, of what
tribe he could not tell, but they were wet, and they looked cold and
miserable. Soon they were opposite him, and he saw the outline of every
figure. Scalp locks drooped in the rain, and he knew that the warriors,
hardy as they might be, were suffering.

Henry expected to see the long boat pass on, but it was turned toward
a shelving bank fifty or sixty yards below, and they beached it there.
Then all sprang out, drew it up on the land, and, after turning it over,
propped it up at an angle. When this was done they sat under it in a
close group, sheltered from the rain. They were using their great canoe
as a roof, after the habit of Shawnees and Wyandots.

The boy watched them for a long time through one of the little openings
in the bushes, and he believed that they would remain as they were all
night, but presently he saw a movement among them, and a little flash
of light. He understood it. They were trying to kindle a fire-with flint
and steel, under the shelter of the boat. He continued to watch them
'lazily and without alarm.

Their fire, if they succeeded in making it, would cast no light upon him
in the dense covert, but they would be outlined against the flame, and
he could see them better, well enough, perhaps, to tell to what tribe
they belonged.

He watched under his lowered eyelids while the warriors, gathered in
a close group to make a shelter from stray puffs of wind, strove with
flint and steel. Sparks sprang up and went out, but Henry at last saw a
little blaze rise and cling to life. Then, fed with tinder and bark, it
grew under the roof made by the boat until it was ruddy and strong. The
boat was tilted farther back, and the fire, continuing to grow, crackled
cheerfully, while the flames leaped higher.

By a curious transfer of the senses, Henry, as he lay in the thick
blackness felt the influence of the fire, also. Its warmth was upon his
face, and it was pleasing to see the red and yellow light victorious
against the sodden background of the rain and dripping forest. The
figures of the warriors passed and repassed before the fire, and the boy
in the boat moved suddenly. His body was not shifted more than an inch,
but his surprise was great.

A warrior stood between him and the fire, outlined perfectly against
the red light. It was a splendid figure, young, much beyond the average
height, the erect and noble head crowned with the defiant scalplock, the
strong, slightly curved nose and t