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MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 1929
A Romance of
Hu6H PENDEXTER X
A i WE SV eo Hn SAL SA MA
ustrations by
lawin Myers
| THE STORY
CHAPTER I—Impoverished by the
lopen-handed generosity of his father,
young Webster |
Virginia gentleman,
Brond is serving as a scout and s)y
for the army under General Braddock
Preparioh for the advance on Fort
uquesne., He has just returned to
Alexandria from a visit: to the fort,
where, posing as a Frenchman, he nas
secured valuable information. Brad-
dock, bred to European warfare, fails
to’ realize the importance of the news.
Brond is sent back to Fort Duquesne, .
also bearing a message to eorge
{Croghan, English emissary among the |
Indians.
iand fellow scout, Round Paw, Indian
chief, and they set out. On the way
jthey fall in with a typical backswoods~
!man, Balsar Cromit, who joins them.
. {The party encounters a group of set-
itlers threatening a young girl, Elsie |
[Dinwold, whom they accuse of witch- :
craft. Brond saves her from them. The
girl disappears.
CHAPTER I111—Webster delivers his
‘message to Croghan, who expresses un-
easiness at the apathy of the Indians
to the English cause. Young Col
|George Washington rescues Brond
ifrom bullying Inglish soldiers. He
iworsts a bully .n a fight, and finds
(Elsie Dinwold. Brond is sent on a
!scouting expedition to Fort Duquesne,
and leaves with Round Paw. Cromit
Joins them.
CHAPTER 1V—They find a French
(scouting party besieging an old cabin
‘defended apparently by a single man.
{Brond and !Cromit make their way to
Ithe cabin. The “man” is Elsie Dinwold.
A French oflicer and an Indian break
in the door. Cromit kills the Indian and
,iBrond takes the Frenchman alive. Elsie
escapes during the fight. Brond’s cap-
tive is wLieutenant Beauvais. The scout
sends him as a prisoner, with Cromit,
to Braddock's camp, again taking his
way to Duquesne. and to seek Elsie.
CHAPTER V—Carrying out his plan
,to enter the fort unquestioned, Brond
resolves to visit an Indian town which
a woman sachem, Allaquippa, controls.
She is friendly to the English. The
scouts, as French, are plainly unwel-
come to Allaguippa. Brond meets a
French officer, Falest, whom he had
known at Duquesne. Falest is there
to win over Allaquippa to the French
cause, but he fails. To his astonish-
iment, Brond finds Elsie Dinwold,
‘dressed as a man, under Allaquippa’s
protection. The girl tells him she has
{found the English cruel, and is going
to the French. Unable to dissuade her,
Brond tells her of his mission to Du-
quesne, and she promises not to be-
tray him. They learn Beauvais has es-
- jcaped from Cromit and is on his way
to Duquesne. Brond realizes he must be
stopped.
CHAPTER V1—Cromit comes to
Brond while he is waiting to inter-
(cept Beauvais, and tells him he has
(killed the Frenchman after he had es-
.caped from him. Round Paw joins
ithem, and the three return to Alla-
quippa’s town. Cromit has brought dis-
‘quieting news of the demoralization
of Braddock’s army, none of the Eng-
Ilish officers understanding woods fight-
Jing, and Braddock fiercely resenting
advice of the “Provincials.!” Cromit,
igeparated from his two friends, is wel-
comed by Allaguippa as an English-
Iman. Leaving him to carry news to the
{English army, Brond and Round Paw
reach Duquesne. Brond is made wel-
come, Beaujeu, commander of the fort,
Ibelieving him a loyal Frenchman. He
learns Beauvais is not dead, Cromit
‘having killed Falest, taking him for
ithe other French officer, Brond real-
{izes he is in deadly peril. He decides
to get away at once, and tells Elsie,
‘who has come to the fort with Beau-
vais, but it is too late.
