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Show I The f Eed Read t A Romance o! E Braddock's DcSeat r r By Hugh Pendextsr j r c f- r . f Illustration by Irwin Myera Copyright by Hush Pendexter. WNU Service CHAPTER IX Continued 28 With the shattered army Id a wild rout the Onondaga and I fell hack to the wagons where I had left the girl. 1 stepped over a man dying from arrow ar-row wounds and would have left him had I not recognized him as Busby, my old playmate. This was a sorry ending of all our boyish dreams, when we played at Indian fighting and always al-ways emerged the victors. For love of the old days, I caught him around the shoulders and yelled for the Onondaga Onon-daga to pick him np by the heels. The Indian had no desire to interrupt his fighting by helping one as good as dead. Yet he would not leave me, and he did as 1 directed, and we managed man-aged to get Busby to the first wagon. Busby stared at me vacantly at first, then knew me, and tried to pull me down to him. I kneeled and he faintly faint-ly whispered : "What d d fools we've been, Web. Tell Joe Tm sorry." It was his last effort, and he was dead when 1 straightened up. The savages were now assaulting the wagons from both sides. We fought our way through the terribly unequal melee. It did look as If not a man would survive the day unless It be Borne of those who bad taken to trees outside the road, or who had cut the liorses loose from the wagons and bad fled at the beginning of the battle. Dunbar the Tardy was still In the rear. It was just as welL The more men crowding Into the road simply meant more victims. "This way, Brond ! Brown-hair's here!" howled a voice in my ear. Cromit was speaking. His mouth was fixed In a ghastly grin, his eyes set and staring. He was bleeding from a wound In the head. "This Is a severe wring," he shouted, and fired a soldier's musket at a painted face showing at the side of a tree. Then with a screech that sounded above the groans and shrieks of the wounded and the yells of the savages, he dived into the bushes. The next moment he staggered back Into the road, with a knife buried In his breast, and yet dragging after htm a stalwart Ottawa he had clutched by the throat. The two fell at our feet, and with a na effort Cromit tore the red throat open ; and so the two died and went among the ghosts. Dan Morgan was down and the witch-girl was standing over him. an ax In one hand, ber pistol In the other. "Get ot of herel Go to the river!" J cried to her. "Can't leave him," she panted. ""Kiss me, mister 1" '1 kissed ber, believing It wag very close to the last act in my life. A nd J pitied ber as I had never pitied any one in my life. Morgan got np od ills knees. He had been shot through the back of the neck, the ball passing through his mouth and taking several teeth with it He gained his feet and pushed the girl toward ns. "Must git hnss !" he told me as 1 seized the girl and began working my way along the wagons. Many of the drivers already were In flight, each to announce himself to be the only survivor sur-vivor of the massacre, and 1 despaired of securing an animal for the girl. Morgan went ahead; after the girl came the Onondaga and myself. Hound I'aw endeavored to shield her from the cross-fire of the hidden savages, lie reeled, then raised his war-whoop and swung his ax. and I saw the white paw on the chest was turning crimson A wounded Potawatoml rolled from the bushes like a dying snake and colled about his legs In an attempt to trip him and bring hi rn to the ground. Hound I'aw quieted him with a swing of the an and shouted: "Yo-hahl If Is good. They say two very brave men will soon diet Yo-hah!" Yo-hah!" Then In a mighty voire he told the concealed foe: I am a man of the Wolf clan. My jteeth are sharp. Ho I I In I Come on nd help a brave man die like a chief.' Lie would have ponel rated the covet In Beareh of a worthy antagonist had 1 not forcibly restrained him Dead man, dying men. crazy men; and the lam were the worst of ull. We ran almost us much risk from our own Boldlerg tin we did from the fort In diatiR. (Especially was this true con Lecmlng the Onondaga Morgan wan (keeping his feet hrt ,cly und the girl ,-was willingly accompanying him. mill even helping him. so lung as tier back ward gianccs told her the Onondaga end 1 were following. lint did we pnue to meet a rush from the woods, then rllrl she hold bncK and attempt to gain my side. With a hoarse cry Morgan seized n bone b.v the none an Hie frightened animal bur"! through the hushes arid Into Hie road. Oilier hands tried to appropriate the prize, hut I brushed ,ther;i hack and to--'-ej the girl on the back of the crazed brute. Morgan motioned mo-tioned for me to mount. "Take her out of this I For G d's sake lose no tlmel" 1 cried. "She sorter seems to like you " be Began, but I lifted blm up and placed him behind her and struck the horse on the flank with my rifle-barrel. 