portunity to drink his fill at a cool spring. He then was
stretched upon the ground and each wrist and ankle was tied to a
separate sapling. The red men prepared for sleep and no one was
assigned to guard. Little sleep came to him. Thoughts of home, of his
father in the great wilderness, flitted through his mind all night and
he rose unrefreshed and sore in every muscle.

The next day they continued their journey, from sunrise to sunset,
stopping at noon for a hasty lunch. The second night he was treated as
on the first, but slept soundly because of sheer exhaustion. The
following day the party killed a deer. The Indians, as was their
custom, gorged themselves on the meat, eating it half raw. They cut up
some of the best of it to carry along with them.

That night, their heavy eating made the savages sleep soundly. Rodney,
bound as on the previous nights, lay looking up through the trees at
the moon, occasional glimpses of which it was possible to get through
the branches.

For a time his thoughts were far away from his surroundings. Suddenly
he became conscious of something cold and metallic under his right
hand.

It was a knife!

Evidently one of the Indians, when cutting up the meat, had
accidentally dropped it.

Somewhat awkwardly, for his hand was tightly bound, he managed to
clutch the blade in such a manner that after persistent effort he
succeeded in cutting his bonds.

His joy at the sense of freedom almost made him faint when he found
himself clear. Quietly and slowly, it seemed as if the beating of his
heart must waken the savages, he got possession of one of the rifles.
He knew that a snapping twig would probably mean his destruction. He
had heard of captives, who, in such straits as his, had slain their
captors while they slept. The thought was revolting to him.
Cautiously creeping away into the outer darkness, it seemed hours
before he dared press forward without fear of making a noise.

CHAPTER VI

A WILD FLIGHT

Many a time in his wild flight that memorable night the boy thought
what good fortune it was that the sky was clear and the moon shining.
By its light he was able to make good progress and avoid walking in a
circle, as otherwise he doubtless would have done.

He directed his course toward the east, with the moon slightly on his
right. Many a fall he had over slippery, moss-grown logs, and his face
was bleeding from scratches received while rushing through the bushes.
He co