Show dr A oer ay RANDALL PAWN H A romance of early days in the middle west ii i ir author Autho of keith oft of the he border malad my lady y of doubt the maid of the forest e etc tc CHAPTER continued 17 1 I clung to his hands staring back bick st at 11 II at the brim outline of the silent fort I 1 understood his thoughts his des u re to aid his comrades but for a moment my mind was a alanl I 1 could not let him go alone to almost bertila taito death no 10 nor would he aban is don me rae on such a mission nl I 1 anis is there no other way by which we coull coul I 1 serve suddenly a thought crept into my mind ga i monsieur I 1 asked breathlessly wh where do 0 you A suppose those mint in flimns to be pack from the river in a glen of caves coves and rocks how flow far from here four or five miles there Is a trail from the mouth of the creek creel ind you know the way and there ta be many warriors there will remember you and obey your or tiers tie he straightened up aroused as the lull full meaning of my questioning oc corred to him ay there Is a chance there if we im find them in time and in force enough to make foray sacre I 1 know not why such thought has not come to me before could we but fall on those devils from the rear in surprise even with a third of their number chev would rlyn run like cats mon lion dieu I 1 thank you for the thought tv N e plunged into the forest orest f no longer f endeavoring to advance silently but red with a desire to ach sell eve our go goal goil il as soon as possible at the mouth of a stream entering the river D ar tigny digny picked me up in his arms and waded across on the appos te bank he sought eagerly on hands and knees for the old trace he dimly remembered 9 at last he stood erect ay y lass its here to be easily fol lowed what nhat hour do you make it nowa now about three so I 1 would have said and tia not dayl abt until after five we can scarce make it yet we will try sac it was not as dark here away from the gloom of the rock the forest was wag open and yet I 1 will never know how D succeeded in li following that dim trail at so to rapid a gait ka for me I 1 could see nothing of any pith path and merely followed him blindly not even certain of the nature of the u ground under my feet again and again I 1 tripped over some ob obstacle staLle aile a root a tutt tuft of grass and continually gp unnoted branches flipped flapped against my face once I 1 fell pione pi one yet so nose leasly lesly that rene pissed beyond v ew before he realized my misfortune and returned to help me regain my feet not until then I 1 did he corn com the rap d ty of his movements your pardon dear girt girl and his 1 ps brushed my nay hair as he be held me in his arms I 1 forgot all but our comrades yonder the night Is dark to your eyes I 1 can see nothing I 1 confessed re fretfully gret fully yet you have no d a woodsman A tra tri ning I 1 have followed follow follo Ned cd many a d in trail in dark for ests and this Is so plain I 1 could keep to it on a run if necessary nece osary ah ther the fort Is awake and vigilant that was rifle fire I 1 had not only heard beard the sharp re ports but seen the flash of fire cleaving the darkness the d cime came from the woods yonder they were gindlin guns monsieur see roe those two last itt were from the stock stockade ide I 1 could perceive the logs in tl e flare ay and that Is all the lads will waste wate no an tr in the gloom ex capt to tell the savages they are awake an ani I 1 ready how far have we traveled mon k mile perhaps at the crooked oik aik wonder nonder we leave the stream you met with no harm when you fell no 0 o more than a bruise I 1 can go on now e turned to the right and plunged into the th ceet the way wiy now so black that I 1 grasped his j jacket iclet in fear ot of becom ng lost we were clambering up a sl glit hill c careless ireless of everything but our foot az Q was a sudden rusti ug um of the low branches on either I 1 de our path P ath D stopped ng me bad wh wb ie le at that very dinst 11 i t forms seemed to leap forth fion fiori the covert it occurred so 80 quid ly r fa s q bently lenti that be ore I 1 even realized langer he be was gl ng madly with the assal assailants lints I 1 heard the crash crish of blows an in oath of surprise e a guttural exclamation a groan of pain hands gripped me savagely I 1 felt naked bod es struggled wildly to escape but was flung helplessly to the ground a hand band grasping my hair hiir I 1 see nothing only a i confused mass of legs and a ms nis but D cartigny was still on I 1 8 feet struggle ng desperately from some gome hand he had bad grabbed a rifle ani aill swung it crashing into the lucev t ats grappling rap pling him back he came step by step fighting like a fiend until he stood over me with one wide sweep of his big clutched weapon he struck me free a blow which shat the gun stock and left him armed only with the iron bar but the battle fury was on him dimly I 1 could see him towering above me bareheaded his clothes torn to rags the grim barrel poised for a blow st ann he cried exultantly a good fight so far would you have more of if hold broke in a french voice from out the darkness what means this are you of white blood I 1 have always supposed so A renegade consorting with devils of the 1 mon dieu bio not an officer