, Paul, Tom Ross and Long Jim remaining as a reserve withintheir stone walls. The two did not disturb the fallen tree at theentrance, but slipped out between the boughs, and walking on dead leavesand fallen brushwood, in order to leave as little trace as possible, reached the valley below. This low area of land was studded for a longdistance with new pools of water, which would disappear the next day, and the ground was so soft that they took to the bordering forest inorder to escape the mud. 

"'Pears likely to me, " said the shiftless one, "that them Britishers hadtents. They wouldn't go on so long an expedition as this without 'em. It's probable then that we'll find the renegades in or about 'em. "

"Sounds as if it might be that way, " said Henry. "The site of their campis not more than a mile distant now, and the tents may be pitchedsomewhere in the woods. "

"Reckon we're near, Henry, I smell smoke, and it's the smoke that comesout of a pipe. "

"I smell it too. It's straight ahead. It must be one of the officers. We'll have to be slow and mighty particular. There's a big moon and allthe stars are out. "

The night, as if to atone for the one that had gone before, wasparticularly brilliant. The dripping woods were luminous with silverymoonlight and the three used every tree and bush as they approached thepoint from which the tobacco smoke came. The woods were so dense therethat they heard the men before they saw them. It was first a hum ofvoices and then articulated words. 

"It seems that these forest expeditions are not to be taken lightly, Wyatt, " said a heavy growling voice. 

"No, Colonel Alloway, " Braxton Wyatt replied in smooth tones. "There areno roads in the wilderness. If we want one we'll have to make it. It'sthe cannon that hold us back. "

"The Indians could move fast without them. "

"Yes, sir, but we must have 'em. We can't break through the palisadeswithout 'em. "

"Why, young sir, these red warriors can annihilate anything to be foundin Kentucky!"

"They did not do it, sir, when we attacked Wareville last year. "

"Lack of leadership! Lack of leadership!"

"If you'll pardon me, sir, I don't think it was. The Indians have tofight in their own way, and the Kentucky riflemen are the best in theworld. Why, sir, the things they can do with their rifles are amazing. A musket is like an old-fashioned arquebus compared with theirlong-barreled weapons. I know one of them--and I must say it, though Ihate him--who could kill running deer at two hundred yards, as fast asyou could hand him the rifles, never missing a shot. "

"A William Tell of the woods, so to speak!" said the heavy, gruff voice, sounding an incredulous note. 

"You'll believe me, sir, if you meet 'em, " said Wyatt earnestly. "Idon't love 'em any more'n you do, much less perhaps, but I've learnedenough to dread their rifles. I was telling you about the one who issuch a terrible marksman, though the others are nearly as good. Lastnight before the rain one of the Wyandots found the trace of a footstepin the forest. It was a trace, nothing more, and not even an Indiancould follow it, but I've an idea that it's the very sharpshooter I wastelling you about. "

"And what of it? Why should we care anything for a stray backwoodsman. "

"He's very dangerous, very dangerous, sir, I repeat, and he's sure tohave four others with him. "

"And who are the dreadful five?" There was a note of irony in the voice. 

"The one of whom I spoke is named Henry Ware. There is another, a youthof about his own age, named Paul Cotter. The third is Solomon Hyde, aman of amazing skill and judgment. The other two are Tom Ross, awonderful scout and hunter, and Long Jim Hart, the fastest runner in theWest. It was he who brought relief, when we had the emigrant traintrapped. I think that all the five are somewhere near and that weshould beware. "

The heavy, gruff voice was lifted again in an ironic laugh, and Henry, creeping a yard or two more, saw through the leaves the whole group. TheEnglish officer whom Wyatt had called Alloway, was a man of middleyears, heavily built. His confident face and aggressive manner indicatedthat he was some such man as Braddock, who in spite of every warning bythe colonials, walked with blinded eyes into the Indian trap at FortDuquesne, to have his army and himself slaughtered. But now the Englishwere allied with the scalp-takers. 

A half-dozen English officers, younger men, surrounded Colonel Alloway, silent and attentive, while their chief talked with Wyatt. The olderrenegade, Blackstaffe, was leaning against a tree, his arms foldedacross his chest, a sneering look upon his face. Henry knew that hethought little of European officers there in the woods, and out of theirelement. 

But the most striking figures in the scene were Yellow Panther, headchief of the Miamis, and Red Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees. Theystood erect with arms folded, and they had not spoken either whileAlloway and Wyatt talked. They were imposing men, not as tall as theyoung chief whom Henry had seen distantly, and who was destined to havea great part in his life later on, but they were uncommonly broad ofshoulders and chest, and, though elderly they were at the very height oftheir mental and physical powers. 

They were in full war paint, their scalp locks were braided and eachhad flung about him somewhat in the manner of a Roman toga a magnificentblanket of the finest weave, blue for Yellow Panther, red for Red Eagle. 

Wyatt translated to them Alloway's words, and Red Eagle at lengthraising his hand said to Wyatt in Shawnee, which all three of the hiddenscouts understood perfectly:

"Tell our white ally that his words are not those of wisdom. The Indianwhen he goes upon the war path does not laugh at his enemy. He knowsthat he is not fighting with children and he heeds the warnings of thosewho understand. "

His tones were full of dignity, but Wyatt, when he translated, softenedthe rebuke. Nevertheless enough of it was left to make the arrogantColonel start a little, and gaze with some apprehension at the twomassive and silent figures, regarding him so steadily. It was likely toothat the grim forest, the overwhelming character of the wilderness inwhich he stood, affected him. Without the Indians he and his men wouldbe lost in that mighty sweep of country. 

"Tell the officers of the King, across the great salt water, " continuedRed Eagle to Wyatt, "that the word has come to us that if we go anddestroy the settlements of the Yengees, lest they grow powerful and helptheir brethren in the East who are fighting against the King calledGeorge, we are to receive great rewards. We use the tomahawk for him aswell as for ourselves, and while we listen to Alloway here, Alloway mustlisten also to us. "

Wyatt veiled his look of satisfaction. He had not fancied the haughtyand patronizing manner of Alloway, and he was sure that the Colonel wasmaking too little of the five and their possible proximity. Despitehimself, and the young renegade was bold, he felt a shiver ofapprehension lest the formidable group were somewhere near in the woods. But he added, speaking in a more persuasive tone to Alloway:

"You'll pardon me, sir, but the Indian chiefs are in their own country. They're proud and resolute men, trusting in their own methods, and theymust be humored. If you don't defer somewhat to them it's quite possiblethat they'll take all their warriors and go back to their villages. "

Alloway's face grew red with anger, but he had enough wisdom andresolution to suppress it. He looked around at the vast and somberforest, in which one could be lost so easily, and knew that he must doso. 

"Very well, " he said, "the chiefs and I lead jointly. Ask them what theywant. "

Wyatt talked with the two chiefs and then translated:

"They wish to stop here a day or two, until they can obtain new suppliesof food. They wish to send out all of their best trailers in search ofthe scout called Ware and his comrades. They are dangerous, and alsoYellow Panther and Red Eagle have bitter cause to hate them, as have I. "

"Very well, then, " said Alloway, making the best of it. "We'll haltwhile the warriors brush away these wasps, whom you seem to fear somuch. "

He walked away, followed by his men, and Henry and Shif'less Sol drewback in the thicket. They were flattered by Braxton Wyatt's frankadmission of their power, but they were annoyed that the footprint hadbeen seen. Henry had felt that they could work much better, if thewarriors were unaware of their presence. 

"Those two chiefs will act quickly, " he whispered to his comrade. "Maybethey had already sent out the trailers, before they had the talk withthe officer. It's possible that they're now between us and our new homein the cliff. It's always best to have a plan, and if they pick up ourtrail I'll run toward the east, and draw them off, while you make yourway back to Paul and Jim and our room in the cliff. "

"You let me make the chase, " said Shif'less Sol, protestingly. "Theycan't ketch me. "

"No! We've pretty well agreed upon our different tasks, and this, youknow, is mine. "

The shiftless one was well aware that Henry was the most fitting, yet hewas more than anxious to take the chief danger upon himself. But he saidnothing more, as they withdrew slowly, and with the utmost caution, through the woods. Twice, the red trailers passed near them, and theyflattened themselves against the ground to escape observation. Henry didnot believe now that they could regain the stone room without a flightor a fight, as he was confirmed in his belief that Red Eagle and YellowPanther had sent out numerous trailers, before their talk with theEnglish colonel. 

A quarter of a mile away, and they were forced to lie down in a gullyamong sodden leaves and hold their breath while two Shawnees passed. Henry saw them through the screening bushes on the bank of the gully, their questing eyes eager and fierce. At the first trace of a trail, they would utter the war whoop and call the horde upon the fugitives. But they saw nothing and flitted away among the bushes. 

"Comin' purty close, " whispered Shif'less Sol, as they rose and resumedtheir progress. "Warm, purty warm, mighty warm, hot! The next timethey'll jest burn their hands on us. "

"Maybe there'll be no next time, " said Henry as they approached the edgeof a brook. But the bank, softened by the rain, crumbled beneath them, and the "next time" had come almost at once. 

Although they did not fall, their feet went into the stream with asplash that could be heard many yards away. From three points camefierce triumphant shouts, and then they heard the low swish ofmoccasined feet running fast. 

"Remember, " said Henry, rapidly, "hide your trail and curve about untilyou reach the hidden home. Wait there for me!"

He was gone in an instant, turning off at a sharp angle into the bushes, leading directly away from the cliff. Now the young superman of theforest summoned all his faculties. He called to his service his immensestrength and agility, his extreme acuteness of sight and hearing, andhis almost supernatural power of divination, the outgrowth of a body andmind so perfectly attuned for forest work. 

No fear that he would be caught entered his mind. Alone in the forest hecould double and turn as he chose, and there was no Indian so fleet offoot that he could overtake him. A wild and exultant spirit flowed up inhim. He was the hunted. Nevertheless it was sport to him to be followedthus. He laughed low and under his breath, and then, swelling the cordsin his throat, he gave utterance to a cry so tremendous in volume thatit rang like the echo of a cannon shot through the wilderness. But, after the Indian fashion, he permitted it to die in a long, fierce notelike the whine of a wolf. 

It was an extraordinary cry, full of challenge and mockery. It said tothose who should hear, that they might come on, if they would, but theywould come on a vain errand. It taunted them, and aroused every kind ofanger in their breasts. No Indian could remain calm under that cry andevery one of them knew what it meant. Their ferocious shouts replied, and then Henry swung forward in the long easy gait of the woodsman. 

Mind and muscle were under perfect control. While he ran he saweverything in the bright moonlight and heard everything. He made noeffort to conceal his trail, because he wanted it to be seen and he knewthat the entire pursuit was strung out behind him. Probably Shif'lessSol was already safe within the stone walls. 

Lest the trail itself should not be enough he again uttered the defiantcry that thrilled through the forest, returning in many echoes. Helistened for the answering shouts of the warriors, and felt relievedwhen they came. The spirit that was shooting through his veins becamewilder and wilder. His blood danced and he laughed once more under hisbreath, as wild as any of the wild men of the forest. 

He was racing along a low ridge from which the rain had run rapidly, leaving fairly firm ground. Once more he disturbed the thickets. Startled wild animals sprang up as the giant young figure sped past. Arabbit leaped from under his raised foot. A huge owl looked down withred, distended eyes at the flying youth, and, in the face of theunknown, using the wisdom that is the owl's own, flew heavily away fromthe forest. Some pigeons, probably a part of the same flock that he hadseen, rose with a whirr from a bough and streamed off in a black lineamong the trees. The undergrowth was filled with whimperings, and littlerustlings, and Henry, who felt so closely akin to wild life, would havetold them now if he could that they were in no danger. It was he, notthey, who was being pursued. 

He caught a glimpse of a dusky figure aiming a rifle. Quickly he bentlow and the bullet whistled over his head. Catching his own rifle by thebarrel he swung the stock heavily and the red trailer lay still in theundergrowth. A little farther on a second fired at him, and now he senthis own bullet in reply. The warrior fell back with a cry of pain towhich his pursuing comrades answered, and Henry for a third time sentforth his fierce, defiant shout. Those whom he had met must have beenhunters coming in. 

He reloaded his rifle, running, and kept a wary eye as he passed intothe canebrake. But he believed now that he had left behind theoutermost fringe of the scouts and trailers. He would encounter nobodylying in ambush, and, after making his way for a long time through thedense thickets, he sat down on a little mound to rest and observe. 

He knew that the nearest of the warriors was at least four or fivehundred yards away, and that none could come within rifle shot withouthis knowledge. So, he sat quite still, taking deep breaths, and waswithout apprehension. He was not really weary, the long swinging run hadnot been much more than exercise, but he wanted to look about and seethe nature of the land. 

The canebrake extended a great distance, but he saw far beyond it theblack shadow of forest, in the interminable depths of which he mighteasily lose himself if the pursuit continued. Whether it continued ornot was a matter of sheer indifference to him. He had drawn them farenough, but if they wished to go farther he would be the hunted again, although it might be dangerous for the hunters. 

He saw the crests of the cane waving a little, and, rising, he resumedthe race on easy foot, passing through the canebrake, and entering theforest, in which there was much rough, rocky ground. Here he leapedlightly from stone to stone, until he knew the trail was broken beyondthe possibility of finding, when he sat down between two great upthrustroots of an oak and leaned back against turf and trunk together. He knewthat the green of his deerskins blended perfectly with the grass, and hefelt so thoroughly convinced that the pursuit had stopped that hedecided to remain there for the night. 

He unrolled the blanket from his back, put it about his shoulders, andthen he laughed again at the successful trick that he had played uponthese fierce red warriors. It had been an easy task, too. Save the twohasty shots from the trailers he had never been in serious danger, andnow, as he rested comfortably, he ate a little more of the dried venisonfrom his knapsack. Then he fell asleep. 

The hours of the night passed peacefully. The soft turf supported hisback, and only his head was against the trunk of the tree. It was acomfortable position for a seasoned forest runner. Toward morning thewind rose and began to sing through the spring foliage. Its song grewlouder, and before it was yet dawn Henry awoke and listened to it. Likethe Indian he heard the voice of the Great Spirit in the wind, and nowit came to him with a warning note. 

He stretched his limbs a little and stood up, his hand on the hammer ofhis rifle. The darkness that precedes the dawn covered the woods, but hecould see some distance into it, and he saw nothing. He listened a longtime, and as the dusk began to thin away before the sun he heard a lowchant. He knew that it was an Indian song, a song of triumph, comingfrom the south, and for a while he was puzzled. 

Clearly, this was no part of the great war band, which lay to the northof him, and he concluded that it must be a small expedition which hadalready gone into the South and which was now returning. But he did notlike the character of the song. It indicated victory and he thrilledwith horror and repulsion. The triumph must be over people of his ownrace. 

The blood in every vein grew hot with anger, and the pulses in histemples beat so hard that for a while it made a little singing in hishead. The great figure stiffened and a menacing look came into his eyes. 

The chant was fast growing louder and the singers would pass within afew feet of his tree. He slipped aside, turning away a hundred yards orso, and crouched behind dense bushes. The singers came on, about twentywarriors in single file, Shawnees by their paint, and the first threebrandished aloft three hideous trophies. Henry had more than suspected, but the reality made him shudder. 

The three scalps were obviously those of white people, and the first, long, thick, blonde and fine, was that of a woman. The warrior who wavedit aloft, as he chanted, wore only the breech cloth, his naked bodypainted in many colors, and he exulted as he displayed his trophy, sofine to his savage heart. 

A mighty rage seized Henry. For a moment his eyes were clouded by thered mist that danced before them. The song of the wind before the dawnhad aroused him to his coming danger, but there was nothing to tell thetriumphant savage that his hour was at hand. 

The red mist cleared away from the great youth's eyes. The blood latelyso hot in his veins became as cold as ice, and the pulses in his templessank to their normal beat. Mind and nerves were completely attuned andhe was a perfect instrument of vengeance. The rifle rose to his shoulderand he looked down the sights at a tiny bear painted in blue directlyover the warrior's heart. Then he pulled the trigger and so deadly washis aim that the savage sank down without a cry, and the scalp fell andlay upon his own body, the long hair reddening fast with the blood thatflowed from the warrior's heart. 

Henry turned instantly and darted into the depths of the forest, reloading as usual as he ran. A single backward glance had shown himthat the warriors, confused and puzzled at first, were standing in anexcited group, looking down at their dead comrade. He knew they wouldrecover quickly and to hasten the moment he uttered that long, thrillingcry of defiance. 

He was willing for them to pursue, in truth he was anxious that theyshould. He had marked the other two warriors who waved the scalps, andhe now had a cold and settled purpose. He intentionally made noise as heran, letting the boughs of bushes fly back with a swish and soon heheard the Indians, two or three hundred yards away. 

He knew that their muskets or smooth bores could not reach him at therange and that his rifle had over them, an advantage of at least fiftyyards. He let them come a little nearer, and, as the country was nowmore open they saw him and uttered cries of mingled rage and triumph. They were gaining perceptibly and they felt certain of capture. 

The fugitive permitted them to come a little nearer, and he watched themout of the corner of one eye. The second man in the pursuing group, atall thin warrior, had been waving a scalp. Even now it was swinging athis belt, and as they gained, yard by yard, Henry wheeled for a secondor two and shot the scalp-bearer through the head. 

Then he increased his speed, reloaded his rifle once more, and sent backthat taunting cry which he knew inflamed the savage heart with ferocityand the desire for vengeance. The Indians had hesitated, but now theyuttered the war whoop all together, and came on at their utmost speed. Henry noted the third scalp-bearer. He was a short, powerful fellow, buthe did not have speed enough to keep himself in front. But Henry wasresolved that he too should suffer. 

They were running now through forest comparatively free fromundergrowth. The fugitive stumbled suddenly and then limped for a stepor two. The simultaneous yell of the Indians was fierce and exultant, but the rifle of the great youth flashed, and the short, broad warriorwas gone to join his two comrades. 

Then the speed of the fugitive increased at a great rate, and, as thewarriors were no longer anxious to pursue, he soon disappeared in theforest. 

CHAPTER IV

THE DEED IN THE WATER

Henry's pace sank into a long walk, but he did not stop for two hours. Then he drank at one of the innumerable brooks and lay down in theforest. His adventure with the returning war party made him think much. It was likely that other small bands had gone on the great adventure inthe south. The young warriors, in particular, were likely to take to thescalp trail. It furnished them with excitement and at the same timedestroyed the intruders upon their great hunting grounds. 

He was tempted to rejoin his comrades and go south at once with awarning, but second thought told him that the chief danger lay in thegreat war band under Yellow Panther and Red Eagle. He would adhere tohis original plan and seek to destroy the cannon. 

He resolved to return at night, and since he had plenty of time he shota small deer, taking all chances, and cooked tender steaks over a firethat he lit with his flint and steel. It refreshed him greatly, andputting other choice portions in his knapsack he started back on a widecurve, leaving the smoldering coals to arouse the curiosity of any onewho might see them. 

It was now the second day after the great storm, and earth and theforest had dried completely. Henry, stepping lightly on the firm earth, and always using every stone or log or brook to hide any possible trace, had little fear of leaving a trail that even the keenest Indian couldfollow. But he picked up several trails himself. One was that of a smallparty coming from the east, and he thought they might be Wyandots boundfor the great camp. Another had the imprints of two pairs of boots, mingled with the light traces of moccasins, and he knew that they weremade by English soldiers, doubtless gunners, coming also with theirIndian comrades to join the great camp. 

Nothing escaped his notice. He knew that not far to the eastward ran oneof the great rivers that emptied into the Ohio, flowing northward, andhe began to wonder why the band did not use it for the transport of thecannon, at least part of the way. Indians were usually well providedwith canoes, and by lashing some of the stoutest together they couldmake a support strong enough for the twelve pounders. It was an ideaworth considering, and he and his comrades would watch the stream. Thenit occurred to him that he might go there now, and see if any movementin that direction had been begun by the warriors. The other fourundoubtedly would remain in their little stone fortress, until hereturned, or even if they should venture forth they knew all the ways ofthe forest, and could take care of themselves. 

To think of it was to act at once, and he began a great curve towardthe east, slackening speed and awaiting the night, under cover of whichhe could work to far better effect and with much greater safety. 

Toward sunset he came upon a trail made by moccasins and two pairs ofboots, and he surmised that it was Alloway and one of his young officerswho had passed that way with the Indians. As they were going toward theriver it confirmed him in his conjecture that they intended to use it, at least in part, for their advance into Kentucky. 

There had been no effort to hide the trail. What need had they to do so?Even with the belief that the five were in the vicinity they were in toolarge numbers to fear attack, and Henry, following in their footsteps, read all their actions plainly. 

They were not walking very fast. The shortness between one footprint andthe next proved it, and their slowness was almost a sure indication thatthe party included Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, or at least one ofthem. They did not go faster, because they were talking, and Allowaywould have discussed measures only with the chiefs. 

At one point four pairs of footsteps turned aside a little, and stoppedin front of a large fallen log. Two of the traces were made by moccasinsand two by boots. So, the two pairs of moccasins indicated that bothchiefs were present. The four had sat on the log and talked some time. In the crevices of the bank he found traces of thin ash. The Britishofficer therefore had lighted his pipe and smoked there, further proofthat it had been a conference of length. 

The warriors had remained in a group on the right, thirty or forty yardsaway, and several of them had lain down, the crushed grass showing fainttraces of their figures. Two small bones of the deer, recently coveredwith cooked flesh, indicated that several of them had used theopportunity to eat their supper. 

Unquestionably the movement intended by the white leader and the redchiefs was important, or they would not stop to talk about it so long. Hence it must mean the transportation of the cannon by water. He couldnot think of anything else that would divert them from the main route. 

About two miles farther on another trail joined the one that he wasfollowing. It was made wholly by moccasins, but it was easy enough forhim to discern among them two pairs, the toes of which turned outward. These moccasins, of course, were worn by Blackstaffe and Wyatt, who, whatever the British colonel may have thought of them, were neverthelessof the greatest importance, as intermediaries between him and the Indianchiefs. 

A few yards beyond the junction they had stopped and talked a little, but they had not sat down. Nevertheless they had consulted earnestly asthe footsteps were in an irregular group, showing that they had movedabout nervously as they talked. Then they walked on, but the moccasinsmoved forward in a much straighter and more precise manner than theboots, which were now veering a little from side to side. The twoBritish officers, not trained to it like the others, were growing wearyfrom the long walk through the woods. But they persevered. Althoughthey sagged more the trail led on, and, after a while, Henry saw alight, which he knew to be a campfire, and which he surmised was on thebank of the river. 

The night was fairly dark and under cover of bushes he approached untilhe could see. Then all his surmises were confirmed. The campfire waslarge and around it sat Alloway, the younger officer, Red Eagle andYellow Panther, and at a little distance about twenty warriors. The twoEnglishmen seemed utterly exhausted, while the others showed no signs ofweariness. 

"I admit, Wyatt, that walking seven or eight miles through the primevalwilderness is no light task, " said Alloway, wiping his red, perspiringface. 

His tone was not haughty and patronizing. He felt just then, in thisparticular work, that he was not the equal of the renegades and thewarriors. Henry saw a faint ironic smile upon the face of each of therenegades, and he understood and appreciated their little triumph. 

"You would do better, Colonel, " said Blackstaffe suavely, "to wearmoccasins in place of those heavy boots. They carry you over the groundmuch more lightly, and we have to follow the ways of the wilderness. "

The irritable red of Alloway's face turned to a deeper tint, but hecontrolled himself. 

"Doubtless you are right, Blackstaffe, " he said, "but we are here atlast. "

Wyatt had been speaking in a low tone to the chiefs, and it inflamed acholeric man like Alloway to hear anyone saying words that he could notunderstand. He was not able to restrain himself wholly a second time. 

"What is it, man? What is it that you're saying to the chiefs?" heexclaimed. 

"I was merely telling them, " replied Wyatt, "that you and your aide, Lieutenant Cartwright, had been made weary by the long walk through thewoods, and that we'd better let you rest a little before going down toinspect the canoes. "

A blaze of anger appeared in Alloway's eyes, but the younger officer whohad been watching his chief with some apprehension, said deferentially:

"Suppose, sir, that we do as they suggest. Campaigning in thiswilderness is not like fighting on the open fields of Europe. "

They all sat down about the fire, and venison, jerked buffalo meat androasted grain were served to them. The two chiefs were silent, and, holding themselves with dignity, were impressive. Presently one of themtook from under his deerskin tunic a pipe, with a long stem, and a bowl, carved beautifully. He crowded some tobacco into it, put a live coal ontop and took two or three long puffs. Then he passed it to the otherchief who after doing the same handed it to Colonel Alloway. 

The officer hesitated, not seeming to understand the meaning of the pipeat that particular time, and Wyatt said, maliciously:

"The pipe of peace, sir!"

"Why should we smoke a pipe of peace when we're already allies?"

"A little feeling has been shown on our march through the woods to theriver. Indians, sir, are very sensitive. These two chiefs, YellowPanther and Red Eagle, are the heads of powerful tribes, and if theirfeelings are hurt in any manner they will resent it, even to the pointof withdrawing all their warriors and returning north of the Ohio. Isuggest, sir, that you smoke the pipe at once, and return it to them. "

Colonel Alloway did so, Cartwright took it readily, after them the tworenegades smoked, and thus it was passed around the circle. It came backto Red Eagle, who knocked the coals out of the pipe and then gravelyreturned it to its resting place. 

Henry had watched it all with eager attention, and when the littleceremony was finished he made another short circle through the bushesthat brought him close to the river, where he saw about twenty canoesand two boats much larger, built stoutly and apparently able to sustaina great weight. He knew at once that they were intended for the cannonand that they had been brought down the Ohio and then up the tributarystream. Both had oars and he surmised that the white gun crews would usethem, since the Indians were familiar only with the paddle. These boats, scows he would have called them, were tied to the bank and were empty. Some of the canoes were empty also, but in seven or eight, Indianwarriors were lying asleep. 

He was quite certain that the cannon would be brought up the next day, and be loaded on the scows, and he wished now for the presence of hiscomrades. The five together might accomplish something real before thedawn, and then he resolved that since he was alone he would attempt italone. He withdrew to a considerable distance, and lay down in thebushes, very close. 

It was hard to think of a plan that seemed feasible, and he concentratedhis mind upon it until his brain began to feel inflamed, as if with afever. But the idea came at last. It was full of danger, and it calledfor almost supernatural skill, but he believed that he could do it. Thenthe fever went out of his brain and the tension of his nerves relaxed. He felt himself imbued with new strength and courage, and his soul roseto its task. 

He saw the two officers, the renegades and the chiefs come down to theedge of the river, and talk with the warriors there. No very strictwatch was kept, because none seemed to be needed. Then blankets werespread for them under the trees, and they went to sleep. Most of thewarriors followed their example, and not more than three or foursentinels were left on watch. These three or four, however, would haveeyes to see in the darkness and ears to hear when a leaf fell. 

But Henry did not sleep. He was never more wide-awake. He made his waycarefully through the bushes farther up the stream to a point where henoticed the last canoe lying empty near the shore, almost hidden in theshadows cast on the water by the overhanging boughs. 

He came to a point parallel with it and not more than ten feet away, and critically examining the river saw that the water was quite deepthere, which suited his purpose. The light craft was held merely by aslender piece of bark rope. Then he began the most perilous part of histask. He returned toward the sleeping officers and chiefs, and, lyingflat upon the ground in the deep grass and heavy shadows, began slowlyto worm himself forward. It was a thing that no one could haveaccomplished without great natural aptitude, long training and infinitepatience. He knew that risk of detection existed, but he calculatedthat, if seen, he might be up and away before any one of his enemiescould find time for a good shot. 

The Englishmen in particular were the mark at which he aimed. He hadnoticed that the younger one carried a large horn of powder and he waslikely to be careless about it, a belief that was verified as he drewnear. The Englishman had taken off his belt, bullet pouch and powderhorn, all of which now lay on the ground near him. 

A long arm was suddenly thrust from the grass and a hand closing on thepowder horn took it away. Henry felt that it was well filled and heavyand he glowed with triumph. The first link in his chain had been forged. He crept back into the bushes, and stopped there twice, lying verystill. He saw the Indian sentinels moving about a little, but evidentlythey suspected nothing. They were merely changing positions and quicklyrelapsed into silence and stillness. 

It was fully half an hour before Henry was back at his place oppositethe swinging little canoe. Then he shook the powder horn triumphantly, put it down at the foot of a tree and covered it up with some leaves. Ashe did so he noticed that many of last year's leaves were quite dry andhe remembered it. 

Then he went back to forge the second link, which was not so difficult. The fire around which the white men and the chiefs had eaten theirsupper was a little distance back of the present camp, where he wasquite sure that it was still smoldering, although deserted. He found astick the end of which was yet a live coal, and circling a little wideron his return he came back to the powder horn. 

Henry held the live point of the stick close to the ground where itcould not cast a glow that the sentinels might see, and then waited aminute or so before taking any further action. Two links of the chainhad been forged and he felt now that he would carry it to its fulllength and success. He had never been more skillful, never more incommand of all his faculties, and they had never worked in more perfectcoördination. There had never been a more perfect type of the humanphysical machine. Nature, in one of her happy moods, had lavished uponhim all her gifts and now he was using them to the utmost, turning histen talents into twenty. 

The third link would be one of great difficulty, much harder than thebringing of the fire, and that was the reason why he was considering sowell. He could discern the figures of three of the sentinels on land. Two of them were brawny warriors naked to the waist, and paintedheavily. The third was quite young, younger than himself, a mere boy, perhaps on his first war path. Henry understood the feelings of hope andambition that probably animated the Indian boy and he trusted that theywould not come into conflict. 

The sentinels were walking about, and when the one nearest him turnedand moved away he gathered up quickly fallen brushwood which laykiln-dry at the river's brink. Then he hid his rifle, other weapons andammunition in the grass. For a brief space he must go unarmed, becausehe could not be cumbered in an effort to keep them dry. 

Carrying the powder horn, the dry sticks and the one lighted at the end, he dropped silently into the water and managed with one arm to swim thefew feet that separated him from the canoe. Then he passed around it, putting it between him and the land, and carefully lifted everythinginside. He knew that the dry wood would burn fast when he placed thetorch against it, and he put the horn full of powder very near. 

Then he sank low in the water behind the canoe, and listened until heheard the faint sputter of the fire in the dry wood. Now newdifficulties arose. He must time everything exactly, and for the sake ofhis enterprise and his own life he must keep the Indian alarm fromcoming too soon. 

The sputtering was not yet loud enough for the warriors on the bank tohear it, and he ventured to rise high enough for another look over theedge of the canoe. In two minutes, he calculated, the fire would reachthe powder horn. Then he drew from his belt his hunting knife, the onlyweapon that he had not discarded, and cut the withe that held the canoe. 

Burying himself in the water to the nose he sent his fire ship down thestream toward the two scows intending for it to enter just between them. Now he needed all his skill and complete command over his will. Thesputtering of the fire increased, and he knew that it was rapidlyapproaching the horn of powder. The flesh had an almost irresistibledesire to draw away at once and swim for life, but an immense resolutionheld his body to its yet uncompleted task. 

The canoe was moving with such a slight ripple that not an Indiansentinel had yet heard, but when it was within ten yards of itsdestination one happened to look over the river and see it moving. Therewould have been nothing curious in a canoe breaking its slender thongand floating with the current, but this one was floating against it. TheIndian uttered a surprised exclamation and instantly called theattention of his comrades. 

Henry knew that the supreme moment was at hand. The Indian warning hadcome, and the sputtering told him that the fire was almost at the powderhorn. Giving his fire ship a mighty shove he sent it directly betweenthe scows and then he made a great dive down and away. He swam underwater as long as he could, and just as he was coming to the surface heheard and saw the explosion. 

The two scows and the canoe seemed to leap into the air in the center ofa volcano of light, and then all three came down in a rain of hissingand steaming fragments. The crash was stunning, and the light for amoment or two was intense. Then it sank almost as suddenly and againcame the darkness, in which Henry heard the steaming of burning wood, the turmoil of riven waters and the shouts of warriors filled withsurprise and alarm. 

It was easy in all the confusion for him to reach the bank, recover hisarms and speed into the forest. He had forged with complete successevery link in his chain of destruction. The scows intended for thetransportation of the cannon were blown to splinters, and while theymight lash enough canoes together to sustain their weight, they mustmove slowly and at much risk. 

Although he was dripping with water, Henry was supremely happy. When heundertook this feat he had believed that he would succeed, but lookingback at it now it seemed almost incredible. But here he was, and thedeed was done. He laughed to himself in silent pleasure. Wyatt, Blackstaffe and the others would undoubtedly trace it to him and hiscomrades, and he hoped they would. He was willing for them to know thatthe five were not only on watch but could act with terrific effect. 

A half-mile away from the river and he heard a long fierce yell, utteredby many voices in unison. He knew they had picked up at the edge of thestream the tale that he had not sought to hide, and were hoping now forrevenge upon the one who had cost them so much. But he laughed once moreback of his teeth. In the darkness they might as well try to follow abird of the air. He curved away, reached one of the numerous brooksintersecting the stream, and ran for a long time in its bed. Then heemerged, passed into a dense canebrake and stopped, where he took offhis wet clothing and spread it out in the dark to dry. The blanket whichhe had left on the bank with his arms was warm and dry and he wrapped itaround his body. Then he lay down with his weapons by his side. 

The satisfied blood ran swiftly and proudly in the veins of the greatforest runner. He had done other deeds as bold, but perhaps none asdelicate as this. It had demanded a complete combination of courage anddexterity and perfect timing. A second more or less might have ruinedeverything. He could imagine the chagrin of the choleric colonel. UnlessWyatt and Blackstaffe restrained him he might break forth intocomplaints and abuse and charge the Indians with negligence, a chargethat the haughty chiefs would repudiate at once and with anger. Then abreak might follow. 

Whether the break came or not he had insured a delay, and since thecannon could not yet be put upon the river he might find a way to get atthem. He rolled on one side, made himself comfortable on the dead leavesand then heard the wind blowing a song of triumph through the cane. Hefell asleep to the musical note, but awoke at dawn. 

His clothing was dry, and, unwrapping himself from the tight folds ofthe blanket, he dressed. Then, stretching his muscles a little, toremove all stiffness or soreness he emerged from the canebrake. Afterexamining a circle of the forest with both eye and ear to see that nowarrior was near, he climbed a tree and looked over a sea of forest. 

To the north where the great camp lay he saw spires of smoke rising, andto the east, where a detachment guarded the boats in the river, anothercolumn of smoke floated off into the blue dawn. So he inferred that theywere yet uncertain about their campaign and that their forces wouldremain stationary for a little while. But he was sure that warriors wereranging the forest in search of him. Red Eagle and Yellow Panther wouldnot let such an insult and loss pass without many attempts at revenge. 

He descended and ate the last of his venison. He would have returned atonce to his comrades, but he believed that many warriors were in betweenand he did not wish to draw danger either upon them or himself. He begananother of his great curves and it took him away from the refuge in thecliff, coming back in two or three hours to the stream that bore thelittle Indian fleet. His triumph of the night before increased hisboldness, and he resolved to return the following night and annoyfurther the detachment by the river. It would serve his cause, and itwould be a pleasure to vex the dogmatic European colonel. 

Weather was a great factor in the operation he was carrying on, and thecoming night, fortunately for his purpose, promised to be dark. Springis fickle in the valley of the Ohio, and toward evening clouds gathered, although there was not a sufficient closeness of the air to indicaterain. But the moon was feeble and by and by went away altogether. Thenthe stars followed, leaving only a black sky which hid Henry well, butwhich did not hide the smaller camp by the river from him. 

Watchers had been spread out in a wider circle, but he had no difficultyin approaching the fire, built on the bank of the river, around whichsat the two chiefs, the renegades and the British officers. Henry sawthat the faces of all of them expressed deep discontent, and he enjoyedthe joke, because joke it was to him. He understood the depths of theirchagrin. 

"We'll have to carry the cannon on the canoes, and maybe they'll fallinto the river, " said Alloway querulously. "How in thunder the blowingup of those scows was managed I don't understand!"

"Several of the warriors saw a canoe floating down, sir, just before theexplosion, " said Cartwright, "and it must have been no illusion, as acanoe is gone. "

Cartwright had missed his horn of powder after the excitement from theexplosion was over, but he supposed some Indian had used the opportunityto steal it, and he said nothing about his loss from fear of creating abreach. 

"In my opinion, sir, " said Braxton Wyatt, smoothly but with just a traceof irony, "it was done by Ware and his comrades. "

"Impossible! Impossible!" said Alloway, testily. "The careless Indiansleft powder in the scows and in some manner equally careless it's beenexploded. The tale of the canoe that floated upstream of its own accordwas an invention to cover up their neglect. "

"Do you wish us to translate for you and to state that opinion to thechiefs?" asked Blackstaffe. 

Alloway gave him an angry glance, but he had prudence enough to say:

"No, of course not. After all, there may have been a canoe. But whateverit was it was most unfortunate. It delays us greatly, and it preys uponthe superstitions of the warriors. "

"They are very susceptible, sir, to such things, " said Wyatt. "Theydread the unknown, and this event has affected them unpleasantly. ButI'm quite sure it was done by Ware, although I don't know how. "

"Ware! Ware!" exclaimed Alloway, impatiently. "Why should a force likeours dread a single person?"

"Because, sir, he does things that are to be dreaded. "

Yellow Panther, who had been sitting in silence, his arms folded acrosshis great bare chest, arose and raised his hand. Braxton Wyatt turnedtoward him respectfully and then said to Colonel Alloway:

"The head chief of the Miamis wishes to speak, sir, and if you willpardon me for saying so, it will be wise for us to listen. "

"Very well, " said Alloway. "Tell us what he says. "

Thus spoke Yellow Panther, head chief of the Miamis, veteran of manywars, through the medium of Braxton Wyatt:

"We and our brethren, the Shawnees, have come with many warriors upon along war path. Our friends, the white men whom the mighty King Georgehas sent across the seas to help us, have brought with them the greatcannon which will batter down the forts of the Long Knives inKaintuckee. But the signs are bad. The boats which were to carry thecannon on the river have been blown up. An enemy stands across our pathand before we go farther we must hunt him down. If we cannot do it thenManitou has turned his face away from us. "

Wyatt translated and Alloway sourly gave adhesion. It was hard for himto think that a single little group of borderers could hold up a greatforce like theirs, armed with cannon too. But he was acute enough to seethat the menace of a rupture would become a reality if he insisted uponhaving his own way. 

Henry had watched them while they talked, and then he turned aside to apoint nearer the river's brink, from which he could see two pairs oftheir strongest canoes lashed together in the stream, ready for thereception of the cannon when they should come. How was he to get atthem? He knew that he could not use a fire boat again, but these rafts, for such they were, must be destroyed in some manner. 

Lying deep in the thickets he considered his problem. One of the reasonswhy he excelled nearly all the scouts of the border was because hethought so much harder and longer, and now he concentrated all hisfaculties for success. 

It did not take him long to mature his plan, and when he had done so hemoved down the stream, where the chance of an Indian sentineldiscovering him was much smaller. There he waited a space, while thenight darkened still more, the moon and stars being shut out entirely. Awind arose and little crumbling waves pursued one another on thesurface of the river, which was flooded and yellow from spring rains. 

He saw only one or two sentinels and they showed but dimly. Farther downthe Englishmen, the chiefs and the renegades were sitting about the lowfire, and he felt sure that the white men, at least, would sleep thereby the coals. From his covert in the bushes he saw them presentlyspreading their blankets, and then they lay down with their feet to thesmoldering fire. The chiefs soon followed them and elsewhere thewarriors also rolled themselves in their blankets. They seemed to thinkthat he would not come back, reasoning like the white men that thelightning would not strike in the same place twice. 

So he waited long and patiently. This quality of patience was one inwhich the Caucasian was usually inferior to the Indian, but in theincessant struggle on the border it was always needed. Henry, throughthe power of his will and his original training among the NorthwesternIndians, had acquired it in the highest degree. He could sit or lie analmost incredible length of time, so still that he would seem to blendinto the foliage, and now as he lay in the bushes some of the littleanimals crept near and watched him. A squirrel, not afraid of the firein the distance, came down the trunk of a tree, and hanging to the barknot five feet away regarded him with small red eyes. 

Henry caught a glimpse of the little gray fellow and turning his headever so slightly regarded him. The red eyes looked back at him half boldand half afraid, but Henry had lived in the wild so much that the twofelt almost akin. The squirrel saw that the gigantic figure on theground did not move, and that the light in the eyes was friendly. Hecrept a little nearer, devoured by curiosity. He had never seen a humanbeing before, and instinct told him that he could escape up the treebefore this great beast could rise and seize him. He edged cautiously aninch nearer, and the blue eyes of the human being smiled into the littlered eyes of the animal. 

The two gazed at each other for a half minute or so. It was a look ofthe utmost friendliness, and then the squirrel went noiselessly back upthe tree. It was a good omen, thought Henry, but he still waited withthe illimitable patience which is a necessity of the wild. He saw thefire, before which the white men and the chiefs lay sleeping, sink lowerand lower. The night remained dark. The heavy drifting clouds whichnevertheless were not ready to open for rain, moved overhead in solemncolumns. The surface of the river grew dim, but now and then there was alight splash as a strong fish leaped up and fell back into the current. The Indian guards knowing well what made them, paid no attention tothese sounds. 

The wind increased and Henry saw all the canoes, including those lashedtogether, rocking in the current. The blast made a whistling sound amongthe bushes and boughs and he concluded that the time for him to act hadcome. He took off all his clothing, made it, his weapons and ammunitionin a bundle which he fastened on his head, and then swam across theriver. He went some distance down the bank, deposited everything excepthis heavy hunting knife securely in the bush, and then, with the knifein his teeth, dropped silently into the river. 

The lashing of the wind and the perceptible rise of the stream fromflooded tributaries farther up, made a considerable current, and Henryfloated with it. But the bank on the camp side of the river wasconsiderably higher than the other and first he swam across to itsshelter. 

