Having walked all day, this severe exertion throughout the night wearied me excessively, and when the first gray light of coming dawn filtered through the foliage, it seemed to me as if I was on the verge of exhaustion.

The labor had told even on Simon Kenton, and Paul was keeping the pace only through sheer force of will-power.

It was a wondrous relief to me when the scout pointed ahead to what appeared to be a dense growth of bushes, through which ran a tiny stream, as he said:

"I reckon we'll find no better place in which to make a stand, than there."

"Almost anything will please me so that we come to a halt speedily, for I'm well-nigh winded," I replied, speaking with difficulty because of my heavy breathing, and in another instant we three stood facing each other in the thicket, where as yet the light of a new day had not penetrated.

The savages might not approach very near during the darkness without taking more risks than such reptiles fancied, and during a certain time we need not fear molestation.

Paul and I flung ourselves at full length on the ground, for in no other position did it seem possible to recover from the exhaustion which beset us; but Simon Kenton remained standing at a spot from where he could have a view of some portion of our surroundings when the sun had dispelled the gloom.

"I suppose there is good reason to believe the Indians will kill us before we can arrive at Corn Island?" Paul said in a tone of one asking a question, after he had recovered his breath sufficiently to speak, and Simon Kenton replied quietly.

"Two or three such races as we have had this night should give them good cause for discouragement."

"It is a question whether they or we are getting the worst of this business," I added, trying to speak calmly, as had my comrades; but making a bad job of it.

"Twenty-four hours is a long stretch," Paul said thoughtfully, "and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open."

"Go to sleep, lad," Kenton cried. "We must contrive to get some rest 'twixt now an' night, an' if you two take a nap at once I'll have a chance later."

It may seem strange that boys should be able to sleep under such circumstances as these, and yet the permission had no sooner been given by the scout than I was stretched out at full length, my eyes closing despite all efforts to keep them open.

The report of a rifle, discharged near at hand, awakened me, and I looked around to see the scout reloading his rifle.

"Did you wing your bird?" I asked sleepily.

"I hope never to use this 'ere piece again if I didn't. The sneak has been wrigglin' his way toward us for the last ten minutes, an' I only waited to let him believe he was keepin' his red carcass out of sight, although I marked it plainly from the instant he started."

"Have you seen the others?"

"Yes, now an' then through the bushes; but not in such a fashion as I wanted in order to get a good aim. They've camped down somewhere near that big gum tree yonder, needin' rest as much as we did, I reckon."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Three hours or more."

"Then it's time you took a turn at it," and I rose to my feet, Paul rising up at the same time.

Simon Kenton insisted that we lie down again; but it was to me as if the repose had been sufficiently long, so thoroughly was I awakened, and after a short discussion he did as I suggested.

It is needless for me to set down all that was done or said during the remainder of this long day.

Kenton slept a full four hours, and during that time we had fired twice at the skulking reptiles as they flitted from one tree to another, feeling certain that some of the bullets had taken effect.

Then the scout ordered us to get more sleep, nor would he listen to my assertions that I was fully recovered from the fatigue which had beset me so sorely.

"You have another long race before you, an' stand in need of more sleep if you count on holdin' such a pace as I shall set from the goin' down of the sun till it rises again."

"How long do you expect bein' able to keep up such a flight?" Paul asked quietly, as if it was a matter in which he had no great interest.

"So far we seem to be doin' rather better than holdin' our own, an' I reckon we'd best keep up the game. At least three of the painted snakes are feelin' the worse for havin' begun this little chase, an' we're as sound as ever."

It was on my tongue's end to say that we could not hope for the same good fortune during another night of racing through the forest when it was too dark to distinguish anything not directly in our path; but I checked myself in time, for no good could come of speaking dispiriting words while we were in such a desperate situation.

We two lads lay down again to sleep, in accordance with Kenton's command; but were aroused for a few moments when the scout discharged his rifle, and I heard him mutter to himself:

"That makes the fourth to-day, an' if we can keep up this play two nights more, they may come to believe that the game is not worth the candle."

Sleepily I thought we might find before many hours had passed that all the shooting was not to be done by us; but the idea was no more than in mind when my eyes closed again, and I was not conscious of the surroundings until Kenton shook me roughly.

