In this fort were his wife and children. In the present
state of security of the inmates they might easily be taken
by surprise. He alone could warn them of their danger, and
to this end he must escape from his watchful foes.
Boone was not the man to let the anxiety that tore his heart
appear on his face. To all seeming he was careless and
indifferent, looking on with smiling face at their
war-dances, and hesitating not to give them advice in
warlike matters. He knew their language sufficiently to
understand all they said, but from the moment of his
captivity had pretended to be entirely ignorant of it,
talking to them only in the jargon which then formed the
medium of communication between the red men and the whites,
and listening with impassive countenance to the most
fear-inspiring plans. They, therefore, talked freely before
him, not for a moment dreaming that their astute prisoner
had solved the problem of their destination. As for Boone,
he appeared to enter with whole-souled ardor into their
project and to be as eager as themselves for its success,
seeming so fully in sympathy with them, and so content with
his lot, that they absorbed in their enterprise, became less
vigilant than usual in watching his movements.
The time for the expedition was at hand.
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