ver given them a chance to trap and surprise him, and he did not mean
to do so now.

"Plenty of time, boys--plenty of time," he said, soothingly. "Before we
finish this campaign you'll get all the fighting you want. Don't forget
that."

That night, which was to be the last before reaching Chillicothe, he
doubled the guard. Except the five, who had fully earned the right to
sleep, the very best of the scouts and sharpshooters were on watch.
Skirmishers were thrown far out among the bushes, and no matter how dark
the night might be, no considerable Indian force could ever get near
enough for surprise. Boone, Kenton, Thomas and others heard signals, the
hoots of owls and the howls of wolves, but they continued their watch
undisturbed. So long as a thousand good men were there in the wilderness
in a heavy square, bristling with rifles and artillery, they did not
care how many signals the savages made to one another.

Morning came, bright and hot. It was the sixth of August, the month when
the great heats that sometimes hang over the Ohio River Valley usually
reach their uttermost.

This promised to be such a day. After the bright dawn the atmosphere
became thick and heavy. Sweat stood on every face. Exertion was an
effort. Yet the men felt no abatement of zeal. In three or four hours
more, they would reach Chillicothe unless the enemy gave battle first.
Nevertheless little was said. The veteran frontiersmen knew the valor of
their enemy, and his wonderful skill as a forest fighter. This was no
festival to which they were going. Many of them would never return to
Kentucky.

They marched about three miles. It was noon now, and the sun from its
vantage point in the center of the heavens poured down a flood of
burning rays upon them. Colonel Clark, with his usual patience, made the
men halt for a few minutes and take food. Their formation had never been
broken for a moment. No matter from what side the attack came the whole
army could face it inside of two minutes.

The five with Boone, Kenton and Thomas were just ahead of the vanguard,
and Colonel Clark who was now on horseback rode up to them.

"How far would you say it is to Chillicothe?" he asked Henry.

"We should be there in an hour."

Colonel Clark looked at his watch.

"One o'clock in the afternoon," he said. "That will give us plenty of
time for a battle, if they choose to offer it to us, but it looks as if
we would receive no such offer. All that you have