“Wah—­wah—­wah—­wah!” whooped the boy, like a young Indian, flying to obey the order, and exulting in the expectation of combat.

“Sound horn, you Samuel Sharp!” cried the father.  “You, Ben Jones, and some more of you, ride out and rouse the settlement; and, some of you, hunt up Tom Bruce and the Regulators:  it war a pity they hanged Ralph Stackpole; for he fights Injuns like a wolverine.  Tell all them that ar’n’t ready to start to follow at a hard gallop, and join me at the ford of Kentucky; and them that can’t join me thar, let them follow to Lexington; and them that don’t find me thar, let them follow to Bryant’s, or to any-whar whar thar’s Injuns!  Hurrah, you brutes! whar’s your guns and your horses? your knives and your tomahawks?  If thar’s a thousand Injuns, or the half of ’em, thar’s meat for all of you.  Whar’s Ikey Jones, the fifer?  Let’s have Yankee-Doodle and the Rogue’s March for, by the etarnal Old Scratch, all them white men that ar’n’t a-horse-back in twenty-five minutes, are rogues worse than red Injuns!—­Hurrah for Kentucky!”

The spirit of the worthy officer of militia infused animation into all bosoms; and, in an instant, the settlement, late so peaceful, resounded with the hum and uproar of warlike preparation.  Horses were caught and saddled, rifles pulled from their perches, knives sharpened, ammunition-pouches and provender-bags filled, and every other step taken necessary to the simple equipment of a border army, called to action in an emergency so sudden and urgent.

In the meanwhile, the intelligence was not without its effects on Roland Forrester, who, seeing himself so unexpectedly deprived of the promised escort,—­for he could scarce think, under such circumstances, of withdrawing a single man from the force called to a duty so important,—­perceived the necessity of employing his own resources to effect escape from a position which he now felt to be embarrassing.  He regretted, for the first time, his separation from the band of emigrants, and became doubly anxious to follow them:  for, if it were true that so large a force of Indians was really in the District, there was every reason to suppose they would, according to their known system of warfare, divide into small parties, and scatter over the whole country, infesting every road and path; and he knew not how soon some of them might be found following on the heels of the messenger.  He took advantage of the first symptom of returning serenity on the part of his host, to acquaint him with his resolution to set out immediately, the rains having ceased, and the clouds broken up and almost vanished.