"They're comin', Dad.
We ain't got no time to lose." Re-entering the cabin, Mr.Howitt quieted the dog, while his companion fastened the rear door, and, in the silence, while they waited, a cricket under the corner of the house sang his plaintive song.

The sound of voices grew louder as the horses drew nearer.
Brave growled and would have barked again, but was quieted by the shepherd, who crouched at his side, with one hand on the dog's neck.
The older man smiled to himself.

It all seemed to him so like a child's game.

He had watched the mountaineer's preparation with amused interest, and had followed the young woodsman's directions, even to the loaded shotgun in his hand, as one would humor a boy in his play.

The scholar's mind, trained to consider the problems of civilization, and to recognize the dangers of the city, refused to entertain seriously the thought that there, in the peaceful woods, in the dead of night, a company of ruffians was seeking to do him harm.
The voices had ceased, and the listeners heard only the sound of the horses' feet, as the party passed the ruined cabin under the bluff.