Little arrows of golden light
pierced through the foliage of the trees, and sparkled on the
surface of the water. In the cast the red sun was coming from
his nightly trip. Henry looked down at the sleepers. They were
overpowered by exhaustion, and would not awake of their own
accord for a long time.
Shif'less Sol caught his look.
"Why not let 'em sleep on?" he said.
Then he and Jim Hart took the oars, and the shiftless one and Tom
Ross resumed their rifles. The day was coming fast, and the
whole forest was soon transfused with light.
No one of the five had slept during the night. They did not feel
the need of sleep, and they were upborne, too, by a great
exaltation. They had saved the prisoners thus far from a
horrible fate, and they were firmly resolved to reach, with them,
some strong settlement and safety. They felt, too, a sense of
exultation over Brant, Sangerachte, Hiokatoo, the Butlers, the
Johnsons, Wyatt, and all the crew that had committed such
terrible devastation in the Wyoming Valley and elsewhere.
The full day clothed the earth in a light that turned from silver
to gold, and the woman and the children still slept. The five
chewed some strips of venison, and looked rather lugubriously at
the pieces they were saving for Mary Newton and the children.
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