Jim and the shiftless one almost threw
them on board, thrust a pair of oars into the bands of Standish,
another into the hands of his wife, and then told them to pull
with all their might for the fort.
"And you," cried Standish, "what becomes of you?"
Then a singular expression passed over his face-he had guessed
Henry's plan.
"Don't you trouble about us," said the shiftless one. "We will
come later. Now pull! pull!"
Standish and his wife swung on the oars, and in two minutes the
boat and its occupants were lost in the darkness. Tom Ross and
Sol did not pause to watch them, but ran swiftly back to the
house. Henry was at the door.
"Come in," he said briefly, and they entered. Then he closed the
door and dropped the bar into place. Shif'less Sol and Paul were
already inside, one sitting on the chair and the other on the
edge of the bed. Some coals, almost hidden under ashes,
smoldered and cast a faint light in the room, the only one that
the house had, although it was divided into two parts by a rough
homespun curtain. Henry opened one of the window shutters a
little and looked out. The dawn had not yet come, but it was not
a dark night, and he looked over across the little clearing to
the trees beyond.
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