"
Paul strained his eyes, but still he could see nothing, only the green
waving forest, the patches of undergrowth, the rocks on the steep hills
to right and left, and the placid blue sky overhead. It did not seem
possible to him that they were about to enter into a struggle for life
and for those dearer than life.
"Don't shoot wild, Paul," said Henry. "Don't pull the trigger, until you
can look down the sights at a vital spot."
A few feet away from them, peering over a log and with his rifle ever
thrust forward was Mr. Pennypacker, a schoolmaster, a graduate of a
college, an educated and refined man, but bearing his part in the dark
and terrible wilderness conflict that often left no wounded.
The stillness was now so deep that even the scouts could hear no sound
in front. The savage army seemed to have melted away, into the air
itself, and for full five minutes they lay, waiting, waiting, always
waiting for something that they knew would come. Then rose the fierce
quavering war cry poured from hundreds of throats, and the savage horde,
springing out of the forests and thickets, rushed upon them.
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