“A good three days’ march from here,” said the general. “I think we had better break camp and start with the entire force. Give the orders to your respective companies, officers. We will move at once.”
The officers saluted and hastened out, and Dick remained to answer the questions that General Greene wished to ask about the location of the fort, the number of the settlers, and particulars concerning the Indians, etc.
Within an hour after dinner, the little army was ready to start, and at the word from General Greene, it set out on the march.
In the lead rode General Greene and some of the officers, and Dick, while behind came the soldiers, marching steadily, and with a grim, determined look on their faces. They knew that they were going to the rescue of a party of settlers surrounded by redskins, and were eager to reach their destination and get a chance at the Indians.
When evening came, they stopped for a brief interval on the bank of a little stream. Here they built campfires, cooked and ate supper, and after resting an hour, set out again, it being moonlight till after midnight.
They marched till the moon went down and it grew so dark they could not see to make their way onward. Then they stopped and went into camp for the rest of the night.
They were up early next morning, however, these hardy patriots and after having eaten breakfast, again set out, marching steadily onward till noon, stopping then less than an hour, to eat a cold bite for dinner.
They kept up the march till near midnight, again, with stops for supper, and to rest a few minutes at a time. Then slept four or five hours, and were up and away again.
They arrived in the vicinity of Peaceful Valley about the middle of the following afternoon, and stopped about a mile away, while Dick went forward to reconnoiter and see what the Indians were doing, to ascertain if they were still there and the fort had not been captured.
Dick advanced at a moderate pace, keeping a sharp lookout around him, till within about a third of a mile of the edge of the valley, and then he made his way forward at a slower pace, pausing frequently, to look about him, to see if there were any signs of redskins in the vicinity.