“Anyhow, I am going to try it,” he muttered, with set teeth, as he resumed his cautious descent of the tree.

A moment later he found himself upon the nethermost limb, where he hesitated a few seconds, peering around in the breathless darkness and listening for anything that might betray the location of his enemies.  The silence of the tomb seemed to have settled upon the earth, and, hanging by his hands a moment, he let go and dropped lightly to the ground.  As he did so, he purposely sank upon his hands and knees, in the belief that he was less liable to be seen in that position than in any other.

The signs continued favorable, and, without any useless waiting, he turned his face in the direction of New Boston and began stealing forward, with the care and caution of a veteran courser of the plains.  There was a fluttering hope that, with the coming of night, the red-skins had departed, but he knew better than to rely upon any such chance to reach his friends.  If they had really gone, he would have heard something from Sut Simpson.

No more trying ordeal can be imagined than that which Fred endured when he attempted thus to steal his way through the Apache lines to his friends.  He crept along upon his hands and knees, for he dared not trust himself in an upright posture, and he studiously avoided all those places through which the rays of the moonlight made their way.  There was scarcely a minute in which he did not fancy that he heard the stealthy movement of some one near him, and stopped and lay flat upon his face, remaining thus until hopeful that it was safe to move forward again.  And this apprehension was not always imaginary.  Two separate times the sound of footsteps were too distinct to be mistaken, and the glimpse obtained of a shadowy figure, as it flitted across a partially moonlit space, was equally conclusive.

Almost an hour had passed, when Fred finally found himself on the edge of the open area which separated the wood from the settlement.  Thus far he had evaded all danger and only a comparatively small space remained to be passed over in order to reach the haven of safety.

The boy assumed an upright position, and, standing in the shadow of the wood, debated with himself as to the best means of getting over that narrow but dangerous neck of territory which still interposed.  It would be useless to attempt to creep over it, for the moon would be sure to reveal him to the Indians that were lurking near, and it was not likely that he could advance a dozen yards without detection.  If it were possible, by drawing himself along on his face, to elude the vigilance of the Apaches, it would be clearly impossible to escape being discerned by his own friends.  At such a time, the entire company would be on the look-out for just such insidious advances, and the chances were that he would be taken for a savage and shot by his own friends.