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Show Erslrine Bale Pioneer By John Fox, Jr. Copyrtuht by Ctiarie Seribncr'i Son I CHAPTER XII Continued. 13 "Barbara would not accept your sacrifice nor would liny of us, nnd II Is only fair thnt I should warn you that some (lay, if you should change your mind, and I wort- no longer living, liv-ing, you might he too late." "Please don't, Uncle Harry. If- Is done dune. Of course, It wasn't fair for me to consider l'.arhara alone, hut she will be fair and you understand. I wish you would regard the whole mnller as though I didn't exist." "I can't do Unit, my hoy. I am your steward nnd when you want anything you hnve only to let. me know I" Erskine shoo!; his head. "I 'don't want anything I need very little, and when I'm in the woods, as cans. He was hundreds of mile from any American troops; farther Mill from the Rent of government, and could get no advice or help fur perhaps per-haps a year. And those Indians poured Into Ca-hokia Ca-hokia a horde of them from evpry tribe between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi chiefs and warriors of every Importance; hut not before Clark had formed and drilled four companies of volunteer Creoles. "Watch him !" said Dave, and Ers-kine Ers-kine did, marveling at the man's knowledge of the Indian. He did not live In the fort, hut always on guard, always seemingly confident, stayed openly In town while the savages, sullen sul-len and grotesque, strutted In full war panoply through the straggling streets, inquisitive and insolent, their eyes burning with the lust of plunder and murder. For days he sat In the midst of the ringed warriors and listened. On the second day Erskine saw Kah-too Kah-too In the throng and Crooked Lightning Light-ning and Black Wolf. After dusk that day he felt the fringe of his hunting-shirt hunting-shirt plucked, a;id an Indian, with face hidden in a blanket, whispered as he passed : "Tell the big chief," he said In Shawnee, "to be on guard tomorrow night." He knew it was some kindly tribesman, and he wheeled and went to Clark, who smiled. Already the big chief had guards concealed in his little house, who seized the attacking Indians, while two minutes later the townspeople were under arms. Tim enptives were put in irons, and Ers-kine Ers-kine saw among them the crestfallen faces of Black Wolf and Crooked Lightning. The Indians pleaded that they were trying to test the friendship of the French for Clark, but Clark, refusing all requests for their release, remained silent, haughty, Indifferent, fearless. He still refused to take refuge ref-uge in the fort, and called in a number of ladies and gentlemen to his house, v.iiere they danced all night amid the council-fires of the bewildered savages. sav-ages. Next morning he stood In the center of their ringed warriors with the tnsseled shirts of his riflemen mussed behind him, released the captive cap-tive chiefs and handed them the bloody war belt of wampum. "I scorn your hostility and treachery. treach-ery. You deserve death, but you slmK leave in safety. In three days I shall begin war on you. If you Indians do not want your women and children killed stop killing ours. We shall see who can make that war belt (he most bloody. While you have been in my camp you have had food and fire-water, fire-water, but now thnt I have finished, you must depart speedily." The captive chief spoke and so did old Kahtoo, with his eyes fixed sadly but proudly on his adopted son. They had listened to bad birds and been led nstray by the British henceforth they would be friendly with the Americans. But Clark was not satisfied. "I come as a warrior," he said haughtily; "I shall be a friend to the friendly. If you choose war I shall send so many warriors from the Thirteen Thir-teen Council-Fires that your land shall be darkened and you shall hear, no sounds but that of the birds who live on blood." And then he handed forth two belts of peace and war, and they eagerly took the belt of peace. The treaty followed next day and 'Ism Bi !ifltl i w . i tains was his real home out there was his real life. He need not come hack, am they would never know. Then came a thought that almost made him groan. There was a light step In the ball, and l'.arhara came swiftly out nml dropped on the topmost top-most step with her chin in both hands. Almost at once she seemed to feel his presence, fur she turned her head quickly. "Erskinel" As quickly he rose, em-barassed em-barassed beyond speech. "Come here! Why, you look guilty