ld succeed. The two
paused, their minds in a state of painful indecision.

"What do you think, Henry?" whispered the shiftless one.

"Nothing that amounts to anything."

"When you don't know what to do the best thing to do is to do nothin'.
'Spose we jest wait a while. We're well kivered here, an' they'd never
think o' lookin' so close by fur us, anyway. Besides, hev you noticed,
Henry, that it's growin' a lot darker? 'Tain't goin' to rain, but the
moon an' all the stars are goin' away, fur a rest, I s'pose, so they kin
shine all the brighter tomorrow night."

"It's so, Sol, and a good heavy blanket of darkness will help us a
lot."

They lay perfectly still and waited with all the patience of those who
know they must be patient to live. A full hour passed, and the welcome
darkness increased, the heavens turning into a solid canopy, black and
vast. The light from the great campfire sank, and its luminous glow no
longer appeared on the river. The stream itself showed but faintly
yellow under the darkness. Henry's heart began to beat high. Nature, as
it so often did, was coming to their help. The droning song of the scalp
dance had ceased and with it the voices of the warriors talking. No
sound came from the river, save the soft swish of the flowing waters,
and now and then a gurgle and a splash, when some huge catfish raised
part of his body above the surface, and then let it fall back again.

Another canoe came presently from the northern shore. Henry and
Shif'less Sol, although they could not see it at first, knew it had
started, because their keen ears caught the plash of the paddles.

"It's a big one, Henry," whispered Shif'less Sol. "How many paddles do
you make out by the sound?"

"Six. Is that your count, too?"

"Yes. Now I kin see it. One, two, three, four, five, six. We wuz right
in the number an' it's a big fine canoe, jest the canoe we want, Henry,
an' it'll land 'bout twenty yards 'bove us. Somethin' tells me our
chance is comin'!"

"I hope the something telling you is telling you right. In any case
you're correct about their landing. It will be almost exactly twenty
yards away."

The great canoe emerged from the darkness, six powerful Miamis swinging
the paddles, and it came in a straight line for the bank, leaving a
trailing yellow wake. Henry admired their strength and dexterity. They
were splendid canoemen, and he never felt any hatred of the Indians. He
knew that they acted according to such