CHAPTER VIl—At a dinner given
by Beaujeu to his officers Brond is
{recognized and denounced by Beauvais
{as an English spy. He is rescued by
) With the Indian, and
{ Elsie, Brond escapes by the river, Eisie
{having destroyed all the canoes she
{could reach, to delay pursuit. Leaving
ithe water, Brond sends Round Paw
with a message to the army warning
of danger of ambush if they take the
«purtle Creek” route to the fort. Then,
with Elsie, a great handicap to swift
(traveling, he takes a different route to
(the army, in the hope that either Round
! Paw, Cromit, or himself, will get
‘through safely with the warning.
CHAPTER VIll—Brond realizes a
{party of pursuing
‘trail. The girl, having reached the
| jimit of her endurance, has to be car-
.ried by Brond. They make for the
{cabin of a trader, Frazier, hoping with
{his help to stand off pursuers. Reach-
{ing the cabin safely, they find Frazier
!away, but Elsie helps greatly in the
{defense of the place. They succeed in
| peating off the attacking Indians, and
{during a heavy rain, which saves them,
escape. Elsie's bravery and loyalty
{make a deep impression on Brond. In
{the woods they meet a veteran Vir-
| ginia forest fighter, Stephen Gist, re-
{turning from a scouting expedition.
CHAPTER IX—Gist repeats Cromit's
| tale of demoralization among the Eng-
lish regulars. Round Paw joins the
party and they reach the army Elsie
refuses to seek safety in the rear, in-
gistins on taying and sharing Brond's
dangers. Braddock ignores Bronds
warning of danger. Brond again meets
Washington, who gonfosses
his misgivings of the. success of the
expedition. Attacked in the forest bv
ractically invisible enemies, the Eng-
fish regulars are thrown into con-
retreat begins
Paw and Cromit are both killed, Brond,
badly wounded, escaping with the
other fugitives. He is unable to find
Aglsie in the confusion.
APTER X—The provinces are
1 Si by the news of the. disaster.
. English arm 8 WwW rawn 'to
yd ne y Rot say the provincials to
victorious savages,
Brond recovers
tells
and Brond
There he
{Josephine
Elsie and
ge=ks her,
his quest
whispers,
Jback!
at once leaves for that city.
meets a boyhood friend,
Jewitt. She bas befriended
given her a home. Brond
and finds a happy ending of
when Elsie, in his arms,
“Oh, mister, You've c¢ome
Braddock: Defeat «
By WR
Dy
Indians is on their
“Well, d—n my eyes!
telling Peter Symes what's gone far
A half-Injun
'nough. Peter says it ain't gone far
'nough till your hoofs stand where
your head is. Peter callates, Mr,
Half-Injun, you're ‘bout his size.
You're Peter’s meat.”
The situation was distasteful. [I
had had my share of fighting, but I
could never find an animal joy in com-
bat where all decency was laid aside
and any cruel trick was permitted.
Then again our mode of rough-and-
| tumble encounters made it a very seri-
" CHAPTER IlL.—Brond joins his friend
ous matter for the loser unless by
agreement the horrid practice of goug-
ing were eliminated. Infinitely better
was a clean death than the condition
of blindness. To fight without weapons
was to fight like wild animals. A duel
with rifles was vastly to be preferred.
My wandering glances in search of
old forest-running friends were misun-
derstood by the noisy crowd, and a
wagoner jeered:
“His heart ’pears to be dropping
down into his moccasins, Peter.”
This bit of wit was loudly ap-
plauded. 1 was in for it. The young
fellow 1 had championed was crouch-
ing on the ground behind me, a fact
that surprised me, for I had expected
‘him to bolt to safety once I took his
place. I felt his hands touch my rifle
.and instinctively yanked the piece to
‘one side as a man will do when one
makes free with his weapons. But the
hands were small, pathetically so for
‘one who must bear the vicissitudes of
camp life. My downward glance also
beheld a thin terrified face. I could
not understand why the young fool
had not slipped away.
