Resolving upon a bold manoeuvre, he stepped lightly into the rear room of the house, and climbed up inside the wide mouthed chimney.

Whether the Indians heard him or not he never knew, but at any rate he was none too soon in hiding, for he had hardly cleared the fireplace in his ascent when four or five savages came into the room and began to demolish the few articles of furniture left in the house.
They had got whiskey somewhere, and having drank freely were even noisier than white men get under the influence of strong drink.

They remained but a short time, when, setting fire again to the half-burned house, they left the place yelling as savages only can.

Sam escaped as soon as he could from his uncomfortable quarters and made his way to the grove.

Mounting his horse he rode away in the direction of the root fortress, keeping in the woods as well as he could and taking every precaution to avoid coming suddenly upon savages.
As he rode only at night, the Indians' almost universal habit of building camp-fires wherever they stop for the night, helped him to avoid them.