The three hunted all that afternoon for Paul. Once they saw trace of
footsteps, apparently his, in some soft earth, but they were quickly,
lost on hard ground, and after that there was nothing. They stopped
shortly before sunset at the edge of a narrow but deep creek.

"What do you think of it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol.

"I don't know what to think," replied the youth, "but it seems to me
that whatever took away Jim has taken away Paul, also."

"Looks like it," said Sol, "an' I guess it follers that we're in the
same kind o' danger."

"We three of us could put up a good fight," said Henry, "and I propose
that we don't go back to that camp, but spend the night here."

"Yes, an' watch good," said Tom Ross.

Their new camp was made quickly in silence, merely the grass under the
low boughs of a tree. Their supper was a little venison, and then they
watched the coming of the darkness. It was a heavy hour for the three.
Long Jim was gone, and then Paul-Paul, the youngest, and, in a way, the
pet of the little band.

"Ef we could only know how it happened," whispered Shif'less Sol, "then
we might rise up an' fight the danger an' git Paul an' Jim back. But you
can't shoot at somethin' you don't see or hear. In all them fights o'
ours, on the Ohio an' Mississippi we knowed what wuz ag'inst us, but
here we don't know nothin'."

"It is true, Sol," sighed Henry. "We were making such big plans, too,
and before we can even start our force is cut nearly in half. To-morrow
we'll begin the hunt again. We'll never desert Paul and Jim, so long as
we don't know they're dead."

"It's my watch," said Tom. "You two sleep. We've got to keep our
strength."

Henry and the shiftless one acquiesced, and seeking the softest spots
under the tree sat down. Tom Ross took his place about ten feet in front
of them, sitting on the ground, with his hands clasped around his knees,
and his rifle resting on his arm. Henry watched him idly for a little
while, thinking all the time of his lost comrades. The night promised to
be dark, a good thing for them, as the need of hiding was too evident.

Shif'less Sol soon fell asleep, as Henry, only three feet away, knew by
his soft and regular breathing, but the boy himself was still wide-eyed.

The darkness seemed to sink down like a great blanket dropping slowly,
and the area of Henry's vision narrowed to a small circle. Within this
area the distinctive object was the figure of Tom Ross, sitting with