Tom stared and then smiled, and by this time the two had returned with their spoils to a little valley in which a little fire was burning, with the blaze smothered already, but a fine bed of coals left. The fish were cleaned with amazing quickness, and then Long Jim broiled them in a manner fit for kings. The five ate hungrily, but with due regard for manners. "You're a good fisherman, Tom Ross," said Shif'less Sol, "but it ought to be my job." "Why?" "'Cause it's the job o' a lazy man. I reckon that all fishermen, leastways them that fish in creeks an' rivers, are lazy, nothin' to do but set still an' doze till a fish comes along an' hooks hisself on to your bait. Then you jest hev to heave him in an' put the hook back in the water ag'in." "There's enough of the fish left for another meal," said Henry, "and I think we'd better put it in our packs and be off." "You still favor a retreat into the north?" said Paul. "Yes, and toward the northeast, too. We'll go in the direction of Piqua and Chillicothe, their big towns. As we've concluded over and over again, the offensive is the best defensive, and we'll push it to the utmost. What's your opinion, Sol? Who do you think will be the next leader to come against us?" "Red Eagle an' the Shawnees. I'm thinkin' they're curvin' out now to trap us, an' that Red Eagle is a mighty crafty fellow." They trod out the coals, threw some dead leaves over them, and took a course toward the northeast. It seemed pretty safe to assume that the ring of warriors was thickest in the south, and that they might slip through in the north. Time and distance were of little importance to them, and they felt able to find their rations as they went in the forest. They had been traveling about an hour at the easy walk of the border, when they heard a long cry behind them. "They've found the dead coals o' our fire," said Shif'less Sol. "Which means that they're not so far away," said Paul. "But we've been comin' over rocky ground, an' the trail ain't picked up so easy. An' we might make it a lot harder by wadin' a while up this branch." The brook fortunately led in the direction in which they wished to go. They walked in it a full half mile, and as it had a sandy bottom their footprints vanished almost at once. When they emerged at last they heard the long cry again, now from a point toward the east, and then a distant answer from a point in the west. Shif'less Sol laughed with intense enjoyment. "Guessin'! Jest guessin'!" he said. "They've found the dead coals an' they know that we wuz thar once, but that now we ain't, an' it's not whar we wuz but whar we ain't that's botherin' 'em." "Still," said Paul, "the more distance we put between them and us the better I, for one, will like it." "You're right, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "I guess we'd better shake our feet to a lively tune." They increased their walk to a trot, and fled through the great forest. CHAPTER VI THE OASIS