"It's time we pushed ahead once more," he said in a whisper as I seized my rifle, believing the savages were about to make a determined attack, and he added with a low laugh, "There's no more danger threatenin' than when you was last awake, lad; but the night is well on us, an' we should be movin'."

He awakened Paul, and the little lad rose to his feet ready for any emergency; but speaking not a word.

We had yet some portion of our meat, and from this a hurried meal was made, after which Simon Kenton showed himself ready to set out once more on what I believed was a fruitless journey, for it did not seem possible we would live to finish it.

It was like a nightmare, that race through the thicket with the murderous fiends close on our trail, shooting now and then when in the gloom the waving branches told of our course.

Kenton kept his word, so far as setting a rapid pace was concerned. Never before nor since have I strained every muscle and nerve for so many hours on a stretch.

There were times when we pressed on as if running a foot-race, and more than once did one or the other of us come full against a tree with such force that we were hurled backward at full length on the ground.

There was no time to attend to bruises, however severe, for close in our rear came the relentless brutes, hoping, most likely, for just such a mishap when they could lessen our number by one.

I believe they fired at us fifty times before we halted for a day's rest which must be spent in defending ourselves, and by the mercy of God no bullet came nigh us.

I watched eagerly for the first signs of dawn; my breath was coming thick and fast, and I feared lest I might fall and not find myself able to rise again.

Paul had kept close at Kenton's heels without betraying fatigue or distress; but just at the moment when it seemed as if I must halt, whatever might be the consequences, he cried sharply:

"I can go no further. You two must keep on without me! It is better that I be left behind than for all to perish!"

"We'll all come out of it with whole skins, or fall together," Simon Kenton said sharply. "Try to hold the pace, lad, till we find a place in which we can defend ourselves."

Even as he spoke we had arrived at a spot where half a dozen large trees had been overthrown by the wind, forming exactly the kind of a fortification needed by those sorely beset as were we.

Kenton helped Paul over the logs into the very center, and I followed with many a stumble, falling on my face, utterly blown, when we were in the middle of the timber network.

CHAPTER XII.
A NOVEL BATTLE

It was yet so dark in the forest that one must needs strain his eyes to distinguish objects ten paces in advance, therefore it can be readily understood how near to us were the howling wolves, when I say that they set up a shout of mingled triumph and menace as we thus brought the race to a close.

It was evident they believed we were now in their power, and indeed there was much the same thought in my mind when I had aroused from the stupor of exhaustion sufficiently to take note of our surroundings.

Simon Kenton had led us into the midst of a pile of fallen timber overgrown with vines and young bushes, which covered a space of perhaps an hundred square feet. It was a place of refuge which stood in a partially cleared spot, and might readily be surrounded, while, to make our way out, it would be necessary to offer one's body as a target to whomsoever might be on watch.

In the gloom of the morning it had appeared to be a better place for defense than really was the case, and I question if the scout would have halted here had he understood what it really was.

While we remained in the very center of the mass we were screened from view, and could see a goodly portion of all that might be going on around us; but when that has been said all the advantages of the place have been described.

In order to get out of it, once we were inside, it would be necessary, as I have already said, to expose ourselves to the fire of the enemy, and before many hours should elapse we would be forced to take to our heels unless we were minded to die of hunger or thirst.

We no longer had any food with us, and there was not a drop of water nearer than the river. Already it seemed as if my mouth was parched to the point of swelling, and because it was beyond my reach, I longed most intensely for something to quench thirst.

The knowledge of our situation, as I have set it down here, came upon me immediately after I recovered slightly from the effects of the fatigue caused by the swift race, and, looking into Simon Kenton's face, I knew full well he had become aware of our disagreeable situation.

Little Paul Sampson, plucky lad that he had proven himself to be, was the only one who appeared indifferent to the danger.

When it was possible for him to sit upright, for he had been more nearly exhausted than I was, instead of trying to discover all the disadvantages of the place, he began to do his share toward the defense by crawling beneath the fallen timber until he could command a good view of that portion of the forest from which we had come, and at the same time screen his own body from those who were most likely searching with their keen eyes for a living target.

I believe Simon Kenton read from my face the thoughts which were in my mind, for he said slowly, as if weighing well each word:

"It must be a battle rather than simply a time of defense. We can hold our position without any great sufferin' for four-an'-twenty hours; but at the end of that time there's bound to be a change if we count on seein' Corn Island again."

