The Border Watch

e after midnight, Henry and Shif'less Sol skipped away from the village. Wyandot warriors had passed them several times in the darkness, but they had es

It was nearly night when they found the broad trail through the woods, leading north slightly by east. All five were now of the belief that the destination of the savages was Detroit, the British post, which, as a depot of supplies and a rallying point for the Indians, served the same purpose as Niagara and Oswego in the East. To Detroit, Wyandots, Shawnees, Miamis, and all the o

"but ef we don't lose our cunnin', an' I don't think we

in among them without being detected. Tories and renegades who are strangers to the B

lights were burning. They slept in the woods two or three miles away, and the next day they followed the trail as before. Thus the northward march went on for seve

kes. Game, however, was not abundant as here were the villages of the Indian tribes, and the forests were hunted more. But the five found deer and buffalo sufficient for their needs, although they took great risks when they fired. Once the sho

st and the danger would be less. The course that Timmendiquas maintained also led steadily on toward Detroit, and they felt so sure now of his destination that they even debated the advi

or to escape an unhealthy location, but the five examined it with great curiosity. Many of the lodges built of either poles or birch bark were still standing, with fragments of useless and abandoned house

yet overgrown with grass, and they inferred from it that the Indians had not been gone many months.

wo guesses-unhealthiness or danger from Injuns. Now this site looks purty goo

it that Delawares lived here. This is just about thar country. Mebbe

is village for to-night. It looks as if rain were coming

an' I think we kin find a place in the big wig

se it had been built stronger. They entered it and found that it originally had a floor of bark, some portions of which remained, and there was enough area of so

ate patter on leaves and grass. The comrades were glad enough now of their shelter in the abandoned Council House. They had made at Pittsburg a purchase which conduced greatly to their comfort, th

ick clouds still hovered, the abandoned village took on a ghostly appearance. Nearly all the wall opposite that against which they lay was gone, and, as it faced the larger part of the village, they could see the ruined wigwams and the skeleton frames that had been used for drying game. Out of the for

ght and the rain it was now but a phantom. Henry's mind, always so sensitive to the things of the forest, repeopled it. From under his drooping lids he saw the warriors coming in from the hunt or the chase, the women tanning skins or curing game, and the little Indian boys practicing with bows and arrows. He felt a sort of sympathy

es our way,"

o or three. Thar, you kin hear the footsteps ag'in

" said Henry, "so we'

sitting position, every one with his back pressed against the bark wall, a blanket wrapped around his figure, and a cocked rifle resting upon his knees. They were so quick

he bushes whence the first faint signals of approach had come. Now they heard more distinctly that brushing of clothing against the bushes, and then a muttered oath or two. Evidently the strangers were white me

ngers, a young man of medium height, but of the most extraordinary ugliness. His skin, even without the tan, would have been very dark. His eyes, narrow and oblique, were almost Oriental in cast and his face was disfigured by a hideous harelip. The whole effect wa

nto the abandoned village they stood for a few moments talking to

d Henry to Paul, "because it's about the on

" Paul whispered back; "now I

ned lodge after another. None offered sufficient shelter and gradually they came toward the Council House. Always the man with the harelip and ugly face led. Henry watched him closely. The twilight and the rain did not allow any very clear view of

they saw the five figures against the wall and stopped abruptly. The man with the harelip bent forward and gazed at them. Henry soon saw by the expr

aim no exclusive rights to this Council House, which is about the on

with a fair degree of courtesy. "We are hardened to the wilderness, but

rge dry place at the south end. The bark floor there is solid

e rain and cold have entered my system, and I shall suffer severely unless we have a fire. Is it not possible to build one h

," said Henry, and yet he

Connecticut. These are my men, Fowler and Perley, also from the East. We're not altogether hunters, as we have seen service in the Eastern army, and we are now scouti

of the five. These three had become their comrades for the night, and i

elp you kindle a blaze. These friends of mine are Tom Ross, Jim

nd then smile in a way that made his

there are not many of us, and those of marked qualities soon become kno

But since we're going to have a fire, it's

eel on the dry bark. The two men, F

whisper, as he nodded toward them, "but excellent for

man by his looks," replie

a few sparks of the flint and steel, and then the bark too caught fire. After that they had nothing to do but feed the flames which grew and grew, casting

