By this time, however, the day was gone, and darkness was settling
over the prairie. Quite a brisk breeze was blowing, and, as the
position of the party was sheltered against this annoyance, Hopkins
proposed that they should remain where they were until morning.

'We couldn't get a better place,' said Johnny Brainerd, who was quite
taken with the idea.

'It's a good place and it's a bad one,' replied the trapper, who had
not yet made up his mind upon the point.

They inquired what be meant by calling it a bad place.

'Ef a lot of the varmints should find we're hyar, don't you see what a
purty fix they'd have us in?'

'It would be something like the same box in which we caught them in
Wolf Ravine,' said young Brainerd.

'Jist the same, perzactly.'

'Not the same, either,' said Hopkins; 'we've got a better chance of
getting out than they had. We can jump into the wagon and travel,
while they can't; there's the difference.'

'S'pose they git down thar ahead of ushow ar' we goin' to git away
from them then?

'Run over them.'