1 knew she cried out although 1 could not hear what she said. She made to dismount, but young Morgan passed an arm around her slim waist, and the horse plunged down the road toward the ford. But 1 shall never forget the expression of bet small face as she stared helplessly back at me and the Onondaga. During this brief bit ot action the Indian had been wounded again, this time in the head. We fell back, shoulder shoul-der to shoulder. An arrow whipped Into my arm and the Onondaga broke olT the quivering shaft Arrow or bullet bul-let raked my forehead and threatened to fill my eyes with blood had I not snatched a neck-cloth from a dead man's neck and Improvised a bandage. The savages were now overrunning the first division of wagons, succumbing succumb-ing to their lust for plunder. Only this avariciousness saved those in the road below the wagons from being exterminated. ex-terminated. As it was, fifty ot the Indians pursued us to the Mononga-hela Mononga-hela and killed almost at every step. The regulars had thrown away arms, accouterments and clothing and, when overtaken, died stupidly like oxen. The curt crack of the rifles on each side of the road marked the cool retreat re-treat of our provincials. They were fighting steadily and composedly, and their resistance discouraged a final onslaught that might have cost the life of every Englishman on the fort side of the river. We were within a tew rods of the river, which was filled with frantic fugitives, when five of the pursuing savages closed In on Round Paw and me, I had the barrel of my rifle left and my ax. One man went down beneath the barrel. I slipped and fell on him. A knife stabbed through the calf ot my left leg, hut the man under me was dead. "Yo-hab! Tell bis ghost I sent you!" yelled the Onondaga, and my assailant fell dead across me. I got to my feet and beheld the Od-ondaga Od-ondaga In the clutches of two savages, the fifth having passed on to overtake other victims. Before I could lend a hand one of my friend's assailants, an Ottawa, choked and went limp with Round Paw's knife through his throat. "They say a ftruve man of the Wolf clan of the Onondaga will soon die!" panted Round Paw, and he essayed to sound his war-whoop as he and the remaining savage wound their arms about each other and fell. I pawed them apart and raised my ax, but the French Indian was dying by the time I could yank him clear of my friend. He was a Mingo, one of the Senecas who had preferred the Ohio to the Genesee. "A brave man bas killed me," he faintly said. The Onondaga propped blinsell op on one elbow and feebly waved bis ax, but his voice rang out so Ftrong I did not believe be was seriously hurt. He proudly proclaimed: "Yo-bahl A good tight 1 This man did me a very great honor. He fought well. But the Wolf bag strong sharp teeth Ha-hnm-weh Ha-hutn-web Ha-hum-weh " And he dropped dead across the body of the dead man who bad killed blm. I entered the river above the ford to escape the crowd of fugitives. Borne of whom were drowned in their mad haste to make the crossing. Busby, Cromit and Round Paw had paid the price of a stubborn man's Ignorance. Of all those who would Dever return from the fatal errand I would miss the OuoDdaga the most; and after hlrn Cromit of the mighty hands. And there was another ache In my heart as 1 vlsloned the fair Josephine, waiting In old Alexandria for her lover to return. re-turn. Out of twenty-nine gallant men to ride from the old town, only four were to go back. My last backward glance at the ford beheld Colonel Washington's horse crumpling beneath him. At first I thought he, as well as his mount, was hit But he was quickly up and catching a riderless horse and swing Ing Into tne saddle. Then, with his back to the ford, he rode through the trees, now vanishing, now appearing, and close In front of him was a fringe of his riflemen, light ing calmly and deliberately. This action of the rear guard was made tip of many Individual duels. The Virginians' trick of having two men behind a tree Inveigled many a screaming