“We are not making two miles an hour at this rate,” he said in the tone of one who is offended with his companions. “We may as well stop where we are until it is light enough for us to see the way.”
Nathan and Isaac came to a halt immediately, and, ordering them to keep close by his side, the leader of the party sought for a camping-place amid the shrubbery.
It was not possible to make any choice selection while it was so dark that one could not distinguish objects a dozen paces in advance, and at the first cleared space sufficiently large to admit of the men stretching out at full length, Master Wentworth made his preparations for the night.
He ordered the boys to lie down; covered them with four or five saplings, and on the ends of these he and Master White laid themselves in such manner that the first movement made by the prisoners must awaken the captors.
It was the Indian method of guarding captives; but, owing to the absence of robes or blankets with which to cover the ends of the saplings, those who lay on the outside had a most uncomfortable bed.
Isaac, still on the alert for any advantage, observed, rather by sense of hearing than of 214 sight, that Master Wentworth kept his musket close beside him, while the other two leaned their weapons against the bushes.
It seemed to Corporal ’Lige’s recruit as if Nathan Beman had finally come to understand that escape might yet be possible, for the latter prodded his comrade with his elbow from time to time, as if to prevent him from falling asleep, and Isaac returned the pressure with vigor.
Then, when it appeared as if fully an hour had passed, the heavy breathing of the men told that they were fast asleep, and Nathan whispered cautiously:
“These fellows ain’t so smart as I’d counted on. I’ve heard father tell how he outwitted the savages when they had him in the same kind of a trap, an’ I can work this if you’re ready.”
“Begin at once; there is no time to lose.”