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He reminded Henry of the king wolf that had pursued Shif'less Sol and himself, and he had a singular fancy that he was the same great brute, reincarnated. He shivered at his own thought, and then chided himself fiercely. The king wolf had been killed, he was as dead as a stone, and he could not come back to earth to plague him. But the beast, like the bird, was truly monstrous.
"An' so this is an oasis?" said Shif'less Sol. "Yes, solid ground, surrounded for a long distance by mud." "An' with saplin's an' bushes so thick that the sharpest eyed warrior ever born couldn't see into it. Henry, I'm thinkin' that we've found another little home." "One that hides us from people passing by, but that does not put a roof over our heads or give us food to eat."
They wasted no time, but pulled trigger. The one at whom Henry had aimed fell, but the other, uttering a cry, made off, wounded, but evidently with plenty of strength left. "We mustn't let him escape! We mustn't let him carry a warning!" cried Henry. But Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross were already in pursuit, covering the ground with long strides, and reloading as they ran.
He heard a low cry, followed by silence and he was sure that his bullet had struck a target. Shif'less Sol held his rifle ready in case a rush should come, but there was none, and Henry reloaded rapidly.
"Why anybody wants to live back thar in the East in the towns is more'n I can understand," said Shif'less Sol. "You've got room to breathe here, an' the fat game is runnin' roun' in the woods, jest beggin' you to stick a knife in its back an' eat it." Paul laughed. "How about the danger from the Indians, Sol?" asked Paul.
Eye became of little use, and it was ear upon which the sentinel must depend. Shif'less Sol judged that it was about midnight, and he became troubled. The sixth sense, that comes of acute natural perceptions fortified by long habit, was giving him warning. It seemed to him that he felt the approach of something.
The boat of the five came alongside the Independence, and Adam Colfax looked down at it. "We want to come on board," called out Henry. The Independence slowed just a little, and Henry and Shif'less Sol sprang upon her. The other three remained in the boat. Bullets struck near them as they boarded the Independence, but none touched them.
"Paul has always loved beautiful things," he said to his comrades. "He does not forget to see them even in moments of danger, and he would naturally go toward that slope over there covered with wild flowers." Shif'less Sol slapped his knee in approval. "You do reason fine, Henry," he said. "Paul would shorely make fur them flowers, jest 'cause he couldn't help it."
"What shall we do with them?" asked Paul, pointing to the silent forms on the floor. "Leave them," said Henry. "Butler's army is burning everything before it, and this house and all in it is bound to go. You notice, however, that Braxton Wyatt is not here." "Trust him to escape every time," said Shif'less Sol. "Of course he stood back while the Indians rushed the house.
"I reckon I fired too quick, too," said Shif'less Sol. But the hands that grasped his rifle were damp and cold. "'Tain't no use," said Tom Ross in a tone of absolute conviction. "I've seen you and Henry fire afore at harder targets than that, an' hit 'em every time. You hit this one, too." "Then why didn't we kill the brute?" exclaimed Henry. "'Cause lead wuzn't meant to kill him.
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