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Show ; 'The Ked JSodct A Romance of ML w.n.o. vice CHAPTER VII Continued U!Z t ftvored his growing plnn tfWi Braddock's approach V? " iunorlJ replied: J tie, great chief ol the Ottawa.. I ni make Ouontlo's heart wurm ' l With the mighty Pontine ; ( our red brothers, the medicine av balf-r and hull-French il l the English head. Let the 111 !l potavratomi set up the medl .; 0dge where we may see It and 3 U wires. Let the ghosts ot an t warriors tell us how to destroy :.. English and take for our own use HHnog wagons of guns and cloth I "-Hood Tell your red brothers that ;,n,lo fl" send them a keg of brim :,',(, make their hearts glad." "pontine turned and stalked from the ,m a dramatic figure. Beau.ieu le grimly and, still staring through J'open dtior, he said to us: ' '-Messieurs, there ' speaks one who ;3edaj will make great trouble for n? LM one. Whoever holds that man Z ..g 0 France does France and oui in ;iB! B great service. Now while they as irt palling up cneir muse ici u , iij talk." A bad renewed acquaintance with P :te three officers before entering the and had been made known to r,d 'te fourth man. Sieur de St- Therese, re i pleasant-mannered fellow. Platters iix , steaming meat and some good 11 iieiS were served. J Outside the window rose the gut ,er MUnices of the Hotawatom' wizards sll ts they directed the erection of the is . Ljsierj lodge. Soon there was added !.e fierce notes of a war-song as tnt a :r!iilj began to take effect ; and by -i light ot several fires we could ' ;iiiipe starb forms dancing madly aniiii a war-post, each dancer paus !( In drive his ax into the wood in ;.;D!iiniuie ot braining a foe. For n 't'rprimuil was the heat-lightning and 'if iiruft bellowing of Hinunn ttie IWer-gnd, giving battle to Mis in) '-3 itiuiirlal enemy, the water-serpem W iViitjea Hatched the frenzied war "m fin a moment and sighed : U "II 1 could hold them to tluit pitch i 'lea I lend them to battle. But mes-ars, mes-ars, nnw that ne have satisfied oui unites. 1 will ask Monsieur Behind ' tell us about the hostility ol the :iiein Allaiiiiippu toward us-. Then o win decide it her village at tln--mli ol t tie Voughiogeny is a menace France. Lieulenanl Heauvnis a I. ''!) tins told us something, but Mod tot Behind was In the village longer " Benuvuis and had a most sig -i-fanl experience." h Inr Hie second time since enter 'Sine fort, I recounted the woman 'iu'8 refusal ot the French beh 'i Hie killing ot Hontlac's bell car 'it. When I had ceased speaking -.i 'em de St. Tlierese excitedly cried: is "me Unit evil nest was de '1 ;,:iiyoi." Bhii.Jius eyes sparkled "f'M does Sieur de Carqueville '''' he asked. ('arinieville pruinjitlj replied : JY . Ve re In ex-treniis without Brad "t tlnillng a resting place should his 'l march take him to the month I "m YmiRi,ip.IT Thp (.,,, llrN " 'lis 1111111 eliiml.l n . ,l,vis ?"t K"l:lish 'l lit'?." little '" ''i"'i"lt' lif'ed a glass ot wine 1111 mive: JVC'S done, , h 10 'he English Indians 1 .. ,l",,,,l,"",r' ,,;( a' Hie tonsi l,ii ,een llru siell, ictorf ;'r;",,s "''ns.-lcd: erro 'n'"""1 bH h,'s- 1 believe. r send w, ' 1 a-vas. or ,l,e OJi,wl,ys. t0 re ,tWii J ",,e "'"'Be-- :onsli- wnsl.lerert this suguestiot, liains , ' hJlly tor u tuw llin,t,nls Hn(1 Ul,cnt ' "-'ueil to .e n, invited: bottle, t,- ive Monsieur lieland's ad His 1 J then,: ; read ( 1 J 'J belief that at the WJ,rSt ,6 ' "alv ,,,,,) jn HM. V" al. Their numbers are nrcToM-! '" is "" " '''ru. , '""a"8 wil' 'he Kng bi- '"lie " ,,,ie 5'"u '"''.v make r -il,.!,,,, " , "awares w,,h , m. rCC,.W,a B'Ju. tuning irP,H5 hnr n frwlB-r his ""'eW P llis ''cad h'Mi,e, , '& "'-ll II 'e;";S "ilh "'isdom. '''lis , 'Sl'' " englishman rrtl " ''w"lf- "r Iip wolf oais IjM ,r;iii-ca,,n; risk SIil , ' ' l tho Miiiwiifcs steal tlS' tl,e!JV",5:ki"-1"" and irnvrs ""'J' e-Nl'ecl to behold the lake tribes leaving for the north without lifting an nx. 1 am forced to believe it will he better to leave Allmiuippn's town alone. "If Our Lady's Intercession should give us a victory over Braddock, the task of pacifying the Knglish Lenl Lenape will be easier If there be no bones ot their warriors for France to cover. If It is fated that we lose, we shall have our hands full in withdrawing with-drawing from this fort without hnv Ing to fight a rear-guard engagement against Infuriated neutrals. For 1 solemnly assure you, messieurs, that our own savages will be a problem should we have to retire. "Monsieur Belaud, I rejoice that you are here and have spoken as you have. I only wish that Monsieur Beauvals could join us and give his views. He is a cool thoughtful man. and, like yourself, would speak with out prejudice." It required several rounds of wine to restore us to a proper enthusiasm I fHt a coolness on the part of my two neighbors, although none at the table openly disagreed with Beaujeu's decision. But de In Parade, who had drunk extermination to the village, was vastly more popular than L Beau- 1 ' to? fi -Our Brother Sper.ks With Wisdom. Mthough It Sounds Like the Cold Calculating Counsel of an Englishman. English-man. jeu's mention of Beauvnis made my back feel chilly, and my gaze wan dered frequently toward the open door. And yet when I attempted to decide lust wh.it I should do, did he put in an appearance, my mind refused re-fused to work. It was as if my intel licence were paralyzed. I was keenly conscious of dreading his arrival hut