“Yes, almost immediately.”
“Are my friends near at hand?” asked Virginia, looking anxiously toward the door as she spoke, as though she expected to see the stalwart form of Jackson, or some other friend of her father, filling the doorway.
“No.”
“Will they be here soon, then?”
“Your father did not think that it was wise to send a small party after you, and could not send a large one, as the settlement is in danger of being attacked by the Indians at any moment; so it was decided that it was best for me to return alone and conduct you to Point Pleasant. The danger of two being discovered by the savages is less than that attending a large party. And if the Indians should discover us, no party that could be spared from the settlement in this hour of peril would be sufficient to withstand their attack.”
This appeared reasonable enough to Virginia.
“I am ready at any moment,” she said.
“We will set out at once, then,” Benton replied, moving to the door as he spoke.
“The sooner the better,” Virginia cried, earnestly. “I wish that I could fly like a bird to the side of my dear father.”
“We are not far from the station; it will be only a few hours’ travel through the woods. A party from the settlement will meet us at a place fixed upon by your father and myself. If we can only reach that spot without being discovered by the lurking savages, all will be well.”