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diff --git a/42894.txt b/42894.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 126fc89..0000000 --- a/42894.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11335 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Shadow of Victory, by Myrtle Reed - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: The Shadow of Victory - A Romance of Fort Dearborn - - -Author: Myrtle Reed - - - -Release Date: June 8, 2013 [eBook #42894] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHADOW OF VICTORY*** - - -E-text prepared by sp1nd, Richard J. Shiffer, and the Distributed -Proofreading volunteers (http://www.pgdp.net) from images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustration. - See 42894-h.htm or 42894-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42894/42894-h/42894-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42894/42894-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/shadowofvictory00reedrich - - - - - - [Illustration: "An arrow sang past her, then another just missed her, - and she leaned forward, close to the horse." - (_page 374_)] - - -THE SHADOW OF VICTORY - -A Romance of Fort Dearborn - -by - -MYRTLE REED - - - - - - - -[Illustration] - -G. P. Putnam's Sons -New York and London -The Knickerbocker Press -1903 - -Copyright, 1903 -By -Myrtle Reed - -Published, September, 1903 - -The Knickerbocker Press, New York - - - - -CONTENTS - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I.--THE PROPHECY 1 - II.--NEW ACQUAINTANCES 21 - III.--THE SECOND IN COMMAND 37 - IV.--RONALD'S VIEWS OF MARRIAGE 54 - V.--THE FIRST FLOWER OF SPRING 69 - VI.--COUSINS 85 - VII.--THE ALARM 102 - VIII.--THOROUGHBREDS 118 - IX.--ON THE FORT WAYNE TRAIL 134 - X.--A GLEAM AFAR 150 - XI.--A JUNE DAY 165 - XII.--IN THE NORTH WOODS 182 - XIII.--GIFTS 198 - XIV.--HEART'S DESIRE 216 - XV.--RIVALS 234 - XVI.--THE WORM TURNS 251 - XVII.--A COUNCIL OF WAR 268 - XVIII.--"IF I WERE IN COMMAND" 285 - XIX.--SAVED FROM HIMSELF 300 - XX.--RECONCILIATION 318 - XXI.--THE LAST DAY IN THE FORT 336 - XXII.--THE RED DEATH 359 - XXIII.--RESCUE 380 - XXIV.--THE REPRIEVE 397 - - - - -THE SHADOW OF VICTORY - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE PROPHECY - - -It was a long, low room, with a fireplace, roughly built of limestone, -at one end of it. The blazing logs illuminated one corner and sent -strange shadows into the others, while the winter wind moaned drearily -outside. At the right and left of the fireplace were rude counters, -hewn from logs, resting on stumps of unequal height, and behind -them were shelves, packed with the sordid miscellany of a frontier -trading-post. A closed door on either side seemingly led to other -apartments, but there was no sound save the wind and the crackle of -the flames. - -A candle, thrust into the broken neck of a bottle, gave a feeble light -to a little space around one end of the counter on which it stood. -The rafters were low--so low that a tall man, standing on tiptoe, -might easily unhook the smoked hams and sides of bacon that hung -there, swaying back and forth when the wind shook the house. - -Walls, ceiling, and floor were of logs, cut into a semblance of -smoothness. The chinks were plastered with a bluish clay, and the -crevices in the floor were filled with a mixture of clay and small -chips. At the left of the chimney was a rude ladder which led to the -loft through an opening in the ceiling. Fingers of sleet tapped at the -glass, swirling phantoms of snow drifted by, pausing for a moment at -the windows, as if to look within, and one of the men moved his chair -closer to the fire. - -"You fed the cattle, didn't you, Chan?" The half-breed grunted assent. - -It was the eldest of the three who had spoken. His crouching position -in his chair partially concealed his great height, but the firelight -shone full upon his iron-grey hair and the deep lines seamed upon his -kindly face. His hands were rough and knotted, his fingers straight -and square at the tips--hands without beauty, but full of strength. - -The hand which rested on the arm of the chair next to him was -entirely different. It was fair and smooth and slender, with tapering -fingers, and with the outer line of the palm delicately curved; -instinct with strength of another sort, yet gentle almost to the point -of femininity. The hand accorded ill with the deep, melodious voice of -the man, when he said: - -"Uncle, you don't know how glad I am to be here with you and Aunt -Eleanor. I feel as if I had come home at last, after many wanderings." - -"You're welcome, my boy," was the hearty answer. "I'm glad you got -through before this storm came, 'cause travellin' 'cross country isn't -good in February, as a rule. Things will be closed up now till Spring." - -"And then--what?" asked the young man. - -"Trains of pack-horses from Rock River and the Illinois. Canoes and -a bateau from Milwaukee, in charge of Canadian _engages_. Then the -vessel from Fort Mackinac with goods for the trade, and Indians from -all over creation. The busy season begins in the Spring." - -Chandonnais, the half-breed, was audibly asleep in his warm corner, -and the guest arose to walk nervously about the room. He was clad in -rusty black broadcloth, which had seen all of its best days and some -of its worst, and clung closely to his tall, lank figure, as though -in fear of the ultimate separation. His hair was black and straight, -his eyes deep brown and strangely luminous, his mouth sensitive, and -his face very pale. He was not more than twenty-five or six, and -looked even younger. - -John Mackenzie quietly watched him in his uneasy march back and forth. -At last he came to the fire, stopped short, and put a questioning -finger upon the limestone. "Here's some initials," he said. "J. B. P. -D. S.--what does that stand for?" - -"Jean Baptiste Pointe de Saible, I reckon," replied Mackenzie. "He -built this cabin. The Indians say that the first white man here was a -negro." - -"P. L. M."--continued the young man. "Who was he?" - -"Pierre Le Mai, I guess--the French trader I bought the place from." - -"You should put yours here, too, Uncle." - -"Not I, my boy. I have come to stay--and my children after me." - -"That reminds me of my young charge. Shall we begin to-morrow?" - -"As you like. The sooner the better, I suppose. You brought books, -didn't you?" - -"All that I have; not many, I regret to say." - -"Johnny has a spelling-book that came from Mackinac in a chest of -green tea, when the vessel touched here last year. He was very anxious -then to know what was inside of it, but I don't know how he feels now." - -"Have you any special instructions for me?" - -"No," answered Mackenzie, rising. He put his hand on the young -man's shoulder and looked down into his face. "I never had much -book-learning," he said, "'cause I ran away from school, but I want -that my son should have it. Teach him everything you know that he can -learn; it won't hurt him none. Teach him to tell the truth, to be -afraid of nothing but dishonour, and to be kind to women. You look -like your mother, boy." - -The door opened suddenly, and the gust of wind that came in with it -put out the candle and filled the room with the odour of burning -tallow. "How!" grunted a stalwart Indian, in general salutation. - -"How!" responded Mackenzie. "What is it to-night?" - -The savage was more than six feet in height, and looked like the chief -that he was. He was dressed from head to foot in buckskin, cunningly -embroidered and beaded by a squaw. He wore nothing on his head, but a -brilliant blanket was draped over one shoulder. A powder-horn hung at -his side and a hunting-knife gleamed in his belt. - -The squaw came in behind her lord and master, and shut the door, three -grey wolf skins falling to the floor as she did so. "Shaw-ne-aw-kee," -commanded the Indian, pointing to Mackenzie. - -The woman obediently laid the skins upon the counter, and Black -Partridge began to bargain for flour and bacon, speaking his own -tongue. An animated conversation ensued, with many gestures on -the part of the Indian. Mackenzie answered quietly, in the harsh -Pottawattomie dialect, and stood his ground. The chief finally -yielded, with a good grace which might or might not have been genuine, -and the transfer was accomplished. - -The Indian picked up one of the skins and pointed to a blood stain -near the top of it, then began to talk rapidly. Mackenzie listened -till he had finished speaking, then turned to his nephew. - -"Look here, Rob," he said, "this will interest you. He says he had no -trap, so he took his last piece of bacon and his hunting-knife and -went up into the north woods. He sat down under a tree and waited, -with the bacon in his left hand and his knife in his right. Presently -the hungry wolf appeared, and, after due investigation, came near -enough to stab. He says he waited from midnight till almost sunrise. A -white man never could do that." - -"Hardly," returned the young man, fingering the skin curiously. "What -monumental patience!" - -This speech, with a little additional compliment, was translated -for the benefit of Black Partridge, whose stolid features gleamed -momentarily, then relapsed into impassive bronze. - -A cheery whistle was heard outside, then a stamp upon the piazza, a -merry and prolonged tapping, reinforced by a kick, at which the door -burst open, and a young soldier entered. - -"Evening!" he shouted to Mackenzie. He pounded the Indian familiarly -on the back, saying, "Hello, Birdie," tweaked the squaw's ear and -tickled her under the chin, and reached the fire before any one else -had time to speak. - -"Ronald," said Mackenzie, "this is my nephew, Robert Forsyth, from -Detroit. Mr. Forsyth, Ensign George Ronald, of Fort Dearborn." - -Ronald drew his heels together, saluted with mock solemnity, then -wrung Forsyth's slender hand in a grip that made him wince. "Proud to -know you, sir. Third in command, at your service, sir. Have you come -to enlist?" - -Chandonnais awoke, muttered an oath, and ran to the door, shutting it -noisily. "Your pardon, sir," continued Ronald. "Wind's from the south -this evening. Thought I'd let a little warm air in. Never appreciated -in this world. Hope I may be in the next. Do I speak to a soldier, -sir?" - -"No," laughed Forsyth. - -"Who's the lady you have with you, Birdie?" asked the Ensign, turning -to the Indian. "Am I mistaken in supposing it to be Mrs. B. Partridge?" - -"Me no spik Ingleesh," answered the chief, with great dignity. - -"Neither do I, Birdie, neither do I," continued the soldier, genially. -"Devilish language with all kinds of corners in it to hurt yourself -on. I was pitched into it headlong the day of my arrival, and have -been at sea ever since. Don't fool with it, Birdie. You're getting -on all right with signs and pictures and grunts, and if Mrs. B. P. -doesn't speak it, why, so much the better. Vast resources in the -language known to women only. What, going? Bye-bye!" - -Another breeze from the south entered the room as Black Partridge and -the squaw made a stately exit, the woman carrying the provisions for -which the wolf skins had been bartered. - -"Ronald," began Mackenzie, drawing another chair from behind the -counter, "I'd advise you to be more careful with the Indians. They're -a treacherous crowd." - -"I am careful," answered the Ensign, hurling a very shabby overcoat -across the room, and sinking comfortably into Mackenzie's chair. -"That's why I asked about Mrs. B. P. You see, I was skating on the -river this morning, before this little snow flurry struck us, and I -met this lady. She seemed to want to go, so I took her with me. She -slid along on her moccasins, hanging on behind, and had a fine time -till we struck a snowdrift, just around the bend. The woman tempted -me, and I did throw her into it. Lord, how she squalled! It may have -been ungallant, but it was fun." - -Mackenzie laughed, in spite of his well-meant efforts to keep his -face straight, and Forsyth's eyes were bright with new interest. -Chandonnais was asleep again. - -"It was quite natural to make inquiries, wasn't it?" resumed Ronald. -"I wouldn't want to throw another man's wife into a snowdrift, -especially when the gentleman in question is a six-foot savage with a -tomahawk, and peculiar ideas about fair play." - -"Your manner of speech is not suited to the Indians," said Mackenzie, -soberly. - -"There you go again--always criticising, always finding fault. -Criticism irks me. That's why I left the Fort this evening. Fussy lot, -over there." - -"What was the matter?" asked Forsyth. - -"Nothing at all. Captain and his wife reading last month's papers, and -taking no notice of visitors. Lieutenant and his wife writing letters, -likewise oblivious of visitors. All inhospitable--nobody asked me to -sit down. Barracks asleep. Doc and I played solitaire, because it's -the only game he knows--to see who could get through first, and he -kicked up a devil of a row because I cheated. Hasn't a man a right to -cheat when he's playing solitaire? No law against cheating yourself, -is there?" - -"That's a mooted question," Forsyth answered. - -"Maybe so, maybe so. I mooted it awhile with the Doc, and then quit. -Coming over, I managed to get into the hole I broke in the river for -this morning's bath, but it was all slush and ice--no harm done." - -His garments were steaming in the generous warmth of the fire, and -perspiration beaded his forehead. He stood a little over six feet in -his stockings, and his superb muscle was evident in every line of his -body. His thick, yellow hair was so long that he occasionally shook it -back, like a mane. He had the face of a Viking--blue eyes, straight -nose, red and white complexion, and a mouth and chin that in some way -suggested steel. One felt the dynamic force of the man, his power of -instant and permanent decision, and the ability to put that decision -into immediate action. - -"Sorry you're not going to be a soldier, Mr. Forsyth," he continued. -"I knew you weren't, as soon as I saw you--you're altogether too -young. The barracks are full of old ladies with the rheumatism. The -parade ground is bloody with red flannel when the troops limp out, -which is seldom, by the way, the Captain having a tender heart. Me and -the other officers are the only ones under the age limit, if there is -any age limit. When a man gets too old to be of use in the army, the -President says: 'Don't discharge the poor cuss--send him out to Fort -Dearborn, where all his old friends are. He'll be well taken care of, -and won't have anything to do.' When you see an old man in a tattered -uniform, bent and wrinkled and gummy-eyed, who puts his hand up to his -ear and says, 'Hey!' when you speak to him, don't step on him--he's a -soldier, stationed at the Fort. - -"Had a wrestling match with one of the most sprightly, this very -morning, and took the skin off the poor, tender old devil in several -places. Doc made a surpassingly fine seam at one of the places -afterward--Doc's pretty good with a needle and thread. The patient -is in his bunk now, being rubbed with hot things by one of the -rheumatics. I've tried to get the Doc to prescribe a plunge in the -river every morning for the barracks, and I've urged the Captain to -order it, but it's no use." - -"Peculiar treatment for rheumatism," smiled Mackenzie. - -"It's the only thing they haven't tried, and I'm inclined to think it -would work a change." - -There was a brief silence, during which Forsyth studied the young -officer attentively, but Ronald was never still very long. - -"What are you going to be, if not a soldier?" he asked, curiously. -"You're--you're not a missionary, are you?" - -"Do I look like one?" - -"Can't say--missionaries are deceiving; but I hope not. The -Pottawattomies tomahawked the last one and fried the remains. They're -not yet ready for the soothing influences of religion." - -"I have come to teach my young cousins," said Forsyth, slowly, "and -to help my uncle as I can. I graduated from college last year, and -went to Detroit to teach, but I--I didn't do very well." His pale face -reddened as he made his confession. "Uncle John and Aunt Eleanor have -kindly offered me a home with them," he went on. "They're the only -relatives I have." - -"They are relatives enough," remarked the Ensign. "Mrs. Mackenzie is -the kindest woman and the best cook that ever lived, isn't she, Chan?" - -The sleeper made no reply, so Ronald strode over to him and shook him -roughly. "Wake up!" he bellowed. "Is Mrs. Mackenzie a good cook, or -isn't she? Answer!" - -The half-breed was frightened for a moment, but quickly realised the -situation. "What?" he asked. - -The question was repeated, with sundry shakes for emphasis. "Yes," -grunted Chandonnais, sheepishly, "she good cook." - -"Sit up straight, then, and look your prettiest. You can't sleep all -day and all night, too." The restless visitor made a rapid tour around -the counters, carefully examining the goods upon the shelves. "Nothing -here I can use," he announced, returning to the fire. - -"What was that silver thing the Indian had on?" asked Forsyth. "It -looked like a coin of some kind." - -"That was his precious medal. Captain Wells gave it to him, and he -prizes it more than he does the hair of his lordly top piece. When -Birdie dies, you'll find that sacred medal nailed to him, and if it -doesn't accompany him to the happy hunting-grounds, his ghost will -haunt the miserable mortal who has it. Don't mind a plain ghost -myself, but a ghost with a tomahawk might be pretty bad." - -"I make silver things for the Indians, sometimes," Mackenzie said. -"They call me 'Shaw-ne-aw-kee,' meaning 'The Silver Man.'" - -A face appeared at the window for an instant, and peered furtively -within. It was so silent and so white, in the midst of the swirling -snow, that it might have been a phantom of the storm. Then the door -opened slowly, creaking ever so little on its hinges, and was softly -closed. They felt, rather than heard, a presence in the room. - -Forsyth, turning, saw a wisp of a woman, bent and old, in a faded blue -calico dress which came scarcely to her ankles. Her shoes were much -too large for her, and badly worn. A ragged shawl, of uncertain colour -and pattern, was her only protection from the cold. - -It slipped off as she came toward the fire, moving noiselessly, and -Forsyth saw that her hair was snow white and her face finely traced -with wrinkles. Mackenzie looked also. - -"Mad Margaret," he whispered to Forsyth, in a swift aside. "Don't say -anything." - -The half-breed's eyes had a wolfish glitter which no one saw. Forsyth -rose, bowed politely, and offered her his chair. - -If she saw him, she made no sign. Coming closer to the fire she -crouched on her knees before it and stretched her frail, delicate -hands toward the grateful warmth. Ronald's flood of high spirits -instantly receded. - -For a long time they sat there in silence. Mackenzie and the Ensign -were looking into the fire, thinking, perhaps, of things a thousand -miles away, while Forsyth and Chandonnais narrowly watched the woman. - -Unmistakable madness, of the dumb, pathetic kind, was written on her -face. Her unseeing eyes were faded blue, her cheeks were sunken, and -her chin delicately pointed. Solitude went with her always. She might -have been alone, in the primeval forest, before a fire some unknown -hand had kindled, among wild beasts of whom she was not afraid. -Some eerie influence was upon her, for, after a little, she moved -nervously, and peered into the flames, muttering to herself. - -"Oh, Lord," groaned Mackenzie, "she's goin' to have one of her spells!" - -How often the poor, crazed creature had sought him, when the tempests -swept her soul, only he could tell. He leaned forward and took hold of -her hand. "Margaret," he said; "Margaret." - -The touch and the voice seemed to quiet her, but she still looked -searchingly into the flames. Chandonnais rose, reached up to the -chimney-shelf, and took down a violin. With the first touch of the bow -upon the strings, she left Mackenzie and went to him, kneeling at his -feet, with her eyes fixed hungrily upon his face. - -Strains of wild music filled the room--music which no man had ever -heard before. A tender, half-hushed whisper, the tinkle of a brook, a -twilight subtleness of shadow, then a low, crooning note, as if the -brook had gone to sleep. Strange sounds of swaying branches came from -the violin, with murmurs of a mighty wind, then, of a sudden, there -seemed to be dawn. The tinkle of the brook began again, with a bird -note here and there, at the beginning of a great crescendo which swept -on and on, as the music of the river was woven in. Question, prayer, -and mating call, from a thousand silvery throats, rioted through -the tapestry of sound, then merged into a deep, passionate tone of -infinite sweetness, as if the river had found the sea, or a man's -tortured soul had come face to face with its ultimate peace. - -"Play," said Mad Margaret, brokenly, "play more." - -Once again the bow swept the strings, bringing forth a melody which -breathed rest. It was quiet and hushed, like the woods at twilight, -or the shore of a sea that knows no storm. Through it ran a haunting -cadence, with the rhythm of a lullaby, and Margaret rocked her frail -body back and forth, unconsciously keeping time. When it was finished, -she sat quite still, but on her face was the rapt look of the seer. - -"I see blood," she said, very distinctly. "Much blood, then fire, and -afterward peace." - -It was the old, old prophecy, which she had made a thousand times. -"Much blood," she repeated, shaking her head sadly. - -"Where, Peggy?" asked Ronald, suddenly. - -"Here," she answered, making a wide circle with her arms. - -"What else do you see?" he asked again, looking at her intently. - -She drew her hand wearily across her forehead and closed her eyes for -an instant, then went to him, and put her hands on his knees. - -"I see you," she said, meaningly. - -"Where, Peggy?" His voice was low and very gentle, as if he were -speaking to a child. - -"Here, with the blood. You shall have many sorrows, but never your -heart's desire." - -"Never my heart's desire?" - -"No. Many sorrows, at the time of the blood, but not that." - -"What is my heart's desire?" - -"It has not come, but you will know it soon." She looked at him keenly -for an instant, then laughed mockingly, and almost before they knew -it, she had darted out into the night like the wild thing that she was. - -No one spoke until after Chandonnais had put the violin in its place -on the chimney-shelf and clambered up the ladder which led to the -loft. - -"Who is she, Uncle?" - -"Nobody knows," sighed Mackenzie. "She appeared, unexpectedly, the -very day we came here. Sometimes months go by without a glimpse of -her, then, for a time, she will come every day." - -"How does she live?" - -Mackenzie shrugged his shoulders. "We give her things," he said, "and -so do the Indians and the people at the Fort. Black Partridge says he -has seen her catch a gull on the lake shore, strangle it, and eat it -raw. At the full of the moon, when her rages come on her, she speaks -very good English. At other times, she mutters something no one can -understand, or else she does not speak at all. She is harmless, I -believe. She is only one of the strange things one finds in a new -country." - -"How did you come to settle here, Uncle?" - -"I hardly know. It's a good place for trading, and the Fort is near -by. I like the new places, where a few make their own laws, and I like -the prairie. I can breathe here, but the hills choke me." - -"Never my heart's desire," mused the Ensign. He was sitting with his -elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, gazing into the fire. -He did not know that he had spoken aloud. - -"Do any of us ever find it?" asked Forsyth. - -"Not often, I guess," answered Mackenzie. "When we do, we are -disappointed and begin to seek for something else." - -From across the river, muffled by the storm, came the deep, sonorous -notes of a bell. "Taps," said Ronald. He hurried into his overcoat, -without a word of farewell, and bolted. - -Forsyth followed, to close the door after him, and then went to the -window to look at the dark, floundering figure silhouetted dimly -against the snow. - -"Breezy young man," commented Mackenzie. - -"Yes," answered Forsyth, after a moment's silence, "I like him." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -NEW ACQUAINTANCES - - -The next morning was cold and clear. The sun shone brilliantly, -revealing unsuspected diamonds set in the snow. Forsyth woke late, -wondered sleepily where he was, and then remembered. - -His room was at the western end of the house, which faced the south, -and from his window he could see the Fort and the Agency on the other -side of the river. A savoury suggestion of frying bacon, penetrating -the rough log partition, impelled him to dress hurriedly. As he broke -the ice in his water pitcher, he wondered whether the Ensign had taken -his regular plunge, and shivered at the thought. - -When he reached the large room which served as kitchen, dining-room, -and parlour, he found the family already assembled. Chandonnais was -just leaving the table, and Mrs. Mackenzie sat at the head, pouring -coffee from a quaint and battered silver pot which had been her -grandmother's. - -"Good-morning," she said cheerily, "I thought most likely you were -beat out from travelling, and I told John to let you sleep." - -She was a large, fair woman, matronly in every line, and her face -was delicately pink. Her abundant hair was ashen blonde, escaping in -little curls at her temples, and at the second glance one saw that -it was rapidly turning grey. She had a wholesome air of cleanliness, -and her blue eyes mirrored the kindness in the depths of her motherly -heart. - -Her brood was gathered around her, and every face had been scrubbed -until it shone. The baby sat at her right and pounded the table madly -with his pewter spoon, to the evident delight of his father. Maria -Indiana was sipping warm milk daintily, like the four-year-old lady -that she was, and Ellen and Johnny conducted themselves with more -dignity than is common to people of seven and nine. - -Forsyth had made friends with the children the evening before, and, of -his own accord, had extended the schooling to all but the baby. - -"It's going to be a sight of comfort to me," said Mrs. Mackenzie, "to -have the young ones out from under foot half the time. The baby don't -bother much. I tie him in his chair, give him something to play with, -and he's all right." - -"Where am I to teach, Aunt Eleanor?" - -"In the next room, I guess. There's a fireplace in there, and you can -have it all to yourselves. Just wait till the breakfast things are out -of the way and I'll see to it." - -At this juncture the Ensign appeared, smiling and debonair. "Morning! -Am I too late for coffee?" - -"You've had some already this morning, haven't you?" asked Mackenzie. - -"Well, now, that depends on what coffee really is. Of course they -called it that, but it isn't to be mentioned in the same breath with -Mrs. Mackenzie's." Robert noted that there was an extra cup on the -table, and surmised that the delicate hint was not infrequent. - -"Thank you," continued the visitor in a grateful tone; "you've saved -my life." - -"I wish I had a dollar for every time I've saved your life," laughed -Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"So do I, for you are a good and beautiful woman, and you deserve a -fortune, if anybody ever did." - -"Go away, you flatterer. You remind me of a big, motherless chicken." - -"Gaunt and chicken-like I may be, but never motherless while you live. -A little bread and butter, please, to go with the coffee." - -"Wouldn't you like some bacon?" asked Mackenzie, hospitably. - -"Well, perhaps--a little. Mrs. Mackenzie cooks it beautifully." - -"Ellen," said her mother, "get another plate." - -"You're so good to me," murmured the Ensign, drawing his chair closer -to his hostess. "Are those doughnuts?" - -"They are." - -"I remember once, when you gave me a doughnut, just after drill. I can -taste it yet." - -"Is that so? I'd forgotten it." - -"Now that I think of it, you didn't, but you said you would, some -time." - -She laughed and pushed the plate toward him. - -"Ye gods!" he exclaimed, sinking his white teeth into a doughnut, -"what cooking! What a woman!" - -"I think I'll ask to be excused," said Mackenzie, rising and pushing -back his chair. - -"Certainly," responded the soldier, with a gesture of elaborate -unconcern. "Don't stay on my account, I beg of you. Think of real -cream in your coffee!" he sighed, scraping the pitcher with a spoon. -"I could drink cream." - -"You're not going to," put in Mrs. Mackenzie, pointedly. - -"I know it," he answered sadly; "I only wish I were." - -When the last scrap of food had disappeared from the table, he stopped -eating, but not before. - -"That makes a man feel better," he announced, "especially a suffering -and dying invalid like me. Come on, Forsyth, I'm going to take you -over to the Fort for a bit." - -It did not occur to Robert to question the mandates of this lordly -being. "All right, wait till I get my coat and hat. I'll be back in a -few minutes, Aunt Eleanor, to open school." - -"The devil you will," observed Ronald, as they left the house. "What a -liar you are!" - -The path which led to the gate was well trodden, early morning though -it was. "Indian tracks," said the Ensign, pointing to a narrow line -on the snow; "you can always tell 'em. They keep their feet in single -file--no company front about their walking." - -An unpainted fence surrounded the Mackenzie premises, and at the -right and left of the gate were four tall Lombardy poplars, two on -each side. Brown sparrows chattered and fought in the bare branches, -scorning to fly away at their approach. The house had been built on -a point of land which projected into the river and turned it sharply -from its course. Between the patches of snow the ice glittered in the -sun. - -"Salubrious spot," commented George, as they struck the frozen surface -of the stream. "Don't get too near that hole. It's my bath-tub and -it's weak around the edges." - -Near the middle of the river was a large, jagged space in the ice and -on the snow around it were finger-marks and footprints. - -"Rather looked for you out this morning," Ronald continued. "Was -disappointed." - -Robert shrugged his shoulders, but made no reply. - -"That happy architectural combination which we now approach," his -guide went on, professionally, "is Fort Dearborn. Intoxicated party -drew the plans and other intoxicated parties followed 'em. I could -improve it in several places, but I'm obliged to make the best of it. -The flag-pole, in the middle of the parade-ground, is seventy-five -feet high, though you wouldn't suspect it, on account of the -heroic proportions of the other buildings, and it interferes most -beautifully with everything. - -"Regular fort, though. Officers' quarters, barracks, offices, -guard-house, magazine, and other modern inventions. Commanding officer -has a palatial residence to himself. The Lieutenant is supposed to -live in half of it, but he doesn't. Those warts at the south-east and -north-west corners are block-houses, made after a Chinese diagram. The -upper story overhangs to give a down range for musketry and keep the -enemy from setting fire to the Fort. The double stockade is where the -genius comes in, however. See how it slants and balances to corners. -Makes the thing look like a quilt pattern. Would wear on the mind of a -sensitive person. - -"Hello, Charley! Here's where we get in. You see there's a sunken -road to the river and there's a subterranean passage also, with a -well in it, which insures the water-supply in case of a siege. We've -got three pieces of light artillery--six-pounders--and our muskets, -bayonets, and pistols. That's the Agency House outside. Your uncle is -Government Indian Agent and sutler for the garrison and trader on his -own account. This is where the Captain lives." - -He pounded merrily at the door, then entered unceremoniously, and -Robert followed him, awkwardly, into the room where the Captain and -his wife sat at breakfast. - -Captain Franklin was a grave, silent man on the sunny side of forty, -who never spoke without cause, and his wife was a pretty little woman, -with dark, laughing eyes. She brightened visibly when Robert was -presented to her, for guests did not often appear at the Fort. - -"Coffee?" remarked Ronald, with a rising inflection. "You're a lucky -man, Captain, to have such coffee as Mrs. Franklin makes, every -blessed morning of your life. I only wish I were as fortunate," he -added impersonally. - -Robert bit his lips to keep from smiling as the Ensign's wants were -promptly supplied. "Won't you have some too, Mr. Forsyth?" - -"No, thank you, Mrs. Franklin. I've been to breakfast." - -The emphasis on the personal pronoun caused George to look at him -meaningly, as he asked if he might have a bit of toast and an apple. -While he ate, Mrs. Franklin talked with Forsyth and the Captain -listened in silence. - -"Are you going to stay?" she inquired. - -"Yes, I hope so. I am going to teach my young cousins and help my -uncle in any way I can. I graduated from Yale last year and went from -there to Detroit, but as soon as I heard that Aunt Eleanor was willing -to take me in, I started and got here yesterday, just before the -storm." - -"Did you have a pleasant journey?" - -"Yes, fairly so. I came by way of Fort Wayne, with Indian guides and -relays of horses." - -"Any news?" asked the Captain. - -"No, only the usual symptoms of discontent among the Indians. The -officers in Detroit think there may be another outbreak soon." - -"I don't--there's no earthly reason for it." - -"Indians aren't particular about reasons," put in Ronald. "Come along, -Robert, we're going over to the Lieutenant's." - -When they entered, Mrs. Howard was clearing away the breakfast dishes, -and after the introductions were over, Ronald did not hesitate to -express his disappointment. - -"Get that starving kid some coffee, Kit," said the Lieutenant, and -Ronald gladly accepted the steaming cup, with polite regret at the -trouble he was causing and with profuse praise of the beverage itself. - -"Sugar?" asked Mrs. Howard. - -"No, thank you--just put your dainty finger in for a moment, if you -will be so kind. Your hand would sweeten the bitterest cup man is -called upon to drink. Seems to me I smell pancakes." - -He grinned appreciatively at Forsyth as Mrs. Howard went to the iron -griddle that swung in the open fireplace. "Not many," he called to -her, "six will do very nicely. I don't want to be a pig." - -"You are, though," Forsyth assured him in an undertone. - -"Shut up!" he replied concisely. - -Acting upon the suggestion, Robert turned his attention to his host, -and they talked until the pangs of hunger were somewhat satisfied. The -Lieutenant and his wife followed them to the door. - -"Tell my mother I'm coming over to see her this afternoon," said Mrs. -Howard. - -"All right," answered Robert. "Who's 'mother'?" he asked, when they -got outside. - -"Mrs. Mackenzie, of course. Don't you know your own relations when -you see 'em? Mrs. Howard is your aunt's daughter and your uncle's -step-daughter, so she's your cousin." - -"Cousin-in-law, I guess," said Robert. "My father was Uncle John's -half-brother, so we're not very closely related. She's nice, though. I -wish she were my cousin." - -"Coffee doesn't come up to her mother's," soliloquised George, "but -it's pretty good. Hello, Doc!" he shouted, to a man on the opposite -side of the parade-ground. "Had your breakfast?" - -"Good Heavens!" ejaculated Forsyth, "you aren't going to eat again, -are you?" - -The Ensign turned upon him a look of reproach. "My rations aren't -meant for full-grown men," he explained. "If I couldn't get a bite -outside occasionally, I'd dry up and blow away. There's a squaw down -in the hollow who cooks a pretty good mess, and you can get a bowl of -it for a fist of beads. It isn't overly clean, and it's my private -opinion it's yellow dog, stewed, or perhaps I should say, curried, but -a starving man can't afford to be particular." - -"Take me some time," Forsyth suggested carelessly; "I've never eaten -dog." - -"All right," was the jovial answer, "we'll go. Come on over and meet -the Doc." - -Robert was duly presented to Doctor Norton, whom the soldier -characterised as "the pill roller of the garrison," and soon seized an -opportunity to ask him the exact capacity of the human stomach. - -"It varies," answered the Doctor, wrinkling his brows in deep thought. -"Some people"---- - -"We must go," George interrupted. "It's time for school." - -They parted on the bank of the river, Robert studiously avoiding an -opportunity to shake hands. When he entered the house, his pupils were -waiting for him. - -The room set aside for educational purposes was just off the -living-room and a bright fire was burning on the hearth. He found it -difficult to teach three grades at once, and soon arranged alternate -study and recitation for each, dismissing Maria Indiana in an hour -with the first three letters of the alphabet well learned. - -The window, like the others in the house, commanded a view of the -river and the Fort, and gave a glimpse of the boundless plains beyond. -Soldiers went in and out of the stockade, apparently at pleasure, and -one or two of them came across, but he looked in vain for the stalwart -young officer whom he was proud to call his friend. - -At dinner-time he inquired about the neighbours. - -"Neighbours?" repeated Mrs. Mackenzie, laughing; "why, we haven't any, -except at the Fort." - -"Are you and Uncle John really the only people here?" he asked, -seriously. - -"No, not that. There are a few houses here. Mr. and Mrs. Burns live -in one--they are our nearest neighbours--and away up beyond is Lee's -place. They don't have anything to do with us, nor we with them. Two -or three men and a boy live there, I believe, but we don't see much of -them. They're part French and part Indian. Chandonnais used to live -with them, and when we came here, he came to us. I guess that's one -reason why they don't like us, for Chan's a good boy." - -"And Margaret?" - -Mrs. Mackenzie's face changed. "Poor old thing," she said sadly, -"no one knows where or how she lives. We are not afraid of her, -but the Indians are. They wouldn't touch a crazy person under any -circumstances." - -"Is there a regular Indian settlement here?" - -"Yes, there are wigwams all along the river. They are all -Pottawattomies and very friendly. The Chippewa and Winnebago tribes -are farther north. John has a gift for dealing with the Indians. He -has learned their language and their ways, and they treat him as if he -were one of them. Did George show you the Fort this morning?" - -"Most of it," smiled Forsyth. "We called on the commissioned officers -and that young giant ate a hearty breakfast at each place." - -"He is the life of the settlement, and I don't know what we'd do -without him. I never saw anybody with such an inexhaustible fund of -good spirits. Nothing is so bad that George can't get a joke out of it -and make us laugh in spite of our trouble. Did you see Doctor Norton?" - -"Yes, but only for a moment." - -"He's jolly too, and very good to all of us." - -"I forgot to tell you when I first came in," said Robert, "but I met -Mrs. Howard and she asked me to tell you that she was coming over to -see you this afternoon." - -"Bless her heart," said Mrs. Mackenzie, tenderly, "she never forgets -her old mother." - -"You'll never be old, Aunt Eleanor. I believe you have found the -fountain of eternal youth." - -"What, another flatterer?" she asked, but the heightened colour in her -cheeks showed that she was pleased. - -During the afternoon, while Johnny struggled manfully with digits and -addition, Robert saw Mrs. Howard coming across the river. She was a -fair, tall woman, very blonde, with eyes like her mother's. The Doctor -stood at the entrance of the stockade, watching her, with something -akin to wistfulness in his attitude. - -"Poor soul," thought Robert, "I expect he's lonesome." - -The afternoon sun stole into the room, marking out patches of light -upon the rag carpet which covered the floor, and touched the rude logs -kindly as if to gild, rather than to reveal. In the next room women's -voices sounded, indistinct, but pleasant, with here and there a low, -musical laugh, and the teacher fell to dreaming. - -"How many are two and two, Cousin Rob?" Johnny asked, for the third -time. - -"Four--don't you remember? You learned that this morning." - -"Can I go now? I want to see my sister." - -"Yes, run along." - -The patter of feet died away in the distance, but Robert still looked -out upon the river with a smile upon his face. Presently he saw Mrs. -Howard going toward the Fort, with two of the children capering along -beside her. Something stirred in the dreamer's pulses, indefinite, -but none the less real. What man can place it, or knows it when it -comes--that first vague longing for a home of his own? - -The minutes went by and the light faded until the blood-red sunset -fired the Fort and stained the snowy reaches beyond. A door opened, a -kettle sang, and some one came in. - -"Asleep, dear?" - -"No, Aunt Eleanor." He went to her, put his arm around her, and -touched her cheek lightly with his lips. "I was only thinking that my -lines have fallen in pleasant places." