ok for us, Sol."

"Lookin' at them thar two bits o' gray which Natur' didn't put up in the
sky, but which somehow came from the hand o' man, I kin spin the tale
jest ez it is. That's smoke up thar. It can't come from any kind o' a
forest fire, 'cause it's early spring an' the woods are too green to
burn. Thar ain't no white people in these parts 'cept ourselves an' ef
thar wuz they wouldn't be so foolish ez to build a fire that sends up
smoke. So it's bound to be Injuns. They're a big band, so big that they
ain't afeard o' bein' attacked. That's the reason why they're so
keerless 'bout thar smoke. An' 'cause the band is so big it ain't jest
hunters. It's a war band bound south ag'in the settlements to git scalps
in revenge for all the braves they've lost. Do I tell the truth, Henry?"

"To the last detail."

"Thoroughly good logic," said Paul.

"What's logic?" asked Long Jim.

"I'll illustrate," replied Paul. "When you see a deer, take aim at him
with your rifle and shoot him through the heart, you feel quite sure
when he drops dead that it was you who killed him. Logic tells you that,
and so that is logic."

"I reckon I know now," said Long Jim, rubbing his chin.

"Tom," said Henry, "about how far from us is the fire that makes that
smoke?"

"Smoke, 'less there's a terrible lot uv it, don't hang together long,"
replied Ross, looking up thoughtfully at the little gray clouds. "But I
reckon them two thar wuz broke off from a much bigger piece at the
start, an' are gittin' smaller ez they come. But thar main camp ain't
more'n two miles from here, Henry."

"Just about that, I should say. We'd better look 'em over tonight,
hadn't we?"

"Jest ez you say. You're the leader, Henry."

"We'll do it, if we can, but I'm thinking we'll have to be mighty
careful. I've an idea that the woods are full of warriors. I don't want
to be burned at the stake."

"But Jim Hart here would make a most bee-yu-ti-ful torch," said
Shif'less Sol. "Slim an' nigh on to six feet and a half tall he'd light
up the whole woods, ef he wuz set on fire on top fust."

"Ef you wuz set on fire on top," said Long Jim, "thar wouldn't be much
burnin', 'cause a blaze can't feed on emptiness."

"Thar goes another o' them little gray patches," said Silent Tom. "That
means they're still feedin' the fire--fur cookin' too, 'cause they don't
need it to warm by. The hunters must hev brought in a power o' game,
'cause when the warriors do eat, an' they he