rough which they passed
made any approach to military order well-nigh impossible.

The men near Peleg abruptly halted when not far before them on the
opposite shore of a large pond they spied a solitary Indian. The warrior
was standing as motionless as the nearby trees as he gazed steadily at
his approaching enemies.

Suddenly he turned and fled into the forest, disregarding the calls of
the men and even unmindful of the few scattered shots which followed
him.

"Who was that?" whispered Peleg to Daniel Boone.

"It was Henry."

"I believe it was," declared Peleg excitedly. "What will he do now?"

"He will give the alarm to the village. We are not more than a mile
from it now, and he will be there long before our horses can carry us
over such ground as we have had for the past few miles."

Just at that moment there was a sharp call for an advance. The entire
body at once responded, although the hungry horses were in no condition
for swift action.

The words of the great scout were fulfilled when the force drew near the
Indian village. Not one of its people was to be seen. Fires were still
smouldering and even the meat which was being roasted and the corn that
was boiling in the kettles had been abandoned in the precipitate flight
of the Indians.

The discovery of the food was perhaps more welcome to the hungry men
than would have been the sight of their foes. At all events, a halt was
made, and such food as could be obtained was speedily allotted.

At the right of the village a large field of corn was seen, and the
discovery that the corn was in the ear and ripe for food was good news
indeed. It was not long before the hunger of every man was appeased, in
a measure at least, and the entire force was ready for the further
commands of Colonel Clark.

The village was set on fire in several places, and flames were also
kindled in the field. In less than an hour the men departed, leaving
behind them only the smoking embers of what a short time before had
been a prosperous village of the red men.

Colonel Clark now urged his men forward with increasing speed. At times
the force divided and the task of burning certain villages was assigned
to the different bands. At other times the entire force proceeded as one
body. But their enemies still had not been seen. Occasionally a solitary
Indian would crawl within gunshot when the camp was pitched, discharge
his gun, and then instantly flee; and once a small party of wa