angler who is hunting some choice place in the brook, and who examines
every foot of the water which he passes. At last it was beyond hearing,
and all was still again; but our young hero, impatient and anxious as he
was to get forward, dared not leave his concealment while so many of his
enemies were in the immediate neighborhood. He was confident that if he
attempted flight and escaped running against some of these dusky
wretches, they would speedily detect his trail and run him to the
ground. He concluded to remain where he was until dark, when he would
make another start, confident that by traveling all night, and taking
advantage of all the means that came in his way, he could place a goodly
distance between himself and the perilous neighborhood.
Nothing more was seen or heard of the Apaches during these long waiting
hours, unless the distant report of a gun could be construed as their
work, and the summer day gradually wore away. By this time the condition
of the boy was truly pitiable. He was thirsty and nearly famished,
feverish from his long abstinence. Yet with water within a few feet of
him he refrained, for the reason that he was fearful of imperiling his
safety.
"I'll wait till it is nearly dark," he said, as he looked down at the
cool water flowing beneath; "for this is the only chance I shall ever
have of giving them the slip."
The time he had fixed upon to venture forth had not yet arrived when he
observed a large tree floating along below him. It had probably become
displaced at some point up the stream, and would drift along until it
should again catch some obstruction, and remain moored for an indefinite
time. Yielding to a sudden inspiration, Ned crept hastily out of his
concealment, and dropped lightly upon the trunk, which was heavy and
buoyant enough to bear his weight without sinking below the surface.
The course of the stream was such that this proceeding carried him back
directly over the ground that he had passed, and, in case the Apaches
were in camp, would take him near it. But there was real woodcraft in
this act, imprudent as it seemed; for nothing could be conceived, which,
if successful, would more effectually throw the Indians off his trail.
Knowing that he had gone northward, what inducement could there be for
looking toward the south for him? The next thing after getting upon his
raft was to stoop over and get a drink from the stream, which, having
its source up among the mount
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