been
made.

Sam was absent only two hours. His approach was heard by his waiting
companions long before the hunter could be seen. It was plain, too, that
he had been successful. The noise of snapping branches and an occasional
whinny indicated that Sam was not returning empty-handed.

"Did I not tell you what I would do?" boasted the hunter, when he
returned. "I said I wanted a dozen horses. I have six, so that I am only
half as happy as I ought to be."

"You are happier now than you soon will be," retorted Peleg, "unless we
leave this part of the country right away."

The horses which had been secured were all young and only partly broken.
It was impossible for the party to mount them, and there were times when
it was difficult even to lead them by the leathern straps which were
fastened about their necks.

Sam acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, and no urging was
required to make the men push forward rapidly.

When night fell they selected for their camp a spot on the bend of a
little stream. Two of the men were assigned positions in the rear of the
camp to watch for any pursuing Indians. There was no fear of an attack
from the opposite side of the stream.

At midnight the guard was relieved, and as it was Peleg's turn to take
the position, he said quietly, "I can do this alone. All the rest of you
turn in and get your sleep."

His directions were speedily followed. The night passed without alarm,
and the young scout was beginning to think that either the warriors of
the village were aware of the plan of Colonel Clark, and had departed to
join their own bands, or that they were absent from the village at the
time, and had not yet learned of Sam's theft.

The first faint streaks of the dawn had appeared, and Peleg, taking a
little bucket, stepped to the brook to secure some running water. The
fire which had been kept alive throughout the night was burning low.
When Peleg returned to the camp he was startled when he discovered by
the dim light that the water in his bucket was muddy. There could be but
one explanation, and the young scout hastily aroused his companions.

"The brook was not muddy last night, but it is now," said the young
leader. "To my mind that shows that we are being followed, and the
Indians are coming down the stream to creep close to us."

Just then the schoolmaster was seized with sharp pains and began to
groan and writhe in his suffering. No one understood the nature of th