To my mind we might as well have remained with the volunteers during this portion of the journey, for in case we came upon any considerable body of savages there was little chance either of us would succeed in carrying back the news to those who virtually placed their lives in our keeping.
Within five seconds I had fired, using the curl of vapor for a target.—Page 108. On The Kentucky Frontier.
We had been sailing three hours or more; the sun was low in the heavens, and the shadows were already so dense on the western bank that a hundred painted brutes might have been concealed beneath the low hanging branches without our being any the wiser.
To me it seemed foolish to continue on any further, if our only purpose was to scan both sides of the river carefully, and I was on the point of saying as much to Kenton when a tiny puff of smoke darted out from amid the foliage to the right of us, hardly more than fifty yards away; a sharp report like unto the crack of a whip could be heard, while the splinters flew from the paddle in the scout's hand.
It goes without saying that I was startled; but not to such an extent as to deprive me of my wits.
I knew full well none but a savage would have fired at us, and the knowledge that the villainous enemy was so near served to make me forget the fear which had beset me a short time previous.
Within five seconds from the instant the tiny puff of smoke darted out like the tongue of a snake, I had fired, using the curl of vapor for a target, and Simon Kenton said approvingly, but with no trace of excitement in his tone:
"That was well done! A lad who is so quick with a shot should not be taken at a disadvantage, whatever turns up."