e overwhelming sense of
freedom, and of a capacity to achieve the impossible, which he often
felt when he was alone, fairly poured in upon him. The feeling of
success, of conquest, was strong. He and his comrades, so far, had
triumphed over every difficulty, and they had been many and great. The
omens were propitious and there was the rising wind singing among the
leaves the song that was always a chant of victory for him.

He inhaled the odors of the forest, the breath of leaf and flower. They
were keen and poignant to him, and then came another odor that did not
belong there. It was brought on the edge of the gentle wind, and his
nostrils expanded, as he noticed that it was growing stronger and
stronger. He knew at once that it was smoke, distant, but smoke
undeniably, and that it must come from a campfire. In all probability
it was the fire of Blackstaffe, Red Eagle and their band.

He went at once toward the smoke, and gradually the light of a fire
appeared among the trees. Approaching cautiously, he saw the correctness
of his surmise that it was Blackstaffe, Red Eagle and their band. Most
of the warriors were lying down, all save two or three asleep, but the
renegade and the chief were talking earnestly. Henry was eager to hear
what they were saying, as it might prove of great value to him in the
little campaign that he was leading. Since Wyatt and the rest of the
band had not had time to come up, they could not yet know that it was
the five with whom they had been in battle that night.

He resolved that he would overhear them at all costs, and lying down in
the bushes he began to edge himself forward in the slow and difficult
manner of which only an accomplished scout is capable. Fortunately the
fire was near the edge of a thicket, from which he could hear, but it
took 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 blended
with it, where he could easily see the faces of Blackstaffe and Red
Eagle, 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 which
Henry heard and understood. They sat in Turkish fashion upon the ground,
on the same side of the fire, and the blaze flickered redly over the
face of each. They were strong faces, primitive, fierce and cunning, b