savage Into the path ot a deadly bullet. A rifleman would fire, when sure of his target, and some painted warriors would rush to (lis patch him before he could reload. His companion would fire and check the charge. This was repeatedly done, and done as calmly and coolly as a man would work In curing his tobacco. There was no pursuit beyond the ford, although only weariness, or their love of plunder, prevented them from killing us tor many a long mile. Later the colonies learued that Dunbar's retreat was unexpected and the French hastened buck to the fort, still believing they would be attacked Those who had fled on horses were well on the: 'ay to the first crossing, cross-ing, or far i yond it. 1 suppose it was the evening ot that same day that I came to a stum bling halt at the edge of an opening and stared across a large cleared space. The spot was familiar, and with a shock 1 suddenly discovered It was on the Allegenhy and about half a mile above Duquesne. I did not lose my wits again. From that moment on my memory Is painfully exact. Savages were singing and dancing around some stakes. I counted twelve of the stakes, and to each was fastened fas-tened an inert charred figure. From the red coats and other trophies being be-ing displayed I knew the dead men had been regulars and that they had died by torture. I was glad they were through with all and were beyond all furtl.ei misery. I must have been very weak when I came to my senses on the edge of the clearing, for I could not have tasted food during my blind wanderings. The shock ol the twelve stakes, bow-tver. bow-tver. gave me something that answered an-swered for physical strength, and 1 fell back rapidly from the dangerous neighborhood. There were no Indians abroad In the forest, for none was willing to miss the feasting and drinking and torture, let alone the distribution of the rich booty. Moving painfully and without sighting any human being I came to the rough country at the head of Turtle creek and forded and gained the army's camp on Rush creek. It did not seem possible that seventy-odd hours before Braddock's army had halted here. That was far back among the old things, as the Indians would have expressed It-Then It-Then by slow stages 1 followed the Braddock road back to the Great Meadows. All along the road were muskets and accouterments, discarded by those who had passed over the road ahead of me; and there was no need to be saving of powder and lead It did seem as If all the buzzards In North America had come to west ern Pennsylvania, and Dever have I seen bears so plentiful. There is a story based on the Monongahela bat tie co the effect that the bears grew to have a contempt for human beings after eating the dead of Braddock's army. I never placed credence In the story, but I can vouch that the brutes were not easily frightened by my np-poach. np-poach. I shot several but depended upon rabbits, turkeys and a deer for food. More than once 1 had to fight my nerves before I could approach a huddled form In the road ahead, fear Ing It might be the girl. Just beyond the Meadows 1 came upon three men cooking deer-meat over a little fire. They were wild-looking creatures and at my approach sprang np and snatched for their guns. "Have any of you seen a wagoner on a horse, Dbd Morgan by name?" I called to them. "And was be rid Ing double with a fellow younger than he?" "Devil take your man Morgan and t'other feller!" cried one t them. "Git out of sight afore I lose my pa tlenca. I promised my younkers a French sculp. By the Eternal I Your tialr might do Just as well I Fat crops In and growing, and now we must quit 'em and fort ourselves. Curse the day we ever heard the name of Braddock." "We'll do our own fighting In our own way oext time," bawled one of the other men. Ills words fell Idly on my ears yet I wus to live to recall them, and to realize the fellow had unwittingly uttered the one great truth thai the battle ot the Monongahela taught its self-dependence. From the begin nlng of the colonies, we had relied on England, and now that the best she could give us for out protection had miserably failed, we were to learn self-reliance, and the few long rlllcs i hat allowed a fragment of the army to escape across the second ford were In my day to Increase to thousands Cut that knowledge was nil ahead of me; and dlshearted at not finding some trace of Morgan and the lln wold girl I left the sullen trio and continued rnv weary lourriey. (To uii: continiikd. |