I relinquished my rifle to his care
and added my ax, knife, tobacco bag
and other belt fixings. Symes was al-
ready disarmed and impatiently wait-
ing for me to make ready. He began
a string of foul talk which I inter-
rupted by driving my fist into his
mouth.
Then we were clinched, with the
dirty devil trying to scoop out my
eyes. He was an adept at beastly
Then We Were Clinched, With the
Dirty Devil Trying to Scoop Out
My Eyes.
practices, but in vigor and quickness
he was scarcely up to my two years
of woods training. [I fought his hands
from my face and drove my fist sev-
eral times into his red neck.
The dust afd the cheers, the suffo-
cating sweaty odor, and, most of all,
his repeated attempts to maim and
disfigure me, aroused my passion with-
out confusing my intelligence. I shifted
my tactics and began stepping back a
bit, taking great care he should not
trip me.
“No—bhalf-Injun can—" he began,
and 1 jerked to one side and drove my
elbow into his throat just under the
hinge of the jaw.
He went down, choking and gasping,
and kicked about like a stranded fish.
In his threshing about he rolled close
to the young fellow still crouching on
the ground and Keeping guard over
my weapons. Quick as a painter the
little devil lifted the heavy piece and
would have brained Symes if my moc
casin had mot kicked the long barrel
aside.
Grabbing the youngster by the neck
of his blouse I lifted him to his feet
and flung him aside, and berated,
saying: J
“You young hell-hound!
you up to?”
Some of the men pressed forward to
punish him, but I forced them back
What are
One fellow tried to dedge under my
arm and reeled back. Regaining his
balance, he stood with eyes bulging
and mouth open. I was wondering
how my shove could have done him
any harm when be astounded me by
bawling :
“H—I1! It’s a woman!”
Still not understanding I shifted my
gaze to follow the direction of his pop-
eyed staring and was in time to see
the small hands clawing at the rough
blouse to bring it together at the neck
where my rough grasp had torn it
open. :
“A girl!” 1 stupidly muttered as 1
glimpsed the rounded outlines of her
breasts.
With a duck and a leap, che es-
caped the circle and ran swiftly toward
the Iroquois camp. The pack would
have given chase, although they would
have done her no harm, but I snatched
up my rifle and called on them to
halt.
“She’s a French spy!”
shouted.
“If she is them the Indians will hold
her prisoner. She can’t escape from
the camp,” 1 told them.
They quieted down and divided their
energies between trying to get some
raw rum down Symes’ throat and in
explaining to me the cause of the
trouble. 1 gathered from their dis
jointed talk that the disguised girl
was Symes’ helper and had resented a
buffet he inflicted for her failure to
carry out some order. She had
snatched up a knife and had attempted
to stab him. She was promptly dis
armed 'and turned over to him for
punishment.
While I waited to see it Symes was
able to continue the fight another pie-
ture came before my eyes—that of a
young girl crouching before a mob ot
witch-hunters, her lips drawn back
and exposing her small teeth, and with
the same hunted wildness in the thin
face. And 1 knew why we had found
no trace of Elsie Dinwold, of the
Witch's head. We had sought a wom-
an in our questing. Had we inquired
for a young man, we might have found
some trace of her.
A subaltern bawled my name among
the kettles. I joined him and with
much curtness was told I was wanted
at headquarters. [ expected to be con-
ducted before General Braddock. In-
stead, it was Colonel Washington who
was waiting to give me an audience.
1 was conducted to his tent, set apart
some one
from the large marquee occupied by |
Braddock.
The man was sick. Rather, be
looked like a sick youngster. His face
was thinner and his eyes larger. There
was no suggestion of weakness in his
voice, however, as he bruskly ordered:
“Mr. Brond, you are to take your
Indian companion and scout out be-
yond the road-builders and look for
signs. The enemy’s Indians are keep-
ing close watch on us. If you cap-
ture an Indian or a Frenchman and
pring or send him to as, you will be |
doing us good service. If you meet
any Indians, bringing bloody belts to
our Delawares, make every effort to
stop them. The army will move slow-
ly, 1 fear. You will have ample time
to scout while making your way to
Duquesne.”
