Page:Edward Ellis--Alden the Pony Express Rider.djvu/104

 step into my mouth agin. If you do I’ll bite your foot in two.”

Alden without noticing the fellow walked back to his first position. He did not give Jethro a second thought.

Despite the self-evident cause of the disappearance of the skulking warrior, the youth was ill at ease. He decided to await the explanation of Shagbark, who would probably join him ere long.

But worst of all, the proof had been given that the redskins whom all dreaded were prowling near the camp. One of them would not have ventured alone to the neighborhood. There might be a dozen, a score, or half a hundred who were formulating if they had not already formulated a plan to surprise and massacre every one of the whites. As to what that plan was he was as ignorant as the slumbering Jethro Mix.

All that Alden could do was use his eyes and hearing. No fear of his falling asleep, even if he did lean against the thick spokes of the wagon wheel. He knew better than to confine his attention to the spot where the warrior had appeared and vanished. The fact of his having done so would prevent his