It was so dark now that not even the keen eye of an Indian could haveseen his dark head on the dark surface of the stream, and he was sopowerful in the water that he swam like a fish without noise. Once ortwice he caught the gleam of the fire on the bank, but he knew that hewas not seen. 

In a few minutes he dropped in behind the lashed canoes, and with theheavy hunting knife cut holes in their bark bottoms. He was skillful andstrong, but it took him a half-hour to finish the task, and he stoppedat intervals to see if the sentinels had noticed anything unusual. Evidently they dreamed as little of this venture as of that of the fireboat. 

He cut a small hole in every one at first, and then enlarged them inturn, and when he saw the water rising in the boats he swam rapidlyaway, still keeping in the shelter of the near shore. Then he dived, rose just behind a curve and walked out on the opposite bank, his figuregleaming white for a moment before he crept into the woods where hisclothes and weapons lay. He dressed with rapidity and still lying hiddenhe heard the first Indian cry. 

The sentinels, hearing the gurgling of the water, had looked over andseen the sinking canoes. Even as they looked, and as the alarm broughtothers, the canoes filled with water and sank fifteen feet to the bottomof the stream. 

A few rays of moonlight forced their way through the clouds just at thatmoment, and Henry saw the amazement on the faces of the warriors, andthe anger on the faces of the white men, because Alloway and the others, awakened by the alarm, had hurried to the banks of the river. 

He laughed low to himself but with deep and intense satisfaction. He wasenough a son of the wild to understand the emotions of the Indians. Heknew that the second destruction of the boats, but in a different way, would fill them with awe. They could attach no blame to the sentinelswho watched as only Indians could watch. 

Henry saw them lift the remaining canoes upon the bank for safety, andthen send out scouts and runners in search of the dangerous foe who hadvisited them twice. None had yet come to his side of the river, but heknew that they would do so in time, and feeling that the deed wassufficient for the night, he fled away in the darkness. 

CHAPTER V

THE FOREST JOKER

It was Henry's first thought to return to his comrades, but the way waslong and he must pass by the greater Indian camp, which surely had outmany sentinels. So he changed his mind and resolved to spend the nightin the woods. Shif'less Sol and the others would not be alarmed abouthis absence. They too had acquired the gift of infinite patience andwould remain under cover, until he returned, content with their stonewalls and roof, having plenty of venison, and fresh water runningforever in their home itself. 

It was his idea to seek some thicket at a distance and lie hidden thereuntil the next night, when he might achieve a fresh irruption upon theenemy. He had succeeded so far that he was encouraged to new attempts, and all the wilderness spirit in him came to the front. The civilizationof the house and the city sank quite away. He was for the time beingwholly a creature of the primeval forest, and while his breath was thevery breath of the wild he felt with it a frolic fancy that demandedsome outlet. He must sleep, but he would like to play a new trick uponhis enemies before he slept. 

The spirit of the Faun, in which the old Greeks believed, was re-createdwithin him, and where could a better place for its re-creation have beenfound than in this vast green wilderness stretching from east to west athousand miles, and from north to south fifteen hundred miles, a regionalmost untouched by the white man, the like of which was not to be foundelsewhere on the globe. 

He laughed a little in his triumph, though silently. As he strode alonga stray ray of moonlight fell upon him now and then, and disclosed thetall, splendid figure, the incarnation of magnificent youth, the forestsuperman, one upon whom Nature had lavished every gift for the life thathe was intended to live. Although his step was light and soundless, hisfigure expressed strength in every movement. It was shown in the swingof the mighty shoulders, and the long stride which without effortdropped the miles behind him. 

It was destined, too, that he should have his wish for anotherachievement that night, one that would please the sportive fancy now sostrong in him. After recrossing the river he saw on his left an openingof considerable size, and he heard grunts and groans coming from it. Heknew that a buffalo troop was resting there. The foolish beasts hadwandered into the Indian vicinity, but they would learn the proximity ofthe warriors the next day and wander away. Meanwhile Henry needed themand would use them. Now and then he reverted to the religious imagerywhich he had learned when he was with Red Cloud and his Northwesterntribe. Manitou had really sent this buffalo herd there for hisparticular benefit. It was the largest that he had ever seen inKentucky. Fully five hundred of the great brutes rested in the openingand he needed numbers. 

He passed into the thick forest near them, and then with infinitepatience lighted a fire with his flint and steel. Securing long sticksof dead wood he ignited them both until they burned with a steady andstrong flame. Strapping his rifle upon his back and holding aloft aflaming torch in either hand, and uttering fierce and wild shouts hecharged directly upon the buffaloes. 

He showed prodigious activity. All the extraordinary life that was inhim leaped and sang in his veins. He rushed back and forth, utteringcontinuous shouts, whirling each torch until it made a perfect circle offire. Doubtless to the heavy eyes of the buffaloes the single humanbeing seemed twenty, every one enveloped in bursts of flame which theydreaded most of all things. 

A big bull buffalo, the leader of the herd, crouched at the very edge ofthe opening, decided first that it was time to move. The whirlingcircles of fire with living beings inside of them filled him withterror. His ton of flesh quivered and quaked. He rose with a mightyheave to his feet and then with a bellow of fright took flight from theflashing devils of fire. 

The whole herd was in a panic in an instant and followed the leader. They might have scattered in their fright, but they were shepherded by ahuman mind, which had allied with it a body without an equal in allthat million and a half square miles of forest. As he leaped to and fro, shouting and whirling his torches, he drove the herd straight toward thecamp on the river where the English officers and chiefs were even nowasleep. 

A few animals broke off from the herd and were lost in the bushes, butthe rest ran, packed close, a long column, tapering at the front like anarrow head, with the big bull as its point. They bellowed with frightand made a tremendous crashing as they raced over the mile that dividedthem from the Indian camp. Warriors heard the uproar, like the burstingof a storm in the night, and leaped to their feet. 

Now Henry fairly surpassed every effort that he had made hitherto. Heleaped more wildly than ever, and redoubled his fierce shouting. He wasso close upon the flank of the last buffaloes that they felt the torchessingeing their hair, and, mad with fear lest they go to their buffaloheaven sooner than they wished they charged directly upon the Indiancamp. 

The wild yells of the warriors joined with Henry's shouts. Alloway, Cartwright and the others leaped up to see the red eyes, the shortcrooked horns and the huge, humped shoulders of the buffaloes bearingdown upon them. Nothing could withstand that rush of mighty bodies andwhite men and Indians alike ran for their lives. 

The buffaloes came up against the river, and blocked by its deep flood, turned, and, running over the camp again, crashed away toward the west. Henry, stopping at a convenient distance, tossed his torches into theriver, and taking the rifle from his back sank into the bushes. Here helaughed once more, under his breath, but with the most intense delight. It was the hugest joke of all. 

Without any great danger to himself he had made the buffaloes serve him, and he could still hear them bellowing and crashing in their franticflight. Although no lives had been lost, everything in the camp had beentrodden flat. All of their cooking utensils had been smashed, many oftheir rifles had been broken, and, the canoes drawn upon the bank, hadbeen ground under the hoofs of the buffaloes. A hurricane could not havemade a wreck more complete. 

Henry saw Alloway emerge from the forest and come back to the scene ofruin. He had taken off his coat before he lay down, but only fragmentsof it remained now. He was red with anger and he swore violently. YellowPanther and Red Eagle had lost their blankets, but, whatever they felt, they kept it to themselves. They looked upon the trodden camp, but theydid not lose their dignity. 

"What is this? What is this? What is this?" stuttered Alloway in hiswrath. 

"We seem, sir, to have been run over by a herd of buffaloes, " saidWyatt, smoothly. 

"And does this sort of thing happen often in these woods?"

"I can't say that I've heard of such a case before, but even if it's asingle instance we're the victims of it. "

Alloway glared at Wyatt, but he knew that he could not afford to quarrelwith the young renegade, who had great influence with the tribes. Hepicked up the fragments of his red coat and looked at them ruefully. 

"I didn't know that the herds were ever so large in this forestcountry, " he said to Blackstaffe. 

"It's seldom so, " said the older renegade. 

"Is it their habit to rise up at midnight and gallop over men's camps?"

"It is not. "

"Then how do you account for such behavior?"

Blackstaffe shrugged his shoulders and spoke a few words in their owntongue to the chiefs. Then he turned back to Colonel Alloway. 

"The chiefs tell me, " he said, "that the buffaloes were driven by ademon, an immense figure, preceded by whirling circles of fire. The evilspirit, they say, is upon them. "

"And do you believe such nonsense?"

"A continuous life in the deep woods gives one new beliefs. I thought Icaught a glimpse of such a figure, but when I tried for a second look itwas gone. But whether right or wrong you can see what has happened. Ourcamp has been destroyed and with it most of the canoes. We have lostmuch, and the Indians are greatly alarmed. It is superstition, not fear, that has affected them. "

"In my opinion, " said Braxton Wyatt, "it was a trick of Henry Ware's. Hedrove those buffaloes down upon us. "

"Very likely, " said Blackstaffe, "but you can't persuade the Indiansso. "

"Nor me either, " said Alloway gruffly. "You can't tell me that abackwoods youth can do so much. "

"But, " said Blackstaffe, "our scows were blown up, our lashed canoeswere sunk, and now the buffaloes have been driven over us. It couldn'tbe chance. I think with Wyatt that it was Ware, but the chiefs are notwilling to stay here longer. They demand that we return to the greatcamp in the morning, and that we abandon the attempt to take the cannonup the river. "

"Which means an infinite amount of work with the ax, " growled Alloway. "Well, let it be so, if it must, but I will not move tonight foranything. At least grass and trees are left, and I can sleep on one andunder the other. "

The chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, thought they ought to march atonce, but they yielded to Alloway who was master of the great guns withwhich they hoped to smash the palisades around the settlements. Completecoöperation between white man and red man was necessary for the successof the expedition, and sometimes it was necessary for one to placate theother. 

They chose places anew upon ground that looked like a lost field ofbattle. The buffaloes had practically trampled the camp into the earth. The Indians had lost most of their blankets and in taking the canoesfrom the river and putting them upon the bank to escape one form ofdestruction they had merely met another. But they did the best theycould, seeking the most comfortable places for sleep, and resolved tosecure rest for the remainder of the night. 

But Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, great chiefs though they were, weretroubled by bad dreams which came straight from Ha-nis-ja-o-no-geh, thedwelling place of the Evil Minded. An enemy whom they could not see orhear, but whose presence they felt, was near. He had brought misfortuneupon them and he would bring more. They awoke from their dreams and satup. The white men were sleeping heavily, but then white men were oftenfoolish in the forest. 

Everything that stirred in the wilderness had a voice for the Indian. North wind or south wind, east wind or west wind all said something tohim. The flowing of the river, and the sounds made by animals in thedarkness had their meaning. Yellow Panther and Red Eagle were greatchiefs, mighty on the war path, filled with the lore of their tribes, and they knew that Manitou expressed himself in many ways. They spoketogether and when they compared their bad dreams straight fromHa-nis-ja-o-no-geh they felt apprehension. The wind was blowing from thenorthwest, and its voice was a threat. Then came the weird cry of an owlfrom a point north of them, and they did not know whether it was a realowl or the same evil spirit that had sent the bad dreams. 

The two chiefs, wary and brave, were troubled. They could fight theseen, but the unseen was a foe whom no warrior knew how to meet. Thenthey heard the owl again, but from another point, farther to the west, and after a while the cry came from a point almost due west. 

They sent the boldest and most skillful warrior to scout the forest inthat direction and they waited long for his return, but he never cameback. When the second hour after his departure had been completed thechiefs awakened all the others and announced that they would start atonce for the great camp. 

Alloway growled and cursed under his breath. 

"What is it?" he said to Braxton Wyatt, who had been talking with RedEagle and Yellow Panther. "Can't we finish in peace what's left of thenight?"

"We must yield to the chiefs, sir, " said Wyatt. "If we don't there willbe trouble, and the whole expedition will fail before it's fairlystarted. While we were asleep they heard an owl hoot from severaldifferent points of the compass, and they think it an omen of evil. Theymay be right, because a scout, a man of uncommon skill, whom they sentout two hours ago with instructions to return in an hour or less, hasnot come back. If you consider the misfortunes that have befallen ustonight, you can't blame 'em. "

The hoot of the owl, much nearer, came suddenly through the forest. Tothe chiefs and to the white men as well it had a long menacing note. Itwas an omen of ill and it came from the Place of Evil Dreams. YellowPanther and Red Eagle, great chiefs, victors in many a forest foray, shuddered. Fear struck like daggers at their hearts. 

"Gray Beaver, our scout, will never come back, " said Yellow Panther, andRed Eagle nodded. 

The surcharged air affected Alloway and the other white men also. Theobvious fears of the chiefs and the black wilderness about him createdan atmosphere that the colonel could not resist. He glanced at the darkfiles of the trees and listened to the low moaning of the river as itflowed past. Then from a point in the south came that warning, plangentcry of the evil bird. Perspiration stood out on the brows of the chiefsand Alloway himself was shaken. Superstition and fears bred of thewilderness and its darkness entered into his own soul. The placesuddenly became hateful to him. 

"Let us go, " he said. "Perhaps it is better that we rejoin the mainforce. "

Braxton Wyatt had his own opinion, but he was as willing as the othersto depart. He felt that on this expedition he would be safer with thewarriors all about him. He had saved his own rifle from the rush of theherd, and putting it on his shoulder he fell in behind the chiefs. 

The whole party started, but they found that although they had left anevil place they had also begun an evil march. The owl, which the Indianswere quite sure contained the soul of some great dead warrior, followedand continually menaced them. Its cry was heard from one side and thenfrom the other. Colonel Alloway, a brave man, though choleric and cruel, was exasperated beyond endurance. He raged and swore as they marchedthrough the dark thickets, the Indians moving lightly and surely, whilehe often stumbled. He insisted at last that they stop and take action. 

"Do you think this is a real owl following us?" he said to Wyatt, whomhe invariably used as an interpreter. 

"I think it is Ware, of whom I told you. "

"You're as bad in your way as the Indians are in theirs. Why, the fellowwould be superhuman!"

"That would not keep it from being true. "

Alloway knew from Wyatt's tone that he meant what he said. 

"We must hunt down this forest rover!" he exclaimed. "I can see that heis striking a heavy blow at the Indians through their superstitions. "

"No doubt of that, sir. "

"Tell the chiefs for me that we must send out a half dozen trailerswhile the rest of us remain here. I'm not as used as you are to midnightmarches in the forest, and every bone in me aches. "

Wyatt translated and Yellow Panther and Red Eagle consented. Ahalf-dozen of the best trailers slipped away in different directions inthe forest, and the rest sat down in a group. They waited a long timeand heard nothing. The owl did not cry, nor did any human shout comefrom the haunted depths of the wilderness. 

"At least they've driven him away, " said Alloway to Cartwright. 

"I think so, sir. "

Out of the forest, low at first, but swelling on a long triumphant note, came the solemn voice of the owl. Alloway, despite himself, shuddered. The sinister cry expressed victory. His own mind, like those of theIndians, had become attuned to the superstitions and fears bred ofignorance and the dark. His heart paused, and when it began its workagain the beat was heavy. 

A darker blot appeared on the darkness and two warriors, bearing athird, came through the bushes. The man whom they bore was adark-browed, cruel savage who had carried the scalp of a white woman athis belt. But he would hunt or scalp no more. He had been cloven frombrow to chin with the blow of a tomahawk wielded by an arm mighty likethat of Hercules. Colonel Alloway looked upon the slain savage andshuddered again. 

"Ask them how it happened, " he said to Wyatt. 

The young renegade, after speaking with the Indians, replied:

"Black Fox, the dead warrior, turned aside to look into a willowthicket. The others heard the beginning of a cry, that is one that waschecked suddenly, and the sound of a blow. Then they found Black Fox asyou see him there. "

"And the one who struck him down?"

"There was no trace of him, but I, at least, have no doubt about him. Colonel Alloway, sir, I tell you he is the greatest forester that everlived. He has all the different kinds of strength of the red man and thewhite man united, and something more, a power which I once heard alearned man say must have belonged to people when they had no weaponsbut clubs, and beasts far bigger than any of our time roamed the woods. It must have been a sort of feeling or sense that we can't understand, like the nose of a hound, and this Ware has it. "

"Pshaw! Pshaw! Pshaw!" exclaimed Alloway violently. But Wyatt saw thathis violence of speech was assumed to hide his own growing belief. Thetwo chiefs beckoned to him, and he talked with them briefly. Then heturned to Alloway. 

"Red Eagle and Yellow Panther ask me to say to you, sir, that they'llsend no more warriors into the forest. The Evil Spirit is there andwhile they're ready to fight men they will not fight devils. "

"I don't blame 'em, " said Alloway reluctantly. "We've been outwitted andmade fools of, and the best thing we can do is to get back to the greatcamp as soon as we can. Tell the chiefs we're ready to march. "

But the way was long and the night was still black. The cry of the owlcame several times, first on the right and then on the left. Every timehe heard it the heart of the colonel beat with anger, tinged with awe. It was a strange world into which he had come, and while he would nothave acknowledged it to another, he knew that he was afraid. And afraidof what? Of a single figure, lurking somewhere in the dusk, that seemedable to strike at any moment wherever and whenever it wished. 

The band, with its chiefs, its white men and its renegades marched on, the two English officers panting from such unusual exertion, andtripping often as they grew weaker. It hurt Alloway to ask them to stopand let him rest, and he put off the evil moment as long as he could, but at last, as his breath became shorter and shorter, he was compelledto do so. 

The chiefs acquiesced silently and the whole band stopped. Alloway satdown on one of those fallen logs to be found everywhere in the primevalforest, and his breath came in long painful sobs. He was just a littletoo stout for wilderness work, that is for the marching part of it, andhe was hurt cruelly in both body and spirit. As his general weaknessgrew, the cry of the owl directly in their path and not far away waslike fire touched to an open wound. 

"Can't some of the warriors go forward, ambush and shoot that fiend?" heexclaimed in desperation to Blackstaffe. 

"You saw what happened when we tried it an hour ago, " replied therenegade. "In the darkness one man has an opportunity over many. Heknows that all are his enemies, and he can shoot the moment he hears asound or sees a rustle in the bush. Besides, sir, we are confronted, asWyatt has told you, by the one foe who is the most dangerous in all theworld to us. There is something about him that passes almost beyondbelief. I'm not a coward, as these Indians will tell you, but nothingcould induce me to go into the forest in search of him. "

Alloway made no reply, but he took off a cocked hat that he wore even inthe wilderness, and began to fan his heated face. A rifle crackedsuddenly, and the hat flew from his hand into the air. The Indiansuttered a long wailing cry like the Seneca "Oonah, " but did not movefrom their places or show any sign that they wished to pursue. 

The colonel's empty hand remained poised in the air, and he gazed withmingled anger and wonder at his hat, lying upon the ground, andperforated neatly by a bullet. Wyatt, Blackstaffe and Cartwright lookedat him but said nothing. Even Wyatt felt a thrill of awe. 

"That, sir, was a warning, " he said at last. "He could have shot you aseasily. "

"But why don't the warriors pursue? He could not have been much morethan a hundred yards away!"

"They're afraid, sir, and I don't blame 'em. "

Wyatt himself showed apprehension. He knew the bitter hatred theborderers felt toward all renegades. The name of Girty was already oneof loathing. Blackstaffe was another who could expect little mercy, ifhe ever fell into their hands, and Wyatt himself knew that he had fullyearned the Kentucky bullet. He did not feel the superstition of thewarrior, but he regarded the gloomy depths of the forest with just asmuch terror. There was no reason why the silent marksman who hung uponthem should not pick him out for a target. 

They came to a creek running three feet deep, but they waded it and thenstood for a minute or two on the bank, wringing the water out of theirclothing. Colonel Alloway still cursed under his breath, and bemoanedthe fate that had befallen him. It seemed a cruel jest that he, who hadserved in Flanders and Germany, in open country that had been civilizedmany centuries, should be sent from Detroit to march as an ally ofsavages in that enormous and unknown wilderness. 

The cry of the owl came from a point straight ahead, and not more thanfour hundred yards away. Not a savage moved. But Alloway's whole frameshook with furious anger. It was preposterous that they should beharried so on their march by a single enemy. Once more he turned toWyatt and said:

"Can't we spread out in some manner and catch this impudent fellow? Arethirty men to be driven all night through the woods by a single borderrover?"

"I can put your question to the chiefs, " Wyatt replied, "but I doubtwhether anything will come of it. "

He talked a little with Yellow Panther and Red Eagle and found that theywere willing to try again. They were pursued by a devil, but, mysteriousas he was, they would send forth the warriors, and perhaps they mighttrap him. They gave the signal and a dozen savages plunged at once intothe bush, spreading out like a fan, and advancing toward the point fromwhich the owl had sent his haunting cry. 

The others waited a long time by the creek, and Alloway's rage stillburned. It was past endurance that a gentleman and an officer should behunted through the woods in such a manner, insulted even by a bulletthrough his fine cocked hat, and hope being the father of belief, he wassure that the warriors would finish him this time. 

He heard a sudden sharp report in the woods behind them, on the otherside of the creek that they had crossed, and a bullet buried itself inthe tree against which he was leaning, not very far from his face. Heuttered a deep oath, but Yellow Panther and Red Eagle signaled to theirforces to take the trail once more. The one in whom the Evil Spiritdwelled and who had come to mock them could not be caught. They wouldwaste no more time, but would march as fast as they could to the maincamp. They sent out cries that called in the warriors and then they setoff at a great pace. 

But all through the remainder of the night the Evil Spirit hung uponthem, sometimes beside them, and sometimes behind them, and the terrorof the warriors grew. Upon more than one face the war paint was dampwith perspiration, and Colonel Alloway, his red face dripping, wasforced to keep up with them, stride for stride. 

Their terror did not diminish at all until the daylight came. Red Eagleand Yellow Panther, great chiefs, were glad to see the glow over theeastern forest that told of the rising sun. Even then they did not stop, but kept on at high speed, until the morning was flooded with light, when they stopped for fresh breath. 

The English officers threw themselves upon the ground and gasped. Theywere not ashamed to show now to the Indians that they were weary almostto death. 

"I think I left at least twenty pounds in that cursed forest, " saidAlloway. 

"I'm not anxious for another such march, " said Cartwright with sympathy. "But, sir, you can see a big smoke rising not more than a mile ahead. That must be the main camp. "

"It is, " said Braxton Wyatt, "and there are some of the scouts coming tomeet us. "

Far behind them rose the long hoot of the owl, but Wyatt knew that theywould hear it no more that day. He regarded the English officers grimly. They had patronized him and Blackstaffe, and now they made the poorestshowing of all. In the woods they were lost. 

Alloway and Cartwright rose after a long rest and limped into the camp. The colonel reflected that he had lost prestige but there were thecannon. The warriors could not afford to march against Kentucky withoutthem, and only he and his men knew how to use them. In a huge camp, witha brilliant sun driving away many of the fancies that night and theforest brought, his full sense of importance returned. He began to talknow of pushing forward at once with the guns, in order that they mightstrike before the settlers were aware. 

CHAPTER VI

THE KING WOLF

When the two chiefs, Alloway and the smaller force, were driven into thegreat camp, Henry turned aside into the forest and felt that he had donewell. All the fanciful spirit of the younger world created by the Greekshad been alive in him that night. He had been a young Hercules at playand he had enjoyed his grim jokes. He was not only a young Hercules, hewas a primeval son of the forest to whom the wilderness was a book inwhich he read. 

He went back a little on their path, and he marked where the Europeanleader had fallen twice through sheer weariness or because he could notsee well enough in the dusk to evade trailing vines. A red thread or twoon a bush showed that he had torn his uniform in falling, and the youngwoods rover laughed. He could not recall another such gratifying night, one in which he had served his own people and also had annoyed the enemybeyond endurance. 

He went deep into the forest, hiding his trail as usual, and lay down ina covert to rest, while he ate some of the venison that he had left. Here he saw again his friends of the little trails, with which he was sofamiliar. The shy rabbits were creeping through the bushes andinstinctively they seemed to have no fear of him. Two little birds notten feet over his head were singing in intense rivalry. Their tinythroats swelled out as they poured forth a brilliant volume of song, andHenry, lying perfectly still, looked up at them and admired them. Itwould have required keen eyes like his to have picked them out, each ofwhom a green leaf would have covered, but he saw them and recognizedthem as friends of his. He did not know them personally, but since alltheir tribe were his comrades they must be so too. 

Although he was one of mighty prowess with the rifle, and a taker ofgame, Henry always felt his kinship with the little people of theforest. No one of them ever fell wantonly at his hands. The gay birds intheir red or blue plumage and all the soberer garbs between, were safefrom him. It seemed that they too at times recognized him as a friendsince he would hear the flutter of tiny wings over his head or by hisear, and see them pass in a flash of flame, or of blue or of brown. 

Those old tales of Paul floated once more through his mind. He had nodoubt that Paul was right. The Biblical six thousand years might be sixmillion years as men thought of them now. And he knew himself, from hisown eye, that huge monsters, larger than any that lived now, did roamthe earth once. He had seen their bones in hundreds at the Big BoneLick, where they had come to get the salty water scores of thousands ofyears ago. It seemed to him then that in those days men and the littleanimals and the little birds must have been allies against the monsters. Here, in the woods so far from civilization, this friendship must becontinued. The light wind which so often sang to him through the leavessprang up and joined its note to that of the birds. The fierce, wildspirit that had made him haunt the flying trail the night before, andthat had sent the tomahawk so deep, departed. He felt singularlyfriendly to all created beings. 

Lying on his back and looking upward into the green roof, Henry listenedto the forest concert. The two over his head were still singing withutmost vigor, but others had joined. From all the trees and bushes abouthim came a volume of song, and the shadow of no swooping hawk or eaglefell across the sky to disturb them. 

He had a little bread in his pouch, and he threw some crumbs on thegrass a few feet away. The hand and arm that had cast them sank by hisside, remained absolutely still and he waited. The wonder that he waswishing so intensely came to pass. A bird, brown and tiny, alighted onthe grass and pecked one of the crumbs. Beyond a doubt, this was a boldbird, a leader among his kind, an explorer and discoverer. He had neverseen a crumb before, but he picked up one in his tiny bill and found itgood. Then he announced the news to all the world that could hear hisvoice, and there was much fluttering of small wings in the air. 

More birds, red, green, yellow and brown, settled upon the grass andbegan to pick the crumbs eagerly. It was new food, but they found itgood. Nor did they pay any attention to the great figure in buckskindyed green lying so near and so still. The instinct given to them inplace of reason, which warned them of the presence of an enemy, gavethem no such warning now, because there was none against which theycould be warned. 

Henry always believed that the birds felt his kinship that morning, orperhaps it was the crumbs that drew them to a friend and gave themhearts without fear. One of them, perhaps the original bold explorer, seeking vainly for another crumb, hopped upon his bare hand as it lay inthe grass, but feeling its warmth flew away a foot, hung hovering amoment or two, then came back and took a peck. 

It was not sufficient to hurt Henry's toughened hand, and exerting thegreat strength of his will over his body he continued to lie perfectlymotionless. The bird, satisfied that this food was beyond his powers, stood motionless for a few moments, then flapped his wings two or threetimes to indicate that he was a prince and an ornament of the forest, and began to pour forth the fullest and deepest song that Henry had yetheard. 

It gave him a curious thrill as the bird, perched on his hand, andextended to his utmost, sang his song. The other birds having finishedall the crumbs stood chirping and twittering in the grass. Then, as ifby a given signal, all of them, including the one on Henry's hand, united in a single volume of song and flew up into the crevices of thegreen roof. He felt that a serenade had been given to him, one that fewhuman kings ever enjoyed. The little flying people of the forest hadunited to do him honor, and he was pleased, hugely pleased. 

They were hidden from him now in the green leaves, but where the sky wasclear he saw a sudden, dark shadow against the blue. He sprang up in aninstant and raised his rifle. But it was too late for the eagle to stop. The heavy figure with the tearing beak and claws swooped downward, andthere was silence and terror among the green leaves. But before theeagle could clutch or rend, Henry's rifle spoke with unerring aim, andthe body fell to the ground dead. 

He was sorry. He did not like his morning party to be broken up in sucha manner, and for his guests to be disturbed and frightened. Nor was itwise to fire his rifle in that neighborhood. But he had acted on animpulse that he did not regret. He looked at the beak and claws of thedead eagle and he was glad that he had shot him. The fierce bird hadbroken up his forest idyl, and knowing that he could stay no longer heset off at a great pace, again curving about in a course that led himsomewhat toward the house in the cliff. 

He crossed several trails and he became rather anxious. Doubtless theywere made by hunters, because the Indians while they remained at thegreat camp would eat prodigiously, and bands would be continuallysearching the forest for buffalo and deer. It was from these that thechief danger came. He suspected also that their proximity had compelledShif'less Sol and the others to keep close within their little shelter. He doubted whether he could reach them that day. 

The need of rest made itself felt at last, and, hiding his trail, hecrept into another small but very dense thicket. He felt that he waswithin a lair and his kinship with bird and beast was renewed. No wolfor bear could lie snugger in its den than he. 

He put his rifle by his side, where he could reach it in a second, andwas soon asleep. A prowling bear came into the far edge of the thicket, sniffed the man-smell and went away, not greatly alarmed, but feelingthat it was better, in case of doubt, to avoid the cause of the doubt. Two Indians, carrying the cloven body of a deer, passed within threehundred yards of the sleeping youth, but they saw no trail and went onto the camp with the spoils of the hunt. 

Henry slept lightly, but a long time. The forest quality was stillstrong within him. Although his sleep had all its restoring power, thelightest noise in the undergrowth near him would have awakened him. Buthe slept on through the morning, and into the afternoon. 

A second party of savage hunters passed, five men carrying wild turkeys, and they too did not dream that the enemy whom they dreaded so much laynear. They had left the camp only that morning, and, the warriorsarriving from the river, had told before they left how they had beenpursued all through the night by one upon whom the Evil Spirit haddescended. Even in the day they would have avoided this being, and theold medicine men who were in the camp were making charms to drive himaway. 

It was the most brilliant part of the afternoon now. Nevertheless theylooked with a tinge of superstitious terror at the forests. The highlyimaginative mind of the Indian, clothes nearly all things withpersonality, and for them an evil wind was blowing. The events of thepreceding night had been colored and enlarged by those who told them. One or two had seen the form, gigantic and flaming-eyed, that had hungupon their trail, and these warriors, fearing that they too might seeit, and in the open day, hung close as they bore their load of turkeysback to the camp. 

Henry did not awake until the west was growing dim, and then after thefashion of the borderers he awoke all at once, that is, every nerve andfaculty was alive at the same time. Nothing had invaded his haunt in thebrushwood. His keen eyes showed him at once that no bush had beendisplaced, and, with his rifle ready, he walked out into the opening. 

He must get back into the little fortress that night. He had been goneso long that Shif'less Sol and the others, although having the utmostconfidence in his powers, would begin to worry about him. Yet he knewthat it was unwise to approach the place until night came. Delay was allthe more necessary, because while he saw on the northern horizon thesmoke from the great camp, he saw also a smaller smoke rising fromanother camp nearer their fortress. It was so near, in truth, that thefour must find it necessary to hide close within the walls. 

The second smoke aroused Henry's apprehension. Perhaps a portion of thecamp had been moved forward merely to be nearer water or for somekindred reason, but that did not keep it from being nearer the stonefortress, nor from impeding his entrance into it. Yet he believed thathe could slip past. His skill had triumphed over greater tests. 

After dark he began his journey, buoyant and strong from his long sleep, and continued his wide circuit intending to approach his destinationfrom the west. Distance did not amount to much to the borderer, and hislong, easy gait carried him on, mile after mile. 

It was another night, brilliant with moon and stars, and Henry was ableto see the larger trail of smoke still traced on the northern horizon. His sense of direction was perfect, but he looked up now and then at thesmoky bar, always keeping it on his right, and three or four hours aftersunset he began to curve in towards his friends. The country into whichhe had come was similar in character to that which he had left, heavyforest, rolling hills and many creeks and brooks. He had never been inthat immediate region before, and he judged by the amount of gamespringing up before him that it had not been visited by anybody in along time. It was always a cause of wonder to him that a region as largeas Kentucky, four fifths the size of all England, should be totallywithout Indian inhabitants. 

The fact that Indians from the North and Indians from the South weresaid to fight there when on their hunting expeditions, and that hencethey preferred to leave it as a barrier or neutral ground, did notwholly account for the fact to him. Farther north and farther south theIndians occupied all the country and fought with one another, but inthis beautiful and fertile land there was no village, and not even astray lodge. 

He had often asked himself the reason, and while he was asking it hecame to a long low mound, covered with trees of smaller growth thanthose in the surrounding forest. At first he took it for a hill justlike the others, but its shape did not seem natural, and, despite theimportance of time he looked again, and once more. Then he walked alittle way up the mound and his moccasined foot struck lightly againstsomething hard. He stooped, and catching hold of the impediment pulledfrom the earth a broken piece of pottery. 

It seemed old, very old, and wishing to rest a little, Henry sat downand gazed at it. The Indians of the present day could not possibly havemade it, and it was impossible also that any white settler or huntercould have left it there. He dropped the fragment and rising, lookedfarther, finding two more pieces buried almost to the edge, but whichhis strong hands pulled out. They seemed to him of the same generalworkmanship as the others, and he surmised that the long mound uponwhich he was standing had been thrown up by the hand of man. 

What was inside the mound? Perhaps the skeletons of men dead a thousandyears or more, men more civilized than the Indians, but gone forever, and leaving no trace, save some broken pieces of pottery. Possibly theIndians themselves had destroyed these people, and they did not comehere to live because they feared the ghosts of the slain. But it was noquestion that he could solve. He would talk about it later with Paul andmeanwhile he must find some way to reach the others. 

He threw down the pottery and left the hill, but, as he swung swiftlyonward, the hill and its contents did not disappear from his mind. Hehad a strange sense of mystery. The new land about him might be an old, old land. He had never thought of it, except as forest and canebrake, inwhich the Indians had always roamed, but evidently it was not so. It wasstrange that races could disappear completely. 

But as he raced on, the feeling for these things fell from him. He wasnot so much for the past as Paul was. He was essentially of the present, and, dealing with wild men in a wild country, he was again a wild manhimself. Among the Indians at the great camp or about it there was notone in such close kinship with the forest as he. Despite danger and hisanxiety to reach his comrades, he felt all its beauty and majesty, intruth fairly reveled in it. 

He noticed the different trees, the oaks, the elms, the maples, thewalnuts, the hickories, the sycamores, the willows at the edges of thestream, the dogwoods, and all the other kinds which made up theimmeasurable forest. They were in the early but full foliage of spring, and the light wind brought odors that were like a perfumed breath. 

It was past midnight, when he stopped to enjoy again the fine flavor ofhis kingdom. Then he suddenly lay flat among the dead leaves of the yearbefore, and thrust forward the barrel of his rifle. He had heard afootfall, the footfall of a moccasin, not much heavier than the fall ofa leaf, and every nerve and faculty within him was concentrated to meetthe new danger. 

The sound had come from his right, and raising his head just a little helooked, but saw nothing, that is nothing new in the waving forest. YetHenry was sure that a man was there. His ear would not deceive him. Doubtless it was a stray hunter or scout from the bands, and, while hedid not fear him, he was annoyed by the delay. It might keep him fromreaching his comrades that night. 

He waited a long time, using all the patience that he had learned, andhe began to believe that his ear after all might have deceived him. Perhaps it had been merely a rabbit in the undergrowth, but while he wasdebating with himself he heard a faint stir in the bush, and he knewthat it was made by a man seeking a new position. 

Then his intuition, the power that came from an extreme development ofthe five senses, reinforced by will, gave him an idea. Still lying onhis back he uttered the lonesome howl of the wolf, but very low. Hewaited a moment or two, eager to know if his intuition had told himtruly, and back came the wolf's low but lone cry. He gave the secondcall and the cry of the wolf came in like answer. 

Then he stood up with rifle at trail and walked boldly forward. A tallfigure, rifle also at trail, emerged from the bush and advanced to meethim. Two hands met in the strong clasp of those who had shared athousand dangers and who had never failed each other. 

"I thought when I made the call that it would be you, Sol, " said Henry. 

"An' I knowed it must be you, Henry, " said the shiftless one, showinghis double row of shining white teeth, "'cause you're the only one inthe woods who kin understan' our signals. "

"And that means that Paul, Long Jim and Tom are safe in the cave. "

"When I left two nights ago, hevin' gone back thar after we separated, they wuz safe, but whether they are now I can't tell. Decidin' that theywuz foulin' the water too much, part o' the band has moved up to a placemighty close to our own snug house. They don't know yet that the hole inthe wall is thar, but ef they stay long they're boun' to run acrost it. That's why I've come out lookin' fur you, an' mighty glad I am that I'vefound you. I'd a notion you'd take this circuit, after doin' all thedeviltry you've done. "

The shiftless one's mouth parted in a wide grin of admiration. The tworows of white teeth shone brightly. 

"Henry, " he said, "you're shorely the wild catamount o' the mountains. "

"Why?"

"Well, I'm somethin' o' a scout an' trailer, ez you know, an' that ain'tno boastin'. I've been hangin' 'roun' the Injun camp, an' they'reterrible stirred up. An evil sperrit has been doin' 'em a power o' harman' I know that evil sperrit is you. Ef it wuzn't fur them cannon onwhich they build such big hopes the chiefs would take all their warriorsand go home. But the white men are urgin' 'em on. Henry, you're shorelythe king o' these woods. How'd you stir 'em up so?"

Henry modestly told him all that he had done, and the shiftless onechuckled again and again, as proud of his comrade's deeds as if he haddone them himself. 

"But the Indians will march against Kentucky?" said Henry. "You don'tdoubt that, do you?"

"Yes, they'll go. Hevin' brought the cannon so fur they won't turn back, but mebbe we kin hold 'em a while longer. There are tricks an' tricks, an' we kin work some o' 'em. "

"And it's our object to stop those cannon. Unless they have 'em we canbeat the Indians off as we did last year, even if they are led by theEnglish. "

"So we kin, Henry, an' we'll git them guns yet. Scoutin' 'roun' tharcamp I learned enough to know that you've broke up thar plan o' tryin'to carry 'em part o' the way by the river. You must hev done mightyslick work thar, Henry. The warriors are plum' shore now that river isha'nted. It's all the way through the woods now fur them cannon, an' theEnglish will hev to use the axes most o' the time. "

"Then we'll be going back as fast as we can. I want to tell you again, Sol, that your face was mighty welcome. "

"I ain't no beauty, " grinned the shiftless one, "but them that'sbringin' help do be welcome when they come. That's the reason you lookedso pow'ful well to me, Henry, 'cause I wuz gettin' mighty lonesome, prowlin' 'roun' in these woods all by myself, an' no comp'ny to call, 'cept them that would roast me alive when they'd j'in me. "

"The cliff is straight north, isn't it?"

"Jest about. But thar's an Injun band in the way. They're jerkin' a loto' venison fur the main camp, but bein' ez you've stirred 'em up sothey're keepin' a mighty good watch too. You know we don't want nofights, we jest want to travel on ez peaceful ez runnin' water. "

"That's so, Sol, but it means a much farther curve to the west. "

"Then we've got to take it. It ain't hard for you an' me. We've gotsteel wire for muscles in our legs, and the night is clear, cool an'life-givin'. Paul hez talked 'bout parks in the Old World, but we've gothere a bigger an' finer park than any in Europe or Asyer, or fur thatmatter than Afriker or that new continent, Australyer. An' thar ain'tany other park that hez got so many trees in it ez ourn, or ez much biggame all fur the takin'. Now lead on, Henry, an' we'll go to our newhome. "

"No, you lead, Sol. I've been on a big strain, an' I'd like to followfor a while. "

"O' course you would, you poor little peaked thing. I ought to hevthought o' that when I spoke. Never out in the woods afore by hisselfan' nigh scared to death by the trees an' the dark. But jest you comeon. I'll lead you an' I won't let no squirrel or rabbit hurt youneither. "

Henry laughed. The humor and unction of the shiftless one always amusedhim. 

"Go ahead, Sol, " he said, "and I'll promise to keep close behind you, where nothing will harm me. "

Thus they set off, Sol in front and Henry five feet away, treading inhis footsteps. 

"There wuz a time when I'd hev been afraid o' the dark, " said Shif'lessSol, whose conversational powers were great. "You've been to the BigBone Lick, an' so hev I, an' we've seen the bones o' the monsters thatroamed the earth afore the flood, a long time afore. I wouldn't hevbelieved that such critters ever tramped around our globe ef I hadn'tseen their bones. I come acrost a little salt lick last night--we maysee it in passin' afore mornin'--but thar wuz big bones 'roun' it too. Imeasured myself by 'em an' geewhillikins, Henry, what critters them wuz!Ef I'd been caught out o' my cave after night an' one o' them things gotafter me I'd hev been so skeered that I'd hev dropped my stone club'cause my hands trembled so, my teeth would hev rattled together inreg'lar tunes, an' I'd hev run so fast that I'd only hev touched thetops o' the hills, skippin' all the low ones too, an' by the time Ireached the mouth o' my cave, I'd be goin' so swift that I'd run clearout o' my clothes, leavin' 'em fur the monster to trample on an' thenchaw up, me all the while settin' inside the cave safe, but tremblin'all over, an' with no appetite. Them shore wuz lively times fur ourrace, Henry, an' I guess we did a pow'ful lot o' runnin' an' hidin'. "

"It was certainly time to run, Sol, when a tiger eight feet high andfifteen feet long got after you, or a mammoth or a mastodon twenty feethigh and fifty feet long was feeling around in the bushes for you with atrunk that could pick you up and throw you a mile. "

"Henry, ef we wuzn't in a hurry I'd stop here an' give thanks. "

"What for?"

"'Cause I didn't live in them times, when the beast wuz bigger an'mightier than the man. I guess stone caves that run back into mountains'bout a mile wuz the most pop'lar an' high-priced. Guess those boys an'gals didn't go out much an' dance on the green, ez they do back East. I'd a heap ruther hunt the buff'ler than that fifteen foot tiger o'yours, Henry. "

"So had I, Sol. If those beasts were living nowadays we wouldn't beroaming through the forest as we are now. We have only the Indians tofear. "

"An' thar's a lot about them to be afeard of at times, ez you an' meknow, Henry. "

"If we keep on this curve, Sol, about what time do you think we ought toreach the boys?"

