s to me," he said. "We plan, while the
warriors do most of the fighting."

"Stick to that, an' you'll be a great man," said Girty.

The king of the renegades stood in a little opening, and the moonlight
fell full upon his face. They could see it distorted into a malicious
grin of cruelty and self-satisfaction. Slowly the rifle barrel of
Shif'less Sol, in the bushes, was raised to a level, and it was pointed
straight at a spot between the cruel, grinning eyes. An infallible eye
looked down the sight, and a steady finger approached the trigger.

Never, until his last day came, in very truth, was Simon Girty, the
renegade, nearer death. But Henry put out his hand, and softly pressed
down the rifle barrel.

"I don't blame you, Sol," he whispered. "It would be getting rid of a
monster and saving many good lives, but you can't do it now. It would
break up our whole plan of attack."

It was one of the greatest griefs in the life of Solomon Hyde, called
the shiftless one, that he was compelled to yield to Henry's advice. He
had held Simon Girty, the arch criminal, under his rifle, and he had
picked out the spot where he knew he could make his bullet hit, and then
he must put down his rifle and pass over the opportunity just as if it
had never been.

"You're right," he whispered back in reluctant words, and lowered his
rifle. The three renegades continued to talk of the projected attack,
but they passed on, and soon their words could be heard no longer. Then
their figures became indistinct and were lost to sight. Shif'less Sol
uttered a low cry, so full of bitterness that Henry was forced to laugh,
knowing as he did its cause.

"I never had sech a chance afore," said Shif'less Sol, "an' I'll never
hev it ag'in."

"Henry was right," said Simon Kenton. "'Twould never have done to have
given an alarm now. We must hurry back, bring up the army, and strike
before the dawn."

There could be no difference of opinion on such a subject, and they
rapidly retraced their footsteps. In three-quarters of an hour they
rejoined the army, and told that the way was clear. The leaders heard
the report with great satisfaction and promptly arranged the plan of
battle. The chief thing that they sought to guard against was the
confusion so often arising from darkness, when friend might fire into
friend.

"They mustn't get too much excited, and they must look before they
shoot," said Boone. "It will be only two hours to daylight, an' if we