The scout muttered something beneath his breath, the burden of which was, that he hoped it would, and then he turned to Sam Wilson and said, half-hesitatingly:
“I have half a mind that you leave Ruth to Ned and me, and make the best of your way with your wife and this fellow here to the settlements. If you kept a sharp look-out I think that you could do it, and perhaps it would be best all round in the end.”
“No; I can not go back and leave Ruth in the hands of these red-skins. I must do what I can to help to save her. Don’t ask me to do this. Lead the way on at once, and if we are of no service to you, we will be no drawback.”
“That we will not,” said Mrs. Wilson. “If I only had a weapon, I think I could strike a blow for her deliverance myself.”
“You may have one of my pistols, marm, if you want it,” said the Yankee. “I can’t use ’em both at once, and I’m always ready to oblige.”
No reply was made to this generous offer of Peleg. Hardly a dozen more words passed between them, and then the scout led the way again through the moonlit forest. The task of rescuing Ruth had begun.
CHAPTER X.
IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH.
Hope fairly abandoned the heart of Ruth when she was separated from her friends, and obliged to go on her way with Rushing Water with none of them beside her.
In vain it was that she had implored him not to separate her from them; to remember the promise he had made her, when they had fallen into his hands.
Her prayers and entreaties had no effect. He had promised, he said, that their lives should be spared them, and he had kept his word.