of fort st louis I 1 could see the white man thrust aside the ind an circle and strike through his face was invisible a al though I 1 was upon my knees now but he was a short hea hean lly ily bu it fellow stand back ay make room saint guise we are fighting our own friends if you are of the garrison name your self D cartigny still clasping his rifle bar rel reached out his other hand and lifted me to my feet perchance he said coolly if I 1 were vere a sti staci eller ler for etiquette I 1 might ask you first for some explanation of this attack however we have mide some heads ring so I 1 gilve that pilvi lege I 1 am the it d cartigny a I 1 eu tenant of la salle s mon dieu the other steppe 1 for ward his hand outstretched no unknown name to me although we have never before met by some chance 1 I am francois de la forest la foresta you were in france three months ago kye ye I 1 was there when de la sille S ille landed he told me the whole tale I 1 was with him when he be had aud ence with louis I 1 am here now bearing the orders of the king coun by la barre at quebec re g de to command at fort st louis and b adding de do baug s and that fool carslon return to new france D cartigny crashed crushed the man A hind in both his own dropping the rifle bir rel to the ground his voice trembled as he made answer he won the kill lings A favor he con vinced I 1 louisa no doubt of that never saw I 1 a greater miracle knit nd de la sille has be re turne I 1 isay nay he remains in france to fit out ut an expedit on to sail tor for the mo ith of the great river he hath special commission from the king to me v ai given the honor of bearing his big mes me sage alit but la bane barie raved like i mad bull when I 1 handed him the ling king 9 order I 1 thought he be would buist a blood vessel and give us a new gover nor but no such luck pah I 1 stood struggling to keep a straight face for he had no cho ce but bobev a hard dose to shallow sallow but there wis lou s orders in h b s q own hand bana all duly sealed ai at d a co I 1 that I 1 be dispatched h b ther i ih th the message how mide you the journey in so short a time overland from detro t the same sime trill you trave lel 1 with li lt sale sal e its u much the shorter alone i N XV ith two cour ers es d i bo s they ire w th me now cut but what is til s g D ar r tigny digny you have with you a bomin CHAPTER warr ors of the III nl ril tes yes 51 de la forest 1 I ai 1 step 1 p ng forward to save rene from a quest on wh ch eh would embarrass em eria him I 1 am tl e daughter of calta n la ches nayne TV horn bom the d cartigny hath taken under his big protection la Chesni ynes daughter ill b I 1 heard beard the story told in quebec twig li bane barie s aid who gave me the fact with many a chuckle as though he held it an excellent joke but why are you here matirne mad irne Is not 11 cassion in the fort yonder a long tale la forest broke in D lay ng his hand on the other others s shoulder and N w ill bide a I 1 et ter time for tell ng I 1 am a soldier and you may trust my word ward we ire la salle s men let it go at that for there Is graver griver duty fronting us now than the retelling of camp gossip madame Is my friend and my hand will defend her reputation Is that enough comrade ay enouf enough h sly my best regards ma dame and he bowed low befaro me h hs s words ring ng true er de la salle has learned to trust hath my filth also you have come from the fort I 1 fake take it D cartigny Art igny how are matters there ill enough the officers at swords po ants and the men divided into three camps for whore whre de la durantaye Duran taye stands there la Is no evidence M cas a i slon holds command by virtue of la barre a commission and knows no more of indian war than a quebec storekeeper the garrison numbers fifty men all told two thirds soldiers and a poor lot with ammunition and food ample to eat but BoIsrond et tells me with soiree a dozen rounds per man the are at the gates and will attack at daylight you know this the s gns agns are plain we passed one pirty clambering up the cliff no less than fifty warriors naked and punted for war adame laid from the words she overheard as they slipped past where we hid not likely they made alone the fiends have been a week in this valley an I 1 have swept all cleir clear of our indian allies now they can bring the r full foice against the fort to no doubt you are liht ali ht my judgment at least and we sought help when we ran into you what nhat indians have you mini mostly with a handful of ablamis and Ricka we met them at the crossing hiding in IU the hills they were demoralized and filled with horror at what they had seen yet agreed to return here under my leadership leider ship A who ho Is their ch eh of ef 9 old tah tall you know him ay a real warrior better than I 1 dared hope for I 1 have been in bittle with him before do you number a hundred and fifty more though In differ antly armed ind nd fifty more though indifferently armed never have I 1 seen the III nl ni in action D cartigny they seem to me a poor lot so frightened of the wolves as to be valueless so they are if left to themselves but under white leadership leider ship they stif fen they nall ft ill fight if given the in dian than style they will never stand in la defense but if we lead them to a sur pr