, fell into a great glowing heap. Holdsworth, Fowler and Perley took off nearly all their clothing, dried their bodies, and then their wet garments. Holdsworth ceased to shiver, and while Fowler and Perley still fed the fire, the five resumed their places against the wall, their r

bear and buffalo, and you can take your c

pply of provisions in our knapsacks, and we have partaken freely of th

before, we're in the heart of the Indian country, and we do not w

sworth d

re can be no possible danger of an attack by them, and I suggest that we ke

thing, but he changed his m

s you say, the savages themselves will keep under cover now. Perhaps, Mr. Holdsworth,

ough their country is ruined, war parties under Brant came down from the British forts, and ravaged the Mohawk

a great patriot are di

ot make them otherwis

s ugly, extremely ugly beyond a doubt, and in the glow of the firelight he seemed more sinister than ever. Yet the young forest runner tried once more to be fair. He recalled all of Holdsworth's good p

unpleasant. The heavy darkness moved up to the very door of the old Council House, and, despite the fire, the forest beyond was invisible. Holdsworth was still awake, but th

th, "that some great movement

k wall, and it seemed to Henry that a new e

. But the Indians and British at Detroit are always plotti

twenty-five or thirty miles ahead of us. I take it that there will be a great council at Detroit, composed of the British, the Tories, the Western Indians with Timmendiquas at their head, and perhaps also the Iroquois and other Eastern Indi

s face with his hand

of which you tell me, Mr. Ware. I had heard some vague reports, but yours are the first details to reach m

spoke. The fire had certainly added much to the warmth and comfort of the old house. They were all tired with long marches, and the steady droning sound of the rain, which could not reach them

lumn of smoke. The rain came lighter and then ceased entirely. The clouds parted in the center as if they had been slashed across by

whisper. Then he sank back into his relaxed position, and apparently was asleep again. Fowler himself did not move for at least ten minutes. Then he arose, slipped out of

part of the roof, the great hole there creating a draught. It rose high and in the night, now clear and beautiful, i

r a thick-set heavy man, he spread his open blanket over the smoke, and then quickly drew it away. He repeated the operation at least twenty times and at le

se lightly and joined him. Then the three gazed intently at the five figures on the other side of the smoke

r rifles in the hollows of their arms, glide

enry Ware sprang to his feet, alive in every

nd they are coming back with the savages. The rings of smoke made t

nry's whispered signal, they sank down among some dense bushes where they could lie hidden, and yet see all that passed at the Council House. The water from the bushes that they had moved dropped upon them, but they

if'less Sol, "but I knowed that you saw, too.

ad stopped the man when he was bringing in the leaves he might have made

names they g

self Holdsworth is somebody of importance. His manne

will be before they come b

ey would not have relied on smoke signals in the night. It will be only a short wa

y had seldom seen the skies a brighter blue at night. The spire of smoke showed against it sharp and clear, as if it had been day. In the brilliant moonlight the ruined village assumed another ghostly phase. All the rugged outlines of half-fallen tepees were silvered and softened. Henry, with that extraordinary sen

edy. But as these visions flitted past there was no relaxation of his vigilance. It was he who first heard the slight swishing sound of the bushes on the far side of the Council House; it was he who first heard the

ly with war paint. Now Henry knew that the sinister effect of Holdsworth's face was not due wholly to his ha

not see clearly into the depths. They must come nearer if they would make sure of their victims. They advanced slowly across the open, their weapons ready. All the idealist was gone from Henry now. They had taken these three men into wh

the raiding band, but at this moment Paul moved a little in order to get a better view, and a bush rustled under his incautious moccasin. One of the savages heard it, gave a warning cry, and in an instant the whole par