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE SECOND IN COMMAND - - -"Kit," said the Lieutenant, pacing back and forth moodily, "I wish I -were in command." - -"I wish so, too, dear," responded Mrs. Howard, dutifully. - -"Anybody with half an eye can see what is going to happen here, if -there isn't a change." - -"What change do you mean, Ralph?" - -"Any kind of a change," he snapped angrily. "We've got a figure-head -for a Captain and the men haven't the faintest idea of military -training. There's no reason for postponing drill on account of bad -weather--the men haven't been out for over a week now, just because -it's cold. The Captain sits by his fire, studying tactics and making -out imaginary reports, while his men are suffering for discipline--and -clothes," he added as an afterthought. - -"What can Captain Franklin do about their clothes?" - -"What can he do? Nothing, it seems; but I could. I'd send a man to -President Madison himself, if there was no other way. Look at us! We -look like Washington's army at Valley Forge!" - -The Lieutenant brushed away an imaginary speck on a very shabby -uniform. "I'm sorry I entered the army," he went on. "Look at this -post, on the edge of nowhere, with about forty men to defend it. I -doubt if we have more than thirty in good fighting trim--the rest -are worse than useless. All around us are hordes of hostile savages, -ready to attack any or all of us on the slightest provocation, and we -cannot make even a display of force! No target practice, for fear of -wasting ammunition; no drill, because the Captain is lazy; clothes -like beggars--idleness, inaction, sloth! Three six-pounders and thirty -men, against thousands of bloodthirsty beasts! Things were different -at Fort Wayne!" - -"Ralph," said Mrs. Howard, quickly, "please don't say that to me -again. I have told you twenty times how sorry I am that I asked you -to arrange to be transferred. I tell you once more that we will go -wherever and whenever you please, to Fort Wayne, Detroit, or even -Fort Mackinac. If there is an army post in the United States where -things are run to suit you, please get a transfer to it. You will hear -no complaints from me. I wanted to be near my mother--that was all." - -"Was that all?" he sneered. "I have thought otherwise. You talk like a -fool, Kit. You seem to think it's the simplest thing in the world to -get a transfer. Do you expect to see a messenger ride in at the gate, -with an order from the War Department, or shall I go over and tell the -Captain that we leave for Fort Wayne this evening?" - -Mrs. Howard moved her lips as if to speak, then thought better of it -and remained silent. He stood at the window for a long time, with his -back to her. - -"You don't seem very sociable," he said at length, "so I guess I'll go -out for a bit, especially as I see your friend coming. I never like -to intrude." With this parting fling, he left the house, carefully -avoiding Doctor Norton, who was crossing the parade-ground. - -From where she sat, Mrs. Howard could see her husband, erect and -soldierly, making his way to the offices. During the first two years -of their married life, she had been very happy, but since they came -to live at Fort Dearborn, he had been subject to occasional outbursts -of temper which distressed her greatly. - -Her face, always expressive, was white and troubled when she opened -the door for the Doctor. He understood--he always did. He was one of -the few men who are not dense in their comprehension of womankind. - -They talked commonplaces for a little while, then he leaned forward -and took her cold hand in his. - -"Something has bothered you," he said kindly. "Tell me and let me help -you." - -"You couldn't help me," she answered sadly; "nobody can." - -Doctor Norton was not more than thirty-five, but his hair was -prematurely grey, and this, together with his kindly manner, often -impelled his patients to make unprofessional confidences. Like many -another woman, too, Mrs. Howard was strong in the face of opposition, -but weak at the touch of sympathy. - -"It's nothing," she said. "Ralph is cross nearly all the time, though -I don't believe he means to be. He has been that way ever since--ever -since the baby died." - -She turned her face away, for the little grave in the hollow pulled -piteously at the mother's heartstrings when the world went wrong. - -"He has always blamed me for that," she went on. "One of the reasons -why I wanted to live here, instead of at Fort Wayne, was that I might -have my mother to help me take care of the baby. She knew more than I -did; was wiser and more experienced in every way, and I thought the -little lad would have a better chance. Instead, as you know, he took -cold on the way here and did not get well, so his father has never -forgiven me." - -The tears came fast and her white lips quivered. "Don't, Katherine," -he said. It was the first time he had called her by name, and she -noted it, vaguely, in the midst of her suffering. - -"Don't, Katherine," he repeated. "All we can do in this world is the -thing that seems to us the best. We have no concern with the results, -except as a guide for the future, and sometimes, years afterward, we -see that what seemed like a bitter loss in reality was gain. Some day -you may be glad that you lost your boy." - -"Glad? Glad I have lost my only child? Doctor, what are you thinking -of!" - -"Of you. Whatever troubles you troubles me, also. You know that, don't -you?" - -For an instant she was frightened, but his calm friendliness -reassured her. "Thank you," she returned, "you have always been good -to me." - -"I shall always try to be. Nothing that comes to you is without -meaning for me, and you will always have at least one friend." There -was an eloquent silence, then the tension of the moment snapped, and -he released her hand. - -"I'm silly," she laughed hysterically, wiping her eyes. "Have you any -medicine for silliness?" - -"If I had, I should keep it for those who need it worse than you do. I -wish you would go outdoors more. Walk on the parade-ground and across -to your mother's,--those two places are certainly safe,--and when you -get tired of that, go over to Mrs. Franklin's. She's a nice little -woman and she needs cheering up, too. I have a suspicion, Mrs. Howard, -that the temperament which urges a man to be a soldier is very seldom -elastic enough to include the domestic hearth." - -Katherine's face brightened, for she had not thought of that, and -the suggestion that others had the same trouble was not without its -dubious consolation. - -For an hour or more he talked to her, telling her bits of news from -the barracks which he thought would interest her, and offering -fragments of philosophy as the occasion permitted. - -"You're a tonic," she said lightly, as he rose to go; "the blues are -all gone." - -"I'm glad of that. Now remember, when anything goes wrong, tell me. -Perhaps I can help you--at least I can try." - -Half-way across the parade-ground he turned back to smile at her as -she stood at the window, and she waved a friendly hand in response. -It was at this unlucky moment that the Lieutenant left the offices, -having had high words with the Captain about the condition of the -garrison and the possibility of a war with England. - -She was vaguely uneasy when he went out of his way to meet the Doctor, -but, though he spoke to him, he paused for scarcely an instant in his -rapid stride. He was pleasant enough when he came into the house, and -she thought that all was well. - -He made no reference to their earlier conversation, but talked easily -and indifferently, with a mild desire to please, as is the way of a -man who is ashamed of himself. - -"Wouldn't you like to go across the river?" he asked. - -"Why, yes," she replied wonderingly, "I don't mind." - -"Come on, then." - -His dark, handsome face was still pale, and the lines of weakness were -distinct around his mouth, but Katherine's heart, leaping to meet its -desire, turned newly toward him, as a flower lifts its face to the sun. - -"Poor boy," she said affectionately, putting her hand on his arm, "you -have lots of things to bother you, don't you?" - -"That I do, Kit. I suppose you think I'm a brute sometimes." - -"No, indeed," she answered, generously. - -"You've been hard to get on with lately," he observed. - -"Have I, dear?" She was surprised and conscience-stricken; the more so -because the possibility had not occurred to her. "I'm sorry," she said -after a little. "I'll try to do better." - -"I don't think it's altogether your fault," he rejoined. "I've noticed -that you get cranky after Norton has been to the house, and I think he -has a bad influence over you." The Lieutenant tried to speak jauntily, -and failed. - -"So, naturally," he continued, clearing his throat, "I've done as any -other man in my position would do. I've told him not to come unless -he's asked in his professional capacity, and to make those visits when -I'm at home." - -"Ralph!" It was the cry of a hurt child, and every vestige of colour -fled from Katherine's face. She pressed her hands to her breast and -leaned against the stockade at the entrance to the Fort. - -"Well?" he asked ironically, "have I broken your heart?" - -"To think," she said slowly, "that you could be so discourteous to any -one, and especially to a friend who has been so kind to us as Doctor -Norton. I'm ashamed of you." - -"Your actions, Katherine, only prove that I have taken the right -course. If I had any doubt before, I am certain now. You will oblige -me by avoiding him as much as possible." - -He never called her "Katherine" unless he was very much displeased -with her, and they crossed the river without speaking. Howard hummed a -popular air to himself, with apparent unconcern. - - * * * * * - -At Mackenzies', all was bustle and confusion. Indians hurried in and -out of the house, talking and gesticulating excitedly. The snow on -the path was worn as smooth as ice and Chandonnais was running to the -Agency building on the other side of the river. - -"What is it?" asked Katherine. - -"Dunno," said the Lieutenant, laconically. - -When they entered, John Mackenzie was, as he expressed it, "pretty -nigh beat out." Robert had dismissed school, and was helping him as -best he could, though he was heavily handicapped at the start by his -ignorance of values and of the Indian tongue. - -The space behind the counters was heaped high with furs. Deer hide and -moose leather, grey wolf, red and silver fox, muskrat, beaver and bear -skins were stacked waist deep around Forsyth and Mackenzie. Unwonted -activity was in the air, and the place was full of odorous Indians. - -Black Partridge came in, bringing the skin of a gigantic black bear, -and a murmur ran through the room. Members of other tribes fingered it -enviously, and the Pottawattomie squaws openly boasted the prowess of -their chief. - -Chandonnais came in from the Agency, with a huge ham under either -arm. He went back, laden with peltries, and when he returned, he was -rolling a fresh barrel of flour before him. His face was set in an -expression of extreme displeasure, for he was constitutionally opposed -to work. - -"Can I help?" asked Lieutenant Howard. - -"Wish you'd go over to the Agency, Ralph," replied Mackenzie, "and -bring over as many blankets as you can carry. Chan will go with -you--he's got to bring more bacon." - -Mrs. Howard had long since retreated to the living-room. The door was -closed, but the tumult of the trading station resounded afar. - -"Be careful, Rob," said Mackenzie, "that's a sheep skin dyed with -walnut juice. He tried it on you 'cause you're green." Turning to the -Indian, the trader spoke volubly, even after the would-be cheat had -grabbed his sheep skin and started for the door. - -"This jawbreaker talk is tellin' on me," Mackenzie resumed. "This is -the first time they've ever come on me all at once this way. Mighty -sudden, I take it. It's early, too. Usually they do their tradin' on -the Q.T., one and two at a time, weeks before. They say this is the -last day of Winter and that to-morrow will be Spring." - -Chandonnais and the Lieutenant returned, laden with bacon and -blankets. The half-breed wiped the sweat from his swarthy face with a -very dirty sleeve, and Howard made no further offers of assistance. -Instead, he went over to Forsyth, and began to talk with him. - -"What's going on?" asked Robert, "do you know?" - -Ralph shrugged his shoulders. "They haven't taken me into their -confidence," he replied, "but I suppose it's the annual pilgrimage." - -"Where? What for?" - -"Didn't Father John tell you? Every year they go up into Canada to get -their presents from the British. Damn the British!" he added, with -unnecessary emphasis. - -"Oh," said Robert, thoughtfully. "In case of trouble, then, the -Indians are on their side." - -"Exactly. Quite a scheme, isn't it?" - -"It's a devilish scheme!" - -"Be careful," warned Mackenzie, "some of 'em understand more English -than they let on." - -The trading fever rapidly spread to the squaws. Those who were not -bringing furs for exchange and carrying provisions back to the camp -offered moccasins and baskets for sale. Mackenzie shook his head--he -had no use for anything but the skins. - -Under cover of the excitement, much petty thieving was going on, and -it was necessary to keep close watch of the peltries, lest they be -exchanged again. The squaws kept keen eyes on the counters, making off -with anything desirable which was left unguarded. Chandonnais took a -place at the door, finally, to call a halt upon illegal enterprises. - -Without the least knowledge of why he did it, Robert bought a pair of -moccasins. They were small, even for a woman's foot, and heavy with -beads. The dainty things appealed to him, suddenly and irresistibly, -and the price he paid for them brought other squaws, with countless -moccasins. - -"Uncle John," he shouted above the clamour, "please tell them I don't -want any more moccasins!" - -A few rapid words from Shaw-ne-aw-kee had the desired effect. "Don't -see what you want of those things," he observed; "they won't fit -anybody." - -"Pretty things," remarked Howard, sauntering up. "Whom are they for?" - -"I--I--that is, I don't know," stammered Robert. "I just wanted them." - -The Lieutenant laughed. "Oh, I see," he said. "Another case of -Cinderella's slipper?" - -"Yes, we'll let it go at that," returned Forsyth. He had regained his -self-possession, but the colour still bronzed his cheeks. - -When every possible exchange had been made, and every Indian had -been given a small additional present, the room became quiet again. -Black Partridge received a small silver ornament which Mackenzie had -made for him during the long winter evenings, with manifestations of -delight and gratitude. - -"What's he saying, Uncle?" asked Robert. - -"He's swearing eternal friendship for me and mine." - -"Much good that does," said Howard, nonchalantly. "I'd trust a dead -Indian a damn sight sooner 'n a live one." - -Black Partridge may have caught the gist of what had been said, but he -repeated his expressions of gratitude and his assurances of continued -esteem. The room, by contrast, was very silent after he went out. - -"Lord!" sighed the trader. "What a day!" - -Mrs. Mackenzie's voice sounded clearly in the next room. "Yes, dear," -she said, "I'll tell him, and I'll explain it all. Don't you fret one -mite about it." Then the door opened and Mrs. Howard came in. - -She talked with Forsyth for a few minutes, then turned to her husband. -"Shall we go home?" she asked, "or do you want to stay here for -supper?" - -"Better stay," suggested Mackenzie, hospitably. - -"No, we'll go," said Ralph. "Good-bye, everybody." - -Neither spoke until they entered their own house again, then Katherine -put her hands on his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. -"Ralph," she said, seriously, "can't you trust me?" - -"I hope so," he returned, drawing away from her, "and as I've fixed it -now, I think I can." - -"Ralph!" she cried, "you hurt me!" - -"Look here," he exclaimed roughly, "I don't want any more of this. I -have trouble enough without your pitching into me all the time. This -is my house and you are my wife--please remember that." - -"There's no danger of my forgetting it," she answered hotly. - -"Come, Kit, do be reasonable. I don't want to quarrel." - -She smiled cynically and bit her lips to keep back the retort that -struggled for utterance. "Whatever you do," her mother had said to -her, "don't quarrel with your husband. It takes two to make a quarrel." - -Later, a semblance of peace was restored, but long after the -Lieutenant was asleep, Katherine lay, wide-eyed and troubled, with -bitterness surging in her heart. - -From the window of her room she saw the late moon when it rose from -the lake, and soon afterward the clock struck three. Then a ghostly -pageant passed the Fort. Black Partridge was ahead--she knew his -stately figure in spite of the blanket in which he was enshrouded. -Behind him came more Indians than she had ever seen at one time, -silently, in single file. - -The squaws brought up the rear, laden with baggage. The last one was -heavily burdened and was far behind. As she straggled along, the pale -moonlight revealed something strange upon her head and Katherine -recognised her own discarded summer hat of two seasons past. The -implied comparison made her laugh in a way which was not good to -hear--but no one heard. - -Across the river another watcher was taking note of the departure -of the Pottawattomies, for Robert had found it impossible to sleep. -Physically, he was too tired to rest, and his mind was unusually -active. The dainty moccasins hung on the wall of his room and -something obtrusively feminine in their presence was, in a way, -disturbing, but not altogether unpleasant. - -The young man was somewhat given to analysis and introspection, and -had endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to solve the freakish impulse which -led him to buy moccasins too small for any woman he knew. Further -questioning of self brought out the astounding fact that he would not -give moccasins to any woman he had ever met, even though these might -fit her. - -The Indians passing the Fort were a welcome diversion, and he, too, -laughed at the one who followed the procession with more than her -share of baggage, but he missed the fine point in the matter of -millinery. "She looks like the one I bought them of," he said to -himself, "but I won't be sure." - -The moon faded and grey dawn came up out of the inland sea. A ribbon -of light lay across the Fort and the pulses of the river stirred -beneath the ice. The blood came to his heart like the sap mounting in -the maples, and he felt a sudden uplift of soul. A bluebird paused -over the river for an instant, the crimson of its breast strangely -luminous against the sky, then from a distant thicket came the first -robin's cheery call, and he knew the Indians were right--that it was -Spring. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -RONALD'S VIEWS OF MARRIAGE - - -Mrs. Howard was trying to sew, but seemed to lack the necessary -energy. The Lieutenant paced the room in his favourite attitude--hands -crossed behind his back--and gave her his views upon various topics, -from the mistakes of the War Department at Washington to the criminal -mismanagement of Captain Franklin. He became so interested in this -last subject that he spoke as if addressing a large audience, happily -unmindful of the fact that his single listener was preoccupied. - -"Upon my word, Kit," he was saying, "there isn't a man in barracks who -wouldn't make a better Captain than the one we've got." - -"His wife is coming," remarked Katherine, impersonally. - -"I don't care if she is. Somebody ought to tell him where he stands in -the estimation of the officers and men." - -His disapproval of his superior officer was reflected in his cool -response to Mrs. Franklin's cheery greeting when she came in with her -sewing. "I've got something for you," she said to Katherine; "guess -what it is!" - -"I couldn't guess--what is it?" - -"A letter," she answered brightly, "from Doctor Norton! You aren't -jealous, are you?" she asked playfully, turning to the Lieutenant. - -He made no reply, but gnawed his mustache nervously. Katherine's face -blanched as she took the note and tore it open with trembling hands. - -There was neither date, address, nor signature. "I understand," it -began, "and everything is all right. I beg of you, do not distress -yourself about me, and, if I can ever serve you in any way, command -me." - -The words danced before her eyes as the Lieutenant approached and held -out his hand, silently, for the letter. - -"It's nothing that would interest you, dear," she said, tearing it -straight across. - -"Pardon me, I think it would." He quickly possessed himself of the -note and fitted the two parts of the page together, laughing as he did -so. Only Katherine noticed that his voice shook. - -"If you're through with it, I'll burn it," he said quietly, after -what seemed an age. Without waiting for an answer, he threw it into -the open fire and hurriedly left the house. Then something dawned on -Mrs. Franklin. - -"Kit," she cried, "can you ever forgive me?" - -"What did you think?" retorted Katherine, fiercely. "Would he have -sent a note to me if he had meant it for my husband? Why didn't he -come over instead of writing?" - -"I don't know," murmured Mrs. Franklin. For the moment she was afraid, -and as the inevitable surmise forced itself into her consciousness, -she gazed at Katherine, horror-stricken and dumb. - -"I know what you're thinking," said Mrs. Howard, with forced calmness. -"It's very charitable of you, but I'm glad to be able to tell you that -you're mistaken." - -"You poor child!" exclaimed the Captain's wife. She slipped a friendly -hand into Katherine's cold one and was not surprised when the -overwrought nerves sought relief in tears. - -Little by little, Katherine made a full explanation. "It's too small -and too silly to talk about," she sighed, "but I haven't been well -lately and the slightest thing will worry me almost past endurance. -I don't know what's the matter with Ralph--he is not at all like -himself, and that troubles me, too." - -"Funny," observed Mrs. Franklin, irrelevantly. - -"What's funny?" - -"Men in general and husbands in particular. Wallace isn't inclined to -be jealous, so I've never had that to bother me, but he's as stubborn -as a mule, and I guess that's just as bad. Anyhow, I'd like to trade -his stubbornness for something else. I'd appreciate the change for a -little while, no matter what it was." - -"I wouldn't mind that," said Katherine, with the ghost of a smile -hovering around her white lips. "I think I could get along better with -a stubborn man than I can with a savage." - -"Be careful what you say about savages," put in the other, lightly; -"you know my aunt is a full-blooded Indian." - -"I've often wondered about that. How do you suppose it happened?" - -"It is rather queer on the face of it, but it's natural enough, when -you think it over. You know Captain Wells was stolen by the Indians -when he was a child and he was brought up like one of them. Even after -his people found him, he refused to go home, until his two sisters -came to plead with him. Then he consented to make them a visit, -but he didn't stay long, and went back to the Indians at the first -opportunity. Their ways were as impossible to him as his were to them. -I'm glad he married the chief's daughter, instead of a common squaw. -He and Little Turtle are great friends." - -There was a long silence, then Katherine reverted to the original -topic. "I never thought of Captain Franklin as stubborn," she said. - -"Didn't you? Well, I just wish you could talk to him a while after he -gets his mind made up. Before that, there's hope, but not afterward; -and you might just as well go out and speak to the stockade around -the Fort. He's contrary, too. Yesterday, for instance, he told me he -thought he'd have drill, as the men hadn't been out for a long time. -I asked him if some of them weren't sick, and he said they were, but -it wouldn't hurt the others any. Just then your husband came in and -suggested drill. 'Haven't thought about it,' says Wallace, turning -away, and the Lieutenant talked ten minutes before he discovered -nobody was listening to him. After he went away, George came in and -asked about drill. 'We won't have it to-day,' said Wallace, and that -was the end of it." - -"Was he like that before you were married?" - -"Yes, only not so bad. I mistook his determined siege for -inability to live without me, but I see now that it was principally -stubbornness. He made up his mind to get me, and here I am. He gets -worse as he grows older--more 'sot' in his ways, as your mother would -say. I don't see how anybody can be that way. He explained it to me -once, when we were first married, but I couldn't understand it." - -"How did he explain it?" - -"Well, as nearly as I can remember, he said that he dreaded to have -his mind begin making itself up. It's like a runaway horse that you -can't stop. He said he might see that he was wrong and he might want -to do differently, but something inside of him wouldn't let him. It -seems that his mind suddenly crystallises, and then it's over. A -crystal can be broken, but it can't be made liquid again." - -"Is his mind liquid?" inquired Katherine, choked with laughter. - -"No--I wish it was. I'm glad you're amused, but I'm too close to it to -see the fun in it. Wasn't your husband ever stubborn?" - -"No; I don't think so--at least, I don't remember. I suppose he can't -help being jealous any more than the Captain can help being mulish. I -guess they're just born so." - -"Marked," suggested Mrs. Franklin. - -"Yes--marked. I hadn't thought of that. Before we were married, Ralph -was jealous of everybody who spoke to me--man, woman, or brute. I -couldn't even pet the cat or talk to the dog." - -"Matrimonial traits," observed the Captain's wife, sagely, "are the -result of pre-nuptial tendencies. If you look carefully into the -subject before you're married, you can see about what you're coming -to." - -"I guess that's right. I needn't have expected marriage to cure Ralph -of jealousy, but, like you, I supposed it was love." - -"My dear," said Mrs. Franklin, with feeling, "many a woman mistakes -the flaws in a man's character for the ravages of the tender -passion--before marriage." - -"Well, I never!" said a soft voice behind them. "Kitty and Mamie -talking scandal!" - -Both women jumped. - -"How did you get in?" demanded Mrs. Howard. - -"Came in," replied Ronald, laconically. - -"Don't you know enough to rap?" asked Mrs. Franklin, angrily. Like -others who have been christened "Mary," she was irritated beyond -measure at that meaningless perversion of her name. - -"Did rap," answered George, selecting the most comfortable chair, "but -nobody heard me, so I let myself in." - -"How dare you call me 'Kitty'?" exclaimed Mrs. Howard. - -"Soldiers aren't afraid of anything except the War Department." - -"How long have you been here?" they asked simultaneously. - -"Don't all speak at once. I've been here a long, long time--so long, -in fact, that I'm hungry." He looked past them as he spoke and gazed -pensively out of the window. - -Mrs. Franklin's cheeks were blazing and her eyes snapped. "You're the -very worst man I ever met," she said. - -The Ensign sighed heavily. "And yet I've never been accused of -mulishness," he remarked, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, "nor of -jealousy," he added. His mouth was twitching, and the women exchanged -glances. - -"I admit an enormous appetite," he continued. "Wonder if it's the -ravages of the tender passion?" - -Mrs. Howard brought in a plate of cookies and set it ostentatiously -within his reach. "Lovely woman!" apostrophised George. "She feeds -me! Radiant vision, will you be mine?" - -There was a dead silence. - -"Queer, isn't it," observed the guest, between mouthfuls, and -apparently to himself, "that women should look so pretty when they're -mad?" - -"Your wife will be pretty all the time, then," said Mrs. Franklin. - -"I trust so. She'll have to have a good start at it, or she won't get -me, and with the additional stimulus which living with me will give -her, she'll be nearly as lovely as the wives of the other officers at -Fort Dearborn. I could give her no higher praise. These cookies are -all gone." - -"I know it," replied Mrs. Howard. "I gave you all I had left." - -"If I might presume," said Ronald, "I'd like the prescription they -were made by, to give to my wife, when I get one. I suppose it's more -in the making than in the prescription, and though I'll undoubtedly -like 'em, my native love of truth will oblige me to tell her that they -don't come up to those Kitty--pardon me, Mrs. Howard--used to make for -me. I always think of you by your first name," he went on. "I know -it's wrong, but I can't help it. You're so good to me. Isn't there one -more cooky?" - -"No, there isn't." - -"Your mother makes surpassing doughnuts. Did she ever teach you how?" - -"Oh, yes," responded Mrs. Howard, coolly; "but I don't make them very -often. I haven't made any for months." - -"I have the plan of 'em all written down, in case you should forget -how. I'm saving it for my wife. Can I go and look in the pantry?" - -"No, you cannot." - -"Why don't you get married, George?" asked Mrs. Franklin, by way of a -diversion. - -"I've never been asked." - -"Didn't you ever ask anybody?" - -"Oh, Lord, yes! I've asked every girl I've ever met. Say, do you know -that I've got so now that I can propose off-hand, as easily as other -fellows can after they've written it out and learned it? If there was -a girl here at the Fort who suited me, I'd ask everybody to my wedding -inside of two weeks." - -"Charming diffidence," murmured Katherine. - -"Modest soul," commented Mrs. Franklin. "What kind of a girl would -suit you?" - -"I like the domestic variety. The faithful kind, you know. One who -wouldn't gad all the time. Good cook, and that sort of thing." - -"Some Indian girl"--began the Captain's wife. - -"I know," interrupted George, pointedly; "that runs in some families, -but it never has in ours. Wouldn't mind an Indian aunt, maybe, after I -got used to her; but a mother-in-law--Lord!" - -Mrs. Franklin was angry for an instant, then she laughed. It was -impossible for any one to harbour resentment against Ronald. - -"I don't think I could ever love an ordinary girl," that intrepid -youth resumed, with a dare-devil light in his eyes. "She'd have to -be very superior. Lots of girls get married without any clear idea -of what it means. For instance, while I was working day and night, -trying to earn board and clothes for a woman, I wouldn't like to have -her trot over to her friend's house to discuss my faults. If that's -marriage, I won't enlist." - -"You haven't any faults," put in the Captain's wife, sweetly. "There -would be nothing to discuss." - -"True, Mamie, I had forgotten that. Thank you for reminding me of my -perfection. But you know what I mean. As soon as I got out of sight -of the house, she'd gallop over to her friend's, and her friend would -say: 'Good-morning, Mrs. Ronald, you don't look fit this morning. What -has that mean thing done to you now?'" - -Throwing himself thoroughly into the part, the Ensign got up and -proceeded to give an elaborate monologue, in falsetto, punctuated with -mincing steps and frequent rearrangement of an imaginary coiffure. -Mrs. Howard clasped her hands at her waist and the tears rolled down -Mrs. Franklin's cheeks. - -"And then she'd say," Ronald went on, "'Just suppose you had to live -with a mulish, jealous man who wouldn't give you more than nine -dresses and eleven bonnets and four pairs of shoes. Yes, that's just -what the horrid thing has done. And this morning, when I asked for -money to get a few clothes, so I could look more respectable, he gave -me some, but I caught him keeping back fifty-two cents. Now, what do -you think of that? Do you suppose he's going to take a lot of men out -and get 'em all drunk?'" - -The entrance of Captain Franklin put an end to the inspired portrayal -of wifely devotion. As Katherine had said, he did not look stubborn. -On the contrary, he seemed to be the mildest sort of a man, for he -was quiet and unobtrusive in manner. His skin was very white, and the -contrast of his jet-black hair and mustache made him look pale. - -"Did you tell them the news?" he asked Ronald. - -"'Pon my word, Captain, I haven't had time. They've been chattering so -ever since I came in that I'm nearly deaf with it. You tell 'em." - -"I don't know as you'd call it news," said the Captain; "but we can't -afford to ignore any incident out here. A Kickapoo runner has come -in from the Illinois River, and he says the pack-trains are about to -start from there and from the Kankakee, and that they will be here -soon." - -"It's an early Spring," remarked Mrs. Franklin. - -"I'm glad," said Katherine; "I love to be outdoors, and the Winters in -this lonesome little Fort are almost unbearable." - -"What?" asked Ronald, "with me here?" - -"Drill to-morrow," said the Captain, turning to his subordinate. The -Ensign saluted gravely, but made no reply. - -The Captain lingered a few moments, listening while the others talked. -"Are you going home, Mary?" he asked. - -"Yes, after a while. I'll go now if you want me to." - -"No; never mind. I've got some things to see to." - -"Now that," observed Ronald, as the Captain closed the door, "is what -I call a true marriage." - -"In what way?" asked Mrs. Franklin. - -"This deference to a husband's evident wishes. It might have happened -to me. Lonesome George comes into the sewing circle and his glad -eyes rest on the wife of his bosom. Talk to the crowd a little while -and get everybody to feeling good, even though I'm on the verge of -starvation. Then I say: 'Darling, are you going back to our humble -little home?' and she says: 'Yes, George, dear, when I get good and -ready--bye-bye!'" - -Mrs. Franklin was eager to ask Katherine how much of their -conversation she supposed he had overheard, but he seemed very -comfortable where he was, and at last she folded up her work and went -home, the Ensign bidding her an affectionate farewell at the door and -extending a generous invitation to "come again." - -"There, Kitty," he sighed, "at last we are alone. It has seemed so -long!" - -Katherine turned upon him a look which would have frozen a lesser man -than Ronald. "Please call me Mrs. Howard," she requested, icily. - -"I can't." - -"Why not?" - -"Well, some way, it makes me feel as if you were married, and I can't -stand it to be constantly reminded of my loss. 