“Hooray!” cried Robert, turning a full handspring to show his approval of this move.
“We must get our horses and be ready to start at once,” reminded Mason. “Let’s waste no time.”
The news that the trail of Black Hawk had been discovered was received with great joy in the camp. The men were all eager to start and with rapidly rising spirits they awaited the order to move. More enthusiasm was shown by the troops than they had displayed at any time up to the present. If it was fighting and danger they wanted there would be no cause for their enthusiasm to lag again either. At last the preparations had been all made and General Henry drew his men up in order to address a few words of advice to them.
“We have at last struck the right track,” he said. “The trail is fresh and we must follow it like hounds on the scent. We have reason to believe that our enemies are sorely pressed for food. That fact will help us, but we must take quick advantage of it. We must strike before Black Hawk can secure supplies and consequently our watchword must be ‘speed.’ We must sacrifice everything to speed and to that end I charge you men to discard every article that is not absolutely essential to you. We must not be weighted down with unnecessary baggage. I have confidence in you all and I know that every man can be counted on to the utmost.”
This speech of General Henry’s was greeted with wild cheering and every man immediately did as he had been advised. Blankets, cooking utensils, and all sorts and kinds of camp equipage were thrown aside. Ammunition and a scanty supply of food was all that the men retained.
The word to advance was given and the army moved forward. What had been a band of discouraged and gloomy men was now a body of spirited and eager soldiers. Every man realized that at last they were not following a will-o’-the-wisp, but a certainty. They knew that Black Hawk was not far away now and that if they tried hard enough they could probably overtake him. They were all determined to do their utmost.
“What an awful country!” exclaimed Robert, when they were a few miles out from camp. “Is the whole region filled with swamps and sink holes like this?”
“Pretty much so, I’m afraid,” replied Mason. “It makes the traveling pretty hard, doesn’t it?”
“I should say so,” agreed Joseph. “The men don’t seem to mind it though. Just look at them! They look like a lot of schoolboys out for a picnic.”
“They’re on the trail of big game now,” said Mason. “Nothing else matters. We cannot be so far away from it, either,” he added. “Just look there.”