out the cup that no one fifteen yards away could see them, and
they were able to hear even a creeping warrior, before he could come
that near. Hence they reposed without alarm, and, bold forest runners
that they were, eternally on guard, they took their ease with a certain
sense of luxury.

It was about the middle of the afternoon, and the sun was at its
brightest, the rays being vertical. From their woodland cup they looked
up at a circle of shining blue sky, continually crossed by tiny white
clouds, following one another in a regular procession from south to
north. The majesty of the wilderness and the illimitable covering of
forest 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 and
Paul because their souls were stirred by it, Shif'less Sol because it
was always unfolding to him some new wonder, Tom Ross because it was a
hunting ground without limit, and Long Jim because nearly every kind of
game found in it could be eaten, after it had been cooked by his master
hand.

But they did not speak now. The people of the border, save in their
homes, never talked much. The caution bred by the necessity of the woods
became a habit. They acquired an extraordinary power over voice and
nerves. 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 least
could match his native cunning and training, and, in addition, bring to
their own aid a superior intellectual power. That was why they were
kings of the woods.

The sun passed the zenith and the rays were no longer vertical, but it
was almost as bright in the cup as ever, while the sky itself had lost
nothing of its shining blue tint. Paul presently said:

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

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

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

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

"Yes, I see it. Read the bo