"Wal, time is passing; it won't do to stay here any longer; I leave you in charge of Weber; he can do as well as me or Boone."
The scout turned to move away, when Jethro Juggens laid his hand on his arm.
"See yar, Mr. Kenton, I's worried 'bout yo'," said the colored youth, with an anxious expression on his countenance.
"What's the cause of that?" asked the ranger, who, as already stated, held a kindly feeling toward the good-natured fellow.
"I's feard sumfin' will happen to yo'—feels it in my bones; I tink yo' oughter hab some one to look after yo' while yo's gone."
"Would you like to do it?"
"I tinks a good deal ob yo', Mr. Kenton, and I's willin' to take keer ob yo', and see dat yo' gets back all right."
Yielding to that waggish disposition which was a marked characteristic of Simon Kenton, sometimes under the most trying circumstances, the ranger said:
"Come on, younker, you shall take care of me."
And to the astonishment of the party, the two walked off side by side, and disappeared among the trees to the westward.