As Eliza lobbed the rock past the soldier, Phineas shifted out from behind the boulder and stood, taking aim at the soldier with his pistol as the current buffeted his back. He peered down the sights and centered his view on the target. As his finger tightened around the trigger, he paused and reconsidered. He only had six bullets left, and they hadn't even reached the campsite. But if the soldier caught sight of them, they were as good as dead, corpses in the water. He picked the gun up again for the shot, but as he did the soldier trudged back into the forest, waving his rifle in search of the source of the noise.

Phineas let out his breath in a long side, dropping his arms to his sides. He turned back and motioned to Eliza, taking her hand and settling into the current. They floated around the bend and past another, out of the range of the soldier.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at a landing near the mouth of the river. The shore was covered in small, smooth stones that had been deposited over the years. As they arrived, Phineas took in his surroundings. They were only a few hundred yards from the campsite.