having sport with them.

A half mile, and he sank to the earth, lying so still that anyone a yard
away could not have heard him breathe. Two warriors stood under the
boughs of an oak and they were looking in the direction of the hollow.
He had no doubt they were watchers, posted there to prevent the flight
of the besieged in that direction, and he was shaken with silent
laughter at this spectacle of men who stood guard that none might pass,
when there was none to pass. He was already having his revenge upon them
for the trouble they were causing and he felt that the task of repayment
was beginning well.

The two Shawnees walked back and forth a little, searching everything
with their questing eyes, but they did not speak. Presently they turned
somewhat to one side, and Henry, still using the shelter of the
brushwood, flitted silently past them. Three or four hundred yards
farther and he lay down, laughing again to himself. It had been
ridiculously easy. All his wild instincts were alive and leaping, and
his senses became preternaturally acute. He heard some tiny animals of
the cat tribe, alarmed by his presence, stealing away among the bushes,
and the sound of an owl moving ever so slightly in the thick leaves on a
bough came to his ears. But he was so still that the owl became still
too, and did not know when he arose and moved on.

Henry believed that the two warriors were merely guards on the outer rim
and that soon he would encounter more, a belief verified within ten
minutes. Then he heard talking and saw Braxton Wyatt himself and three
Shawnees, one a very large man who seemed to be second in command. Lying
at his ease and in a good covert he watched them, laughing again and
again to himself. For such as he this was, in truth, fine sport, and he
enjoyed it to the utmost. Wyatt was looking toward the point where the
cliffs that contained the rocky hollow showed dimly in the silver haze.
His face expressed neither triumph nor confidence, and Henry, seeing
that he was troubled, enjoyed it.

"I wish we knew how well they are provided with food and ammunition," he
heard him say.

"They will have plenty," the big warrior said. "The mighty young chief,
Ware, will see to it."

Henry felt a thrill at the words. The Shawnee was paying a tribute to
him, and he could not keep from hearing it.

"They beat us off before," said Wyatt gloomily. "We had them trapped in
the hollow, but we could not carry it."

"But this