Presently, he crouched in dense bush, and concentrated all his powers of hearing, knowing that he must rely upon ear rather than eye.

He could not say that he had really seen or heard, but he had felt that something was moving in the forest, something that threatened him.
His first impulse was to go back to the little hollow and awaken his comrades, but his second told him to stay where he was until the danger came or should pass, and he crouched lower in the undergrowth with his hand on the hammer and trigger of his rifle.

He did not stir or make any noise for a long time.

The forest, too, was silent.

The wind that had ruffled the surface of the lake ceased, and the leaves over his head were still.
But he understood too well the ways of the wilderness to move yet.