nt eagerness.

"It should be easy enough--what think you?" he whispered; and then, with
a sudden grasp upon my wrist: "You are cool and steady-nerved, John
Ireton; I swear you do not love her as I do!"

"Nay, I grant you that, Dick," said I, making sure that his excitement
would obscure the double meaning in the admission. And then I added,
sincerely enough: "She has never given me the right to love her at all."

"God help her at this pass!" he said, more to himself than to me; and
then he would go in a breath from blessing Margery to cursing Ephraim
Yeates for this fresh delay.

It was Uncanoola who broke in upon the muttered malediction.

"Wah! Captain Jennif' cuss plenty heap, like missionary medicine-man.
Look-see! Uncanoola no can find white squaw horse yonder. Mebbe Captain
Jennif' see 'um, hey?"

At his word we both looked for the horses, marking now that they were
nowhere to be seen within the circle lighted by the lodge fire. The
Catawba grunted his doubt that the enemy was as inalert as he appeared
to be; then he set the doubt in words. "Chelakee heap slick. Sleep only
one eye, mebbe, hey? Injun warrior no hide horse and go sleep _both_ eye
on war-path!"

Here our scout came gliding back, so noiselessly that he was within
arm's reach before we heard him. Dick had said I was over-cool, but the
old man's ghostlike reappearance gave me such a start as made me prinkle
to my fingers' ends.

"How will it be, Eph?" Dick queried, hotly eager to be at work. "We can
make it across? Never say we can't pass that bit of still water, man!"

But Ephraim Yeates did say so in set terms.

"I reckon ez how we've got to cross, but not jest here-away, Cap'n Dick.
She ain't making any fuss about it, but she's a-slipping along like
greased lightning, deep and mighty powerful. I ain't saying we mought
n't swim her and come out somewheres this side o' Dan'l Boone's country;
but we'll make it a heap quicker by projec'ing 'round till we find the
ford where them varmints made out to cross."

"God!" said Dick, deep in his throat; "more time to be killed! By--"

The old man was parting the bushes to have a better sight of the
encampment opposite, but at Dick's outbreak he fell back quickly and
clapped a hand on the lips of cursing.

"Hist! Lookee over yonder, will ye!" he cut in. And then in a whisper
meant for no ear but mine: "The Lord be marciful to that little gal,
Cap'n John; we've fooled our chance away--the game's afo