“1 will start at once, sir.”
He had been the officer; now he was
the friend. Lowering his voice and
smiling genially he said:
“1 know how you dislike discipline,
Webster. Forest-running makes a man
that way. | have presented the matter
to General Braddock and it's his wish
you go at once. But, as soon as he
gets a grasp on all conditions here, be
will insist all sceuts be under mili-
tary discipline. So it's well you go
now.” -
“Immediately. There. is a young
woman in camp, who
querading as a man.
been discovered by
They may say she is a French spy.
She is Elsie Dinwold, of Great cove.
She was driven from the valley the
day 1 left there on the charge she is
a witch. I vouch for her as a
poor unfortunate young woman and
thoroughly loyal to the colonies.”
“She shall not be molested. But
there are too many women in camp
already. 1 wish you good luck. I
would like to go with you, only Pd
never pass as a Frenchman.”
I hastened to the Iroquois camp and
found Round raw smoking and talk-
ing with George Croghan. The Onon-
daga was quick to respond when 1
promised action. We secured a small
bag of meal and some extra arrow-
heads for flints, for 1 ever considered
them better than the imported article.
As we traveled the ancient path,
the Onondaga informed me Major
Chapman had taken his road-builders
over Wil’s mountain, a most foolish
choice and one that would cause great
waste of time and much hardship. Col-
onel Washington could have designated
a much better road, as could any of
Braddock’s scouts had their advice
been sought.
It was near sunset by the time we
had covered five miles, and as my
haste to depart had been to avoid be-
ing called back and hampered by any
military instructions, we were free to
camp and take it leisurely. I built a
fire while Round ‘Paw was perching
a turkey. While we were broiling our
supper a tall lanky figure blundered
into the light. It was Balsar Cromit.
“Been chasing you fellers,” he in-
formed us.
“How is this, Balsar?’ | sternly de-
manded. “You're a wagoner, and your
place is back in camp. We are out
on a scout.”
“If | ain't wanted, 1 can scout
alone,” he replied, displaying his mean-
ingless grin. “Wild timber enough for
all of us to scout in. But I'll be mor-
tally dinged if I'll stick on the creek
and eat salt meat while the thief who
has been mas-
Her ‘sex has
the wagoners.
‘had reverted to savagery,
stole my rifle is loose to hunt for
fresh meat.”
“Some one stole your rifle?”
“If we lick the French as sartain as
that there rifle has been stole, then
the French are everlastingly walloped
this very minute. The thief lit out
ahead of you fellers.” Come round the
mountain by this path.”
The Onondaga caught only frag-
ments of Cromit’s talk and -asked me
to repeat it. After I did so, he ad-
vised:
“Let the bone-breaking man come
with us, If we meet a bear he shall
show how strong his hands are against
claws.” a
“All right, Balsar; you're one of us,
but I'll not be responsible for the con-
sequences once you get back to the
army. But ’tis a pity you haven't a
gun.”
“I'll have a mighty pert one when 1
overhaul that dinged thief. 1 knew
bad luck was coming when 1 dreamed
of that witch-girl. Consarn her!”
CHAPTER IV
The Cabin
The Onondaga aroused us shortly
after sunrise and whispered to me:
“Men come. Hide.”
We took to cover and after a few
minutes one of them came into view
and halted op beholding the ashes of
our campfire. He leaned on his rifle
and after a bit of glancing about
sounded a low whistle. This was a
signal that brought others to his side.
At first glance 1 thought them to be
Indians, but as we observed their un-
kempt hair, the manner of their walk,
their long rifles and fur hats, we knew
them to be white men. There were
ten of them and their leader was as
dark as a negro. All were dressed like
Indians. Besides a rifle each carried
an ax a® well as a knife at his belt.