what have you been thinking?" He was startled by her Intuition, hut he recovered himself swiftly. "I suppose I will always feel guilty if I have made you unhappy." "You haven't made me unhappy. I don't know what you have made me. You saw how I felt if you had killed him, but you don't know how I would have felt if he had killed you. I don't myself." She began patting her hands gently and helplessly together, and again she dropped her chin into them with her eyes lifted to the moon. "I shall be very unhappy when you are gone. I wish you were not going, hut I know that you are you can't help It." Again he was startled. "Whenever you look at that moon over in that dark wilderness, I wish you would plea.'-e think of your little cousin will you?" She turned eagerly and he was too moved to speak he only bowed l.is head as for a prayer or a benediction.. "You don't know how often our thoughts will cross, and that will be a great comfort to me. Sometimes I am afraid. There is a wild strain on my mother's side, and It Is In me. Papa knows it nnd he Is wise so wise I am afraid I may sometimes do something very foolish, and it won't be me at all. It will be somebody that died long ago." She put botii her hands over both his and held them tight. "I want you to make me a promise." "Anything," said the hoy huskily. "I want you to promise me that, no matter when, no matter where you are, if I need you and send for you you will come." And Indian-like he put his forehead on both her little hands. "Thank you. I must go now." Bewildered Be-wildered and dazed, the boy rose and awkwardly put out his hand. "Kiss me good-by." She put her arms about his neck, and for the first time in his life the boy's lips met a woman's For a moment she put her face against his and at his ear was a whisper. "Good-by, Erskine!" And she was gone swiftly leaving the boy in a dizzy world of falling stars through which a white light leaped to heights Iris soul had never dreamed. CHAPTER XIII With the head of that column of stalwart backwoodsmen went Dave Y'andell and Erskine Daje. A hunting party of four Shawnees heard their coming through the woods, and. lying like snakes in the undergrowth, peered out and saw them pass. Then they rose, and Crooked Lightning looked tit Black Wolf and. with a grunt of angry satisfaction, led the way homeward. home-ward. And to the. village they bore the news that White Arrow had made good his word and. side by side with the big chief of the Long Knives, was leading a war party against his tribe and kinsmen. And Early Morn carried car-ried the news to her mother, who lay sick in a wigwam. The miracle went swiftly, and Kas-kaskia Kas-kaskia fell. Stealthily a cordon of hunters surrounded the little town. The rest stole to the walls of the fort. 'Lights flickered from with'n, the sounds of violins and dancing feet came through crevice and window. Clark's tall figure stole noiselessly into the great hull, where the Creoles were making merry and leaned silently with folded arms against the doorpost, looking look-ing on at the revels with a grave smile. The light from the torches flickered across his face, and an Indian lying on the floor sprang to his feet with a curdling war-whoop. Women screamed and men rushed toward the door. The stranger stood motionless and his grim smile was unchanged. "Dance on !" he commanded courteously, cour-teously, "but remember." he added sternly, "you dance under Virginia and not Great Britain !" There was a great noise behind him. Men dashed into the fort, and Uoehe-blave Uoehe-blave and his olllcers were prisoners. I'.y daylight Clark had the town disarmed. dis-armed. The French. Clark said next day. could take the oath of allegiance to the republic, or depart with their families in peace. As for their church, he had nothing to do with any church save to protect it from insult. So that the people who had heard terrible stories sto-ries of the wild woodsmen and who expected' to be killed or made slaves, joy fully became Americans. They even gave Clark a volunteer- company to march with him upon Cahokia. and that village, too, soofi became American. Ameri-can. Father Cibault volunteered to go lo Vincennos. X'incennes gathered in the church to hear him. and then ilung the Stars and Stripes to the winds of freedom above the fort. Clark sent one captain there to take command. com-mand. With a handful of hardy men who could have been controlled only by him. the dauntless one had conquered con-quered a land as big as any European khn loni. Now he had to