had already been acted upon by the scouts several
times, but, as all shared the feeling of Smith, the scouts, joined this
time by the old man's two sons, set out to act upon his proposal. After
examining the bank upon which they stood, with the greatest care, for
several hundred yards both above and below, they returned with the
report that no signs of danger had been discovered.

Two of them now entered the creek in front of the oxen, and commenced
wading across. It would be impossible to depict the anxiety, intense
apprehension, and almost terror with which they were regarded by their
friends upon the shore. One was Laughlin and the other Harry Smith, and
mixed with the parents' natural uneasiness, was a pride which glowed
upon his face at seeing his son so unhesitatingly facing danger. Had he
known that the most imminent peril threatened him, the wealth of the
Indias would not have tempted him to call him back.

Step by step the two men advanced across the creek, the water in no
place being above their knees, until they stepped upon dry land once
more. This was the culminating point of anxiety with their friends.
This apprehension now became so intense as to be painful and almost
unbearable. Some ten or fifteen minutes (which seemed hours to the
waiting friends) was spent in reconnoitering the shore, after which the
two stepped into the station and set out on their return. They had
taken but a step or two, when they suddenly drew back, and Laughlin
made a signal of danger to the settlers, the cause of which was
instantly seen by all.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PASSAGE OF THE CREEK.

Be set forever in disgrace
The glory of the red-man's race,
If from the foe we turn our face,
Or safety seek in flight!--G. P. MORRIS.

Laughlin's signal of danger was accompanied by a meaning motion up the
creek, intended to direct the attention of the settlers to that point.
Looking in the direction indicated, they saw what at first appeared
nothing but a mere log or stump floating on the water, but what, upon a
closer inspection, it was evident, had a deeper significance than that.
It was near the center of the current, drifting slowly downward,
impelled certainly by nothing more than the force of the stream itself.
As it came nearer, it proved to be three trees, partly trimmed of their
branches, and secured together, a contrivance in the formation of which
the hand of man most surely must have been concerned.