The settling of the boats close in shore beneath some overhanging bushes occupied some little time, as well as the carrying up of the necessaries required by those who were to sleep above. By that time Dan’s frizzled legs, wings, and slices of bird had been made ready for consumption, and he and his mates worked hard to supply the hungry party. At length, all were satisfied, and they divided to seek their resting-places for the night, Sir Humphrey electing to keep the captain and the first mate company in the boats, while Brace, Briscoe, and Lynton were to rest in the cavern with half of the crew.
As a matter of course, everyone who remained on shore was provided with weapons, and they all sat together chatting till the fire gradually died out and the sailors stretched their limbs with a grunt of satisfaction upon the soft dry sand which formed the floor of the cave.
“What do you say to a quiet smoke on the shelf outside, Lynton?” said Briscoe.
“I’m as willing as willing, for I don’t feel at all sleepy yet,” was the answer.
“Yes: let’s have a look at the stars and the river before we lie down,” said Brace; and they strode quietly out till they were at the extreme edge of the shelf, with the black darkness below them and the river sparkling and spangled with the reflections of the stars which glowed brilliantly in a long wide band overhead, the cliffs cutting off a vast amount of the great arch.
“I’m glad that fire’s well out,” said Briscoe quietly, as he looked back. “Indians are not very likely to be about at night, but if a canoe were coming along the river and the paddlers saw a fire up there, you may depend upon it they would land to see what was the matter.”
“That’s for certain,” said Lynton. “Do you think it likely that those chaps we ran down belong to the same tribe as those we saw in the canoe yonder before we landed?”
“It’s hardly likely,” said Briscoe. “I fancy the natives of these regions are cut up into little bits of tribes scattered here, there, and everywhere about the forest.”
“Pst! Be quiet a minute,” said Brace, and all listened.
“What is it?” asked Briscoe, at the end of a minute.