"Afore moonrise, jest about when the night is darkest, 'less somethin'gits in the way. Here's another branch, Henry. Guess we'd better wade init a right smart distance. You can't ever be too keerful about yourtrail. "

The branch, or brook, as it would have been called in older communities, was rather wide, about six inches deep and flowing over a smooth, gravelly bed. It was flowing in the general direction in which theywished to go, and they walked in the stream a full half mile. Then theyemerged upon the bank, careless of wet feet and wet ankles, which theyknew would soon dry under severe exercise, and continued their swiftjourney. 

The curiosity of the shiftless one about the primeval world had passedfor the time, and like Henry he was concentrating all his energy andattention upon the present, which was full enough of work and danger. Heand the young Hercules together made a matchless pair. He was secondonly to Henry in the skill and lore of the wilderness. He was a true sonof the forest, and, though uneducated in the bookish sense, he was sofull of wiles and cunning that he was the Ulysses of the five, and assuch his fame had spread along the whole border, and among the Indiantribes. Hidden perhaps by his lazy manner, but underneath that yellowthatch of his the shiftless one was a thinker, a deep thinker, and anobler thinker than the one who sat before Troy town, because histhoughts were to save the defenseless. 

"Henry, " he said, "we're followed. "

Henry glanced back, and in the moonlit dusk he saw a score of forms, enlarged in the shadows, their eyes red and their teeth bare. 

"A wolf pack!" he exclaimed. 

"Shore ez you live, " replied the shiftless one. "Reckon they've beenfollerin' us ever since we left the branch. Mebbe they never saw menafore an' don't know nothin' 'bout guns that kill at a distance, an'ag'in mebbe they've been driv off thar huntin' grounds by the warriors, an' think we kin take the place o' their reg'lar game. "

"Anyway I don't like it. "

"Neither do I. Look at that old fellow in the lead. Guess he's called agiant among 'em. I kin see the slaver fallin' from his mouth. He'sthinkin' o' you, Henry, 'cause there's more meat on you than there is onme. "

"I don't know about that. You'd make a fine dish for the table of thewolf king. Roasted and served up whole they'd save you for the juicyfinish, the last gorgeous touch to the feast. "

"Don't talk that way, Henry. You make me shiver all over. I ain't afeardo' a wolf, but ef I didn't hev a rifle, an' you wuzn't with me, I'd beplum' skeered at them twenty back thar, follerin' us lookin' at us an'slaverin'. "

The shiftless one shook his fist at the king wolf, an enormous beast, the largest that they had ever seen in Kentucky. The whole troop wasfollowing them, their light feet making no noise in the grass andleaves, but their red eyes and white teeth always gleaming in themoonlight. They were showing an uncommon daring. Lone hunters had beenkilled and eaten in the winter by starving wolves, but it was seldomthat two men in the spring were followed in such a manner. It becameweird, uncanny and ominous. 

"I know what's happened, " said the shiftless one suddenly. "I kin tellyou why they follow us so bold. "

"What's the reason, Sol?"

"You know all them 'normous tigers and hijeous monsters we've beentalkin' 'bout, that's been dead a hundred thousan' years. Thar soulscomin' down through other animals hev gone straight into our pack o'wolves thar. They ain't wolves really. They're big tigers an' mammothsan' sech like. "

"I'm not disputing what you say, Sol, because I don't know anythingabout it, but if it wasn't for raising an alarm I'd shoot that king wolfthere, who is following us so close. I can tell by his eyes that heexpects to eat us both. "

"What kind o' tigers wuz it that Paul said lived long ago, an' growed somonstrous big?"

"Saber-toothed. "

"Then that king wolf back thar wuz the king o' the saber-toothed tigersin his time. He wuz twelve feet high and twenty-five feet long an' hecould carry off on his shoulder the biggest bull buffaler that ever wuz, an' eat him at a meal. "

"That would have been a good deal of a dinner, even for an emperor amongsaber-toothed tigers. "

"But I'm right about that wolf, Henry. I kin see it in his eye, an' thembehind him are nigh ez bad. They wuz all saber-toothed tigers in thartime. I reckon that in thar wolf souls or tiger souls, whichever theybe, they expect to eat us afore day. I'd like pow'ful well to put abullet atween the eyes o' thar king--jest ez you said you would, Henry. "

"But it's not to be thought of. Sound would travel far on a still nightlike this, and the warriors might be within hearing. It's hard on thenerves, but we've got to stand it. "

They hoped that the wolves would drop the trail soon, but their wishdid not come true. However they twisted and turned, whether they wentslow or fast, the sinister pack was always there, the king wolf a footor so in advance, like the point to the head of an arrow. Often theflickering shadows exaggerated him to twice his usual size, and then intruth he suggested his saber-toothed predecessor of long, long ago. 

"This is becomin' pow'ful w'arin' to the nerves, Henry, " said theshiftless one. "I'd ruther hev a clean fight with a half-dozen warriorsthan be follered this way. It teches my pride. I've got a mighty lot o'pride, an' it hurts me awful to hev my pride hurt. "

"Because we don't shoot or do anything I think they've assumed thatwe're powerless to fight. Still, there is something about the human odorthat deters 'em. "

"S'pose you're right, but I'm goin' to try a trick. When you see mestumble, Henry, you go right on, till I'm eight or ten feet behind you. "

"All right, Sol, but don't stumble too much. "

"I ain't likely to do it at sech a time. Look out, now! Here I stumble!"

He caught his foot in a root, plunged forward, almost fell, recoveredhis balance slowly and with apparent difficulty. Henry ran on, but in ahalf minute he turned quickly. With a horrible snarl and yelp the kingwolf sprang, and the others behind him sprang also. Henry's rifle leapedto his shoulder, and then the king wolf jumped away, the othersfollowing him. 

The shiftless one rejoined Henry and they ran a little faster. His facewas pale and one or two drops of perspiration fell from it. His breathwas longer than mere flight would make it. 

"I ain't goin' to try that ag'in, Henry, " he said. "No more foolin' withsudden death. He's shorely the big tiger, the biggest o' them all thatwuz. Why, when I stumbled he leaped like lightnin'. I didn't thinkanythin', not even a wolf, could be so quick. "

"The rifle frightened them off. They didn't know what it was, but theywere afraid it had something to do with wounds and death. Still, they'rerunning a little closer to us than they were. That's about all that'scome of your experiment, Sol. "

"I ain't goin' to try it over ag'in, Henry, but it shorely begins tolook ez ef we'd hev to use the bullets on 'em. I don't think anythin'else will stop 'em. "

"A little while longer, Sol, and they may abandon the chase. We musthold our fire just as long as possible. A shot may bring a cloud of thered hornets about us. "

The shiftless one was silent. He knew as well as Henry that a shot wasunwise. They were bearing back now toward the stone fortress and theIndian camps, and the forests near might be full of warriors. Yet it wasa tremendous strain upon one's nerves to be followed in such a manner. The wolves had come so close now that they could hear the light pad oftheir feet. Once Shif'less Sol picked up a stone and hurled it at theking wolf. The great shaggy beast leaped aside, but it struck a wolfbehind him, drawing an angry snarl, in which all the wolves joined. 

Henry felt relief when they gave tongue, although the snarl was notloud. Hitherto they had pursued in total silence, which he had deemedunnatural and that angry yelp made them real wolves of the forest again. 

"About how far would you say it is now to the cave?" he asked theshiftless one. 

"Three or four miles, but with our lope it won't take us long to coverit. What hev you got in mind, Henry?"

"I think we've got to kill the king wolf. I didn't think so a littlewhile ago, but they follow us hoping that some accident, a fall perhaps, will make us their prey. "

"Do it then, Henry, an' take all the chances. I'm growin' mighty tiredo' bein' follered by wolves that are re'ly tigers. After you shoot, we'll turn to the left an' run ez hard ez we kin. "

Henry whirled suddenly about and raised his rifle. The king wolf, as ifdivining his purpose, sheered to one side, but he was confronting thedeadliest marksman in the woods. The muzzle of Henry's rifle followedhim, and when he pulled the trigger the bullet crashed through the greatbeast's skull. 

When the king wolf fell dead the others stopped, stricken with terror, but from a point to the east came the long thrilling note of the warwhoop. The warriors had heard the shot, and, knowing they would comeswiftly to its sound, Henry and the shiftless one, turning due west, ranwith amazing speed through the forest. 

CHAPTER VII

THE FOREST POETS

Henry and the shiftless one knew that they had drawn danger uponthemselves, but they had nothing to regret. The pursuit by the wolveshad become intolerable. In time it was bound to unsettle their nerves, and it was better to take the risk from the warriors. 

"How far away would you say that war whoop was?" asked Henry. 

"'Bout a quarter o' a mile but it'll take 'em some little time to findour trail. An' ef you an' me, Henry, can't leave 'em, ez ef they wuzstandin', then we ain't what we used to be. "

Presently they heard the war cry a second time, although its note wasfainter. 

"Hit our trail!" said the shiftless one. 

"But they can never overtake us in the night, " said Henry. "We've cometo stony ground now, and the best trailers in the world couldn't followyou and me over it. "

"No, " said the shiftless one, with some pride in his voice. "We're notto be took that way, but that band an' mebbe more are in atween us an'our fine house in the cliff, an' we won't get to crawl in our littlebeds tonight. It ain't to be risked, Henry. "

"That's so. We seem to be driven in a circle around the place to whichwe want to go, but we can afford to wait as well as the Indian army can, and better. Here's another branch and we'd better use it to throw thatband off the trail. "

They waded in the pebbly bed of the brook for a long distance. Then theywalked on stones, leaping lightly from one to another, and, when theycame to the forest, thick with grapevines they would often swing fromvine to vine over long spaces. Both found an odd pleasure in theirflight. They were matching the Indian at his tricks, and when pushedthey could do even better. They knew that the trail was broken beyondthe hope of recovery, and, late in the night, after passing throughhilly country, they sat down to rest. 

They were on the slope of the last hill, sitting under the foliage of anoak, and before them lay a wide valley, in which the trees, mostly oaks, were scattered as if they grew in a great park. But the grass everywherewas thick and tall, and down the center flowed a swift creek which inthe moonlight looked like molten silver. The uncommon brightness of thenight, with its gorgeous clusters of stars, disclosed the full beauty ofthe valley, and the two fugitives who were fugitives no longer felt itintensely. Henry was an educated youth of an educated stock, andShif'less Sol, the forest runner, was born with a love and admirationin his soul of Nature in all its aspects. 

"Don't it look fine, Henry?" said the shiftless one. "Ef I hed to sleepin a house all the time, which, thanks be, I don't hev to do, I'd buildme a cabin right here in this little valley. Ain't it jest the nicestplace you ever saw? Unless I've mistook my guess, that's a lot o'buff'ler lyin' down in the grass in front o' us. "

"Eight of 'em. I can count 'em, " said Henry, "but they're safe from us. "

"I wouldn't fire on 'em, not even ef thar wuzn't a warrior within ahundred miles o' us. I don't feel like shootin' at anythin' jest now, Henry. "

"It's the valley that makes you feel so peaceful. It has the same effecton me. "

"I think I kin see wild flowers down thar bloomin' among the bushes, an'ain't that grass an' them trees fine? an' that is shorely the best creekI've seen. Its water is so pure it looks like silver. I've a notion, Henry, that this wuz the Garden o' Eden. "

"That's an odd idea of yours, Sol. How can you prove it's so?"

"An' how can you prove it ain't so? An' so we're back whar we started. Besides, I kin pile up evidence. All along the edge o' the valley arebriers an' vines, on which the berries growed. Then too thar are lots o'grapevines on the trees ez you kin see, an' thar are your grapes. An' uptoward the end are lots o' hick'ry an' walnut trees an' thar are yournuts, an' ef Adam an' Eve wuz hard-pushed, they could ketch plenty o'fine fish in that creek which I kin see is deep. In the winter theycould hev made themselves a cabin easy, up thar whar the trees arethick. An' the whole place in the spring is full o' wild flowers, whichEve must hev stuck her hair full of to please Adam. The more I think o'it, Henry, the shorer I am that this wuz the Garden. "

The shiftless one's face was rapt and serious. In the burnished silverof the moonlight the little valley had a beauty, dreamlike in itsquality. In that land so truly named the Dark and Bloody Ground itseemed the abode of unbroken peace. 

"I reckon, " said Shif'less Sol, "that after the fall Adam an' Eve leftby that rift between the hills, an' thar the Angel stood with theFlamin' Sword to keep 'em out. O' course they might hev crawled backdown the hillside here, an' in other places, but I guess they wuzafeard. It's hard to hev had a fine thing an' then to hev lost it, harder than never to hev had it or to hev knowed what it wuz. I guess, Henry, that Adam an' Eve came often to the hills here an' looked down attheir old home, till they wuz skeered away by the flamin' o' the Angel'ssword. "

"But there's nothing now to keep us out of it. We'll go down there, Sol, because it is a garden after all, a wilderness garden, and nothing butIndians can drive us from it until we want to go. "

"All right, Henry. You lead on now, but remember that since Adam an' Evehev gone away this is my Garden o' Eden. It's shore a purty sight, nowthat it's beginnin' to whiten with the day. "

Dawn in truth was silvering the valley, and in the clear pure light itstood forth in all its beauty and peace. It was filled, too, with life. Besides the buffaloes they saw deer, elk, swarming small game, and animmense number of singing birds. The morning was alive with their songand when they came to the deep creek, and saw a fish leap up now andthen, the shiftless one no longer had the slightest doubt. 

"It's shorely the Garden, " he said. "Listen to them birds, Henry. Didyou ever hear so many at one time afore, all singin' together ez efevery one wuz tryin' to beat every other one?"

"No, Sol, I haven't. It is certainly a beautiful place. Look at the bedsof wild flowers in bloom. "

"An' the game is so tame it ain't skeered at us a bit. I reckon, Henry, that 'till we came no human foot hez ever trod this valley, since Adaman' Eve had to go. "

"Maybe not, Sol! Maybe not, " said Henry, trying to smile at theshiftless one's fancy, but failing. 

"An' thar's one thing I want to ask o' you, Henry. Thar's millions an'millions an' billions an' billions o' acres in this country that belongto nobody, but I want to put in a sort o' claim o' my own on the Gardeno' Eden here. Thar are times when every man likes to be all by hisself, fur a while. You know how it is yourself, Henry. Jest rec'lect then thatthe Garden is mine. When I'm feelin' bad, which ain't often, I'll comehere an' set down 'mong the flowers, an' hear all them birds sing, sameez Adam an' Eve heard 'em, an' d'rectly I'll feel glad an' strongag'in. "

"Where there's so much unused country you ask but little, Sol. It's yourGarden of Eden. But you'll let the rest of us come into it sometimes, won't you?"

"Shorely! Shorely! I didn't mean to be selfish about it. I've got somevenison in my knapsack, Henry, an' I reckon you hev some too. I'd liketo hev it warm, but it's too dangerous to build a fire. S'pose we set, an' eat. "

The soil of the valley was so fertile that the grass was already highenough to hide them, when they lay down near the edge of the creek. There they ate their venison and listened to the musical tinkle of therushing water, while the sun rose higher, and turned the luminous silverof the valley into luminous gold. They heard light footfalls of the deermoving, and the birds sang on, but there was no human sound in thevalley. Their great adventure, the Indian camp, and the manifold dangersseemed to float away for the time. If it was not the Garden of Eden itwas another garden of the same kind, and it looked very beautiful tothese two who had spent most of the night running for their lives. Theywere happy, as they ate venison and the last crumbs of their bread. 

"If the others wuz here, " said Shif'less Sol, "nothin' would be lackin'. I'm in love with the wilderness more an' more every year, Henry. Onereason is 'cause I'm always comin' on somethin' new. I ain't notied-down man. Here I've dropped into the Garden o' Eden that's beenlost fur thousands o' years, an' tomorrow I may be findin' some otherwonder. I rec'lect my feelin' the first time I saw the Ohio, an' I'velooked too upon the big river that the warriors call the Father o'Waters. I'm always findin' some new river or creek or lake. Nothin'sold, or all trod up or worn out. Some day I'm goin' way out on themplains that you've seed, Henry, where the buff'ler are passin' millionsstrong. I tell you I love to go with the wind, an' at night, when Iain't quite asleep, to hear it blowin' an' blowin', an' tellin' me thatthe things I've found already may be fine, but thar's finer yet fartheron. I hear Paul talkin' 'bout the Old World, but thar can't be anythin'in it half ez fine ez all these woods in the fall, jest blazin' with redan' yellow, an' gold an' brown, an' the air sparklin' enough to make anold man young. "

The face of the shiftless one glowed as he spoke. Every word he saidcame straight from his heart and Henry shared in his fervor. The wildmen who slew and scalped could not spoil his world. He had finished hisvenison, and, drinking cold water at the edge of the creek, he came backand lay down again in the long grass. 

"Perhaps we'd better stay here the most of the day, " said Henry. "Thevalley seems to be out of the Indian line of march. The buffaloes areover there grazing peacefully, and I can see does at the edge of thewoods. If warriors were near they wouldn't be so peaceful. "

"And there are the wild turkeys gobblin' in the trees, " said Shif'lessSol. "I like wild turkey mighty well, but even ef thar wuz no fear o'alarm I wouldn't shoot any one in my Garden o' Eden. "

"Nor I either, Sol. I'm beginning to like this valley as well as you do. Your claim to it stands good, but when we're on our hunting expeditionsup this way again the five of us will come here and camp. "

"But we'll kill our game outside. I've a notion that I don't want toshoot anythin' in here. "

"I understand you. It's too fine a place to have blood flowing in it. "

"That's jest the way I feel about it, Henry. You may laugh at me furbein' a fool, but the notion sticks to me hard an' fast. "

"I'm not laughing at you. If you'll raise up a little, Sol, you can seethe smoke of the main Indian campfire off there toward the northeast. Itlooks like a thread from here, and it's at least five miles away. "

"It's a big smoke, then, or we wouldn't see it at all, 'cause we can'tmake out that o' the smaller one nearer to the cave, though I reckonit's still thar. "

"Perhaps so, and the warriors may come this way, but we'll see 'em andhear 'em first. Look, Sol, those buffaloes, in their grazing, are comingstraight toward us. The wind has certainly carried to them our odor, butthey don't seem to be alarmed by it. "

"Jest another proof, Henry, that it's the real Garden o' Eden. Thembuff'ler haven't seen or smelt a human bein' since Adam an' Eve left, an' ez that wuz a long time ago they've got over any feelin' o' fear o'people, ef they ever had it. Look at them deer, too, over thar, loafin''long through the high grass, an' not skeered o' anythin'. An' thewolves that follered us last night don't come here. Thar ain't a sign o'a wolf ever hevin' been in the valley. "

Henry laughed, but there was no trace of irony in the laugh. Theshiftless one's vivid fancy or belief pleased him. It was possible, too, that Indians would not come there. It might be some sacred place of theold forgotten people who had built the mounds and who had beenexterminated by the Indians. But the Indians were full of superstition, and often they feared and respected the sacred places of those whom theyhad slain. For the boldest of the warriors, avenging spirits might behovering there, and they would fear them more than they would fear thewhite men with rifles. 

"Let's go up to the head of the valley, " he said to Shif'less Sol. "Ifwe keep back among the bushes we won't be seen. "

"All right, " said his comrade. "I want to see that gate between thehills, that the creek comes from, an' I want to take a look, too, atthat grove o' big trees growin' thar. "

Henry reckoned the length of the valley at two miles and its width at ahalf mile on the average, with the creek flowing down almost its exactcenter. At the head it narrowed fast, until it came to the gash betweenthe hills, where grew the largest oaks and elms that he had ever seen. It was in truth a magnificent grove and it gave the shiftless oneextreme delight which he expressed vocally. He surveyed the trees andthe hills behind them with a measuring and comprehensive eye. 

"Them hills ain't so high, " he said, "but they're high enough to shutout the winds o' winter, bein' ez they face the north an' west, an' herecurves the creek atween 'em, through a gap not more'n ten feet wide. An' look how them big trees grow so close together, an' in a sort o'curve. Why, that's shorely whar Adam an' Eve spent thar winters. Itwouldn't take much work, thatching with poles an' bark to rig up thesnuggest kind o' a bower. These big trees here ag'inst the cliff almostmake a cabin themselves. "

"And one that we'll occupy the rest of the day. It would be impossiblefor a warrior ten yards away to see us in here, while we can see almostthe whole length of the valley. I think we'd better stay here, Sol, andmake ourselves comfortable for the rest of the day. You need sleep, andso will I later. It's easy to make beds. The dead leaves must lie a footthick on the ground. "

"It's a wonder they ain't thicker, gatherin' here ever since Adam an'Eve moved. "

"They rot beneath and the wind blows away a lot on top, but there'splenty left. Now, I'm not sleepy at all. You take a nap and I'll watch, although I'm sure no enemy will come. "

"Reckon I will, Henry. It's peaceful an' soothin' here in the Garden o'Eden, an' ef I dream I'll dream good dreams. "

He heaped up the leaves in the shape of a bed, giving himself a pillow, and, sinking down upon it luxuriously, soon slept. Henry also piled theleaves high enough against the trunk of one of the largest trees to forma cushion for his back, and settled himself into a comfortable position, with his rifle across his knees. 

Although he had been up all the night he was not sleepy. The shiftlessone's striking fancy had exerted a great effect upon him. This was theGarden of Eden. It must be, and some ancient influence, something thathe would probably never know, protected it from invasion. He marked oncemore the fearless nature of its inhabitants. He could see now threesmall groups of buffaloes and all of them grazed in perfect peace andcontent. Nowhere was there a sign of the wolves that usually hung aboutto cut out the calves or the very old. He saw deer in the grass alongthe creek, and they were oblivious of danger. 

But what impressed him most of all was the profusion of singing birdsand their zeal and energy. The chorus of singing and chattering rose andfell now and then, but it never ceased. The valley itself fairly sangwith it, and in the opening before him there were incessant flashes ofred and blue, as the most gaily dressed of the little birds shot past. 

His eyes turned toward the gap, where the shiftless one had placed theAngel with the Flaming Sword. It was only a few hundred yards away, andhe was able to see that it was but a narrow cleft between the hills. While he looked he saw a human figure appear upon the crest of the hill, outlined perfectly against the sun which was a blazing shield of goldbehind him. 

It was a savage warrior, tall, naked, save for the breech cloth, hisface and body thick with war paint, the single scalp lock standing updefiantly. The luminous glow overcoming the effect of distance, enlarged him. He seemed twice his real height. 

The warrior was gazing down into the valley, but Henry saw that he didnot move. His figure was rigid. He merely looked and nothing more. Presently two more figures of warriors appeared, one on either side, andthey too were raised by the golden glow to twice their stature. Allthree stared intently into the valley. Henry put his hand on theshoulder of his comrade and shook him. 

"What? What? What is it?" exclaimed the shiftless one sleepily. 

"Three Indian warriors on the highest hill that overlooks the valley, but they're not coming in. I think that the Angel with the Flaming Swordis in the way. "

Shif'less Sol was all awake now, and he stared long at the motionlesswarriors. 

"No, they ain't comin' down in the valley, " he said at last. "I don'tknow how I know it, but I do. "

"Perhaps it's because they don't see the remotest sign of an enemyhere. "

"Partly that I reckon, an' fur other reasons too. Thar, they're goin'away! I expect, Henry, that them warriors are a part o' the band thatwuz lookin' fur us. They don't keer to come into the valley, but theymight hev been tempted hard to come, ef they'd a' saw us. Mebbe it's agood thing that we came here into Adam's an' Eve's home. "

"It was certainly not the wrong thing. Those warriors are gone now, andI predict that none will come in their place. "

"That's a shore thing. Now, ez I've had my nap, Henry, you take yourn. Rec'lect that it's always watch an' watch with us. "

Henry knew that the shiftless one would not like it, if he did not takehis turn, and, making his leafy bed, he was soothed to quick sleep bythe singing of the birds. 

Then the shiftless one propped his back against a bank of leaves betweenhim and the trunk of a tree, and, with the rifle across his knees, watched. The great peace that he had felt continued. The fact that theIndians had merely come to the crest of the hill and looked into thevalley, then going away, confirmed him in his beliefs. As long as Henryand he stayed there, they would be safe. But safety beyond that day wasnot what they were seeking. That night they must surely reach the otherthree, although they would enjoy the present to the full. 

Shif'less Sol's plastic and sensitive mind had been affected by hismeeting with Henry. Despite his great confidence in the skill andstrength of the young leader, he had been worried by his long absenceand his meeting with him had been an immense relief. This and theircoming into the happy valley had put him in an exalted state. Thepoetical side of nature always met with an immediate response in him, and like the Indian he personified the winds, and the moon and stars andsun, and all the objects and forces that were factors in wild life. 

Lying closely among his leaves he watched the buffaloes and the deer. Some of the bigger animals as the day grew and the sun increased, laydown in the grass near him, showing no sign of fear, although they musthave been aware of his presence. A flight of wild geese descended fromthe sky, drank at the stream, swam a little, then rose again and weregone, their forms blending into a single great arrow shooting northwardthrough the blue. 

Shif'less Sol did not wonder that they had dropped down into the valleyfor a moment or two, breaking their immeasurable flight into the farnorth. They had known that they would be safe in this little waystation, and it was yet another confirmation of his beliefs. He watchedthe arrow so sharply outlined against the blue until it was gone in thevast sky, and a great wonder and awe filled the soul of the shiftlessone. He had seen such flights countless times before, but now he beganto think about the instinct that sent them on such vast journeys throughthe ether from south to north and back again, in an endless repetitionas long as they lived. What journeys and what rivers and lakes andforests and plains they must see! Man was but a crawler on the earth, compared with them. Then wild ducks came, did as the geese had done, andthen they too were gone in the same flight into the illimitable norththat swallowed up everything. 

It was in the mind of the shiftless one that he too would like to gointo that vast unknown North some day, if the fighting in Kentucky evercame to an end. He had been in the land of the Shawnees and Miamis, andWyandots and he knew of the Great Lakes beyond, but north of them thewilderness still stretched to the edge of the world, where the polar icereigned, eternal. There was no limit to the imagination of Shif'lessSol, and in all these gigantic wanderings the faithful four, hisfriends, were with him. 

Henry did not awaken until well after noon, but as usual his awakeningwas instantaneous, that is, all his faculties were keenly alert at once. He glanced down the valley and saw the buffalo and deer feeding, and thegreat chorus of birds was going on. The shiftless one, leaning againsthis bank of leaves, his rifle on his knee, was regarding the valley withan air of proprietorship. 

"What's happened while I slept?" asked Henry. 

"Nothing. You don't expect anything to happen here. It's got to happenwhen we leave tonight. "

"I think you're right about it, and as it's watch and watch, you must goto sleep again now. "

His comrade without any protest stretched himself in the leaves and soonslept soundly. Meanwhile Henry maintained vigilant watch. In order tokeep his muscles elastic he rose and walked about a little at times, buthe did not leave the shelter of the thick little grove that theshiftless one had called a bower. It well deserved the name, because thetrees were so close and large, and the foliage was so dense that thesunlight could not enter. Indians on the hills could not possibly seethe two resting there. 

The afternoon drew on, long and warm. Save within their shelter thesunlight blazed brilliantly. The buffaloes suddenly charged about for alittle while and Henry at first thought they had been alarmed by thecoming of man, but on second thought he put it down as mere playing. They were well fed, full of life, and they were venting their spirits. They ceased soon and lay down in the shade. 

Later in the afternoon another Indian appeared on the summit and lookedfor a little while into the valley, but like the others he went away. Henry had felt sure that he would. 

Toward night the shiftless one awoke, and they ate the last of theirfood. But the failure of the supply did not alarm them. This army wasvery small and if hunger pressed them hard there was the forest, or theymight filch from the Indian camp. Such as they could dare anything, andachieve it, too. 

The sun set, the shadows gathered, and it would soon be time to go. Thewaters of the creek sang pleasantly in the ears of the shiftless one, and drawing a long breath of regret he said good-bye to the happyvalley. 

"Nuthin' happened while we wuz here, Henry, " he said, "and I knowed itwouldn't happen. Our troubles are comin' when we cross that line o'hills over thar. "

He pointed toward the crests. Beyond them, even in the twilight, thecolumn of smoke from the great Indian camp was still visible, althoughit disappeared a few moments later, as the dusk turned into the dark. 

"The place in the cliff lays to the right o' that smoke, " said theshiftless one, "an' jest about ez fur from here. "

"We ought to reach it in two hours. "

"Ef nothin' comes in the way. "

"If nothing comes in the way. "

They crossed the valley speedily and soon stood on one of the creststhat hemmed it in. 

"We've had one fine day when we wuzn't thinkin' about fightin', " saidthe shiftless one, looking back. 

"A restful day, " said Henry. 

Then the two plunged into the deep forests that lined the far slopes, and started on their journey. 

CHAPTER VIII

THE PATH OF DANGER

Both Henry and Shif'less Sol had a clear idea of direction, and theycould lay a line, like a chain bearer, toward the rock fortress, wherethey felt sure their comrades were lying in comfortable and hiddensecurity. But back now in the deep forest the atmosphere of peace andcontent that they had breathed in the happy valley was gone, instead itwas surcharged with war and danger. 

"I miss our Garden o' Eden, " whispered Shif'less Sol regretfully. "We'realready back where men are fightin' an' tryin' to kill. "

"I thought perhaps most of the army had already gone south, but there'sthe column of smoke as big as ever, and also the second column nearer toour home. "

"An' here's a creek that we'll hev to cross. Looks deep too. Strike afeller 'bout the middle. "

"Maybe we can find a shallower place or a tree that has fallen all theway across it. "

They ran along its bank for some distance, but finding no place wherethe water looked shallow plunged in, holding their weapons andammunition clear of the surface. As they emerged on the other shore, awarrior standing in the bushes about forty yards away uttered a shoutand fired at them. But the Indian is never a good marksman and in thedusk his bullet cut the leaves at least three feet over their heads. 

His warning shout and shot was followed by a yell from at least twentyothers who lay about a small fire in a glade a hundred yards beyond. Thick bushes had hid the coals from the sight of Henry and the shiftlessone and now, taking no time to reply to the bullet of the warrior, whostood, empty gun in hand, they turned and ran swiftly toward the north, while after them came the whole yelling pack. 

"We've shorely left the Garden o' Eden, Henry, " said the shiftless one. "They didn't do sech things ez these thar in Adam or Eve's times, nor inourn. We come purty nigh walkin' plum' into a trap. "

"And we've got to shake 'em off. We mustn't run toward the stone hollow, because that would merely draw 'em down on all of us. We must lead awayto the west again, Sol. "

"You're right, Henry, but that confounded creek's in the way. I kin seeit off on the left an' I notice that it's growin' wider an' deeper, ezit flows on to the Ohio. They've got us hemmed in ag'inst it. "

"But Sol, they'll have to do a lot before they catch such as you andme. "

"That's so, Henry. I guess we're right hard to ketch. I'm proud to be afugitive 'long o' you. "

Henry glanced back and saw the long line of dusky figures following themthrough woods over hills and across valleys with all the tenacity of apack of wolves pursuing a deer. He knew that they would hang on to thelast, and while he was sure that he and Shif'less Sol could distancethem, if they used their utmost speed, he was in continuous apprehensionlest they stir up some other band or at least stray warriors, as theforest was full of them. The creek was a bar holding them to an almoststraight line. It was wide and too deep except for swimming, risingalmost to the proportions of a river. Henry calculated too that thecreek did not flow far west of their hollow in the rock, and thus theywere forced, despite their wishes, to run toward the very place theywished to avoid. 

"We've certainly had bad luck, " he said to Sol, "and I think we'vestirred up a regular hornet's nest. Hark to that!"

From their right came a swelling war whoop with the ferocious whiningnote at the end, and the eyes of the two fugitives met. Each, despitethe dark, could read the alarm in the face of the other. They had notrun out of the trap. Instead the trap was about to be sprung upon them. With the unfordable stream on one side of them, an Indian band on theother, and an Indian band behind them their case was indeed serious. Thetransition from the Garden of Eden to a world of danger was sudden andcomplete. 

The band in the rear gave answer to the cry of their comrades in thewest, and Henry and the shiftless one had never before heard a whoop sofull of exultation and ferocity. Henry understood it as truly as if ithad been spoken in words. It said that the fugitives were surely theirs, that they would be caught very soon, that they would be given to thetorture and that all the warriors should see the flames lick aroundtheir bare bodies. 

A red mist appeared before the eyes of Henry. The wonderful peace, andthe kindness toward all things that had enwrapped him, as he lay all daylong in the happy valley, were gone. Instead his veins were flushed withanger. The warriors would exult over the torture and death of hiscomrades and himself. Well, he would show them that a man could not beburnt at the stake, until he was caught, and it was easy to exult toosoon. 

He whirled for an instant, raised his rifle, fired, whirled back againand then ran on. The whole motion, the brief curve about, and then thehalf circle back, seemed one, and yet, as the two ran on, they heard awarrior utter a death shout, as he fell in the forest. 

"I reckon they'll keep back a little when they learn how we kin shoot, "said Shif'less Sol. "Yes, they're not so close, by at least thirtyyards. Now, how foolish that is!"

The Indians fired a dozen shots, but all their bullets flew wild. Then apattering upon leaves and bark, but neither of the flying two wastouched. 

"Foolish, so it was, " said Henry, "but it was anger too. Now, hark tothat, will you!"

The shots were succeeded by a war cry, again on their right, but muchnearer than before. Henry took a longing to look at the creek, but ifthey attempted to ford it the warriors would almost certainly shoot themwhile swimming. He and his comrade must make a great spurt to escapebeing cut off by the second force. 

"Now, Sol, " he said, "you're a good runner. So am I, and we need to flylike deer. You know why. "

"I reckon I do. "

The speed of the two suddenly increased. They went forward now, as ifthey were shot from a bow. Fortunately there were no pitfalls. Theground was not strewn with vines and brush to entrap them, and seeingthat the two fugitives would be well ahead before the junction of thetwo bands could be formed, the band behind them sent forth its warwhoop. But to Henry with his sensitive ear attuned to every shade offeeling that night the cry was not so full of exultation and triumph asthe one before. 

"Afraid the trap will fail to shut down on us, " he said to the shiftlessone. 

"I read it that way. "

"A little faster, Sol! A little faster! We must make sure!"

Fortunately the creek now curved to the left, which enabled them to drawaway from the second band, and both feeling that the crisis was at handput forth their utmost powers. Under a burst of magnificent speed theground spun behind them. Trees and bushes flitted past. Then they heardthe disappointed yell, as the two bands joined, and the firing of shotsthat fell short. 

"One danger escaped, " breathed Henry as they slackened speed. 

"But thar's more to come. Still, I'm glad I don't hev to run so fast fura time. It's fine to be a race horse, but you can't be a racin' all thedays an' nights o' your life. "

"We must cross the creek some way or other, Sol. I don't think our rockfortress can now be more than ten miles away and we can't afford tobring the warriors down on it. "

Shif'less Sol nodded. They kept very near to the creek and he noticedsuddenly that the current was shallowing, and had grown much swifter. Heinferred that rapids were ahead, but this was surely the place to cross, and he called Henry's attention to it. The bank was about six feet abovethe water and Henry said instantly:

"Jump, Sol, jump! But be sure that you land squarely on your feet!"

The shiftless one nodded. Certainly a man could not choose a poorer timeto turn an ankle. Without stopping speed but balancing himself perfectlyhe sprang far out, and Henry sprang with him. There were two splashes, as they sank almost to the waists in the water, but they were able tokeep their powder and weapons dry, and in an instant they were at thefar bank climbing up with all the haste of those who know they are aboutto become targets for bullets. 

They heard the yell of disappointment anew, and then the scattering fireof bullets. Two or three pattered on the stream, but they did not hearthe whizz of the others, and in an instant they were safely up the bankand into the forest. 

"Hit, Sol?" said Henry. 

"Nary a hit. An' you?"

"Untouched. "

"Come down straight on your feet in the creek?"

"Straight as straight can be. And you?"

"Split the water like a fish. Wet to the middle, but happy. I reckon wekin slow down a little now, can't we? I'm a good runner, but I wuzn'tmade up to go forever. "

"We'll stop a little while in these bushes until we can get the freshbreath that we need so badly. But you know, Sol, they'll cross thecreek, hunt for our trail and follow us. "

"Let 'em come. We ain't hemmed in now, an' with a thousand miles o'space to run in I reckon they won't git us. "

They lay panting in the bushes a full ten minutes. Then their heartssank to a normal beat, strength flowed back into their veins, and, rising they stole away, keeping a general course toward the west. Theywent at a rather easy gait for an hour or more, but when they restedfifteen minutes they heard at the end of that time sounds of pursuit. The warriors were showing their usual tenacity on the trail, and knowingthat it was not wise to delay longer they fled again toward the west, though they took careful note of the country as they went, because theyintended to come back there again. 

Twice the Indian horde behind them gave tongue, sign that the pursuitwould be followed to the bitter end, but Henry and the shiftless one nowhad little fear for themselves. Their chief apprehension was lest theybe driven so far to the west they might not return in time to allay thedoubts and fears of their comrades. 

They soon passed from hills into marshy regions which to their skilledeyes betokened another creek, flowing like its parallel sister into theOhio. All these creeks overflowed widely in the heavy spring rains, andthey judged that the swampy territory had been left by the retreatingwaters. 

"Ez I think I told you before, " said Shif'less Sol, "I'm a mighty goodrunner. But thar are some things I kin do besides runnin'. Runnin' allnight, even when you slow up a bit, gits stale. Your mind grows mightytired o' it even if your feet do plant themselves one after another jestlike a machine. Now, my mind is sayin' enough, so I think, Henry, wemight git through this swamp, leavin' no trail, o' course, an' rest onsome good solid little bit o' land surrounded by a sea o' mud. "

"That's right, Sol. It's what we must do, but we must cross to the otherside of the creek before we find our oasis. "

"Oasis! What's an oasis?"

"It's something, surrounded by something else, " Henry explained. "Comeon now, Sol. Watch your footing. Don't get yourself any muddier thanyou can help. "

"I'm follerin', steppin' right in your tracks, over which the soft muddraws the minute my foot has left 'em. I'm glad thar are lots o' busheshere, 'cause they'll hide us from any warriors who may be in advance o'the main band. "

The creek was not as deep and wide as the other, and they crossed itwithout trouble. Two hundred yards further on they found a tiny islandof firm ground set thick with saplings and bushes, among which theycrawled and lay down, until regular breathing came back. Then theyscraped the mud off their moccasins and leggings and sat up on the hardearth. 

"An' so this is an oasis?" said Shif'less Sol. 

"Yes, solid ground, surrounded for a long distance by mud. "

"An' with saplin's an' bushes so thick that the sharpest eyed warriorever born couldn't see into it. Henry, I'm thinkin' that we've foundanother little home. "

"One that hides us from people passing by, but that does not put a roofover our heads or give us food to eat. "

"Do you care to rec'lect, Henry, that all our venison is gone?"

"Don't talk to me about it now. I know we'll be hungry soon, but we'lljust have to be hungry, and that's all. "

"I wish it _wuz_ all. I'm hungry right now, an' I know that the longerI lay here the hungrier I'll git. I'm lookin' ahead, Henry, an' I seethe time when we'll hev to shoot a deer, even ef thar are ten thousandwarriors in a close ring about us. "

"Peep between those vines, Sol, and you can see them now among thebushes on the far side of the creek. "

The shiftless one raised himself up a little, and looked in thedirection that Henry had indicated. There was sufficient moonlight todisclose four or five warriors who had come to the edge of the swamp andstopped. They seemed at a loss, as the mud had long since sunk back andcovered up the trail, and perhaps, also, they hesitated because of thedreaded rifles of the two white men, which might be fired at them fromsome unsuspected place. As they hesitated another figure emerged fromthe background and joined them. 

"Braxton Wyatt!" said Shif'less Sol. "He must hev been in the secondband that come up. Do you think I could reach him with a long shot, Henry?"

"No, and even if you could you mustn't try. We are well hidden now, buta shot would bring them down upon us. Let Braxton Wyatt wait. His timewill come. "

"Here's hopin' that it'll come soon. I'm beginnin' to feel a sightbetter, Henry. Lookin' over all that mud they don't dream that thefellers they're lookin' fur are layin' here in this little clump o'bushes, like two rabbits in their nests. "

"They won't find us because there is no trail leading here. They'll besearching the forests on the other side, and we can stay here until theygo away. "

"Which would leave us happy ef I wuzn't so hungry. It's comin' on mestrong, Henry, that hungry feelin'. You know that I'm gen'ally a pow'fulfeeder. "

"I know it, but this is a time when you'll have to resist. "

"I ain't so shore. I notice that them that want things pow'ful bad an'go after 'em pow'ful hard are most always them that gits 'em, an' that'sme tonight. "

"Well, lie close, and we'll see what happens, there's Wyatt within reachof my rifle right now, and it's a strong temptation to put a bullet intohim. The temptation is just as strong in me, Sol, as it has been inyou. "

"Then why don't you do it an' take the chances? We kin git away anyhow. "

"For several reasons, Sol. I doubt whether we could get away, and escapeis important not only to ourselves--I like my life and you likeyours--but to others as well. Besides, I can't draw trigger on BraxtonWyatt from cover. Cruel as he is, and he's worse than the savages, because he's a renegade, I can't forget that we were boys at Warevilletogether. "

"Still your bullet, most likely, would save the life o' many a man an'o' women an' children too. But it's too late anyhow. He's gone, an' themwarriors hev gone with him. By the great horn spoon, what wuz that!"

They had now gone to the extreme eastern edge of their little covert anda sudden floundering and gasping there startled them. A large blackfigure rose up from a dense thicket of alders, pawpaws and small willowsand gazed at them a moment or two with frightened red eyes. 

