Simon Kenton slowly rose up to a sitting posture and stared at the new-comer in utter amazement, just as Boone also awoke, and rolling half over, fixed his steady gaze on the girl, but without exhibiting the surprise displayed by Kenton.
The girl was a little creature of some seventeen summers, with a dark, foreign-looking face, very pretty, lighted with black eyes, and set off with black hair, arranged in two long plaits. She was attired in the costume of an Indian chief’s daughter, of the richest materials in use among the Shawnees, and carried with her a bow and arrows.
First Simon drew in his feet, and sat up in a more polite position, then Daniel Boone slowly rose and sat looking at the strange maiden; and then a deep silence fell on all three, which was first broken by the girl who called herself Ruby Roland.
“You two are Simon Kenton and Colonel Boone, are you not?” she asked, in her musical voice, slightly accented with a French intonation.
Boone himself answered her with great respect:
“We are, Miss. I am Colonel Daniel Boone, and this is Captain Simon Kenton.”
The Kentucky borderers were always remarkably tenacious of their military titles, and very proud of them. In reality they represented deeds requiring courage and conduct of a kind such as few regular soldiers could have boasted of.
Ruby Roland smiled graciously on the two Kentuckians.
“I suppose, then, you will not be afraid to run into danger on my account, will you? I warn you that a deadly peril is round us all three, which you can only escape by leaving me to face it alone. Will you do that?”
“Simon Kenton will not, madam; I will answer for that,” said the quiet voice of Boone.