'Mrs. Lieutenant' is -better, 'cause I'm a lieutenant, in a way, myself, but it's too long. -I suppose I can say 'Mrs. Loot,' if you insist upon formality. I came -to you with a message, and that is why I have braved your unjust -wrath. Your mother sent me to ask you and your husband to come over to -supper. I've seen him and he's willing. She's been making doughnuts -all the afternoon, and I think there's a pie or two, so get your -bonnet and come along." - -"Come along!" repeated Katherine. - -"Yes, come along. I'm going, too." - -"Does she know it?" - -"I think she suspects it. If she doesn't, the pleasure will have the -additional charm of a surprise. There's the Lieutenant now. We'll all -go together." - -They met on the parade-ground and she put her hand on her husband's -arm timidly, but he did not draw away from her as she had feared he -would, and she became intuitively conscious that he had determined to -say nothing about the unlucky note. - -The sun shone brightly and the March wind swept the cobwebs from her -mental vision. Ralph said very little; but Ronald, who never required -the encouragement of an answer, talked unceasingly, and it seemed to -Katherine that the world was sunny and full of friends. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE FIRST FLOWER OF SPRING - - -There was a report like a pistol shot from the ice in the river, -followed by others at short intervals. "That means for us to get out -the boats," said Mackenzie to Chandonnais. - -Only one of the boats stored in the trader's barn was worthy of the -name. It was a large bateau, capable of accommodating a dozen people -and a small amount of baggage. The others were pirogues, or logs -trimmed at the ends and hollowed out in the centre. One person might -be negatively comfortable, but two crowded the small craft to the -danger-point. - -A pirogue furnished the ordinary means of communication with the Fort, -and two or three were fastened to a sapling on the other side of the -stream. There was also a good boat, belonging to the Fort, which would -hold five or six people. The bateau was used for carrying freight -between the Fort, the Agency House, and Mackenzie's. - -The river was a narrow, deep, weedy channel, with a very slight fall, -and a large sand-bar stretched across the mouth of it. In Summer, one -could stand at the end of the broad piazza in front of the house and -see the Indians in their light canoes pass the sand-bar at will, go -down into the lake, and return up-stream. - -Gradually the river filled with great masses of ice, which moved -lazily in a circle at the whim of some concealed current, or drifted -gently toward the mouth of the stream. For several days there was no -communication with the Fort; then Mackenzie broke the ice-jam at the -bar, and by the middle of March a boat could easily cross. - -Seemingly by preconcerted arrangement, the pack-trains arrived during -the last week of March. Twenty horses came from the Illinois and -Kankakee districts, and seventeen from the Rock River, loaded with -skins. For a year the Indians in the Mississippi valley had exchanged -peltries for provisions, beads, and liquor. Five Canadian _engages_, -with rude camping outfits strapped to their backs, walked in leisurely -fashion beside the horses. - -The skins were stored in the Agency House, awaiting the schooner from -the American Fur Company at Fort Mackinac. The horses were tethered -on the plains near the Fort, and business was carried on there, except -at meal-time, when eight hungry men and four children taxed Mrs. -Mackenzie's strength to the utmost. - -Three days later the schooner was sighted, bearing down from the -north, and, as it was practically the only event of the year, the -settlement went in force to the lake shore to see it come in. A -corporal's guard, bitterly complaining, was left at the Fort. - -With the wind filling her sails, the ship steered south-west until she -reached a point exactly opposite the mouth of the river, then turned -swiftly, like a bird, and came toward the cheering crowd on shore. The -waves broke in foam upon her keel, and amid the shouts of command and -welcome and the clatter of the rigging, came the song of a _voyageur_, -in a clear, high tenor, which won a separate recognition. - -"More men to feed," sighed Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"Never mind, Aunt Eleanor," said Forsyth, "I'm going to help you." - -"Me, too! Me, too!" cried the children. - -Mrs. Howard and Mrs. Franklin promptly offered their services, and -Ronald put an affectionate arm about her waist. "Don't bother, Aunt -Eleanor," he said; "you've got me." - -Forsyth was surprised at the speech, and still more astonished when -the Ensign made it good during the hard days that followed. He tied a -big blue apron under his arms, unmindful of its ridiculous flapping -about his knees, set his cap on the back of his head, rolled up his -sleeves, and announced that he was ready for work. Forsyth helped -him split wood, bring water, make fires, and wash dishes until his -head swam with weariness; but through it all, Ronald was serene and -untroubled, keeping up a cheery whistle and a fusillade of comment and -observation which lightened the situation exceedingly. - -Mrs. Mackenzie found herself taking orders from the young soldier who -was the self-constituted master of the cuisine, and learned to obey -without question, even when she was sent to her easy-chair early in -the morning and kept there during the greater part of the day. - -Mrs. Howard and Mrs. Franklin were unceremoniously put out. "Kitty -and Mamie," pleaded the Ensign, in an aggravating falsetto, "will you -please run home? Your mother has enough to feed without your trotting -in to meals." He accompanied the request with a threatening wave of a -spoon filled with pancake batter, which had the desired effect. - -"There," he said, "I've finally chased 'em out. I do hate to have -women bothering around me, don't you, Rob?" - -"I've never been bothered," laughed Forsyth; "at least, not in that -way." - -Swiftly upon the heels of the schooner came the boats from Milwaukee. -The cargoes were landed on the lake shore and taken to the Agency -by the pack-horses. All day the patient beasts plodded to and fro, -carrying furs to the shore, and provisions, blankets, calicoes, -prints, and a thousand other things to the storehouse. The small boats -from the ship plied back and forth, landing the cargo and taking back -peltries, and the men worked from sunrise to sunset. - -An unusual amount of friction developed between the several _engages_ -and _voyageurs_, and various disputes were settled on the spot with -bare fists. Chandonnais had a rare talent for getting into trouble, -and few indeed were the fights in which he did not eventually take a -leading part. - -"Chan," said Mackenzie, at length, "you ain't paid to fight, but to -work; and if there's any more of this I'll send you to one of the -other posts." This threat was always effectual, for some reason which -the trader did not seek to know. - -At last the tired horses finished their task and every skin was in the -hold of the schooner. The Agency House was filled to bursting with the -materials of trade, and a small but precious horde of gold pieces, -representing the balance in his favour, was hidden in Mackenzie's -leather belt. - -There was a day of rest for everybody except Mrs. Mackenzie and her -assistants; then Chandonnais surprised the trader by a demand for his -year's wages. - -"Why, Chan!" exclaimed Mackenzie, "don't you want me to keep it for -you as I've been a-doing?" - -The half-breed shook his head sullenly. - -"Well, it's yours, and you can do just as you please with it, but I -guess you'll be sorry for it later. Mind, now, this is all till next -year--you don't get any advance." - -Chan agreed, and Mackenzie called Robert to witness the transaction. -Five shining ten-dollar gold pieces were counted out into a grimy paw -that closed upon them quickly, as if in fear. - -"Fifty dollars and found," Mackenzie explained to Robert as -Chandonnais went away. "I don't grudge it neither, for he's a good boy -when he ain't fighting." - -The schooner was lying by for a favouring wind, and the pack-trains -were waiting to give the horses a needed rest. Mackenzie had made -an equitable division of the stores at the Agency, and each of the -_engages_ knew exactly what he was to take back with him, and the -approximate value of each article in terms of peltries. During the day -liquor flowed freely, and at night there was a barbecue on the lake -shore. - -A young ox was roasted whole, in front of a huge fire which could be -seen for miles around. Forsyth and the Mackenzies, with their four -children, and the officers and men from the Fort with their wives and -families, sat around on the sand and took part in the celebration. A -single sentinel patrolled the Fort, cursing his luck, and a few stray -Indians watched the festive scene from afar. - -Chandonnais had his violin, and the fine tenor of the _voyageur_ was -lifted in song--old French _chansons_ and garbled melodies of the day. -The strings of the fiddle were twanged in delicate accompaniment until -the singer struck up Yankee Doodle, which, owing to the French accent -and the peculiar distortion of the tune, was taken by the company as a -humorous performance. - -The men ate hungrily, and at last even Ronald was satisfied. Then -a sudden thought struck him, and he went over to speak to Captain -Franklin. "Good-bye, everybody," he shouted. - -"Where are you going?" asked Forsyth. - -"I'm going back to relieve that poor devil at the Fort." - -In spite of a chorus of protests, he went, and the lone sentry -appeared presently, grinning from ear to ear, to feast and revel while -his superior officer kept guard with a bayonet over his shoulder. It -was such trifles as this which endeared Ronald to the soldiers. There -was not a man in barracks who would not have followed him cheerfully -to certain death. - -The fire died down and some of the men slept peacefully on the sand, -while others yawned openly. Chandonnais improvised a weird melody -which was strangely out of keeping. There was something uncanny in the -air which accorded ill with the festival, and it seemed only fitting -and proper when Mad Margaret materialised from the outer darkness and -came into the centre of the group. - -A hush came over the company and some of the newcomers, who had heard -wild tales of Margaret, were secretly afraid. Chandonnais kept on -playing, and she watched him with wide, wondering eyes. For a long -time the magic of the strings kept her quiet, then she began to -mutter to herself uneasily. - -"Margaret," said Mackenzie, gently, "come here." - -Chandonnais threw down his violin with a gesture of impatience, -beckoned to the singer, and walked away rapidly. The _voyageur_ rose -lazily, yawned, and followed him with seeming indifference. - -Margaret's eyes were shining like the live coals which gleamed in the -ashes. She leaned forward and picked up the violin, stroking it and -crooning to it as if it were a child. - -"Margaret," said Mackenzie again, "come here." - -She went to him with a dog-like, unquestioning obedience, and sat down -in front of him. Mrs. Mackenzie was next to her husband, with the baby -in her lap, and Mrs. Howard sat on her mother's left. The Lieutenant -was talking with Forsyth and the Captain, and at a little distance, on -Mackenzie's right, sat Doctor Norton. - -A sharp cry came from the violin, where Margaret's fingers tightened -on the strings. "I see blood," she said,--"much blood, then fire, and -afterward peace." - -No one spoke, and Margaret mumbled to herself, then pounced upon -Katherine. She took her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "You -will have your heart's desire," she cried, "at the time of the blood, -but sorrow will come with it!" - -Before any one else had time to move, Doctor Norton caught Margaret -and pulled her away. - -"Oh," she shrieked, shaking her fist in his face, "the Red Death has -its fingers at your throat!" - -Mackenzie picked up the violin, found the bow in the darkness, and -began to play--rudely enough, it is true, but in some semblance of -rhythm. Margaret quieted almost immediately, and sat down in front of -him, rocking back and forth in time with the faltering tune. - -"Aunt Eleanor," said Forsyth, over her shoulder, "don't you think I'd -better take the children home?" - -"Yes, please, if you will." - -She put the sleeping baby into his arms, woke Maria Indiana, and -directed Ellen and Johnny to go with "Cousin Rob." The procession -moved slowly, for the baby was heavy, and the other children were -inclined to linger. Mad Margaret had a terrible fascination for them. - -As they passed a grove of cottonwoods, angry voices came from the -thicket, in a mongrel French which had but little in common with that -Robert had learned at Yale. - -"It is abominable," cried Chandonnais. "It is too much!" - -"So?" laughed the other, mockingly; "and only last year you told me -you would pay the price!" - -"A year's wages for a common crucifix!" - -"It is no common crucifix. It is of solid silver, and it is from the -old mission, where it was blessed by Pere Marquette himself." - -"How do you know?" - -"The good Father told me so. It has been blessed by Pere Marquette and -by all the holy men who have come after him. It will cure disease and -keep from all harm." - -"Well," sighed Chandonnais, "I'll take it." - -Robert heard the clink of the half-breed's hard-earned gold, and -wondered whether he had spent the whole of it for a cross. - -The next day the prevailing wind of Summer blew warm and strong -from the south-west, and the sails of the schooner filled as if in -anticipation. Robert thought of the hardy Romans in the Aeneid, when -"the breezes called their sails," as once again the people gathered on -the shore. - -Letters and messages to friends at Fort Mackinac, together with many -trifling gifts, were pressed upon the crew. A long line of foam lay -upon the turquoise water when out in the sunlit distance the ship -turned to the north, and hands were waved in farewell long after the -others had ceased to see. The Mackenzies were glad it was over, even -though a long year was to pass without communication with the outside -world, but others were sorry. Chandonnais was non-committal and hummed -to himself the song of the _voyageur_. - -The pack-trains were loaded, the patient horses bending under a -heavier burden than they had brought; the boats started to Milwaukee -after all of the _engages_ had been given another round of liquor, -and a pack-train followed them north on land. The others, silhouetted -against the setting sun, went west over the unbroken prairie; the -drowsy tinkle of the bells died away in a silvery murmur, and peace -lay on Fort Dearborn. - - * * * * * - -At the end of the week there was a diversion which was entirely -unexpected--as most real diversions contrive to be. Mrs. Mackenzie -was in the garden, planting flower seeds, when soft footsteps sounded -on the bare earth beside her, and a sweet voice said, "How do you do, -Aunt Eleanor?" - -"Why, Beatrice!" exclaimed Mrs. Mackenzie, kissing her warmly. "Where -did you come from?" - -"From Fort Wayne, with Captain Wells--he's across the river. I rowed -over by myself. I was so afraid you'd see me coming and wouldn't be -surprised." - -"My dear! I'm so glad!" - -"Maybe you won't be, when I tell you. I've come to live with you, Aunt -Eleanor." - -"That makes me happier still," said Mrs. Mackenzie, in her stately -way. "You are welcome." - -"Thank you, Aunty; but I haven't come to be a burden to you, and I -trust I never shall be. If I'm ever a trouble, I want you to tell me -so and send me away. In the first place, I have fought most terribly -with my aunt and uncle at Fort Wayne. They don't know I've come." - -"Why, my dear! How could you?" - -"Oh, they know it now," said Beatrice, laconically, with her head on -one side. "If they don't, the suspense will do them good. Anyhow, they -know I'm not there, and that's enough. You know I have a little income -of my own, Aunty, so I'm not dependent upon any one, and I'm going to -pay my board. If you won't let me," she continued, warningly, seeing -disapproval on Mrs. Mackenzie's kindly face, "I'm going back with -Captain Wells to-morrow, so now!" - -"I'll let you do anything you want to, dear, if you'll only stay with -me. I have needed a grown daughter ever since Katherine was married." - -"Then it's all arranged, and I'll stay with you for ever. I know I -never could fight with you." - -"Here comes your uncle." - -The trader beamed with delight when Beatrice cast herself upon him and -kissed him twice. "I've come to live with you," she said, "and I've -just fixed it with Aunt Eleanor. Captain Wells is over at the Fort -with the soldiers. We brought ten with us--it was quite an army, and -the Captain kept up military discipline all along the trail, with me -for First Lieutenant. They're going to stay at the Fort, and I'm going -to stay here." She pirouetted around him in high spirits. - -"You're welcome, Bee; but how did it happen?" - -"I fought," explained Beatrice, carelessly. "They told me what I -should do and what I shouldn't. Nobody ever says 'must' to me. If you -ever want me to do anything, you'll have to say 'please.' Would you -mind going over to the Fort after my things, Uncle? I've got a big box -with all my worldly goods inside of it." - -Mackenzie went, for men always did as Beatrice suggested. - -"Come in, dear," said her aunt. "You can have the east room, so you'll -get the morning sun." - -"How sweet you are, Aunt Eleanor," murmured the girl, with her arm -thrown around the other's shoulders, for she was even taller than Mrs. -Mackenzie. Her face had the deep, creamy tint which sometimes goes -with violet eyes and brown hair with auburn lights in it. Beneath a -short nose, tilted ever so slightly, was the most bewitching mouth in -the world--small and perfect in shape, dangerously curved, and full of -a daring coquetry. When she smiled, one saw that her teeth were small -and white and absolutely even, but soon forgot that minor detail. -At first glance, no one would have called her pretty; she was like -something beautiful which must be studied before it is appreciated. - -The arrival of the visitor had effectually broken up the school. -"Tuzzin Bee! Tuzzin Bee!" crowed Maria Indiana, delightedly. - -"You darling," cried Beatrice, catching the child in her arms; "have -you remembered me a whole year?" - -Robert was introduced as "a cousin on the other side of the house," -and he bent gravely over the girl's hand. - -"Are we truly cousins?" she asked. - -There was a confused silence, then Robert found his tongue. "I trust -we are," he said, with the air of a gentleman of the old school, "for -you are the first flower of Spring." - -The door burst open and Ronald entered. "What do you think," he -shouted; "we've got troops! Captain Wells has brought ten soldiers to -the Fort!" - -"Miss Manning," said Mrs. Mackenzie, "let me present Ensign George -Ronald, of Fort Dearborn." - -Beatrice bowed, but he stared at her for an instant, then brought his -heels together and raised his hand to his forehead in military salute. -There was an awkward instant, then the deep crimson dyed the Ensign's -face. He turned--and bolted. - -From the window Beatrice saw him, in a pirogue, pulling back to the -Fort as if his life depended upon it, then she laughed--a deep, sweet, -vibrant laugh, that thrilled Robert to the very depths of his soul. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -COUSINS - - -"Aunty," said Beatrice, at breakfast the next morning, "do you think I -scared him to death?" - -"What do you mean, dear?" - -"Why, that young man--yesterday. Mr. Ronald is his name, isn't it?" - -Mrs. Mackenzie laughed at the memory of the Ensign's scarlet face. "I -think he'll get over it," she said; "don't you, Rob?" - -"I certainly do. He's the last man in the world to be afraid of a -woman." - -"Oh, yes, he'll recover," put in Mackenzie, significantly. - -"I think it's lovely here," observed Beatrice, irrelevantly, "and I -know I'm going to like it." - -"We're going to try very hard to make you happy," said Forsyth, with -evident sincerity. - -"I've wanted to live with Aunt Eleanor ever since last Spring, when -they all came to Fort Wayne. Otherwise, I wouldn't have fought. That -is, perhaps I wouldn't." - -Rising from the table, she went out on the piazza, and Robert -instinctively followed her. If the long journey on horseback had -tired her, she showed no sign of it, for she might have been a part -of the morning as she stood there, smiling, with the sunlight on her -wind-blown hair. - -The heavy brown coil, with auburn lights and black shadows in it, had -a strange fascination for Forsyth. He liked the way her hair grew -around her forehead and temples, and the little curl that escaped at -her neck. She was looking away from him, and he thought her unaware of -his scrutiny till she said quietly: "Well, how do you like your new -cousin? Do you think I will do?" - -"Yes," he stammered, dimly grateful for the impulse that kept her face -still turned away; "that is, very much." - -"How am I going to get my horse over here," she demanded suddenly. - -"What horse?" asked Robert, stupidly. - -"The one I rode from Fort Wayne, of course. Did I understand you to -say you had been to college?" - -"Yes; I graduated." - -"Really?" Beatrice turned upon him a dazzling smile. "I never should -have thought it," she added pleasantly. - -"Where is your horse?" he asked, crimsoning. - -"You don't see it anywhere, do you?" - -"N--no." - -"Then, obviously, it's at the Fort, isn't it?" - -"I--I suppose so." - -"Well, then, we're making progress. Now, how do I get it over here?" - -"Swim," said Robert, helplessly, at his wit's end. - -Beatrice stamped her small foot upon the piazza. "Uncle John," she -called, "come here! How is Queen coming across the river?" she asked, -when he appeared. - -"Well, now, Bee, I don't know. There's no bridge and no way to go -around. She'll either have to come in a boat or swim." - -Robert flashed a grateful glance at him, but said nothing. - -"She won't get into a boat," said Beatrice, with a puzzled little -frown on her face. "We swam a river together once, but she didn't like -it, and we both got wet." - -"Go down near the bar and come across," suggested Forsyth, having -partially recovered his self-possession. "It can't be very deep -there." - -"No; but the sand is soft. Better leave her at the Fort, Bee, and -you can go over there when you want her. It's safer," he added. "The -Indians might get her out of my barn, but she'll be all right in the -garrison stables." - -"That settles it," replied Beatrice. "Here comes Captain Wells." - -An erect, soldierly figure came up the path with the characteristic -walk of the Indian. His eyes were small and dark, and his face was -bronzed like the people among whom he had lived; but when he smiled at -Beatrice and bowed with mock humility, all traces of the savage were -instantly effaced. He wore the rough garb of the plainsman, and the -only suggestion of vanity was in the black ribbon that tied his queue. - -"Mackenzie," he said, "I warn you. You have a tyrannical -commander-in-chief." - -Beatrice pouted prettily. "I'm sorry for Uncle John," she said; "but -it's too late to help him now. I've come for keeps." - -All the time he was speaking, Captain Wells's piercing glance was -fixed upon Forsyth, to whom he had just been introduced, but of whom -he had heard at the Fort, and the young man grew vaguely uncomfortable. - -"Your pardon, sir," said Captain Wells. "I fear the manners of the -prairie seem strange to a gentleman of culture. My only excuse is that -your face interests me." - -"Come on over to the Fort, Cousin Rob," suggested Beatrice, with ready -tact, "and I'll introduce you to Queen. They don't want us here, -anyhow." - -Together they climbed into the pirogue in which Captain Wells had -crossed the river, and with some difficulty reached the opposite -shore. Ronald was standing at the entrance, talking with the sentinel, -and when he saw them coming he went toward the barracks with more -haste than dignity. Forsyth laughed, but Beatrice held her head high, -and a faint flush stole into her cheeks. - -"Where are the stables, Cousin Rob?" - -"This way." - -Robert's involuntary gasp of admiration at the sight of Queen -instantly placed him high in his fair cousin's favour. "Isn't she a -beauty?" she asked. - -The little black mare whinnied joyously at the approach of her young -mistress, prancing and curvetting prettily in spite of her halter. - -"Poor dear," said Beatrice, "you aren't used to being tied, are you?" - -She led the horse out on the parade-ground and exclaimed with -pleasure at the satin smoothness of the glossy coat. The grooms had -done their work well and stood around, grinning broadly, while she -praised them. The mare might have hailed from the blue grass country, -so perfect were her lines. She was built for speed as well as beauty, -and the small black hoofs pawed the ground impatiently, as she rubbed -her velvet nose against her owner's cheek by way of a caress. - -"There isn't any sugar, Queen," laughed the girl, "and I just came to -say good-morning." - -"We'll have some rides on the prairie together," said Robert. "My -horse isn't much, compared with yours, but he used to get along pretty -well on the roads back East." - -"Aren't there any roads here?" - -"I haven't discovered any, but the prairie isn't bad." - -"Come on out now," said Beatrice, "and I'll show you what she can do." - -As they passed the barracks, Robert was dimly aware of Ronald's -scrutiny from some safe point of observation; but Beatrice chattered -merrily until they reached the open space beyond the Fort. - -A convenient stump stood near by and she led the mare to it. "Now -then, Beauty," she said. In an instant she was mounted on Queen's -bare back, and there ensued an exhibition of horsemanship that would -have put a cavalryman to shame. Some of the soldiers came out to see -the mare change her gait at a word from her rider, and turn readily -with neither bit nor bridle. The pins dropped, one by one, from the -girl's hair, and when she turned out on the open plain for a final -gallop, it streamed out behind her as Atalanta's may have done when -she made her last race. - -Beatrice was riding like the wind. She went straight on until she was -scarcely a speck upon the horizon, then circled back gradually. Queen -was on her mettle, and no dame of high degree ever held her head more -proudly than the little black mare with the tossing mane. With a last -turn she came toward the Fort straight as an arrow, and stopped so -suddenly at the word that she was thrown back upon her haunches. - -The girl slipped to the ground, laughing and flushed. "Oh!" she cried, -"that was glorious, wasn't it, Queen?" - -"I'm proud of my cousin," was all Forsyth said; but there was a volume -of meaning in the tone. - -A groom led the horse away to be rubbed down, and Beatrice began a -fruitless search for the lost hairpins, in which Robert refused to -join her. "Don't put it up," he pleaded, "you look so much prettier -with it down." - -"I can't, anyway," she said. "I haven't a single pin." - -The heavy mass of brown and auburn hung far below her waist, rippling -ever so slightly, and ending in a curl. A pink flush was on her face -and her eyes were dancing. "Come," she continued, "they're talking -about me over there, and I know it." - -She had hit upon the truth, for the Mackenzies were having an animated -conference with Captain Wells. "I never suspected there was any -trouble," he was saying, "and she didn't mention it. She was waiting -for us a piece up the trail, and two men with her were carrying her -box. She said she was coming, so the soldiers took her things and she -rode with me. - -"As she told you, they probably know it now, but I'll see them the -first thing when I go back and explain. They'll be glad to know she's -safe. She's as skittish a filly as I've ever laid eyes on--she won't -wear a bit, nor stand; and that little black devil that she rides is -made out of the same kind of timber. The two of them will have the -settlement by the ears inside of a month--you wait and see." - -Beatrice appeared at this juncture and pointed a rosy finger at -Captain Wells. "Perjurer!" she laughed. "You've been taking my -character away from me!" - -"I never tell anything but the truth, Miss," returned the Captain, -awkwardly. "Are you going back with me this afternoon?" - -"I told you once," she answered, "that I was going to live with Aunt -Eleanor. I'm never going to Fort Wayne again!" - -"Do you want me to take a letter or a message to your people?" - -"No!" cried Beatrice, with her eyes blazing. "If you dare to mention -me to them, or say I sent any kind of a message, I'll--I'll haunt you!" - -The Captain went out, murmuring confused apologies; and Robert, -feeling himself in the way, went to his room. The moccasins hanging on -the wall gave him a vivid moment of self-knowledge. The dainty, arched -foot he had seen for the first time when Beatrice stamped on the -piazza, might easily have been the one for which the moccasins were -made. He stroked the pretty things caressingly, with a soft light in -his eyes. - -"I knew she was coming," he said to himself; "but how did I know?" - -In the afternoon, Mackenzie and the officers rode a little way on the -Fort Wayne trail with Captain Wells, who was charged with many letters -and messages for friends there, and Beatrice watched the start from -the window of the living-room. - -"Who's that, Aunt Eleanor, riding beside Uncle John?" - -"Captain Franklin, in command of the Fort." - -"And who's the mean-looking one, twisting his mustache?" - -"Lieutenant Howard, dear--Katherine's husband." - -"Oh!" said Beatrice, quickly. "Aren't they happy together?" - -There was a long silence. "Not very happy, I'm afraid," sighed Mrs. -Mackenzie. - -"I'm sorry," said the girl, with genuine sympathy. "Do you think I -could help in any way?" - -"I don't know, Bee--I wish you could. You will be company for -Katherine, and perhaps you can make it easier for her, in some ways, -if you try." - -"Poor Cousin Kit! Of course I'll try! Look, Aunty," she said, abruptly -pointing to a belated rider who was galloping to overtake the others. -He had his cap in his hand, and his yellow hair was blowing in the -wind. "That's the big boy I scared. Is he married?" - -"No," replied Mrs. Mackenzie. Her lips did not move, but her eyes -smiled. - -"He's handsome," said Beatrice, dispassionately. "I've lived at all -the posts--Fort Wayne, Detroit, and Fort Mackinac, and he's the -best-looking soldier I've seen. I'd like to paint his picture, if he'd -let me." - -"I'll ask him, dear; I think he'll let you." - -"Aunt Eleanor!" cried Beatrice, reproachfully. - -"Why not?" - -"Oh--because. Where are those soldiers going, Aunty?" - -Mrs. Mackenzie looked out of the window and saw half a dozen men in -the boat belonging to the Fort, headed up-stream. - -"They're going fishing, I guess. I'll have to go away a little while -this afternoon, Bee. Mrs. Burns is sick and she needs me--you won't -mind, will you? I'll leave the table all set, and I'll surely be back -before dark. Are you afraid to be left alone?" - -"No. I'm not afraid of anything; but where is Cousin Rob?" - -"He's teaching the children. They don't seem to get much time, -someway, in the morning, so they begin right after dinner and study -till supper time. I'm so glad to have Robert here--he's doing wonders -with them." - -"He seems nice," said Beatrice, "and I like him. Can't I go with you, -Aunt Eleanor?" - -"No, dear--somebody has to stay with the baby. He's asleep, though, -and I don't think he'll trouble you." - -"I'll take care of him, Aunty. Don't fret about us." - -Nevertheless, the house seemed very lonely to Beatrice after Mrs. -Mackenzie went away, and she roamed about restlessly. For a time she -amused herself by examining the articles on the depleted shelves -behind the counters, but the interest soon vanished. She could find -nothing to read except a soiled and ragged copy of a paper three -months old, which she had already seen at Fort Wayne. The murmur -of voices from a distant room, reached her ears with sudden and -attractive significance, and her face brightened. - -"I don't know as I should do it," she said to herself, but she went to -the door and tapped softly. - -Robert opened it, in surprise, and Beatrice stepped into the room. -"I've come to visit the school," she said. - -"Goody!" cried Johnny. - -She seated herself on the window ledge and smiled radiantly at the -embarrassed teacher. Discipline had been difficult from the beginning, -and the guest made matters worse. - -"Now, then, Johnny," Forsyth said, "what were we studying?" - -"Eight times three." - -"Yes, and how many are eight times three?" - -"Twenty----" - -"Twenty-one," said Beatrice. - -"Twenty-one," repeated Johnny, readily, with the air of one who has -accomplished a difficult feat. - -Robert frowned and bit his lips. "Eight times three are twenty-four, -Johnny. Write it ten times on your slate--that will help you to -remember." - -"What a gift for teaching," murmured Beatrice. Robert flushed, but -did not speak, and there was no sound in the room but the pencil -scratching on the slate. - -"Cousin Rob?" - -"Yes, Johnny. What is it?" - -"Why, Cousin Bee just said eight times three were twenty-one. Did she -tell a lie, or didn't she know?" - -"Never mind, Johnny; just attend to your lesson." - -"Mamma says it's wicked to tell lies," observed Ellen, virtuously, -sucking her slate pencil. - -Beatrice was enjoying herself hugely. She flashed a wicked glance at -Forsyth as she said, "I'm so glad I came!" - -"Go on with your work, Ellen. I want you to write that sentence five -times without a mistake. Maria Indiana, bring me your primer. Begin -here." - -"Tan't. Baby's fordot." - -"Oh, no, you haven't. We learned this yesterday, don't you remember? -Now, then,--'I see,'--what's the rest of it?" - -"I see a tat." - -"Where?" asked Beatrice, lightly, and Maria Indiana gazed at her, -sadly bewildered. - -"Where is the cat?" she asked again. "I don't see any." - -"Here, Baby," said Robert; "look at the picture." - -"I don't like a picture cat," said Beatrice, with a tempting smile, as -she held out her arms to the child. - -"Tuzzin Bee!" crowed the baby, running to her, "me loves oo!" - -"I've got this done now," said Johnny. "Eight times three are -twenty-four." - -"That's a mistake," put in Beatrice. "Didn't I tell you it was -twenty-one?" - -"Cousin Rob," asked Ellen, in deep trouble, "if Cousin Bee has told a -lie, will she go to hell?" - -"No," sobbed the baby; "me doesn't want Tuzzin Bee to go to hell!" - -Robert's face was pale, and there was a dangerous look in the set -lines of his mouth. He went to Beatrice, took her by the shoulders, -and gently, but firmly, put her out of the room, then locked the door. - -"Well, I never!" she said to herself. - -Beatrice was not given to self-analysis, but she could not keep from -wondering why she felt so queer. She knew she had no right to be -angry, and yet she was furious. She was certain that she would have -done the same thing if she had been in his place, and much earlier at -that; but the fact did not lessen the enormity of his crime. - -"He dared to touch me!" she whispered, with her face hidden. - -The long afternoon faded into dusk, and then Mackenzie came home. -"Where's mother?" he asked. - -"She went to see Mrs. Burns. She said she was sick." - -"Have you been lonesome, Bee?" - -The girl bit her lips. "Not very," she answered grimly. - -School was dismissed and the children trooped into the living-room. -Robert spoke pleasantly to his uncle, but took no notice of Beatrice. - -"Uncle John," she said at length, "what do you think of a person who -takes a lady by the shoulders and puts her out of a room?" - -"If you had been a lady," retorted Robert, "I wouldn't have put you -out." - -"Don't quarrel," said Mackenzie. "Life is too short to fuss." He took -Chan's violin from the chimney-shelf in the next room, and began to -play a lively tune. Ellen and Johnny pranced around the tea-table, and -Maria Indiana, with faltering steps, endeavoured to imitate them. - -Beatrice laughed, and Robert's heart softened, though he had been very -angry with her only a little while before. He was about to beg her -pardon for his seeming harshness, when the door burst open and Mrs. -Mackenzie rushed in, breathless and white with fear. - -"The Indians!" she cried. "The Indians!" - -"Where?" shouted Mackenzie, springing to his feet. - -"Up at Lee's! Killing and scalping!