"How will you bring about a battle unless the savages are disposed to give us the chance?" I asked petulantly. "They can remain under cover any length of time, and yet keep us in view. It isn't a case of starvation with them."

"A man is never beaten until he loses hope," the scout replied cheerily, and the words were no more than spoken before Paul's rifle rang out sharply.

"There's one the less!" the lad cried triumphantly. "They're creeping up to get a shot at us, an' we've only to keep our eyes open in order to lessen their number greatly 'twixt now and sunrise."

These brave words brought me out of my fit of despondency in a twinkling, and with a sense of shame that this lad from the east should show himself more of a man than myself, I crept down to the edge of our barricade.

Now we three lay where could be had a view of all our surroundings, and during the next hour, at the end of which time the sun was sending long shafts of light through the openings in the forest, we succeeded in sending five of the scoundrels to their happy hunting-grounds, or back under cover disabled by serious wounds.

Such a beginning gave me great courage, until I came to realize that it was not probable the reptiles would expose themselves so readily after having received such a sharp lesson.

Simon Kenton had evidently made up his mind to some course of action which promised success, for he said cheerily when it was certain the red snakes had withdrawn to a safe distance:

"You two lads are to bottle up some sleep now, for unless I'm mistaken we shall make a change of quarters by sunset."

"There's little hope they'll let us go out of here with our lives," I replied despondently, and the scout added sharply:

"Thus far we have no reason to complain, an' we won't prove ourselves fools by lookin' into the future for trouble. Get to sleep, lads, for at noon I shall claim the same privilege."

Weary as we were, it was not a difficult task to close our eyes in slumber, and within five minutes from the giving of the order we were sleeping soundly, not to awaken until the sun was directly overhead, when the scout shook us into wakefulness.

"You've had a good six hours of rest, an' I'm countin' on scoopin' in only three. Keep a sharp watch till the afternoon is half spent, an' then rouse me."

"Why should you not sleep as long as we have?" I asked as Paul crept through the logs to where he could best have a view of our surroundings.

"Because then will have come the time when we must make ready for such a battle as will satisfy yonder brutes that it is not safe to run down three white men with the idea of cornerin' them in a forest like this."

Without explaining what he proposed to do, Simon Kenton betook himself to his well-earned rest, and we lads stood guard to the best of our ability.

Three hours passed in silence, and during that time we had not seen even a tuft of feathers to betoken the whereabouts of an enemy.

By allowing my mind to dwell upon the disagreeable fact that we were without food or water, I was suffering intensely from both hunger and thirst, and because of thus yielding free rein to imagination, I was dispirited and hopeless.

Paul took it upon himself to arouse the scout, and once Kenton's eyes were open he set about bringing on the battle of which he had spoken.

A few moments' work with our knives sufficed to provide each of us with a long pole, and then he explained his plan.

According to his orders, we were to lie on the ground with our rifles ready for use, and with the poles make such a rustling of the foliage as would cause the enemy to believe we were creeping out.

It would be but natural the savages should fire whenever they saw a swaying of the bushes or branches; but, because of the length of the poles, we would not be near enough to the point of disturbance to run any great chance of being hit by the bullets.

Kenton had given the name of "battle" to this maneuver of his; but it was neither more nor less than a trick, and such an one as the savages themselves most delighted in.

They had no good cause to be joyous over this one, however, for it worked as Kenton had counted on, and before the painted wolves understood the game, they had received a lesson such as I warrant they never forgot.

When the three of us were in position Simon Kenton gave the signal, and we prodded vigorously with the poles.

In a twinkling half a dozen rifles were discharged from different points amid the foliage, thus showing that the enemy was keeping sharp watch, and we each had a target.

From, out of our barricade whistled three bullets, and every one found its mark!

It was only with difficulty that I repressed a cry of triumph, for now I began to understand that we might soon clear a way for ourselves, unless this band of reptiles had more real courage than their race usually displayed when pitted against white men.

After an interval of five minutes or more we repeated the maneuver, receiving a similar reply as before, and were able to deal death or wounds to another trio.

"Six wiped out or disabled in as many minutes!" Simon Kenton said in a low tone of triumph. "What do you think now of my battle, lads?"

