When the day was near to an end the boats were allowed to come closer together, and finally, when night was so near at hand that the shadows on the shore grew dense, Major Clarke gave a signal, by gestures, that we were to haul up till morning. "Are we to lay by the bank over night?" Paul asked, and I, unable to reply, appealed for information to the man nearest, who said much as if believing the question a foolish one: "I reckon there won't be any boatin' done after sunset, unless there's some great need. Those who drift down this river just now had best do so when it is possible to have a good view of either bank, and Major Clarke is not the man to take needless chances." "The savages can do no more mischief in the dark than when the sun shines," Paul said quietly. "That is where I'm not agreein' with you, my lad. In the light we can give as good as they send; but after dark, when there's no chance of seein' the reptiles, they have the upper hands. Howsomever, our opinion on the matter won't have any very great weight with the major, and you'll find that along about this time each day we'll be looking for a place to halt." The boat in which we sailed was the foremost of the fleet, and while the man was yet speaking the crew worked the sweeps until she rounded to under the bank, followed by the others, and in less than half an hour we were moored for the night. This done, the first duty was to learn whether there might be any of the enemy in the vicinity, and scouts were sent out at once, while the remainder of the company set about getting supper, or, perhaps I should say, eating it, for such food as we carried at that time was already cooked. There was no thought of immediate danger in my mind; as a matter of course I realized that we were surrounded by enemies, but after the battle of the morning I was confident the enemy had been driven to a respectful distance. I had ceased to think of Simon Kenton, save as pushing on down the river at his best pace, scolding because we were not with him to share in the labor, and I counted on spending the night in rest. It so chanced that Major Clarke was seated very near Paul and I when the first of the scouts returned, and the information he brought was sufficient to drive from the minds of every man on board all thought of idling. It appeared from the story we heard, that this scout, seeing a faint glow as of a light on the opposite side of the river, a mile below where we were lying, had taken a canoe from the nearest flat-boat and paddled across. There, after having landed, he crept noiselessly through the foliage an hundred yards or more from the bank until he saw that which explained to me, at least, why Paul and I failed to find the dugout when we returned after our foolish tramp.