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE ALARM - - -With rare presence of mind, Beatrice blew out the candles, and they -made their way to the river in the darkness. The mist was rising from -the bare earth and the air was heavy with dew. There was no outward -sign of danger; but the grey shadows were portentous of evil, and in -the very stillness was a nameless fear. - -Mrs. Mackenzie had the baby in her arms. "Smother him if he cries," -said the trader, in a low tone, but, fortunately, the child kept -quiet. Maria Indiana began to wail and her father shook her roughly. -"Keep still!" he whispered warningly. - -Beatrice took charge of the other children, who did as they were told -without a murmur of complaint. The bateau lay at its moorings and they -got into it with as little noise as possible. Mackenzie and Robert -were at the oars. - -The stream was narrow, yet the minutes passed like hours, and the -sound of the oars seemed carried far into the night. "Careful, now," -whispered Mackenzie. Robert took the little girl in his arms and they -ran up the esplanade to the Fort. - -Dim shapes of horror seemed hovering around them as they strained -their ears to catch the savage cry which had blazed the red trail of -torture from Jamestown to the Lakes. Soldiers ran to meet them, picked -up the two older children, and hurried with them into the Fort. As -they entered the stockade, the heavy gate crashed into place. - -"Thank God," breathed Mackenzie, "we are safe!" - -On the parade-ground was a scene of confusion. Men ran to and fro, -carrying ammunition and pails of water to the blockhouses and points -marked on the stockade. Pine knots, thrust between the bars, blazed -fitfully, throwing a lurid light here and there and making the -darkness deeper by contrast. - -From the windows and open doors of the officers' quarters came stray -gleams of light. White-faced men and women ran in and out of the -shadows, hoarse cries of command were heard, and it seemed like some -vivid dream. - -Beatrice ran to the stables, and Queen whinnied when she felt the -girl's soft hand upon her. "Hush," she said, "we came together, -Beauty, and we'll stay together--while we're here," she added, with a -little choke in her voice. - -Over by the barracks a man and a boy were talking to Captain Franklin, -while a little group of people listened. Beatrice, with Queen's halter -in her hand, went near enough to hear. - -"I knew something was wrong," the man was saying. "A dozen of 'em came -in all painted up, but Frenchy and White seemed to think it was all -right and went on talking to them. I says to the kid here, 'They ain't -Pottawattomies, and we'd better get away if we can. Do as you see me -do.' - -"So we went out to the canoes, and two of the red devils followed us -to ask where we were going. I told 'em we were going over to feed the -cattle and we'd be back soon to get supper. When we got across we -pulled some hay and pretended to get the cattle together, but as soon -as we got behind a stack, we ran for the Fort. Two shots were fired -after we left, and God only knows what they're doing up there now. -There must be thousands of them in the woods." - -"Where's Chan?" asked Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"Haven't seen him since noon," replied her husband. "He'll have to -look out for himself." - -"Where are the soldiers who went fishing?" asked Beatrice. - -"They haven't come back," answered the Captain; "but they're armed." - -"That won't do any good," said Lieutenant Howard. Two of the soldiers -standing by ran to the blockhouses without waiting for an order. The -deep-throated guns thundered a warning, and confused echoes came back, -but there was no other answer. - -Preparations for fight went on. The men in the blockhouses were -ordered to stay there, and others were assigned to the same posts. -Still others were stationed at the magazine and at regular intervals -along the stockade. The gates were heavily guarded, and Captain -Franklin ordered the women and children to the officers' quarters, but -only Mrs. Mackenzie obeyed. - -"I'll stay here," said Mrs. Franklin, in open defiance. - -"Wait till we are attacked," cried Katherine. - -"Queen and I will stay together," said Beatrice, proudly. - -Ronald was rapidly loading the army pistols and distributing them -among the women. Beatrice was standing with her arm thrown over the -mare's neck when he came to her, and the fitful light of the pine -knots shone full upon her face and her glorious hair. Her eyes were -bright and she breathed rapidly, but no one could have said she was -afraid. - -For a moment they stood there, looking into each other's eyes. "When -the first Indian leaps the stockade, put it to your temple and fire," -said Ronald, almost in a whisper. - -Beatrice took the heavy pistol from him with a steady hand. "Give me -another cartridge," she said. - -"What for?" - -"For Queen. I won't have her hurt, and she goes first." - -The Ensign obeyed, with another long look at the girl. "You're a -thoroughbred," he said. For a breathless instant they faced each -other, then Ronald clicked his heels together, saluted, and turned -away. - -Something stirred painfully in the girl's heart. As in a dream, she -saw Mrs. Mackenzie and the children going into Lieutenant Howard's, -watched Forsyth and the trader as they loaded their muskets, and heard -Katherine's terrible laugh when she put the cold muzzle of the pistol -to her temple to see how it would feel. - -Then Franklin and Ronald passed her. "I won't give an order," the -Captain was saying; "it's a job for volunteers." - -"May I have them?" asked the Ensign. - -"Yes--six. We can spare no more." - -A moment later a clear voice sounded above the clamour, "Attention!" - -There was the rush of hurrying feet, an instant's wondering silence, -then Ronald spoke. "Boys," he said, "Mrs. Burns has a baby a day -old, and there is no one with her but her husband. I'm going after -them--who's going with me?" - -The soldiers, to a man, rallied around him. "I!" came from every -throat. "I'm going!" - -"Six only," he said. He quickly selected his men, they snatched up -their guns, and, with a warning "hush!" from him, they went to the -bateau in which the Mackenzies had crossed. - -"Steady!" came Ronald's low voice, then the oars murmured in the water -and the heavy gate rumbled into place once more. - -Forsyth, stunned by the whirl of events, was leaning on his musket, -staring vacantly into space. Across the parade-ground his face -appeared to Beatrice in the last flicker of a burnt-out knot. All her -pent-up anger returned to her, and, still smarting under the memory of -his affront, she left her horse and went over to him. - -"Why didn't you go with him?" she demanded. - -"Who--where?" - -"Ensign Ronald!" - -"I--I don't know," he stammered. - -He had told the unvarnished truth, but she interpreted it in her -own way. "I'll tell you why you didn't go," she said, with measured -distinctness. Then her eyes flashed and her breast heaved. - -"Coward!" she blazed. - -Robert started as if he had been struck, but before he could speak, -she had left him and gone back to Queen. - -Her lip curled as she saw him standing there, leaning on his musket, -with his head bowed. His habit of self-analysis asserted itself, and -he began to wonder whether she had been right. The blood that had left -his heart came back in tides of pain, and the word burned itself upon -his consciousness. "Coward," he said to himself, "coward! She called -me a coward!" - -Yet he knew that what she had said did not matter so much as the -possibility that she had spoken truly--that his self-respect meant -more than any woman's praise or blame. His reason told him that; but -her scornful, accusing face flitted before him and he had an impulse -to get away--it did not matter where. Still dazed, he went to the -blockhouse at the north-west corner of the stockade and joined the men -there. - -On the parade-ground Doctor Norton was making grewsome preparations. -A stretcher was placed near each blockhouse, and others at regular -intervals. Bottles were ranged in rows upon the ground, and piles of -bandages showed whitely under the flare of the torches. - -He looked up, to find Katherine at his side. "Let me help you," she -said. - -"No; there's nothing you can do just now, but I'm afraid we'll have -our hands full later if--Go and scrape some lint," he broke off -abruptly, "and make some coffee. Get the other women to help you." - -Here the Lieutenant passed them, without seeming to see them, and she -followed him with a guilty feeling in her heart. - -When she entered her own house, she found her mother there, scraping -lint and making bandages, while a pot of strong coffee was already -steaming on the hearth and piles of cut bread were stacked upon the -table. - -"This is all we can do, dear," said Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"Let me help you, mother--I'll get some more old linen." - -Mrs. Franklin came in with her arms full of white cloth, which she -tore into strips and wound tightly, ready for immediate use. They -worked by the light of a single candle, and the three loaded pistols -lay on the table in front of them. - -"If we sleep to-night," said the Captain's wife at length, without -pausing in her task, "I'll take Miss Manning and Mrs. Burns, when the -boys come back." - -"Mother and the children can stay here," said Katherine; "but I -haven't room for any more." - -"That's all right," answered Mrs. Mackenzie. "The men can go to the -barracks." - -More than an hour passed, but nothing was heard from the rescue party, -and the fear of danger deepened. The Lieutenant came in, endeavouring -to conceal his nervousness. - -"That's good," he said, indicating the piles of lint and bandages. -Then he drank a cup of strong, black coffee, and paced back and forth -uneasily. - -"Where are the boys?" asked Katherine. "Isn't it time for them to come -back?" - -"No, I don't think so; we could hardly expect them yet." - -"Couldn't some of the others go after them?" - -"Heavens, no! We haven't fifty men here, and we need every one. Chan -is missing, seven have gone after Mrs. Burns, and six are on a fishing -trip--that's fourteen out of our small force. In their place we have -Father John, Forsyth, and the man and boy from Lee's. The Indians are -probably gathering in the woods and making ready to attack us. God!" -he said, under his breath, "why can't we have troops!" - -Katherine warned him with a glance which almost imperceptibly -indicated Mrs. Franklin, who was hard at work, seemingly absorbed in -her task. "Where's Wallace?" she asked, without looking up. - -"Walking around the parade-ground. He's safe," he added bitterly; -"don't worry about him." - -Mrs. Mackenzie and Katherine both frowned at the emphasis on the last -word. "Don't worry about me, either," he continued; "I'm going now." - -Katherine went to the door with him. "Can I do anything more, dear?" -she asked. - -"No," he said roughly, "unless you want to mind your own business for -a while!" He laughed harshly, pushed her from him, and went out. - -"Ralph isn't well," she sighed, going back to the table; "and I'm -afraid something has happened outside, too. I wonder where the boys -are?" - -The whole garrison was asking the same question secretly; but no -man would openly admit that there was ground for anxiety. Beatrice -had tied Queen to the flag-pole, and was besieging the Doctor with -inquiries. - -"Tell me," she pleaded, for the third time, "haven't they been gone -long enough to get back?" - -"Yes," he answered finally; "they have. They should have been here -long ago." - -"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to the blockhouse to see if -they aren't coming!" - -She called to those above her, but no one heard, so she went up the -ladder. "Where are they?" she cried, bursting in upon the startled -group. - -Even as she spoke there was a faint "halloo" from the west. "They're -coming," shouted Robert, but his voice was lost, for the sentinel at -the gate had heard also. - -The parade-ground filled with people, and Beatrice had turned to -descend the ladder, when Robert caught her by the arm. - -"Beatrice!" he gasped. "Let me know the worst--do you despise me?" - -"Yes," she answered, coolly. "Please let go of me, and never dare to -touch me again." - -The gate was lifted and seven men came in, carrying the mattress on -which lay Mrs. Burns and her baby. Mrs. Franklin led the way to her -hospitable door, where Mrs. Mackenzie and Katherine were already -waiting to do what they could in the way of making the mother and -child comfortable. - -It was Mrs. Mackenzie who first noticed that Ronald was not with them. -"Where's George?" she asked, in a low tone. - -"He's gone up the river, ma'am," answered one of the soldiers. "We -begged him not to, but he would go, and he wouldn't let a one of us -go with him. He thought he heard a noise, so he went up-stream to see -what it was." - -Mr. Burns had seen no Indians, but, like the others, thought they were -gathering in the woods. He was far away from the house at the time the -man had shouted the warning; but he had heard the two shots at Lee's -and the guns from the Fort. - -"Captain," said Lieutenant Howard, "I'll be one of a party to go and -find Ronald. He's probably up at Lee's." - -"You won't," growled the Captain, biting his mustache. "Just because -the young fool chooses to risk his life for nothing, I won't expose -five or six men to danger. We have none to spare." - -"How did he go?" asked the Doctor of Mr. Burns. - -"He took my boat. He'll pull back down-stream quick enough if anything -is wrong." - -"No he won't," returned the Doctor, warmly; "you don't know the lad." - -Robert walked back and forth on the parade-ground, sorely troubled on -his own account, and deeply concerned for the safety of his friend. -Mackenzie shared his anxiety, but quickly vetoed the suggestion that -they two follow him. - -"'T ain't no manner of use, Rob," he said, kindly. "We're under -military orders, and you heard what the Captain said. Besides, that -dare-devil boy ain't afraid of anything, and I guess he'll come out -with a whole skin--he always has." - -"Were you thinking of going after him, Cousin Rob?" asked Beatrice, -sweetly. - -He started at the sound of her voice, then looked full in her face -with no sign of recognition. Beatrice met his eyes squarely until he -turned on his heel and walked away, followed by a peal of light, -mocking laughter that cut into his heart like a knife. - -"What's the matter between you and Rob?" asked the trader, curiously. - -"Nothing," answered the girl, shrugging her shoulders; "but I was -amused a little while ago because he was so frightened--he was scared -almost to death." - -Mackenzie's eyes glittered as he peered at her keenly from under his -bushy brows. "Don't say that again, my girl," he said, huskily, "for -fear doesn't run in the Forsyth blood. His grandfather was killed at -Lexington." - -"A boat is coming," shouted a man from the blockhouse. Shortly -afterward, the fishing party came in, tired but triumphant, with a -long string of river fish. They had seen no Indians, and had not met -Ronald. - -"Did you hear the gun?" asked the Captain. - -"Yes, sir," replied one of the soldiers. "We were up on the North -Branch and thought it was a warning, so we laid low for a while. Then, -as we didn't hear anything more, we came on down as quietly as we -could." - -"Everything all right at Lee's?" asked Lieutenant Howard. - -"As far as we saw, sir." - -Still there was uneasiness regarding the Ensign. Katherine was pale, -Mrs. Franklin was crying, and Beatrice had her small hands clenched -tightly together. Suddenly they all knew how much they should miss him -if---- - -Then there was a familiar whistle outside, the sentinel opened the -gate, and Ronald came in with a big black and white dog in his arms. - -"I thought I heard him howling," he said, in answer to the torrent of -questions, "so I went on up to Lee's to get him. The devils have been -there all right,--the guns must have frightened them away. - -"Yes," he continued in a low tone, in answer to a whispered question -from Howard; "White and Frenchy. White was shot and stabbed in the -breast and poor Frenchy was scalped--the whole top of his head lifted -off. The dog was guarding the body." - -"What's that?" asked Mrs. Franklin, from the edge of the group where -all the women were standing together. "Speak louder--we can't hear." - -The deep-toned bell tolled taps, and there was a general movement -toward quarters. "I was just talking about the dog," shouted Ronald to -the women. - -"He fought me at first," he continued, addressing the Lieutenant -and the Doctor; "but I soon won his heart. Poor old boy," he said, -stroking the dog, "he didn't want to be made into a stew, did he?" - -"We must go up to-morrow," said the Lieutenant. - -"What are you going to call him?" asked the Doctor. - -"Major, I guess--we haven't a major here." - -Lieutenant Howard's white teeth showed in a sarcastic smile. "You -might call him 'Captain,'" he said, twisting his mustache, "for the -same good reason." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THOROUGHBREDS - - -The guard was doubled that night and the small force was ready for -instant action. Sentinels patrolled the river bank and stood at the -gates; while in the blockhouses the cannon were trained through the -port-holes, and men kept vigilant watch. - -At three o'clock the terrified bleating of the sheep aroused every one -but the children. A sentinel fired his musket and retreated to the -Fort, then a heavy gun rumbled ominously. - -Once again the parade-ground filled with people. "What is it? What is -it?" they cried. - -"Indians," Captain Franklin explained. "They went after the horses, -but didn't find them, so they stabbed the sheep and turned them loose. -The sentry saw some of them in the pasture, and fired, then ran to the -Fort. A tomahawk just missed him--it grazed his head and struck a -waggon wheel. The cannon must have frightened them away." - -So it proved, for the next morning a trail of blood led from the -pasture toward the woods. The sheep lay dead on the plains around the -Fort, but search parties found nothing, though they scoured the woods -thoroughly for miles around. - -Chandonnais appeared at the usual time for work, but refused to say -where he had been. When he was asked unpleasant questions, he always -pretended that he did not understand, and from this position neither -man nor woman could swerve him a hair's breadth. - -Lieutenant Howard, with four men, went up the river to Lee's and -buried the two victims of the night before. "It wasn't good to look -at," he said to Ronald, when he returned. - -"I know," answered the Ensign; "I found out that much last night. I -didn't dare strike a light, but I felt----" He turned his face away -and swallowed hard. "Don't tell the women," he concluded. - -"I won't," said Howard, "and I've made the boys promise not to talk. -There's no use of making things worse than they are." - -Major sat at Ronald's feet, listening intelligently, and thumping the -ground vigorously with his bushy tail. "Poor old boy," said his new -master, affectionately; "it was pretty bad, wasn't it? He's a nice -dog, isn't he, Howard?" - -"Washing would help him." - -"He's going to have his Spring bath the first warm day. How do you -suppose dogs know whom they belong to? Major knows he's mine, and -nobody could get him away from me." - -Beatrice came out of Captain Franklin's and took a careful survey of -the Fort. It was a gloomy place at best, but the disorder of the night -made it worse. - -"Good-morning," said the Lieutenant, as he passed her on his way home. - -"Good-morning," returned the girl, including Ronald in the salutation. -Then she whistled to the dog, but he paid no attention to the call -other than to lean heavily against his master. - -"He's mine," laughed Ronald, meeting her, "and you can't have him. How -do you like living in the Fort?" - -"I don't like it," she answered disdainfully. "It's about as cheerful -as a tomb. I'm glad we're going home." - -Ronald lifted his brows inquiringly. "Who's going home?" - -"Why, all of us--Uncle John, Aunt Eleanor, the children, and--and -Cousin Rob." - -"Oh, no, you're not! You're going to stay here." - -"Who said so?" - -"I say so," replied George, mischievously. - -"Can't I go out of the Fort?" - -"No." - -"We'll see," said Beatrice, tossing her head. - -She ran to the gate, but he was there before her and effectually -barred the way. - -"Let me pass," she said icily. - -"I'm sorry, Miss Manning, but you can't go without permission from -the Captain. You are under military orders, and no soldier or citizen -is to leave the Fort without a guard. After sunset no one but the -sentries can pass the gates." - -"For how long?" demanded Beatrice. - -"Till the Captain orders otherwise." - -"And I'm to stay here, then, without a hat, or even a clean -handkerchief, until His Majesty sees fit to let me go to my own home -in broad daylight!" - -The colour flamed in her cheeks, and her eyes snapped dangerously. The -Ensign was enjoying the situation hugely, and thought Beatrice was -the prettiest girl he had ever seen. In fact, he was on the point of -saying so, but, fortunately, thought better of it. - -"You can go if I go with you," he suggested. - -"Then I'll stay here," announced Beatrice, with unconcealed scorn. She -walked away from him with her head high, and went straight to Captain -Franklin. - -"Gone to see if I lied to her," laughed Ronald to himself. "She's a -mettlesome damsel--devilish mettlesome." - -"That is my order," said the Captain, in answer to her question, "and -it must be obeyed." - -"Can't I go home at all?" - -"Certainly, for a few minutes at a time. Ask Ensign Ronald to go with -you this afternoon." - -The Captain turned away, and Beatrice gazed at his retreating figure -with fire in her eyes. "Fool!" she said aloud, stamping her foot; "I -won't ask him. I'll stay here till I die before I'll ask him!" - -Captain Franklin's house immediately became offensive to her, and -she knew Robert was at Katherine's, teaching the children. The -parade-ground was odious, because Ronald was walking briskly around -it for exercise. Her uncle passed her with the coolest kind of a nod, -remembering what she had said about Robert the night before, and she -began to wish she had never left Fort Wayne. - -Only the stables remained, and she went there to see the friend who -never failed her. Queen pranced in her stall and tapped with her -dainty hoofs impatiently. - -"I can't take you out, Beauty," she said sadly, "because they won't -let us leave the Fort." - -Queen put her nose into the girl's neck and was immediately slapped. -"You're not allowed to do that," said Beatrice, sternly, turning away. -Queen whinnied and Beatrice understood that the offender was very -sorry and very lonely, and would never do it again, so she went back. - -"I'll take you around the Fort if you'll be good," she said. Her -saddle was hanging there, but she preferred to ride without it, so she -replaced the halter with a bridle and went out, mounted, hoping Ronald -was not there. - -But he was still walking around the parade-ground, with Major in -his wake. Queen pricked up her ears but went on, obediently, at the -slow pace which was better than nothing. Ronald smiled to himself as -Beatrice crossed and turned so that if he kept on he would appear to -be following her. - -Twice, three times the procession went round the square, with the -dog bringing up the rear, before a bright idea struck the Ensign. -By slow-degrees he slackened his pace, and as they passed Lieutenant -Howard's for the fifth time, Mrs. Mackenzie came out on the piazza. - -"What's the matter, Bee?" she called; "can't you catch him?" - -In half a minute Queen was in her stall, much surprised, and not a -little displeased at the sudden termination of her exercise. "You -wretch," whispered Beatrice, as she dismounted; "whatever possessed -you to follow him?" - -The coast was clear when she left the stables, but she went to Mrs. -Howard's in a bad humour. She was not upon good terms with any one, -and would have have started back to Fort Wayne that afternoon if it -had been possible. She smiled grimly as she realised that, by her own -act, she had forever cut herself off from her friends there. "I'll -have to fight it out here," she said to herself; "I seem destined to -fight." - -Mrs. Franklin went to Mrs. Howard's to invite Beatrice to dinner, and -was much disappointed when she refused. "Thank you," Beatrice said, -trying hard to be pleasant; "but I'll stay with Aunty and Cousin Kit -this time. I haven't a doubt you'll get tired of me, though, before -His High Mightiness lets me go home." - -She could have bitten her tongue out for the unlucky speech, but, to -her relief, the Captain's wife misunderstood. "I saw you at the gate -this morning," she laughed, "arguing with George. It's no use--he -always has his own way." - -"What a narrow escape!" she exclaimed, as Mrs. Franklin went out. -"Aunt Eleanor, this is one of my bad days." - -"You mustn't say any day is bad, dear," replied Mrs. Mackenzie, -"because each one is what we make it. We begin afresh every morning -with the day in our own hands. I'm sorry this has happened; but I'm -very glad we had the Fort to come to, and I am sure you can find -something pleasant here if you only look for it." - -Nine people crowded around Mrs. Howard's table at dinner time, but -Mackenzie and Robert barely spoke to Beatrice. The tribal instinct was -strong in the trader, and Robert was of his blood. Katherine perceived -that something was wrong and did her best to produce harmony, in which -she was ably seconded by her husband. The Lieutenant was in a very -pleasant frame of mind. - -"Cousin Bee," said Ellen, "are you coming to visit the school this -afternoon?" Beatrice was talking with Katherine and did not seem to -hear. - -"Tuzzin Bee," screamed Maria Indiana, "is oo tummin?" - -"No, dear," answered Beatrice, quickly. - -"Why not?" asked Mrs. Mackenzie, innocently; "it might amuse you, Bee." - -"I doubt it," said the girl. "I'm going to help Kit." - -"Cousin Rob put her out," explained Johnny, "because she told a lie." - -Above everything else on earth, Beatrice hated to wash dishes, but she -plunged into the work with a will after dinner, as a penance, and in -spite of Mrs. Howard's protests. - -"It's so good of you to help me," sighed Katherine, as the last dish -was put away; "for mother is tired out, and I have a headache. None of -us slept much last night, I fancy." - -"I know I didn't, but I seldom sleep in the daytime. I wish you and -Aunt Eleanor would go and lie down. I can take care of myself." - -"All right," answered Katherine, "if you don't mind." - -Beatrice sat by the window a little while after the house became -quiet, then went over to Mrs. Franklin's, but there was no response to -her rap. "Everybody's asleep, I guess," she said to herself. - -She went to the gate and looked out longingly into the bright Spring -sunshine. The sentinel passed her with his musket over his shoulder, -and went on around the Fort. She heard his measured steps die away in -the distance, and wondered, mechanically, how long it took him to make -the round. - -It seemed a long time before she heard him coming. A pirogue was tied -to a sapling on the river bank and the oars lay near it. Across the -stream the lonely house was beckoning to her to come. She slipped -out of the gate and leaned up against the stockade outside. Then the -sentry passed again. - -"Against orders, Miss," he said. - -"What?" asked Beatrice. - -"Standin' outside." - -"Oh," she said, returning to the gate. "Can I stand here?" - -"Yes'm, if you don't go no further. Orders is to stay inside." - -"All right." She smiled brilliantly, then inquired, in a tone of -polite interest, "Are you all alone here?" - -"Yes'm. My mate's at mess." - -"Too bad. It's lonely for you, isn't it?" - -"Yes'm, but I'm used to it." - -He went on, and she watched him till he turned the first corner. A -backward glance assured her that the parade-ground was deserted, so -she edged out of the gate again, and, under cover of the stockade, ran -to the pirogue, snatched up the oars, and started across. - -The blood beat hard in her pulses, but she was not afraid, and the -rare delight of disobeying military orders set her head awhirl. She -expected to see the esplanade fill with soldiers, shouting to her to -come back, but nothing happened. She reached the other bank safely, -tied the pirogue, and ran into the house. From the window of the -living-room she saw the sentry pass once more. His head was bowed and -he did not notice that a boat was gone. - -Then Ronald came out of the Fort alone and took another boat. She -shrank back to the farthest corner of the room, and her heart stood -still until she saw him turn up-stream. "There," she said to herself, -"he's disobeying orders, too, for he's gone without a guard. If he can -do it, there's no reason why I shouldn't." - -Unconsciously, Beatrice had sustained a high nervous strain for too -long a period. The quarrel with her aunt and uncle at Fort Wayne had -been an affair of no small moment at the time, and the preparation -for the journey and the long horseback ride had told upon her -strength. The excitement of her arrival, new scenes and new faces, and -the fright of the night before had taxed her still further, and her -trouble with Robert had hurt her more deeply than she knew. She had -reached the fine dividing line between a let-down and a break. - -The indescribable loneliness of the house was depressing. The bare -walls seemed to whisper back and forth, and the table, still set for -supper, had a ghastly look about it. The rooms were not merely alone, -but untenanted. Cold ashes lay upon the hearths, the dust had settled -upon the chairs, and the sunlight outside only served to heighten the -gloom. - -In the schoolroom the books were piled neatly upon the table, and the -slates were clean--ready for the next day's task. She experienced -an unwonted twinge of conscience as she entered, unrebuked, and -remembered how exasperating she had been. - -At the Fort she had thought of many things she needed, but now her -errand seemed purposeless, and the pleasures of disobedience began to -pall. She went into her room, gathered up some of her toilet articles, -and stood there, listlessly, watching the sentinel as he passed again -without missing the boat. - -"They're fine soldiers," she said to herself. "They know lots." - -Then her heart gave a great leap, for there was a soft step at the -back door. Some one entered very quietly, and she became as cold and -immovable as if she had been made of stone. The catlike tread moved -slowly into the living-room, and she trembled like an aspen. She tried -to raise the window, thinking that she could scream if she could not -get out, but her hands shook so that it was useless. Meanwhile the -intruder came nearer, with the same stealthy steps. No one had crossed -the river and the sentinel was not in sight. - -Some one opened the door of the schoolroom and closed it with the -least possible noise. Then the hushed steps came nearer still, but -the window would not move. Her door was open, but she knew the -flimsy lock would not hold, even if she could manage to shut it. An -instant--now--she tried to shut her eyes, but could not--horror upon -horror came upon her--then Ronald entered her room. - -For a blind instant the earth whirled beneath her, then the -flood-gates opened and Beatrice wept. He did as any other man in his -place would have done and put a protecting arm around her, but, though -sorely tempted, manfully refrained from kissing her. - -"I'm so sorry I frightened you," he said, with bitter self-reproach. -"Don't, Beatrice--Miss Manning,--please don't cry any more!" - -As soon as she was conscious of her position, she drew away from him, -still sobbing. It was not only her fright, but the natural result of -the high tension at which she had lived for more than a week. He left -her and rummaged around until he found a bottle of brandy, then he -brought her a glass of water liberally strengthened with it. - -"Here," he said, "drink this." - -She obeyed, and in a few minutes began to recover her self-possession. -"How did you get here?" she asked. - -"I went up the river a little way, landed on this side, and walked -down to the back door. You didn't suppose I'd let you come over here -alone, did you?" - -"Did you see me when I came?" - -"Certainly. I expected you to do just what you did, and I kept my eye -on you. I knew you were in the house, because I saw the boat outside, -but I didn't mean to frighten you. I just thought I'd look around -until we met." - -"You--you--walked so softly," she said, with quivering lips. - -"Did I? That's the first time I've ever been accused of that. It must -have been your imagination." - -"Perhaps," she answered, with a long sigh. - -"If you have everything you want, we'll go back now." - -Scarcely conscious of what she did, she stooped to pick up the things -that had fallen to the floor. They seemed utterly useless for all -time, but she felt the necessity of action. As they turned to leave -the room, he took her cold hands in his and looked down into her wet -eyes. - -"Promise me," he said, "that you will never again disobey a military -order." - -She hesitated, and he repeated it. - -"How do you know I'd keep a promise?" she asked, to gain time. - -"Because you're a thoroughbred." - -Something in his eyes subdued her. "I promise," she said, almost in a -whisper. - -"All right. Now, we'll not say anything about this to any one--do you -understand?" - -She was still trembling when he helped her into the pirogue, and -neither spoke while they were crossing. When they entered the gate, -Captain Franklin met them. - -"Did she ask you to take her over?" he inquired of Ronald. - -The Ensign's eyes met his squarely. "Yes, sir." - -"Did you go together? I thought I saw you going alone." - -"We went together. She was waiting for me outside." - -"Very well. I will have no disobedience of my orders--remember that, -both of you." - -"Don't faint," George whispered, warningly, as the Captain walked -away. "It's all right now, but that's the first time I ever lied--in -my