"A bear, " exclaimed Shif'less Sol. "Oh, Henry, let me shoot! I kin seehis steaks fryin' over the coals now. Thar's our supper, settin' on itshind legs not ten feet from us. "

"Don't you dare do such a thing!" exclaimed Henry, laughing. "Why, yourshot would bring a whole tribe of Indians down upon us!"

"I know it, but I do want that bear, an' I want to put theresponsibility o' not gittin' him on you. "

"All right. I take it. There he goes and your chance, too, is lost. "

The bear threshed out of his den, clattered across the mud flats andentered the forest, whence came in a minute the sound of a shot. 

"Thar, the warriors hev got him!" exclaimed Shif'less Sol, deepdisappointment showing in his tone, "and in two or three hours they'llbe cookin' him. An' he was our bear, too. We saw him first. I could seethat he was nice an' fat, even ef it wuz early in the year, an' themsteaks belong to us. "

"Maybe they did, but we've lost 'em. Now, I think we'd better keepquiet. The Indians are probably far ahead of us, thinking that we'vegone that way. "

The shiftless one subsided into an indignant silence. The oasis was anideal place for two situated as they were, and having the wisdom of thewoods they remained still and quiet in its cover. But after three orfour hours the shiftless one became restless. He was a man of greatstrength, and despite his lazy manner, of wonderful bodily activity. Ittook much food to satisfy the demands of that powerful frame, and he wasgrowing hungrier and hungrier. Moreover a light wind began to blow fromthe west, bringing upon its edge a faint aroma that caused him to sit upand sniff inquiringly. The odor grew stronger, and he no longer had needto ask questions with his nose. He knew, and he knew too well. 

"Henry, " he said, "thar's our bear jest as I expected. They're cookin'him, an' it's not so fur away either!"

"I think you're right, but we can't help it. We have to be resigned. "

"Mebbe we can't help it, an' then ag'in mebbe we kin, but anyway I ain'tgoin' to be resigned. I'm protestin' all the time, 'cause it's my bear. I saw him first. "

The savory odor grew stronger, and the anger and indignation of theshiftless one increased. And with these two emotions came a third whichhardened into a resolution. 

"Henry, " he said, "you're our leader, an' we most always do what yousay, but this time I reckon I've decided fur myself what I'm goin' todo. I'm growin' hungrier an' hungrier. Sometimes I put that hunger downbut in a minute it bounces back up ag'in stronger than ever. It's mymaster, gittin' control over ev'ry inch o' me, an' I've got to listen towhat it says. I know I'm makin' a long speech, talkin' like an Injunchief at a council, but I've got to explain an' make clear ez day whyI'm goin' to do the thing I'm goin' to do. "

"Go on, Sol. Talk as much as you please. We've all night before us. "

"Which is good. Ez I said, hunger has laid hold o' ev'ry inch o' me, an'is workin' mighty fast. When I git into that state I'm plum' distractedon the question o' food, though it makes me smarter an' more keerfulthan ever on the ways to git it. I jest wanted to tell you, Henry, thatI'm goin' to leave this oasis an' come back with a load o' them bearsteaks that rightfully belong to me. "

"Have you lost your mind, Sol? You'd be killed and scalped in an hour!"

"I knowed you'd say that. That's the reason I come around to it graduallike, an' in a circle, but Henry, it ain't no use talkin'. I'm goin'. Mymind is clean made up. Besides, I won't be scalped an' I won't bekilled. Jest you lay down an' afore long I'll be back here with myproperty. "

Henry saw that it was no use to argue. The mind of the shiftless one wasmade up, and occasionally he could be as resolute as Henry himself. 

"If you're bound to go I can't help it, " Henry said. "I don't know yourplan of action, and I won't ask it, but if you don't come back I'll feelpretty bad, Sol. "

"But I'll come back. That's shore. The night has jest this minute turneddarker, which is a sign. Darkness is what I need, an' it tells me thatI'm goin' to git through. "

Henry saw his comrade depart with keen regret. He did not look upon himas lost, because his skill was great. But so was the danger, and hethought the risk was out of proportion to the purpose. But there wasnothing more for him to say and he watched the shiftless one as he leftthe oasis, glided over the mud flat and disappeared in the forest to thewest. 

Then came a long and painful wait. Twice he heard the warriors, throughthe medium of the wolf's howl, calling to one another, but he did notbelieve the cries had any bearing upon the adventure of Shif'less Sol. Then he heard a faint chorus of yells in the western forest, whence hiscomrade had gone, and he knew that something had happened. He was filledwith apprehension, but he could do nothing, except to lie still in thecovert. 

The yell was not repeated, but he intently watched the edge of theforest on all sides except the west. After a while he saw the faintfigure of a man, scarcely a tracery, appear in the north, and then comeskipping like a swift shadow across the flat. His heart did not risemerely, but took a sudden jump upward. It was the shiftless onereturning to their lair, and doubtless in triumph. 

He had not time to think much about it before Shif'less Sol was on theoasis, crouched among the bushes, laughing low, but in a tone that wasfairly redolent of triumph. 

"I done done it, Henry!" he exulted. "I done done it!"

He held up the hind quarter of a bear that had been cooked to a turnover a bed of coals. 

"I haven't tasted it yet, " he said, "but jest smell it! Did sech an odorever afore tickle your nose? Did your mouth ever afore water so much?Here, Henry, fall on!"

He took out his knife, cut off a big piece and handed it to Henry, whobegan to eat eagerly. Then the shiftless one fell to in like fashion. 

"How did you manage it?" he asked. 

The shiftless one grinned. 

"Didn't I tell you that the sudden darkness wuz a sign favorin' me?" hesaid. "Paul is always tellin' about them old Greeks an' Romans not goin'into battle till they had talked with the omens, mostly the insides o'cows an' sheep. I believe in signs too. Mine wuz a lot better, an' itworked. I found that they hed jest finished roastin' the bear on thecoals, after hevin' dressed him an' cut him into four quarters. 'Pearsthat most o' 'em hed gone deeper into the woods to look fur somethin'. Icome close up in the bushes, an' began a terrible snarlin' an' yelpin'like a hull pack o' wolves. The three that wuz left, the cooks, tooktorches from the fire, an' run in after me. But I hed flew likelightnin' 'roun' to the other side, jumped in, grabbed up one o' thequarters by the leg, an' wuz away afore they could fairly see what hadhappened, an' who had made it happen. Then they set up one yell, which Iguess you heard, but I kept on flyin' through the woods to the north, curved about, came over the mud flats whar no trail kin last a minute, an' here I am with our bear, or ez much of it ez we want o' him. "

"You've done a great deed, Sol. I didn't think you could go through withit, but you have, and this bear is mighty fine. "

"He wuz ourn, an' I wuz bound to hev a part o' him. "

"We'll put the rest in our knapsacks and there ought to be enough fortwo days more. It relieves us of a great anxiety, because we couldn't gowithout food, and we really needed it badly. "

"I'm feelin' like two men already. I wonder what the boys are doin' upthar in the holler? A-layin' 'roun' on the stone floor, I s'pose, eatin', drinkin' cold water, an' hevin' a good time. "

"But remember their anxiety about us. "

"I do. They shorely must hev worried a lot, seein' that we've been goneso long a time. Them are three fine fellers, Henry, Paul with all hislearnin' an' his quiet ways, an' Long Jim, with whom I like so pow'fulwell to argy an' who likes so pow'ful well to argy with me, ez good afeller ez ever breathed, an' Tom Ross, who don't talk none, givin' allhis time to me, but who knows such a tremenjeous lot. We've got to gitback to 'em soon, Henry. "

Henry agreed with him, and then, having eaten heartily they took turnand turn in sleeping. Their clothing had dried on them, but theirblankets had escaped a wetting entirely, and they were able to makethemselves comfortable. 

In the morning Henry saw that the larger column of smoke was gone, butthat the smaller remained, and the fact aroused his curiosity. 

"What do you make of it?" he asked Shif'less Sol. 

"I draws from it the opinion that the main band with the cannon hezstarted off into the south, but that part o' the warriors hev stayedbehind fur some purpose or other. "

"My opinion, too. But why has the big force gone and the small oneremained?"

"I can't say. It's too much fur me. "

Henry had an idea, but hoping that he was mistaken he did not utter itjust then. 

"If the big band has started south again, " he said, "and the absence ofthe column of smoke indicates it, then all the Indians in this part ofthe forest have been drawn off. They've long since lost us, and theywouldn't linger here in the hope of running across us by chance, whenthe great expedition was already on its way. "

"That's sound argument, an' so we'll leave our islan' an' make fur theboys. "

They picked a path across the mud flats, recrossed the creek and enteredthe deep forest, where the two felt as if they had come back to theirtrue home. The wonderful breeze, fresh with a thousand odors of springin the wilderness, was blowing. It did not come across mud flats, but itcame through a thousand miles of dark green foliage, the leavesrippling like the waters of the sea. 

"The woods fur me, " said Shif'less Sol, speaking in a whisper, withinstinctive caution. "I like 'em, even when they're full o' warriorslookin' fur my scalp. "

The forest here was very dense, and also was heavy with undergrowthwhich suited their purpose, as they would be able to approach thehollow, unseen and unheard. Henry still did not like the presence of thesmaller column of smoke, and when he reached the crest of their firsthill he saw that it was yet rising. 

"You had a sign last night, and it was a good one, " he said to Shif'lessSol, "but I see one now, and I think it is a bad one. "

"We'll go on an' find it. "

They approached the hollow rapidly, the forest everywhere beingextremely dense, but when they were within less than a mile of it bothstopped short and looked at each other. 

"You heard it?" said Henry. 

"Yes, I heard it. "

"It wasn't much louder than the dropping of an acorn, but it was a rifleshot. "

"O' course it wuz a rifle shot. Neither you nor I could be mistook aboutthat. "

"And you noticed where it came from?"

"Straight from the place where Paul and Tom and Long Jim Hart are. "

"Which may mean that their presence has been discovered and that theyare besieged. "

"That's the way I look at it. "

"And we must make a rescue. "

"That's true, an' we've got to be so mighty keerful about it that weain't took an' scalped and burned by the savages, afore we've had asingle chance at makin' a rescue. "

The thought in the minds of the two was the same. They were sure nowfrom the absence of the larger smoke column that the main force had gonesouth, but that the smaller had remained to take their comrades, whosepresence, by some chance, they had discovered. They lay closely hiddenfor a while, and they heard the report of a second shot, followed by amere shred of sound which they took to be an Indian yell, although theywere not sure. 

"Ef the boys are besieged, an' we think they are, " said the shiftlessone, "they kin hold out quite a while even without our help. So I think, Henry, we'd better go an' see whether the main camp has broke up an' thecannon gone south. It won't be so hard to find out that, an' then we kintell better what we want to do. "

"You're right, of course, " replied Henry. "We'll have to leave ourcomrades for the time and go to the big camp. "

They curved again toward the south and west, keeping to the thickestpart of the forest and using every possible device to hide their trail, knowing its full necessity, as the day was brilliant and one, unlessunder cover, could be seen from afar. Game started up in their path andHenry took it as new proof that the main body of the Indians had gone. Deer, scared away by the hunters, were so plentiful that they wouldreturn soon after the danger for them departed. Nevertheless both he andthe shiftless one were apprehensive of wandering warriors who might seethem from some covert, and their progress, of necessity, was slow. 

They came to several grassy openings, in one of which the buffalo werefeeding, but Henry and his comrade always passed around such exposedplaces, even at the cost of greatly lengthening their journey. At onepoint they heard a slight sound in the forest, and being uncertainwhether it was made by an enemy they remained crouched in the thicket atleast a half-hour. Then they heard another faint report in the north andtheir keen ears told them it came from a point near the rocky hollow. 

"I can't make anything of it, " whispered Henry, "except that the boysare besieged as we feared. I've tried to believe that the shots werefired by Indians at game, but I can't force my belief. The reports allcome from the same place, and they mean exactly what we wish they didn'tmean. "

"But they mean too, " said the shiftless one, courageously, "that so longas we hear 'em the boys are holdin' out. The warriors wouldn't beshootin' off their guns fur nothin'. "

"That's true. Now, we haven't heard that sound again. It must have beenmade by a wildcat or a wolf or something of the kind. So let's presson. "

The great curve through the forest took them late in the afternoon tothe site of the big camp. They were sure, long before they reached itthat it had been abandoned. They approached very carefully through thedense woods, and they heard no sound whatever. It was true that a littlesmoke floated about among the dense leaves, but both were certain thatit came from dying fires, abandoned many hours ago. 

"You don't hear anything, do you?" asked Henry. 

"Not a sound. "

"Then they're gone. "

Rising from the undergrowth they boldly entered the camp, where perhapsa thousand warriors had danced and sung and feasted and slept for days. Now the last man was gone, but they had left ample trace of theirpresence. In the wide open space lay the charred coals of many fires, and everywhere were heaps of bones of buffalo, bear, dear and wildturkey. Feathers and an occasional paint box were scattered about. 

"The feast before the fight, " said the shiftless one. "I've a goodappetite myself, but it won't hold a candle to that of a hungrywarrior. "

A low snarling and a pattering of many feet came from the surroundingforest. 

"The wolves, " said Henry. "They've been here to glean, and they ran awayat our approach. "

"An' they'll be back the moment we leave. "

"Like as not, but we don't care. Here are the wheel tracks, Sol, andthere is the road they've cut through the forest. A blind boy couldfollow the trail of the cannon, and do you know, Sol, I'm botheredterribly. "

"Yes, I know, Henry. We've got to turn back, an' save the boys whilethem warriors, with the English an' the cannon, are goin' on into thesouth to attack our people. "

"And time is often the most precious of all things. "

"So it is, Henry. "

Henry sat down on one of the logs and cupped his chin in his hands. Theproblem presented to him was a terrible one, and he was thinking withall his powers of concentration. Should he and Shif'less Sol follow andcontinue his efforts to destroy the cannon, or return and help theircomrades who might be besieged for a week, or even longer? But it waslikely that Paul, Long Jim and Silent Tom, with all their resources ofskill and courage, would hold out. In the face of a defence such as theycould make it would be almost impossible to force the cleft in thecliff, and they had some food and of course unlimited water. 

They could be left to themselves, while Shif'less Sol and he hurried onthe trail of the Indian army and made their great attempt. Shif'less Solwatched him, as he sat, his chin sunk in his hand, the deep eyes verythoughtful. Presently both looked at the column of smoke not more than amile away that marked the presence of the smaller camp, the one that hadremained and which was undoubtedly conducting the siege. As they lookedthey heard once more the faint report of a shot, or its echo coming downthe wind. Henry stood up, and there was no longer a look of doubt in hiseyes. 

"Sol, " he said, "those three have been with us in a thousand dangers, haven't they?"

"Nigher ten thousand, Henry. "

"And they never left us to look out for ourselves?"

"Never, Henry. "

"And they never would do it, either. "

"Never. Warriors, an' fires, an' floods, an' earthquakes all togethercouldn't make 'em do it. "

"Nor can they make us. We've got to go back and rescue our comrades, Sol, and then we'll try to overtake their army and destroy the cannon. "

"I thought you'd decide that way, Henry. No, I knowed you'd do it. "

"Now, we've got to bear back toward the left, and then approach thecliff. "

"An' on our way find out jest what the warriors attackin' it are up to. "

They began a new trail, and with the utmost exercise of skill andcaution undertook to reach their comrades. 

CHAPTER IX

THE KEEPERS OF THE CLEFT

Henry and the shiftless one had not gone far, before they were deeplygrateful that the undergrowth was so dense. They distinctly heard threeshots and twice the war whoop. A small gully, so thickly covered withvines and bushes, that it was almost like a subterranean channel, allowed them to go much nearer. There lying hidden until twilight, theydistinctly heard scattered firing, war whoops and then a long piercingshout which had in it the quality of the white man's voice. Shif'lessSol laughed low, but with intense pleasure. 

"I can't hear his words, " he said, "but I'd know that yell in a million. It's Long Jim's ez shore ez shootin'. It's so pow'ful loud 'cause it'sdrawed up from a long distance, an' when it does come free it comesa-poppin'. It's Jim tellin' them warriors what he thinks of 'em. He'stellin' 'em what scalawags they are, an' how their fathers an' mothersan' grandfathers an' grandmothers afore 'em wuz ez bad or wuss. He'stellin' 'em they're squaws painted up to look like men, an' ez he talksShawnee an' Miami they're hoppin' mad. "

Henry even could not refrain from laughing. It was Long Jim's voicebeyond a doubt, and his note of triumph showed that he and his comradeswere safe--so far. Evidently he was in great fettle. His words shotforth in a stream and Henry knew that the savages were writhing in angerat his taunts. The report of a rifle came suddenly and echoed throughthe darkening forest. When the last echo died there was a moment ofsilence, and then to their welcome ears came the voice of Long Jimagain, pouring forth a stream of taunt and invective with undiminishedspeed and power. 

"Ain't he the great one?" whispered Shif'less Sol, admiringly. "Didn't Itell you that voice o' his was so strong 'cause it come up so fur. An'did you ever hear him do better? Thar ain't a word in the hull Shawneean' Miami languages that he hasn't used on 'em an' a sprinkling o'Wyandot an' Delaware too. They're so mad I kin see 'em bitin' their lipsan' t'arin' at thar scalp locks. Good old Jim, give it to 'em!"

The voice went on a quarter of an hour with amazing force and speed. Then it ceased abruptly and silence and darkness together came over thewoods. Henry and his comrade debated as they lay in the little gully. Should they try to get in to their comrades? Or should they try to gettheir comrades out? Either would be a most difficult task, but as thenight deepened, and they talked they came to a decision. 

"It has to be me, " said Henry. 

"I s'pose so, " said Sol, regretfully. "You're the likeliest hand at it, but you always take the most dangerous part. It's nothin' fur me to lay'roun' here in the night till you fellers come. "

Henry's smile was invisible in the dusk. 

"Of course, Sol, " he said, "you run no risk. I read once in a book, thatour teacher had at Wareville, about an outdoor amusement they called alawn festival. That's what you're going to have, a lawn festival. WhileI'm gone you'll walk about here and pick flowers for bouquets. If anysavage warrior wanting your scalp should come along he'd change his mindat once, and help you make your bouquet. "

"Stop your foolishness, Henry. You know it ain't no hard job fur me tohang 'bout in the woods an' keep out o' danger. "

"Yes, but you may have a lot to do when you hear the signals. Keep asclose as you reasonably can, Sol, and if we come out and give the howlof the wolf you answer, according to our custom, and we'll know whichway to run. "

"All right, Henry. I won't be sleepin'. Thar they are shootin' ag'in, but not doin' any yellin'. So they haven't hit anythin'. Good-bye, an'rec'lect that I'll be waitin' here. "

Strong hands clasped in the darkness and Henry slipped away on hisperilous mission, reaching without event the valley that the cliffoverlooked. Then he used all the caution and skill that the superman ofthe forest possessed, creeping closer and closer and ever closer, untilhe could see, despite the darkness, the painted forms of Miami andShawnee warriors in the thickets, all looking up at the point where thecrevice in the cliff was practically hidden by the foliage. It was anaverage night, quiet and dark up there, but Henry knew that three pairsof good eyes in the coign of the crevice were watching everything thatwent on below. 

He crouched lower and lower, until he blended with earth and thicket andstill watched. He saw one of the warriors raise his rifle and fire atthe hidden mark. Then he heard two impacts of the bullet, first as itstruck upon stone, and then as glancing, it fell among the leaves. Outof the mouth of the fissure came a great booming voice, speaking Shawneeand ridiculing their lack of skill with the rifle. 

The voice said that if they did not improve in their firing he wouldcome outside, sit in the best moonlight he could find, and let them taketurns at him as a target. He would even mark off spots on his chest andoffer prizes to any one who might hit them, but he knew very well thatnone of them would ever succeed. If he had a six-year-old boy who shoulddo as badly as they were doing he would take him away and whip him withwillow switches. 

Henry, lying close in his covert, laughed inwardly. Long Jim was in goodform. Upon occasion he had a wonderful command of language, and thepresent occasion was better than any other that Henry could remember. Events, chief of which was a successful defense, had inspired in him awonderful flow of language. His great sonorous voice again pealed outwrath, defiance and contempt. 

"Oh, you dogs! sons uv dogs! an' grandsons uv dogs!" he shouted. "Whydon't you come an' take us? Here we are, only a few, jest settin' an'waitin' fur you! An' thar are twenty or more uv you! Oh, you Shawneesan' Miamis, an' Wyandots, why are you waitin' down thar when jest a fewuv us are up here, ready to give you welcome? I don't think you'rere'lly warriors. You're jest old squaws painted up to look like 'em, an'the real fightin' men uv your tribe are at home, asleep in the lodges, afraid to face the bullets uv the white men, while they send thar oldwomen here to make a noise!"

Henry laughed again that soundless laugh behind his teeth. He readeverything as plainly as if it had been written in a book before him. Nobody in the stony hollow had been hurt, else Long Jim's voice wouldnot have been so exultant. They were confident, too, that they couldhold the narrow opening indefinitely, else he would not have sent forthsuch intolerable taunts. He made his position a little easier and againlaughed deep in his throat and with unction. He had never known Long Jimto be in finer form. Shif'less Sol was the acknowledged orator of thefive, but tonight the cloak of inspiration was spread over the shouldersof Long Jim Hart. 

"Why don't you come into our little house?" he shouted. "It's a niceplace, a warm place, an' the rain can't git at you here. Won't you walkinto our parlor, ez the spider said to the fly! It's a good place, better than any wigwam you've got, nice an' warm, with a roof that therain can't get through, an' plenty of cool runnin' water! An' ef youwant our scalps you'd never find grander heads uv ha'r. They're thefinest an' longest an' thickest that ever grew on the head uv man. They're jest waitin' to be took. Any warrior who took one uv 'em wouldbe made a chief right away. Why don't you come on an' git 'em? It can'tbe that you're afraid, you Shawnees and Miamis an' Delawares an'Wyandots. Here's our gyarden, jest waitin' fur you, the door open an'full uv good things. Why don't you come on? Ef I had a dog an' told himto run after a b'ar cub an' he wouldn't run I'd kill him fur a coward!"

Henry heard a roar of rage from the thickets, and once more he laughedbehind his teeth. Long Jim Hart was still in his grandest form, andalthough many Indian chiefs were great orators, masters of taunt andsatire, Long Jim, inspired that night, was the equal of their best. Thegift of tongues had come to him. 

"I heard a noise down thar in the holler!" he shouted. "Wuz it made bywarriors, men? No! it wuz dogs barkin' an' crows cawin' an' wolveswhinin' an' rabbits squeakin'. Sech ez them would never come up ag'in awhite man's rifle. I hear the wind blowin' too, but it don't bring me nosound 'cept that uv dogs barkin', low-down curs that would run away froma chipmunk with their tails atween their legs. I'm gittin' mighty tirednow uv waitin' fur them that called theirselves warriors, but arenothin' but old squaws in war paint. Ef I don't hear from 'em ag'insoon I'll go to sleep an' leave here my little boy, ten years old, tomeet 'em with a switch ez they come up. "

There was another roar of rage from the brush, and Henry said under hisbreath:

"Well done, Long Jim! Well done, twice and again!"

Long Jim now softened his voice and began to beg. 

"Why don't you come up here, you red Indian fellers?" he cried. "All myfriends, knowin' thar is no danger, hev gone to sleep, leavin' me towelcome the guests, when they stan' afore our door. I'm waitin'! I'vebeen waitin' a long time, an' ef you don't come soon I'll hev to go tosleep leavin' you outside our door. "

The Indians were always susceptible to oratory and now another shout ofrage came from them. The taunts of Long Jim were too much, and a dozendusky forms sprang from the undergrowth and rushed up the slope. Therewas a puff of smoke from the cleft in the cliff and the foremost warriorfell, shot squarely through the forehead. A second puff and a secondwarrior was gone to a land where the hunting is always good. Before suchaccurate shooting with only the moonlight to aid, the other warriorsshrank back appalled, and quickly hid themselves in the undergrowth. 

"Good boys! Good boys!" exclaimed Henry under his breath. "Splendidshooting! They're bold warriors who will now face the Keepers of thePass. "

All the warriors save the two who had been slain were hidden in thedense thicket or behind stony outcroppings, and again the tremendousvoice of Long Jim floated on waves of air above them. 

"Why don't you keep comin'?" he shouted. "I invited you to come an' youstarted, but you've stopped! Everythin' is waitin' fur you, all thegaudy Roman couches that my friend Paul has told me about, an' thegushin' fountains, an' the wreaths uv rose leaves to wrap aroun' yournecks, an' the roses droppin' from the ceilin' on the table loaded withven'son, an' turkey, an' wild pigeons, an' rabbits an' more other kindsuv game than I kin tell you about in a night. Why don't you come on an'take the big places you're invited to at our banquet, you miserable, low-down, sneakin', wrinkled old squaws!"

A wild yell of rage came once more from the bushes, and again Henrylaughed deep in his throat. He knew how the taunt stung the Indians, andLong Jim's eloquence, the dam now having been taken down, flooded on. 

"Here, you red-skinned barbarians!" he shouted. "Come into our house an'we'll teach you how to live! The tables are all set an' the couches arebeside 'em. The hummin' birds' tongues are done to a turn an' the bestsingers an' dancers are all on hand to entertain you!"

Henry knew that Jim's patter had come from Paul's stories of the oldRomans, and now he was applying it with gusto to the wild scene lost inthe vast green wilderness. But he was sure that the Indians would notreturn to a headlong charge. The little fortress in stone waspractically impregnable to frontal attack and they would resort insteadto cunning and subterfuge. 

"Ain't you comin'!" thundered the voice of Long Jim. "I hev done giveyou an invite to the banquet an' you stop an' hang 'roun' thar in thewoods, whar I can't see you. Five minutes more an' the invites are allwithdrawed. Then the eatin' an' the singin' an' the playin' will all goon without you, an' ef you are found hangin' 'roun' our door I'll hevthe dogs to chase you away. "

No answer came from the woods, but Henry knew how the hearts of thewarriors were consumed with rage. Those whom they wished to take were sonear and so few and yet they held an almost invincible fortress. Ragestabbed at the Indian heart. 

Long Jim continued his taunts for some time, speaking both Shawnee andMiami, and also a little Wyandot and Delaware. His vocabulary acquired asudden richness and depth. He called them names that implied everymanner of cowardice and meanness. Their ancestors had been buzzardsfeeding on offal, they themselves were mangy, crippled and deformed, and, when the few that were left alive by the white men returned home, they would be set to work cooking, and caring for the lodges. When theydied they would return to the base forms of their ancestors. They wouldbe snakes and toads and turtles, and the animals that walked on fourlegs and looked straight before them would laugh at them whenever theysaw them. 

Long Jim had never before been so eloquent, and never before had hisvoice been so unctuous. He thundered forth challenges and insults afterthe Indian fashion. He told them that he and his comrades found it apoor amusement to fight with such men, but when they finished with theireating and drinking and sleeping they might go north to the Indianvillages and whip the warriors in the presence of their squaws withwillow switches. Meanwhile they intended to sleep and rest, but if anyof the old women out there came into their cavern and annoyed theirslumbers he would chase every one of them out with a switch. 

Henry laughed long in his throat. Long Jim was proving himself a forestwarrior of the first quality. It was the way of the woods, and thesetaunts stung the red men to the quick. He knew that they were lying inthe bushes, their hearts beating heavily with anger and the hot breathburning their lips. Two, unable to restrain themselves, fired, but theirbullets merely rebounded from the stone walls of the grotto, and thedefenders did not deign to answer. 

Then came a long period of silence and Henry made himself as small andobscure as possible, lest the warriors, moving about, might see him. But, fortunately the night had now turned quite dark, and where eyesmight fail his acute sense of hearing would reveal the approach of anyenemy. But as he lay close he again laughed inwardly more than once. Thethree were certainly holding the grotto in most gallant fashion, andLong Jim was fast becoming one of the greatest orators of the woods. Hedid not believe that the Indians could carry the fortress, but to getthem out and away was another and much harder problem. 

Absolute silence save for the whispering of a light wind through theleaves came over the forest. The night, to Henry's great joy, grew muchdarker. No sound came from the room in the cliff, nor did any come fromthe Indians in the thickets. Apparently the whole place was awilderness, as lone and desolate as it was when it first emerged fromthe sea. Nowhere was the sign of a human being visible, but Henry knewthat vigilant eyes watched at the mouth of the stone cleft and that eyesequally as keen peered continually from the thickets. 

But he meant to join his comrades before dawn. He did not know yet justhow he would do it, but such was his confidence that he felt quite surehe would be with his comrades before the rising of the sun. 

Luckily the forest and thickets in the valley were extremely dense, enabling him to lie within a couple of hundred yards of the besiegingforce, and not fear detection. His figure in its green clothing blendedperfectly with the green bushes. 

The night turned colder, and after a while a chilly drizzle began tofall. Henry, hardened to all kinds of weather, and intent upon his task, took no note of it, except to be glad that it had come, because it wouldfurther his aims. Night and storm might enable him to slip past thebesiegers and join his friends. 

But the Indians, who do not despise comfort when there is no danger init, gathered in a cup in the side of the hill, beyond rifle shot fromthe hollow, and built a fire. Henry, from his lair in the bushes, sawthem distinctly, about thirty warriors, mostly of the Shawnee tribe, with their head chief, Red Eagle himself, present as a leader, and thetwo renegades Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe. Henry noted Blackstaffe andWyatt closely and his heart thrilled with anger that they should turnagainst their own people and use the tomahawk and scalping knife, andeven stand beside the stake to witness their slow death by the tortureof fire. 

Blackstaffe[A] was one of the worst of all the renegades, second only toGirty in cruelty and cunning, a scourge of the border destined to meethis fate from an avenging bullet years later, just after the FallenTimbers, where Wayne crushed the allied tribes. Now he was a young man, tall, heavily built and tanned almost as dark as an Indian by weather. He and Braxton Wyatt had become close friends, and both stood high inthe councils of the Indians. Henry saw them clearly now, outlinedagainst the firelight, engaged in close talk with the middle-agedShawnee chief, Red Eagle. 

[Footnote A: The fate of Blackstaffe is told in the author's novel, "TheWilderness Road. "]

Henry had much more respect for Red Eagle than for the renegades. TheIndian might be cruel, he might delight in the terrible sufferings heinflicted upon a captured enemy, but it was the immemorial custom of hisrace and, in fighting the white people, he was fighting those who wouldsome day, far distant though it might be, turn the great hunting groundsinto farms. Henry, so much a son of the wild himself, could understandhim, but for the renegades he had no sympathy whatever. In all landsand in all the history of the world renegades have been hated anddetested. 

He judged by the fact that the head chief of the Shawnees and the tworenegades had remained that they considered the taking of the littlefort in the cliff of great importance. Doubtless they imagined that allof the five were now inside, and it would rejoice the heart of Shawneeand Miami alike if they could slay them all, or better still, take themalive, and put them to the torture. There were some old defeats that yetgalled and stung, and for which revenge would be sweet. Henry recalledthese things and he knew that the siege would be close and bitter. 

The Indians, feeling secure from any enemy, presently sat in a circleabout the fire, drawing their blankets over their shoulders to protectthemselves from the drizzling rain. Henry surmised that several warriorswere on watch near the mouth of the cave, and that those in the mainbody would take their ease before the coals. His surmise proved to becorrect, as they appeared to relax and to be talking freely. They alsotook venison from deerskin pouches and ate. It reminded Henry that hewas hungry and he too took out and ate a portion of Shif'less Sol'sstolen bear steak that he had saved. 

He did not move for another hour. Meanwhile the wind rose, driving thedrizzling rain like sleet, and moaning down the gorge. Save for theIndians crouched around the fire no more desolate scene might have beenwitnessed on the continent. The old, primeval world had come back, andforgotten monsters ranged the woods while man, weaponless save for hisclub, crouched in his cave and listened with terror to the snarls of thegreat animals, so much more powerful than himself. 

It seemed to him then, when the influence of the wilderness and itsimmensity and desolation were so strong, that he might have lived insome such time himself, ages and ages ago. It might have been thestories of Paul or it might have been some dim heritage from a dimmerpast that made him, as he lay there under the soaking bushes, call upvisions of the great beasts that once stalked the earth, the mammoth andthe mastodon, the cave bear, the saber-toothed tiger, gigantic leopardsand hyenas, and back of them the terrific stegosaurus in his armor-likehide and all his awful kin. Henry was glad that he had not lived in sucha time. 

The fire, even though it was that of men who would gladly scalp him andtorture him to death, brought back the present and the living andthrobbing realities of life. With his rifle he was more than a match forany beast that roamed the North American wilderness, and in cunning andcraft he could meet the savages at their own game. 

Apparently the Indians around the fire had now ceased to talk. They satin a circle, bent a little forward, and some had drawn their blanketsover their heads. The fire was a great mass of coals and Henry knew thatit threw out an abundant heat. He envied them a little. He was justbeginning to feel the effects of the cold rain, but their bodies glowedwith warmth. 

Meantime the roaring of the wind in the valley was growing and in theconfined space there were many tones in its voice, now a shriek, and nowa howl. In spite of himself the ancient monsters of the primeval worldcame back again and these were the sounds they uttered in their rage. Heshuddered a little, then shook himself and by the mere power of willforced the return of the present. 

He reckoned that the time had come for him to make his attempt. Doubtless the sentinels were on the slope near the mouth of the cleft, but they must be chilled to some extent by the cold rain, and, aftersuch a long silence, would naturally relax their vigilance. He hadprotected his weapons from the rain with his buckskin hunting shirt, andhe flexed his arms and muscles to see that they had not grown stiff fromsuch a long stay in one position. 

He began to creep through the bushes to the bottom of the valley andthen up the slope toward the little fortress, and in the task he calledinto play all his natural and acquired powers. An eye looking down wouldhave taken him for a large animal stalking his prey with infinitecunning and cleverness. The bushes scarcely moved as he passed, and hemade no sound but the faintest sliding motion, audible only four or fivefeet away. 

The strain upon his body was very great. He did not really crawl, butedged himself forward with a series of muscular efforts. It waspainfully slow, but it was necessary, because the Indian ears wereacute, and the rustling of a bush or the breaking of a twig would drawtheir instant attention. 

As he drew himself slowly on, like a great serpent, he watched for theIndian sentinels, and at last he saw one, a Shawnee warrior crouched inthe lee of a huge tree trunk to shelter himself from the driving rain, but always looking toward the mouth of the hollow in the cliff. 

Henry, inch by inch, bore away and curved about him. Twice he thoughtthe sentinel had heard something unusual, but in each case he lay flatand silent, while the wind continued to shriek down the valley, drivingthe chill rain before it. Each time the suspicions of the watcher passedand Henry moved slowly on, infinite patience allied with infinite skill. If there was anything in heredity and reincarnation he was the greatesttracker and hunter in that old primeval world, where such skill rankedfirst among human qualities. As always with him, his will and couragerose with the danger. Crouched in the bush fifteen feet away he lookedat the warrior, a powerful fellow, brawny in the chest but thin in thelegs, as was usual among them. The Indian's eyes swept continuously in ahalf circle, but they did not see the great figure lying so near, andholding his life on the touch of a trigger. 

Henry laughed deep in his throat. All the wild blood in him was aliveand leaping. He even felt a certain exultation in the situation, onethat would have appalled an ordinary scout and stalker, but which drewfrom him only supreme courage and utmost mastery in woodcraft. He feltwithin him the supreme certainty that he would succeed, and bending awayfrom the sentinel he resumed that slow, sliding motion. 

He was sure that he would find on his right another warrior on watch, and, as he was moving in that direction, he looked closely. He saw himpresently, a tall fellow, standing erect among some bushes, his rifle inthe crook of his arm. He seemed discontented with his situation--eventhe savage can get too much of cold and wet--and presently he moved alittle further to the right, as if he would seek some sort of shelterfrom the rain. Then Henry crept straight forward toward the fortress ofhis friends, a scant fifty yards away. 

But he did not assume that he had yet succeeded. He knew how thoroughlythe Indians kept watch upon a foe, whom they expected to take, and theremust be other sentinels, or at least one, and bearing that fact in mindhis progress became still slower. He merely went forward inch by inch, and he was so careful that the bushes above him did not shake. All thewhile his eyes roved about in search of that lone last sentinel whom hewas sure the Indians had posted near the entrance, in order to check anyattempt at an escape. 

Although it was very dark his eyes had grown used to it and he could seesome distance. Yet his range of vision was not broken by the figure ofany warrior, and he began to wonder. Could the vigilance of the savageshave relaxed? Was it possible that they were keeping no guard near theentrance? While he was wondering he crept directly upon the sentinel. 

He was a huge savage, inured to cold and wet and he had lain almost flatin the grass. Hearing a slight sound scarce a yard away he turned andthe eyes of red forest runner and white forest runner looked into oneanother. Henry was the first to recover from his surprise and the singlesecond of time was worth diamonds and rubies to him. Dropping his riflehe reached out both powerful hands and seized the warrior. The loud cryof alarm that had started from the chest never got past the barrier ofthose fingers, and the compressing grasp was so deadly that the Indian'shands did not reach for tomahawk or knife. Instead they flew upinstinctively and tried to tear away those fingers of iron. But the manof old might as well have tried to escape from the jaws of thesaber-toothed tiger. 

The great forest runner was exerting all his immense strength, and hewas nerved, too, by the imminent danger to his friends and himself. Noslightest sound must escape from the red throat. A single cry wouldreach the warriors below, and then the whole yelling pack would be uponhim. The warrior's hands grasped his wrists and pulled at themfrantically. He was a powerful savage with muscles like knotted ropes, but there was no man in all the wilderness who could break that grasp. His breath came fitfully, his face became swollen and then Henry, turning him over on his back, took his fingers away. 

The warrior was not dead, but he would revive slowly and painfully andfor days there would be ten red and sore spots on his throat, where thefingers had sunk in. An ordinary scout would have thrust his knife atonce into the heart of the warrior. It would have been the safest way, but Henry could not do it. He saw the great chest of the savagetrembling as the breath sought a way to his lungs. He took his rifle, powder horn, bullet pouch, tomahawk and knife, and, bending low in thefoliage, ran swiftly for the mouth of the cave. 

He was quite confident that the fallen warrior was the last sentinel, and as he approached the entrance he called again and again in a loudwhisper:

"Don't fire! Don't fire! It's me, Henry!"

At last came the whisper in reply:

"All right, Henry, we're waitin'. "

He recognized the voice of Silent Tom, and the next instant he wasinside, his hand and that of Tom Ross meeting in a powerful grasp, whilePaul and Long Jim, aroused from sleep, expressed their delight in lowwords and strong handshakes. 

"How in thunder did you git in, Henry?" asked Long Jim. 

"I was brought in a sedan chair by four strong Indians, Wyatt walking onone side and Blackstaffe on the other as an escort. I told them that ofall places in the world this was the one to which I wished most to come, and they put me down at the door, their modesty compelling them towithdraw. "

"It's mighty good to see you again, Henry, no matter how you got here, "said Paul. "Where is Sol?"

"Safe outside, just as I'm safe inside. I think I'll let him know thatI've been successful. "

Standing just within the entrance he emitted the long-drawn howl of thewolf, piercing and carrying singularly far. They waited a moment or twoin breathless silence, and then on the edge of the shrieking wind came asimilar reply, fierce, long and snarling. Henry gave the howl again andas before came the answer in like fashion. It was the wilderness signal, made complete. 

"It's Sol, " Henry said. "I know now that he's there, and he knows thatI'm here. The first part of our task is done. "

A yell of rage and disappointment came from the valley below. It was sofierce that the air seemed to pulse with angry waves. 

"What's the matter down there, I wonder, " exclaimed Paul. 

"Before I could get in here, " replied Henry, "I had to choke the breathout of one of their best warriors. I fancy he has just come to and hastold the others. "

Then the war cry died away and there was nothing but the shriek of thewind that drove drops of rain into the opening. 

"How long have you been besieged here?" asked Henry. 

"Today and tonight, " replied Paul. "Either they struck our trail or someone of them may have been in this grotto once. At any rate a bandstarted up here and we were compelled to fire into 'em. That's ourhistory, since. What have you seen?"

"The main army has gone south with the cannon, but Red Eagle, BraxtonWyatt and Blackstaffe are here. If they can't rush us they'll at leasthold us three or four days, or try mighty hard. But I want a drink ofwater I hear trickling over there. I'm thirsty from all the crawling andcreeping I've done. "

He knelt and drank deep at the pure little stream. 

"Now, Henry, " said Silent Tom, "sence you've come I reckon you're mightytired. You've been trampin' about in the woods a heap. So jest stretchout an' go to sleep while we watch. "

"I don't mind if I do, " replied Henry, who at last was beginning to feelthe effects of his immense exertions. "How are you fellows fixed forfood?"

"This ain't no banquet hall an' we ain't settin' dinners fur kings, "replied Long Jim, "but we've got enough to last a good while. Afore theyfound out we wuz here Tom went out one night an' killed a deer an'brought him in. While he wuz gone I took the trouble to gather somewood, which is in the back part uv the place, but 'cause o' smoke an'sech we ain't lighted any fire, an' no part of the deer hez beencooked. "

"I brought a big piece of bear myself, " said Henry, unhooking it fromhis back, "and it was cooked by an Indian, the best cook in all thesewoods except you, Jim. He wasn't willing for me to take it, but here itis. "

Long Jim deposited it carefully in a corner and covered it with leaves. 

"Ef people always brought somethin' when they come visitin', " he said, "they'd shorely be welcome ez you are, Henry. "

But before he lay down Henry listened a while at the fortress mouth, andthe others listened with him. If they heard shots it would indicate thatthe Indians in some manner had caught sight of Shif'less Sol and werepursuing him. But no sound came out of the vast dark void, save theshriek of the wind and the beat of the rain. Henry had no doubt that thewarrior whom he had choked nearly to death was now with his comrades, raging for vengeance, and yet he had been spared when few in like casewould have shown him mercy. 

The wilderness, black, cold and soaking, looked unutterably gloomy, buthe felt no worry about those whom he had left behind. The shiftless onelike himself was a true son of the wilderness and he would be as cleveras a fox in finding a warm, dry hole. They had forged the first link intheir intended chain, and Henry felt the glow of success. 

