THE BOAT BUILDERS Robert and Grosvenor lay, side by side, propped up partly on their elbows, their rifles thrust well forward, and watching toward the north.

They were not able to see anything, save the dark outline of the forest, and a little puff of smoke rising where an Indian had fired.

The wilderness itself was absolutely still but Robert's vivid imagination as usual peopled it thickly.

Although his eye did not reach any human figure his mind pictured them everywhere, waiting patiently for a chance at his comrades and himself.

He, more than any other of the five, realized the full extent of the danger.