official capacity." - -Beatrice put a small, icy hand into his own. "Thank you," she said -quietly; "you're a thoroughbred, too." - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -ON THE FORT WAYNE TRAIL - - -As silently as they had gone, the Indians returned. No one but the -sentinels saw the ghostly procession when it passed the Fort from the -southward, in the grey mists of dawn. Black Partridge was still at the -head, the others following him in single file. - -The deserted wigwams in the hollow were as they had left them, and -inside of an hour they had taken up the thread of existence at the -point where the annual pilgrimage had broken it off. Some exchanges of -gifts were made among them; but, in the main, each one was satisfied -with what he had received. - -Early in the morning the chief went to the trading station, and, -finding it deserted, went immediately to the Fort in search of -his friend Shaw-nee-aw-kee. They had a long conversation on the -parade-ground, and soldiers and civilians gathered around them, -listening impatiently until the interpreter was ready to speak. - -"I understand it now," said Mackenzie to the Captain. "He says -that while they were up in Canada, the Chippewas and Ottawas sent -speeches among them, saying the northern tribes had heard that the -Pottawattomies and Winnebagoes were not upon good terms with the white -people and that they desired them to be friendly. His own people only -laughed, but the Winnebagoes determined to show their independence in -a refusal to obey the commands of other tribes. So a dozen braves came -here to take some white scalps, that they might flaunt them in the -faces of the others. He says a large force was waiting in the woods, -and that they would doubtless have killed every one outside of the -Fort, even if they did not make an attack upon the Fort itself, but -that the guns of the White Father frightened them away." - -Here the chief began to talk again, with many gestures. - -"He says," continued Mackenzie, "that we need not now be afraid, since -he and his people have returned to protect us. He is sorry that his -friends have suffered during his absence, and after this a part of the -tribe will always remain here, while the others go after their gifts." - -"We can go home, then," said Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"Isn't he splendid!" exclaimed Beatrice. "I'd like to paint his -picture. Do you think he'd let me, Uncle John?" - -It took a great deal of explanation to make Black Partridge -understand, but he finally consented, on condition that the picture -would be given to him. "He's afraid the white squaw will make a -charm," said Mackenzie. - -"All right," laughed Beatrice. "I can make several sketches, and he -can have one of the pictures. He needn't know I make more than one." - -By night the Mackenzies were in their own home again, and, as the -weeks passed, the fear was forgotten by all save Beatrice. She -could not enter her own room without a vivid remembrance of her -fright, coupled with the consciousness that she had cried like a -baby, and that the Ensign had put his arm around her unrebuked. She -hated herself for her weakness and blamed herself bitterly for her -foolishness, because, if she had only stopped to think, she would have -known the difference in sound between a moccasin and an army boot. - -Still, at night, she would sometimes start from troubled dreams with -the same deadly fear upon her and tremble long after she knew she was -awake and safe. Behind it all was something she did not care to think -of, but memory gave her no peace. - -Pictures, clear and distinct, intruded upon her mental vision against -her will. She saw Robert leaning on his musket, the only man in -the Fort who was not up and doing when danger seemed imminent, and -shuddered at the look on his face when she called him a coward. In -his eyes there had been something of the same reproach with which -a dog regards the well-loved master who has unjustly struck him. -"Lexington!" she said to herself over and over again; "his fathers -fought there, and I called their son a coward!" - -Swiftly upon the memory came the sound of his voice when he had cried, -"Beatrice, do you despise me?" and the sight of his strained, eager -face, as he waited for her to speak. The knowledge of her answer made -her shrink from herself with bitterness and shame. The obvious course -of apology lay open to her, but her pride refused to humble itself -that far. Time and time again she had determined to make partial -atonement in that way, but her stubborn lips would not move to shape -the word "forgive." - -Robert seemed to have forgotten, and each day he made himself dearer -to the Mackenzies. Between the trader and his college-bred nephew -there slowly grew one of those rare friendships possible only to men. -Mackenzie had not spent his life upon the frontier without learning to -understand his fellow-man, and to read, though perhaps roughly, the -inner meaning of outward semblances. In Robert he saw the blood of the -Forsyths undefiled--the martial spirit was there, educated, refined, -and tempered until it was akin to polished steel. From his mother the -boy had received broad charity and a great gentleness, as well as the -adamantine pride which is at once the strength and terror of a woman's -heart. - -Mrs. Mackenzie had quickly learned to love him, and with her he took -the place of a grown son. He helped her in countless little ways, and -often sat with his arm thrown over her shoulders while she sewed upon -the rough garments her husband wore, and talked to him as she worked. -The children idolised him. - -From all this Beatrice felt herself an outcast, though there was no -visible evidence that she was not one of them. The trader laughed and -joked with her as he always had done, and her aunt regarded her with -tender affection. Maria Indiana and the baby adored her, and the other -children openly admired her, in spite of a lingering belief that she -had broken one of the Ten Commandments. Still, she was not satisfied, -for every day she remembered, with a pang of self-reproach, and Robert -stood aloof. He never failed to be courteous and considerate, yet -between them was a cold, impenetrable distance which never softened in -the slightest degree. - -Beatrice and Ronald were great friends. His unnatural shyness had -worn off, but he did not treat her with the easy familiarity the -other women at the post had learned to expect from him. He was quite -capable of teasing Mrs. Howard and Mrs. Franklin to the limit of -their endurance; but Mrs. Mackenzie and Beatrice were included in the -manifestations of deep respect. - -Mr. and Mrs. Burns decided to leave the post and go to Fort Wayne, -where they had relatives, as soon as Mrs. Burns was able to travel. -The man and boy who had escaped from the Indians at Lee's determined -to go with them. The farm was too far away from the Fort to be -altogether safe, and a kind of disembodied horror had hung about the -place since the killing of the two men and the savage mutilation of -their bodies. - -Black Partridge and a few of the Pottawattomies volunteered to -accompany them to Fort Wayne whenever they might be ready to start. -For a time it was thought best to take one of the waggons at the Fort; -but Spring was at hand, and there would doubtless be streams which a -waggon could not successfully ford. - -Ronald assisted Mr. Burns in selecting and packing the few things they -were to take with them, and their household effects were distributed -among the Indians who were to compose the guard. The four white people -were to ride horseback and the Indians were to follow on foot, riding -the horses back when the others had safely reached Fort Wayne. - -"Miss Manning," said Ronald one afternoon, "we are having trouble in -finding a horse suitable for Mrs. Burns. Would you be willing to lend -her yours?" - -"No, I wouldn't," snapped Beatrice. - -"The horse will be brought back safely," pleaded the Ensign. - -"No, she won't, because she isn't going." - -Ronald's face changed and he left her without another word. - -"I don't care," said Beatrice to herself; "she couldn't ride Queen -anyway. Queen wouldn't let her--nobody has ever ridden her but me." -Later, it occurred to her that she might have explained more fully -to Ronald, but she put the thought from her as unworthy of a proud -spirit. She knew that he had put her down as selfish, but repeatedly -told herself that she did not care. - -The day was set for their departure, and they were to start at -sunrise. The night before, Beatrice found it impossible to sleep, -and, long before daylight, she got up and dressed. Because there was -nothing to do in the house and she was afraid of waking the others, -she went out on the piazza. - -Across the river there were signs of life, and she got into a pirogue -with the laudable desire to say good-bye to Mrs. Burns. When she -reached the Fort, Mrs. Franklin and Katherine were already up and -assisting Mrs. Burns in her preparations for the journey; but the -Captain and Lieutenant Howard were not there. - -Suddenly it occurred to Beatrice that she might take Queen and ride -a little way along the trail. She had been over the ground before -and was not afraid to come back alone. Without saying anything of -her intention, she appeared on the parade-ground, mounted, and met a -chorus of protests. - -"It isn't safe for you to go alone," said Mrs. Franklin. - -"Please don't, Bee," added Katherine. - -"Really, Miss Manning," observed Doctor Norton, "it is not best for -you to go." - -"I'm not afraid," replied the girl, with a toss of her head. - -The party she had determined to escort, individually and collectively, -offered feeble objections, which were immediately waved aside. "I'm -going," said Beatrice, "because I want to, and because it would break -Queen's heart if we went back now." - -"What's all this fuss about?" inquired Ronald, sauntering up, and -rubbing his eyes. - -The women explained all at once, in incoherent sentences; but Beatrice -did not appear to hear any part of the conversation until he ended it -by saying, "She can go if she wants to, because I'm going along." - -Beatrice bit her lip. "You are not," she said, in a tone of command. - -"Yes, I am," he laughed; "and, moreover, you are never to ride out of -the gate of the Fort unless an officer goes with you." - -She turned and looked at him scornfully, and Ronald, still laughing, -saluted. "A military order, Miss Manning." - -It was scarcely light when they started, with Beatrice leading the -way. Queen's eager feet fairly flew, and the girl's pulses caught the -exultant sense of life. The others fell far behind, and Beatrice -doubled and crossed on the trail wherever it was possible. - -They had gone about six miles from the Fort when she reined in and -waited for the others to come up, then made her adieux. - -"Why do you say good-bye?" asked Ronald. - -"Why, because I'm going back now." - -"Oh, are you coming back? I thought you were going to Fort Wayne." - -She made no reply, but watched the four riders as they turned a little -away from the lake and went south-west over the prairie. A pack horse, -Black Partridge, and four other Indians were following them. - -"What made you think I was going to Fort Wayne?" she asked. - -"Nothing, only you had such a good start. Besides, you live there, -don't you?" - -"No," she said slowly, "I live here. I fought at Fort Wayne." - -"Indeed!" remarked Ronald, with polite interest. "Indians or soldiers?" - -The pink flush upon her face deepened. "Shall we go back, now?" - -"As you please, Miss Manning." - -She went ahead, leaving him to follow or not as he chose. - -"I wish Major was here," he called to her. - -"Why?" she asked, over her shoulder. - -"Because it's the same kind of a procession we had around the -parade-ground, and I enjoyed that so much." - -Beatrice apparently had not heard, for she went on at the same -leisurely pace. At her right, touched here and there with silver, the -lake lay like a sheet of dusky pearl. Far in the east was spread the -glowing tapestry of dawn, and the rising wind stirred the girl's hair -faintly as she looked across the water, with the sunrise reflected on -her face. - -Ronald saw her pure, proud profile, touched to exceeding beauty by the -magic light of morning, and an unconscious, childish wistfulness in -the lines of her mouth. A lump came into his throat and he swallowed -hard. The morning was in his blood, and he had a quick sense of -uplifting, as if his heart had suddenly found its wings. - -Then Beatrice turned still more toward him. "It's beautiful, isn't -it?" she asked, softly. - -All of her harshness seemed to have fallen from her; she was radiant -and exquisitely womanly in this new mood, and the boy's soul knelt in -worship. - -"Why wouldn't you let me come alone?" - -"Because I didn't want you frightened," he answered. - -The dimple at the corner of her mouth was barely manifest as she said, -demurely, "You should have stayed, then; for you are the one who -frightened me." - -"I'm sorry," he said. "I told you that before." - -"Yes, I know." She sighed, and added, "It was awful, though, and I -shall never forget it." - -"Neither shall I." - -He was beside her now, for the trail had widened, and he put his hand -upon the small white one that held Queen's bridle. - -"That day," he said huskily, "you put your hand in mine,--when we met -the Captain,--a little, cold hand." - -She nodded, but did not take her hand away. "I was dreadfully -frightened then, and you saved me." - -His blood leaped in his veins. "That's nothing--I'd do more than that -for you, any time. I had my reward before I had earned it." - -The girl's violet eyes opened wide. "I don't understand." - -"Have you forgotten that I had my arm around you, just for a minute? I -have dreamed of it ever since--dear." - -For an instant she saw him as if he had been a young Greek god, -strangely met in the fields of Arcady; then the glamour passed and he -was only an awkward soldier in a shabby uniform. She cut Queen with -her riding-whip and went furiously ahead, but a boyish, troubled face -was close beside her. - -"Have I offended you?" - -Beatrice smiled with calm superiority. "You shouldn't say such -things," she replied; "you're far too young." - -"Huh!" he retorted, with spirit, "I'm twenty-five!" - -"Twenty-five?" she repeated incredulously; "I don't believe it. Why, -I'm twenty myself, and I never thought you were more than eighteen." - -She laughed wickedly as she saw him squirm. Through long experience -she had found that shaft one of the most effective in her repertory, -which was not by any means limited. More than once it had quenched an -incipient declaration as effectually as if it had been a shower of -cold water. - -They rode in silence till they reached the Fort. "Shall I take you -across?" he asked. - -"No, thank you; I can go by myself, if there is no military order -against it; but you may take Queen to the stables, if you like." - -She dismounted, taking no note of his proffered assistance, and went -to the river without another word. He watched her until she landed, -then turned away, leading Queen. "A rose, a little rose," he said to -himself; "but, oh, the thorns!" - -When Beatrice arrived, she found the family in a state of high -excitement. Mackenzie was just preparing to go over to the Fort and -ask that a search party be sent out to look for her. He had surmised -that she had returned to Fort Wayne until he found that none of her -things were missing, and he received her explanation in stolid silence. - -"Why didn't you tell us, Bee?" asked Mrs. Mackenzie. "You gave us all -a fright." - -"Dear Aunt Eleanor," she cooed, rubbing her soft cheek against Mrs. -Mackenzie's, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know I was going till I got ready -to start,--I never know,--and I did not dream that any one would care." - -Robert had been conducting a private search on his own account, and a -tell-tale relief crossed his face when he came in and found her at the -breakfast table. - -"Were you worried about me, Cousin Rob?" - -The deep, vibrant contralto voice thrilled him, but he told his lie -well. "No," he answered, carelessly, "of course not. Why should I be?" - -The new mood of softness lasted all day. Beatrice did not stop to -analyse, but she was dimly conscious that something strange had -happened to her. At twilight she went out on the piazza, humming -happily to herself, and Robert smiled at her as she came toward the -open window of his room. - -He had an old sword in his hand and was rubbing the thin blade with a -handkerchief. "What are you doing?" she asked, curiously. - -"Just cleaning this." - -"Is it yours?" - -"Yes, it is now; but it was my grandfather's." He straightened -instinctively, as if in answer to some far-away bugle, and looked at -her without seeming to see. "He fought at Lexington." - -His voice betrayed his pride of blood, and his nostrils dilated with -a quick, inward breath. His hands moved lovingly along the keen -blade--and then Beatrice humbled herself. - -"Cousin Rob," she began, impulsively, "I want to tell you something. -I'm sorry and ashamed for----" - -Scarlet signals were flaming in her cheeks, and he interrupted -her. "Say no more about it," he said generously; "we were all -unaccountably excited, and at such times we say and do things that -otherwise we would not. Forget about it." - -"I'll be glad to," she answered earnestly; but in her heart of hearts -she knew she was not forgiven. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A GLEAM AFAR - - -As warm weather approached, the children grew restless under so much -schooling, and Robert made Saturday a holiday. In order to help his -uncle more efficiently, he was trying to learn the Indian tongue, -but found it far more difficult than Greek and Latin, and made many -ludicrous mistakes. Mackenzie was very patient with him, and Black -Partridge made occasional comments and suggestions, being deeply -flattered by the college man's desire to learn from him. - -The trader had told him of the great school in the East, where -Forsyth had learned everything that was written down in books, and -yet could not talk with the Indians, or make a fire by rubbing sticks -together; and the implied superiority of the chief had its own subtle -gratification. - -The women at the Fort were very fond of Beatrice, and she made daily -visits there, but time began to hang heavily upon her hands. Without -knowing why, she was restless and unhappy, and, after the manner of -her sex, attributed it to some hidden illness of the body rather than -the mind. - -"I feel as if I simply must go somewhere or do something," she said to -Doctor Norton, in a vain effort to explain her unrest. - -He examined her pulse and tongue, then laughed at her. "You're all -right," he said; "there's nothing on earth the matter with you." - -"There is, too," she contradicted. "I don't feel right and I need -medicine." - -"Quinine?" - -She made a wry face. "No, I don't need that." - -"Sulphur and molasses?" - -Beatrice turned up her nose in high disdain. "Is that all you can -think of?" - -"No," replied the Doctor, "I have other remedies, but I want to -give you something that would please you. If you feel that you need -medicine, my entire stock is at your service. I ask only for the right -to supervise your selection, as we don't want you poisoned." - -They were sitting on the piazza, and the girl's laugh reached the -schoolroom and set the teacher's heart to throbbing. He could steel -himself against her smiles and her playful pouting, but when she -laughed, he was lost. - -"I don't think you'd care much," observed Beatrice, "whether I was -poisoned or not, just so you didn't have to give up any of your -precious medicines. You're selfish--that's all." - -"What more can I do, Miss Manning? I've offered you all my worldly -goods. Which bottle do you want?" - -"Thank you, I've decided not to rob you. I'll die, if I have to, -without medical aid." - -"Some people prefer it," murmured Norton. - -"How did you happen to come here?" she asked abruptly. - -He started slightly, remembering the face that led him, like a star, -from one frontier post to another, but he merely said: "An army -surgeon has no choice. We go where we are sent by the powers that be." - -"I'd hate to be sent anywhere." - -"I believe you," replied the Doctor, smiling; "and if you were -told you couldn't go anywhere that place would immediately become -desirable." - -"Wonderful insight," commented Beatrice. "Or perhaps some one has told -you?" - -"No, I don't always have to be told. I can see some things, you know." - -"That's what Katherine told me. She said you could see through -anything or anybody, especially a woman. Your glance goes right -through us and ties in a bow-knot behind. I can feel the strings -dangling from my shoulders now." - -Robert came to the door, followed by the children, who were eager to -get outdoors for the short recess they had every day. Beatrice had -a little insight of her own, and had noted the change in Norton's -face when Katherine was mentioned, and the quick, inquiring look in -Robert's eyes as he greeted them both. - -"Forsyth," said the Doctor, "I'm going now, and I turn this refractory -patient over to you. She needs to get outdoors and walk till she -drops--it's the only cure for impudence. Will you see that she does -it?" - -"Certainly, if she will go with me." - -"I'll go," put in Beatrice, "if I have to take medicine." - -They watched the Doctor until he started across the river. "Perhaps," -said Robert, "you'd rather some one else would go with you. If so, it -can be easily arranged." - -"Now, Cousin Rob," said the girl, coaxingly, "don't be horrid to me. -You're the only cousin I have, except Katherine and the infants; and -as long as I'm here you'd better make the best of me." - -His heart suddenly contracted. "Are you going away?" - -"I can't," she laughed. "I have nowhere to go." - -Robert smiled curiously. "When do you want to go, and where?" - -"Saturday morning," she replied; "to the woods, after flowers." - -"Very well," he said, quietly, turning away. - -To one of them the days passed slowly, but on Saturday, when Beatrice -expressed surprise at the rapid flight of time, Forsyth unhesitatingly -chimed in. She looked at him narrowly when she thought he did not know -it, and put him down as a self-absorbed prig. - -She was at odds with herself when they started, but it was one of -those rare mornings which May sets like a jewel upon the rosary of -the year. They walked north along the lake shore, and, since silence -seemed to suit her, he wisely said nothing. - -Gradually peace crept into her heart, and as they approached the woods -they turned to the west, where white blossoms were set on thorny -boughs and budded maples were crimson with new leaves. - -"You were good to bring me here," she said gratefully; "it seems like -an enchanted way." - -"I am glad to give you pleasure," he replied conventionally. - -The ground was still hidden under the brown leaves of October, that -rustled gently with a passing breeze or echoed the fairy tread of the -Little People of the Forest, playing hide-and-seek in the wake of -Spring. As Beatrice walked ahead of him, it seemed to Forsyth that she -belonged to the woods, as truly as did the nymphs and dryads of old. - -Buttercups scattered garish gold around them, and beyond, among the -trees, the wild geranium rose on its slender stalk, making a phantom -bit of colour against the background of dead leaves. Between the mossy -stumps budded mandrakes were huddled closely together, afraid to bloom -till others had led the way. Beatrice looked around her and drew a -long breath, then gently stroked a satin bud upon a bare stalk of -hickory. - -"Why don't you pick something?" asked Robert, with a laugh. "That's -what we came for, isn't it?" - -"No, I can't pick things. I feel as if I were hurting them. Suppose -you lived here in this lovely place and a giant came along and broke -you off at the waist to take your head home with him--how do you -suppose you'd feel?" - -"I don't think I'd feel anything after the break. Besides, that's not -a fair hypothesis. There is no real analogy." - -"Hy-poth-e-sis," repeated Beatrice, looking at him, mischievously; -"did I pronounce it right?" - -"Of course--why?" - -"Because," she answered, with her eyes dancing, "it's a nice word and -I'd like to learn it. I want to say it to Doctor Norton. Some of his -words are as long at that, but they're not nearly so complicated, and -I yearn to excel in his own specialty." - -The girl's mock reverence for his learning irritated him unspeakably, -and he closed his lips in a thin, tight line. - -"Cousin Rob," she said, putting her hand on his arm, and with -bewildering kindness in her tone, "can't you take me just as I am?" - -The temptation to take her, just as she was, into his arms, made him -draw back a step or two. "I always make a point of that," he said, -clearing his throat. - -Then a vista opened before them, which might have been a field of -Paradise. Across the plain, where the dead goldenrod of Autumn still -lingered, there were white blossoms on invisible branches, set -against the turquoise sky, as still as stars of frost. It was as -though a cloud of white butterflies had paused for an instant, with -every dusty wing longing for flight. - -Great white triliums bloomed in clusters farther on, with here and -there a red one, lonely as a lost child. Far to the right was a little -hollow filled with wild phlox, shading from white to deepest lavender, -and breathing the haunting fragrance which no one ever forgets. - -"Let's go to the lake," she said. - -Tall bluffs rose on either side where they turned eastward, with -triliums and dog-tooth violets within easy reach, and a robin's cheery -chirp was answered by another far away. Slanting sunbeams came like -arrows of light into the shadow of the woods, and at the shore line -was an expanse of sand which shone like silver under the white light -of noon. - -"Why do you stand there?" asked Beatrice. "Why don't you sit down?" - -"I was just looking at something." - -"What?" - -"Come here--perhaps you can see." - -She strained her eyes in the direction he indicated, but -unsuccessfully. "I don't see anything," she said; "what is it like?" - -"I don't know. It's something shiny, but it isn't a bird, because it -doesn't move." - -"Birds aren't shiny, anyway," objected Beatrice. "Let's eat our lunch." - -"I'm willing, for it's getting heavy, and I'd rather carry it inside." - -Beatrice laughed until the tears rolled down her cheeks. "That's the -first time I ever heard you say anything funny," she said, wiping her -eyes. "Mr. Ronald is always saying funny things." - -A dubious smile crossed Robert's face, and there was a long silence. -"I wish you'd show me that shiny thing again, Cousin Rob," she said at -length; "I'm interested in it." - -"You didn't seem to be." - -"That's because I was hungry," she explained. "I feel better now, and -by the time we've finished our lunch I'll be absorbingly interested in -it." - -Robert stood on the sand, in the same place as before, and saw the -silvery gleam again. Then she took his place and saw it, too. "Why," -she said, "isn't it queer? Do you think it's the sun on a birch?" - -"No, it's too high, and birches don't often grow on the very edge of -the shore." - -"That isn't the edge." - -"Well, it's near it. The light just hangs in the air. There doesn't -seem to be anything behind it. I've often seen stray gleams in the -woods and tried to find them, but I never found anything. It's a -daylight will-o'-the-wisp." - -"Let's follow this one," suggested Beatrice. - -They walked along the hard sand, close to the water, stopping every -few steps to find the gleam. Sometimes it was only a thread of light, -detached and unrelated to anything around it, then in other places it -was a white glare, like the reflection thrown from a mirror. - -Often they lost it, but found it again a little farther on. Beatrice -was tired but determined, and kept on for what seemed miles. Then -they stopped several times without finding it. "Let's go up into the -woods," she said; "perhaps we'll see it again from there." - -They climbed the steep bluff of sand, with the aid of bushes and -cotton wood saplings, and for an instant caught the light again, then -it vanished. The girl was pale, and Robert feared they had come too -far. - -"We'll go back," he said, "as soon as you rest for a little while. Why -didn't you tell me you were tired?" - -"Because I'm not," she retorted. "I'm willing to rest a little while, -but I'm going to find it." - -They sat down under the spreading branches of an elm for a few -minutes, then, in spite of his expostulations, Beatrice started north -again. "We can walk till midnight," he pleaded, "without finding it, -and it's foolish, anyway." - -"No, it isn't; see there!" - -In the air, between the bluff and the lake, hung a shimmering thread -of light which seemed close by, and all at once he became as eager as -she. They walked rapidly for a few moments, then Beatrice stopped. - -"Why," she said, in a high key, "it's a house!" - -"Be careful," warned Robert, "we'd better go back." - -"I'm not going back till I see. I've come too far!" - -A little farther on, they came to it. Set far back into the bluff, so -that only the face of it was visible, was a little one-roomed cabin, -built of logs. The door was open, but the place was empty, as Beatrice -discovered. "Come in," she said hospitably. - -"We'd better go back," said Forsyth, warningly. "Come!" - -"I will, in just a minute." - -She took a long look about the room, then came out. From the top of -the cabin, which projected only a foot or so from the bluff, and -suspended from a whittled branch not quite weather-worn, hung a silver -cross, fully eight inches high, with a wondrously moulded figure of -the Christ stretched upon it. - -Robert's eyes followed hers, and for a few minutes neither spoke. -"That's what we saw," she murmured, in a low tone; "that's the light -that led us here--the sun upon the cross!" - -"Come," said Robert, firmly, taking her by the arm. - -Reluctantly she let him lead her away, and they turned south, keeping -close to the lake shore, but out of the sand. - -"Who lives there?" she asked. - -"Why, I don't know--how should I?" - -"It was neat inside, and there was blue clay and chips in the cracks, -just as there is at home. There was a fireplace, too, but I didn't see -any chimney." - -"There was a chimney, though, of some dark-coloured stone. It looked -like a stump on the bluff. I noticed it while you were inside." - -"There's no dark-coloured stone around here." - -"Then it must have been limestone darkened with mud. I didn't get near -enough to see." - -"Somebody lives there," said Beatrice. "There was a narrow bed, with -a blue-and-white patchwork quilt upon it, and two chairs made out of -barrels, and a little table and shelves,--do you think Indians live -there?" - -"It's possible. Some of them may be more civilised than the rest -and prefer to live in a house--in the Winter, at least," he added, -remembering the panes of glass in the front of the house, either side -of the door. - -"It's queer that a cross like that should be there." - -"Stolen," he suggested promptly, "from some Catholic church in the -wilderness." - -"I'll tell you what," she said, after a long silence; "let's say -nothing about it to any one--just keep it a secret for the present. -What do you say?" - -"I'm willing." The idea of a secret with his pretty cousin was far -from unpleasant to Robert. - -"Because, if the others knew, some of the soldiers would go there--Mr. -Ronald would be the first one. Besides, I've noticed that if you -really want to find out about anything, you always can, though it -takes time. I'd rather we'd find out by ourselves, wouldn't you?" - -Robert thought he would. - -"I think," she continued, "that some of the Indians live there, as -you said, and that the cross was stolen and hung over the door for an -ornament. Perhaps Black Partridge lives there--he seems to know more -than the rest." - -"Yes; that's possible. Anyhow, we'll find out without asking -anybody,--is that it?" - -"That's a bargain. Whoever lives there doesn't want to be bothered, -for you can't see the house at all except from the shore; and in -Summer, when the canoes are passing, it must be pretty well hidden by -the saplings and the undergrowth on the ledge in front of it. There's -just one place there where anybody can get down--a steep little path, -worn smooth." - -"You saw a great deal in a few minutes, didn't you?" asked Robert, -admiringly. - -"Of course," she answered, with a toss of her head. "A woman can see -more in one minute than a man can see in sixty--didn't you know that?" - -"I didn't, but I do now." - -Silver-winged gulls glistened in the sun for a moment, then plunged -into the cool softness below. A rabbit track wound a leisurely way -across the sand and disappeared at the bluff. Down a ravine came a -tiny stream, murmuring sleepily all along its way to the lake. - -Beatrice sighed and her eyes drooped. "Take me home," she said. - -The blue of the water grew deeper, then changed to grey. The white -clouds turned to rose and gold, touched with royal purple, and the -wings of the gulls no longer shone. A bluejay with slow-beating wings -sank to his nest in a lofty maple, and, somewhere, a robin chirped -mournfully, as if he, too, were tired. - -At last they came to the edge of the woods and saw the house, with the -four tall poplars at the gate, the shimmering gold of sunset upon the -river, and the Fort beyond. The exquisite peace of the woods had been -like that of another sphere. There was a twittering of little birds in -swaying nests, a sudden chill, a shadow, and a mist. The fairy patter -was hurried and hushed, the rustling leaves were quiet, and she leaned -wearily upon his arm. - -"Tired?" he asked tenderly. - -"Yes," she answered, smiling back at him, "but happy. Thank you for a -perfect day." