understand what he meant.

As I made it out, however, he would turn his back on poor Jacob in case
the savages had him in their power, and I asked myself again and again
what course I should pursue in such a situation.

We made a long détour around the battle-field in order to avoid as much as
possible the danger of stumbling upon the enemy's scouts, and, when the
afternoon was half-spent, had come, as nearly as we could guess, to a
point due south from Thayendanega's camp.

"How far do you reckon we are from St. Leger's force?" I asked, when
Sergeant Corney threw himself on the ground within shelter of a clump of
bushes, as if for a long halt.

"Three miles or more from their lines of sentinels, if they've got any
out, an' we're none too far away, 'cordin' to my figgerin'. After sunset
we'll work in toward 'em; but there needn't be any hurry, for I'm
reckonin' that we don't want to do much work till after midnight. If Jacob
is still free to do as he pleases, there's little danger he'll come to
grief 'twixt now an' mornin'."

"Unless he should see them torturin' his father, an' then it's certain
he'd make a fight, no matter how great the odds against him," I suggested,
thinking of what I would be tempted to do under similar circumstances.

"In that case we're better off where we are. I don't allow that a lad has
any right to deliberately throw away his own life, an' that's what Jacob
would be doin' if he showed himself when the villains had his father at
the stake."