"I think I'll go to sleep now, " he said. "I'm pretty well soaked withthe rain, but I managed to keep my blanket dry. If the warriors attack, Jim, wake me up in time to put on my clothes. I wouldn't like to go intoa battle without 'em. "

He removed his wet buckskins and spread them out on the stone floor todry. Then he wrapped himself in his blanket, raked up some of the dryleaves as a couch, and lay down, feeling a double glow, that of warmthand that of success. What a glorious place it was! All things aremeasured by contrast. After the black and cold wilderness, swarmingwith dangers, this was the other extreme. The Cæsar in his palace halland the Persian under his vaulted dome could not feel so much comfort, nor yet so much luxury, as Henry in this snug and warm room in the stonewith his brave and faithful friends around him. 

Truly it was a noble place! He heard the trickle of the little stream, like a jet of water flowing over marble, and into a marble fountain. Above him was a stone ceiling, carved by the ages, and beneath him was astone floor made by the same master hand. The leaves were very soft toone so thoroughly hardened of body as he, and the blanket was warm. Theroaring of the wind outside was turned to music here, and it mingledpleasantly with the trickle of the little stream. 

While the forest runner was capable of tremendous and long exertions, healso had acquired the power of complete relaxation when the time came. Now all of Henry's nerves were quiet, a deep peace came over himquickly, and he slept. 

CHAPTER X

BESIEGED

Henry did not awake the next day after his usual fashion, that is withall his faculties and senses alert, for the strain on him had been sogreat that the process required a minute or two. Then he looked aroundthe little fortress which so aptly could be called a hole in the wall. Many dried leaves had been brought in and placed in five heaps, thefifth for Shif'less Sol when he should come. The dressed deer, rolled inleaves, lay at the far end. The little stream was trickling away, singing its eternal pleasant song, and a bright shaft of sunlight, entering, illuminated one part of the cave but left the other in cooldusk. 

Silent Tom sat by the side of the door watching, his rifle on his knees. Nothing that moved in the foliage in front of them could escape hiseyes. Long Jim was slicing the cooked venison with his hunting knife, and Paul, sitting on his own particular collection of leaves with hisback against the wall, was polishing his hatchet. It looked more like afriendly group of hunters than a band fighting to escape death bytorture. And despite the real fact the sense of comfort was strong. 

Henry knew by the sunlight that the rain had passed and that a warmclear day was at hand. He inferred, too, that nothing had happened whilehe slept, and rising he drank at the stream, after which he bathed hisface, and resumed his buckskin clothing which had dried. 

"Good sleep, " said Paul. 

"Fine, " said Henry. 

"You showed great judgment in choosing your inn. "

"I knew that I would find here friends, a bed, water, food and a roof. "

"Everything, in fact, except fire. "

"Which we can do without for a while. "

"But I would say that the special pride of the inn is the roof. Certainly no rain seems to have got through it last night. "

"It's fifteen or twenty feet thick, and you will notice that the ceilinghas been sculptured by a great artist. "

Henry had seen it before, but he observed it more closely now, with allits molded ridges and convolutions. 

"Nature does work well, sometimes, " he said. 

Long Jim handed him strips of venison. 

"Eat your breakfast, " he said. "I'm sorry, Mr. Visitor, that I kin offeryou only one thing to eat, but as you came late an' we haven't muchchance to git anythin' else you'll hev to put up with it. But thar'splenty uv water. You kin drink all day long, ef you like. "

Henry accepted the venison, ate heartily, drank again, and went to thedoor where Silent Tom was watching. 

"Look through the little crack thar, " said Tom, "an' you kin seeeverythin' that's to be seen without bein' seen. "

Henry took a long and comprehensive look. He saw the thick foliage downthe slope, and the equally thick foliage on the other side. It lookedbeautiful in its deep green, still heavy with the rain drops of thenight before, despite a brilliant sun that was rising. The wind had dieddown to a gentle murmur. 

"Anything stirring, Tom?" he asked. 

"Nothin' fur some time. 'Bout an hour ago I caught the shine o' a redblanket 'mong them trees over thar, four hundred yards or so from us an'too fur fur a shot. "

"Do you think they'll try to rush us?"

Silent Tom shook his head. 

"Not 'less they're pushed, " he replied. "'Pears to me they'll settledown to a long siege. They know we're after thar cannon an' they mean tosee that we don't git near 'em. Ef they could keep us holed up here furtwo or three weeks they'd willin' enough spare twenty warriors or so furthe job. "

"But why are such important men as Red Eagle and Blackstaffe left here?"

"Mebbe, they thought they'd git at us an' finish us in a day or two. Look at that, Henry. What do you make it out to be?"

"It's a spot of white in the foliage, and it's coming nearer. They wantto talk with us. Somebody has hoisted a piece of old cloth on a gunbarrel and is approaching. It's Braxton Wyatt. "

"Yes, I see him, an' he's within range now. May I send a bullet squar'lythrough his head, Henry?"

"No, no! You mustn't do that! We'll observe all the rules of war, whether they do or not. There's Blackstaffe behind Wyatt, and two moreIndians. Let them come within a hundred yards, Tom, then hail 'em. Paul, you do the talking, but say I'm not here. "

The two renegades and the two Indians came on with confidence, untilthey were halted by Tom's loud command. 

The four stopped and Wyatt called out:

"We want to talk with you and it's better for you to do it. "

"It may or may not be better for us, " said Paul. "We're the best judgesof that. But what do you want?"

"You know me, Paul Cotter, " said Wyatt, who recognized the voice, "andyou know I keep my word. Now, we have you fellows shut up there. Allwe've got to do is to wait until your food gives out, which'll be verysoon, and then you'll drop into our hands like an apple from a tree. "

"Oh, no, " said Paul airily. "We've always had this place in mind forsome such use as the present, and from time to time we've been stockingit up with food. We could live here a year in comfort. Long Jim iscooking deer steaks now, and the smoke is going out through a hole, which leads clear through the hill. If you'll go around to the otherside, about a mile from here, you'll see the smoke. "

Paul merely followed the Indian fashion of taunting one's enemies. Hebelieved that in the forest it was best to follow its ways. 

"Aren't you going, Braxton?" he called. "Long Jim is letting the firedie down and if you don't hurry around there you won't see the smoke. "

"You think you're smart, Paul Cotter, " Braxton Wyatt called back inanger. "You've read too many books. Drop your high and mighty ways andcome down to facts. "

"Well, what do you want? You're in our front yard and we have the rightto shoot you, but we won't do it until you tell what you're doingthere. "

"As I said, we've got you shut up. We're sure that you haven't food formore than two or three days. Surrender and we'll spare your lives andtake you as prisoners to the British at Detroit--that is, all exceptHenry Ware. "

"And why except Henry?"

"He has done so much against the warriors that I don't think we couldinduce them to spare him. "

"But what makes you think he's here?"

Wyatt hesitated and he and Blackstaffe spoke together a few moments in alow voice. Then he replied:

"One of our largest and strongest warriors was strangled nearly to deathlast night. Nobody could have done it but Ware. "

Paul laughed loud. 

"And so that's your evidence!" he cried. "Well, you're mistaken. I didthat myself. I was needing a little exercise and so I went out, foundthis warrior in the grass and manhandled him. Then I came back feeling alot better. "

Wyatt's face blazed. 

"You lie, Paul Cotter, " he exclaimed. "You couldn't do such a thing!"

"Oh, yes, I could, " said Paul merrily, "but you're losing your temperagain, Braxton. You should never call anybody a liar when you're withinrange of his gun. No, we're not going to shoot. We always respect a flagof truce, though we doubt whether you would. Now, I want to ask you whathave we ever done to make you think we'd betray a comrade like Henry?Are you judging us by yourself? You might have a thousand warriors outthere and our answer would be the same. Try to take us and see what willhappen. We give you just two minutes to get out of range. "

Wyatt, Blackstaffe and the two Indians retired hurriedly. Long Jimuttered an indignant exclamation. 

"What's the matter with you, Jim?" asked Henry. 

"I've been insulted. "

"Insulted? What do you mean?"

"To think anybody could have reckoned that me an' the others would bemean enough to give you up jest to save our own hides!"

Henry's eyes twinkled. 

"I know you wouldn't give me up, Jim, but how do you know, if ourplaces had been changed, that I wouldn't have given you up?"

"You're talkin' like Shif'less Sol, " said Long Jim in the utmost goodhumor. "Now I wonder whar that ornery, long-legged cuss is. "

"Not so far away, it's safe to say. He'll be hanging around, ready tohelp whenever help is needed most. "

"That's shore. Thar's a heap o' good in Shif'less Sol, though it don'talways 'pear on the surface. Wish he wuz here. Now, what's next, Henry?"

"Waiting, waiting, and then more waiting. "

"You don't think they'll give it up an' go away?"

"Not for two or three days anyhow, and I think it likely also thatthey'll make another general attack. "

"An' you think, too, that they've all gone some distance out of rifleshot?"

"Not a doubt of it, but why do you ask, Jim?"

"You see a lot uv dead wood layin' in the bushes not twenty feet fromthe door uv our manshun. I'd like to drag it in an' cook that thar deerafore it sp'ils. We've some wood already, but we need more. I think wecould manage so most uv the smoke would go out in front an' we wouldn'tchoke. Ef we're held here fur a long time we'll need that thar deer. "

"Go ahead, Jim, and get it. We three will cover you with our rifles. "

Jim stole forth, and making a number of trips under the muzzles of hiscomrades, brought in a plentiful supply of wood. It was not until he wasreturning with his last load that the Indians noticed him. Then theysent up a war cry, and fired several distant shots. But it was too late. Long Jim was safely inside the next moment, and the warriors, knowinghow deadly were the rifles that guarded him, were afraid to return tothe attack. 

"Him that does at once what he oughter do don't have to do it when it'stoo late, " said Long Jim. "I'm goin' to build a fire close to the door, where most uv the smoke will go out. Ef it gits too strong fur us we'lljest hev to put it out. But ef things work smooth I mean to cook thatdeer. "

They cut up the deer in slices with their big hunting knives. Then theyheaped the dry wood near the door and cut off many shavings andsplinters, building up the heap at least part of the way outside, insuch a position that they were sure the wind would take the smoke andmost of the heat down the valley. Then Long Jim, feeling that the restof the task was his, and having a certain pride, lighted the heap withhis flint and steel. It blazed up rapidly, and, as they had hoped, thewind carried nearly all the smoke out of the mouth of the cave. 

The dry wood burned rapidly and a great mass of coals soon gathered. Itwas very hot in the cave, but liberal applications of the cold waterenabled them to stand it. Meanwhile all except the one on guard werebusy broiling big steaks on the ends of sticks and laying them away onthe leaves. The whole place was filled with the pleasant aroma. 

"Warriors!" said Tom Ross, who happened to be on guard at thatparticular moment. "They've seen our smoke, an' mebbe our fire, an'they don't understan' it. "

"You see that they keep on failing to understand it, " said Henry, "andif curiosity makes any of them too curious just give him a hint. "

The three went on with their cooking, "storing up like Noah against theflood, " Paul said, knowing that Silent Tom would keep a watch beyondwhich no warrior could pass. 

"Our beautiful stone house will need a good airing after all this isover, " said Paul. "Smoke will gather and ashes too are flying about. Butit's a grand cooking. "

"So it is, " said Long Jim, who was in his element. "That wuz shorely afine fat deer. You kin pile more on that shelf in the rock, thar, Paul. Wrap the dry leaves 'roun' 'em, too. They're clean an' good. I guessthat old-timer uv yourn that you've told us about often--'Lysses, wuzn'tit?"

"Yes, Ulysses. "

"That's right. Well, old 'Lysses in them roamings uv his, lastin' athousand years or some sech time, would hev been glad to come upon aplace like this to rest his wanderin' an' sleepy head. I've a notion uvmy own too, Paul. "

"What is it?"

"That Greece ain't the land it's cracked up to be. I've never heard youtell uv any rivers thar like the Ohio or Missip. I ain't heard you sayanythin' about the grand forests like ourn, an' all the hundreds an'thousands uv branches an' creeks an' springs. "

"No, Jim, it's a dry country, mostly bare. "

"Then the wilderness here fur me. I like a big woods, a thousand milesevery way, an' the leaves so thick you kin hardly see the sky above inspring. I don't see what the herds of buff'ler found thar to live on. "

"They didn't have our kind of buffalo. "

"Ef they didn't hev our kind they didn't hev any kind. "

Paul did not argue the question with him, because it was useless to talkto Long Jim about ancient glories, when modern glories that heconsidered so much greater were before his eyes. Moreover, Paul himselfhad a love of the greenwood, and the deep streams, so numerous. 

"Maybe you're right, Jim, " he said. 

"I guess I am, " returned Long Jim emphatically. "An' I don't think somuch uv them old Greek fighters 'long side the fellers that fight thewarriors nowadays in these woods. You rec'lect we talked that over oncebefore. Now, how would A-killus, all in his brass armor with his shinin'sword an' long spear come out try in' to stalk an' Injun camp. Why, they'd hear his armor rattlin' a quarter uv a mile away, an', even efthey didn't, he'd git his long spear so tangled up in the bushes an'vines that he couldn't move 'less he left it behind him. An' s'pos'n' hehad to run fur it an' come to a creek or a river, which he would shorelysoon do, ez thar are so many in this country, an' then he'd have to jumpin with 'bout a hundred pounds uv brass armor on. Why, he'd go right tothe bottom an' stick down so deep in the mud that the Injuns would hevto dive fur his scalp. "

"There's no doubt of the fact that this country would not have suitedAchilles. "

"Not by a long shot, nor would it hev suited any other uv them fellers, be they Greek or be they Trojan. S'pose the Injuns didn't git after 'em, then think uv huntin' the buff'ler with your long spear, an' yourhundred pounds uv brass clothes on. Why, the Shawnees an' Miamis are aheap more sensible than them old Greeks wuz. An', think what it would beon a real hot day to hev to wear our metal suits! Paul, I'm givin'thanks ev'ry few minutes that I wuzn't born in them times. "

"A movement in the woods opposite!" announced Henry, who was on watchnow. 

"Tell us about it, " said Long Jim. "I'm too busy to stop my work andlook. "

"I can see warriors stirring among the trees and bushes. They can'tunderstand our smoke, and they're all looking at it. "

"Maybe they take it for a signal, " said Paul. "Almost anyone would doso. "

"That's true, " said Henry. "It looks natural. Well, let 'em wonder. Meanwhile we'll go on with the provisioning of our army. "

"'Tain't such a terrible task, " said Long Jim. "Me bein' the best cookin the world, it'll all be done in a couple uv hours more, an' bein'sparin' we kin hold out on it two or three weeks ef we hev to. "

"I don't think it will be that long, " said Henry confidently. "In factwe mustn't let it be too long. We've got to be out and away, followingthat red army with the cannon. "

They continued their work without interruption, although at intervalsthey saw the Indians on the far slope, well out of range, butattentively watching the smoke that came from the mouth of the cavern. When the task was nearly over Long Jim took a good long look at them. Then he laughed deeply and a long time, doubling over with merriment. 

"'Scuse me, Henry, " he said, "but this life is so full uv jokes. I enjoyit all the time, ev'ry minnit uv it. A little while ago I wuz laughin'at the notion of A-killus with a hundred pounds or more uv brass on him, runnin' away from the warriors, jumpin' in a creek an' stickin' in themud at the bottom clean down to his waist. "

"That was the joke then, Jim, what's the joke now?"

"It's them Injuns out thar. They know we're here, an' that thar's a kinduv long narrow mouth to this bee-yu-ti-ful stone house uv ourn. They seesmoke comin' out uv it, an' they don't understand it. They wonder effire hez busted right out uv the bowels uv the earth an' burnt us allup, an' ag'in they're 'fraid to come an' see lest they meet riflebullets ez well ez smoke. I pity them red fellers. "

"I think that pity is wasted on men who want to kill us and take ourscalps. "

"It ain't that. I know they want to do them things to us, but I know, too, that they ain't goin' to do 'em. It's 'cause they're so onsartainin thar minds. Onsartainness is the greatest uv all troubles. Keeps youso you can't eat an' sleep, nor keep still neither. Jest plum' w'ars youout. Ef you know what you're goin' to do you're all right, but ef youdon't you're all wrong. That's the reason I feel sorry fur them Injunfellers, lookin' at our smoke an' a-guessin', an' a-guessin', an'a-guessin' an' never guessin' right. We'll be all through in a half-houran' then we kin let the fire die. "

"Right glad I'll be, too, " said Paul, who was standing near the door forair, and glad they all were when the last of the deer was cooked, andthe last of the coals were shoved out to die among the green bushes. While the work was going on they had frequently thrown water from thelittle stream over themselves to check the heat, but now they took theirblankets and standing in a line at the far end of the cavern swept outall the smoke save that which lingered in the crannies until, in its owngood time, it too departed. 

Then all sat down near the door. A lucky turn of the wind sent the puresweet air, crisp with the touch of spring, pouring into their cavern. Itwas like the breath of Heaven, taking away the sting of smoke fromnostrils and throat. The place itself soon filled entirely with a newatmosphere, vital and strong. Then, one by one, they bathed their eyesand faces at the rill, and soon they were all gathered together again atthe door, feeling as if they had been re-created. Indians were stillvisible on the opposite slope, and pity swelled once more in Long Jim'sheart. 

"Now they're a-guessin', an' a-guessin', an' a-guessin' ag'in, " he said, "an' a-guessin' wrong ev'ry time. A little while ago our smoke bothered'em, an' now they're bothered 'cause thar ain't no smoke. They'rewonderin' ef the volcano that busted right under us hez quit so soon, an' whether we're all charred ruins, or real live fellers with rifles inour hands that kin shoot an' hit. That I call a state uv mind that woulddraw pity from anybody. "

"Whatever it is, " said Paul, "they'll not guess what has reallyhappened, and ac our army of four is now provisioned indefinitely, wecan bid them defiance. "

"I like them words 'bid them defiance, '" said Long Jim. "Ef I met'defiance' all by itself I wouldn't know what it meant, but speakin' ezyou do, Paul, an' with all the surroundin's you give it I understan' it, an' it sounds mighty fine. Braxton Wyatt, I bid you defiance;Blackstaffe, I bid you defiance; Red Eagle, I bid you defiance, an' Ibid defiance to ev'ry warrior an' renegade in all these woods, east uvthe Missip, west uv the Missip, north uv the Ohio an' south uv theOhio. "

"But not the lightning, Jim, " said Paul. "Ajax did that and got hurt. "

"You needn't tell me that, Paul. I don't need the example of no Ajax toteach me sense. I ain't defyin' no lightnin', past, present or future. Iknow lightnin', an' I've too much respeck fur it. It's about the onlything that kin hit you an' you can't hit back. "

"The Indians have retreated further into the woods, " said Henry. "They're probably lying down and resting. They won't do anything today, but tonight they'll act. They have every incentive to finish their taskhere as soon as they can and join the main force. When dark comes wemust watch two by two. "

Night came slowly, the great sun blazing in red and gold in the west. Henry, with all his lore of the forest and wilderness, never failed toobserve a brilliant sunset, and while he watched against an ambush healso watched the deep, rich colors as they faded. The wind had blowngently all day long, but now with the coming of the darkness it swelledinto the song which he alone heard, that playing of the breeze upon theleaves, which his supersense translated into notes and bars andharmonies. Whenever he heard it he was uplifted and exalted in asingular manner, as if the distant heralds were already blowing thetrumpets of victory. He was sure now of success. 

He and Long Jim kept the first watch, which would last until some timeafter midnight, and he chose it for himself, because he felt certain theattack would come before it was over. Paul and Tom went to sleep on theleaves inside, but he and Jim lay down just within the door, where theycould see some distance and yet remain well sheltered. Now and then theyexchanged a word or two. 

"It's eyes an' ears both, Henry, " said Long Jim. "Uv course, they'llcome a-creepin', an' a-slidin', an' I reckon it'll be ears that'll tellus fust they're a-knockin' at our front door. "

"Right, Jim. Our ears have saved us more than once, and they're goingto do it again. I've an idea that they'll spread out and approach fromdifferent points. "

"I think it likely. Red Eagle, their leader, is a chief uv sense, andhe'll scatter his forces so we won't be able to concentrate our fire. "

They waited a long time, the wind meanwhile blowing steadily, andplaying its song upon the leaves. There was no other sound, but, when itwas nearly midnight, a long howl, inexpressibly dreary and weird, cameout of the depths of the forest. 

"That's a mighty lonely wolf, " whispered Long Jim. 

"Listen!" Henry whispered back. "That's no wolf. It's Shif'less Sol. "

"Mebbe it's so, but he's shorely howlin' like the king of all wolves. "

Long Jim was right. Perhaps no wolf had ever before howled with suchvigor and endurance. The long yelping, whining note filled the wholevalley and quivered on the air. It rose and sank and rose again, and itwas uncanny enough to make any ordinary hearer shiver to his bones. 

"Now what in thunder does he mean by sech an awful howl ez that?"whispered Long Jim. 

"I know, " replied Henry, with a flash of intuition. "He's hangingsomewhere on the outskirts of the Indian camp, and he's warning us thatthe attack is at hand. "

"Uv course! Uv course! I might 'a' knowed. That thar Shif'less Sol isone uv the smartest men the world hez ever seed, an' while part uv ourband is inside a big part uv it is outside, a-helpin' us. "

"Wake up Paul and Tom and tell 'em the time has come. "

In an instant all four were crouching beside the opening, their riflesready. The extra rifle that Henry had brought in was lying loaded at hisfeet, and all the while the wolf on the far ridge, moving from place toplace, whined and howled incessantly. Despite Henry's knowledge of itssource it made his hair rise a little, and a quiver ran along his spine. What then must be its effect upon red men, who were so much moresuperstitious than white men? They might think it the spirit of somegreat forgotten warrior that had gone into a wolf which was now givingwarning. 

Nevertheless he listened with all the power of his hearing for whatmight happen closer by, and presently he heard a rustling in the grassthat was not caused by the wind. A moment later, and the rustling camefrom a second point and then a third. As he had surmised, Red Eagle hadspread out his men until they were advancing like the spokes of a wheeltoward a hub, the hub being the mouth of the cavern. And from the farridge the warning cry of the wolf never ceased to come. 

"Do you hear them creeping?" whispered Henry to Ross. 

Silent Tom nodded and shoved forward the muzzle of his rifle. 

"They'll be on us in a minute, " he whispered back. 

Paul and Long Jim had heard and they too made ready with their rifles. But all of them relied now on Henry, whose hearing was keenest. Thefaint, sliding sounds ceased, and he knew that the warriors had stoppedto listen for their enemies, hoping to catch them off guard. The howlingof the wolf also ceased suddenly, and the wind was again supreme. 

At least ten minutes passed in almost intolerable waiting, and thenHenry heard the renewal of the faint sliding sounds, coming from manypoints. 

"Be ready, " he whispered to his comrades. "When they're near enoughthey'll all jump up, utter a mighty yell and rush for us. "

The rustlings came closer, then they ceased all at once, there was ahalf minute of breathless silence, and the air was rent by a tremendouswar whoop, as twenty warriors, springing up, rushed for the opening. Henry fired straight at the heart of the first man, and snatching up thesecond rifle sent a bullet through another. The other three fired withdeadly aim and all the assailants fell back, save one who, standing onthe very edge of the opening, whirled his tomahawk preparatory toletting it go straight at Henry's head. But a moment before it couldleave his hand a rifle cracked somewhere and he fell dead, shot throughthe head, his figure lying directly across the entrance. From the otherIndians came a yell of rage and dismay, and then after a groan or twosomewhere in the grass, all were gone. 

But the four were reloading with feverish haste. Henry, however, foundtime to say to Silent Tom Ross:

"Thank you for the shot that saved me. "

Tom shook his head. 

"'Twuzn't me, " he said. 

"Then you, Paul. "

"I shot at an Indian, but not that one. It was a warrior ten yardsaway. "

"Then it must hev been you, Jim. "

"It wuzn't, though. I wuz too busy with a warrior off thar to the left. When that feller wuz about to throw his tomahawk I'd done fired. "

"And so it was none of you. Then I'm to be thankful that we've a friendoutside. Nobody but Shif'less Sol could have fired that shot. "

"An' jest in time, " said Long Jim. "Good old Sol. He's settin' offsomewhar in the bushes now, laughin' at the trick he's played 'em. "

"They'll look for him, " said Henry, "but whenever they come to a placehe won't be there. "

"They can't besiege us here, " said Paul, "and catch Shif'less Sol at thesame time. But I think we ought to remove the body of that fallenwarrior at the door. I don't like to see it there. "

"Neither do I, " said Long Jim, and stepping forward he lifted the slainman in his arms and tossed him as far as he could down the side of thehill. They heard the body rolling and crashing some distance through thegrass and bushes, and they shuddered. 

"I hated to do it, " said Long Jim, "but it had to be done. Besides, they'll get it now and take it away. "

"You look for no other attempt tonight?" said Paul. 

"No, " said Henry. "They've lost too many men. They may try to starve usout. "

"Now you an' Jim take your naps, " said Silent Tom, "while me an' Paulkeep the watch till day. "

"All right, " said Henry, "but I want to wait eight or ten minutes. "

"What fur?"

"You'll see--or rather you'll hear. "

Before the appointed time had passed the long howling note of a wolfcame from a point a quarter of a mile or more away. 

"Shif'less Sol is safe, " said Henry, and five minutes later he and LongJim were sound asleep. 

CHAPTER XI

THE SHIFTLESS ONE

The next day dawned as brilliant as the one that had gone before, agolden sun clothing the vast green forest in a luminous light. It seemedto Henry that each day, as the spring advanced, deepened the intenseemerald glow of the leaves. Down in the valley he caught the sparkle ofthe brook, as it flowed swiftly away toward a creek, to be carriedthence to the Ohio, and on through the Mississippi to the sea. 

Further up the opposite slope, five or six hundred yards away, weregathered the Indians around a fire in an opening, eating breakfast. Henry saw Wyatt and Blackstaffe with them, and he counted eighteenfigures. As they had already suffered severe losses he concluded thatthey had received a small reinforcement, since they must have out fouror five scouts and spies watching the little fortress. 

Evidently they had not been daunted by their repulse of the nightbefore, as they were broiling venison on the ends of sharpened sticksand eating heartily. The two white men finishing their food lay down onthe grass and rested lazily. By and by the red members of the band didlikewise. 

"It's just as we thought last night, " said Henry, "They will not try tocarry us by assault again, but will undertake to starve us out with along siege. Even if they've guessed the meaning of our smoke they don'tknow that we have in here running water that runs on forever. "

"Would they care to carry on a long siege?" asked Paul. 

"Maybe not, if Wyatt were not there. You know how he hates us all, andhe will be continually urging them to attack us. Perhaps Red Eagle andBlackstaffe will now go on and join the main army, leaving Wyatt with achosen band to take us by siege. "

"'Pears likely to me, " said Long Jim, who was listening. "It's easyenough for them to set thar out uv range an' hold us in here, but theyforget one mighty important thing. "

"What's that, Jim?"

"Shif'less Sol. He's in the bush, an' he kin stalk 'em when he pleases. They don't know that the warrior killed at the door last night fellafore his bullet, an' he kin bring down one uv 'em any time he feelslike it. Thar's a panther in the bushes right by the side uv 'em an'they don't know it. An' it's a panther that will bite 'em, too, an' gitaway ev'ry time. Hark to that, will you?"

They heard the distant sound of a rifle shot and saw one of the Indiansaround the campfire sink over in the grass. The others uttered aterrific yell of rage, and a half-dozen darted away in the bushes. 

"I ain't no prophet, nor the son uv a prophet, " said Long Jim, "but I'llbet my scalp that in an hour or two they'll come back without Shif'lessSol. "

"I won't take your bet, " said Paul. "Six warriors started away inpursuit, and now we'll see how many return. "

"The first will be back in an hour, " said Long Jim, "'cause Sol won'tleave no trail a-tall, a-tall. He made shore uv that afore shootin'. "

"I believe you are a prophet, Jim, " said Paul. "Let's watch together. "

Within the appointed hour two warriors returned, bringing with themnothing that they had not taken away, and sat down in the opening, theirattitude that of dejection. 

"They never struck no sign of no trail, nowhere, nohow, " said Long Jim, exultantly. 

"Too many negatives, Jim, " said Paul, reprovingly. 

"Too many what?" exclaimed Long Jim, staring. "I never heard of themthings afore!"

"It's all right anyhow. There comes another warrior, and he too bears nobright blonde scalp, such as adorns the head of our faithful andesteemed comrade, Solomon Hyde. "

"That's three 'counted fur, an' three to come. I know, Paul, that Solwill git away, that they can't foller him nohow, but I'd like fur themthree to come back empty handed right now. It would be awful to losegood old Sol. Uv course he's always wrong when he argys with me, but I'mstill hopin' some day to teach him somethin', an' I don't want to losehim. "

Paul saw deep anxiety on the face of Long Jim. These two were always incontroversy, but they were bound together by all the ties of the border, and the loss of either would be a crushing blow to the other. 

Long minutes dragged by and became an hour, and the face of Jim Hartexpressed apprehension. 

"It's time fur at least one more to come back, " he said. 

"Well, there he is, " said Paul. "Don't you see him stepping out of thosebushes on the east?"

"Has he anything at his belt?" asked Long Jim eagerly. 

"Nothing that he doesn't usually carry. He has no yellow scalp, nor anyscalp of any kind. Empty he went away and empty he has returned. "

"So fur, so good. Two more are left out, an' it'll now be time fur themto come trampin' back. "

"Be patient, Jim, be patient. "

"I am, but you must rec'lect, Paul, that thar comin' back soon means thelife uv a man, a man that's one uv us five, an' that we could neverfurgit ef so be the Injuns took him. "

"I'm not forgetting it, Jim, but I've every confidence in Shif'less Sol. I don't believe those warriors could possibly get him. "

Another half-hour dragged away, and Long Jim became more uneasy. Hescanned the woods everywhere for the two missing warriors, and, at last, he drew a mighty sigh of relief when a tufted head appeared over thebushes, and a warrior returned to the opening. 

"He's a Shawnee, " said Long Jim. "I marked him when he went away. I kinsee that he's tired an' I could tell by the bend in his shoulders thathe wuz comin' back with nothin'. He's set down now, an' ez he 'pears tobe talkin' I guess he's tellin' the others, to 'scuse his failure, thatit wuzn't really a man that he wuz follerin', but jest a ghost or aphantom, or suthin' uv that kind. Thar ain't but one left an' he oughtto be in in a few minutes. "

But the few minutes and many more with them slid into the past, withoutbringing back the last warrior, and once more that look of deepapprehension appeared on the face of Long Jim Hart. The man should havereturned long before, and Jim held him to personal accountability forit. 

"I didn't like his looks when he went away, " he complained to Paul. "Hewuz a big feller, darker than most uv the others, an' he wuz paintedsomethin' horrible. I guessed by his looks that he wuz the best scoutan' trailer in the band an' that he would hang on like a wolf. Ugly ezhe is his face would look nice to me now, 'pearin' in that openin'. He'sdone outstayed his leave. "

"I wouldn't be worried, Jim, " said Paul. "We know what a man Sol is inthe woods. No single warrior could bring him down. "

"That's so. Sol's terrible smart, but then anybody might be ambushed. Itell you, Paul, that wuz the wickedest lookin' warrior I ever saw. Hiseyes wuz plum' full uv old Satan. "

"Why, Jim, we are too far away for you to have seen anything of thatkind. "

"I know that's so at usual times, but them eyes uv his wuz shinin' soterrible bright with meanness that I caught thar look like the gleam uva burnin' glass. I reckon he wuz the wust savage in all these woods. Allbut him hev come back more 'n a half-hour ago, an' I'm beginnin' to heva sort uv creepy feelin'. "

"Hark!" exclaimed Henry, who had been standing almost in the mouth ofthe opening. 

"What is it, Henry? What is it?" exclaimed Long Jim eagerly. 

"That strong wind brought the sound of a rifle shot. It was so faint andfar away that it was no more than the snapping of a little twig, but itwas a rifle shot and no mistake. Sol and that warrior have met. "

"And who fired the bullet? And who received it? That's what we'd like toknow!" said Paul. 

Complete silence succeeded the shot. Evidently the Indians around thecampfire had not heard it, as they showed no signs of interest, but thefour in the mouth of the cavern waited in painful anxiety, their eyesturned toward the point from which the report had come. At last thescalp lock appeared above the bushes and four hearts sank. Then thefigure of the warrior came completely into view and four hearts sprangup again. The man's left arm was held stiffly by his side and he waswalking with weakness. Nor did any bright blonde scalp hang from hiswaist or any other part of his body. 

"I knowed it! I knowed it!" exclaimed Long Jim, triumphantly. "He cometoo close to Sol, an' got a bullet in his arm. It must hev been a longshot or he must hev been nearly hid, else he would now be layin' dead inthe bushes. But ez it is he's shorely got enough to last him fur a longtime. "

Paul was less vocal, but like the others he shared in the triumph of theshiftless one. 

"I'll admit I was worried for a while, " he said, "but Sol has given usone more proof that he can take care of himself any time and anywhere. "

"And he has also proved to our besiegers, " said Henry, "that every hourthey spend there they're in peril of a bullet from the bush. I think itwill give them a most disturbing feeling. "

Henry was right, and he was also right in some of his earlier surmises. Red Eagle and Blackstaffe departed to join the main army, leavingBraxton Wyatt in command of the besieging band which had been reinforcedby a half-dozen warriors. Wyatt, animated by wicked passion, wasresolved not to leave until he could kill or take those in the littlefortress, but he was upset by the certainty that one of the terriblefive was outside. He had believed from the first that it was Henry Ware, and, when their best warrior came in shot through the arm, he was sureof it. 

The warriors shared his state of mind. Their losses had inflamed themtremendously and all of them were willing to stay and risk everythingfor eventual triumph. Yet a terror soon fell upon them. The singlemarksman who roamed the woods sent a bullet singing directly through thecamp, and the search for him failed as before. An hour later anotherwho went down to the brook for water was shot through the shoulder. Wyatt saw that in spite of their desire for revenge superstitious fearswere developing, and in order to prevent their spread he organized acamp, surrounded by sentinels whom nothing could escape. Then he awaitedthe night. 

Henry and his comrades had heard the second shot and they had seen theman whose shoulder had been pierced by the bullet, run toward the othersleaving a red trail behind him, but they were not alarmed this time, asnobody left the camp. Evidently the warriors, stout-hearted though theywere, did not care to trail the shiftless one once more, and in thegrowing dusk, too, when they would be at the mercy of his rifle. 

"He's got 'em stirred up a lot, " said Henry, "and if they come again hewill surely be a host on our side. "

Another attack was made that night, but it did not come until late, halfway between midnight and morning, and, as Henry had suspected, itwas not an assault, but an attempt by sharpshooters, hidden in the darkbrush, to pick off watchers at the opening. The bullets of the besiegerswere fired mostly at random and did nothing but chip stone. The besiegedfired at the flash of the rifles and were not sure that they hit anenemy, but believed that they succeeded more than once. Then, as thenight before, came the report of the lone rifle in the thicket, and awarrior, throwing up his hands, uttered his death cry, making itapparent to the defenders that the shiftless one was neither idle norafraid. 

Then the Indians withdrew and the primeval silence returned to thevalley. The four remained for a while without speaking, watchful, theirrifles loaded anew and their fingers on the trigger. 

"Sol could come in now, " said Long Jim. "He must know that the way willbe clear for a little while. "

"He doesn't want to come in, " said Henry. "He's our link with theoutside world, and when they attack he can be of more help to us becausethey don't know from what point he will strike. The besiegers are alsobesieged. "

"I'm thinkin' they won't attack ag'in fur a long time, " said Long Jim, "an' that bein' the case, I'm goin' to eat some uv my own cookin', knowin' that it's the finest in the world, an' then go to sleep. "

"All right, Jim, " said Henry, "you deserve both. "

Long Jim was soon asleep, but Henry remained awake until daylight. Heconsidered whether they should not attempt to escape now, join Shif'lessSol, and follow as fast as they could the main Indian army with thecannon. But he decided in the negative. The savages, despite theirrepulse, would certainly be on watch, and they were still too numerousfor a fight in the bush. 

Hence they entered upon another day in the cavern, which was beginningto assume some of the aspects of home. It looked cosy, with the supplyof venison and bear meat, the pleasant rill of cold water, the dryleaves upon which their blankets were spread for beds, and it was filledwith cold fresh air that poured in at the opening. Henry felt once morethat they had had luck, and he chafed at nothing but the long delay. 

And delay now it was certainly going to be, as Braxton Wyatt refrainedfrom attack, both that day and the next, although he drew his lines soclose to them that they had no chance to slip out. But cultivatingIndian patience, they kept one man always on guard while the others layat their ease on their beds of leaves, and, after the fashion of thosewho had much time, talked of many and various things. On the third daywhen the siege seemed to have settled down to a test of endurance, theday being clear and sharply bright, the four sat near the door of thefortress. Silent Tom was keeping watch with an eye that never failed, but he was able at the same time to hear what his friends said, and, when he felt the impulse, he joined in with a monosyllable or two. 

They were speaking of the main band going south with the cannon for thegreat attack upon the settlements, a subject to which Henry's mindreturned constantly. Alloway and the chiefs had a start of days, but hewas incessantly telling himself that his comrades and he, as soon asthey were released from the siege, could overtake them quickly. Thecannon which made their great strength also made their march slow. 

"Besides, " he said to the others, "they will have to cross many riversand creeks with them, and every crossing will take trouble and time. AsI figure it, they could go four-fifths of the way and we could stillovertake them before they reached the settlement. "

"I hope we'll ruin the cannon fur 'em, " said Long Jim earnestly, "an'that at last the settlers will beat 'em so bad that they'll never crossthe Ohio ag'in. All this fightin' with 'em breaks up my plans. "

"What are your plans, Jim?" asked Paul. 

"They're big ones, but thar's nary one uv 'em that don't take in youthree here an' Shif'less Sol that's outside. I want to git in a boat, an' go on one uv the rivers into the Ohio an' then down the Ohio to theMissip, an' down the Missip to New Or-lee-yuns whar them Spaniards are. I met a feller once who had been thar an' he said it wuz a whalin' bigtown, full uv all kinds uv strange people, an' hevin' an' inquirin' mindI like to see all kinds uv furriners an' size 'em up. Do you reckon, Paul, that New Or-lee-yuns is the biggest city in the world?"

"Oh, no, Jim. There are many much larger cities in the old continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. "

"Them are so fur away that they hardly count nohow. An' thar's a lot uvbig dead cities, ain't thar?"

"Certainly. Babylon, that our Bible often speaks of, and Nineveh, andTyre, and Memphis and Thebes and----"

"Stop, Paul! That's enough. I reckon I ain't sorry them old places aredead. It took a heap uv ground fur 'em to stand on, ground that might becovered with grass an' bushes an' trees, all in deep an' purty greenlike them out thar. Me bein' what I am, I always think it's a pity toruin a fine forest to put a town in its place. "

"Those cities, I think, were mostly in desert countries with anartificial water supply. "

"Then I don't want ever to see 'em or what's left uv 'em. People whobuilt cities whar no water an' trees wuz ought to hev seen 'em perish. Wouldn't me an' Sol look fine trailin' 'roun' among them ruins an' overthem deserts? Not a buff'ler, nor a deer, not a b'ar anywhar, an' not afish; 'cause they ain't even a good big dew fur a fish to swim in. 

"But leavin' out them old places that's plum' rusted away, an' comin'back to this here favored land o' ours, I want, after seein' everythin'thar is to be seen in the great city of New Or-lee-yuns, to go straightwest with you fellers, an' Shif'less Sol that's outside, clean acrossthe great buff'ler plains that we've talked about afore. "

"Cross 'em!" said Silent Tom, speaking for the first time. "You can'tcross 'em. They go on forever. "

"No, they don't. Once I come across a French trapper who had been cleanto the edge uv 'em, tradin' with the Injuns fur furs. I don't know howmany weeks an' months it took him, but cross 'em he did, an' what do youthink he found on the other side, Tom Ross?"

"The sea. "

"Nary a sea. He found mountains, mountains sech ez we ain't got thisside the Missip, mountains that go right up to the top uv the sky, cuttin' through clouds on the way, mountains that are covered alwayswith snow, even in the summer, an' not a half-dozen or a dozenmountains, but hundreds uv 'em, ridges an' ranges runnin' fur hundredsan' thousands uv miles. "

"An' beyond that?" asked Silent Tom. 

"Nobody knows. But think what a trip it would be fur us five! Why itraises the sperrit uv romance mighty high in me. Paul hez often told ushow them old Crusaders from France an' England an' Germany an' all themOld World countries started off, wearin' their iron clothes even on thehottest days, to rescue the Holy places from the infidel. I guess thesperrit uv adventure helped a heap in takin' 'em, but thar travelswouldn't be any greater, an' grander than ourn across all them greatplains an' into them almighty high mountains beyond. You couldn't evenguess what we'd find. "

Long Jim drew a deep breath, as his spirit leaped before him into thevast unknown spaces, and Paul's eyes sparkled. The seed that Jim wassowing fell upon fertile ground. 

"I believe I'd rather travel in the unknown than the known, " the boysaid. "We'd come to rivers, big ones and lots of 'em, too, that no whiteman had ever seen before, and, when at last we reached the mountains, we'd explore in there for months and months, a year, two years may be. And we'd name the highest five peaks for ourselves. "

"An' I'd want a river named after me, too, Paul, an' I don't want it tobe any little second rate river, either. I want it to be long an' broadan' deep an' full uv mighty clear water, an' when after a while, furhunters come along in thar canoes, I'd say to 'em, 'Dip down! Dip downwith your paddles an' don't be afeard. This is the Long Jim Hart river, an' me bein' Jim Hart, the owner, I give you leave. '"

"I heard the sound o' a shot, " said Silent Tom. 

"And there goes another, " said Henry. "It seemed to be up the valley. Isit possible that Shif'less Sol has let himself be trapped in broaddaylight?"

