Would the settlers roll the stones down, he wondered? They would, unless they knew that he was among the party. But would they discover this fact? If they did not, Tom would likely be killed by a rock, the same as if he were a redcoat. CHAPTER XVI The Search for Dick Ben Foster kept struggling on through the woods and darkness for quite a while, and then, not hearing any sounds of pursuit, he paused and listened intently for a few moments, after which he gave a low, but penetrating whistle, the same signal that the three youths often used. If Dick were within two or three hundred yards, he would hear and reply to the signal. There came no reply, however, and after waiting a few minutes, Ben whistled again, with the same result. Then he set out through the forest, but did not go far, before stopping again. “I’m not going any farther till I know where Dick is,” he murmured, “He may have gotten into trouble, may have fallen and knocked his head against a tree and fallen into the hands of the redskins again. I’ll stay here till morning, and then see if I can find him.” Ben found a place at the foot of a big tree, and lying down, was soon asleep. He slept till morning, and then sat up and looked around him. All was quiet, and there were neither redskins nor redcoats in sight. Ben drew a sigh of relief. He had feared that he might see enemies in the vicinity. But, what should he do? In which direction should he go? He did not know where to look for Dick, and so he decided to start back in the direction from which he had come in escaping from the Indian village. It would be somewhat dangerous to venture back to the vicinity of the village, but Ben was determined to find Dick, if possible. He feared his comrade had been recaptured by the redskins, and if this were the case, it should be his business to rescue him. Ben had taken only a few steps, however, when he caught sight of a party of patriots coming toward him, as he could tell by their blue uniforms. “There comes one of the parties sent out by General Greene!” thought Ben, with a feeling of delight. “Now I can guide them to the Indian village, and they can put the redskins to rout and rescue Dick, if he is there.” He hastened to meet the soldiers, and when he met them, he found that one was his own company, under the command of Captain Morgan. The captain was naturally somewhat surprised to see Ben, but was glad, and asked if he could give him any news regarding the whereabouts of Indians. “Indeed I can,” was the reply. “Dick and myself were captured by a party of redskins, and they were about to burn us at the stake, but somebody slipped up and cut the ropes binding us to the trees, and we managed to get away. But we got separated in the darkness, and I don’t know where Dick is.” “When was that?” “Last night.” “How far is the Indian village from here?” the captain asked.