was hard to realize that the fair vale had been
desecrated within so brief a time by the merciless white and red men,
who had not yet left the valley. No wonder that the beauties of this
enchanting spot have drawn the tribute of the poets of the Old and New
World.

Ned Clinton had often gazed on the attractions of his native vale, and
he appreciated them always, but he restrained the admiration which he
might have felt at any other time. The first glance over the extended
scene failed to discover any signs of life; but when he had looked
again, he detected the figure of a canoe crossing the river, the
distance making it appear but a speck, while the number of occupants was
indistinguishable. To the southwest, almost in the line of the
Susquehanna, he observed a black cloud resting like a smirch of dirt
against a clear, blue sky. This, he had no doubt, was the smoke from
some conflagration of the night before.

The little primitive town of Wilkesbarre, with its rude fortifications,
lay also along the bank of the river, but owing to some intervening
trees of tall growth, standing close to the fort, the view in that
direction was not as complete as in others. Having scanned the outer
boundaries of the field, Ned attended to those portions which lay nearer
to him. It was a long time before he could fix upon any spot that
promised to give him information of friend or foe. Nothing could be
seen of Lena-Wingo, who was pursuing his investigations in his own way,
and was not likely to return until he had accomplished something upon
which to base an intelligent course of action. But by and by, as the
youth was scanning a point two or three hundred yards away, his eye fell
upon something which promised to give him the very knowledge he was
seeking.

In an open space at the distance mentioned, he observed a large flat
rock, which had nothing peculiar in its appearance, but which, it was
evident, was being used by some one as a means of concealment, while he
in turn took a survey of the young man in the tree. Ned was under the
impression that no matter how much he played the sentinel, he was
invisible to all outsiders that might be attempting to steal toward him
and his friends. It happened that he glanced directly at the object at
the moment that a man, whose dress showed him to be of the same race as
the young scout, rose to his feet, stood a second or two, and then
dropped down out of sight again. His action was such as a man