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A JUNE DAY - - -On a warm morning in June, Beatrice took her despised sewing under an -unwilling arm and went over to Mrs. Howard's. Mrs. Franklin was there -also, and they all sat on the porch, under the impression that it was -cooler there than indoors. - -"I wish you girls would show me how this goes," pleaded Beatrice. -She was making herself a gown of pink calico, and encountering new -difficulties at every turn. - -"Where's your pattern," asked Katherine. - -"I haven't any map," returned Beatrice; "I lost it. I sawed this out -by an old one." - -"It looks as if it had been sawed," laughed Mrs. Franklin. "Why didn't -you ask Mrs. Mackenzie to help you cut it?" - -"Because I didn't want Aunt Eleanor to be ashamed of me." - -"She doesn't mind us," put in Katherine. - -"Stop teasing," commanded Beatrice, "and show me how to put the thing -together. Which piece goes where?" - -Mrs. Franklin took the skirt and Katherine went to work at the waist, -pinning and basting firmly, so that there could be no mistake in the -result. Beatrice leaned lazily against the side of the house and -watched them admiringly, praising their skill now and then in accents -suspiciously soft. - -"She's been taking lessons from George," remarked Mrs. Franklin. -"That's the way he gets things done." - -"Speaking of angels----" said Katherine. - -Ronald crossed the parade-ground and joined the group. "What's that -thing?" he asked, contemptuously indicating the pink calico. - -"It's clothes," replied Beatrice, with spirit; "don't you wish you -were going to have new ones?" - -The Ensign's answering laugh had a hollow sound to it, for the shabby -clothing at Fort Dearborn was a sore spot with both officers and men, -even though new and proper raiment was said to be on the way. - -"You might make me some," he suggested, "and I'll promise to -encourage you while you do it." - -"No, thank you," she returned loftily; "you'd be in the way." - -"I expect I'm in the way now," he observed, making himself more -comfortable against the pillar of the porch. "When needles fly, -women's tongues fly faster; when women sew, they rip their husbands to -pieces." - -A faint flush came into Mrs. Franklin's face as she bent over her work. - -"I'll wager, now," continued Ronald, "that when you saw me coming, you -had to change the subject. Mrs. Franklin was explaining the vagaries -of the Captain, Mrs. Howard was telling what she was obliged to put up -with, and Miss Manning was talking about me." - -The implication sharpened the edge of the girl's tongue. "You ought -to be very glad you're not married," she said sweetly; "and it goes -without saying that you never will be. Nobody on earth would have you!" - -"Don't quarrel, children," put in Katherine, hastily. "Here comes -Ralph." - -The Lieutenant sat down opposite Ronald and wiped his forehead. -"Lord!" he exclaimed, "isn't it hot!" - -"Get a little closer to Miss Manning," advised the Ensign. "She's in -an icy mood this morning." - -Beatrice and Howard smiled at each other understandingly. "Be careful -what you say," warned Mrs. Franklin; "they've decided that they're -cousins." - -"Yes," replied the Lieutenant, "we've got it all settled. We're -step-cousins-in-law once removed. Want to go for a ride, Ronald? -Forsyth and I are going a little way down the trail." - -"Which trail?" - -"Fort Wayne, of course." - -"Yes, I'll go," said the Ensign, rising; "it can't be any hotter on -horseback than it is here." - -When the three men rode off, Beatrice pouted. "Why didn't they ask me -to go?" - -"I guess they're going swimming," returned Mrs. Franklin, "for Mr. -Forsyth had some towels." - -"Here's your waist," said Katherine; "did you shrink the goods?" - -"Did I what?" - -"Shrink it. Wash it, you know." - -"Indeed I didn't. Why should I wash it when it's new?" - -"Here's your skirt," said Mrs. Franklin. "You'd better make a narrow -hem and run a tuck or two above it so you can let it down. I'm going -home now, because Wallace is all alone. Good-bye." - -Beatrice went to work gingerly, and Mrs. Howard watched her for a few -moments, then took pity. "I'll help you," she said, "I have nothing -else to do." - -The work progressed rapidly, and they went into the house frequently -to fit the gown. "I can wear it to-night, I believe," said the girl, -delightedly. "I didn't know sewing was so easy!" - -"Don't be too hopeful--there's lots to do yet." - -Noon came on apace and the heat increased. Shimmering waves hung over -the parade-ground and vibrated visibly. There was not a tree within -the enclosure of the Fort, and the flag hung limply from the staff, -stirring only when the hot wind from the south-west swept over the -sandy plains. - -Doctor Norton came out, looked around the deserted Fort, and crossed -to Lieutenant Howard's. - -"Where are you going?" asked Beatrice, indicating an Indian basket he -was carrying. - -"I'm going to the woods--primarily, to find a cool place, and, -secondarily, to gather roots and simples. Some of my medicines have -given out and I'm going to make a new supply if I can find the proper -plants." - -Katherine was sewing busily and took no part in the conversation, but -there was a scarlet signal on either cheek. - -"If you get enough of anything," said Beatrice, "the poor souls under -your care can have some of it, can't they?" - -"Certainly." - -"What do you expect to get around here?" - -"Oh, lots of things. Wild ginger, for instance--would you like some of -that?" - -"Don't care for it," she answered conclusively. - -"Would you like a concoction of May apples?" - -"I believe I would--it sounds well." - -"My dear girl," said Norton, seriously, "the root of the mandrake is -such a deadly poison that the Indians give it to their enemies." - -"I must remember that," murmured the girl. "I may need it for mine." - -The Doctor laughed, then turned to Mrs. Howard. "Are you well?" he -asked anxiously. - -Katherine's eyes met his. "Yes," she answered, but her voice was -scarcely audible. There was an uneasy moment for both of them, then he -went away. - -Beatrice took up her sewing again and saw that Katherine's hands were -trembling. "He's an abrupt person," she said; "don't you think so?" - -"Yes," answered the other, in a low tone. - -"He's lovable in a way, though, don't you think so? I wonder why he -has never married?" - -Katherine started and her lips moved, but there was no sound. Beatrice -looked into her face for an illuminating instant--then she knew. - -"Katherine!" she cried, in horror. - -Mrs. Howard dropped her work and fled into the house, trying to lock -the door, but the girl was too quick for her. - -"Katherine, dear!" cried Beatrice, with her arms around the trembling -woman, "don't be afraid of me! You poor child, don't you know a friend -when you see one?" - -"Friend?" repeated Katherine, in a rush of unwilling tears; "I have -none!" - -"Yes you have, dear; now listen to me. I'm your friend, and there's -nothing in the world that could make me anything else. Tell me, and -let me help you!" - -The words brought back the memory of another day, when the winter -snows lay deep upon the ground, and a man's voice, dangerously tender, -said the same thing. - -"There's nothing wrong, Bee--don't, oh, don't think that of me!" - -"I couldn't, dear--no one could!" - -The curtains were drawn and the house was dark and comparatively cool. -Within that soothing shadow, Katherine gathered courage to face the -girl, and, little by little, hint at the tempest raging in her soul. - -It was the old, common story of a proud woman with a hungry heart, -denied love and sympathy where she had a right to expect it, and -tempted unwillingly, but tempted none the less. - -"Men are beasts!" exclaimed Beatrice, angrily. - -"Don't say that, Bee! Ralph has a great deal to bother him, but I -can't help wishing he were different. If he were only as he used -to be! If I knew, or even thought he loved me--if he would try to -understand me--if he wouldn't always misjudge me--but now----" - -"You're brave enough to fight it out and win, Kit--I know you are!" - -"I hope so; but what hurts me most is the fear that he--that he -knows--that I--that I care--and pities me!" - -"Who? Ralph?" - -"No--the--the----" - -"I understand," said Beatrice, quickly; "you mustn't let him know. -Besides, you don't really care. Women often mistake loneliness for -something else--don't you think so?" - -"Perhaps. Oh, if he would only go away, where I would never see him -again--if he only would--sometime, in the long years, things would -come right between Ralph and me!" - -"You'll have to wait, Kit. Life is made up of waiting, for women, -and it's the hardest thing for us to do. Oh, I know," continued -Beatrice, with a harsh laugh; "I fought something out myself once, -but I won. It was hard, but I did it, and I'd do it again--I wouldn't -be coward enough to run away. When things hurt you, you don't have to -let anybody know. You can shut your lips tight, and if you bite your -tongue hard it keeps back the tears. I always pretend I'm a rock, with -the waves beating against me. Let it hurt inside, if it wants to--you -don't have to let anybody see!" - -The girl's fine courage insensibly strengthened the woman. "I'm so -glad you know," she sighed. - -"I'm glad, too. I'm going now, Kit, and I wish you'd lie down a little -while. Don't forget I'm your friend, and I'll always help you when I -can, and anyhow, I'll always try." - -It was characteristic of Beatrice that she went home without any -demonstrative farewell. She had been gentle, sympathetic, and -genuinely sorry for her cousin, but there was an inner hardness -somewhere which the other felt. - -Overwrought by emotion, Katherine slept for hours, and when she -awoke a cool breeze had risen from the lake and was moving her white -curtains to and fro. Dull sorrow was gnawing at her heart, but the -stab was gone. - -She dressed and went out, without any particular object in view. The -loneliness of the house depressed her, and she felt that she must get -away from it; yet she did not wish to talk to any one. - -As she went toward the gate the Captain's wife met her. "Where are you -going?" she asked. - -"To--to the little lad," faltered Katherine. - -"Oh," said the other, quickly, turning away as if she had been hurt. -For a moment the childless woman envied the other her grave. - -Half a mile from the Fort, in a hollow near the river, was a little -mound, marked only by a rude slab of limestone and the willow that -grew above it. At the sight of it her eyes filled. - -"Oh, Baby," she sobbed, pressing her face against the cold turf above -him, "I wish I was down there beside you, as still and as dreamless -as you! You don't know what it means--you never would have known! Oh, -I'd rather be a stone than a woman with a heart!" - -"Katherine!" cried a man's voice beside her; "Katherine!" Norton's arm -lifted her from the grave and held her close. "Dear heart," he said, -"is the world unkind?" - -She drew away from him, but he still held her cold hand in his. "My -heart aches for you, Katherine--can't you tell me?" - -"You never lost a child," she whispered, clutching at the straw. - -"That is true, but I have lost far more. I----" He stopped and bit -his lips upon the words that struggled for utterance. "Come away," he -said, gently. - -He led her to the bank of the stream, where they sat down under a -tree. She leaned against it, unconscious that he still held her hand. - -There was a long silence, in which she regained, in some measure, her -self-control. "I can't think what's wrong with me," she sighed. "I've -cried more in the last six months than in all my life before. I'm not -the crying kind--naturally, that is." - -"Don't think about that, for nature knows a great deal more than we -do. Cry all you want to, and thank God you have no grief beyond the -reach of tears." - -"Beyond--tears?" - -"Yes; there is another kind, which I am glad you do not know. It cuts -and burns and stings till it is the very refinement of torture, and -there is no veil of mist to blind the eyes." - -She looked at him curiously. "You----?" - -"Yes," he answered, with his head bowed; "that is the kind of grief I -know the best." - -"I--I'm sorry," she said, stirred to pity. - -"Why should you be sorry for me?" he asked, with a rare smile. "There -are countless joys in the world, but the griefs are few and old. The -humblest of us can find new happiness, but there has been no increase -of sorrow since the world was first made. There is a fixed and -unvariable quantity of it, and we take turns bearing it--that's all. -Nothing comes to any of us that some one before us has not met like a -soldier, bravely and well." - -"You are strong, but I have no strength." - -"There are different kinds of strength, Katherine, and of these the -one most to be prized is what we call endurance, for lack of a better -word. One can always bear a little more, for we live only one day at a -time, and to-morrow may bring us new gifts of which we do not dream." - -Lengthening shadows lay on the river and the sun hung low in the west, -but they talked on. She forgot everything but the peace of the moment, -which came to her sore heart like a benediction. Without knowing it, -she was very near to happiness then. - -The Doctor's voice was soothing, as if he were talking to a child, and -she did not dream that he was fighting the exquisite danger of her -nearness with all the power at his command. At last she leaned forward -with her eyes shining, and put her hand on his. "Thank you," she said, -softly, "for helping me!" - -The man's blood leaped in his veins, and he sprang to his feet. He -walked back and forth on the bank of the river for some time before he -dared trust himself to speak. - -"Your happiness is very near to me," he said, trying hard to keep his -voice even, "you must always remember that. And for me, it is enough -to be near you, even if----" - -She stretched out her hands and he lifted her to her feet. "I must -go," she said. - -"Yes, you must go, and go alone. I will stay here until you have had -time to get back." - -The deference to circumstances jarred upon her and she did not answer. -Her hat was lying by the child's grave, and as he picked it up for -her, she said: "Why, there are violets all around. I never saw those -before." - -"Didn't you?" he asked diffidently; "I thought you came often." - -"No," she said, in a low voice, "not very often. Who put them there?" - -He lowered his eyes at her question, and then she understood. "Did you -plant flowers on my baby's grave?" she cried. - -There was a tense moment before he dared to look at her. "Yes," he -answered, slowly, "because----" - -They were standing face to face, with the little grave between them, -and the woman's heart quivered with a strange and terrible joy. There -was no need of words, for, all at once, she knew why, during the four -years of her marriage, he had followed her from one post to another. -She saw a new meaning in his sympathy when the little lad died and her -husband blamed her so bitterly; moreover, she knew that her battle was -with herself, not him, for the unyielding edge of Honour lay between -them, and, even if she would, he would not let her cross. - -For his part he, too, was uplifted, because without words she -understood, and answered with love in her eyes. Undisguised and -unashamed, her heart leaped toward him, but he stood with his hands -clenched so tightly that the nails cut deep into the flesh. - -Neither had heard nor seen, but she felt an alien presence, and -turned. Not six feet away from them stood Lieutenant Howard, with his -face ashen grey. He had an armful of flowers--purple flags and yellow -lilies from the marsh and clover from the fields. - -When he knew that she saw him, he came to the grave, stooped, and put -the flowers upon it. The Doctor stepped back, but Howard took no note -of him whatever. "It is a strange place for a tryst," he said, with -forced calmness. "Katherine, will you come home?" - -They went all the way to the Fort without speaking, and when they -reached their own house, he stood aside for her to enter, then -followed her in and locked the door. - -Trembling with weakness, he sat down and drew her toward him. -"Katherine, have you anything to say to me?" - -Strangely enough, she was not afraid, and the terrible joy was still -surging in her heart. - -"Only this, Ralph--that you have wronged me and misjudged me; but -you know this--that I never told you a lie in my life. As long as I -bear your name I will bear it rightly; while I call myself your wife, -you may know that I am faithful to you and to myself. That is all I -have to say, but for your sake and my own--and for the little lad's -sake--be just a little kind to me!" - -Her voice broke at the last words, but he rushed past her and went -out. From the window of her room she saw him pacing back and forth on -the plains beyond the Fort, fighting his battle with himself. She knew -she had hurt him past all healing and pitied him subconsciously; the -dominant knowledge warred with her instincts. - -When he came in to supper, his face was still pale, but his voice was -even and controlled. He ate but little, and they talked commonplaces -until afterward. - -"Katherine," he said, "I remove the embargo; you may have--him--or any -of your other friends at the house as often as you please. I will not -force my wife to make clandestine appointments outside!" He laughed -harshly and went out, but, though she waited for him till long past -midnight, he did not return. - -For her there was no rest. Pity, shame, fear, pride, and ecstasy -struggled for mastery in her soul. The sound of moving waters -murmured through the night with insistent repetition as the waves -came to the shore. In the dark hours before dawn she saw a man, -indistinctly, walking on the prairie, with his hands clasped behind -him and his head bowed. - -At first she thought it was Ralph, but, straining her eyes through the -darkness, she saw that it was the other, and her heart beat hard with -pain. - -"Dear God," she murmured brokenly, "oh, give him peace, and help me to -be true!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -IN THE NORTH WOODS - - -"Come on, Doc," said Ronald. - -"Where?" asked Norton, lazily. - -"Across the river, of course; don't you see the mob over there?" - -The large yard in front of the Mackenzie house was fairly well filled -with people when they arrived. Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie, Forsyth, -Chandonnais, Lieutenant and Mrs. Howard, and Mrs. Franklin were -standing behind Beatrice, who was painting in water colours. Black -Partridge, in all the glory of his feather head-dress and his most -gorgeous blanket, was posing for his picture. The chief endeavoured to -preserve the appearance of calm, but in reality he was greatly excited. - -Doctor Norton and the Lieutenant exchanged cool salutations, and -Katherine was scarcely more cordial. All three of them had decided -to ignore past events, but there was an element of difficulty in the -situation, none the less. - -"How do you suppose Birdie can wear a blanket in July?" asked Ronald. -"I should think he'd be roasted to a turn." - -"It's his best blanket," explained Beatrice, selecting another brush, -"and he wants it in his picture." - -"I'd rather my clothes would be painted separately on a day like -this," murmured Ronald. - -"I didn't know you had more than one suit," remarked the artist, with -a flourish of her brush; "you can't properly say 'clothes.'" - -"Well, 'clo', then," retorted the Ensign, "if it suits you better; but -some day you'll see me in a brand-new uniform." - -"It's what I'm living for," answered Beatrice. "Somebody get me some -more water." - -A dozen hands were outstretched, but it was Forsyth who secured the -cup, and he was rewarded with a radiant smile when he returned. - -"Ain't that smart, now!" exclaimed the trader, delightedly, as the -unmistakable features of Black Partridge appeared upon the paper. -Chandonnais was grinning broadly, and even Ronald and the Lieutenant -condescended to praise. - -"To think that we've had a real artist here for months and never knew -it!" exclaimed Mrs. Franklin. "Why didn't you let us know about it -before?" - -"Because," answered the girl, "as an old lady at Fort Mackinac would -have said, I didn't 'feel to paint.'" - -Mrs. Mackenzie was restraining the children with difficulty, for -each and every one of them yearned to take a brush and assist in the -delicate task. At last she took the baby and went into the house, -leaving Maria Indiana to Katherine, and the two older children to -their father and Forsyth. - -"There," said Beatrice, with a critical squint at her work; "it's -almost done." - -Against a background of delicate green, the Indian, in his scarlet -blanket, stood boldly and properly pictured. The colouring was very -good and she had caught the spirit of the pose. - -"Let me show it to him," suggested Robert. - -She was wiping her brushes and did not see the expression of dismay -on the chief's face when he beheld his counterfeit presentment, but -she saw him snatch the picture out of Robert's hand and heard his -indistinct mutterings when he fled like a deer. - -"Well, what do you think of that!" she gasped. "What was he saying, -Uncle John?" - -"I didn't catch it, Bee--did you, Rob?" - -Forsyth had made a little progress in the language, but had understood -only a word or two. "It was something about the 'Great Spirit,' I -think, but I didn't get the connection." - -"That's gone, anyhow," said the Doctor. "You meant it for him, didn't -you?" - -"Why, yes, eventually; but it wasn't done." - -"It was done enough for him, evidently," observed Ronald; "he seems to -prefer his pictures a little rare. Are you ready to make mine now?" - -"Indeed, I'm not going to paint you. I'm going in to help Aunt -Eleanor." - -Mrs. Howard followed her. The Doctor offered to row Mrs. Franklin -across the river, Chan disappeared, and the Lieutenant went over to -the Agency House with Mackenzie. Ronald looked at Forsyth and laughed. - -"Everybody's moving," he said. "Let's go over and get Major and go -swimming." - -"You go after Major," suggested Robert, "and I'll get some towels of -Aunt Eleanor. We'll go up north." - -Ronald embarked in a pirogue and Forsyth went into the house. "I don't -see where it's gone to," Mrs. Mackenzie was saying. "Are you sure you -haven't it, Katherine?" - -"What have you lost, Aunt Eleanor?" he asked. - -"Why, my blue-and-white patchwork quilt--a white one with blue stars -in it. It was washed and put away clean last Fall, and now it's gone." - -Beatrice was looking at him in a way that puzzled him. "I'm sure I -haven't seen it," he hastened to say. "Am I suspected?" - -"Of course not," returned Mrs. Mackenzie; "but it's a strange thing to -happen right here in the house. I wish you'd go up to the loft and see -if it's on Chan's bed--he may have taken it by mistake." - -Forsyth climbed the ladder to the empty loft, but no quilt was to -be seen. The rude shakedown on which the half-breed slept had only -blankets for covering. He looked around curiously, for he had never -been in the loft before, but he did not envy Chan his quarters. There -was only one window in the desolate place, and that scarcely deserved -the name, for it was merely a small aperture in the front of the -house. The floor was comparatively clean, but there was a pile of -rubbish in one corner, which he promptly investigated. He had hardly -expected to find the quilt, but he was surprised when he discovered -a ham, a side of bacon, and a large piece of dark blue calico hidden -under the nondescript heap. - -"I expect he gets hungry in the night," thought Robert, remembering -Chan's ferocious appetite. - -"No quilt there, Aunt Eleanor," he said, when he went down. "May I -have some towels?" - -"The Indians must have taken it," she sighed, "but I don't know when -nor how." - -Beatrice was in a brown study, but Robert, even though he was gifted -with rather more than the average man's discernment, did not know what -she was thinking about. Remembering the conversation he had overheard -the night of the barbecue, he had thought it likely that the cross -over the door of the house in the woods had been stolen from the -half-breed by an Indian, or else, after the manner of others somewhat -higher in the social scale, Chan had taken unto himself an Indian wife. - -Except as it concerned Beatrice, the matter did not interest him, and -he forbore to tell her what he knew, lest the "secret" between them -should come to an end. Her curiosity about the mysterious cabin had -increased rather than diminished; but Robert had refused to go with -her when she wanted to investigate it again, and she did not quite -dare to go alone. - -Ronald was waiting for him outside, and the dog trotted along beside -them in high spirits, lavishing moist caresses upon his master, and -punctuating his expressions of affection with exuberant barks. - -"Down, Major, down!" commanded Ronald, "or I'll throw you into the -lake." - -The shadowy coolness of the woods was invigorating, and they walked -on, heedless of the distance. "When we find a deep place," said -Forsyth, "we'll dive into it from the bluff." - -"No we won't," returned Ronald, conclusively. "I knew a fool once who -broke his neck in just that way. No loss to the world particularly, -but unpleasant. They'd miss us mightily at the Fort." - -When Robert saw that they were approaching the neighbourhood of the -cabin, he said that he was tired. - -"So 'm I," answered the other. "Let's sit down and get cooled off -before we go in." - -Major was far ahead, ranging back and forth eagerly in pursuit of some -small animal that had escaped him. "Something has happened," continued -Ronald; "guess!" - -"Couldn't guess--what is it?" - -"That's right," laughed the Ensign, slapping his knee; "nobody could -guess. We've actually got our new uniforms!" - -"You don't say so! Where are they?" - -"At Fort Wayne." - -"Oh, you haven't got them, then?" - -"No, but we've almost got 'em. Some of the boys are going this -week sometime, as soon as the Captain can make up his mind to -send 'em. I wish I could go, too, but they'll need nearly all the -horses--fifty-eight new uniforms, you know. I've thought seriously of -borrowing Miss Manning's horse and taking the trip--I need a change." - -"She wouldn't let you have it." - -"I hadn't intended to ask her," explained Ronald. "Lord, but she'd be -mad! I'd give a pretty penny to see her when she found out I'd done -it! I'd really rather see her good and mad than to take the trip, but -I can't do both. If I have one pleasure, you'll have the other." - -"I'd rather not, thank you--I'd much prefer to be out of the way of -the storm. I hope you won't do it." - -"Well, I'm not going to," said the Ensign; "at least, I don't think I -am. I'm more or less subject to impulses, however." - -A shrill feminine scream brought both men to their feet. "What was -that?" cried Forsyth. - -Major came toward them from the north, on a dead run, with his -tail between his legs and panting for breath. "What's the matter, -old boy?" shouted Ronald. The dog took shelter behind his master, -trembling violently. - -"He isn't hurt," said the Ensign, after looking him over carefully, -"he's just scared. Do you think we'd better go up and see what's -wrong?" - -"No," answered Forsyth; "everything is quiet now. Major probably got -into trouble with a squaw. It was a woman's scream." - -"Maybe so," assented Ronald, sitting down again. "Anyhow, it was none -of the women at the Fort, and I'm in favour of letting the Indians -fight their own battles." - -The dog, still frightened, insisted on lying uncomfortably close to -his master. "Move over a bit, Major," he suggested; "you're too warm -to sit by." - -"He's all right," laughed Forsyth, as the dog refused to move; "let -him alone." - -"Do you know," said Ronald, after a silence, "that scream sounded like -Mad Margaret's voice. Don't you think so?" - -"Perhaps, now that you speak of it; but I haven't seen her for a long -time." - -"Neither have I, and I don't want to. Do you remember the night you -came?" - -Forsyth nodded. - -"I can't get that out of my head--the way she looked at me when she -told me I should never have my heart's desire. Someway, it sticks." - -"You're not superstitious, are you?" - -"Not exactly, but it was rather uncanny, if you remember,--at least it -would have seemed so if she had said it to you." - -"That's true," admitted Robert. - -"I'm not afraid of anything in this world," resumed the Ensign; "but -I don't want to tackle the next before I get to it--if there is any -next." - -"What do you think about the next world, anyway?" - -"Well," answered Ronald, seriously, "I don't think much about it, -and that's a fact. Nobody knows any more about it than anybody else, -and I don't see why one man's opinion isn't as good as another's. -Personally, I have always felt that if I was decent and honest and -minded my own business, I'd get my share of anything good that night -be coming after I got through here. Actions, to my mind, are a good -deal more important than beliefs." - -"That's so, too, but I've learned to keep pretty still about those -things, for I've been accused more than once of too much liberality." - -"The chaplain at West Point was a nice old fellow, and he used to tell -us that if we were good soldiers and abided by the army regulations, -we wouldn't get into trouble after we died. I've always remembered it -and I've marched by it ever since." - -"Let's go in now," suggested the other, after a long silence. - -"All right--come on, Major!" - -The sun was shining brightly on the water, and the dog barked joyously -as they plunged in. "Keep him here," said Ronald, "I'm going on out." -Robert watched him enviously as he swam north-east with a long, free -stroke, until he was almost out of sight. The dog was eager to be -after him, and, having no collar, was not easily controlled. When he -came back, aglow with life, it seemed to the other that he had the -clean-limbed beauty of a young Greek god. - -"You go now," shouted Ronald, "and I'll amuse the pup." - -Forsyth swam straight out, with an exultant sense of power in -breasting the waves, and his pulses thrilled with something so vital, -keen, and elemental that it seemed as if he could go on forever. When -he turned back, he saw the gleam of light far to the northward, where -the sun shone on the cross, and thought of Beatrice, happily, and of -the day in the woods. He was well in toward shore when his muscles -suddenly lost their strength--as if he had forgotten how to swim. He -called once, but faintly, then unutterable darkness surrounded him. - -When he came to his senses he was lying on the sand, and Ronald was -rolling him over and over and pounding him vigorously. A whine sounded -indistinct and far, as if it were leagues away, even while the dog was -licking his face. - -"My God, man," said the Ensign, with white lips, "I'd almost given you -up!" - -The voice beat painfully upon his ears and his senses were confused, -but he tried to sit up. "What was the matter?" he gasped. - -"Cramps, I guess--that's the usual thing. We'd better have let Major -drown and gone out together. I had a nice time getting both of you -back to shore." - -Ronald continued his violent treatment until the other protested. -"Don't hit me again," he said faintly, "I'm all right!" - -"Pile into your clothes, then, or you'll take cold." - -He obeyed, but slowly, for he was thoroughly exhausted and movement -was difficult. Ronald was dressed long before he was, and insisted -upon helping him. - -"There, now you're fixed," he said, at length; "and if you're good for -it, we'll go back to the bank and sit down a bit. There's no hurry -about going home." - -Forsyth was faint when they reached the tall tree they had started -from, and was more than willing to rest. His speech was still thick, -but he stammered his thanks. - -"You owe it to Major," explained Ronald, diffidently, "for I never -would have seen you. He started out, all of a sudden, and I went after -him. Of course I wondered what had happened when I didn't see you, but -I thought you were swimming under water. He found you, though. Good -old boy," he added, patting the dog. - -"I'm much obliged to both of you," said Robert weakly. "I've been -in the water more or less all my life, and nothing like that ever -happened to me before." - -"Hope it won't again--the first time came mighty near being the last." - -Forsyth had more strength than he appeared to have, but the shock was -severe. "There's no hurry," said George, "and we won't go back till -you're ready for a long walk. Say, how did you feel?" - -"Why, I don't know exactly. I was all right, and I was thinking what -a glorious swim I was having and how fine the water was, when all at -once I couldn't move, and everything was black. I think I called you, -though." - -"Didn't hear you, but I guess the dog did. Queer, isn't it, that -it should come just after we had been talking about death and the -hereafter and so on?" - -"Perhaps it was a warning." - -"You're superstitious, now," returned Ronald; "but there's no getting -out of it--when we get near the jumping-off place it makes us feel -devilish queer. I was nearly crazy when I got you to shore and found -you were dead--the thing came so quick, why, it was like a stroke of -lightning." - -"If that's death, though, it's nothing to be afraid of. Everything was -black and soft, and there was no hurt to it--just a stop." - -"Do you know," said the Ensign, "I've never seen very many dead -people, and I've never seen anybody who had been killed in an -accident--suddenly, you know. Those fellows up at Lee's were the -nearest to it, but I didn't see them." His face whitened and his hands -clenched instinctively. "God!" he breathed, between his set teeth, "I -hope I'll be spared a death like that, at the hands of the red devils. -I want to die like a soldier--in battle!" - -"Come," said Forsyth, smiling, "we're getting serious--let's go back." - -"Do you feel all right?" - -"Yes; I'm a little shaky, but I guess I'm good for it. Don't say -anything about it at the Fort, nor anywhere else--the women would make -a great row." - -"As you say--it's your business, you know." - -In spite of Forsyth's valiant efforts, his progress was slow. "I'm as -weak as a woman," he complained, when he was forced to stop and rest -for the fourth time. - -"You'll make it all right," said the other, cheerily; "take your time. -And say, when we get back, come on over to the Fort and get a good -stiff drink of whisky--that will set you on your pegs as quickly as -anything." - -When they came to the river Forsyth sat down and waited until Ronald -went down to Mackenzie's, got a pirogue, and came up after him. -"Didn't see anybody," said Ronald, in answer to a question, "and it's -just as well. You're pretty white around the gills yet." - -"Steady," he continued, as the boat grazed the shore, "and in ten -minutes you'll be a new man." - -Mrs. Franklin and Mrs. Howard were playing battledore on the -parade-ground, while Beatrice and the Lieutenant watched them from -the piazza. Captain Franklin, Mackenzie, and a couple of Indians were -standing in front of the Captain's quarters, and Ronald yearned to -join the group and see what was going on. He gave Robert his flask, -bade him take it slowly, and rushed out. - -The Indians were just leaving, and Captain Franklin had started back -to the house, when one of them turned back and said something. - -"What did he say?" he asked of Mackenzie. - -"Nothing," replied the trader, with the dull colour bronzing his face; -"they ain't our folks, you know." - -"I insist upon knowing," said Franklin, peremptorily. - -Mackenzie came nearer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "He said -something about the women over there,"--indicating Mrs. Franklin and -Mrs. Howard. "He said 'the white chief's wives are amusing themselves -very much. It will not be long before they are hoeing in our -corn-fields.'" - -"Humph!" snorted the Captain. - -"Oh!" laughed Ronald, "I must tell 'em!" - -"Shut up," said the Captain; "you will do no such thing!" - -"All right," returned the younger officer, good humouredly, "they're -not my wives!