ry, Nancy," he went on good-naturedly. "I promised
you not ter take him 'less he wanted ter go. But hit's in the blood, and
hit's got ter come out."

Tom picked the Boy up and placed him on his knee and stroked his dark
head. Sarah crouched at his feet and smiled. He was going to tell about
the Indians again. She could tell by the look in his eye as he watched
the flames leap over the logs.

"Did ye know, Boy," he began slowly, "that we come out to Kaintuck with
Daniel Boone?"

"Did we?"

"Yes sirree, with old Dan'l hisself. It wuz thirty years ago. I wuz a
little shaver no bigger'n you, but I remember jest as well ez ef it wuz
yistiddy. Lordy, Boy, thar wuz er man that wuz er man! Ye couldn't a
made no jackleg carpenter outen him----" He paused and cast a sly wink
at Nancy as she bent over her knitting.

"Tell me about him?" the Boy cried.

"Yessir, Dan'l Boone wuz a man an' no mistake. The Indians would ketch
'im an' keep er ketchin' 'im an' he'd slip through their fingers
slicker'n a eel. The very fust trip he tuck out here he wuz captured by
the Redskins. Dan'l wuz with his friend John Stuart.

"They left their camp one day an' set out on a big hunt, and all of a
sudden they wuz grabbed by the Injuns."

"Why didn't they shoot 'em?" the Boy asked.

"They wuz too many of 'em an' they wuz too quick for Dan'l. He didn't
have no show at all. The Injuns robbed 'em of everything they had an'
kept 'em prisoners.

"But ole Dan'l wuz a slick un. He'd been studyin' Injuns all his life
an' he knowed 'em frum a ter izard. They didn't have nothin' but bows
an' arrers then an' he had a rifle thes like mine. He never got
flustered or riled by the way they wuz treatin' him, but let on like he
wuz happy ez er June bug. Dan'l would raise his rifle, put a bullet
twixt a buffalo's eyes an' he'd drap in his tracks. The Injuns wuz
tickled ter death an' thought him the greatest man that ever lived--an'
he wuz, too. So they got ter likin' him an' treatin' 'im better. For
seven days an' nights him an' Stuart helped 'em hunt an' showed 'em how
ter work er rifle. The Injuns was plum fooled by Dan'l's friendly ways
an' didn't watch 'im so close.

"So one night Dan'l helped 'em ter eat a bigger supper than ever. They
wuz all full enough ter bust, an' went ter sleep an' slept like logs.
Hit wuz a dark night an' the fire burned low, an' long 'bout midnight
Dan'l made up his mind ter give 'em the slip.

"Hit wuz er dangerous job. Ef