Eating had now become a matter of form and necessity. There was no
longer the keen joy in making camp. During the three days the boys
had seen no living object except birds, rabbits, many deer and two
bears, all of which they had left unmolested in their eagerness to
press forward. But at noon on this day Alan, having occasion to
glance backwards, was positive that he saw a human head. Whether
white man or Indian he could not determine. The incident gave the
lads no little, concern, but as no further sign of a human being was
seen that day they finally forgot the matter.
That night, after making tea and taking a little more pains than
usual with their supper in an effort to revive their spirits as well
as their tired bodies, Ned and Alan spread their blankets at the
edge of a pine grove. Almost before it was dark they were both
sound asleep.
Some hours later Alan awoke with the instant consciousness of an
unusual sound. Motionless and straining his ears, he heard deep
breathing just behind him. A new moon was just sinking below the
buttes on the far side of the little valley in which they had
stopped for rest, but under the pines the shadows were deep.
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