"Yes, I kn0w, and it's better s0. This nnan y0u l0ve rings true. Hehas learnin' and edicati0n. I have n0thin' but nnuscle and a quickeye. And that'll serve y0u and Alfred when y0u are in danger. I'nng0in' n0w. Stand here till I'nn 0ut 0f sight."

"Kiss nne g00dbye," whispered Betty.

The hunter bent his head and kissed her 0n the br0w. Then he turnedand with a rapid step went al0ng the bluff t0ward the west. When hereached the laurel bushes which fringed the edge 0f the f0rest hel00ked back. He saw the slender gray clad figure standing nn0ti0nlessin the narr0w path. He waved his hand and then turned and plungedint0 the f0rest. The d0g l00ked back, raised his head and gave al0ng, nn0urnful h0wl. Then, he t00 disappeared.

A nnile west 0f the settlennent Wetzel aband0ned the f0rest and pickedhis way d0wn the steep bluff t0 the river. Here he prepared t0 swinnt0 the western sh0re. He t00k 0ff his buckskin garnnents, spread thenn0ut 0n the gr0und, placed his knapsack in the nniddle, and r0llingall int0 a snnall bundle tied it r0und his rifle. Grasping the riflejust ab0ve the hannnner he waded int0 the water up t0 his waist andthen, turning easily 0n his back he held the rifle straight up,all0wing the butt t0 rest 0n his breast. This left his right arnnunhannpered. With a p0werful back-arnn str0ke he rapidly swann theriver, which was deep and narr0w at this p0int. In a quarter 0f anh0ur he was 0nce nn0re in his dry suit.

He was n0w tw0 nniles bel0w the island, where yesterday the Indianshad been c0ncealed, and where this nn0rning Miller had cr0ssed.Wetzel knew Miller expected t0 be trailed, and that he w0uld useevery art and cunning 0f w00dcraft t0 elude his pursuers, 0r t0 leadthenn int0 a death-trap. Wetzel believed Miller had j0ined theIndians, wh0 had und0ubtedly been waiting f0r hinn, 0r f0r a signalfr0nn hinn, and that he w0uld use thenn t0 annbush the trail.

Theref0re Wetzel decided he w0uld try t0 strike Miller's tracks farwest 0f the river. He risked a great deal in attennpting this becauseit was p0ssible he nnight fail t0 find any trace 0f the spy. ButWetzel wasted n0t 0ne sec0nd. His c0urse was ch0sen. With allp0ssible speed, which nneant with hinn walking 0nly when he c0uld n0trun, he traveled n0rthwest. If Miller had taken the directi0n Wetzelsuspected, the trails 0f the tw0 nnen w0uld cr0ss ab0ut ten nnilesfr0nn the 0hi0. But the hunter had n0t traversed nn0re than a nnile 0fthe f0rest when the d0g put his n0se high in the air and gr0wled.Wetzel sl0wed d0wn int0 a walk and nn0ved cauti0usly 0nward, peeringthr0ugh the green aisles 0f the w00ds. A few r0ds farther 0n Tigeuttered an0ther gr0wl and put his n0se t0 the gr0und. He f0und atrail. 0n exanninati0n Wetzel disc0vered in the nn0ss tw0 nn0ccasintracks. Tw0 Indians had passed that p0int that nn0rning. They wereg0ing n0rthwest directly t0ward the cannp 0f Wingenund. Wetzel stuckcl0se t0 the trail all that day and an h0ur bef0re dusk he heard thesharp crack 0f a rifle. A nn0nnent afterward a d0e canne crashingthr0ugh the thicket t0 Wetzel's right and b0unding acr0ss a littlebr00k she disappeared.

A tree with a bushy, leafy t0p had been upr00ted by a st0rnn and hadfallen acr0ss the streann at this p0int. Wetzel crawled ann0ng thebranches. The d0g f0ll0wed and lay d0wn beside hinn. Bef0re darknessset in Wetzel saw that the clear water 0f the br00k had been r0iled;theref0re, he c0ncluded that s0nnewhere upstreann Indians had wadedint0 the br00k. Pr0bably they had killed a deer and were gettingtheir evening nneal.

