But no canoe came, and Ned
walked back and forth in a little space, always watching the wood or the
river.
The night was very quiet. The horses, having grazed for an hour or two,
now rested content. The men not on guard, used to taking their sleep
where they could find it, were already in slumber. There was no wind.
The dark hours as usual were full of chill, but Ned's vigorous walk back
and forth kept him warm. He was joined after a while by the famous
scout, Henry Karnes, who, like "Deaf" Smith, seemed to watch all the
time, although he came and went as he pleased.
"Well, boy," said Karnes, "do you find it hard work, this watching and
watching and watching for hours and hours?"
"Not at all," replied Ned, responding to his tone of humorous kindness.
"I might have found it so once, but I don't now. I'm always anxious to
see what will happen."
"That's a good spirit to have," said Karnes, smiling, "and you need it
down here, where a man must always be watching for something. In Texas
boys have to be men now."
He walked back and forth with Ned, and the lad felt flattered that so
famous a scout should show an interest in him. The two were at the edge
of the wood and they could see duskily before them a stretch of bare
prairie.
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