The light died far down and only a few smoldering coals were left. The
blackness of the night, coming ever closer and closer, hovered over his
companions and hid their faces from him. The great trunks of the trees
grew shadowy and dim. Out of the darkness came a sound slight but not in
harmony with the ordinary noises of the forest. His acute senses, the
old inherited primitive instinct, noticed at once the jarring note. He
moved ever so little but an extraordinary change came over his face. The
idle look of luxury and basking warmth passed away and the eyes became
alert, watchful, defiant. Every feature, every muscle was drawn, as if
he were at the utmost tension. Almost unconsciously his figure sank down
farther against the log, until it blended perfectly with the bark and
the fallen leaves below. Only an eye of preternatural keenness could
have separated the outline of the boy from the general scene.
For five minutes he lay and moved not a particle. Then the discordant
note came again among the familiar sounds of the forest and he glanced
at his comrades. They slept peacefully. His lip curled slightly, not
with contempt but with that unconscious feeling of superiority; they
would not have noticed, even had they been awake.
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