All crowded into the doorway and looked and listened, intense anxiety, despite themselves, tearing at their hearts. Shots at such a time weredeeply significant. The Indians at the camp opposite, Braxton Wyatt withthem, had risen and were looking fixedly in the same direction. 

A long triumphant shout suddenly came from a point in the forest up thevalley, and then was succeeded by another in which six or seven voicesjoined, the Indian chant of victory. The hearts of the four dropped likeplummets in a pool, and they gazed at one another, aghast. 

"It can't be that they've got him!" exclaimed Long Jim. 

"Listen to that song!" faltered Paul. "It celebrates the taking of ascalp!"

"I'm afeared fur good old Sol, " said Tom Ross. 

Henry was silent, but a great grief oppressed him. The Indian chant wasso triumphant that it could mean nothing but the taking of a scalp, andthere was no scalp but that of the shiftless one to take. 

Louder swelled the song, while the singers were yet invisible among thebushes, and suddenly, the band gathered in the opening, began to sing awelcome, as they danced around the coals of their low campfire. Aroundand around they went, leaping and chanting, and the songs of both bandscame clearly to those in the cave. 

Henry's face darkened and his teeth pressed closely together. Anaccident must have happened or the shiftless one would never haveallowed himself to be trapped in the day. Yet he had hope, he saidresolutely to himself that he must retain hope, and he watchedcontinually for the smaller band that was approaching through thebushes. 

They emerged suddenly into view, and as his heart sank again, he sawthat the leading warrior was whirling a trophy swiftly around his head. The cries of the others at sight of the scalp redoubled. 

"It's Sol's, uv course!" growled Long Jim. "He's gone an' a better mannever trod moccasin!"

The others were silent, overwhelmed with grief. The two bands now joinedand the dance of a score of warriors became wilder and wilder. Atintervals they caught a glimpse of the scalp as it was waved aloft, andthey raged, but were powerless. 

"We can't go after them cannon now, " said Long Jim. "We've got to stayan' git revenge fur poor old Sol. "

"An' that's shore, " said Tom Ross. 

Henry and Paul were silent. It was the most terrible irony to standthere and see the savages rejoicing over the cruel fate of theircomrade, and, as the water rose in their eyes, there came at the sametime out of the depths of the forest the long lone howl of the wolf, nowa deep thrilling note, something like a chord. 

"It's Shif'less Sol! he's safe!" cried Long Jim. "It's jest a trickthey're workin', tryin' to beat down our sperrits, an' good old Sol istellin' us so!"

"It's shorely time, " said Silent Tom, "an' that's an old scalp they'rewhirlin'. "

They had never before known the cry of a wolf to have such a deep andthrilling quality, but it came again as full and resounding as before, and they were satisfied. Not a doubt remained in the heart of any one ofthem. The shiftless one was safe and he had twice told them so. Howcould they ever have thought that he would allow himself to be trappedso easily? The savages might dance on and sing on as much as theypleased, but it did not matter now. 

"After lookin' at them gyrations, " said Long Jim, "I needs refreshment. A dancin' an' singin' party always makes me hungry. Will you j'in me ina ven'son an' water banquet, me noble luds?"

"Go ahead the rest o' you, " said Tom Ross, "I'll watch. "

They drank from the rill, lay down on their couches and ate the deermeat with splendid appetites. The revulsion was so great that anythingwould have been good to them. 

"That wuz a purty smart trick, after all, " said Long Jim. "Ef they'dmade us think they'd got Shif'less Sol's scalp they'd make us think, too, that they'd git our own soon. An' they reckoned then, mebbe, thatwe'd be so weak-sperrited we'd come out an' surrender. "

"I foresee another dull and long period of inaction, " said Henry. 

And what he said came to pass. They remained two more days in theirlittle fortress, besieged so closely that they did not dare to move. Yet the besiegers themselves were kept in a constant state of alarm. Oneof their best hunters, sent out for deer, failed to come back, and hisbody was found in the forest. The others began to be oppressed bysuperstitious fears, and it required all of Wyatt's eloquence and forceto keep them to their task. 

It was in Henry's mind to wait for a wet night and then risk all and go. It was the rainy time of the year, and on their sixth night in thecavern the storm that they wished for so earnestly came, preceded by theusual heralds, deep thunder and vivid lightning. 

The four made ready swiftly. Every one carried upon his back his blanketand a large supply of venison. The locks of rifles and other weapons andpowder were kept dry under their hunting shirts. Henry thrust the extrarifle into a crevice, having an idea that he might need it some day, andwould find it there. Then as the thunder and lightning ceased and thedeep darkness and rushing rain came they took a last look at the stronglittle castle that had been such a haven to them. Only eyes like theirstrained to dusk could have made out its walls and roof and floor. 

"It's like leaving home, " said Paul. 

"Thar's one good thing, " said Long Jim. "The savages in thar meannesscan't destroy it. "

Henry led, and, Silent Tom bringing up the rear, they slipped into theopen air, keeping close to one another lest they be lost in the thickdarkness. Despite the pouring rain and the lash of the wind it felt goodout there. They had been so long in one small close place that it wasfreedom to have again the whole open world about them. The four stood alittle while to breathe it in and then Henry led through the underbrushto the top of the hill. 

"Bend low, " he whispered to Paul, who was just behind him. "They musthave a sentinel near here somewhere, and we don't want to run into him. "

Paul obeyed him and went on, but none of them noticed that Tom Ross, whowas last, turned softly aside from the path, and then swung the butt ofhis rifle with all his might. But all heard the impact and the sound ofa fall, and, as they whirled around, Henry asked:

"What is it?"

"The sentinel, " replied Ross. "He won't bother us. "

On they went in single file again, but Paul shuddered. As their flightlengthened they increased their speed, and, when they were a half mileaway, Paul jumped, as the long piercing howl of the wolf rose directlyin front of him. It was Henry sending the signal to the shiftless one, and in an instant they heard a similar note in answer from a distantpoint. 

As they advanced further the signals were repeated and then theshiftless one came with swiftness and without noise through the bushes, rising up like a phantom before them. There were happy handshakes andthe five, reunited once more, fled southward through the darkness andrain. 

"I thought you'd come out tonight, Henry, " said Shif'less Sol. "An' Iwuz waitin' on the ridge 'til I heard your signal. Ain't it grand furall o' us to be together ag'in, an' to hev beat Braxton Wyatt?"

"It was you, Sol, who were our greatest help. "

The shiftless one chuckled, pleased at the compliment. 

"Guess I wuz the flyin' wing o' our little army, " he said. "Mebbe Wyattan' them warriors will hang 'roun' thar two or three days afore theyfind out we've gone. "

"Not that long. The head of a warrior met Tom's clubbed rifle as we cameaway, and if they don't find him tonight they certainly will in themorning. "

"I don't care anyway. That band can't overtake us, an' it can't trail uson a night like this. Thar! They've found the warrior!"

The faint sound of a yell, more like an echo, came on the wind and rain, but it brought no fears to the five. They were quite sure that nopursuit could overtake them now. After a while, they let their gait sinkto a walk, and began to pick their way carefully through the drippingforest. As they were wet, all save their ammunition, they did nothesitate to wade many flooded brooks and they felt that when day cametheir trail would still be hidden from even the keenest of the Indiantrailers. 

Henry did not believe that Wyatt and his warriors could find them unlessby chance, and as they were now many miles from the cavern, and the daywas not far away, he began to think of a stopping place. Continuedexertion had kept them warm, despite the rain, but it would not be wiseto waste their strength in a rapid flight, continued a long time. 

"All of you keep an eye for shelter, " he said "Maybe we can find awindrow that will at least shut off a part of the rain. "

He alluded to the masses of trees sometimes thrown down by a hurricane, often over a swath not more than two hundred yards wide. Where men didnot exist to clear them away they were numerous in Kentucky, accumulating for uncounted years. But it was more than an hour beforethey came upon one of these heaps of tree trunks thrown thicklytogether. 

Yet it was a good den or lair. Many of the fallen leaves had sifted inand lay there. Perhaps bears had used these recesses in the winter, butthe five were not scrupulous. Their lives were passed in the primitive, and they knew how to make the most of everything that nature offered, nomatter how little. 

"I reckon we den up here, " said Long Jim. 

"We do, " said Henry, "and we might go farther and find a much worseplace. "

The trees evidently had been thrown down a long time, as great masses ofvines had grown over them, forming an almost complete roof. Very littlerain came through, and, as they had managed to keep their ammunition aswell as their blankets dry, the lair was better than anything for whichthey had hoped. Trusting to the darkness and their concealment, all fivewrapped themselves in their blankets and went to sleep. 

Now and then drops of rain forced their way through the vines and fellon the sleepers, but they did not awake. Such trifles as these did notdisturb them. They were a part of the great wilderness, used to itsways, and troubled little by the ordinary hardships of human beings. Themental tension and the anxieties from which they had suffered were gone. The siege broken, and reunited, they could pursue the main force and thecannon with speed. 

The great revulsion made their sleep easy and untroubled. Not one ofthem stirred as he lay beneath the covering made by the ancienthurricane, and every one of them breathed long and deep. 

Nature was watching over them while they slept. They belonged to theforest, and the forest was taking care of its own. The rain increasedand it was driven harder by the wind, but folded in their blankets theyremained snug, while their clothing dried upon them. A bear that hadhibernated there, fleeing from the rain sought his own den, but he wasdriven away by the man smell. A bedraggled panther had an idea of takingthe same shelter, but he too was repelled in like manner. 

The forest watched over its own not only through the night but after thesun rose. Braxton Wyatt and his warriors, consumed with rage, could findno sign of a trail. They had entered the cavern and seized upon theportions of venison left there, although the rifle escaped their notice, and then they had begun the vain pursuit. Long before day they gave itup, and started after the main army. 

It had been Henry's intention to sleep only the two hours until dawn, but the relaxation, coming after immense exertions and anxieties, kepthim and all the others sound asleep long after the dripping forest wasbathed in sunlight. It was a bright ray of the same sunlight enteringthrough a crevice and striking him in the eye that awakened him. Helooked at his comrades. They were so deep in slumber that not one ofthem stirred. 

He heard a light swift sound overhead and saw that it was a graysquirrel running along their roof. Then came a song, pure and sweet, that thrilled through the forest. It was sung by a small gray birdperched on a vine almost directly over Henry's head, and he wonderedthat such a volume of music could come from such a tiny body. 

The squirrel and the bird together told him that nothing unusual wasstirring in the forest. If warriors were near that morning song wouldnot be poured forth in such a clear and untroubled stream. The bird wastheir warder, their watchman, and he told them that it was sunrise andall was well. Feeling the utmost confidence in the small sentinel, andknowing that they needed more strength for the pursuit, Henry closed hiseyes and went to sleep again. 

The little gray bird was the most redoubtable of sentinels. Either thefigures below were hidden from him or instinct warned him that they werefriends. He hopped from bough to bough of the great windrow, and nearlyalways he sang. Now his song was clear and happy, saying that no enemycame in the forest. He sang from sheer delight, from the glory of thesunshine, and the splendor of the great green forest, drying in thegolden glow. Now and then the gray squirrel came down from a tree andran over the windrow. There was no method in his excursions. It was justpure happiness, the physical expression of high spirits. 

The shiftless one was the next to awake, and he too looked at hissleeping comrades. His task had been the hardest of them all. Althoughhis body had acquired the quality of steel wire, it had yieldednevertheless under the strain of so many pursuits and flights. Now heheard that bird singing above him and as it told him, too, that nodanger was near, he shifted himself a little to ease his muscles andwent to sleep again. 

A half-hour later Long Jim came out of slumberland, but he opened onlyone eye. The bird was trilling and quavering in the most wonderful way, telling him as he understood it, to go back whence he had come, and hewent at once. Then came Paul, not more than half awakened, and the musicof the song lulled him. He did not have time to ask himself any questionbefore he had returned to sleep, and the bird sang on, announcing thatnoon was coming and all was yet well. 

CHAPTER XII

ON THE GREAT TRAIL

An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon andall was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up. The bird, hearing rustlingsbelow, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away. Hissong was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grewfaint and died in the distance. But his work was done and he had done itwell. 

Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up. 

"You've slept a week, Sol, " Henry said. 

"That's a whopper. I just laid down, slept a minute, waked up, heard abird singin', then slept another minute. "

"Just the same happened to me, but it's past midday. Look through thevines there and see the sun. "

"It's so. How time does pass when the warriors are lettin' your scalpalone. "

"Wake up, Jim. "

Shif'less Sol poked Long Jim with his moccasined foot. 

"Here you, Jim Hart, " he said. "Wake up. Do you think we've got nothin'to do but set here, an' listen to you snorin' fur two days an' twonights, when we've got to overtake an Injun army and thrash it?"

"Don't tech me with your foot ag'in, Sol Hyde, an' don't talk to me sohighfalutin'. It's hard to git me mad, but when I do git mad I'm a lotwuss than Paul's friend, A-killus, 'cause I don't sulk in my tent, specially when I haven't got any. I jest rises up an' takes them thatpesters me by the heels an' w'ar 'em out ag'in the trees. "

"You talk mighty big, Saplin'. "

"I'm feelin' big. I think I'll go out an' stretch myself, bein' ez it'sa fine day an' these are my woods. "

The talk awoke Paul also and all went outside. Henry and Silent Tomscouted for some distance in every direction, and, finding no sign of anenemy, the five ate cold venison and drank from one of the innumerablestreams. Then they deliberated briefly. They must find the trail of theIndian army and they were quite sure that it lay toward the east. If itwere there they could not miss it, as a way for the cannon had to be cutwith axes. Hence their council lasted only five minutes, and then theyhastened due eastward. 

Speed was impeded by the creeks and brooks, all of which were swollenyet further, compelling them in several cases to swim, which had to bedone with care, owing to the need of keeping their ammunition dry. Nightcame, the great trail was still unfound, and they thought they mightpossibly have been mistaken in going to the east, but when they debatedit again they resolved to continue their present course. Everyprobability favored it, and perhaps the Indian army had taken a widercurve than they had thought. 

"I've had so much rest and sleep that I'm good fur all night, " said LongJim, "an' the ground bein' so soft from so much rain them cannon wheelswill cut ruts a foot deep. "

"That's so, " said Shif'less Sol. "Why we could blindfold ourselves an'hit that trail. Out o' the mouths o' men like Long Jim wisdom comessometimes, though you wouldn't think it. "

"All that you are, Solomon Hyde, " said Long Jim, "I've made. When I fustknowed you a tow-headed boy you didn't have sense enough to come in outuv the rain. Now, by long years uv hard trainin', mixin' gentleness withfirmness, I've turned you into somethin' like a scout an' trailer an'Injun fighter, fit to travel in the comp'ny uv a man like myself. Nowan' then when I look at you, Solomon Hyde, I'm proud uv you, but I'mprouder uv myself fur makin' a real man out uv sech poor stuff to startwith. "

"I'm still willin' to learn, Jim, " grinned Shif'less Sol. 

"The trail! The trail!" suddenly exclaimed Henry. 

They had emerged from heavy forest into a stretch of canebrake throughwhich ran a long swath, trampled by many feet and cut by deep ruts. Herethe cannon had passed perhaps a week ago, and they could follow theruts as easily as the wheel of an engine follows the rails. 

"I 'low they can't make more'n ten or fifteen miles a day, " said SilentTom. 

"While we, if we were hard pressed, could go thirty or forty, or more, "said Paul. 

"We could overtake 'em in three days, " said Henry. 

"An' hevin' done it, " said the shiftless one, "what are we goin' to donext?"

"It's the cannon we're after, as we all know, " said Henry, "and Iconfess that I can't see yet how we're going to get at 'em. "

"I fancy we can tell more about it when we approach the Indian army, "said Paul. 

"There's no other way, " said Henry. "If we keep close beside 'em we mayget a chance at the cannon, but we've got to look out for Braxton Wyattand his gang, who will be just behind us, on the same trail. "

"Then we go straight ahead?" said Paul. 

They followed the great trail nearly all night, under the clear moon andstars, a fine drying wind having taken away all the dampness. As usualHenry led and Silent Tom brought up the rear, the one in front keepingan eye for a rear guard and the one behind watching for the advance ofBraxton Wyatt's force. The trail itself was leisurely. The speed of thecannon had to be the speed of the army, and there was ample time forparties to leave on hunting expeditions, and then rejoin the main bandwith their spoils. 

"They're living well, " said Henry, as he pointed to the dead coals ofnumerous fires, and the quantities of bones scattered about "They'vehad buffalo, bear, deer, turkey and lots of small game. "

"It's an ideal country for an Indian army to travel in, " said Paul. "Thegame fairly swarms in it. "

"An they don't spare it neither, " said Shif'less Sol. "These warriorsare jest eatin' thar way down to the settlements. "

"Here's where they kept their cannon, " said Henry, pointing to a placenear the edge of the opening, "and they covered them for the night withstrong canvas. "

"How do you know that?" asked Long Jim. 

"See this thorn bush growing just beside the place. The edge of thecanvas caught on the thorns and when they pulled it away it left thesethreads. See, here are three of 'em. "

"But how do you know it was strong canvas?"

"Because if it hadn't been, more than these three threads would havebeen left. I'm astonished at you! What have you done with your wits? Itwas just over there, too, that Alloway and Cartwright sat with thechiefs and held a council. Two or three bushes were cut down close tothe ground in order that a dozen men or so might sit comfortably in aring. They smoked a pipe, and came to some agreement. Here are the ashesthat were thrown from the pipe after they were through with it. ThenAlloway and Cartwright walked off in this direction. You can see evennow the imprint of their boot heels. Moccasins would leave no suchtrace. It must have rained that night, too, because they spread theirtent and slept in it. "

"You're guessing now, Henry, " said Long Jim. 

"I don't have to guess. This is the simplest thing in the world. One hasonly to look and see. Here are the holes where they drove the tent pegs. But the two officers did not go to sleep at once after the council. Theysat in the tent and talked quite a while. "

"How do you know?"

"More ashes, and on the ground covered by the tent. Evidently they havepipes of their own, as most all English officers do, and they wouldn'thave sat here, and smoked, while on a hard march, if they did'nt havesomething important to talk about. I take it that the leaders of theIndian army are trying to solve some question. Perhaps they don't knowwhich of the settlements to march against first. "

"Over here is where they kept the horses fur the big guns, " said SilentTom. "Mebbe we might git at them horses, Henry. "

"We might, but it wouldn't help us much. The warriors are so many that, although they don't like work, they could take turns at pulling 'emalong with ropes. They could do that too, with the wagons that carry theammunition for the cannon. Come on, boys. It don't pay us to linger overdead campfires. Here goes the trail which is as broad as a road. "

He led the way, but stopped again in a few minutes. 

"They had their troubles when they started the next morning, " he said, as he pointed with a long forefinger. 

They saw flowing directly across the road one of the innumerable creeks, swollen to a depth of about four feet by the rain, and with rather aswift current. Hundreds of footprints had been left in the soft soilnear the stream, and they examined them carefully. In two places thesetraces were packed closely. 

"About twenty warriors gathered at each of these spots, " said Henry, "and lifted the cannon into the wagons. Look how deep some of thesefootmarks are! That was when the weight of the cannon sank them down. The Indians could have gone across the creek without the slightesttrouble, but the cannon and the wagons delayed them quite a while. Come, boys, we've got to do some wading ourselves. "

Reaching the opposite bank they found where the cannon had been liftedout again, and saw the deep ruts made by their wheels running on throughthe forest. 

"I don't find the traces of no boot heels, " said Silent Tom. "What'sbecome uv them English?"

"They're riding now, " replied Henry. "They're not as used as the Indiansto forest marches, and they've all been compelled to take to the wagonsfor a while. But they won't stay in 'em long. "

"Why not?"

"Because Alloway won't want the warriors to look down on him or his men, and the Indians are impressed by physical strength and tenacity. As soonas they're fairly rested he'll get out and make all the others get outtoo. "

In a half-hour he called their particular attention to a point in thegreat trail. 

"All of them got out of the wagons here, " he said. "Look where the bootheels cut into the ground. What's this? A warrior coming out of theforest has joined them here. Perhaps he was a man sent by Braxton Wyattor Blackstaffe to tell how they were getting along in their siege of us, and here is another trail, where a dozen warriors split from the band. "

"A huntin' party, o' course, " said the shif'less one as he looked at it. "They send 'em off on ev'ry side, ev'ry day, an' we've got to watchmighty close, lest some o' them light on us. "

"Still, " said Henry, "when they got their game they wouldn't comestraight back to a trail already old. They'd go on ahead to catch up. It's lucky that we've got plenty of venison and don't have to do anyhunting of our own. Jim, you certainly did noble work as a cook backthere. "

"Which reminds me, " said Long Jim, "that I'll chaw a strip uv venisonnow. "

"Jim wuz always a glutton, " said the shiftless one, "but that won't keepme from j'inin' him in his pleasant pursuit. "

Daylight found them in dense canebrake with the road that the army hadbeen forced to cut for the cannon leading on straight and true. 

"We'll find another camp about a half mile ahead, " said Henry. 

"Now that's a guess, " said Long Jim. 

"Oh, no, it isn't. Jim, you must really learn to use your eyes. Look upa little. See, those buzzards hovering over a particular spot. Now, onedarts down and now another rises up. I suppose they're still able topick a few shreds of flesh from the under side of the big buffalobones. "

"I reckon you're right, Henry. "

They reached the old camp presently, within the indicated distance, butdid not linger, pressing on over little prairies and across streams ofall sizes. They noticed again and again where the hunting parties leftthe main army, and then where they came back. 

"They've lots of ammunition, " said Henry. "They must have the biggestsupply that was ever yet furnished by Detroit. "

"Mebbe we kin git some uv it fur ourselves later on, " said Tom Ross. 

"That's not a bad idea, to get ammunition at the expense of the enemy. Their bullets might not fit our rifles, but we could use their powder. We may have our chance yet to raid 'em. "

At noon they turned aside into the forest and sought a deep recess wherethey could rest and plan. Foliage and earth were dry now and theystretched themselves luxuriously, as they ate and talked. They reckonedthat they could overtake the army on the following night or at least onthe morning after, as its progress had been manifestly slower even thanthey had thought. Taking cannon through the great woods in which not asingle road existed was a most difficult task. But every one of the fivefelt the need of exceeding great caution. Besides the hunters they mighthave to deal with the party that had left under Blackstaffe and RedEagle. For all they knew, this band might have taken a shorter coursethrough the woods, and chance might bring on an encounter at any time. 

"If they should strike our trail they're likely to follow it up, " saidthe shiftless one. "Some o' 'em in lookin' fur game are shore to be farin the rear, an' them too may stumble on us. "

"'Pears to me, " said Long Jim, "that we've come knowin' it, plum' into abig hornet's nest, but we ain't stung yet. "

"An' we ain't goin' to be, " said the shiftless one confidently. 

Thus did the knights of the forest discuss their chances, and they wereas truly knights as any that ever tilted lance for his lady, or, clothedin mail, fought the Saracen in the Holy Land, and, buried in the vastforest, their dangers were greater, they so few against so many. 

Knowing now that they had no need to hurry and that to hurry wasdangerous, they lay a long time in the woods, and some of them slept alittle, while the others watched. But those who slept awoke when theyheard the haunting cry of the owl. The five sat up as another owl far tothe left hooted in answer. Not one of them was deceived for an instant, as the signals were exchanged three times. Indian, they knew, wastalking to Indian. 

"What do you think it means, Henry?" asked the shiftless one. 

"I've a notion that a small band has struck our trail and that it'ssignaling to a bigger one. "

"I'm sorry o' that. "

"So am I, because it will put the great band on guard against us. Ourbest weapon would have been the ignorance of the Indians that we werenear. "

"Ef troubles git in our way we kin shoot 'em out uv it, " said Long Jimphilosophically. 

"So we can, " said Henry, "but there goes one of the owls again, and it'smuch nearer to us than it was before. "

"An' thar's the other answerin' from the other side, " said Shif'lessSol, "an' it, too, is much nearer. "

"'Pears ez ef they knowed more about us than we thought they did, an'are tryin' to surround us, " said Long Jim. 

"An' we jest won't be surrounded, " said Shif'less Sol. "We ain't trainedto that sort o' thing an' it ain't a habit that we'd like. "

"Come on, " said Henry, and, rifle on shoulder, he flitted through thethickets. The others followed him in single file, and they advancedtoward a point mid-way between the opposing bands. Their line formedaccording to its invariable custom, Henry leading, the shiftless onenext, followed by Paul, with Long Jim following, and Silent Tom coveringthe rear. 

They traveled now at high speed, and Henry felt that the need was great. He was sure that the bands, besides signaling to each other, were alsocalling up wandering hunters. The circle about them might be more nearlycomplete than they had thought. They kept to the darkest of the forestand fled on like a file of phantoms. A rifle suddenly cracked in thethicket and a bullet whistled by. Henry's rifle flashed in reply and nofurther sound came from the bushes. Then the phantoms sped on fasterthan ever. 

Henry reloaded his rifle, and all of them listened to the chorus of theowls, as they cried to one another in a circle the diameter of whichmight have been a third of a mile. The heart of every one beat faster, not alone because they were running, but because of that demon chorus. All the warriors had heard the rifle shots and they knew now just aboutwhere the fugitives were. The cry of an owl has a singularly weird andhaunting quality, and when so many of them came together, coming as thefive knew, from the throats of those who meant them death, its effectwas appalling even upon such hardy souls as theirs. 

"I wish they'd stop them cries, " growled Long Jim. "They git into mybones, an' give me a sort uv creepy weakness 'bout the knees. "

"Don't let your knees buckle, " said Shif'less Sol. "Good knees aremighty important, jest now, 'cause you know, Jim, we'll hev to make apow'ful good run fur it, an' ef your legs give out I'll hev to stay backwith you. "

"I know you would, Sol, but that creepy feelin' 'bout my knees don'tweaken the muscles an' j'ints. Runnin' is my strongest p'int. "

"I know it. I don't furgit the time your runnin' saved us all when theemigrant train wuz surrounded by the tribes. "

"Down!" suddenly called Henry, and the five dropped almost flat, butwithout noise, in the bushes. Two dusky figures, evidently scouts, wererunning directly across their line of flight about fifty yards ahead ofthem. But Henry was quite sure that the two warriors had not seen themand the five, lying close and scarcely breathing, watched the duskyfigures. The warriors paused a moment or two, looked about them, but, seeing nothing went on, and were quickly lost to sight in the brush. 

"It was lucky, " said Henry, as they rose and resumed their flight, "thatthe warriors didn't look more closely. I think fortune is favoring us. "

"It ain't fortune or luck, " said Shif'less Sol. "It's jedgment, an' ourlong an' hard trainin'. I tell you jedgment is a power. "

A fierce yell arose behind them, a yell full of savagery and triumph. 

"They've hit our trail in the moonlight, " said Henry, "and as we have notime to dodge or lie in cover, there's nothing to do but run faster. "

"An' keep a good lookout to both right an' left, " said Shif'less Sol. "They're comin' now from all directions. "

The owls now began to hoot in great numbers, and with extraordinaryferocity. The cry made upon Paul's sensitive mind an impression thatnever could be effaced. He associated it with cruelty, savagery anddeadly menace. His ear even multiplied and exaggerated the sinistercalls. The woods were filled with them, they came from every bush, andthe menacing circle was steadily and surely drawing closer. 

Henry heard the heavy panting breaths behind him. They were bound togrow weary before long. Even if one were made of steel he could not runon forever. But he recalled that while they could not do so neithercould the warriors. His keen ear noted that no cry of the owl came fromthe point straight ahead, and he concluded therefore that the circle wasnot yet complete. There was a break in the ring and he meant to drivestraight through it. 

"Now, boys, " he said, "slow up a little to let your breath come back, then we'll make a great burst for it and break through. "

Their pace sank almost to a walk, but the beat of their hearts becamemore nearly regular, and strength came back. Meanwhile the cries of theowls never ceased. They drummed incessantly on the ears of Paul, andmade a sort of fury in his brain. It was a species of torture that madehim rage more than ever against his pursuers. 

They stopped in a clump of cane and watched a single warrior pass near. When he was gone they stepped from the cane and began to run at highspeed toward the opening in the circle which Henry judged could not bemore than a hundred yards away. It was fortunate for them that theforest here contained little undergrowth to impede them. 

It was a great burst of speed to make after so long a flight, but thebrief rest had helped them greatly, and they spurned the earth behindthem. Now the Indian warriors caught sight of them, and rifles flashedin the night. The last owl ceased to hoot, and instead gave forth thewar hoop. The forest rang with fierce yells, many anticipating a triumphnot yet won. Many shots were fired on either flank, and leaves andtwigs fell, but the five, bending low, fled on and did not yet reply. 

The young leader in those desperate moments was cool enough to see thatno shots came from the point straight ahead, making it sure that theopening was still there. He counted, too, on the dusk and the generallypoor markmanship of the savages. A single glance backward showed himthat none of his comrades was touched. Farther away on either side hesaw the leaping forms of the warriors and then the flash of their wildshots. And still his comrades and he were untouched. 

"Now, boys, " he cried, "let out the last link in the chain!" and thefive bounded forward at such speed that the Indians in the dusk couldnot hit the flying targets, and, still untouched they drove through theopening, and beyond. But the warriors behind them joined in a mass andcame on, yelling in anger and disappointment. 

"Now, Sol, " said Henry, "we might let 'em have a couple of bullets. Therest of you hold your fire!"

Henry and the shiftless one, wheeling swiftly, fired and hit theirtargets. A cry of wrath came from the pursuers, but they dropped backout of range, and stayed there awhile. Then they crept closer, until abullet from Silent Tom gave them a deadly warning to drop back again, which they did with great promptness. 

Then the five, summoning all their reserves of strength, sped southwardat a rate that was too great for their pursuers. Paul soon heard theowls calling again, but they were at least a half mile behind them, andthey no longer oppressed him with that quality of cruelty and certaintriumph. Now they only denoted failure and disappointment, and, as hishigh tension relaxed, he began to laugh. 

"Stop it, Paul! Stop it!" said the shiftless one sharply. "It's too soonyet to laugh! When the time comes I'll tell you!"

Paul checked himself, knowing that the laugh was partly hysterical, andclosely followed Henry who was now turning toward the west, leading themthrough rolling country, clothed in the same unbroken forest andundergrowth. It was his idea to find a creek or brook and then wade init for a long distance to break the trail, the simplest of devices, oneused a thousand times with success on the border, and they ran at theirutmost speed, in order to be out of sight of even the swiftest warriorwhen they should come to water. 

They passed several tiny brooks too small for their purpose, but, in ahalf-hour, came to one two feet deep, flowing swiftly and with muddycurrent. Henry uttered a sigh of satisfaction as he stepped into thewater, and began to run with the stream. He heard four splashes behindhim, as the others stepped in also, and followed. 

"As little noise as you can, " he said. "There may be a lurking warriorabout somewhere. "

After the first hundred yards they waded slowly, in order to avoid moresplashing, and, after another hundred, stopped to listen. They heardfaint cries from the warriors, but they were very far away, at least amile, they thought, and the hearts of every one of the five rose withthe belief that the Indians had taken the wrong course. But theyneglected no precaution, wading in the middle of the brook for a longdistance, the water enclosed on either side with a thick and heavygrowth of willows and bushes so dense, in truth, that one could not seeinto the stream without parting the foliage. 

"Didn't I tell you we were lucky!" said Henry. "This branch poked itselfright across our path at the right moment to help us break our trail. "

"Jedgment, Henry! Jedgment!" said the shiftless one. "We knowed that itwuz best fur us to find a branch, an' so we jest run on till we foundone. "

"It 'pears to me, " said Long Jim, "that we're takin' to water a heap. Always jumpin' into some branch or creek or river an' wadin', I feelmyself turnin' to a fish, a great big long catfish sech as you find inthe Ohio. Fins are comin' out on my ankles right now. "

"An' your face is plum' covered with scales already, " said Shif'lessSol. "You're shorely a wonder, Jim. "

Long Jim involuntarily clapped his hand to his face, and then bothlaughed. 

"At any rate, " said Long Jim, "I'll be glad when we take to dry groundag'in. "

But Henry led them a full mile, until he parted the bushes, and steppedout on the west bank. The others followed and all five stood a moment ortwo on the bank, while the water dripped from their leggings. 

"Them fins has done growed on me, shore, " whispered Long Jim toShif'less Sol. "Cur'us how water sticks to deerskin. "

"How much further do we go, Henry?" asked Paul. 

"Far enough to be safe, " replied Henry. "I think two or three miles morewill put us out of their range. The walking won't be bad, and it willhelp to dry our leggings. "

"Wish I had one o' their hosses to ride on, " said Shif'less Sol. "'Twould jest suit me, a lazy man. I guess hosses wuzn't ever used inthese parts afore, but I'd ride one like the old knights that Paul talksabout, an' you, Long Jim, could hang on to the tail. "

"I wouldn't hang on to the tail of nobody's hoss, an' least uv all tothe tail uv yourn, Sol Hyde. "

"You'd hev to, Jim Hart, 'cause you'd be my serf. Knights always hadserfs that wuz glad to hang on to the tails o' their hosses, when theknights would let 'em. Wouldn't I look grand, chargin' through theforest on my war hoss, six feet high, me in my best Sunday brass suit, speckled with gold scales, with my silver spear twenty feet long, an' mygreat two-handed, gold-hilted sword beside me, an' Long Jim tied to thetail o' my hoss, so he wouldn't git tired an' fall behind, when I wuzchargin' the hull Shawnee tribe?"

"You'll never see that day, Sol Hyde. When we charge the Shawnee tribeI'll be in front, runnin' on these long legs uv mine, an' you'll be'bout a hundred yards behind, comin' on in a kinder doubtful an'hesitatin' way. "

"Here is good dry ground now, " said Henry, "and I don't think we need togo any farther. "

They were on a small hilltop, densely covered with trees, and the fivegladly threw themselves down among the trunks. They were sure now thatthey were safe from pursuit, and they felt elation, but they saidlittle. All of them took off their wet leggings and moccasins, and laidthem out to dry, while they rested and ate venison. 

"I'm gittin' tired, paddlin' 'roun' in wet clothes, " said Long Jim, "andI hope them things uv mine will dry fast, 'cause it would be bad to hevto run fur it ag'in, b'ar-footed this time, an' with not much ofanythin' on up to your waist. "

"But think how much harder on you it would be ef it wuz winter, " saidthe shiftless one. "Ef you hed to break the ice in the branch ez youwalked along it, an' then when you come out hed nothin' but the snow tolay down in an' rest, it would be time fur complainin'. Ez Henry says, we're shorely hevin' luck. "

"That's true, an' we've found another fine inn to rest an' sleep in. Ain't this nice solid dry groun'? An' them dead leaves scattered 'boutwhich we kin rake up fur pillows an' beds, are jest the finest that everfell. An' them trees are jest ez big an' honest an' friendly ez youcould ask, an' the bushes are nice an' well behaved, an' thar shore isplenty of water in the forest fur us to drink. An' we hev a good cleansky overhead. Oh, we couldn't come to a nicer inn than this. "

"I'm going to sleep, " said Paul. "I'm going to wrap my blanket aroundthe lower half of me, and if the warriors come please wake me in time, so I can put on my leggings before I have to run again. "

All soon slept save Henry and Ross, and, after a while, Henry clothedhimself fully, everything now being dry, and with a word to Ross, started eastward through the forest. He believed that Blackstaffe, RedEagle and their party were somewhere in that direction, and he meant tohave a look at them. He was thoroughly refreshed by their long rest, andalone he felt able to avoid any danger. 

He advanced through the forest, a great flitting figure that passedswiftly, and now, that he was the trailer and not the trailed, all ofhis marvelous faculties were at their zenith. He heard and saweverything, and every odor came to him. The overwhelming sense offreedom, and of a capacity to achieve the impossible, which he oftenfelt when he was alone, fairly poured in upon him. The feeling ofsuccess, of conquest, was strong. He and his comrades, so far, hadtriumphed over every difficulty, and they had been many and great. Theomens were propitious and there was the rising wind singing among theleaves the song that was always a chant of victory for him. 

He inhaled the odors of the forest, the breath of leaf and flower. Theywere keen and poignant to him, and then came another odor that did notbelong there. It was brought on the edge of the gentle wind, and hisnostrils expanded, as he noticed that it was growing stronger andstronger. He knew at once that it was smoke, distant, but smokeundeniably, and that it must come from a campfire. In all probabilityit was the fire of Blackstaffe, Red Eagle and their band. 

He went at once toward the smoke, and gradually the light of a fireappeared among the trees. Approaching cautiously, he saw the correctnessof his surmise that it was Blackstaffe, Red Eagle and their band. Mostof the warriors were lying down, all save two or three asleep, but therenegade and the chief were talking earnestly. Henry was eager to hearwhat they were saying, as it might prove of great value to him in thelittle campaign that he was leading. Since Wyatt and the rest of theband had not had time to come up, they could not yet know that it wasthe five with whom they had been in battle that night. 

He resolved that he would overhear them at all costs, and lying down inthe bushes he began to edge himself forward in the slow and difficultmanner of which only an accomplished scout is capable. Fortunately thefire was near the edge of a thicket, from which he could hear, but ittook him a long time to gain the position he wished, creeping forward, inch by inch, and careful not to make a bush or a leaf rustle. 

When he was at last in place, he lay hidden by the foliage and blendedwith it, where he could easily see the faces of Blackstaffe and RedEagle, in the firelight, and hear what they said. 

CHAPTER XIII

FIVE AGAINST A THOUSAND

Red Eagle and Blackstaffe were talking in Shawnee, every word of whichHenry heard and understood. They sat in Turkish fashion upon the ground, on the same side of the fire, and the blaze flickered redly over theface of each. They were strong faces, primitive, fierce and cunning, butin different ways. The evil fame of Moses Blackstaffe, second only tothat of Simon Girty, had been won by many a ruthless deed and undoubtedskill and cunning. Yet he was a white man who had departed from thewhite man's ways. 

Red Eagle, the great Shawnee chief, was older, past fifty, and hisbronzed face was lined deeply. His broad brow and the eyes set wideapart, expressed intellect--the Indian often had intellect in a highdegree. He too was cruel, able to look upon the unmentionable torturesof his foes with pleasure, but it was a cruelty that was a part of hisinheritance, the common practices of all the tribes, bred into theblood, through untold generations of forest life. 

Henry felt a certain respect for Red Eagle, but none at all forBlackstaffe. Him he hated, with that fierceness of the forest, some ofwhich had crept into his blood, and if he met him in battle he wouldgladly send a bullet through his heart. The man's face, burnt almost asdark as that of an Indian, showed now in its most sinister aspect. Hewas suffering from chagrin, and he did not take the trouble to hide it, even from so great a man as Red Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees. 

They were talking of Wyatt and the band they had left behind for thesiege, and Henry, with a touch of forest humor, enjoyed himself as helistened. 

"We did not see well those with whom we fought tonight and who escapedus, " said Red Eagle, "but they showed themselves to be warriors, greatwhite warriors. They were more than a match for my young men. "

"It is true, " said Blackstaffe. "I didn't see them at all, but only thefive whom we left besieged in the cave could do what they did. "

"But Wyatt and good warriors hold them there. "

"So they hoped, but do they, Red Eagle? The manner in which those scoutsescaped from our circle makes me believe their leader could have beennone but this Henry Ware. "

"One of them was outside the cave. He may have come through the forestand have met other white men. "

"It might be so, but I'm afraid it isn't. They have broken the siege insome manner and have eluded Wyatt. I had hoped that if he could not killor capture them he would at least hold them there. It is not well forus to have them hanging upon our army and ambushing the warriors. "

"You speak wisely, Blackstaffe. The one they call Ware is only a youth, but he is full of wisdom and bravery. There was an affair of the beltbearers, in which he tricked even Yellow Panther and myself. If we couldcapture him and make him become one of us, a red warrior to fight thewhite people to whom he once belonged, he would add much to our strengthin war. "

Blackstaffe shook his head most emphatically. 

"Don't think of that again, great chief, " he said. "It is a waste oftime. He would endure the most terrible of all our tortures first. Thinkinstead of his scalp hanging in your wigwam. "

The eyes of Red Eagle glistened. 

"It would be a great triumph, " he said, "but our young men have chasedhim many times, and always he is gone like the deer. We have set thetrap for him often, but when it falls he is away. None shoots so quicklyor so true as he, and if one of our young men meets him alone in theforest it is the Shawnee over whom the birds sing the death song. "

"It's not his scalp that we want merely for the scalp's sake. You are abrave and great chief, O Red Eagle, and you know that Ware and hiscomrades are scouts, spies and messengers. It's not so much the warriorswhom we lose at their hands, but they're the eyes of the woods. Theyalways tell the settlements of our coming, and bring the white forcestogether. We must trap them on this march, if we have to spread out abelt of a hundred warriors to do it. "

"I hope the net won't have any holes in it. We overtake the great bandtomorrow, and then you'll have all the warriors you need. They can bespread out on the flank as we march. Hark, Red Eagle, what was that?"

Henry himself in his covert started a little, as the long whine of awolf came from a point far behind them. One of the warriors on the otherside of the fire returned the cry, so piercing and ferocious in its notethat Henry started again. But as the chief, the renegade and all thewarriors rose to their feet, he withdrew somewhat further into thethicket, yet remaining where he could see all that might pass. 

The far wolf howled again, and the near wolf replied. After thatfollowed a long silence, with the renegade, Red Eagle and his men, standing waiting and eager. The signals showed that friends were comingto join friends, and Henry was as eager as they to see the arrivals. Yethe had a shrewd suspicion of their identity. 

Dusky figures showed presently among the trees, as a silent line cameon. Red Eagle and Blackstaffe were standing side by side, and therenegade broke into a low laugh. 

"So Wyatt comes with his men, or most of them, " he said. 

"I see, " said the chief in a tone of chagrin. 

"And he comes without any prisoners. "

"But perhaps he brings scalps. "

"I see no sign of them. "

"It is yet too far. "

"If they came bearing scalps they would raise the shout of victory. "

Red Eagle, great chief of the Shawnees, shook his head sadly. 

