Not a sound marked his advance, the forest fell silently
behind him, and he went on with unerring knowledge to the spot from
which the discordant sounds had come.
He approached another opening among the trees, like unto that in which
his comrades slept, and now, lying close in the undergrowth, he looked
for the first time upon the sight which so often boded ill to his kind.
The warriors were in a group, some sitting others standing, and though
there was no fire and the moonlight was slight he could mark the
primitive brutality of their features, the nature of the animal that
fought at all times for life showing in their eyes. They were hard,
harsh and repellent in every aspect, but the boy felt for a moment a
singular attraction, there was even a distant feeling of kinship as if
he, too, could live this life and had lived it. But the feeling quickly
passed, and in its place came the thought of his comrades whom he must
save.
The older of the warriors talked in a low voice, saying unknown words in
a harsh, guttural tongue, and Henry could guess only at their meaning.
But they seemed to be awaiting a signal and presently the low thrilling
note was heard again.
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