"He has gone on ahead, to see if all is right at home, and if it is to bring help."
"I would give all I possess to be at your cabin," said the poor woman, with a sigh. She tried to rise, then sank back heavily. "I—I—don't see how I am going to walk."
"You had better rest a bit longer, Mrs. Risley. "There is no great hurry. It may pay us to go slow—with so many redskins lurking about. They may be—"
Henry broke off short, and thinking his companion was about to speak, clapped his hand over her mouth. Through the stillness of the forest he had caught sounds that could mean but one thing—the approach of several men. In a moment more he caught glimpses of a flickering light approaching.
"We must hide!" he whispered in Mrs. Risley's ear. "Come, there isn't a second to lose!"
"But where shall we go?" she panted, her heart leaping into her throat. "I cannot run a step—it will kill me!"
The young hunter looked around in perplexity. There was some brushwood to their right, growing among some sharp-pointed rocks. He caught his companion's hand and almost dragged her in that direction. On the rocks Mrs. Risley's foot slipped and she gave a cry of pain.