"It is sure that those whom we pursued in vain tonight were those whomwe left besieged in the cave. "

"I fear that you speak the truth. They bring no scalps, nor anyprisoners to walk on red hot coals. "

He spoke sadly and Henry noted a certain grim pathos in his words, whichwere the words of a savage. Yet the attitude of Red Eagle was dignifiedand majestic as he waited. 

The file came on fast, Braxton Wyatt at its head. When the youngerrenegade reached the fire, he flung himself down beside it, seized apiece of deer meat, just cooked, and began to eat. 

"I'm famished and worn out, " he said. 

"What did you do with the scalps, Braxton?" asked Blackstaffe, in silkytones--it may be that he thought the younger renegade assumed too muchat times. 

"They're on the heads of their owners, " growled Wyatt. 

"And how did that happen? You had them securely blockaded in a hole in astone wall. I thought you had nothing to do but wait and take them. "

"See here, Blackstaffe, I don't care for your taunting. They slippedout, although we kept the closest watch possible, and as they passedthey slew one of our best warriors. I don't know how it was managed, but I think it was some infernal trick of that fellow Ware. Anyway, wewere left with an empty cave, and then we came on as fast as we could. We did our best, and I've no excuses to make. "

"I do not mock you, " said Red Eagle gravely. "I have been tricked by thefox, Ware, myself, and so has Yellow Panther, the head chief of theMiamis. But we will catch him yet. "

"It seems that we have not yet made any net that will hold him, " saidBlackstaffe with grim irony. Since it was not he directly, but Red Eagleand Wyatt who had failed, he found a malicious humor in taunting them. "It is the general belief that it was this same youth, Ware, who blew upthe scows on which we were to carry our cannon, and then sank the lashedcanoes. He seems to be uncommonly efficient. "

Among the broken men and criminals who fled into the woods joining theIndians and making war upon their own kind, Moses Blackstaffe was anoutstanding character. He was a man of education and subtle mind. It wasunderstood that he came from one of the oldest of the eastern provinces, and that there was innocent blood on his hands before he fled. But nowhe was high in the councils of the Indian nations, and, like the whiteman of his type who turns savage, he had become more cruel than thesavages themselves. 

His gaze as he turned it upon Braxton Wyatt was lightly ironical, andhis tone had been the same. Again the younger renegade flushed throughhis tan. 

"I have never denied to him wonderful knowledge and skill, " he said. "Ihave warned you all that he was the obstacle most to be dreaded. He hasjust proved it. Had he not been there to help 'em at the cave we shouldhave got 'em all. "

"And they are giving the laurels of Shif'less Sol to me, " said Henry tohimself in the thicket. "I shall have to hand them over to him when wego back. "

But the great Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, had heard enough talk betweenthe two white men. He was full of the wisdom of his race, and he did notintend that Blackstaffe and Wyatt should impair their value to thetribes by creating ill feeling against each other. 

"Peace, my sons, " he said in his grave and dignified manner. "It is notwell for those who march with us to taunt each other. Words that may belight in the village, breed ill will on the war path. As head chief ofthe Shawnees it is for me to say these things to you. "

As Red Eagle stood up with his arms folded across his broad breast andhis scarlet blanket hooked over his shoulder, he looked like a forestRoman. Henry thought him an impressive figure and such a thought, too, was most likely in the mind of Blackstaffe, as he said:

"The words of the chief are wise, and I obey. Red Eagle has proved manyand many a time that he is the best fitted of all men to be the headchief of the Shawnees. Wyatt, I was only jesting. You and I must be goodcomrades here. "

He held out his hand and as Wyatt took it, his face cleared. Then thethree turned to animated talk about their plans. It was agreed that theyshould push on in the morning at all speed, and join the main band andthe artillery. Dangerous as these cannon were, Henry saw that theIndians gave them almost magic powers. They would completely blow awaythe settlements, and the forests would soon grow again, where the whiteman had cut a little open place for himself with the ax. 

The conference over, Red Eagle wrapped himself in his blanket and laydown with his feet toward the fire. Again Henry felt an impulse ofrespect for him. He was true to his race and his inheritance, while therenegades were false in everything to theirs. He did not depart from thecustoms and thoughts bred into him by many generations, but therenegades violated every teaching of their own race that had broughtcivilization to the world, and he hated and despised them. 

He saw Blackstaffe and Wyatt wrap themselves in their blankets and alsolie down with their feet to the fire. All the Indians were at rest savetwo sentinels. Henry watched this strange scene a few minutes longer. The coals were dying fast and now he saw but indistinctly the figures ofwhite men and red men, joined in a compact to destroy his peopleutterly, from the oldest man and woman to the youngest child. 

Henry did not know it, but he was as much a knight of chivalry andromance as any mailed figure that ever rode with glittering lance. Beneath the buckskin hunting shirt beat a heart as dauntless as that ofAmadis of Gaul or Palmerin of England, although there were no bards inthe great forest to sing of his deeds and of the deeds of those likehim. 

He intended to stay only two or three minutes longer, but he lingerednevertheless. The Indian campfire gave forth hardly a glimmer. Thefigures save those of the sentinels became invisible. The wind blewgently and sang among the leaves, as if the forest were always a forestof peace, although from time immemorial, throughout the world, it hadbeen stained by bloodshed. But the forest spell which came over him attimes was upon him now. The rippling of the leaves under the wind hetranslated into words, and once more they sang to him the song ofsuccess. 

This new task of his, straight through the heart of danger, had beenachieved, and in his modesty, which was a modesty of thought as well asword, he did not ascribe it to any strength or skill in himself, but tothe fact that a Supreme Being had chosen him for a time as aninstrument, and was working through him. Like nearly all who live in theforest and spend most of their lives in the presence of nature, heinvariably felt the power of invisible forces, directed by an omniscientand omnipotent mind, which the Indian has crystallized into the nameManitou, the same as God to Henry. 

For that reason this forest spell was also the spirit of thankfulness. He had been guided and directed so far, and he felt that the guidanceand direction would continue. All the omens and prophecies remainedgood, and, with the wind in the leaves still singing the song of victoryin his ears, he silently crept away, inch by inch, even as he had come. Well beyond the Indian ear, he rose and returned swiftly to hiscomrades. 

Ross was still on guard and the others sleeping when Henry's figureappeared through the dusk, but they awoke and sat up when he called, low, to them. 

"What are you wakin' us up fur, Henry?" asked the shiftless one, as herubbed a sleepy eye. "Are the warriors comin'? Ef so, I'd like to put onmy silk knee breeches, an' my bee-yu-ti-ful new silk stockin's an' mynew shoes with the big silver buckles, afore I run through the forestfur my life. "

"No, they're not coming, Sol, " said Henry. "They're asleep off there andtomorrow morning Blackstaffe, Braxton Wyatt, Red Eagle and the othershurry on to join the main band. "

"How do you know that, Henry?"

"They told me. "

"You've been settin' laughin' an' talkin' with 'em, right merry, Ireckon. "

"They told me, just as I said. They told me their plan in good plainShawnee. "

"An' how come Braxton Wyatt with Red Eagle and Blackstaffe?"

"Leaving a fruitless quest, he overtook them. I was lying in thethicket, in hearing distance, when Wyatt came up with his men, joinedBlackstaffe and Red Eagle, and had to tell them of his failure. "

"You shorely do hev all the luck, Henry. I'd hev risked my life an'risked it mighty close, to hev seed that scene. "

Then Henry told them more in detail of the meeting and of the plans thatRed Eagle and the two renegades had talked over, drawing particularattention to the net the Indians intended to spread for the five. 

"'Pears to me, " said Shif'less Sol, "that the right thing fur us to dois to make a big curve--we're hefty on curves--an' go clear 'roun' infront of the band. They'll be lookin' fur us everywhere, 'cept rightthar, an' while they're a-plottin' an' a-plannin' an' a-spreadin' outtheir nets, we'll be a-plottin' an' a-plannin' an' mebbe a-doin' toowhat we've undertook to do. "

"The very thing, " said Henry. 

"A true strategic march, " said Paul. 

"Looks like sense, " said Silent Tom. 

"You do hev rays o' reason at times, Sol, " said Long Jim. 

"Then it's agreed, " said Henry. "We'll take a little more rest, and, soon after daylight, we'll start on one of our great flying marches. "

Paul and Long Jim kept the watch, and, not long after the sun rose, theywere up and away again. They were now beginning to forge another link intheir chain, and, as usual, the spirits of all five rose when they begana fresh enterprise. Their feet were light, as they sped forward, andevery sense was acute. They were without fear as they marched on the arcof the great circle that they had planned. They were leaving so wide aspace between themselves and the great trail that they could only meet awandering Indian hunter or two, and of all such they could take careeasily. 

In truth, so free were they from any kind of apprehension, that plentyof room was left in their minds to take note of the wilderness, whichwas here new to them. But it was their wilderness, nevertheless, allthese fine streams and rolling hills, and deer that sprang up from theirpath, and the magnificent forest everywhere clothing the earth in itsbeautiful robe of deepest green, which in the autumn would be an equallybeautiful robe of red and yellow and brown. 

Their curve was toward the west, and all that day they followed it. Theysaw the golden sun go creeping up the blue arch of the heavens, hang fora while at the zenith, as if it were poised there to pour downperpendicular beams, and then go sliding slowly down the western sky tobe lost in a red sea of fire. And the view of all the glory of theworld, though they saw it every day, was fresh and keen to them all. Theshiftless one was moved to speech. 

"When I go off to some other planet, " he said, "I don't want any newkind o' a world. I want it to be like this with big rivers andmiddle-sized rivers and little rivers, all kinds o' streams an' lakes, and the woods, green in the spring an' red an' yellow in the fall, an'winter, too, which hez its beauties with snow an' ice, an' red roarin'fires to keep you warm, an' the deer an' the buff'ler to hunt. I wantthem things 'cause I'm used to 'em. A strange, new kind o' worldwouldn't please me. I hold with the Injuns that want to go to the HappyHuntin' Grounds, an' I 'xpect it's the kind o' Heaven that the Bookmeans fur fellers like me. "

"Do you think you're good enough to go to Heaven, Sol?" asked Long Jim. 

The shiftless one deliberated a moment and then replied thoughtfully:

"I ain't so good, Jim, but I reckon I'm good enough to go to Heaven. People bein' what people be, an' me bein' what I am, all with a pow'fullot to fight ag'inst an' born with somethin' o' the old Nick in us, an'not bein' able to change our naturs much, no matter how hard we try, Ireckon I hev a mighty fine chance o' Heaven, which, ez I said, I want tobe a world, right smart like this, only a heap bigger an' finer. But Idon't mean to go thar for seventy or eighty years yet, 'cause I want togive this earth a real fa'r trial. "

In which the shiftless one had his wish, as he lived to be a hundred, and his eyes were clear and his voice strong to the last. 

"That's a mighty fine picture you draw, Sol, " said Long Jim, appreciatively, "an' if you're up thar settin' on the bank uv a riverthat looks plum' like runnin' silver with green trees a thousand feethigh risin' behind you, you ketchin' fish thirty or forty feet long, an'ef you should happen to turn an' look 'roun' an' see comin' toward you along-legged ornery feller that you used ter cahoot with in thewilderness on both sides uv the Ohio, would you rise up, drop them bigfish an' your fishin' pole, come straight between the trunks uv themgreen trees a thousand feet high toward that ornery lookin' long-leggedfeller what wuz new to the place, stretch out your right hand to him, an' say: 'Welcome to Heaven Long Jim Hart. Come right in an' makeyourself to home, 'cause you're goin' to live with us a million an' abillion years, an' all the rest uv the time thar is. Your fishin' poleis down thar by the bank. I've been savin' it fur you. Henry is 'bout amile farther up the stream pullin' in a whale two hundred feet long thathe's had his eye on fur some time. Paul is down thar, settin' under abush readin' a book uv gold letters on silver paper with diamonds set inthe cover, an' Tom Ross is on that hill, 'way acrost yonder, lookin' ata herd uv buff'ler fifty miles wide which hez been travelin' past fur amonth. ' Now, Sol, would you give your old pardner that kind uv awelcome?"

"Would I Jim? You know I would. I'd blow on a trumpet an' call all theboys straight from what they wuz doin' to come a-runnin' an' meet you. An' I'd interduce you to all our new friends. An' I'd show you the besthuntin' grounds an' the finest fishin' holes right away, an' when nightcome all o' us with our new friends would hev a big feast an'celebration over you. An' all o' us thar in Heaven that knowed you, Jim, would be right proud o' you. "

"I knowed that you'd take me right in, Sol, " said Long Jim, as theyshook hands over the future. 

"Now for the night, " said Henry. "We must be at least fifteen miles westof the great trail, and as the woods are so full of game I don't thinkany of the Indian hunters will find it necessary to come this far forit. So, I propose that we have a little warm food ourselves. We need itby this time. "

"That's the talk, " said Long Jim. "It would be jest a taste uv Heavenright now. What wuz you thinkin' to hev fur our supper table, Henry?"

"I had an idea that all of us would like turkey. I've been noticingturkey signs for some time, and there, Jim! don't you hear thatgobbling away off to the right? They're settling into the trees for thenight, and it should be easy to get a couple. Just now I think turkeywould be the finest thing in the world. "

"I've a mighty strong hankerin' after turkey myself an' the way I kincook turkey is a caution to sinners. Ever since you said turkeys a halfminute ago, Henry, I'm famishin'. Bring on your turkey, the cook'sready. "

"Me an' Sol will go an' git 'em, " said Tom Ross, and the two slippedaway in the twilight toward the sound of the gobbling. Presently theyheard two shots and then the hunters came back, each with a fat bird. Selecting a dip from which flames could be seen only a little distance, they dressed the turkeys in frontier fashion and Long Jim, his culinarypride strong within him, cooked them to a turn. Then they ate long, andwere unashamed. 

"Jest a touch o' Heaven right now, " said Shif'less Sol, in tones of deepconviction. "This is the healthy life here, an' it makes a feller jumpwhen he oughter jump. Me bein' a naterally lazy man, I'd be likely tolay 'roun' an' eat myself so fat I couldn't walk, but the Injun's don'tgive me time. Jest when I begin to put on flesh they take after me an' Irun it all off. You wouldn't think it, but Injuns has their uses, arterall. "

"Keep people from comin' out here too fast, " said Ross. "Think they wuzput in the wilderness to save it, an' they will, long after my time. "

"Why, Tom, " said the shiftless one, "you're becomin' real talkative. Ithink that's the longest speech I ever heard you make. "

"Tom is certainly growing garrulous, " said Paul. 

Silent Tom blushed despite his tan. 

"I'm through, anyway, " he said. 

"Guess Sol thought Tom wuz takin' part uv his time, " said Long Jim Hart. "That's why he spoke up. Sol claims all uv his own time fur talkin', alluv Tom's, an' all the rest that may be left over by any uv us. "

"Mighty little you ever leave over, Jim, " said the shiftless one. "Besides, there's a dif'rence between you an' me talkin'. When I talkI'm always sayin' somethin'; but yourn is jest a runnin' gabble, likethe flowin' uv a creek, always the same an' meanin' nothin'. "

"Well, " said Henry, "we've had plenty of good fat turkey, an' it wascooked mighty fine, in Long Jim's best style, but there's some left, which I think we'd better pack in our knapsacks for tomorrow. "

After putting away the food for a later need, they carefully smotheredthe last coal of the fire, and then, as a precaution, should the flamehave been seen by any wandering warrior, they moved a mile farther westand sat down in a little hollow where they remained until well pastmidnight, all sleeping save a guard of one, turns being taken. About twoo'clock in the morning they started again, traveling at great speed, anddid not stop until noon of the next day. They delayed only a half-hourfor food, water and rest, and pressed on at the long, running walk ofthe border that put miles behind them at an amazing rate. 

Late in the afternoon they came to high hills clothed, like the rest ofthe country, in magnificent forest, and, while the others watched below, Henry climbed the tallest tree that he could find. The sun wasdeclining, but the east was yet brilliant, and he saw faintly across ita dark line that he had expected. The great Indian camp surely lay atthe base of the dark line, and when he descended he and his comradesbegan to curve toward the east. 

Morning would find them ahead of the Indian army, and between it and thesettlements. Every one of them felt a thrill of excitement, evenelation. The forging of the new link in the chain was proceeding well, and brilliant success gives wonderful encouragement. They did not knowjust what they would do next, but four trusted to the intuition andprowess of their daring young leader. 

Their minds were at such high tension that they did not sleep much thatnight, and when dawn came again they had traveled so far that theycalculated they had arrived at the right point of the circle. It was aquestion, however, that could be decided easily. Henry again climbed thehighest tree in the vicinity, and looking toward the north now saw thesmoke of the same campfire apparently three or four miles away. 

"Are they thar, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol, as he climbed down. 

"Yes. They haven't moved since sundown yesterday, and I judge they're inno hurry. I fancy the warriors suppose the cannon can easily securethem the victory, no matter how much we may prepare against them, andthe Englishmen are probably weary from hard traveling through theforest. "

"I guess all that's true, but they'll shorely start in an hour or twoanyway, an' then what are we to do to stop 'em?"

The eyes of the great youth filled with sudden fire. 

"We're five against a thousand, " he said. "We've rifles against cannon, but we can do something. We're coming to the edge of a country that Iknow. Three miles to the south of us is a river or deep creek that can'tbe waded, except at a place between two hills. The Indians know thatford, and so they'll make for it. We'll be on the other side, and we'llhold the ford. "

The others stared at him. 

"Henry, " exclaimed Paul, "you just said that we were five against athousand, and rifles against cannon, now how could we possibly hold theford against such an army? Besides, the Indian warriors, by scores, could swim the river elsewhere, and flank us on either side. "

"I don't mean that we shall hold it a long time. We'll make 'em givebattle, stop 'em for a while, and then, when the flankers swim thestream we'll be gone. We will not let ourselves be seen, and they maythink it a large force, retiring merely because their own army islarger. "

"That is, we've got to give 'em a skeer, " said Long Jim. 

"Exactly. We want to make those Indians think that Manitou is against'em. We want to sow in their minds the seeds of fear and superstition. You know how they're influenced by omens and things they can'tunderstand. If we give 'em a brisk little fight at the ford, and thenget away, unseen, it will set them to doubting, and plant in their mindsthe fear of ambush by large forces. "

The face of the shiftless one shone. 

"That suits me clean down to the ground, " he said. "It's wile an'stratagem which I like. Lead on to this ford, Henry, an' we'll lay downan' rest beside it till they come up. "

The others showed as much enthusiasm, and, carefully hiding their trail, they reached the ford, which they found highly favorable to theirpurpose. Save here the banks of the river were high on both sides, andthe gorge, through which the red army with its cannon and wagons mustapproach the ford, was not more than twenty feet wide. On both banks theforest was unbroken and there were many dense thickets. 

"This place was shorely made fur an ambush, " said the shiftless one asthey waded across. "Ef we had a hundred good men we could turn backtheir whole army for good, 'cause they can't flank so easy, ez them highbanks on both sides run ez fur ez I kin see. "

"And here is the thicket in which we can lie, " said Paul. 

"They can't catch a glimpse of us from the other side. They can see onlythe fire and smoke of our rifles, " said Henry. 

"An' since we're here in our nest, " said Shif'less Sol, "we'd better setstill an' rest till they come up. I 'low we'll need all our strength an'nerves then. "

CHAPTER XIV

HOLDING THE FORD

The five lay down in the thicket, completely hidden themselves, butcommanding a splendid view of the deep, clear stream and the gorge bywhich the red army must approach. They were calm in manner, neverthelesstheir hearts were beating high. The sunshine was so brilliant that everyobject was distinct far up the gorge, and Henry felt sure the Indianarmy would come into sight, while it was yet beyond rifle shot. Nor werethe leaders likely to send forward scouts and skirmishers, as theyapprehended no danger in front. It was on their flank or rear that theyexpected the five to hang. 

The five did not speak and the silence was complete, save for the usualnoises of the forest. Birds chattered overhead. Little animals rustlednow and then in the thickets, fish leaped in the river, but there was nosound to indicate that man was near. They were not nervous nor restless. Inured to danger, waiting had become almost a mechanical act, and theywere able to lie perfectly still, however long the time might be. 

They saw the column of smoke fade, and then go quite away. There wasnot a fleck on the sky of blazing blue, and Henry knew that the red armyhad broken up its camp, and was on the march. He had a sudden fear thatthey might send ahead scouts and skirmishers, but reflection brought himback to his original belief that they would not do so, as they would notforesee the transference of the five to their front. 

The hours passed and Shif'less Sol, who had been lying flat upon theground, raised his head. 

"I hear wheels, " he said laconically. 

Henry put his own ear to the ground. 

"So do I, " he said. 

"Wheels of cannon and wagons. "

"Beyond a doubt. "

"Them that we're lookin' fur. "

"There are no others in the wilderness. Long Jim, how's your voicetoday?"

"Never better, Henry. I could talk to a man a mile away. Why?"

"Because I may want you to give out some terrible yells soon, the whiteman's yells, understand, and, as you give 'em, you're to skip about likelightning from place to place. This is a case in which one man must seemto be a hundred. "

"I understand, Henry, " said Long Jim proudly, tapping his chest. "Ireckon I'm to be the figger in this fight, an', bein' ez so much isdependin' on me, I won't fail. My lungs wuz never better. I've had a newleather linin' put inside 'em, an' they kin work without stoppin', dayan' night, fur a week. "

"All right, Jim. Do your proudest, and the others are to help, butyou're to be the yell leader, and the better you yell the better it willbe for all of us. "

"I'll be right thar Henry. "

"They'll soon be in sight, " said the shiftless one, who had not takenhis ear from the ground. "I kin hear the wheels a-creakin' anda-creakin', louder an' louder. "

"And they have not sent forward anybody to spy out the country, which isbetter for us, " said Henry. 

"An' now I kin hear somethin' else, " said Shif'less Sol. "They'resingin' a war song which ain't usual when so many are on the march, butthey reckon they've got at least two or three hundred white scalps ezgood ez took already. "

Now the ferocious chant, sung in Shawnee, which they understood, cameplainly to them. It was a song of anticipation, and when they translatedit to themselves it ran something like this:

 To the land of Kaintuckee we have come, Wielders of the bow and the tomahawk, we, Shawnee and Miami, Wyandot and Delaware Matchless in march and battle we come, Great is Manitou. 

 The white man will fall like leaves before us, His houses to the fire we will give, All shall perish under our mighty blows, And the forest will grow over his home, Great is Manitou. 

It went on in other verses, rising above the creak of the wheels, afierce, droning chant that drummed upon the nerves and inflamed thebrain. Much of its power came from its persistency upon the same beatand theme, until the great chorus became like the howling of thousandsof wolves for their prey. 

"Ef I couldn't feel my scalp on my head right now, " said Shif'less Sol, "I'd be shore that one o' them demons out thar had it in his hands, whirlin' it 'roun' an' 'roun'. "

"Guess I won't need nothin' more to make me yell my very darndest, " saidLong Jim. 

"They'll be in sight in a minute or two, " said Paul, "and I'm trulythankful that we have ground so favorable. We wouldn't have a chancewithout it. "

"That's so, " said Henry, "and we must never lose our heads for a minute. If we do we're gone. "

"Anyway, surprise will be a help to us, " said Shif'less Sol, "'cause allthe signs show that they don't dream we're here. But jest to ourselves, boys, I'm mighty glad that river is between us an' them. Did you everhear sech a war chant? Why, it freezes me right into the marrer!"

"They've gone mad with triumph before they've won it, " said Henry. "Theyintoxicate themselves with singing and dancing. Look at those fellows onthe outer edges of the line jumping up and down. "

"An' did you ever see savages more loaded down with war paint?" saidLong Jim. "Why, I think it must be an inch thick on the faces uv themdancers an' jumpers!"

The forest, in truth, had beheld few sights as sinister as this Indianarmy advancing, keeping step to its ferocious chant. Henry saw YellowPanther come into view, and then Red Eagle, and then the rumbling gunswith their gunners, and then Blackstaffe and Wyatt, and then the EnglishColonel, Alloway, his second, Cartwright, and three or four moreofficers riding. After them came the caissons and the other ammunitionwagons, and then more warriors, hundreds and hundreds, joining in thatferocious whining chorus. The red coats of the British officers lent astrange and incongruous touch to this scene of forest and savagewarfare. 

"I don't like to shoot a white man from ambush, " said Henry, "but I'd beperfectly willing to send a bullet through the head of that ColonelAlloway. It would help our people--save them, perhaps--because withoutthe British the Indians can't use the guns. "

"You won't git a chance, Henry, " said Long Jim. "He's too fur back. Thewarriors will come into range fust, an' we'll hev to open fire on 'em. Idon't see no signs of flankers turnin' off from the crossin'. "

"No, they won't send 'em up such high hills when they don't think anyenemies are near. Make ready, boys. The foremost warriors are now inrange. I hate to shoot at red men, even, from ambush, but it has to bedone. "

Five muzzles were thrust forward in the bushes, and five pairs of keeneyes looked down the sights, as on came the chanting army, painted andhorrible. The vanguard would soon be at the water. 

"Be sure you don't miss, " said Henry. "The more deadly our first blowthe better chance we have to win. "

Every one of the five concentrated all his faculties upon his target. Hesaw or thought of nothing but the painted chest or face upon which hedirected his aim. 

"Ready, " said Henry. 

Five gunlocks clicked. 

"Fire!"

Five triggers were pulled, and five streams of flame darted from thebushes. Never had the five aimed bullets to better purpose, since theirtargets, broad and close, lay before them. Five warriors flung up theirarms, and uttering the death howl, fell. A tremendous yell of surpriseand rage arose from the Indians, and they crowded back upon one another, appalled, for the moment, by the sudden and deadly messengers of death. 

"Now, Jim, now!" exclaimed Henry. "Yell as if you were a thousand men. Run up and down in the bushes that your yells may come from point topoint! Shout, man, shout!"

Long Jim needed no command. His tremendous battle cry burst out, as herushed back and forth in the thickets. It was some such shout as the oldVikings must have uttered, and it pealed out like the regular beat of abig drum. It expressed challenge and defiance, victory and revenge, and, to the ears of the red hearers on the other shores, the thickets seemedfairly to swarm with fighting men. The four added their efforts tothose of Long Jim, but their cries formed merely a chorus, above whichswelled the thundering note of the forest Stentor. 

The cords in Long Jim's throat swelled, his cheeks bulged, his eyesstood out, but his voice never broke. Without failing for an instant, itpoured forth its mighty stream of challenge and invective, and theothers, as they reloaded in all haste, looked at him with pride. It wastheir own Long Jim, he of the long legs and long throat, who had mademany a great effort before, but none like this. 

The warriors had recoiled still further. Both Yellow Panther and RedEagle drew back in the ruck. The singing of the warriors ceased, and, with it, ceased the creaking wheels of the cannon and ammunition wagons. Henry saw Alloway and his officers stop, and he looked once more at thecolonel, but it was too far for certainty, and they must not sendforward any shots that missed. In front of the recoiling army lay fivedark figures on the green, and they must continue with the deadliness oftheir fire to create the impression of great numbers. 

"Now boys!" exclaimed Henry. "Again! Steady and true!"

Five rifles cracked together and Long Jim, who had ceased only longenough to aim and pull the trigger resumed his terrific chant. This timethree of the warriors were slain and two wounded. Henry, a true general, quickly changed the position of his army, Long Jim still shouting, andno missile from the fire poured out now by the Indians, touching them. Afew of the bullets entered the portion of the thicket where they hadcrouched, but the rest fell short. A great flight of arrows was sentforth, but the distance was too great for them, and with most of thebullets they fell splashing into the water. 

"Now, boys, " said Henry, "creep back and forth, and pick your warriors!There's plenty for all of us, and nobody need be jealous! If you can getany of the white gunners so much the better!"

And they responded with all the fire and skill and courage belonging tosuch forest knights, knights as brave and true and unselfish as any thatever trod the earth. Five against a thousand! Young forest runnersagainst an army! Rifles against cannon they yet held the ford and flungterror into the hearts of their foes! Before that rain of death, andthat thundering chorus of mighty voices, coming from many points, thewarriors recoiled yet farther, and were stricken with superstitiousdread by the sudden and mortal attack from an invisible foe. Even theface of Alloway, and he was brave enough, blanched. This was somethingbeyond his reckoning, something of which no man would have dreamed, hewas not used to the vast and sinister forest--sinister to him--and theinvisible stroke appalled him. His courage soon came back, but he cursedfiercely under his breath, when he saw one of his gunners go down, shotthrough the heart, and a moment later another fall with a bullet throughhis head. Like the Indians, he saw a numerous and powerful foe on theopposite bank, and the ford was narrow and steep. 

"They're drawing back for a conference, " said Henry. "I believe we'vemade 'em think we're not a hundred only, but two hundred. Long Jim, yourtitle as king of yellers is yours without dispute as long as you live. You've done magnificent work. "

"I think I did shout a little, " said Long Jim triumphantly, "but Henry, I'm just plum' empty uv air. Every bit uv it hez been drawed up from mylungs, an' even from the end uv ev'ry toe an' finger. "

"Well, sit down there, Jim, and refill yourself, because we may haveneed of your lungs again. There's no better air than that we find in theforest here, and you'll have plenty of time, as they won't be throughwith that conference yet for at least five minutes. "

Henry saw the savages gathered in a great mass, well out of rifle shot, and, on a little hill back of them, the British officers, the renegadesand the chiefs were talking earnestly. Beyond all possible doubt theyhad agreed that they were confronted by a formidable force. The proof ofit lay before them. Valiant warriors had fallen and the two slaingunners could not be replaced. Henry knew that it was a bitter surpriseto them, and they must think that the settlers, hearing of the advanceagainst them, had sent forward all the men they could raise to form theambush at the ford. 

He was full of elation, and so were his comrades. Five against an army!and the five had stopped the army! Rifles against cannon. And the rifleshad stopped the cannon! The two slain gunners were proof of an ideaalready in his mind, and now that idea enlarged automatically. Theywould continue to pick off the gunners. What were a few warriors slainout of a mass of a thousand! But there were only seven or eight gunners, no, five or six, because two were gone already! He whispered to hiscomrades to shoot a gunner whenever there was a chance, and they noddedin approval. 

The conferences lasted some time, and the gorge in front of them wasfilled with savages, a great mass of men with tufted scalp locks, somebare to the waist, others wrapped in gaudy blue or red or yellowblankets, a restless, shifting mass, upon which the sun poured brilliantrays, lighting up the savage faces as if they were shot with fire. Itwas a strange scene, buried in the green wood, one of the unknownbattles that marked the march of the republic from sea to sea. As thefive stared from their covert at the savage army the vivid colors werelike those of shifting glass in a kaleidoscope. The whole began to seemunreal and fantastic, the stuff of dreams. To Paul, in particular, whosehead held so much of the past, it was like some old tale out of theOdyssey, with Ulysses and his comrades confronting a new danger inbarbaric lands. 

"They're about to do somethin', " whispered the shiftless one. 

"So I think, " said Henry. 

The British officers, the renegades and the chiefs walked down from themound. Among the savages arose a low hum which quickly swelled into achant, and Henry interpreted it as a sign that they now expectedvictory. How! He wondered, but he did not wonder long. 

"They're goin' to use the cannon, " said the shiftless one. 

It seemed strange to Henry that he had not thought of this before, butnow that the danger was imminent his mind met it with ready resource. 

"We must crawl into a hole, boys, " he said, "and stay there while thecannon balls pass over us. "

"Here's a gully, " said the shiftless one, "and it will hold us all. "

"The rest of you go into it, " said Henry. "I've changed my mind aboutmyself. "

"What are you thinking of?" asked Paul. 

"Do you see that big tree growing further down the slope, a littlecloser to the river. It's hidden to the boughs, by the bushes growingthick all around it, and above them the foliage of the tree is so heavythat nobody twenty yards away could see into it. I mean to climb upthere and make it hot for those gunners. This rifle of mine will reachpretty far. "

Henry had a beautiful long-barreled weapon, and the others, althoughknowing the danger, could say nothing in opposition. 

"Suppose we let them fire two or three shots first, " said Henry. "Then, as we make no reply, they may bring the cannon up closer. "

Again four heads nodded in approval, and Henry, creeping forward throughthe bushes, climbed rapidly up the tree. Here, hidden as if by walls, henevertheless saw well. The gunners, helped by the Indians, were bringingforward both of the cannon. They were fine bronze guns, glistening inthe sun, and their wide mouths looked threatening. Spongers, rammersand the real gunners all stood by. 

Henry saw a twelve pound ball hoisted into each bronze throat, and then, as the gunners did their work, each mass of metal crashed through thethickets, the savages yelling in delight at the thunderous reports thatcame back, in echo after echo. There was no reply from the thickets, andthey began to reload for the second discharge. Then Henry marked thegunner at the cannon on his right, and slowly the long muzzle of thebeautiful blue steel barrel rose until it bore directly upon the man. Paul, from his position, could see Henry in the tree, and he was sorryfor the gunner who was about to die there in the forest, four thousandmiles from his native land, a good-natured soldier, perhaps, but sent byhis superiors on an errand, the full character of which he did notunderstand. 

The sponger and rammer did their work. The shot was fired and the gunnerleaned forward, looking eagerly at the dense woods and thickets to seewhat damage his shot had done. No reply came save a rifle shot, and thegunner fell dead upon his gun. Paul in the thickets shivered a little, but he knew that it must be done. 

The allied tribes again gave forth a whoop of rage and chagrin, andHenry from his place in the tree clearly saw Alloway, waving his swordand encouraging them. "If he would only come a little nearer, " grimlythought the young forest runner, as he reloaded rapidly, "he might bythe loss of his own life save the lives of many others. " But Allowaykept back. 

They were now making ready the second cannon, but as the rammer steppedforward the deadly marksman in the tree reached him with his bullet, and, falling beside his gun, he lay quite still. Once more the thousandvoices of the warriors joined in a terrible cry of wrath and menace, butthe young forester reloaded calmly, and the sponger, smitten down, fellbeside his comrade. 

Long Jim and the shiftless one, who lay side by side, gazed at the treein silent admiration. They knew the ability of their comrade as asharpshooter, but never before had he been so deadly at such long range. 

"They'll hev to draw them cannon back, " whispered Shif'less Sol, "orhe'll pick off every one o' the white men that manage 'em. "

"Then I hope they won't draw 'em back, " said Long Jim. 

But Alloway and the chiefs saw the necessity of taking the gun beyondrifle range, and they withdrew them quickly, although not quickly enoughto keep another of the white men from receiving a painful wound. Thesavages discharged a volley from their rifles and muskets, and flightsof arrows were sent into the thickets, but arrows and bullets alike fellshort. Many of the arrows merely reached the river, and Paul found acurious pleasure in watching these feathered messengers fly through theair, and then shoot downward into the water, leaving bubbles to tell fora moment where they had gone. 

"They're goin' to shoot them cannon ag'in, " said Shif'less Sol, "butthey're puttin' a different kind o' ammunition in 'em. "

"It's grape, " said Paul. 

"What's grape?" asked Long Jim. 

"All kinds of metal, slugs and suchlike, that scatter. "

"Like a handful uv buckshot, only bigger an' more uv it. "

"That describes it. "

"Then it 'pears to me that we'd better back water a lot, an' give allthem grape a chance to bust an' fly whar we ain't. "

"Words of wisdom, Jim, " said Henry, "and we'd better get behind trees, too. "

"An' good big ones, " said Shif'less Sol. "Ef I've got an oak seven feetthrough in front o' me they kin go on with thar fireworks. "

They retreated hastily and lay down behind the great trunks, none toosoon either, as the cannon roared and the grapeshot whistled all aboutthem, cutting off twigs and leaves and ploughing the earth. 

"That shorely is dang'rous business--fur us, " said Shif'less Sol. "I'mglad they didn't start with it. It's like a swarm o' iron bees flyin' atyou, an' ef you ain't holed up some o' 'em is bound to hit you. "

"Back there!" exclaimed Henry to the shiftless one, who was peepingbehind his oak, "they're about to fire the second gun!"

The discharge of grapeshot again fell in the thicket, but it hurt noone, and the five did not reply. Two more shots were fired, doing greatdamage to the forest at that spot, but none of the five. Then came apause. 

"The white men and the chiefs have gone into consultation again, "announced Henry. 

"Why haven't they sent out flankers to cross the river?" said Paul. "Ihaven't seen a single warrior leave the main band. "

"They've been confident that the cannon would do the work, " repliedHenry, "and besides, the warriors don't like those high banks. Now youmustn't forget, either, that they think we're a big force here. "

"But they'll come to that, " said the shiftless one. "They don't darecharge down that narrow gorge, on through the river, an' up the hillag'inst us. Sooner or later, warriors will cross the stream out o' oursight, both above an' below us, an' that's just what we've got to lookout fur. "

"Right you are, Sol, " said Henry, "but I don't think they will do it fora while. They'd like to force the passage without waste of time and goright ahead with their march. "

Several more charges of grape were fired into the thickets, and leavesand twigs again rained down, but the five, sheltered well, remaineduntouched by the fragments of hissing metal. Then the guns relapsed intosilence. 

"Likely the redcoat colonel has ordered 'em to stop shooting, " saidPaul. "He won't want 'em to waste their ammunition here, but to save itfor the palisades of our settlements. "

"Sounds most probable, " said Henry. "They can't get any new supply ofgunpowder and cannon balls and grapeshot, in these woods. "

"What'll they do now?" asked Tom Ross. 

"I don't know, " replied Henry. 

"I wish I had one uv them spyglasses I saw back east, when I wuz a boy, "said Long Jim. 

"What's a spyglass?" asked Shif'less Sol. 

"It's two magnifyin' glasses in short tubes fastened side by side, whatyou put to your eye an' then you bring things near to you an' see 'embig. "

"Then I wish I had one too, Jim. I'd like to see the face o' thatBritish colonel. I know that the blood hez all run to his head an' thathe's hoppin' mad. Them reg'lar army orficers ain't never much good inthe woods. I've heard how Braddock had all his forces cut plum' topieces by a heap smaller number o' warriors, 'cause he wouldn't use ourforest ways. An' I'd like through them glasses to see the face o'Braxton Wyatt too, 'cause I know he's turned blue with rage, an' I'dlike to hear him grindin' his teeth, 'cause I know he's grindin' 'emhard, and Blackstaffe must be grindin' in time with him too. An' I'dlike to see them two chiefs, Yellow Panther an' Red Eagle so mad thatthey're pullin' away at their scalp locks, fit to pull them clean out o'their heads. "

"Since we ain't got any spyglass, " said Long Jim, with a sigh, "we'vegot to imagine a lot uv it, but I've got a fine an' pow'ful imagination, an' so hev you, Sol Hyde. "

"Yes, I'm seein' the things I want to see. It's cur'us how you kin dothat sometimes, ef you want to hard enough. "

"I think, " said Henry, "that they're going to try the flankers now. Ican see the leaders talking to warriors whom they've called to 'em. "

"And does that mean that it's time fur us to light out?" asked Shif'lessSol. 

"Not yet. The banks on both sides are high and steep for a longdistance, and we can see anyone who tries to pass. We must spread out. Long Jim, our great yeller, the prize yeller of the world, we must leavehere, and, if any of us bring down any warrior who tries to cross, hemust yell even better than he did before. Stretch those leather lungs ofyours, Long Jim, as if you were a pair of bellows. "

"You kin depend on me, " replied Long Jim complacently. "I'm one that'salways tryin' to do better than he did before. Ef I've yelled so I couldbe heard a mile then I want to yell the next time so I kin be heard amile an' a half. "

Henry and Paul went upstream and Shif'less Sol and Silent Tom downstream, taking good care to keep hidden from the very best eyes in thesavage army. It was not merely the youthful general's object to make adelay at the ford--that in itself was of secondary importance--but hemust turn into a cloud the veil of fear and superstition that he knewalready enveloped the savage army. They must be smitten by unknown andmysterious terrors. The five must make the medicine men who were surelywith them believe that all the omens were bad. Henry, although the word"psychology" was strange to him, knew the power of fear, and he meant toconcentrate all the skill of the five upon its increase. He felt thatalready many doubters must be in the ranks of the red and superstitiousarmy. 

"Paul, " he said, when they had gone three or four hundred yards, "youstay here, and if you see any warriors trying to cross the stream takeyour best aim. I'm going a little farther, and I'll do the same. Withour great advantages in position we should be able to drive back anattack, unless they go a very long distance to make the crossing. "

"I'll do my best, " said Paul, and Henry went about three hundred yardsfarther, lying close in a clump of laurel, where he could command aperfect view of the opposite shore, noticeable there because of aconsiderable dip. It was just such a place as the flanking warriorswould naturally seek, because the crossing would be easier, and heintended to repel them himself. 

He lay quite still for a quarter of an hour. Nothing stirred in theforest on the other shore, but he had expected to wait. The Indians, believing that a formidable force opposed them, would be slow andcautious in their advance. So he contained himself in patience, as helay with the slender muzzle of his rifle thrust forward. 

Finally, he saw the bushes on the opposite shore move, and a face, painted and ghastly, was thrust out. Others followed, a half-dozenaltogether, and Henry saw them surveying the river and examining hisown shore. The muzzle of his rifle moved forward a few inches more, buthe knew that it would be an easy shot. 

The leader of the warriors presently began to climb down the bank. Hewas a stalwart fellow and Henry knew by his paint that he was a Miami. Again the great youth was loath to fire from ambush, but a desperateneed drives scruples away, and the rifle muzzle, thrusting forward yetan inch or two more, bore directly upon the Indian's heart. 

The man was halfway down the bank, about thirty feet high at that point, when Henry pulled the trigger. Then the Indian uttered his death yell, plunged forward and fell head foremost into the stream. His body shotfrom sight in the water, came up, floated a moment or two with thecurrent and then sank back again. The other warriors, appalled, climbedback hastily, while from the bushes that fronted the ford below came aseries of triumphant and tremendous shouts, as Long Jim, hearing theshot, poured forth all the glory of his voice. 

