The three welcomed him and
gave him a place at their breakfast fire.
"I wuz at Marlowe," he said, "when the word reached me, but I started just
an hour later. I struck your trail, Sol, two days back, an' I traveled
nearly all last night. I saw Henry join you an' then Tom."
Shif'less Sol laughed. He had a soft, mellow laugh that crinkled up the
corners of his mouth, and made his eyes shine. There was no doubt that a
man who laughed such a laugh was enjoying himself.
"I reckon you didn't have much trouble follerin' that trail o' ourn," he
said.
Jim Hart answered the laugh with a grin.
"Not much," he replied. "It was like a wagon road through the wilderness.
The ashes uv your last camp fire weren't sca'cely cold when I passed by."
"We're all here 'cept the fifth feller," said Tom Ross.
"The fifth will come," said Henry emphatically.
"Uv course," said Tom Ross with equal emphasis.
"And when he comes," said Shif'less Sol, "we take right hold o' the big
job."
They lingered awhile over their breakfast, but saw no one approaching.
Then they took up the march again, going steadily southward in single
file, talking little, but leaving a distinct trail. They were only four,
but they were a formidable party, all strong of arm, keen of eye and ear,
skilled in the lore of the forest, and every one bore the best weapons
that the time could furnish.
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