A hundred yards behind them came the vanguard, then Gage with a picked body of British troops, after them the axmen, who had done such great work, behind them the main body of the artillery, the wagons and the packhorses, while a strong force of regulars and Virginians closed up the rear.

Scouts and skirmishers ranged the flanks, though they were ordered to go not more than a few hundred yards away.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet were with the guides at the very apex of the column, and they continually searched the forests and the thickets with keen eyes for a possible enemy.

But all was quiet there.

The game, frightened by the advancing army, had gone away.

Not a leaf, not a bough stirred.