govern and protect it. He had to keep loyal an ilien race and hold his own against the British and numerous tribes of Indians, In-dians, bloodthirsty, treacherous and deeply embittered ngainM all Amerl- "I'd Like to Go to Learn to rence." I expect to be most of the time, I need nothing at all." Colonel Dale rose. "I wish you would go to college at Williamsburg for a year or two to better fit yourself in case " "I'd like to go to learn to fence," smiled, the boy, and the colonel smiled too. "You'll certainly need to know that, if you are going to be as reckless as you were today." Erskine's eyes darkened. "Uncle Harry, you may think me foolish, but I don't like or trust Grey. What was he doing with those British traders out In the Northwest? he was not buying furs. It's absurd. Why was he hand in glove with Lord Dun-more?" Dun-more?" "Lord Dunmore had a daughter," was the dry reply, and Erskine flung out a gesture that made words unnecessary. un-necessary. Colonel Dale crossed the porch and put his hand on the lad's shoulders. "Erskine," he said, "don't worry and don't give up hope. Be patient, wait, come back to us. Go to William and Mary. Fit yourself to be one of us in all ways. Then everything may yet come out in the only way that would be fitting and right." The boy v blushed, and the colonel went on earnestly: "1 can think of nothing in the world that would make me quite so happy." "It's no use," the boy said tremblingly, trembling-ly, "but I'll never forget what you have just said as long as I live, anil, no matter what becomes of me, I'll love Barbara as long as I live. But. even if things were otherwise, I'd never risk making her unhappy even by trying. I'm not fit for her nor for this life. I can't get over my life in the woods nnd among the Indians. I can't explain, but I get choked and I can't breathe such a longing for the woods comes over me and I can't help me. I must go and nothing can hold me." "Your father was that way," said Colonel Dale sadly. "You may get over It, but he never did. And it must be harder for you because of your erly associations. Good night, and God bless you." And the kindly gentleman gentle-man was gone. Erskine sat where he was. The house was still and there were x no noises from the horses and cattle in the barn none from roosting peacock, turkey, and ben. From the far-away quarters came faintly the merry mellow mel-low notes of a fiddle, and farther still the song of 'some courting negro return-lag return-lag Inane. A drowsy bird twittered in an ancient elm at the corner of the house. The (lowers drooped In the moonlight which bathed the great path, streamed across the great river, and on up lo its source In the great yellow d'sk Moating Moat-ing in majestic serenity high in the cloudless sky. And that path, those flowers, that house, the barn, the cattle, cat-tle, sheep, and hogs, those graln-iiehls and grassy acres, even those singing Mack folk, were all all his if he hut said the words. The thought was no temptation It was a mighty wo-ider that such a thing could be. And that was all It was a wonder to him. but to them It was the world. Without It all, what would they do? Perhaps Mr. Jefferson might soon solve the problem for him. Perhaps he might not return from that wild campaign against the British and the Indians h might get killed. And then a tiinught gripped hlni ,nd held him fnst ho need not come back. That mighty wilderness beyond the moun- "Tell the Big Chief," He Said in Shaw, nee, "to Be on Guard Tomorrow Nisht." Clark insisted that two of the prisoners prison-ers should be put to death ; and as the two selected came forward Erskine saw Black Wolf was one. lie whispered whis-pered with Clark and Kahtoo, and Crooked Lightning shw the big chief with his hand on Erskine's shoulder and heard him forgive the two and tell them to depart. And thus peace was won. Straightway old Kahtoo pushed through the warriors ar.d, plucking the big chief by the sleeve, pointed to Erskine. Ers-kine. "That is my son," he said, "and I want him to go home with me." "He shall go," said Clark quickly, "but he shall return, whenever It pleases him, to me." And so Erskine went forth one morning at dawn, and his coming Into Ihe Shawnee camp was like the coming com-ing of a king. Early Morn greeted him with glowing eyes, his foster-mother foster-mother brought him food, looking proudly upon him, and old Kahtoo harangued his braves around the council-pole, while the prophet and Crooked Lightning sulked In their tents. (TO EE CONTINUED.) |