My second thought was that they must
be Frenchmen, who always imitated
their red companions in dress, and
thus endeared themselves to the In
dian. I was lining the leader with my
rile and was about to order ‘him to
drop his gun when the tirst man to
break through the timber kneeled by
the fire-stones, thrust his bands into
the ashes, quickly withdrew them, and
announced :
“Still hot.
hours ago.”
“Look about,” harshly commanded
the leader.
Before they could move 1 called out:
“Who are you men?”
None of them appeared to move d
muscle until the leader slowly turned
his head in our direction and tersely
answered :
“White men,”
But this was scarcely sufficient, for
the times were ticklish. So 1 said:
“If you're the right kind of white
men, we're glad to see you. If you are
the wrong kind, you will go to Will’s
creek with us.” -
“Will’s creek is where we're bound
for, to help Gineral Braddock whip
the French and Injuns. So show
Burnin’ not more’n two
yourselves.”
There were along every border
tain small bands of white men
cer-
who
and who
waged war on all decent people. Mo-
tioning for my companions to remain
in hiding 1 stepped into the small
opening, and said:
“We're scouts for Braddock’s army.
Now talk to me with belts.”
The last speaker again spoke, say-
ing, and civilly enough:
“Qur cap’n here is ‘Black’ Jack ot
the Juniata. We go to help Gineral
Braddock.”
There was none on the frontier who
had not heard of Black Jack, the In-
dian killer. His family had been mur-
Theres Was None on the Frontier Who
Had Not Heard of Black Jack, the
Indian Killer.
dered by the red men while he was
away on a hunting trip. On return-
ing to the ruins of his little cabin he
had vowed to devote the remainder of
his life to exterminating the race.
From Florida to New York province
his name was known, and many the
story was related ‘about him and his
never-ending ques! for revenge. The
Indians attributed much sorcery to
him and no longer considered him a
mere human being. Too many dead
red men hac been found on trail and
mountainside, in lonely valley and on
the banks of unnamed creeks, {o per
mit of an ordinary human status.
As guides, scouts and riflemen, these
ten men were worth a thousand blun-
dering regulars when it came to deep
_woodsmen serving him.
forest fichting. They would tind their
own food and be incapacitated neither
hy cold nor heat. [I congratulated
General Braddock for having such
I was worried
over one problem their coming had
created, however. For the Onondaga’s
benefit 1 called out:
“Keep back.”
“Who be you telling in Iroquois to
‘keep back’?” rumbled Captain Jack,
his dark eyes seeking to search out
the thicket behind me.
“An Indian friend of mine who hates
the French,” I told him. “You stand
no chance of harming him if you
should be so minded. General Brad-
dock needs your help sorely, but he
has many Iroquois in his camp.”
“His Injuns are safe. So’s yours,”
was the slow response.
“Cromit, come forward,” 1 called.
The red-head crawled through the
bushes, all his teeth showing. Stand-
ing behind me he drawled:
“The Onondaga is a quarter-mile
away by this time.”
“Your Injun is safe so long as he
scouts against the French,” growled
Captain Jack.
Cromit eyed him with kindling in-
terest and said:
“You look mighty husky, mister. Do
you ever rassle?”
The swarty killer turned a gloomy
glance upon my friend, then said to
me:
“Your Injun’s safe when with you,
or in Braddock’s camp. We knew
Croghan had some Iroquois there. But
when we meet a redskin alone in the
woods we never ask to see his road-
belts. © We shoot. How is this Brad-
dock? He can’t know anything about
Injuns and their natur’.”
“General Braddock is a drill-master.
I came away from the camp so’s not
to be under military rule.”
“He puts folks under orders, eh?”
And Captain Jack shrugged his big
shoulders in disgust. “We don’t want
any pay or rations. We're going to
Will's creek
All we ask
because Croghan’s there.
of Braddock is to be let
alone. We live and fight in our own
way. We”ll have our own way if we
help him.”
