Hardy was very eager to see the town so closely associated with the adventures of his two heroes. Here was the place in which Boone had been held prisoner for several weeks, and whence he had made his wonderful journey to Boonesborough in less than five days. It was here that Kenton had run the gauntlet, and there upon a mound stood the council-house into which he had fled. Here, too, in all probability, Hardy himself would now have been a prisoner, suffering torture and perhaps bound to the stake, but for his rescue by Kenton a few nights previous. To Kenton the condition of the village was an open book. He could tell from the character of the crowd about the square, from the state of the wigwams, from the number of the fires and the extent of the cooking, and from a hundred details which would have seemed trivial to the ordinary observer, whether the town contained its usual population or any considerable number of warriors were absent. A short scrutiny satisfied him that a large proportion of the men were absent, as he had expected to find them at this time of the year, and that nothing out of the ordinary was on foot. There did not seem to be anything further to be learned from their post of observation, and Kenton was preparing to descend when they observed a young brave leaving the village and sauntering in their direction. The scouts crouched, still and watchful, in their leafy hiding place, whilst the Indian passed almost under their tree and continued his stroll into the forest. Kenton, whispering to Hardy to follow after an interval of a few minutes, slipped noiselessly to the earth and followed the redskin. Hardy allowed five minutes to elapse before he started after his companion. He had hardly reached the ground when he heard a rustling which he rightly inferred to be the sound of a struggle. He hurried forward and in a few minutes came upon Kenton, calmly sitting upon his captive, whose mouth was stopped with the scout’s fur cap. Hardy quickly tied the Indian’s arms to his side and loosely hobbled his feet. He was then hurried forward, after being made to understand that at the first outcry, or attempt to escape, he would be shot dead. The party went on for six or seven miles, during which Kenton used his best endeavors to confuse the trail. They had struck away from the beaten paths and were in an unfrequented locality when they came upon a small stream in the midst of woods. Here Kenton decided to camp. He had noticed the spoor of deer upon the bank and proposed to get one of the animals at a later hour of the night when they should come down to drink in the moonlight. He and Hardy were beginning to feel the need of substantial food, and would require a supply for future use. He might discharge his gun and light a fire with less risk at a late hour and, moreover, it was not at all likely that any Indians would be encamped so close to the town.