{"product_id":"2940013274853","title":"THE SCOUTS OF THE VALLEY","description":"CHAPTER I. THE LONE CANOE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA light canoe of bark, containing a single human figure, moved swiftly\u003cbr\u003eup one of the twin streams that form the Ohio. The water, clear and\u003cbr\u003edeep, coming through rocky soil, babbled gently at the edges, where it\u003cbr\u003elapped the land, but in the center the full current flowed steadily and\u003cbr\u003ewithout noise.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe thin shadows of early dusk were falling, casting a pallid tint over\u003cbr\u003ethe world, a tint touched here and there with living fire from the sun,\u003cbr\u003ewhich was gone, though leaving burning embers behind. One glowing shaft,\u003cbr\u003epiercing straight through the heavy forest that clothed either bank,\u003cbr\u003efell directly upon the figure in the boat, as a hidden light illuminates\u003cbr\u003ea great picture, while the rest is left in shadow. It was no common\u003cbr\u003eforest runner who sat in the middle of the red beam. Yet a boy, in\u003cbr\u003enothing but years, he swung the great paddle with an ease and vigor that\u003cbr\u003ethe strongest man in the West might have envied. His rifle, with the\u003cbr\u003estock carved beautifully, and the long, slender blue barrel of the\u003cbr\u003eborder, lay by his side. He could bring the paddle into the boat,\u003cbr\u003egrasp the rifle, and carry it to his shoulder with a single, continuous\u003cbr\u003emovement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis most remarkable aspect, one that the casual observer even would have\u003cbr\u003enoticed, was an extraordinary vitality. He created in the minds of those\u003cbr\u003ewho saw him a feeling that he lived intensely every moment of his life.\u003cbr\u003eBorn and-bred in the forest, he was essentially its child, a perfect\u003cbr\u003ephysical being, trained by the utmost hardship and danger, and with\u003cbr\u003eevery faculty, mental and physical, in complete coordination. It is only\u003cbr\u003eby a singular combination of time and place, and only once in millions\u003cbr\u003eof chances, that Nature produces such a being.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe canoe remained a few moments in the center of the red light, and its\u003cbr\u003eoccupant, with a slight swaying motion of the paddle, held it steady in\u003cbr\u003ethe current, while he listened. Every feature stood out in the glow, the\u003cbr\u003efirm chin, the straight strong nose, the blue eyes, and the thick yellow\u003cbr\u003ehair. The red blue, and yellow beads on his dress of beautifully tanned\u003cbr\u003edeerskin flashed in the brilliant rays. He was the great picture of\u003cbr\u003efact, not of fancy, a human being animated by a living, dauntless soul.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe gave the paddle a single sweep and shot from the light into the\u003cbr\u003eshadow. His canoe did not stop until it grazed the northern shore, where\u003cbr\u003ebushes and overhanging boughs made a deep shadow. It would have taken\u003cbr\u003ea keen eye now to have seen either the canoe or its occupant, and\u003cbr\u003eHenry Ware paddled slowly and without noise in the darkest heart of the\u003cbr\u003eshadow.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe sunlight lingered a little longer in the center of the stream. Then\u003cbr\u003ethe red changed to pink. The pink, in its turn, faded, and the whole\u003cbr\u003esurface of the river was somber gray, flowing between two lines of black\u003cbr\u003eforest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe coming of the darkness did not stop the boy. He swung a little\u003cbr\u003efarther out into the stream, where the bushes and hanging boughs would\u003cbr\u003enot get in his way, and continued his course with some increase of\u003cbr\u003espeed.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069900865776,"sku":"2940013274853","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013274853_p0.jpg?v=1763578793","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013274853","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}