was incapable of planning a defense. There was a wild wish in my heart that the Onondaga might discover ihe troth and manage in some fashion to intercept him. This, of course, was not based on reason It did set. me t. thinking ahniit the Onondaga and the Pinwold girl I wondered if I had heen observed when walking and talk ing with her, and if. should I tie np r.un ,voniri he held to ar- preiienii'-ii. "'- count Mv only mnsi.lalion was that Bonnieu was a genileinan. and that ce'she diseased her sex. he wouM not permit her to he harmed There remained the dangers ot ihe re,reat to Camilla Pontine never lost an rtunilv to advance himself (,nce he saw that the French were whipped. I doubled his loyalty to ihe I dips Looking back to those hectu davs In July. I am convinced I mis im'lged nim. The events of the next few vears were to establish His never emliiii; Imsiility to the Knglish 1-he dancers Had quit the lire ami war-post and were now leaping o te.qnelv l.v the window, a swifl shift ing string ot distorted and monstrous y painted faces, and a bewildering flourishing of axes. Some of the axes were painted red the belter to ex enipllfy the wlelders' snngulnnry am bltlons. As the savages pressed closer to the building In passing In review, we saw them only from the neck up. and the effect was that of detnehed heads floating and bobbing by. Then there came the sweetest strain of music 1 ever heard although It was produced by the guttural voice ot a most hideously painted creature, who had concealed nil suggestions of a human hu-man countenance by painting his face with a series of circles In black, red and white. His song was sweet In my ears because he sang through the open window the simple refrain; "Ila-hum-weh. Ha-hum-weh." " '1 belong to the Wolf clan. I be- long to the Wolf clan.' " Surely words were never more welcome. wel-come. I felt the tightness In my chest give way; and 1 knew that Round Paw of the Onondagas was on the scene nnd ready to stand or fall with me. Beaujen, loo, caught the song, and remarked: "That's not a northern voice, nor Shawnee, nor Leui-Lenape. It sounds like a Mingo, and yet It is different." "I was not giving much heed," I said. "It sounded like an Iroquois singing Ins Wolf song." Next we had a view of a Potawa-tomi Potawa-tomi who brandished a war-club of birch. The club was painted red and black and was decorated with brass nails. The arm holding the club boasted of a badge of skunk-skin to show the man had seized a wounded enemy by the arm and had held him. Three of the feathers In his huir were notched, evidencing he had killed and scalped as many foes, and there were other feathers unnotched. Indicating he had scalped warriors slain by his companions. For after the northern fashion of counting coup four fenth: ers could be worn for the death of each enemy slain one by the man who made the kill, one by the man who took the scalp, and one by each of the two men who might assist in the scalping. This fellow remained hpfnro thp trlniloTO lonff pnOUEll to chant In a throaty voice: "'An eagle feather I see; a brave 1 have caught. A wolf I see; a wolf I have caught.' " Beaujeu interpreted the song for me. 1 would have thought nothing about it had not the Onondaga soon passed the window again, proving he bad not waited his turn, and proclaimed pro-claimed himself to be of the Wolf clan. And directly following him reappeared re-appeared the Potawatomi with his boast of having caught a wolf. My nerves began tightening. There was a sinister significance In the second appearance of the two men. It was plain that the Potawatomi was exerting ex-erting himself to keep at the heels of my friend. There was no time to worry over the coincidence, however. I was con- noent rue romwn i, cu n thing had aroused bis suspicions, would never catch Round Paw off his guard. The dancing suddenly ceased and we noted that the framework of the medicine-lodge was up. and that the wizards were rapidly covering it with niedicine-rohes so as to shut off all view of the interior except as the small flap was pulled back nnd re vealed a small, square opening facing our window. Pontine came through the doorway nnd spoke to Beaujeu. The comman riant nodded, and explained to us: "He says one of the Potawatomi. Little Wolf, wishes to entertain us with some magic." We sol tied back to enjoy the 1ug-glery. 1ug-glery. but m.V nerves gave a jump when in Little Wolf I recognized the dancer who had said he had caught a wolf. He halted near the table and eyed us all steadily. I Imagined his gaze rested a trifle longer on me than on the others, hut set it down to my being a ranger. Beaujeu rose nnd handed him a glass of wine and spoke first in the Ottawa tongue and then in French saying : "Little Wolf Is a mighty wizard When the medicine-lodge Is ready he .vill call tiie ghosts to talk to us. They will tell us how to strike an ax into the Knglish-" " Little Wolf refused the wine and j danced about until he hud located i Hie brandy. He stretched out his hand for the strongei drink and Beaujeu threw out the wine and accotiiino 1 dated him Tossing off the hrnnd , l,e placed his how and arrow on a j small side-table and turned his bid. on us and made much business of ex amining the contents of the bag W hen he faced about, he had a Ion-unife Ion-unife in his hand This he procpedec j to swi w up to the hilt. So far a- i I could observe the blade wen! dowi j his throat i TO BE CONTINUED.) |