se they 11 give good account of themselves that Is my plan li la for est that we creep up through the woods beh bell nd the iroquois lines they will expect no attack from the rear I 1 and will have no guard if we move quickly while it remains dark we ought to get within a few yards of the red demons without discovery they nill a fight desperately no doubt for their only hope of escape would be to either plunge down the rocky banks on eitt er side or cut a wiy through you have been at the fort twice before then you know the nature of the ground all woodland until within a few hundred birds of the gates you recall the great rock beside the trail ay and the view from the top my plan would be to creep up that fir far with ith flanking parties on the slopes below in front as you may kemem her there is an open space then a filing firnge ge of forest hiding the clearing be fore the stockade the iroquois will be gathered behind that fringe of trees waiting daylight Is my thought right the most likely spot then listen I 1 have thought this all out you and I 1 with tah tall will take a hundred of your indians cross the small river and advance up the trail that leaves fifty warriors to creep through the woods on either slope twenty five to a side led by bour two couriers du bols we will wait at the great rock and give the signil la forest stood silent a moment th liking then rested bis big hand on D kr r rigny tigny s shoulder it looks feasible enough but the the alini ing hartles may not reach their positions in time the one from the west will not hue h ue as fir vir to travel as we do ahe I 1 he other does not make so much d ater ence for if the iroquois bleik they nill come in this direction the other A de of the trail is sheer rock and nd what about the lady 1 I shill gbill go with you messieurs I 1 said qu etly there will be no more danger there than here besides you would not leive leave a e alone without a guard and you will need evely fight ing mm min I 1 felt the grip of pene rene s hind but it was li I 1 brebt s 0 ce that spoke rahe r ring to tl it hey D ar digny tigny al answers my last ir aument but first let us have word with the ch ef of he ile id dressed a word into the crow I 1 of indict ngui figures and an in dian cime forward dim as the licht was I 1 wis is impressed with the dignity of h s q carriage carri ige the flim film character of his facial out ne I 1 am chief of the mis mlis coutens he said gravely tor for whom the white chief sent D cartigny stepped forward stan I 1 ng as elect as the other tah tall is great chief he said quietly i 1 girrior of many battles the friend of la sille we have smoked the pei ceppe p pe together and wal ed s de by A de on the war trail tah knows who speaks the french warrior they call D ar tigny digny right ti als not the first time you and I 1 hive met the iroquois the wolves are here aga n they have burned the of the illinois and I 1 k lied your w omen and ch idren the valley 1 Is 13 3 black with smoke and red with blood what says the war chief of the tins will his big warriors warrior fight will they strike with us a blow against the beasts the chef ch et swept his hand in wide circle we are warriors we have tasted blood what are the white man s words of wisdom briefly in quick ringing sentences D cartigny out ned tied his plan tah listened mot onless his face un espres sive give of emotion twice confused by some french phrase he asked gracej grave AA a quest ons and once a courier du bols spoke up in his own tongue to make the meaning clear As D cartigny ceased the chief stood for a moment silent we N e leap upon them from cover he asked calmly and the white men will sally forth to aid us T s so we expect 11 1 de is never averse to a fight I 1 believe in the lion ilon hand but Us told me others command now if it they fall we are but few iga ast many they will not fall fail tah they are frenchmen the ind an folded his bin Is across h hs s I 1 reit rei t his eyes on the two men facing him there was silence but for the t rustle of moving bodies in the birkness dir kness tab tah hears the voice of his friend he announced at last ind h s w oi 01 Is sound wise the warriors of the illint will fight bes beade de the N it te men there was no time lost althou although gh I 1 know but little of what occurred be ing left alone there while la forest and DArt D cartigny Igny divided the men and ai ranged the plans of advance the dense night shrouded much ot of this tills bisty preparation for all I 1 could per belve flitting figures or the black blick shadow of warriors being grouped to gether I 1 could heir voices never loud giving swift orders or calling to this or that individual through the giom gl A party tramped by me and disia feared twenty or more naked giors headed by a black bearded frenchman bearing a long eifle the detachment no doubt d sp itched to guard the slope east cast of the trall lad ind hurried forth to cover the greater dis tance yet these could have scarcely advanced far through that jungle when the others were also in line wait ing the word the very silence la in which all this was accomplished the noiseless bodies the almost breathless attention scarce ly enabled me to realize the true mean ing of it all these men were going into battle into a death grapple the they meant to |