The decision once taken the rebound had come with great force, and he
felt that he was now about to make atonement for his long neglect, and
more than neglect. Perhaps it had been ordained long ago that he should
be there at the critical moment, see the danger and bring them the
warning that would save. There was consolation in the thought.
He increased his pace and sped southward in the easy trot that he had
learned from his red friends, a gait that he could maintain
indefinitely, and with which he could put ground behind him at a
remarkable rate. His rifle he carried at the trail, his head was bent
slightly forward, and he listened intently to every sound of the forest
as he passed; nothing escaped his ear, whether it was a raccoon stirring
among the branches, a deer startled from its covert, or merely the wind
rustling the leaves. Instinct also told him that the forest was at
peace.
To the ordinary man the night with its dusk, the wilderness with its
ghostly tree trunks, and the silence would have been full of weirdness
and awe, black with omens and presages. Few would not have chilled to
the marrow to be alone there, but to Henry it brought only hope and the
thrill of exultation.
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