night fell the guards of the camp were doubled, for with the coming
of darkness the terror of some of the emigrants increased. There were
frequent cries heard from the little children, cries which the mothers
were unable to quiet and in which some of them even joined. A feeling of
terror had settled over the whole camp.

To Peleg was assigned a post of danger, as his position as guard was to
be near the gulch. Steep as this was, it would have been possible for a
warrior to climb its rocky sides if he were familiar with the spot.

Before Peleg departed for his station he was joined by Israel Boone, a
younger brother of James, who insisted upon sharing the vigil. In the
light of the campfire Peleg saw the face of the scout change colour
when the suggestion was made by his son, but he did not offer any
objection, and in spite of Sam Oliver's declaration that "One boy was a
boy and two boys was half a boy," the leader quietly gave his consent.

When the silence of the outer night became more marked in the deepening
darkness, the occasional cries of the children did not cease. They were
cries not of suffering, but of terror. There were times when even the
two young guards shared in the prevailing fear. The darkness that
surrounded them might conceal painted warriors who were watchful of
their every act. At any moment a bullet from some unseen enemy might
find its way to the heart of a watching sentinel. Such a condition was
not long to be endured. As the hours passed, both boys grew more eager
for the coming of the morning, when, whatever plan might be formed, at
least relief from the depressing silence would come.

To Peleg no thought of any change in the plans of the emigrants had
occurred, and he was therefore the more astonished the following morning
when, after he had been relieved from duty and had obtained a few hours
of sleep, he was informed before breakfast that the men were assembling
for a council. Even his feeling of hunger was ignored in the exciting
announcement which soon was made by Boone.

CHAPTER VI

SCHOOLMASTER HARGRAVE

Before breakfast had been prepared Peleg was aware of a certain partly
suppressed excitement among the members of the band. The women, with
tears in their eyes and with their children clinging to their skirts,
frequently had been in conference with Daniel Boone or with other men of
the party.

It was therefore not without some previous intimation that Peleg heard
the sco