The boys rode in silence, broken only by occasional comments upon their stormy trip thus far, and sometimes they spoke of the small wild furry folk scampering away through the underbrush aroused by the intrusion of these strangers upon their domains. The calm of a warm summer afternoon in the forest settled upon the boys, and they were both glad of the relief, after their continued excitement and vigilance. Dick's thoughts traveled back to their home up north, and lingered longer than necessary on a very close relative of Ben Foster's, namely, Ben's sister. And when he recovered with a guilty start from those pleasant memories, his mind roamed again to Ben, himself, lying in the Charleston hospital, with Tom and Tim, bless them, watching over him. They, too, were perhaps under way by this time and before long they would either meet where the trail struck in across the mountains, or they would be traveling very closely after one another. And yet, in the unforeseen future, one of them might fail to complete that journey. But no, Dick refused to entertain such discouraging thoughts. Dick came to with a start. He had been dozing there in the shade of the great forest trees; in fact, Fritz was still half asleep in his saddle. The horses had walked steadily on, all this time, however, and now they were back in the main roadway again. "Wake up, old man!" called Dick. "Yah. Um," yawned Fritz, coming back to earth. "We have got to keep our eyes open, now," said Dick. And they did, until some time after night fall, when both of them, tired with the day's march, climbed from their saddles, walked back into the sparsely covered timber land with their horses, and prepared for another night in the open. CHAPTER VII. ON THE BEACH. The day was just beginning to break in the East when the little wave-tossed boat bearing the Patriot survivors of the ill-fated ship, drew in sight of land. The first bright rays of the rising sun showed the low fringe of shore to the four in the boat, and it was a very welcome sight indeed. Tom had now recovered his strength, and was anxious to take his place at the oars, but although his comrades were tired out with several hours' rowing, they refused to allow him to exert himself till he had fully recovered from the strain of the night's battle. Tom's part in that fight had been the hardest, and he had certainly shown himself to be a true Dare, fearless and strong in all circumstances. As the light grew stronger, Tim, who was in the bow, exclaimed, "Faith, and it seems to me they are cooking our breakfast for us." Although the rest had no idea who "they" referred to, all looked towards the distant shore, and it seemed, as Tim had said, that several thin streams of smoke were rising and joining into a heavier column above the treetops. "Looks like signs of an encampment," said Tom. "I wonder whether they are friends or enemies?"