, Paul," he said, "I've seen 'em off, an' a-tween you and me, I'd
rather be right here on this here haunted islan', a-hobnobbin' with Injun
ghosts an' havin' a good, comfortable, easy time, than be dodgin' braves,
an' feelin' every minute to see ef my scalp is on out thar among the Injun
villages."

"You don't think they'll be taken?" asked Paul, in some alarm.

Long Jim Hart laughed scornfully.

"Them fellers be took?" he said. "Why, they are the best three woodsmen in
North Ameriky, an', fur that, in the hull world. Nobody can take 'em, an'
if they wuz took, nobody could hold 'em. You could have Henry Ware tied to
the stake, with fifty Shawnees holdin' him an' a thousand more standin'
aroun', an' he'd get away, certain sure."

Paul smiled. It was an extravagant statement, but it restored his
confidence.

"And meanwhile we are safe here, protected by ghosts," he said. "Do you
believe in ghosts, Jim?"

Jim Hart looked up at the black rim of the forest, and then edged a little
closer to the fire.

"No, I don't," he said, "but sometimes I'm afeard of 'em, jest the same."

Paul laughed.

"That's about the way I feel, too," he said, "but they're mighty handy
just now, Jim. They're keeping us safe on this island. You won't deny
that?"

"No, I won't," said Jim; "but at night time I'm goin' to leave 'em all by
themselves in the trees over at their end uv of the island."

"So am I," said Paul; and ten minutes later both were sound asleep.

CHAPTER XI

A SUDDEN MEETING

Paul and queer, long Jim Hart spent a week together on the island, and
they were pleasant days to the boy. He was sure that Henry, Ross, and Sol
could take care of themselves, and he felt little anxiety about them. He
and Hart stayed well in the woods in the day, and they fished and hunted
at night. Hart killed another deer, this time swimming in the water, but
they easily made salvage of the body and took it to land. They also shot a
bear in the edge of the woods, near the south end of the lake, and Hart
quickly tanned both deerskins and the bearskin in a rude fashion. He said
they would need them as covers at night, and as the weather turned a
little colder, Paul found that he could use one of the skins quite
comfortably.

They built of sticks and brushwood a crude sort of lean-to against one of
the stony sides that enclosed the cove, and when a rain came they were
able to keep quite dry within its shelter. They also found rabbits on