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -GIFTS - - -"Cousin Rob," said Beatrice, the next morning, "I think you're -dreadfully stupid." - -"Why?" - -"Because--yesterday, you know." - -"You're indefinite." - -"Why, when Aunt Eleanor was telling about the quilt that was stolen--a -white quilt, with blue stars--you didn't know where it was." - -"Did you?" - -"Of course I did--it's in the little house in the woods." - -"I wasn't in the house, Bee--you told me about it, but I didn't see -it." - -"Well, anyhow, you should have known," she concluded, with truly -feminine inconsistency. - -"Perhaps," smiled Robert; "but I'd rather not know, and then there'd -be an excuse for your telling me." - -A faint colour came into the girl's cheeks. "I had an awful dream -about you last night," she said, in a low tone; "I dreamed you were -drowned in the lake." - -Robert started, but managed to control his voice. "I'm not drowned," -he answered, with apparent lightness; but he was wondering whether -Ronald had broken his promise. Still, no one had crossed the river, -from either side, since the accident--he was sure of that. - -"Be careful, won't you?" Beatrice pleaded earnestly. - -"Certainly--but would you care?" - -All the rosy tints faded from her face and the mist came into her -eyes. Her "yes" was scarcely audible, but it moved the man strangely. -"I'd do anything to please you, my dear--cousin," he said tenderly. - -"Quarrelling?" asked Mackenzie, from the doorway. - -"Not this time," laughed the girl. - -"I've got something to tell you, Bee. Black Partridge was here early -this morning, long before you were up, and apologised for running off -with the picture--that is, as nearly as an Indian ever apologises. -From what he said, I infer that he thinks the Great Spirit dwells in -you, but he is willing for you to finish it. The medicine-man of the -tribe told him good would come from it, rather than evil, so he left -it here to be completed." - -"All right," she answered; "I'll go to work at it now and try to get -it done before he changes his mind again." - -Robert brought the picture and her paints, and they sat down together -on the piazza while she added the finishing touches. "Couldn't we make -a frame for it?" asked Robert. - -"What could we make it of?" - -"He'd prefer beads, wouldn't he?" - -"Yes, I suppose so," she said, with a puzzled little frown; "but I -don't know how to make a bead frame." - -"I should think a plain wooden frame might be whittled out, smeared -with pitch or rosin, and the beads stuck on while it was hot." - -"You're a genius, Cousin Rob. Get the beads off uncle and make it -while I'm finishing the picture." - -Mackenzie willingly placed his stock at their service, and, after -taking careful measurements, Forsyth found a piece of soft pine and -made a narrow, flat frame. Beatrice finished her work in time to help -set the beads in the rosin, and Mackenzie and his wife came out to -admire the result. - -The picture was framed to their satisfaction when Black Partridge, -somewhat shamefaced, appeared at the trading station. He took it with -every evidence of delight and made a long speech to Mackenzie, of -which Robert understood only a little. - -"What does he say?" asked Beatrice, impatiently. - -"He says he is very thankful and very grateful and much pleased, and -that as long as he lives neither of you shall ever want for a friend. -He says while the sun rises and sets and the stars move in their -courses, Black Partridge will be the faithful friend of the paleface -and her lover." - -Robert was much embarrassed, but Beatrice only laughed. "Tell him he -is very welcome," she said, "and that when we need a friend we will -not hesitate to call upon Black Partridge." - -The speech was duly repeated, with additional assurances which -Mackenzie knew would please the chief, and the visit was ended with -much ceremony. - -Ronald was coming across the river, and Beatrice lingered upon the -piazza until he opened the gate, when she gathered up her paints and -went into the house without a word of greeting. There was a shade of -annoyance in the Ensign's salutation, but he made no allusion to the -girl. - -"Come on out for a bit," suggested Robert; "I want to talk to you." - -They went north along the river bank in silence until they were out of -sight of the house, then Robert turned suddenly and faced him. - -"Say," he said, "did you tell any one about my--about yesterday, you -know?" - -"No," answered Ronald, meeting his eyes squarely; "why?" - -"Oh--nothing. Are you sure you didn't say anything that would lead any -one to suspect?" - -"'Nary peep, unless I talked in my sleep. When I found out that you'd -drained my flask of everything but the smell, I went to Doc after a -new supply, and when he asked me what had become of it I told him -you'd taken to drink, but that was all. Now, I'll ask you a few -questions. Why doesn't Miss Manning want me to come over?" - -"Why, I don't know," replied Forsyth, wonderingly; "doesn't she?" - -"Doesn't look like it," grumbled the other. "Didn't you see her gallop -into the house the minute I opened the gate?" - -"I didn't notice." - -"You would, if she'd done it to you." Ronald was plainly in a bad -humour. "What's more, if I speak to her, she never answers me -decently. A girl never treated me like that before," he fumed; "just -wait till I get my new uniform!" - -"When is it coming?" asked Forsyth, glad of the chance to change the -subject. - -"Dunno--the boys are going to start early in the morning, but there's -no telling when they'll get back." - -"Are you going?" - -"Indeed, and I am not. How can I go when there's no horse for me?" - -"I thought you were going to--to borrow," stammered the other. - -"Hardly!" The Ensign stopped and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. -"Suffering Moses!" he said, "wouldn't she be mad!" - -"Yes, I think she would, but I don't see why. She lets you lead Queen, -doesn't she?" - -"Oh, Lord, yes! I'm allowed to lead the beast twenty times around -the Fort every day for exercise--she said we both needed it, and -she didn't want to ride while it was so hot,--but she particularly -impressed it upon me that under no circumstances was I to mount. A -groom--a stable boy,--that's what she thinks I am! I believe I'll -tell her to lead her own nag!" - -"I wouldn't," returned Forsyth. - -"Why not?" demanded the other. "What do you know about women?" - -"Not very much," admitted Robert, laughing; "but we're all at sea -there, I fancy." - -Gradually Ronald's temper improved, and in a short time he was his -sunny self again. Peace dwelt in the woods along the river, and where -the young officer stretched himself full length under an overhanging -willow, the quiet coolness of the unsunned spaces put an end, -insensibly, to his irritation. - -"Say," he said, "did you ever write poetry?" - -Forsyth smiled, remembering certain callow attempts in his college -days. "Yes, I called it that." - -"Then you're the very man for me," announced George, "for I'm going to -write a poem!" - -"What about?" - -"Oh--er--anything. Poems don't have to be about anything, do they? -It's to go with a present--a birthday present, you know." - -"To a girl?" - -Ronald laughed long and loud. "No," he cried; "of course not! It's a -little tribute of affection for the Captain! Lord, but you're green!" - -"How can I help you with it if I don't know the circumstances?" -demanded Forsyth. "What is the present?" - -"The present isn't much--the poem is the main part of it. It's an -Indian basket that Mrs. B. P. made for me in return for two fists of -beads." Ronald took off his cap, felt around carefully inside of it, -and at length produced a slip of paper, much worn. "I've got some -of it," he said, "and I thought if I kept it on my head it might -stimulate thought, but it hasn't." - -"Let's hear it." - -The poet cleared his throat and read proudly: - - "Lovely lady, take this basket; - 'Tis your willing slave who asks it." - -Robert bit his lips, but managed to turn a serious face toward Ronald. -"Is that all you've got?" - -"That's all, so far. I thought myself into a headache about it, but I -couldn't write any more. What shall I put in next?" - -"I don't want to seem critical," observed Forsyth; "but you've got a -false rhyme there." - -"What's a 'false rhyme'?" - -"'Basket' and asks it'--'ask it' would be all right." - -"It doesn't fit. We'll leave that just as it is--nobody but you would -notice it, and you're not getting the present." - -"What do you want to say next?" - -"Well, I don't know, exactly," replied Ronald, confidentially. "Of -course, I want it to be personal in a way, with a delicate reminder of -my affection at the end of it." - -"You've got a 'delicate reminder,' as you call it, in the second line." - -"Never mind that; go to work." - - "Lovely lady, take this basket; - 'T is your willing slave who asks it," - -repeated Robert, thoughtfully. "It was made by an Indian maiden--how -would that do?" - -"That's all right, only it was a squaw." - -"It was made by an Indian squaw, then," continued Robert. "What rhymes -with squaw?" - -"Dunno." - -"Paw," said Forsyth. - - "It was made by an Indian squaw - With a dark and greasy paw." - -"Shut up!" said Ronald. "She'd throw it out of the window if she -thought it wasn't clean. Call her a maiden if you like." - -"It was made by an Indian maiden--there isn't any rhyme for 'maiden.'" - -"Laden," suggested George, after long and painful thought. - -"That's good, if we can work it in." - - "It was made by an Indian maiden-- - With my love it now goes laden. - -"How's that?" - -"Fine!" beamed Ronald. "Say, I didn't know you were a poet!" - -"Neither did I," replied Forsyth, modestly. - - "Lovely lady, take this basket: - 'Tis your willing slave who asks it. - It was made by an Indian maiden-- - With my love it now goes laden." - -"That's simply magnificent!" said Ronald. "We ought to write another -verse, hadn't we?" - -"As you say." - -"If we can do another one as good as that, it'll be a masterpiece. My -name ought to come in at the end, hadn't it?" - -"Nothing rhymes with 'Ronald,' does it?" - -"I didn't mean that--I meant my front name." - -"Oh," said Forsyth. He was wondering how the girl in Fort Wayne would -like the poem, and longed to ask questions about her, but felt that it -would be improper. - -"'Forge' is the only thing I can think of for a rhyme," said the -Ensign, at length; "that wouldn't do, would it?" - - "My heart is burning like a forge, - All because I love you--George." - -"How's that?" - -Ronald's delight knew no bounds. "The very thing!" he shouted. "Now, -all we have to do is to put two lines above it and it will be done. -That's the end of the verse, you know." - -"Might put her name in," suggested Robert, not without guile. - -Ronald appeared to consider it carefully. "No," he said, "that wouldn't -do. One name is enough to have in it. Something ought to go in about -her looks, don't you think so--eyes, or mouth, or skin?" - -"'Skin,'" repeated Robert, laughing; "girls never have 'skin.' They -call it their 'complexion.'" - -"Thought you didn't know anything about women," George said, looking -at him narrowly. - -"Oh, come now, I can't help knowing that--any fool knows that!" - -"Except me," put in the Ensign, pointedly. "However, I'll let the -insult pass for the sake of the poem. Put in something about her -mouth, can't you?" - -The vision of Beatrice's scarlet, parted lips, with their dangerous -curves, came before Robert. - - "Reddest roses of the South - Are not sweeter than your mouth," - -he suggested. - -"Man," said Ronald, soberly, "you're a genius. Write it down quick -before it gets away. Now I'll read the whole thing: - - "Lovely lady, take this basket; - 'T is your willing slave who asks it. - It was made by an Indian maiden-- - With my love it now goes laden. - - "Reddest roses of the South - Are not sweeter than your mouth; - My heart is burning like a forge, - All because I love you--George. - -"Sounds like Shakespeare, doesn't it?" - -"I wouldn't say that," answered Forsyth, with proper modesty. - -"Got any good paper to write it on?" - -"Only a little, but you're welcome to it." - -"All right, let's go back and get it. Say, do you think she'll be -pleased?" - -"She can't help being pleased," Robert assured him. - -"I'm ever so much obliged," said Ronald diffidently. "I never could -have done it so well alone." - -When they reached Mackenzie's, Beatrice came out on the piazza as -Robert went in after the paper, and she was evidently inclined to -conversation. - -"Where have you been?" she asked sweetly. - -"Oh, just up-stream a little ways," replied Ronald, carelessly. - -"Have you had Queen out this morning?" - -"Yes, I rode her half-way to Fort Wayne and back. She got pretty well -used up, but it did her good." - -"How dare you!" flamed Beatrice, stamping her foot. - -Ronald laughed and leaned easily against the side of the house while -she stormed at him. Even Robert's appearance did not have any effect -upon her wrath. - -"Say, Rob," said the Ensign, when she paused to take breath, "your -cousin here doesn't seem to know a joke when she sees it. She thinks -I'd ride that old gun-carriage she keeps in the garrison stables. Calm -her down a bit, will you? Bye-bye!" - -The fire died out of the girl's eyes and her lips quivered. Her breast -was heaving, but she kept herself in check till Ronald slammed the -gate, then her shoulders shook with sobs. - -"Bee!" cried Robert. "Don't, dear!" - -Instinctively he put his arm around her, and she leaned against his -shoulder, sobbing helplessly, her self-control quite gone. Ronald was -untying a pirogue at the landing, when he looked back and saw the -inspiring tableau. - -"Good Lord!" he said, under his breath, as Robert, with his arm still -around her, led Beatrice into the house. - - * * * * * - -Later in the week, as Robert was on his way to breakfast, he met Maria -Indiana in the long, narrow passage back of the living-rooms. "What -have you there, baby?" he asked. - -Maria Indiana held out a small Indian basket of wonderful workmanship, -filled with berries, fresh and fragrant, with the dew still on them. -Tucked in at one side was a note, written upon his own stationery, as -he could not help seeing. "It's for Tuzzin Bee!" lisped the child. -"Misser George said nobody mus' see!" - -The little feet pattered down the passage, but Robert stood still for -a moment, as if he had turned to stone. Then wild unrest possessed him -and stabs of pain pierced his consciousness. "Fool that I was!" he -said to himself, bitterly; "blind, cursed fool!" - -All at once he knew that he loved Beatrice with every fibre of his -being--that she held his heart in the hollow of her hand, to crush or -hurt as she pleased. He was shaken like an aspen in a storm--this, -then, was why her flower-like face had haunted his dreams. - -Swiftly upon the knowledge came a great uplifting, such as Love brings -to the man whose life has been clean. It was a proud heart yielding -only to the keeper of its keys--the absolute surrender of a kingdom to -its queen. - -Beatrice was late to breakfast, as usual; and Robert, acutely -self-conscious, could not meet her eyes. She brought the basket with -her and offered the berries as her contribution to the morning meal. -Between gasps of laughter she read the poem, thereby causing mixed -emotions in Forsyth. "Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous?" she -asked, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. - -Robert wished that the giver might see the rare pleasure his gift -had brought to the recipient, but swiftly reproached himself for the -ungenerous thought. - -"It was nice of him to remember your birthday, Bee," said Mrs. -Mackenzie, who was always ready to defend Ronald. - -"How did he know it was my birthday?" demanded Beatrice. - -"I told him," replied Mrs. Mackenzie. "He asked me, long ago, to find -out when it was and to let him know." - -"Clever of him," commented Beatrice, somewhat mollified. "Why didn't -you get something for my birthday, Cousin Rob?" she asked, with a -winning smile. - -"Perhaps I did," he answered; "the day is still young." - -He had already decided what to give her, and knew that his offering -would not suffer by comparison with Ronald's, even though no poem -went with it; but when he went to his room to look in his box for the -moccasins he had bought so long ago, he was astonished to find that -they were gone. - -He ransacked the room thoroughly, but without success. He could not -even remember when he had seen them last, though he knew he had taken -them down from the wall of his room and put them away. Still, he was -not greatly concerned, for he was sure that he could go to the Indian -camp and find another pair. - -After school he started off on a long, lonely tramp, and returned at -sunset, empty handed and exasperated. Beatrice had on her pink calico -gown, and was sitting demurely upon the piazza--alone. She seemed -like a rose to her lover, and he was about to tell her so, but she -forestalled him. - -"Where's my birthday present?" she asked, sweetly; "I've been looking -for it all day!" - -Then he told her about the moccasins he had for her, though he failed -to mention the fact that he had bought them for her long before she -came to Fort Dearborn. "When I went after them this morning," he said, -"I discovered that they had been stolen. I've been out now to see if -I couldn't get another pair, but I couldn't even find a squaw who was -willing to make them. You don't know how sorry I am!" - -"Never mind," she said soothingly, "it's no matter. Of course, I'd -love to have the moccasins, but it's the thought, rather than the -gift, and I'd rather know that you found out from Aunt Eleanor when my -birthday was, and tried to give me pleasure, than to have the pleasure -itself." - -The colour mounted to Robert's temples, but he could not speak. He -felt that his silence was a lie, and a cowardly one at that, but he -was helpless before the girl's smile. - -"What's that?" asked Beatrice, suddenly, pointing across the river. - -There was a stir at the Fort. Men ran in and out, evidently under -stress of great excitement, then a tall and stately being, resplendent -in a new uniform, came out and turned a handspring on the esplanade. - -"What's up?" shouted Robert. - -Ronald turned another handspring and threw his cap high in the air -before he condescended to answer. "Bully!" he roared; "we're going to -fight! War is declared against England!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -HEART'S DESIRE - - -Those who had complained of Captain Franklin's lax methods were silent -now. The fortifications were strengthened at every possible point and -pickets were stationed in the woods, at points on the lake shore, -along the Fort Wayne trail, and at various places on the prairie. -There was no target practice for fear of a scarcity of ammunition; but -the women were taught to handle the pistols, muskets, and even the -cannon in the blockhouses. - -Mackenzie, Forsyth, and Chandonnais divided the night watch at the -trading station. At the first sound of a warning gun, the women and -children were to be taken to the Fort. As before, Beatrice was to go -to Captain Franklin's, Mrs. Mackenzie and the children to Lieutenant -Howard's, and the men to barracks. - -"I guess I'll move over anyway," said Beatrice. "I wouldn't care to -make the trip in the night. I'll sleep at the Captain's and eat -wherever I happen to be." - -Mrs. Franklin was not told of the plan until Beatrice and Robert -appeared at her door with the enterprising young woman's possessions, -but she made her guest very welcome. - -"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked. - -"What would be the use of telling you?" inquired Beatrice. "You'd be -obliged to say you wanted me, so I just came." - -The Captain's wife was genuinely glad, for of late she had been very -lonely. Franklin was always more or less absorbed in his own affairs, -and the feeling between Lieutenant Howard and his superior officer did -not tend to promote friendly relations between the women. There had -been no open break, but each felt that there might be one at any time. - -Ronald was in high spirits. Since he had given Beatrice the basket she -had treated him more kindly, and he led Queen twenty times around the -Fort every day for exercise, without a murmur of complaint. Beatrice -stood at the gate and kept count; while, across the river, Forsyth sat -on the piazza and envied the Ensign, even during his monotonous daily -round. - -Among the officers at the Fort the declaration of war had not been -altogether unexpected, for vague rumours of England's arrogance upon -the high seas had reached the western limits of civilisation, but the -situation was covered only by general orders from the War Department. - -For once, Lieutenant Howard agreed with the Captain, in that there -seemed to be no great possibility of a British attack. However -valiantly defended, the Fort could not be held long in the face of a -vigorous assault from the enemy, since the fighting force numbered -less than sixty men, but England would have nothing to gain from that -quarter. Other points were far more important than Fort Dearborn, but -the garrison was ready to fight, nevertheless. - -Ronald was more sanguine, and lived in hourly hope of hearing the -signal of the enemy's approach. He sharpened the edge of his sword to -the keen thinness of a knife blade, and slept with one hand upon his -pistol. Doctor Norton, too, was making elaborate preparations in the -way of lint and bandages, and Ronald helped him make stretchers enough -to last during a lifetime of war. - -But the days passed peacefully, and there were no signs of fighting. -The Indians were particularly lawless, but confined their violence to -their own people, though they had lost, in a great measure, their -wholesome fear of the soldiers at the Fort. - -"The devils are insolent because they think there's going to be -trouble, and in the general confusion it will escape notice," remarked -Ronald, as he sat in the shade of Lieutenant Howard's piazza. "I'm in -favour of stringing up a few of 'em by way of example to the rest." - -"Yes," replied Howard, twisting his mustache, "and in a few minutes -we'd have the entire Pottawattomie tribe upon us. You don't seem to -understand that they knew war had been declared long before we did, -and that even now, in all probability, they are in league with the -enemy. No people on earth are too low down for England to ally herself -with when she wants territory." - -"True," answered Ronald; "but I'm not afraid of England. She's had one -good lesson, and we'll give her another any time she wants it." - -"We've got enough on our hands right here," sighed the Lieutenant, -"without any more foreign wars. We've got to have it out with the -Indians yet, and fight our way step by step. The trail of blood began -at Plymouth and will end--God knows where. England is more or less -civilised, but she isn't above setting the Indians upon us to serve -her own ends." - -"What are you talking about?" asked Beatrice, coming across from -Captain Franklin's. - -"Yes, do tell us," said Katherine, from the doorway. - -"Affairs of state," answered the Lieutenant, easily. - -"Any British in sight?" inquired Beatrice. - -"Not yet," replied Ronald; "but the entire army is likely to drop on -us at any minute." - -"What would you do?" she asked curiously. - -"Do?" repeated Ronald, striding up and down in front of the house; -"we'd call in the pickets, bar the gates, man the guns, and send the -women and children into the Captain's cellar." - -"Could Queen go, too?" - -"Can Queen go down a ladder?" - -"She never has," answered Beatrice; "but she could if she wanted -to--I'm sure of it." - -"If that's the case," said Lieutenant Howard, "we'd better offer her -to the British officers as a trick horse and buy off the attack." - -"If they come in the daytime," continued Beatrice, ignoring the -suggestion, "I will go out to meet them all by myself. I'll put on -my pink dress and my best apron, and carry a white flag in one hand -and the United States flag in the other. When the British captain -comes running up to me to see what I want, I'll say: 'Captain, you -are late, and to be late to dinner is a sin. We have been looking for -you for some time, but we will forgive you if you will come now. The -invitation includes the ladies of your party and all the officers.' -They never could shoot after that." - -Katherine joined in the laugh that followed, but her heart was uneasy, -none the less. Like Ronald, she was continually expecting an attack -and knew there could be but one result. She believed that the Indians -and the British would make common cause against them, when the time -came to strike. - -"I'll tell you what," said Ronald, "some of us ought to go out and -drag in Mad Margaret. If we stood her up on the stockade, there isn't -an Indian in the tribe who would dare to aim an arrow or throw a -tomahawk toward the Fort." - -"I've never seen her," said Beatrice, thoughtfully. - -"I hope you never will," answered Ronald, quickly. "She's crazy, -of course; but she has an uncanny way about her that a sensitive -person would consider disturbing. She pranced into the Fort on a -Winter afternoon two years ago and prophesied a flood, followed by -a terribly hot Summer, and no crops. When the Spring rains came, the -river spread on all sides, and, sure enough, there were no crops that -year." - -"Was it hot, too?" - -"Oh, Lord! Was it hot? If hell is any hotter I don't care to go to it." - -"You talk as if that was your final destination," observed Katherine. - -"That's as it may be," returned the Ensign. "I've often been invited -to go, and several times I've been told that it was a fitting place of -residence for such as I." - -"I didn't know about that," said the Lieutenant, thoughtfully, -referring to the fulfilment of the prophecy. - -"You weren't here," explained Ronald. "It was before you came--in -1810, I think." - -"Cousin Rob told me about her," said Beatrice. "He said she came to -Uncle John's the same day he did, and he's seen her once or twice -since. She always says that she sees much blood, then fire, and -afterward peace." - -"Yes," growled the Ensign; "she's for ever harping on blood. She stuck -her claws into me that night, I remember--told me I should never have -my heart's desire." - -"What is your heart's desire?" asked Beatrice, lightly. - -The Summer faded and another day came back. Once again he sat before -the roaring fire at the trading station, with Forsyth, Mackenzie, and -Chandonnais grouped around him, while phantoms of snow drifted by and -sleet beat against the window panes. Then the door seemed to open -softly and Mad Margaret made her way into the circle. Chandonnais' -wild music sounded again in his ears, then he felt the thin, claw-like -hands upon him and heard the high, tremulous voice saying, "You shall -never have your heart's desire"; and, in answer to his question, "It -has not come, but you will know it soon." - -The blood beat in his ears, but he heard Beatrice say, once more, -"What is your heart's desire?" - -A flash of inward light revealed it--the girl who stood before him, -with the sunlight on her hair, and her scarlet lips parted; strong and -self-reliant, yet wholly womanly. - -Ronald cleared his throat. "You shouldn't ask me such questions," he -said, trying to speak lightly, "when all these people are around." - -"We'd better go, Kit," remarked the Lieutenant; "we seem to be in the -way." - -"Anything to please," murmured Mrs. Howard, as they went into the -house. - -Ronald was looking at Beatrice, with all his soul in his eyes. "I--I -must go," she stammered. "Aunt Eleanor will want me." - -"Don't--dear!" The boyishness was all gone, and it was the voice of -a man in pain. The deep crimson flamed into her face and dyed the -whiteness of her neck just below the turn of her cheek. She did not -dare to look at him, but fled ignominiously. - -He did not follow her, but she heard him laugh--a hollow, mirthless -laugh, with a catch in it that sounded like a sob. She never knew how -she crossed the river, but she was surprised to find Forsyth waiting -for her. As he helped her out of the pirogue, he said; "I was just -going after you--we feared we had lost you." - -"I'm not lost," she said shortly, "and I don't want people running -around after me!" - -The shadow that crossed his face haunted her, even while he sat -opposite her at dinner and laughed and joked with her as usual. When -Mrs. Mackenzie took the baby away for his afternoon nap, with Maria -Indiana wailing sleepily at her skirts, Beatrice went to her own room, -fearing to be alone with Robert. She was strangely restless, and -something seemed to hang over her like an indefinite, threatening fate. - -Outside was the drowsy hum of midsummer, where the fairy folk of -the fields rubbed their wings together in the grass and the sun -transformed the river to a sheet of shining silver. Ronald came out, -took the good boat which belonged to the Fort, and pulled down-stream -with long, steady strokes. The river was low, but he passed the bar -with little difficulty and went on out into the lake. - -Beatrice heard Robert singing happily to himself, but she could not -stay any longer where she was. She gathered up her sewing and climbed -out of the window, ungracefully but effectively, and went back to the -Fort. - -Katherine saw her coming and smiled. That morning, with quick -intuition, she had read the secret in Ronald's heart, and suddenly -knew how much she cared for the boy who teased and tormented, but -never failed her if she needed him. In her own mind, she had written -down Beatrice as an unsparing coquette, and determined to take up the -cudgels in behalf of her victim. - -The girl sewed nervously, breaking her thread frequently, but she kept -at it until Katherine said, very gently, "Bee, George cares for you." - -"I know!" snapped Beatrice. Her thread broke again, and her hands -trembled so she could scarcely knot it. - -"And Robert, too," said Katherine, presently. - -"I know!" - -"Well, dear, what are you going to do about it?" - -"Cousin Kit," said the girl, angrily, "if you're going to lecture me, -I'm going back home." She folded up her work, but Mrs. Howard put a -restraining hand upon her arm. - -"Don't, Bee. You know we talked about my trouble together--why can't -we talk about yours?" - -"I haven't any trouble!" Beatrice's face was flushed, but her voice -was softer, and she seemed willing to stay. - -"What are you going to do about it?" asked Katherine, once more. - -"What can I do about it?" cried Beatrice, in a high key--"why, that's -simple, I'm sure! I can go to Mr. Ronald and say, 'Please, Mr. Ronald, -don't ask me to marry you, because I'm going to marry Cousin Rob. He -doesn't know it yet; in fact, he hasn't even asked me, but I'm going -to do it just the same.' Or, I might go to Cousin Rob and say, 'My -dear Mr. Forsyth, I hope you won't ask me to marry you, because I'm -going to marry Mr. Ronald, who hasn't asked me as yet. In fact," she -continued, with her temper rising, "I've about concluded that I won't -marry anybody!" - -"Bee, dear, I'm only trying to help you--please don't be cross to me. -Which one do you care for?" - -"Neither!" cried Beatrice, in a passion. "I don't care for -anybody, and I'm never going to be married. I'd be happy, -wouldn't I? Tied up--chained like a dog--take what my master gave -me--slave--drudge--bear whatever burden he saw fit to put upon me--eat -my heart out in loneliness--cry all day and all night for my lost -freedom. Marry? Not I!" - -"Marriage means all those things, as you say," said Katherine, after -a silence; "but the bitterest part of it is that, when you find your -mate, you have to go. The call is insistent--there is no other way. -It means child-bearing and child loss--it means a thousand kinds -of pain that you never knew before,--loneliness, doubt, sacrifice, -misunderstanding,--and always the fear of change. Before, you think of -it as a permanent bond of happiness; later, you see that it is a yoke, -borne unequally. You marry to keep love, but sometimes that is the -surest way to lose it. - -"They say," continued Katherine, with her face white, "that after the -first few years the storm and stress dies out into indifference, and -that happiness and content are again possible. But oh," she breathed, -"those few years! If man and woman must go through the world together, -shoulder to shoulder, meeting the same troubles, the same difficulties -and dangers, why, oh, why, didn't God make us of the same clay! We -are different in a thousand ways; we act in opposite directions, -from differing and incomprehensible motives--our point of view is -instinctively different, and yet we are chained. Sex against sex it -has been since the world began--sex against sex it shall be to the -bitter end!" - -"Katherine!" sobbed Beatrice, "I know! That is what I am afraid of! -All the time I keep tight hold of myself to keep from caring, because -I dare not surrender. If I yield, I am lost. If I loved a man, he -could take me between his two hands and crush me--so; I should be so -wholly his!" - -"Yes," said the other, bitterly, "and many times he will crush you, -just to see if he can--just to see that he has not lost his command of -you. Power is what he must have--power over your mind and body, your -heart and your soul--for every little unthinking action of yours, you -are held responsible before the bar of his justice. His justice," she -repeated, scornfully, "when he does not know what the word means. You -have a little corner of his life; you give him all of yours in return. -We are bound like slaves that never can be free--God made it so--and -we obey!" - -There was a tense silence, then a step was heard upon the piazza, and -Katherine opened the door to her husband. Beatrice managed to wipe her -wet eyes upon her sewing before he saw that she was there. - -"Well," said the Lieutenant, easily, sinking into a chair, "what have -you girls been doing?" - -"Oh, we've just been talking," answered Katherine, diffidently. - -"Talking, talking,--always talking," he continued. "What would women -do if they couldn't talk?" - -"They'd burst," remarked Beatrice, concisely. - -"I guess that's right," laughed the Lieutenant; "but you needn't fear -it will happen to you." - -"You're mean to me," said Beatrice, gathering up her work, "so I'm -going home." - -"Don't be in a hurry," put in Katherine. - -"I haven't been--you don't want me to live here, do you?" - -"We should be charmed," replied the Lieutenant, gallantly. - -"I'll consider it," she said shortly. "Good-bye!" - -"Tempestuous sort of a girl," commented Howard, as Beatrice -disappeared. "She'd play the devil with a man, wouldn't she?" - -"That's exactly what she's doing." - -"Which man?" asked Howard, curiously. - -"Messrs. Ronald and Forsyth," answered Katherine, laughing. "How blind -and stupid you are!" - -The Lieutenant's disposition had undergone outward improvement of -late. By common consent he and Katherine had started afresh, making no -reference to past disagreements, and he had wisely ceased to question -her motives or her actions. He let her understand that she might do as -she pleased in all things, and, naturally, she was not willing to take -undue advantage of her tacit freedom. Still, the old happiness and -confidence were gone. - - * * * * * - -Forsyth had the second watch that night and was sitting on the piazza, -listening for the warning guns of the pickets on the lookout for the -enemy, when Ronald came across the river. - -"Thought you were here," he said, "so I came over, as I couldn't -sleep." - -"I'm glad you did," returned Robert. "It gets pretty lonely out here -about three o'clock in the morning." - -"Are you sleepy?" - -"Not a bit." - -"Who comes on next, and when?" - -"Chan's watch begins at three--it isn't far from that now." - -"Call him up, then, and let's go out awhile. I can't sit still." - -"All right." - -When the half-breed, muttering sleepily, was finally stationed on the -piazza, with instructions to listen for the guns, they walked out to -the river. - -"Which way?" asked Robert. - -"Either--I don't care." - -The moon was shining brightly and the earth was exquisitely still. The -Fort, transfigured by its mantle of silver sheen, might have been some -moss-grown feudal castle, with a gleaming river at its gate. Ronald -walked rapidly, and his breath came in quick, short jerks. - -"What's gone wrong with you?" asked Forsyth, kindly. - -"I don't know how to put it," said the soldier, after a long silence, -"for I never was good at words; but,--well, you like Beatrice pretty -well, don't you?" - -"Yes, don't you?" - -"She's my heart's desire," said Ronald, thickly. - -They were in the forest now, where the tall trees stood like the -pillars of a cathedral, and the moonlight, softened by the overhanging -branches, fell full upon Robert's face, white to the lips with pain. - -"Old man," said Ronald, huskily, "one of us is going to get hurt." - -"Yes," returned Forsyth, dully, "I suppose so--we can't both have her." - -"Perhaps neither of us can, but--well, whatever happens--say, it isn't -going to interfere with our friendship, is it?" - -"No!" cried Forsyth; "a thousand times, no!" - -Ronald wrung the other's hand in a fierce grasp and choked down a lump -in his throat. "She's too good for me," he muttered; "I know that as -well as anybody, but, on my soul, I can't give her up!" - -"She's for the man she loves," said Forsyth, "and for no other. She -wouldn't marry a king if she didn't love him." - -"Well," sighed Ronald, "so be it. May the best man win!" - -"For the sake of her happiness, yes. Of the three of us, only one will -suffer, unless you and I share it together; but even that is better -than for her to be unhappy. I haven't a chance with you--I know I -haven't; but you're my friend and--I--I love her so much, that I could -give her to you, if she loved you better than she loved me." - -"Rob! Rob!" cried Ronald, "you're the only friend I've got, -but I don't need any more. Whatever happens, I'll hold fast to -that--there'll be something left for me after all!