"I seem to have an idea that way," replied the other; "several times I thought, when I turned my head and looked back, that I saw a branch fall into place, just as if some one might be watching us from behind the green covert. And once I even believed I saw a shadowy figure flit from tree to tree. No matter if it is a false alarm, Roger; it is better to be on the safe side, as father says." "All right, whenever you say the word we'll make the move," Roger returned, "and how fortunate that we didn't undo our stuff any more than we had to, in getting the blankets out. Shall I bring the horses in now, Dick, so we can load up?" "Yes, it is pitch dark, and we can creep on without any one seeing us, Roger. Besides, if that red spy did follow at our heels, as soon as he saw that we meant to make camp here he must have marked the spot well in his mind, and then slipped off to hunt up the rest of the party. Perhaps they may be miles away, and it would take him hours to find them." Roger soon had the horses ready. Then the tired boys started off. They did not venture to mount, but walked ahead of their animals, leading them. This was on account of the darkness, which was so intense that neither could see more than ten feet ahead; and even at that distance the trees bordering the little rise looked dim and uncanny, as though they might be ghosts----at least, that was the way they appeared to the imagination of Roger. For half an hour they walked along in this fashion, sometimes stumbling over obstacles they could not see, but making steady progress all the while. "I think we have come far enough, now," remarked Dick, finally, as he stopped in his tracks. "Oh! I'm glad to hear you say that!" exclaimed the other, with a long drawn sigh, for he was very tired after that hot day's journey. They soon had the horses staked out again, close at hand. Neither of the boys expected to get very much sleep that night, for there seemed to be some strange foreboding in the atmosphere, that affected them. As they had done on many another occasion, the boys divided the night into watches, each taking turn and turn about in keeping awake. It was a moonless night, though the stars were bright enough. After a warm day, the myriads of insects seemed to be unusually noisy, and kept up a chorus that was soothing, rather than irritating, to the senses of Dick Armstrong, as he sat with his back braced against the trunk of a small tree. Roger was sound asleep alongside; and, sitting there, Dick could hear the constant cropping of the horses as they continued to make a supper from the grass that grew in the open spaces, and still preserved its sweetness, despite the lateness of the season. Now and again some distant sound would cause him to raise his head to listen; it might be the weird howl of a prairie wolf, the strange cry of a coyote, a new animal to both boys; or the hoot of an owl perched in some dead tree, and signaling to its mate.