“I saw nothing but bows and arrows,” said Casbury. “Still, they may have guns.”
The situation was talked over while they waited for the Indians to reappear. Some brushwood had been gathered for the fire, and Mrs. Dobson and the children were placed behind this and behind some of the horses.
“I’m going over into the woods,” said Barringford, to the others. “If I see anything wrong, I’ll screech like an owl.”
“Do you want me to go along?” asked Rodney.
“No, lad, I want you to stay here, by Nell an’ the twins.”
Barringford slipped to the rear, crawled through the grass, and thus reached a few low bushes, from which he made his way into the forest.
Two hours went by slowly. Not an Indian showed himself, nor did any signal come from Barringford. The men remained on the alert, and when a rabbit crossed the trail two drew a bead on the animal like a flash.
“I trust Sam hasn’t gotten into trouble,” said Rodney, at last.
“If he has, he’ll have to git out o’ it,” answered one of the others, with a shrug of his shoulders.
Presently one of the regulars saw a form wriggling through the grass. He was on the point of firing when he recognized the old frontiersman. Barringford came in a good deal out of breath.