He jerked his head toward the val-
ley path and his men fell in behind
him and the ten of thm passed from
our sight. Invaluable as they would
be to Braddock in. guarding against
surprise attacks, | doubted if that
martinet would accept them on their
own terms. As they vanished through
the green wall | turned back to the
fire. Round Paw was there.
Cromit chuckled:
“The [njun never budged a inch. 1
lied like Tophet when I said he’d run
away.”
We made our breakfast of broiled
squirrels and then pushed on. We
crossed Savage. run, scarcely more
than a rivulet, and camped on Little
meadows with the rugged slope of
Meadow mountain behind us. So far
we had found no fresh signs of Indians,
but during the morning of the next
day we came upon the scalped re-
mains of a warrior. I pronounced him
to be a Twightwee, but Round Paw
insisted :
“Jonontady Hagas!” (meaning the
dead man was a Huron).
The Onondaga said death had been
caused by a small bullet, and he ac-
cepted my theory that the Black
Hunter and his men had bagged the
fellow.
Scouting farther on we came to the
remains of a fresh campfire. It was
not more than a night old and it was
too large for an Indian to have lighted.
Nor could 1 attribute it to the Black
Hunter’s band, for Captain Jack and
his men would make a blaze after the
Indian fashion.
The Onondaga was puzzled, for it
placed a third party near the scene of
the killing. My friend requested Cro-
mit and me to’ stay by the charred
sticks while he investigated more
closely. Before setting forth he ex-
amined the spot most patiently and
finally announced :
“One man. Long gun.”
For proof of this assertion he pointed
to a faint impression in the moss
where something solid, like the butt of
a rifle, had rested. Then he showed
us a faint abrasion on a limb nearly
level with the top of my head, and
said it had been made by the barrel
of the rifle. Cromit promptly cried:
“It’s the critter who stole my rifle!
No Cap’n Jack killed the Injun. It
was the thief, and he’s taking my rifle
to Duquesne to trade it to the French,
ding him!”
It was with ditliculty that 1 re-
strained him from making an imme-
diate search for the fellow’s trail and
! thereby hindering the Onondaga in hig |
work.
“ll git that rifle even if 1 have to
go to Duquesne alone,” he sullenly in-
formed me.
The Onondaga’s signal broke up our
talk. We hastened te join him and
were informed :
“Black Hunter scalped the Huron.
Look! The Onondaga with the nose
of the Wolf has found where ten men
passed close to the Huron. One man
stepped aside and scalped him. The
Huron was dead when they came up,
or they would not have found him.
The man with the long gun by the fire
killed the Huron and ran away. The
black-white man came along and took
the scalp. Look!”
The story was plain enough in the
trail made by a number of men trav-
eling in single file. No Indian, unless
he were dead, would remain at the
edge of the bushes while the way-
farers approached him.
Having satisfied ourselves to this
extent, we proceeded to induige Cro-
mit by finding the trail of fhe nan
with the long rifie. The signs of his
flight were very plain and suggested
a panic. We followed it without dit
ficulty toward the west side of the
Little crossing, or Castleman’s river,
a tributary of the Youghiogeny, but
when within a short distance of the
crossing Round Paw, who was ahead,
halted and lifted his ax.
Cromit and 1 became more cautious
and paused. Round Paw beckoned us
to join him. The three of us listened.
At first 1 thought it was thunder;
then came the crack of a single rifle.
only the woods were So thick and so
mufiled any sound it was hard to de-
termine the direction with any degree
of exactness. The Indian wet. his fin:
ger and held it up to catch the trifling
breeze, and then bounded away at a
lope. .
“One man in old trade-house. Hu
rons trying to get him,” he called back
to me.
Somewhere in the neighborhood wus
a deserted cabin, once used by Croghan
as a trading post. Round Paw and 1
had spent a night there two winters
before. We came out on a slope and
could look over the forest crown into
a small clearing. And there in the
middle of the opening stood the trad-
ing post. Only instead of the shrill
wind of that winter's night, and the
howling of the starved wolf-pack there
were now ululating war-cries and the
explosion of guns being fired into the
log walls.