Truly he surpassed himself. His earlier performance was dimmed by hislater. The thickets, where he ranged back and forth, shouting histriumphant calls, seemed to be full of armed men. His voice sank amoment and then came the report of a shot down the stream, followed bythe death cry. Long Jim knew that it was Shif'less Sol or Silent Tom whohad pulled the fatal trigger and he began to sing of that triumph also. Clear and full his voice came once more, moving rapidly from point topoint, and Henry in his covert laughed to himself, and withsatisfaction, at the long man's energy and success. 

The great youth did not fail to watch the opposite shore, quite surethat the party would not retire with the loss of a single warrior, butwould make an attempt elsewhere. His eyes continually searched thethickets, but they were so dense that they disclosed nothing. Then hemoved slowly up the stream, believing that they would go farther for thesecond trial, and he was rewarded by the glimpse of a feather among thetrees. That feather, he knew was interwoven with a scalp lock, and, asthe slope of the bank there was gradual, he was sure that they werecoming. 

It seemed to Henry that verily the fates fought for him. He knew thatthey were going to try the crossing there, and they would be easy preyto the concealed marksman. Even as he knelt he heard Long Jim's voiceraised again in his mighty song of triumph, and although he could nothear the shot now, he was certain that the rifle of Silent Tom orShif'less Sol had found another victim. So they, too, were guarding theford well, and he smiled to himself at the courage and skill of theinvincible pair. 

He saw another scalp lock appear, then another and another, until theywere eight in all. The warriors remained for several minutes partlyhidden, scanning the opposite shore, and then one only emerged into fullview, as if he were feeling the way for the others. Henry changed histactics, and, instead of waiting for the man to begin the descent of thecliff, fired at once. The warrior fell back in the bushes, where hisbody lay hidden, but the others set up the death cry, and Henry was sosure that they would not try the crossing again soon--at least notyet--that he went back to Paul's covert, and the two returned to LongJim. Shif'less Sol and Silent Tom were called in and the leader said:

"I think we've done all we can here. We've created the impression of agreat force to hold the ford. We've also made them think it can stretchfar enough to watch its wings. Four warriors just fallen prove that. They'll probably send scouts miles up and down the stream to cross, andthen hunt us out, but that'll take time, until night at least, and maybethey won't know positively until morning, because scouting in thethickets in the face of an enemy is a dangerous business. So, I proposethat we use the advantage we've gained. "

"In what way?" asked Paul. 

"We'll go now. We don't want 'em to find out how few we are, and wedon't want 'em to learn, either, that we're we. "

"That is, they must continue to think that we're behind 'em or on theirflanks, and that this is another and larger force in their front. "

"That's the idea. What say you?"

"I'm for it, " said Paul. 

"Votin' ez a high private I say too, let's leg it from here, " said LongJim. 

"The jedgment o' our leader is so sound that thar ain't nothin' more tosay, " quoth the shiftless one. 

"Let's go, " said Silent Tom. 

Then the little band, five against a thousand, rifles against cannon, that had victoriously held the ford, stole away with soundless treadthrough the greenwood. But they did not travel southward long. Whendarkness came they turned toward the east, and traveling many miles, made camp as they had done once before on a little island in a swamp, which they reached by walking on the dead and fallen trees of manyyears. There when they sat down under the trees they could not refrainfrom a few words of triumph and mutual congratulation, because anotherand most important link in the chain had been forged with brilliantsuccess. 

"Although it's dark and it's seven or eight miles away, " said Shif'lessSol, "I kin see that Indian army now, a-settin' before the ford, an'wonderin' how it's goin' to git across. "

"An' I kin hear that savage army now, movin' up an' down, restlesslike, " said Long Jim. "I kin hear them redcoat officers, an' themrenegades, an' them Injun chiefs, grindin' thar upper teeth an' tharlower teeth together so hard with anger that they won't be able to eatin the mornin'. "

"And I can see their wrath and chagrin tomorrow, when their scouts tellthem no enemy is there, " said Paul. "I can tell now how the whiteleaders and the red leaders will rage, and how they will wonder who themen were that held them. "

"And I can read their minds ahead, " said Henry. "The five of us willbecome not a hundred, but two hundred, and every pair of our hands willcarry forty rifles. "

"We've fooled 'em well, " said Silent Tom, tersely. 

"And now to sleep, " said Henry, "because we must begin again in themorning. "

Soon the five slept the deep sleep that comes after success. 

CHAPTER XV

THE GREAT CULMINATION

It could almost be said of them, so sensitive were they to sound or evento a noiseless presence, that usually when sleeping they were yet awake, that, like the wild animals living in the same forest, warnings came tothem on the wind itself, and that, though the senses were steeped inslumber, the sentinel mind was yet there. But this morning it was notso. They slept, not like forest runners, who breathe danger every hour, both day and night, but like city dwellers, secure against any foe. 

It was Silent Tom who awoke first, to find the day advanced, the sunlike a gigantic shield of red and gold in the western heavens, and thewind of spring blowing through the green foliage. He shook himself, somewhat like a big, honest dog, and not awakening the others, walked tothe edge of their island in the swamp, the firm land not being more thanthirty feet across. 

But on this oasis the trees grew large and close and no one on themainland beyond the swamp could have seen human beings there. The swampwas chiefly the result of a low region flooded by heavy spring rains, and in the summer would probably be as dry and firm as the oasis itself. But, for the present, it was what the pioneers called "drowned lands"and was an effective barrier against any ordinary march. 

Silent Tom looked toward the north, and saw a coil of smoke against thebrilliant blue of the sky. It was very far away, but he was quite surethat it came from the Indian camp, and its location indicated that theyhad not yet crossed the river. He felt intense satisfaction, but he didnot even chuckle in his throat, after the border fashion. He had notbeen named Silent Tom for nothing. He was the oldest of the five, several years older than Long Jim, who was next in point of age, and hewas often called Old Tom Ross, although in reality the "old" in thatcase was like the "old" that one college boy uses when he calls another"old fellow. "

But if Silent Tom did not talk much he thought and felt a very greatdeal. The love of the wilderness was keen in him. Elsewhere he wouldhave been like a lion in an iron-barred cage. And, like the rest of thefive, he would have sacrificed his life to protect those littlesettlements of his own kind to the south. It has been said that usuallywhen the five slept they were yet almost awake, but this morning whenSilent Tom was awake he was also dreaming. He was dreaming of the greattriumph that they had won on the preceding day: Five against a thousand!Rifles against cannon! A triumph not alone of valor but of intellect, ofwiles and stratagems, of tactics and management!

He did not possess, in the same great degree, the gift of imaginationwhich illuminated so nobly the minds and souls of Henry and Paul and theshiftless one, but he felt deeply, nevertheless. Matter-of-fact andpractical, he recognized, that they had won an extraordinary victory, toattempt which would not even have entered his own mind, and knowing it, he not only gave all credit to those who had conceived it, but admiredthem yet the more. He was beginning to realize now that the impossiblewas nearly always the possible. 

Life looked very good to Tom Ross that day. It was bright, keen and fullof zest. A deeply religious man, in his way, he felt that the forest, the river, and all the unseen spirits of earth and air had worked forthem. The birds singing so joyously among the boughs sang not alone forthemselves, but also for his four comrades who slept and for him also. 

He listened awhile, crossed the swamp on the fallen trees, scouted alittle and then came back, quite sure that no warrior was within milesof them, as they were marching in another direction, and then returnedto the oasis. The four still slept the sleep of the just and victorious. Then Tom, the cunning, smiled to himself, and came very near to utteringa deep-throated chuckle. 

Opening his little knapsack, he took out a cord of fishing line, with ahook, which, with wisdom, he always carried. He tied the line on the endof a stick, and, then going eastward from the oasis, he walked acrossthe fallen or drifted trees until he came to the permanent channel of acreek, into which the flood waters drained. There he dropped his hook, having previously procured bait, worms found under a stone. 

Doubtless no hook had ever been sunk in those waters before, and thefish leaped to the bait. In fifteen minutes he had half a dozen finefellows, which he deftly cleaned with his hunting knife. Then hereturned, soft-footed, to the island. The four, as he wished, stillslept. After all, he did have imagination and, a feeling for surprise, and the dramatic. Had his comrades awakened then, before hispreparations were complete, it would have spoiled his pleasure. 

It was a short task for one such as he to use flint and steel, andkindle a fire on the low side of the island, facing toward the east, butyet within the circle of the trees. Dead wood was lying everywhere andit burned rapidly. Then, quickly broiling the fish on sharpened ends oftwigs and laying them on green leaves, he went back and awakened thefour, who opened their eyes and sat up at the same time. 

"What's the smell that's ticklin' my nose?" exclaimed Long Jim. 

"Fish, " replied Silent Tom gruffly. "Breakfast's ready! Come on!"

The four leaped to their feet, and followed the pleasant odor which grewstronger and more savory as they advanced. 

"Ain't cooked like you kin do it, " said Silent Tom to Long Jim, "but Idone my best. "

"Kings could do no more, " said the shiftless one, "an' this is thefinest surprise I've had in a 'coon's age. I wuz gettin' mighty tired o'cold vittles. A lazy man like me needs somethin' hot now an' then tostir him up, don't he Jim?"

"Guess he does, an' so do I, " said Long Jim, reaching hungrily for afish. 

All fell to. The fish were of the finest flavor, and they had beencooked well. Silent Tom said nothing, but he glowed with satisfaction. 

"How'd you do it, Tom?" asked Shif'less Sol. 

"Line, hook, bait, water, fish, " replied Ross, waving his hand in thedirection of the creek. 

"Ain't he the pow'ful talker?" laughed the shiftless one. "When Tom diesan' goes up to heaven to take his place in them gran' an' eternalhuntin' groun's that we've already talked about, the Angel at the gatewill ask him his name. 'Tom Ross, ' he'll say. 'Business on earth?''Hunter an' scout, ' 'Ever betrayed a friend?' 'Never, ' 'Then pass rightin, ' That's all old Tom will say, not a word wasted in explanations an'pologies. "

"It'll be shorter than that, " said Long Jim. 

"How's that?"

"The Angel will ask him jest one question. He'll say, 'Who's your bestfriend on earth?' an' Tom will answer 'Long Jim Hart, what's comin' onlater, ' an' the Angel will say: 'That's enough. Go right in and pick outthe best place in Heaven fur yourself an' your friends who will be here, some day. '"

Silent Tom blushed under the praise which was thoroughly sincere, andbegged them, severally, to take another fish. But they had enough, andprepared to travel again, to forge another link in the chain which theywere striving so hard to complete. 

"What's the plan, Henry?" asked the shiftless one in his capacity aslieutenant. 

"I think we ought to complete that circle around the Indian army, curving to the west and then to the north, until we're in their rear. Then we can complete the impression that two forces are attacking 'em, one in front and the other behind. What do you think?"

"I'm hot fur roundin' out the circle, " replied Shif'less Sol. "I alwayslike to see things finished, an' I want to make the warriors think acouple o' hundred white riflemen march where only five really maketracks. "

"Same here, " said Jim Hart, "Suits me 'cause I've got long legs, madeout uv steel wire, close wrapped. I see clear that we've got to do apower o' marchin', more of it than fightin'. "

"I don't believe any one can think of a better plan, " said Paul, "andyours, Henry, certainly promises well. "

"I'm for it, " said Silent Tom. 

"Then we go now, " said Henry. 

The smoke that Tom had seen earlier was gone, and the five believed thatthe Indian army, discovering the absence of their foe, had probablycrossed the river. 

"Since they're on the march again, " said Henry, "we can take it slowlyand need not exhaust ourselves. "

"Jest dawdle along, " said Shif'less Sol, "an' let 'em pass us. 

"Yes, that's it. "

"We'll keep far enough away to avoid their scouts and hunters, " saidPaul. 

It was really the hunters against whom they had to keep the mostwatchful guard, as so numerous a force ate tremendous quantities ofgame, and, the men seeking it had to spread out to a considerabledistance on either flank. But if the hunters came, the five were surethat they would see them first, and they felt little apprehension. 

They passed out of the swampy country, and entered the usual rollingregion of low hills, clothed in heavy forest, and abounding in game. Here they stopped a while in their task of completing the circle, andwaited while the Indian army marched. Henry calculated that it could notgo more than a dozen miles a day, since the way had to be cut for thecannon, and even if they remained where they were, the Indian army whennight came, would be very little farther south than the five. 

"I vote we turn our short stop into a long one, " said Shif'less Sol, "since, ef we went on we'd jest have to come back again. An' me bein' alazy man I'm ag'in any useless work. What do you say, Saplin'?"

"I'm with you, Sol, not 'cause I'm lazy, which I ain't, an' never willbe, but cause it ain't wuth while to go back on our tracks an' then comeforward ag'in. What I do say is this; since Tom Ross is such a goodfisher I reckon he might take his hook an' line an' go east to thecreek, which can't be fur from here, an' ketch some more fish jest ezgood ez them we had this mornin'. After dark I'll cook 'em, takin' thetrouble off his hands. "

All fell in with the suggestion, including Tom himself, and after awhile he went away on the errand, returning in due time with plenty offish as good as the others. This time Long Jim cooked them when nightcame, in a low place behind the trees, and once more they had warm anddelicate food. 

When the moon rose in a clear sky, they were able to trace the smoke ofthe Indian campfire, almost due west of them, as they calculated itwould be, and a long distance away. Henry regarded it thoughtfully andPaul knew that his mind was concentrated upon some plan. 

"What is it?" he asked at last. 

"I think some of us ought to go late tonight and see what chance we haveat the guns. "

"You'll take me with you, Henry?"

"No, Paul. It'll have to be Shif'less Sol, while the rest of you standby as a reserve. What call shall we use, the owl or the wolf?"

"Let it be the wolf, " said the shiftless one, "'cause I feel like a wolftonight, ready to snap at an' bite them that's tryin' to hurt ourpeople. "

"Sol gits mighty ferocious when thar ain't anythin' more terrible than arabbit close by, " said Long Jim. 

"It ain't that. It's my knowin' that you'll run to my help ef I git intotrouble, " said Shif'less Sol. 

Paul felt a little disappointment, but it disappeared quickly. He knewthat Shif'less Sol was the one who ought to go, and in the high tasksthey had set for themselves there were enough dangers for all. 

"Then it will be the cry of the wolf, " said Henry. "To most people theiryelps are alike, but not to us. You won't forget the particular kind ofhowl that Sol and I give forth?"

"Never, " said Long Jim. "Thar ain't another sech wolf in the woods ezShif'less Sol. "

A few more brief words and Henry and his comrade were gone, traveling ata swift rate toward the Indian camp. Dark and the forest separated thetwo from the three, but they could send their signal cries at any timeacross the intervening space, and communication was not interrupted. They advanced in silence several miles, and then they became verycautious, because they knew that they were within the fringe of scoutsand hunters. With so many to feed it was likely that the Indians wouldhunt by night, especially as the wild turkeys were numerous, and it waseasy to obtain them in the dark. 

Both Henry and Shif'less Sol saw turkey signs, and their cautionincreased, when they noticed a dozen dusky figures of large birds onboughs near by, sure proof that the warriors would soon be somewhere inthe neighborhood, if they were not so already. They began to stoop now, and use cover all the way, and presently Henry felt that theirprecautions were well taken, as a faint but distant sound, not native tothe forest, came to his ear. 

"There, Sol!" he whispered. "Did you hear it? To the right. "

The shiftless one listened a moment or two and replied:

"Yes, I kin make it out. "

"I say it's the twang of a bowstring, Sol. "

"So do I, Henry. "

"They're probably shooting the turkeys out of the trees with arrows. Saves noise and their powder and lead, too. "

"Wherein the Injun shows a heap o' sense, Henry. "

"I can hear more than one bow twanging now, Sol. The turkeys must beplentiful hereabouts, but even with bows and arrows only used against'em they're bound to take alarm soon. "

"Yes, thar go some o' 'em gobblin' now, an' they're flyin' this way. "

They heard the whirr of wings carrying heavy bodies, and frightenedturkeys flew directly over their heads. As the Indians might come inpursuit, Henry and Shif'less Sol lay down among the bushes. A shoutingbroke out near them, and the forest, for a wide space, was filled withthe whirring of wings. 

"The biggest flock o' wild turkeys that ever wuz must hev roosted right'roun' us, " said Shif'less Sol, "'cause I seem to see 'em by thedozens. "

"More likely fifteen or twenty flocks were scattered about through thewoods, and now they have all joined in a common flight. "

"Mebbe so, but whether one flock or twenty j'ined, this is suttinlyTurkeyland. An' did you ever see sech fine turkeys. Look at that kinggobbler, Henry, flyin' right over our heads! He must weigh fifty poundsef he weighs an ounce, an' his wattles are a wonder to look at. An' Ikin see him lookin' right down at me, ez he passes an' I kin hear himsayin': 'I ain't afeared o' you, Sol Hyde, even ef you hev got a gun inyour hand. I kin fly low over your head, so low that I'll brush you withmy wings, and with my red wattles, which are a wonder to see, an' youdassn't fire. I've got you where I want you, Sol Hyde. I ain't afeardo' anything but Injuns tonight. '"

Shif'less Sol's words were so lugubrious that Henry was compelled tolaugh under his breath. It did look like an injustice of fate, whenhunters so keen as they, were compelled to lie quiet, while wild turkeysin hundreds flew over their heads, and although the shiftless one mayhave exaggerated a little about the king gobbler, Henry saw that many ofthem were magnificent specimens of their kind. Yet to lie and stir notwas the price of life, as they soon saw. 

Indians came running through the great grove, discharging arrows at theturkeys, many of which flew low, and the air was filled with thetwanging of bow strings. Not a rifle or musket was fired, the warriorsseeming to rely wholly upon their ancient weapons for this night hunt. They appeared to be in high good humor, too, as the two crouching scoutsheard them laughing and chattering as they picked up the fallen birds, and then sent arrows in search of more. 

Shif'less Sol became more and more uneasy. Here was a grand hunt goingwell forward and he not a part of it. Instead he had to crouch amongbushes and flatten himself against the soil like an earthworm, while thetwanging of the bows made music, and the eager shouts stirred everyvein. 

The hunt swept off to the westward. The dusky figures of warriors andturkeys disappeared in the brush, and Henry and Shif'less Sol, ceasingto be earthworms, rose to their knees. 

"They didn't see us, " said the shiftless one, "but it was hard to stayhid. "

"But here we are alive and safe. Now, I think, Sol, we'd better go onstraight toward their camp, but keep a lookout at the same time forthose fellows, when they come back. "

They could not hear the twang of bowstrings now, but the shouts stillcame to them, though much softened by the distance. Presently they toodied away, and with silence returning to the forest Henry and Shif'lessSol stood upright. They listened only a moment or two, and then advanceddirectly toward the camp. Crossing the brook they went around a clusterof thorn bushes, and came face to face with two men. Shif'less Sol, quick as a panther, swung his clubbed rifle like lightning and theforemost of the two, a Shawnee warrior, dropped like a log, and Henry, too close for action, seized the other by the throat in his powerfulhands. 

It was not a great and brawny throat into which those fingers of steelsettled, and its owner began to gasp quickly. Then Henry noticed that heheld in his grasp not an Indian, but a white man, or rather a boy, afair English boy, a youthful and open face upon which the forest had notyet set its tan. 

He released his grasp slowly. He could not bear the pain and terror inthe eyes of the slender English youth, who, though he wore the uniformof a subaltern, seemed so much out of place there in the deep woods. Yetthe forester meant to take no needless risk. 

"Promise that you will not cry out and I spare you, " he said, his blueeyes looking straight into those of the lad, which returned his gazewith defiance. The steel grasp settled down again. 

"Better promise, " said Henry. "It's your only chance. "

The obstinate look passed out of his eyes, and the lad nodded, as hecould not speak. Then Henry took away his hand and said:

"Remember your word. "

The English youth nodded again, gurgled two or three times, and rubbedhis throat:

"'Twas a mighty grip you had upon me. Who are you?"

"The owners of this forest, and we've jest been tellin' you that you'veno business here on our grounds, " said the shiftless one. 

The boy--he was nothing more--stared at them in astonishment. It wasobvious to the two forest runners that he had little acquaintance withthe woods. His eyes filled with wonder as he gazed upon the two fiercefaces, and the two powerful figures, arrayed in buckskin. 

"Your forest?" he said. 

"Yes, " replied Henry quietly, "and bear in mind that I held your life inmy hands. Had you been an Indian you would be dead now. "

"I won't forget it, " said the youth, who seemed honest enough, "and I'mnot going to cry out and bring the warriors down upon you for two verygood reasons--because I've promised not to do so, and if I did, I knowthat your comrade there would shoot me down the next instant. "

"I shorely would, " said Shif'less Sol, grimly. 

"And now, " said Henry, "what is your name and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Roderick Cawthorne, I'm a subaltern in the British army, andI came over to help put down the rebels, in accordance with my duty tomy king and country. All this land is under our rule. "

"Do you think so?" asked Henry. "Do you think that this wilderness, which extends a thousand miles in every direction, is under your rule?"

The young subaltern looked around at the dark forest and shivered alittle. 

"Technically, yes, " he replied, "but it's a long way from Eton. "

"What's Eton?"

"Eton is a school in England, a school for the sons of gentlemen. "

"I see. And would I be considered the son of a gentleman?"

Young Cawthorne looked up at the tanned and powerful face bent over him. He had already noted Henry's good English, and, feeling the compellinggaze of one who was born to be a master, he replied, sincerely andcheerfully:

"Yes, the son of a gentleman, and a gentleman yourself. "

"An' I'm a gentleman too, " said Shif'less Sol. "My good rifle says soevery time. "

"It was the power of earlier weapons that started the line ofgentlemen, " said Cawthorne. "Now what do you two gentlemen propose to dowith me?"

"Do you know what would be done with us if things were changed about?"asked Henry, "and we were the prisoners of you and the colonel and thered men with whom you travel?"

"No. What would it be?"

"You'd have the pleasure of standing by and seeing the two of us burnedalive at the stake. We wouldn't be burned quickly. It can be protractedfor hours, and it's often done to our people by your allies. "

The young Englishman paled. 

"Surely it can't be so!" he said. 

"But surely it is so!" said the young forester fiercely. 

"I'm at your mercy. "

"We ain't goin' to burn you now, " said Shif'less Sol. "We can't affordto set up a big torch in the forest, with our enemies so near. "

Cawthorne shivered. 

"Do you still feel, " asked Henry, "that you're the ruler over thewilderness here, five thousand miles from London?"

"Technically only. At the present time I'm making no boasts. "

"Now, you go back to your colonel and the renegades and the red chiefsand tell them they'll find no thoroughfare to the white settlements. "

"So, you don't mean to kill me?"

"No, we don't do that sort of thing. Since we can't hold you a prisonernow, we release you. It's likely that you don't know your way to yourown camp, but your red comrade here will guide you. My friend didn'tbreak his skull, when he struck him with the butt of his rifle, thoughit was a shrewd blow. He's coming to. "

Cawthorne looked down at the reviving savage, and then looked up tothank the foresters, but they were gone. They had vanished so quicklyand silently that he had not heard them going. Had it not been for thesavage who was now sitting up he would not have believed that it wasreal. 

Henry and the shiftless one had dropped down in the bushes only a littledistance away, and, by the moonlight, they saw the look of bewildermenton the face of the young Englishman. 

"It don't hardly look fair to our people that we should let him go, "said the shiftless one. 

"But we had to, " Henry whispered back. "It was either kill him or lethim go, and neither you nor I, Sol, could kill him. You know that. "

"Yes, I know it. "

"Now, the warrior has all his senses back, though his head is likely toache for a couple of days. We don't lose anything by letting them havetheir lives, Sol. The talk of their encounter with us will grow mightilyas they go back to the Indian army. The warrior scarcely caught aglimpse of us, and he's likely to say that he was struck down by an evilspirit. Cawthorne's account of his talk with us will not weaken him inhis belief. Instead it will make him sure that we're demons who sparedthem in order that they might carry a warning to their comrades. "

"I see it, Henry. It's boun' to be the way you say it is, an' our luckis still workin' fur us. "

They saw the English lad and the warrior turn back toward the camp, andthen they rose, going away swiftly at a right angle from their originalcourse. After pursuing it a while, they curved in again toward the camp. 

In a half-hour they saw the distant flare of lights, and knew that theywere close to the Indian army. They were able by stalking, carried onwith infinite pains and skill, to approach so near that they could seeinto the open, where the fires were burning, but not near enough toachieve anything of use. 

Alloway, Cartwright, the renegades and the chiefs stood together, andCawthorne, and the warrior who had been with him, stood before them. Evidently they had just got back, and were telling their tale. Both ofthe foresters laughed inwardly. Their achievement gave them muchpleasure, and they felt that they were making progress toward forgingthe new link in the chain. 

"Can you see the cannon?" whispered Shif'less Sol. 

"Over there at the far edge. The ammunition wagons carrying the powderand the balls and the grapeshot are drawn up between them. But we can'tget at 'em, Sol. Not now, at least. "

"No, but see, Henry, a lot of them warriors are beginnin' to dance, an'thar are two medicine men among 'em. They've overheard the news o' whatwe've done, an' they're gittin' excited. They're shore now the evilsperrits are all 'roun' 'em. "

"Looks like it, Sol, and those medicine men are not afraid of Alloway, the renegades, the chiefs or anybody else. They're encouraging thedancing. "

Henry and the shiftless one saw the medicine men through the glow of thelofty flames, and they looked strange and sinister to the last degree. One was wrapped in a buffalo hide with the head and horns over his ownhead, the other was made up as a bear. The glare through which they wereseen, magnified them to twice or thrice their size, and gave them a tintof blood. They looked like two monsters walking back and forth beforethe warriors. 

"The seed we planted is shorely growin' up good an' strong, " whisperedShif'less Sol. 

More and more warriors joined in the chant of the medicine men. The twosaw Alloway gesture furiously toward them, and then they saw YellowPanther and Red Eagle shake their heads. The two interpreted themovements easily. Alloway wanted the chiefs to stop the chanting whichhad in it the double note of awe and fear, and Yellow Panther and RedEagle disclaimed any power to do so. 

Again the foresters laughed inwardly, as the monstrous and misshapenfigures of the two medicine men careered back and forth in the flaminglight. They knew that at this moment their power over the warriors wassupreme. The more Alloway raged the more he weakened his own influence. 

"An' now they're dancin' with all their might, " whispered the shiftlessone. "Look how they bound an' twist an' jump! Henry, you an' me haveseed some wild sights together, but this caps 'em. "

It was in truth a most extraordinary scene, this wild dance of thehundreds in the depths of the primeval forest. Around and around theywent, led by the two medicine men, the bear and the buffalo, and thehideous, monotonous chant swelled through all the forest. It did not nowcontain the ring of triumph and anticipation. Instead it was filled withgrief for the fallen, fear of the evil spirits that filled the air, andof Manitou who had turned his face away from them. 

Alloway and the white men who were left, drew to one side. Henry couldimagine the rage of the colonel at his helplessness, and he couldimagine too that he must feel a thrill of awe at the wild scene passingbefore him. The time and the circumstances must work upon the feelingsof a white man, no matter how stout his heart. 

"If we could strike another good strong blow now, " said the shiftlessone, "I think they would break into a panic. "

"True, " said Henry, "but we must not depart from our original purpose toget at the cannon. I don't think we can do it tonight and so we'd betterwithdraw. Maybe we'll have another chance tomorrow night. "

"I'm agreein' with you, Henry, an' I'm beginnin' to think mighty likethe warriors do, that Manitou, which is jest their name for our God, turns his face upon you or turns his face away from you. "

"It looks so, Sol. I suppose the Indians in most ways don't differ muchfrom us. Only they're a lot more superstitious. "

Slowly they crept away, but when they finally rose to their feet in thedepths of the forest they could still see the glow of the great firesbehind them. Henry and the shiftless one knew that the Indians had beenheaping logs upon coals until the flames sprang up fifteen or twentyfeet, and that around them nearly the whole army was now dancing andsinging. The wailing note of so many voices still reached them, shrill, piercing and so full of lament that the nerves of the forest runnersthemselves were upset. 

"I want to git away from here, " said the shiftless one, and then headded wistfully: "I wish we could strike our big blow, whatever it is, tonight, Henry. Their state o' mind is terrible. They're right on edge, an' ef we could do somethin' they'd break, shore. "

"I know it, " said Henry, "but we're not able to get at what we want toreach. "

Nevertheless they stood there, and listened some time to the wailingnote of all the hundreds who were oppressed and afraid, because the faceof Manitou was so obviously turned from them. 

Henry and the shiftless one, as they returned toward their comrades whomthey had left behind, did not relax their caution, knowing that huntingparties were still abroad, and that veteran chiefs like Yellow Pantherand Red Eagle had sent scouts ahead. Twice they struck trails, andfragments of feathers left on the bushes by warriors returning withturkeys. 

They were at least two miles from the camp when they heard noises thatindicated the passage of a small body of the Indians, and as theystepped behind trees to conceal themselves Shif'less Sol's foot suddenlysank with a bubbling sound into an oozy spot. In an instant, all theIndians stopped. Henry and his comrade heard rustling sounds for amoment, and then there was complete silence. The two knew that thewarriors had taken to cover, and that probably they would not escapewithout a fight. They were intensely annoyed as they wished to return toPaul, Long Jim and Silent Tom. 

The shiftless one withdrew his foot from the ooze, and he and Henrycrouched on dry ground, watching with eye and ear for any movement inthe thicket opposite. They knew that the warriors, with infinitepatience, were waiting in the same manner, and it was likely that thedelay would be long. 

"Luck has turned ag'in us fur a little bit, " whispered Shif'less Sol, "but I can't think that after favorin' us fur so long it'll leave us furgood. "

"I don't think so either, " said Henry. "I hear one of them moving. "

"That bein' the case we'll lay nearly flat, " said Shif'less Sol. 

It was well they did so, as a rifle flashed in the thicket before them, and a bullet cut the leaves over their heads. They did not reply, butcrept silently to one side. A few minutes later another bullet crashedthrough the bushes at the same place, and this time Henry fired by theflash. He heard a low cry, followed by silence and he was sure that hisbullet had struck a target. Shif'less Sol held his rifle ready in case arush should come, but there was none, and Henry reloaded rapidly. 

A full half-hour of waiting followed, in which only a single shot wasfired, and that by the warriors, to go wide of the mark, as usual, andthe wrath of Henry and the shiftless one, at being held there so long, became intense. It seemed the veriest piece of irony that thisunfortunate chance should have occurred, but Henry presently recalledthe arrangement they had made with the three, wondering why they had notthought of it sooner. 

"The warriors are before us, " he whispered to Shif'less Sol, "and LongJim, Paul and Tom are behind us. They may have heard the rifle shots orthey may not, but at any rate there is something that will carryfurther. "

"You mean the howl of the wolf! O' course, that's our call to them. "

"Yes, and if we bring 'em up it won't be hard to drive off this band. "

"Let me give the signal then, Henry. Ef Long Jim is the best yelleramong us mebbe I'm the best howler. I'm right proud o' bein' a wolfsometimes, an' I feel like one jest now. "

"Go back then some distance, " said Henry. "When the boys come up youmust meet 'em and not let 'em run into any ambush. "

The shiftless one glided away toward the rear, and Henry, lying almostflat on the grass and watching the thickets in front of him so intenselythat no warrior could have crept out of them unseen, waited. At the endof five minutes he heard behind him a note, low at first, but swellinggradually so high that it pierced the sky and filled the forest. It wasfierce, prolonged, seeming to come from the throat of a monster wolf, and, as it died away, a similar cry came from a point far back in theforest. The wolf near by howled again, and the wolf deep in the forestreplied in like fashion. The signal was complete, and Henry knew thatPaul, Silent Tom and Long Jim would come fast to help. 

There was a stirring in the thicket before him, evidently prompted bythe signals, and another vain bullet crashed through the bushes. Henryfired once more at the flash, but he could not tell whether or not hehad hit anything, although it was sufficient to hold the warriors in thebush. Evidently they did not consider themselves strong enough for arush, and again he waited patiently, judging that the three would arrivein twenty minutes at the furthest. 

They came several minutes within the allotted time. He heard softrustlings behind him, and then the five were reunited and ready foraction. 

"Sol, you creep around on the right flank, and Tom, you take the left, "whispered the young general. "They're not in numbers and I think we cansoon rout 'em without loss to ourselves. "

The flanking movement was carried out perfectly. Shif'less Sol andSilent Tom opened fire on the right and on the left at the same time, and the other three, sending in bullets from the center, began to shoutthe charge, although they did no charging. But it was sufficient. Theysaw dusky figures darting away, and then, rising from the bushes thethree divisions of their small army met victoriously upon the field, abandoned by the enemy in such haste. 

They saw red stains, and then a dark form almost hidden in the grass, apowerful warrior, painted hideously and dead an hour. Henry looked downat him thoughtfully. The retreating warriors had taken away his weapons, but his paint bag and the little charms against evil spirits remained, tied to his belt. It was the paint bag that held Henry's eye, and, holding it, gave him the idea. 

He detached the bag, the waistcloth and moccasins, and calling to hiscomrades retreated farther into the forest. Every one of them, as theywatched his actions, divined his intent. 

"You're going to disguise yourself and go into the Indian camp, " saidPaul, when they stopped. "I wouldn't do it. The risk is too great. Besides, what can you do?"

"I went among 'em once and came back alive, " said Henry, "and I think Ican do it again. Besides, I mean to accomplish something. "

"I'm to go with you, o' course?" said Shif'less Sol, eagerly. 

Henry shook his head. 

"No, Sol, " he said reluctantly. "There's only equipment for one, and itmust be me. But the rest of you can hang on the outskirts, and if I givea cry for help you may come. It will be, as before, the howl of thewolf, and now, boys, we will work fast, because I must strike, whilethey're still in the frenzy, created by the medicine men. "

Henry took off his own clothing, and, with a shudder, put on theleggings and breechcloth of the dead Indian. Then Shif'less Sol and TomRoss painted him from the waist up in a ghastly manner, and, with theirheartfelt wishes for his safety and success, he departed for the camp, the others following in silence not far behind. He soon heard the soundof the chant and he knew that the orgie was proceeding. An Indian dancecould last two days and nights without stopping, fresh warriors alwaysreplacing those who dropped from exhaustion. 

It was now far past midnight, and Henry was quite sure that all thehunters had gone. The little party which he and his comrades had foughthad probably spread already the tale of a mysterious foe with whom theyhad met, and who had slain one of their number. And the story, exaggerated much in the telling, would add to the number and power ofthe evil spirits oppressing the red army. 

Keeping for the present well hidden in the forest, Henry approached thefires which had now been heaped up to an amazing height, from whichlofty flames leaped and which sent off sparks in millions. The chant waswilder than ever, rolling in weird echoes through the forest, thedancers leaping to and fro, their faces bathed in perspiration, theireyes filled with the glare of temporary madness. The Englishmen andrenegades had gone to small tents pitched at the edge of the wood, butYellow Panther and Red Eagle stood and watched the dancers. 

All things were distorted in the mingled dusk and glow of the fires, andHenry, bending low that his great stature might not be noticed, edgedgradually in and joined the dancers. For a while, none was more furiousthan he. He leaped and he swung his arms, and he chanted, until theperspiration ran down his face, and none looked wilder than he. In themultitude nobody knew that he was a stranger, nor would the glazed eyesof the dancers have noticed that he was one, anyhow. 

Nevertheless he was watching keenly, while he leaped and shouted, andhis eyes were for the cannon, drawn up just within the edge of theforest, with the ammunition wagons between them. After a while he movedcautiously in their direction, threw himself panting on the grass, whereothers already lay in the stupor of exhaustion, and then, taking hold ofone of the burning brands which the wind had blown from the bonfires, heedged slowly toward the forest and the wagons. 

This was the last link in the chain, but if it were not forged all theothers would be in vain. Three or four times he stopped motionaltogether, and lay flat on the ground. Through the red haze he dimlysaw the figures of Yellow Panther and Red Eagle who stood side by side, and he saw also the two medicine men, the Bear and the Buffalo, whodanced as if they were made of steel, and who continually incited theothers. 

Henry himself began to feel the effect of the dancing and of the wildcheering, which was like a continuous mad incantation. His blood hadnever before leaped so wildly and he saw through a red haze all thetime. He felt for the moment almost like an Indian, or rather as if hehad returned to some primeval incarnation. But it did not make him feelone with those around him. Instead it incited him to extreme effort andgreater daring. 

He edged himself forward slowly, dragging the torch upon the ground. Hestill saw Blackstaffe and Wyatt at the edge of the opening some distanceaway, but they were gazing at the great mass of the dancers. Allowaypresently came from his tent and also stood looking on, though he didnot join the renegades. Henry could imagine his feelings, his bitterdisappointment. But then, one must know something about Indians beforeundertaking to go on campaigns with them. He hoped, however, that youngCawthorne would remain in his tent. 

His slow creeping lasted ten minutes. He felt now that he had reachedthe very crisis of the campaign made by the five, and he must not makethe slightest slip of any kind. He reached the grass behind the wagonsand lay there four or five minutes without stirring. He discovered thenthat besides those between the cannon there were four behind them loadedwith powder. The horses were tethered in the woods two or three hundredyards away. He was glad that so much distance separated them from thecannon and powder. 

The torch, although he kept it concealed in the grass, was beginning tocrackle. The problem was not yet simple, but he thought rapidly. Thewagons were covered with canvas. Reaching up, he quickly cut off a longstrip with his hunting knife. Then he inserted the strip inside thewagon and into the powder, driving the knife deep through canvas andwood, and leaving it, thrust there to hold the strip fast. 

The other end of the thick canvas fell from the wagon to the ground, alength of about a foot lying in the grass. He ignited this with historch, and saw it begin to burn with a steady creeping flame. Then hemoved swiftly away until he reached the edge of the forest, when he roseand ran with all his might. Three or four hundred yards distant, hestopped and uttered the cry of the wolf. The answer came instantly froma point very near, and in two minutes the four joined him. 

"Is it arranged?" exclaimed Paul. 

"Yes, " replied Henry. "There's a chance of a slip, of course. The torchis set and burning. An Indian may see it and put it out, but Idon't----"

The sentence was never finished. The night was rent by a terrible crash, and as they were looking toward the Indian camp they saw a pyramid offire shoot far up into the sky, and then sink back again. A half minuteof dreadful silence followed, when every leaf and blade of grass seemedto stand still, and then through the distance came a long and piercinglament. 

"It's done!" said the shiftless one, speaking in a tone of awe. 

"The cannon are blown to pieces, " said Paul. 

"Nothin' but scattered metal now!" said Long Jim. 

"Busted up, shore!" said Silent Tom. 

"They'll be running in a panic presently, " said Henry, "and they won'tstop until they're far across the Ohio. "

The hearts of the five swelled. They alone, five against a thousand, rifles against cannon, had defeated the great Indian army headed byartillery. They had equalled the knights of old--perhaps had surpassedthem--although it was not done by valor alone, but also by wile andstratagem, by mind and leadership. Intellect had been well allied withbravery. 

But they said little, and turning back into the deeps of the forest, they slept until morning. 

 * * * * *

The five rose at dawn, and went swiftly to the place where the Indiancamp had stood, to find there, as they had expected, complete silenceand desolation. The ruin was utter. All the wagons had been blown tobits, and the cannon were shattered so thoroughly that they lay infragments. Probably Indians near by had been killed, but the warriors, following their custom, had taken their dead away with them. 

Henry, looking near the edge of the forest, suddenly started back at agleam of red among the bushes. He knew that it had come from a red coat, and when he looked again he saw the body of Colonel Alloway lying there. He had been hit in the head by a piece of flying metal and evidently hadbeen killed instantly. Doubtless the other English had wanted to buryhim, but the panic of the Indians had compelled them to leave him, although they took their own dead. 

"We'll bury him, because he was a white man, " said Henry. 

They dug a grave with their knives and hatchets and laid him in it, putting stones over the dirt to keep prowling wild animals from diggingthere, and then took the Indian trail. 

It was a trail so wide and deep that a blind man could have followed it. The panic evidently had been terrible. The warriors had thrown awayblankets, and in some cases weapons. Henry found a fine hunting knife, with which he replaced the one he had used to pin down his fuse, andSilent Tom found a fine green blanket which he added to his own. 

They followed to the Ohio River, and some distance beyond. Then, satisfied that this expedition was routed utterly, they came back intoKentucky. 

"I'd like to go to that little house of ours inside the cliff, " saidPaul. 

"So would I, " said Long Jim. "It's the snuggest home we've ever foundinside the wilderness. "

"An' Indian proof, ez we've proved, " said the shiftless one. 

"Good fur rest, " said Silent Tom. 

"Then we go there, " said Henry. 

They reached the valley the next day and climbed up into the cleft whichhad been a home and a fortress for them. It was sweet and clean, full offresh, pure air, and the tiny rill was trickling away merrily. Nothinghad been disturbed. 

"Now ain't this fine?" said Long Jim, coming outside and looking overthe hills. "Paul, I've heard you talk about palaces, them that the oldGreeks an' Romans had, an' them that they hev now in Europe, but I knowthat thar has never been one among 'em ez snug an' safe an' cozy ezthis. "

"At least, " said the shiftless one, "I don't believe any o' 'em ever hada water supply like ourn, clean, cool, an' unfailin'. "

Silent Tom took something from his knapsack. 

"I'm goin' to git some fish in that creek farther down, " he said. "You'dbetter hev your fire ready. Out here on the shelf is a good place. "

Long Jim, happy in the task that he liked, hurried away in search ofdead wood. The others carried dried leaves into the hollow and madeplaces for their beds. 

Silent Tom caught plenty of good fish, to which they added venison andbuffalo steaks, and, sitting on the shelf they ate and were at peace. The glow of triumph was still in their hearts. Alone, they had achieveda great deed for the sake of humanity. They had been through theirIliad, and like the heroes of antiquity, they took their well-earnedrest. 

The foliage was now in its deepest flush of green. Henry, as he lookedover a vast expanse of wilderness, saw nothing but green, green, theunbroken green that he loved. 

A bird in a tree over their heads began to pour forth a volume of clear, triumphant song, and the five looked upon it as a voice meant for them. 

"It's the last touch, " said Paul. 

"And the victory is complete, " said Henry.