'Keep as close to shore as you kin,' he said, as they were about
shoving off.
'We can go faster in the middle,' said Hopkins.
'But the reds'll see us, and it'll be all up then.'
This was the warning of prudence, and it was heeded.
CHAPTER VI. THE MINERS.
IT WAS late in the afternoon when the explosion occurred, and it was
just beginning to grow dark when the three friends began drifting down
the Yellowstone.
This fact was greatly in their favor, although there remained an hour
or two of great danger, in case the Indians made any search for them.
In case of discovery, there was hardly an earthly chance for escape.
The log or raft, as it might be termed, had floated very quietly
down-stream for about half an hour, when the wonderfully acute ears of
the trapper detected danger.
'Thar be some of the skunks that are creep-in 'long shore,' said he;
'you'd better run in under this yar tree and hold fast awhile.'
The warning was heeded. Just below them, the luxuriant branches of an
oak, dipped in the current, formed an impenetrable screen. As the log,
guided thither, floated beneath this, Mickey and Ethan both caught
hold of the branches and held themselves motionless.
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