ted villains who appeared curious to know if any
person was in the rear.

We were within a day's march of the Indian town, and had lain down in a
thicket of spruce bushes after having looked in vain for some signs of a
prisoner, as we had done during each of the four days while we were
directly behind the band and at no time more than two miles distant.

Jacob's face was wrinkled, or so it seemed to me, with lines drawn by
sorrow because we had not succeeded in getting a glimpse of his father,
and it was evident that the lad was beginning to fear, as did I, that the
savages, finding a prisoner too troublesome, had tortured him to death;
for if Master Sitz was yet alive and in the keeping of Brant's followers,
why had we not got a glimpse of him?

"There is no reason why you should grieve so deeply, lad," Sergeant Corney
said, as if he could read the boy's thoughts. "I'll answer for it that
your father is as much alive as we are."

"How can you be certain of that?" Jacob asked, moodily.

"We have seen every one of their camps, eh?"

"Of course," Jacob replied, impatiently.

"An' have you noted any sign of a prisoner's havin' been tortured--meanin'
a half-burned tree, a pile of rocks near the fire, or sich other like
thing?"

Jacob shook his head; he could not bring himself to speak calmly of such a
possibility.

"No, you haven't, an' we know without bein' told that when sich devils as
follow Joe Brant get a prisoner in their clutches, they never kill him
without torture. Now, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', we can count to a
certainty that he's alive."

"Then why haven't we come across him?" Jacob demanded, fiercely. "This is
the fourth time we've had their camp in full view, an' if he was with 'em
we ought to have seen somethin' of him."

"I allow you're right, lad, an' that's why I've come to believe that he's
been sent on ahead to the village."

"Then I must be movin'!" Jacob cried, springing suddenly to his feet. "I
should have had sense enough to guess that before!" And he made as if he
would leave us; but Sergeant Corney pulled him back by the coat-sleeve.

"Wait a bit. It was on my tongue's end to propose somethin' of the same
kind; but we can't afford to take the chances of makin' a move till yonder
nest of snakes has settled down for the night. An hour from now, an' we'll
all pull out."

Jacob could not well have made complaint after this, and he settled down
with his back against a tree to wait