nearly a day, and he
ached with hunger, but he broke off a number of briars containing the
largest stores of berries, and ate slowly and deliberately. The memory
of that breakfast, its savor and its welcome, lingered with him long.
Blackberries are no mean food, as many an American boy has known, but
Henry was well aware that he must have something stronger, if he were to
remain fit for his great task. But that divine spark of courage which
was his most precious possession was kindled into a blaze. Food brought
back all his strength, and his veins pulsated with life. Somehow he
would find a way for everything.

He fixed his course once more toward the southeast. The country here was
entirely new to him, much rougher, the hills increasing in height and
steepness, and he inferred that he was approaching a river, some
tributary of the Ohio.

When he reached the crest of a hill steeper than the rest, he dropped
down among the bushes as if he had been shot. He had happened to look
back, and he caught a passing glimpse of brown among the green. It was
quick come, quick gone, but he had seen enough to know that it was an
Indian following him, undoubtedly one of the pursuing Wyandots, who, by
chance, had hit upon his trail.

Had Henry been armed he would have felt no fear. He considered himself,
with justice, more than a match for a single warrior, but now he must
rely wholly upon craft, and the odds against him were more than ten to
one. He was at the very verge of a steep descent, and he knew that he
could not slip down the crest of the hill and get away without being
seen by the Wyandot, who, he was sure, was aware of his presence.

He lay perfectly still for at least five minutes, watching for the
warrior and at the same time trying to form a plan. He saw only the
waving green bushes, but he knew that he would hear the warrior if he
approached. His trained ear would detect the slightest movement among
grass or bushes, and he had no doubt that the Wyandot was as still as
he.

Luck had been against Henry because the crest of the hill was bare, so
if he undertook to slip away in that direction he would become exposed,
but it favored him when it made the thicket dense and tall where he lay.
As long as he remained in his present position the Wyandot could not see
him unless he came very close, and he resolved that his enemy should
make the first movement.

The infinite test of patience went on. A quarter of an hour, a ha