We kept under cover and counted
the puffs of smoke and estimated the
attacking force to number fifteen or
twenty. The cabin stood in the center
of the clearing and was completely en-
circled by the besiegers.
At last the cabin became alive.
There came a puff of smoke from a
loop-hole and a naked savage at the
edge of the forest leaped grotesquely
into view and would have fallen on his
face had not a man leaped forward
and caught him and dragged bim to
the shelter of the woods. The sun
glittered on something he wore around
his neck, and I knew it to be a silver
gorget, such as Captain Beaujeu and
their rank. Otherwise one would have
taken the fellow for a savage.
“It’s a scouting party from Duquesne
in charge of one or more Frenchmen,”
1 said. “That was the leader who
pulled the Indian under cover. P
A fire of musketry crackled around
the clearing, two guns being dis
charged from the woods at the foot of
the slope and directly in advance of
our position. The Onondaga told us
to remain quiet while he scouted near-
er the besiegers. After thirty minutes
Round Paw returned and tersely re
ported :
“French Indians and two French
men have cornered a Swannock.”
A repeated this in English, and Cro
mit promptly declared:
“Then we must bust through and
help the feller out.”
1 talked with the Onondaga, and he
said that with three men in the cabin
and with him outside to range back
and forth behind the attacking force
the Hurons would soon lose heart and
retreat. Once the Frenchmen lost con-
trol of them our task of capturing one
man alive would be greatly simplified
His judgment had great weight with
me; and there was no denying the con-
fusion he would throw the enemy into
once he stalked the savages from the
rear. 1 agreed to make the cahin with
Cromit if it could be done with any
measure of safety.
The Onondaga took it on himself
to provide us with a clear path to the
cabin door. He briefly explained his
plan, and we prouounced it good
When he set out to steal halfway
around the unsuspecting circle until
opposite our position, Cromit and 1}
made down the slope and into the
heavy growth where two or more of
the savages were posted. We saw
no signs of them, however, and only
located them by the occasional firing
of their guns.
Suddenly there rang out the fearful
war-whoop of the Onondaga, aceom-
panied by the crack of his rifle. There
were a few seconds of silence and
again Round Paw raised his voice, this
time in triumpb and sounding bis
scalp-cry. He had made his first Kill
and the enemy knew it, and the Huron
how! rose from all sides of the clear-
ing. The Onondaga shouted his de-
fiance and dared the enemy to attempt
his capture, and added a boast con-
cerning a worthless. mangy scalp.
Yelping with rage those on the edge
| ot the clearing began to search
| him. The bushes rustled ahead ot us
| and we knew our path to rhe cabin |
| would soon be open. Cromit %vas |
| trembling violently and would have
crawled forward
| his arm.
had 1 not
One of the two warriors was
well on his way, as the careless crash
|
|
ing through the undergrowth told us. |
The other was more slow to seek the
Onondaga, perhaps reluctant to leave
the cabin unwatched.
1 was wondering how we could avoid
him, or remove him, without giving
the alarm to those who were in pur-
suit of Round Paw when he suddenly
stepped into view not more than fif-
teen feet from our position. How he
got .an inkling of -our presence | do
not know, nor did he live to tell, for
before 1 could restrain him Cromit had
raised himself to one knee and bad
whipped out his long butcher-knife.
The savage discovered him and with
a startled grunt threw up bis musket
to fire. The piece missed and as it
snapped Cromit hurled the long knife.
It streaked to the red threat and
pierced it, and the man went down
with a gurgling attempt to sound bis
death-cry. .
“Good work and good luck,” I softly
cried. “Now race for it.”
He halted and ripped off his gory
| trophy and waving it inp one hand and
his knife in the other came pounding
after me.
| were still hunting the Onondaga and
en | panted, clutching at
other French officers wore to indicate |
for |
clung to |
The rest of the Indians
we had an excellent chance to get
the man out of the cabin.
