d they seized each other in a
friendly scuffle, which terminated only when they were about to roll
into the fire. Then they ate venison as if they had been famished.
Afterwards, when they were asleep on their blankets before the fire,
Ross said to Mr. Pennypacker:

"They did well, for youngsters."

"They certainly did, Mr. Ross," said the master. "I confess to you that
there were times to-day when learning seemed to offer no consolation."

Ross smiled a little, and then his face quickly became grave.

"It's what we've got to go through out here," he said. "Every settlement
will have to stand the storm."

A vigilant watch was kept all the long night but there was no sign of a
second Shawnee attack. Ross had reckoned truly when he thought the
Shawnees would not care to risk further pursuit, and the next day they
resumed their journey, under a drying sun.

They were not troubled any more by Indian attacks, but the rest of the
way was not without other dangers. The rivers were swollen by the spring
rains, and they had great trouble in carrying the salt across on the
swimming horses. Once Paul was swept down by a swift and powerful
current, but Henry managed to seize and hold him until others came to
the rescue. Men and boys alike laughed over their trials, because they
felt now all the joy of victory, and their rapid march south amid the
glories of spring, unfolding before them, appealed to the instincts of
everyone in the band, the same instincts that had brought them from the
East into the wilderness.

They were passing through the region that came to be known in later days
as the Garden of Kentucky. Then it was covered with magnificent forest
and now they threaded their way through the dense canebrake. Squirrels
chattered in every tree top, deer swarmed in the woods, and the buffalo
was to be found in almost every glen.

"I do not wonder," said the thoughtful schoolmaster, "that the Indian
should be loath to give up such choice hunting grounds, but, fight as
cunningly and bravely as he will, his fate will come."

But Henry, with only the thoughts of youth, could not conceive of the
time when the vast wilderness should be cut down and the game should go.
He was concerned only with the present and the words of Mr. Pennypacker
made upon him but a faint and fleeting impression.

At last on a sunny morning, whole, well fed, with their treasure
preserved, and all fresh and courageous, they approached Wareville. The