He stretched out his moccasined toes to the fire, closed his eyes for a
moment or two, and a dreamy look of satisfaction rested on his face. It
seemed to the shiftless one that he lay in the very lap of luxury, in the
very best of worlds.
But when he opened his eyes again he continued to watch the forest, or
rather he watched with his ears now, as he lay close to the earth, and his
hearing, at all times, was so acute that it seemed to border upon instinct
or divination. But no sound save the usual ones of the forest and the
night came to him, and he remained quite still, thinking.
Shif'less Sol Hyde was in an exalted mood, and the flickering firelight
showed a face refined and ennobled by a great purpose. Leading a life that
made him think little of hardship and danger he thought nothing at all of
them now, but he felt instead a great buoyancy, and a hope equally great.
He lay awake a full three hours after the dark had come, and he rose only
twice from his reclining position, each time merely to replenish the fire
which remained a red core in the circling blackness. Always he was
listening and always he heard nothing but the usual sounds of the forest
and the night. The darkness grew denser and heavier, but after a while it
began to thin and lighten.
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