Bending low we passed through the
remaining growth and struck into the
opening. Flame spurted from a loop-
hole and the wind of. the passing lead
rufled my hair. | yelled loudly that
we were friends and English. We:
gained the door before a second shot
could greet us only to find it barred.
A gun was discharged in the woods
and a heavy ball plumped into the
lintel log over my head. :
“In God’s mercy open the door and
let us in!” howled Cromit.
“We're friends, fool. Unbar the
door,” 1 added, and 1 faced about to
shoot, at any enemy showing at the
edge of the woods.
It seemed a very long time that ®
hand fumbled at the bar, but at last
the door gave and I tumbled in on my
back and Cromit dragged me one side.
A bullet whistled through the deerway
and smashed into the wall. And =a
startled voice was crying:
“You're the kind man of Der Hexen-
kopf! The man who saved me in
Braddock’s camp!” ;
1 leaped to the door and closed it,
and dropped the bar in place and then
took time to stare at the defender of
the cabin. It was the witch-giri, ang
she was still wearing her leggings and
blouse. Cromit was glaring at her
and the long rifle she was holding. #¥.
do not believe he would have moved
had an [Indian dropped down the
chimney. ’
“Elsie Dinwold! What do you do
out here ahead of the army?” | asked.
“Ding me etarnally if it ain’t the
brown-haired one. And she stole my
rifle!” roared Cromit.
“1 thought it was yours when 1'took
it. It’s heavy. It hurts my shoulder
most awful. Take it.” she sighed.
She collapsed on a fireplace log and
threw off her hat. The brown hair
tumbled down in great confusion.
“What a horrible world!” she
her straggling
hair. “First Der Hexenkopf—now
this. There was an Indian—back
apiece—] shot him.”
“She's been hurt. Spread out her
planket,” 1 angrily told Cromit. She
was about to collapse under what
she’s been through when the lead
grazed her and gave the finishing
touch. Get me some water.” :
I was rubbing her hands and wrists
and awkwardly striving to bring her
to her senses when | heard the cabin
door open. 1 leaped to my feet to se-
cure a weapon, and discovered Cromit
wus gone. Gaining the door 1 called
after him to come back, and profane-
ly demanded to know if he were a
madman. But kL had asked for water
and 1 wanted it for the Dinwold girl;
and he waved the bucket defiantly and
ran around the corner.
Almost immediately he was back
with three men at his heels. Three
jumps would take him to the door,
but he was forced to half-turn. a
swing the bucket at the foremost of =
the men. The upraised ax struck the
bucket and smashed it. | threw my.
ax before the savage could attempt:
another blow, and it struck edge first,
handle down. Then Cromit was piling
through the door, swearing insanely,
with the remaining two men at bis
heels. | grappled with one and Cro-
mit closed with the other! gion
«pig! Sarrender!” cried my op-
ponent; and for the first time I real- *
ized he was no Indiab but a French-
man. “
“] must have you alive!” I told hime
“Diable— You die for the insult,
monsieur!” he grunted, forcing me:
back. %
He was a very strong man and well
skilled in wrestling. In truth, he was!
so skillful with his feet that before
I knew what he was attempting i:
was on my back and struggling des-
perately to keep his hands from his
‘belt and my throat. Over his shot.
der 1 caught a glimpse of Cromit's ag-
versary, a most ferocious looking fel-
So Shrewdly Did He Fight | No Long
er Thought of Making Him Prisoner.
low as nature turned him. out, put
doubly repelling because of the water
lizard tattooed in white on the opper
half of his face.
Only a glimpse of him was afforded
me as he and Cromit swirled across
my field of vision. My man began
| putting up a desperate resistance and
1 shut all thoughts out of my head
except the task of finishing him. So
shrewdly did he fight 1 no longer
thought of making him Prisoner, He
was a good twenty pounds lighter thas
I. but he fought like a devil
CONTINUED NEXT WEEK