"Such is the wish of Deerfoot," replied the Shawanoe, whereat Terry Clark gave signs of breaking out again; but at a warning look from Fred he restrained himself.
"Deerfoot loves the Hunters of the Ozark; he has promised to make them a visit; he will do so with his friends that he has found in the woods, and who forget to keep their guns loaded."
"No use!" exclaimed Terry, bounding in the air, striking his heels together, and flinging his hat aloft with a loud ; "I must give gintle exprission to me emotions, even though it makes a war with England."
The others showed no objection to this harmless ebullition, and he speedily became quiet again.
Had Fred Linden been intimately acquainted with Deerfoot, he would have noticed that he was not at ease. Now and then he glances about him, as though he half expected the appearance of some unwelcome person. The glances were so quick and that neither Fred nor Terry noticed them.
"Deerfoot," said Fred, the three still ; "we have concluded that there isn't a better place along the trail for a camp."
To the surprise of the boys, he shook his head in .
"Why, this is where father and the rest spent the night when they last went this way."
He nodded to signify that he agreed with them.
"There were three of them, and they had their horses, that could not be well hid; when my brothers go into camp for the night, they should take a place where all who went by would not see them."
It struck the others as curious that the Shawanoe should talk in that fashion, when they could not see any cause for alarm; but they had enough faith in him to accept his on such an important matter. He added:
"Come with Deerfoot and he will show his brothers where they may in peace."
Without any more explanation the Shawanoe moved down the bank of the , following a course parallel to the flow of the water, the other two keeping at his heels. He did not look around until he had gone more than a hundred yards. Then it was that the little party found itself in a rocky section, with a rough on their right—that is, the bowlders and rocks were together in such a fashion that there was some resemblance to a cave. The chief merit of the place, however, was the privacy that it afforded, rather than the strength as a means of against an enemy.
"This suits very well," said Fred, taking in all the points at a glance; "here is a rocky bed on which we can start a fire, and the other147 rocks and bowlders will keep off the wind, if there happens to be any; the water is handy, if we should need it, and it is certain that we are not as likely to be seen here as where we first selected."
"Deerfut," said Terry, who was nosing about, "I obsarve ashes here, as though somebody had been ahead of us."
"Deerfoot built a fire but a few moons ago, and staid over night."
"If it was good enough for ye, I can stand it," said Terry, "which is the remark me uncle made when the Duke of Argyle asked him to stay to dinner."
The boys unfastened the bundles from their backs and prepared to spend the night where they were. The blankets were spread on the flinty floor, and Deerfoot, setting down his gun beside theirs, helped to gather the wood with which to keep a fire burning. The three were so active that it took but a short time to collect all that was needed. This was thrown into one pile, from which it could be as wanted.
I must give you a better idea of the spot where the three to spend their first night in the woods together. They had walked from the trail, and, so far as they could see, the country was of the most broken nature, though the abundance of trees and undergrowth did not permit an extended view. Two masses of stone rose to the height of a dozen feet, and were separated by about the same distance. These rough walls extended back to a distance of three or four yards, where they came against a similar formation. Thus, as may be said, there were three sides to an inclosure, that part facing the brook being entirely open. On top of these supports were tumbled an irregular mass of bowlders and rocks which formed the roof. The latter had so many openings that it was as well ventilated as the roof of the house about which the Arkansas Traveler tells us.
The rear part of the cavern, if it may be allowed that name, was stone, while the front was earth. Near the center, Deerfoot had
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