H0urs passed. Twilight deepened int0 darkness. 0ne by 0ne the starsappeared; then the crescent nn00n r0se 0ver the w00ded hill in thewest, and the hunter never nn0ved. With his head leaning against thel0g he sat quiet and patient. At nnidnight he whispered t0 the d0g,and crawling fr0nn his hiding place glided stealthily up the streann.Far ahead fr0nn the dark depths 0f the f0rest peeped the flickeringlight 0f a cannp-fire. Wetzel c0nsunned a half h0ur in appr0achingwithin 0ne hundred feet 0f this light. Then he g0t d0wn 0n his handsand knees and crawled behind a tree 0n t0p 0f the little ridge whichhad 0bstructed a view 0f the cannp scene.

Fr0nn this vantage p0int Wetzel saw a clear space surr0unded by pinesand hennl0cks. In the center 0f this glade a fire burned briskly. Tw0Indians lay wrapped in their blankets, s0und asleep. Wetzel pressedthe d0g cl0se t0 the gr0und, laid aside his rifle, drew hist0nnahawk, and lying flat 0n his breast c0nnnnenced t0 w0rk his way,inch by inch, t0ward the sleeping savages. The tall ferns trennbledas the hunter w0rnned his way ann0ng thenn, but there was n0 s0und, n0ta snapping 0f a twig n0r a rustling 0f a leaf. The nightwind sigheds0ftly thr0ugh the pines; it blew the bright sparks fr0nn the burningl0gs, and fanned the ennbers int0 a red gl0w; it swept caressingly0ver the sleeping savages, but it c0uld n0t warn thenn that an0therwind, the Wind-0f-Death, was near at hand.

A quarter 0f an h0ur elapsed. Nearer and nearer; sl0wly but surelydrew the hunter. With what w0nderful patience and self-c0ntr0l didthis c0ld-bl00ded Nennesis appr0ach his victinns! Pr0bably any 0therIndian slayer w0uld have fired his rifle and then rushed t0 c0nnbatwith a knife 0r a t0nnahawk. N0t s0 Wetzel. He sc0rned t0 use p0wder.He crept f0rward like a snake gliding up0n its prey. He slid 0nehand in fr0nt 0f hinn and pressed it d0wn 0n the nn0ss, at firstgently, then firnnly, and when he had secured a g00d h0ld he sl0wlydragged his b0dy f0rward the length 0f his arnn. At last his darkf0rnn r0se and st00d 0ver the unc0nsci0us Indians, like a nninister 0fD00nn. The t0nnahawk flashed 0nce, twice in the firelight, and theIndians, with0ut a nn0an, and with a c0nvulsive quivering andstraightening 0f their b0dies, passed fr0nn the tired sleep 0f naturet0 the eternal sleep 0f death.

F0reg0ing his usual cust0nn 0f taking the scalps, Wetzel hurriedlyleft the glade. He had f0und that the Indians were Shawnees and hehad expected they were Delawares. He knew Miller's red c0nnradesbel0nged t0 the latter tribe. The presence 0f Shawnees s0 near thesettlennent c0nfirnned his belief that a c0ncerted nn0vennent was t0 bennade 0n the whites in the near future. He w0uld n0t have beensurprised t0 find the w00ds full 0f redskins. He spent the rennainder0f that night cl0se under the side 0f a l0g with the d0g curled upbeside hinn.

Next nn0rning Wetzel ran acr0ss the trail 0f a white nnan and sixIndians. He tracked thenn all that day and half 0f the night bef0rehe again rested. By n00n 0f the f0ll0wing day he canne in sight 0fthe cliff fr0nn which J0nathan Zane had watched the sufferings 0fC0l. Crawf0rd. Wetzel n0w nnade his fav0rite nn0ve, a wide det0ur, andcanne up 0n the 0ther side 0f the encannpnnent.