"If they will fall into the trap twice more, we can count on having this bank of the river to ourselves," I replied incautiously loud, and the scout said warningly:

"Have a care, Louis, have a care. If they suspect what kind of a game we are playin' there'll be little chance of their doin' as we wish."

Well, lest I draw this poor tale out to such length as to weary him who may read, it is enough if I say that three times more did we succeed in finding targets for our rifles by using the poles vigorously, and I was certain that from the moment the scout was awakened until the savages refused to come out at our bidding, we had sent bullets into no less than thirteen of them.

Considering the fact that their number could not have exceeded forty, judging from what we had seen and heard, this work of ours was well calculated to discourage them.

They had poured into the pile of logs no less than an hundred bullets, and yet we had not received a scratch!

I almost forgot that I was hungry or thirsty, for the fever of killing was upon me, and my one hope was that we might draw them two or three times more in order to give the villainous brutes such a lesson in blood-letting as they had never learned before.

In this I was disappointed, however, for the snakes had either come to understand our game, or were drawn off to nurse their wounds, and we saw no more of them.

At nightfall we stole cautiously out from among the fallen timber, and not a shot was sent after us.

A mile or more from the scene of our greatest triumph we made a halt that we might quench our thirst from the river, and during the night our march was less hurried than when we began the race.

We stopped for breakfast next morning, after shooting a turkey, and by this time it was certain that the painted reptiles who had relied on spilling our blood, no longer retained such desire at the price we set upon it.

After this we pushed forward at a leisurely pace, and in comparative security, until we arrived at Corn Island, where my mother greeted Paul and me as if we were come from the dead.

What we did there, or what further adventures befell Simon Kenton before he was able to revisit his home in Virginia, is not for me to set down here, since it forms a tale by itself. Neither can I relate how I made a home for my mother in that new settlement which came to be known by the name of Louisville; but it seems necessary I should copy from what another has written, the story of how Major Clarke succeeded in wresting the valley of the Mississippi from the clutches of the British, and with such account I bring this writing to an end, hoping others may find as much pleasure in the reading as I have in the writing of it.

"On the twenty-ninth of January, 1779, intelligence was received that Governor Hamilton had marched an expedition against Vincennes, from Detroit, nearly a month previously, and that the town was again in possession of the enemy. It was also said that another and more formidable expedition was to be sent out in the spring to recapture Kaskaskia, and to assail the various posts on the Kentucky frontier. With his usual promptness and energy Colonel Clarke (the Virginia legislature had recently promoted him) prepared to anticipate the enemy, and strike the first blow.

"He planned an expedition against Vincennes, and on the seventh of February commenced his march through the wilderness, with one hundred and seventy-five men. He had previously despatched Captain Rogers and forty men, two four-pounders, and a boat, with orders to force their way up the Wabash to a point near the mouth of White River, and there wait for further orders.

"For a whole week Colonel Clarke's party traversed the drowned lands of Illinois, suffering every privation from wet, cold and hunger. When they arrived at the Little Wabash, at a point where the forks of the stream are three miles apart, they found the intervening space covered with water to a depth of three feet. The points of dry land were five miles apart, and all that distance those hardy soldiers waded the cold snow-flood, sometimes armpit deep.

"On the evening of the eighteenth they halted a little distance from the mouth of Embarrass Creek, and so near Vincennes that they could hear the booming of the evening gun. Here they encamped for the night, and the next morning at dawn, with their faces blackened with gunpowder to make themselves appear hideous, they crossed the river in a boat they had secured, and pushed on through the floods toward the town.

"Just as they reached dry land, in sight of Vincennes, they captured a resident, and sent him into the town with a letter demanding the immediate surrender of the place and fort. The people, taken by surprise, were greatly alarmed, and believed the expedition to be from Kentucky, composed of the fierce and strong of that advancing commonwealth. Had armed men dropped in their midst from the clouds, they could not have been more astonished, for it seemed impossible for this little band to have traversed the deluged country. The people were disposed to comply with the demand, but Governor Hamilton, who commanded in person, would not allow it.

"A siege commenced, and for fourteen hours a furious conflict continued. The next day the town and fort were surrendered, and the garrison were made prisoners of war. The stars and stripes took the place of the red cross of St. George; a round of thirteen guns proclaimed the victory, and that night the exhausted troops of Colonel Clarke reposed in comfort."