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -RIVALS - - -August came, but there was no sign of fighting. Beatrice was openly -skeptical, and said she did not believe there had been any declaration -of war, but she spent more of her time at Captain Franklin's than at -home. - -Forsyth and the Mackenzies missed her keenly, even though she made -occasional visits across the river. Her real reason was her wish to -avoid Forsyth and Ronald; but both of them went cheerfully to the -Captain's on flimsy pretexts or on none at all. - -Robert fell into the habit of making early morning calls on Lieutenant -and Mrs. Howard. Then, when Beatrice came out of the house to sit on -the porch, he could saunter over carelessly and spend an accidental -hour or so with her. Ronald was more direct and never hesitated to -pound vigorously at the door when he wanted to see Beatrice and had -the slightest excuse for going there. - -The experience was new to the Ensign, who had come unscathed through -many a flirtation, and who had regarded love lightly, after the manner -of his kind. He had been the master of every situation so far, but at -last he had come face to face with something that made him weak and -helpless--as if he had been clay in the potter's hands. - -No matter how hot it was, he led Queen patiently twenty times around -the Fort in the broiling sun, and never attempted to mount, even when -Beatrice was in the house. Moreover, though he would have scorned to -rub down his own horse, he often put finishing touches upon Queen's -glossy coat after she had been groomed. This gave him an opportunity -to go over to Captain Franklin's, still leading the horse, and ask -Beatrice how she liked her pet's appearance. Simple and transparent as -the device was, it never failed to win a smile for him, and sometimes, -too, the girl would linger to feed Queen lumps of sugar and gossip -with Ronald meanwhile. - -She painted when she felt like it, and did a great deal of sewing, -both occupations being fraught with interest to Forsyth and Ronald. -Mrs. Franklin was often one of the group, and Katherine made no -attempt to efface herself. - -They were all sitting on the porch in front of the Captain's house one -hot morning, when Ronald appeared with a bowl and a spoon. "Taste," he -said, offering it to Mrs. Franklin. Katherine followed her example, -then Beatrice, always eager for new sensations, helped herself rather -liberally. Robert also partook of the savoury stew. - -"Pretty good," he said critically; "what is it?" - -"It's poor old Major," replied Ronald, sadly; "the Indians cooked him -and let me have some of the remains." - -Beatrice gasped and fled into the house. The other women had risen to -follow her, when the situation was relieved by the appearance of Major -coming across the parade-ground in full cry, with Doctor Norton in hot -pursuit. - -"I couldn't hold him any longer!" shouted the Doctor. - -"You brute!" exclaimed Mrs. Franklin. - -Katherine went into the house to relieve Beatrice's apprehensions, -and they returned together to add to the torrent of reproach that -assailed the Ensign's ears. He was doubled up with unseemly mirth and -apparently did not hear. - -"That just goes to show," he said, when the paroxysm had passed, -"how the mind influences the body. I had an argument with Doc this -morning, and I've proved my point. If he hadn't let Major go, you -would have thought you had eaten him and been miserable accordingly. -Rob said it was good, and, dog or not dog, the fact remains." - -Beatrice turned pale as a horrible suspicion entered her mind. "What -is it?" she asked. "Upon your word and honour, what is it?" - -"It's mutton stew," replied Ronald, conclusively, "made by Mrs. -Mackenzie this very morning for your own approaching dinner. She -kindly gave me some of it to keep me alive till noon. In fact, I -helped to make it." - -"You're a wretch!" exclaimed Katherine. - -"Just hear 'em, Doc," said Ronald, assuming a grieved tone. - -"I'm not sure but what you deserve it," laughed Norton. "If I had -known what you were going to do, I wouldn't have tried to hold the -dog." - -"It's really very interesting," observed the Ensign, thoughtfully. "It -shows what slaves of custom we are. Major is a medium-sized, woolly -animal, much better looking than a sheep, yet sheep is considered -eatable and Major isn't. Then, too, we eat cattle and draw the line -at horses--there must be many a good steak on Queen." - -Tears came to Beatrice's eyes, but she said nothing, and Forsyth -warned Ronald with a look which was not noticed. - -"Not that I think of eating her," resumed George, cheerfully; "I -wouldn't get any exercise if I did. I wouldn't miss leading that -beast around the Fort every morning for a fortune. It's the only -uninterrupted feminine society I have." - -At this juncture, Beatrice went into the house and slammed the door -emphatically. - -"Our diet here seems to be somewhat restricted," continued Ronald, -apparently unmindful of his decreasing audience,--"cow and sheep, -sheep and cow, with an occasional piggy rift in the cloud. Birdie -eats dog whenever he can get it, and look at him--he's got as much -endurance as any five of us, and I'm not sure but what he's better put -together than I am." - -"Yes, he is," put in Katherine, with caustic emphasis; "and he's -better company, also. Come in," she continued, to Mrs. Franklin. - -Ronald gazed after the retreating figures in pained amazement. -"Well, what do you think of that?" he asked mournfully. "You fellows -probably don't notice it, because you're not sensitive to such -things; but, to my mind, which is more finely organised, it's a -delicate intimation that we're not wanted. Let's move along." - -"'Delicate' is good," commented the Doctor, as they walked away. "I -call it rather pointed, myself." - -"Strange, isn't it," remarked Ronald, impersonally, "how some people -fall into line with the expressed opinions of others!" - -"Ronald," said the Doctor, with mock admiration, "I don't think I ever -met a man with so much fine tact as you have. Your unerring choice of -happy subjects stands by itself--alone and unapproachable." - -"Run along to your medicines, you old pill-roller," retorted the -Ensign; "I want to talk to my cousin Robert." - -Norton laughed and turned away, but he felt his isolation keenly, none -the less. Lieutenant Howard was barely civil to him, as was natural -under the circumstances, and he dared not see much of Katherine. -Captain Franklin was not particularly congenial, and Mrs. Franklin -had a vague distrust of him. She knew nothing more about the affair -than Katherine had told her in the winter, but she surmised a great -deal. Ronald had been the Doctor's mainstay, but since Beatrice came -to Fort Dearborn he had been conspicuous by his absence. Forsyth was -busy a great deal of the time, and the Doctor was left to intermittent -association with the Mackenzies and the dubious consolation of the -barracks. - -It was true, as he often told himself, that his nature was one of -those foreordained to loneliness, but at times he hungered for the -companionship of his kind. Books were few upon the frontier, and -those few he knew by heart; so he scraped lint, made bandages, brewed -medicines, cultivated a certain philosophical turn of mind, and -wondered vaguely where and how it would end. - -Ronald and Forsyth were walking aimlessly in the neighbourhood of -the Fort. The rigid discipline had somewhat relaxed, but no one was -permitted to pass the picket lines. The Indians only came and went as -they pleased, recognising no laws but those of their own making. - -Ronald appeared to have something on his mind, and made disconnected -and irrelevant answers to Forsyth's observations. "Say," he -interrupted, at last, "how do you suppose we're ever going to get -anywhere?" - -"What do you mean?" asked Robert, in astonishment. - -"Why, Beatrice, you know," he said awkwardly; "you don't give me any -chance." - -"I don't understand you," returned the other, coolly. - -"Come now," said Ronald, roughly; "you know I'm no good at words, but -I don't get your idea. There's always a mob around wherever she is, -and if I get her to myself a minute you prance in as if you belonged -there. If you're always going to do that, we might as well hunt her up -now, tell her we both want to marry her, ask her to take her pick, and -end the suspense." - -An amused light came into Robert's eyes. "Do you know," he replied, -"it's seemed to me the same way. If I get her to myself for a minute, -you make it your business to join us. This morning, now,--I was there -first, wasn't I?" - -The Ensign's clouded face cleared. "I guess you were," he said slowly; -"honestly, do I do that?" - -"I should say you did," answered Forsyth, with unexpected spirit. -"Since she moved away from Aunt Eleanor's, I haven't seen her alone -for ten minutes." - -Ronald laughed heartily as the ludicrous element of the situation -dawned upon him. "I say, old man," he began, "we'll have to fix it -some way--divide her up into watches, you know, or something like -that." - -Forsyth did not relish the way Ronald expressed it, but he caught the -idea and nodded. - -"How'll we do it?" continued the Ensign. "We can't take her into our -confidence." - -"Don't know," returned Robert, dully. "It doesn't make any difference, -really, for I haven't a chance with you." - -"Cheer up--you'll never get her if you mourn all the time. A girl -likes to have things lively. I know how you feel--I've often felt that -way myself; but I try to keep things going just the same. You have to -attract a woman's attention--it doesn't much matter how." - -"I surmised you thought that this morning," remarked Forsyth, with -veiled sarcasm. He failed to mention the fact that, although he loved -Beatrice, her evident displeasure had made him unspeakably glad. - -Ronald's face bronzed, but he seldom admitted the possibility of his -making a mistake. "We'll say," he began, "for the hypothesis, that -our chances are equal. Since she moved over to the Captain's you've -lost your unfair advantage. She goes across the river, of course, but -we'll set against that the fact that she's in the Fort the rest of -the time. Now, suppose we divide the day into three parts--morning, -afternoon, and evening. It's morning till noon, afternoon till six, -and evening till midnight. She mustn't lose her sleep, or she'll be -cross. We'll take turns. For instance, if I have the morning, you get -the afternoon, and I'll take the evening. The next day it will be your -turn in the morning and evening, and mine in the afternoon--see?" - -"Suppose she doesn't come out?" - -"That's as it may be. The fellow whose turn it is takes the risk. She -can do as she pleases--we simply agree to leave the field for the -other at the times specified, military and educational duties to the -contrary notwithstanding. That's fair, isn't it?" - -"Yes, I think it is. Anyhow, it's better than we've been doing--it -will lessen the possibility of friction." - -"Good thing," commented Ronald. "Many a time I've felt like taking you -by the collar and shaking you as a terrier shakes a rat." - -"Me, too," laughed Forsyth. "Whose turn is it this afternoon?" - -"I think it's mine. We were both there this morning, but you've -intimated that I didn't leave a pleasant impression, and I ought to -have a chance to set myself right, don't you think?" - -"As you say--it doesn't make any difference to me." - -"I'll have to get out pretty early some of the time," mused Ronald, -"and exercise the beast. I don't want to lose a precious hour doing -that." - -"We might take turns--" suggested Forsyth, tentatively. - -"We will not," retorted Ronald. "That's my job--she gave it to me -herself." - -Forsyth went across the river and Ronald returned to the Fort. Each -was relieved because the matter was settled, for, as Robert had -indicated, there had been friction. - -All through the long, hot afternoon Ronald kept a close watch upon -Captain Franklin's door. His knock met with no response, and Katherine -had long since gone home. Doctor Norton had attempted to talk with the -waiting swain, but found it unsatisfactory and retired gracefully. - -Just before six o'clock Beatrice emerged. Her white gown was turned -in a little at the throat, and her hair hung far below her waist in a -heavy, shining braid, ending in a curl. Ronald's heart gave a great -leap as he went to meet her. - -"Where are you going?" he asked. - -"Over to Aunt Eleanor's. You spoiled my dinner and I'm hungry." - -"I'm sorry," he said, with evident contrition; "will you forgive me?" - -"You ought to do penance for it." - -"I'll do anything you say, Miss Bee." - -"Lead Queen twenty-five times around the Fort after sundown," she -said. "She'll be glad to get out again, and it won't hurt you." - -Ronald smiled grimly as she went away, disregarding his offer to row -her across. "It's a hard service," he thought, "but I've enlisted and -I'll see it through. Thorny damsel; but oh, ye gods, she's sweet!" - -Forsyth had made the most elaborate toilet his circumstances -permitted, and was prepared to make the best of his coming -opportunity. "Did you see George this afternoon?" he asked, with -feigned carelessness. - -"I did not," returned Beatrice, with a toss of her head. "He nearly -broke down the Captain's door, but it was locked and nobody let him -in. He was talking with that precious dog of his when I came out, and -he offered to row me over, but I came by myself." - -"I would have gone after you," said Robert, with ill-advised -eagerness. - -"Thank you," she answered coolly; "but I'm not so old yet that I can't -row fairly well on still water." - -That evening Forsyth had the felicity of sitting on the piazza, with -Beatrice beside him, while his rival dejectedly led Queen round and -round the Fort. His efforts at entertainment seemed to be unusually -happy and effective, though he was too obtuse to notice that she -laughed only when Ronald was in sight and, presumably, within hearing. - -Mackenzie sat with them for a while, but soon went in. "You take the -first watch," he said to Robert, "and call Chan for the second. I've -got to get up early in the morning, anyway." - -"All right, sir." - -"Do you think there's any use of watching?" she asked, when the trader -had closed the door. - -"Of course," answered Robert, promptly. "If we were all asleep, no one -would hear the gun and we might all be taken prisoners before we had a -chance to get to the Fort." - -"Have you always watched out here?" - -"Yes, a part of the night, ever since we knew war had been declared." - -"It's lonely, isn't it?" - -"It might be, but I always have something pleasant to think about." - -Beatrice did not press the question further. "What time does the first -watch end?" - -"Oh, along about midnight." - -"I'll stay with you," said the girl impulsively; "I had a long sleep -this afternoon, and I'd love to help watch. May I?" - -Robert's heart beat loudly, but he controlled his voice. "Of course -you may," he said. - -When Ronald's task was finished, he led Queen into the Fort. -"Twenty-four," mused Beatrice. "He's skipped one, or else I didn't -count right." - -"Twenty-four?" repeated Robert, inquiringly. - -"Yes," she said. "He had to take Queen around twenty-five times -because he was bad this morning and tried to make me think I'd eaten -Major. I don't like things like that." - -Robert laughed happily and felt an inexplicable generosity toward -Ronald. "You didn't count right," he assured her. "He never would -skip." - -"Perhaps not--anyhow, I'll let it go." - - * * * * * - -The hours passed as if on wings, and both were surprised when the -deep-toned bell at the Fort tolled taps. The moon rose and a path of -gold gleamed on the water, rippling gently with the night wind. - -"See," said Beatrice, softly, "it's always seemed to me as if one -might row along that path, when the moon is low, and go straight in. -When I was a child I used to think that I'd do it as soon as I got old -enough to manage a boat by myself. I wondered why nobody ever went -to the moon when it was so close, and I thought it would be a fine -thing if I could be the first one to go. I couldn't see any doors, -and concluded they must be on the other side; but I was sure I could -row around when I got there, and I never doubted for an instant that -the moon people would be delighted to see me. What strange fancies -children have!" - -"You're only a child now," said Robert, huskily,--"a little, helpless -child." - -"Helpless?" repeated Beatrice, with an odd little cadence at the end -of the rising inflection; "I've never been told that before. See how -strong my hands are!" - -Laughing, she offered a small, white, dimpled hand for his inspection. -With an inarticulate cry he bent to kiss it, and she snatched it away, -much offended. - -"You presume," she said, coldly. "Perhaps you think I'm like other -girls!" - -"You are different from everybody in the world," he answered, in -a low, tender tone. "They are clay like the rest of us, only of a -finer sort, but you are a bit of priceless porcelain. You are made of -flowers and stars and dreams--of sunlight and moonlight, Spring and -dawn. All the beauty of the earth has gone to make you--violets for -your eyes, a rose for your mouth, and white morning-glories for your -hands. When you smile it is like the light of a midsummer noon; when -you laugh it is the music of falling waters; when you sing to yourself -it is like a bird in the wilderness, breaking one's heart with the -exquisite sweetness of it. Darling! darling!" he cried, passionately; -"no one in the world is like you!" - -Beatrice was trembling, and for the moment was dumb. Robert stood -before her with his hands outstretched in pleading until, emboldened -by her silence, he leaned forward to take her into his arms, and she -moved swiftly aside. - -"Very pretty," she said, with an effort, and in a matter-of-fact tone, -then she laughed. "I did not know you were a poet," she continued, -rising and shaking out her skirts,--"the moonlight has made you mad." - -"Not the moonlight, sweetheart, but you!" - -"Well, the two of us, then," returned Beatrice, lightly. "It's getting -late, and I must go." - -"No!" he cried. "You said you would stay till the end of my watch!" - -"That was before I knew you were a poet. No, I'm going back by -myself--good-night, and pleasant dreams!" - -He untied the pirogue for her and helped her into it, his senses -reeling at the momentary touch of her hand; and when she crossed the -path of gold that lay upon the water, the light shone full upon her -flower-like face. The man's blood surged into his heart with rapturous -pain, as, exquisite, radiant, and unattainable, she passed through -the gate of the Fort and out of his sight. He stood there long after -she had vanished, shaken from head to foot by a passion as pure and -exalted as Sir Galahad might have felt for Elaine. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE WORM TURNS - - -"Beatrice," said Mrs. Mackenzie, "what day of the month is it?" - -"The eighth." - -"Why, no, it isn't," put in Mackenzie; "it's the ninth--isn't it, Rob?" - -"Certainly--the ninth of August." - -"Have it your own way," pouted Beatrice; "what do you suppose I care?" - -"There's George across the river," observed Mrs. Mackenzie. "I wonder -why he doesn't come over!" - -"He's busy, I guess," said Robert; "but I think he will be over this -afternoon." - -"How do you know?" inquired Beatrice, looking at him narrowly. "You -haven't seen him to-day, have you?" - -"N--no," stammered Robert, uncomfortably. "I--I just thought so." For -the first time he saw how ridiculous, from one point of view, their -arrangement was, and became more anxious than ever to keep Beatrice in -ignorance of it. Still, it had worked well, for neither had made any -evident progress and their friendship was still unbroken. - -During the past week the girl had not failed to observe that she never -saw Ronald and Forsyth together, except from her window, and had asked -each of them in turn if there had been a quarrel. She had also noticed -that her admirers were spasmodic, as it were, in their attentions, -and had puzzled vainly over the fact. It seemed strange that, at the -Fort, Ronald should leave her when Forsyth put in an appearance; or -that when she sat on the piazza at the trading station, Forsyth should -immediately find something else to do when Ronald came across the -river. - -The Ensign had taken Queen out for the appointed exercise and was -wondering how to kill the time until noon. He was staring vacantly -into space at the very moment Robert had said he was "busy," but he -soon decided to wash Major in the river. - -In spite of the heat the dog regarded the ceremony as a punishment -rather than a luxury, and cowered as if from a blow when his master -removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves. The basin of soft soap -which Doctor Norton brought, in answer to a loud request from Ronald, -was placed conveniently on the bank and operations began. - -Beatrice was leaning on the gate, in the shade of the poplar, and -chose to consider the affair as undertaken solely for her amusement. -"Isn't it nice of Mr. Ronald," she said, with mock gratitude, "to wash -Major where we can all see him do it! If he were selfish, he'd take -him away." - -Protesting barks from the victim punctuated her comment. "If he were -selfish," replied Robert, pleasantly, "he wouldn't do it at all." - -"I have a mind to go over there," said the girl, suddenly. - -"Oh, don't!" begged Robert, with feeling. - -"Why not?" - -"Oh--because." - -"A woman's reason," said Beatrice, scornfully. "I'm going, anyhow." - -Robert was allowed to row her across, as a great favour; and Ronald, -mindful of his agreement, was not particularly cordial. - -"I don't believe he likes it because I've come," she said, to Doctor -Norton. - -"Oh, yes, he does," the Doctor assured her, gallantly. - -"Do you?" she inquired, directly, of Ronald. - -"Certainly." - -The Ensign's face was red, partly because of his exertions and partly -because of various concealed emotions. Major had been thoroughly -lathered with soft soap, and was being rinsed with basin after basin -of water, whining, meanwhile, because soap was in his eyes. - -"There," said Ronald, when the black and white coat was thoroughly -clean, "he'll be a beauty when he's dry--won't you, Major?" - -The dog shook himself vigorously and sprinkled every one except -Beatrice, who was out of range. "Indeed he will," she answered, with -suspicious warmth. "It's strange, isn't it, how washing improves pets?" - -Forsyth began to dread what was coming, but Ronald heedlessly stumbled -into the snare. "Of course it improves 'em," he said. "It's worth -doing, if only for artistic reasons." - -Her eyes danced and the dimples came and went at the corners of her -mouth. "I would like," she began demurely, "to have Queen washed." - -"Lord!" muttered the Ensign, mopping his forehead with his sleeve. - -"Will you do it for me, Mr. Ronald?" she continued coaxingly. - -For an instant he hesitated, then the worm turned. "No," he said -quietly, "I won't. You can wash your own horse." - -"Will you, Cousin Rob?" she asked sweetly, turning to Forsyth. - -The dull colour bronzed his face and he saw a steely glitter in -Ronald's blue eyes. "No," he answered, emboldened by the other's -example; "not by any means." - -"I haven't any friends," remarked Beatrice, sadly, to the Doctor. - -"Friends are one thing," retorted Ronald, hotly, "and body servants -are another. I'm willing to lead your horse around, because it's too -hot for you to ride her, and I wouldn't want to be seen riding a nag -like that anyhow; but I won't bathe her nor comb her hair nor put on -her shoes." He turned on his heel and walked away, the personification -of offended dignity. - -Beatrice laughed, while Forsyth and the Doctor looked at her in -amazement. "Oh," she gasped, "isn't he--isn't he funny when he's mad!" -Ronald strode into the Fort and gave no sign of having heard, save by -a tell-tale redness of the ears. - -Robert felt concerned in a way, but the Doctor was not. "You'll find, -Miss Manning," he said judicially, "as you grow older, that there's a -limit to everything and everybody." - -"Of course," returned the girl, seriously; "I was just locating it." - -"Shall we go back, now?" asked Robert. - -"No; I'm going to see Katherine." - -"Very well." He started toward the Fort with her and Norton followed -them. - -"What?" she asked; "are you both coming, too?" - -"I'm not," said the Doctor, quietly. - -"Are you, Cousin Rob?" - -"Of course--I'm going wherever you do." - -Ronald was talking with Mrs. Franklin, and did not seem to see the two -who went to the Lieutenant's. Robert brought chairs for Mrs. Howard -and Beatrice and seated himself on the upper step. - -"Where's George?" asked Katherine. "Isn't he coming over?" She had -grown accustomed to seeing the three together, and vaguely missed -Ronald. - -"He was bad," explained the girl, fanning herself with her -handkerchief, "and I think he's ashamed to come." - -"Bad--how?" - -"He wouldn't wash Queen. I asked him to, and he said he wouldn't. -Cousin Rob wouldn't, either." - -"Well, I don't blame them. You seem to expect a good deal, Bee." - -"Oh," laughed Beatrice, "how serious you all are! I believe Mr. Ronald -and Cousin Rob thought I meant it!" - -"You seemed to," put in Robert, in self-justification. - -"Men are very stupid," she observed, dispassionately; "but suppose -I did mean it--what then? Were you in earnest when you said you -wouldn't?" - -"Yes," said Robert, steadfastly; "whether you were joking or not, I -was in earnest, and so was Ronald." - -Hitherto, men had not openly defied the girl's imperious will, and she -had the sensation of unexpectedly encountering a brick wall. "Would -you mind going over after my sewing?" she asked, suddenly. - -"Certainly not--where is it?" - -"Aunt Eleanor knows." - -"You're a sad flirt, Bee," remarked Mrs. Howard, as Forsyth went out -of the Fort. - -"I am not," retorted Beatrice, with spirit. "Why shouldn't he go after -my sewing?" - -"There's no reason why he shouldn't, if he wants to." - -"Well, he wants to," replied Beatrice, "otherwise he wouldn't. That's -the man of it." - -"It seems strange," observed the other, meditatively, "that in a -little place like this, on the very edge of the frontier, one girl can -keep two men working hard all the time without half trying. On the -face of it, there wouldn't seem to be enough to do." - -"It requires talent," admitted Beatrice, modestly, "if not genius. Mr. -Ronald!" she called. - -The Ensign did not seem to hear. "Mr. Ronald!" she called again. There -was no answer, though he must have heard. - -"He's in the sulks," explained Beatrice, "and if he wants to stay -there, he can." - -"I wish you wouldn't do so, Bee," said Katherine, kindly. - -"Do what?" demanded Beatrice, with her violet eyes wide open. - -"You know what you're doing, and you needn't pretend that you don't." - -There was a long silence, then Beatrice sighed heavily. "I think I'll -move," she said. "I can go to Detroit, or Fort Mackinac, or back East." - -Katherine's heart sank within her, for she knew she would miss the -girl more than words could express. "You can't go," she said; "no one -would go with you." - -"I should hope not. Queen and I could make the trip alone. If I decide -to go, why, I'll go--that's all there is about it, war or no war. I -know where the pickets are and I could get through the lines without -any trouble. If you miss me some morning, you'll know that I've made -my escape to some peaceful spot where there is no lecturing." - -She spoke with such calm assurance that Katherine was troubled. She -swiftly determined to ask Captain Franklin to put an extra guard at -the stables, then Beatrice laughed. - -"Poor Kit," she said affectionately, "why, you look as solemn as a -priest! You don't think I'd go away and leave you, do you? You're too -sweet," she cooed, rubbing her soft cheek against her cousin's. - -Forsyth, coming back with the sewing, was transfixed with sudden envy -of Mrs. Howard. "I thought you were never coming," said the girl, -smiling. - -"Did it seem long?" he asked, dazed by the implied compliment, for he -had been in great haste. - -"Yes," said Beatrice; "but it wasn't your fault. It was because I was -being lectured." - -Katherine's face grew delicately pink, and she looked at Beatrice -imploringly. - -"Lectured!" repeated Forsyth. "Why, what for?" - -"She said I flirted--with you and Mr. Ronald." - -"When?" - -"Oh, you goose," laughed Beatrice. "She meant I did it all the time; -but you don't care, do you?" - -"I don't know just what it is," said Robert, truthfully; "but if it's -anything you do, I like it." - -"There!" said the girl, in a tone of great satisfaction; "you see, -don't you, Kit?" - -"Yes," answered Mrs. Howard, "I see that you are incorrigible." - -Forsyth was content to listen and to watch Beatrice as she sewed. -Prosaic needles and thread assumed a mysterious charm in the dimpled -hands of the girl he loved. Pretty frowns and troubled shadows flitted -across her face as the thread knotted, twisted, or broke, as it -frequently did, because she was not familiar with her task. - -Ronald left Captain Franklin's and came across the parade-ground with -a rapid stride. "Twelve o'clock!" he said, with a radiant smile. "You -wouldn't think it, would you?" he added. - -"I shouldn't have suspected it," answered Forsyth, with double -meaning; "I must be going back." - -"I'll go with you, Cousin Rob." - -"Me, too," put in Ronald, joyously. - -"You needn't," said the girl, coolly. - -"I'd just as soon--I'm going to row you across." - -"No, you're not; I came with Cousin Rob and I'm going back with him." - -"Suit yourself," returned the Ensign, good-humouredly, "the river is a -public highway; but I'm going over to dinner." - -He was there first, and had wheedled an invitation from Mrs. Mackenzie -before they got into the house. "Put me next to Beatrice, please," he -said, as they came in. - -During dinner every one was in high spirits except Robert, who knew -that he must efface himself all the afternoon. Some way, it was harder -to have Ronald there than to know that he was with her at the Fort. - -However, he felt a wicked thrill of satisfaction when Beatrice pushed -back her chair and began to gather up the dishes. "You needn't do -that, Bee," remonstrated Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"I'm going to help you, Aunty, and then I'm going to take a nap. I'm -dreadfully sleepy." - -Ronald's face fell. "You're lazy," he said reproachfully. - -"No, I'm not," she returned; "but I have to get rested, because -to-morrow I'm going to wash Queen." - -"Beatrice Manning!" exclaimed Mrs. Mackenzie. "What in the world do -you mean?" - -"I'll tell you all about it, Aunt Eleanor." In her own mind Beatrice -had determined to make a pretence at Queen's bath the next morning, in -front of the Fort, and see who would offer to help her. - -"I'm going to help with the dishes, too," announced Ronald. - -"You needn't, George," said Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"I'd rather he wouldn't," remarked Beatrice, critically, "because I -don't think he's clean. He washed Major this morning." - -The shaft glanced aside harmlessly, because he prided himself upon his -neatness. "I got my hand in this morning," he said imperturbably, "and -I've washed many a dish in this very kitchen, long before you came, -Miss Bee; didn't I, Aunt Eleanor?" - -"Indeed you did," answered Mrs. Mackenzie, warmly. "I don't know how -I could have managed without you." - -"Very well," said the girl, lightly; "as long as you're used to it, -and since you insist upon doing it, I'll go and take my nap right now." - -Robert, inwardly joyous, but outwardly calm, took his well-thumbed -copy of Shakespeare and went out to read under the trees, while Mrs. -Mackenzie and the Ensign laboured with the dishes, and Beatrice slept -the sleep of the just. - - * * * * * - -It was late in the afternoon when she came out, her eyes still -languorous under their drooping lids, and found Ronald sitting alone -upon the piazza. - -"Why, I didn't expect to see you here," she said, in a tone of pleased -surprise. - -"You aren't very well acquainted with me," murmured Ronald, twisting -uneasily in his chair. - -"I'd like to be," remarked Beatrice, with a winning smile. - -"Now's your chance, then, for I'm going to stay here until six -o'clock." - -"That's a long time," sighed the girl, with a sidelong glance at him. -"It isn't much after four now." - -He cleared his throat and coloured deeply. While he was casting about -for a suitable reply, Forsyth appeared with his book. "Come and read -to us, Cousin Rob," said Beatrice, sweetly. - -Ronald looked daggers at him when he hesitated. "Can't," he answered -shortly; "I'm going to read to myself." - -He went back to his place under the poplars, in sight, but not -intentionally within hearing, and Ronald was unreasonably vexed with -him, deeming him outside the spirit, though within the letter of the -bond. - -"I'm sorry he wouldn't read to us," observed Beatrice. "Cousin Rob has -such a deep, melodious voice, don't you think so?" - -The Ensign was writhing inwardly, but managed to say, "Yes; very deep." - -Mackenzie came out and wasted half of a precious hour in talking, -though Ronald answered only in monosyllables. Beatrice exerted her -rarest powers of entertainment for her uncle's benefit, and he did not -notice how the time passed. - -"Well," he said, at length, "I guess I'll go across for a bit. I want -to see the Captain." Forsyth joined him at the gate, and Ronald heaved -a sigh of relief when they were safely on their way to the Fort. - -"Your face is red, Mr. Ronald," said Beatrice. She was rewarded by -seeing the colour deepen. - -"What makes it that way?" she asked, with the air of one pursuing a -subject of scientific interest. - -"It's the heat," explained the Ensign, miserably; "didn't you know it -was hot?" - -She shook her head. "I never know anything unless I'm told." - -"I believe you," he growled. - -"Mr. Ronald," she said, with a bewildering smile, "what makes you so -cross to me?" - -"I--I'm not," he answered thickly. - -"Yes, you are--you're dreadfully cross to me, but you seem to get on -all right with everybody else. I don't believe you like me!" - -The last remnant of his self-control deserted him. "No, I don't," he -said, hotly. "Good God, Beatrice, I love you--can't you see that? Why -do you torture me all the time?" - -Her face grew a shade paler, and her eyes refused to meet his. She -knew she had been playing with fire, but none the less was surprised -at the natural result, and was genuinely sorry that she had gone so -far. She stared at the Fort, unseeing, and inwardly reproached herself -bitterly. - -"Beatrice!" he gasped. "Say something to me, can't you?" - -She pointed to a cloud of dust in the south-west. "Look, some one is -coming!" - -"I don't care," he said, roughly, possessing himself of her hand; -"you've got to say something to me!" - -"I did," she returned, drawing away from him, "I told you somebody was -coming. I think it's my relatives from Fort Wayne coming to take me -back there." - -Ronald turned away, deeply pained, and the pathetic droop in his -shoulders got safely through the thorns to the girl's heart. The cloud -of dust came nearer and nearer, until at last the rider turned his -foam-flecked horse and dashed up the esplanade to the Fort. - -Beatrice's temporary tenderness was obscured by curiosity, for the -rider was an Indian, with the British flag girded at his loins. - -"Why," she said, in an odd little voice, "what has happened!" - -Ronald came swiftly toward her. "I don't know and I don't care," he -said, in a voice she scarcely recognised; then he put his arm around -her and drew her to him. "Beatrice, darling," he pleaded, "haven't -you a word for me--don't you love me just the least little bit in the -world?" - -Then the violet eyes looked up into his and the sweet lips quivered. -"I--I don't know," she whispered brokenly; "please let me go!" - -His arms fell to his sides and she was free, but there was a lump in -his throat and a wild hope in his heart. "My darling," he began, but -she stopped him with a warning gesture. - -Forsyth was pulling across the river as if his life depended upon it, -and for the first time they perceived that something was wrong. With -his face white and every muscle of his body tense, he ran toward them. - -"What's up?" shouted Ronald. - -"Orders!" cried Forsyth, gasping for breath. "Fort Mackinac has fallen -and we are ordered to evacuate the post!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -A COUNCIL OF WAR - - -Forsyth had the second watch that night, and Mackenzie came out to -join him. "I couldn't sleep," he said, in answer to Robert's question. -"I don't know what we're coming to, but we mustn't frighten the women." - -"Of course I don't know anything about it," Robert returned, "but I -must confess that I didn't like the looks of that Indian who brought -the despatches." - -"He seemed fair enough, but you can't trust any of 'em and that's the -whole truth of it. There's been some foul play somewhere, for he knew -the purport of the order, and it strikes me that he had been a long -time on the way." - -"What was it that he wanted you to tell Captain Franklin?" - -"He wanted me to find out whether the Captain intended to obey the -order, and offered his advice to the contrary. He said the Fort -was well supplied with ammunition and provisions--though it beats -me to know where he found it out--and that it could be held until -reinforcements arrived; but, if we decided to give up the post, it was -better to go at once and leave everything standing. His idea was that -the Indians would be so interested in plundering that they wouldn't -follow us." - -"What did Franklin say?" - -"Nothing--he never says much, you know." - -"Who gave the order?" - -"General Hull--the Army of the North-west is at Detroit." - -"Perhaps reinforcements will be sent." - -"Hardly, in the face of an order to leave the post." - -"Why did he wear the British flag?" - -"Perhaps to secure safe passage through the country; perhaps to -indicate an alliance with the enemy." - -"Lieutenant Howard has said all along that the Indians were with the -British and against us. It begins to look as though he were right." - -"My boy," said Mackenzie, with a sigh, "wherever that flag waves, -you'll find blood. The colour of it isn't an accident--it's a -challenge and a warning." - -"Well," returned Robert, after a silence, "we'll have to do the best -we can, and that's all any one can do." - -"I've wondered sometimes," said the other, thoughtfully, "if I haven't -done wrong." - -"How, Uncle?" - -"Coming here--with Eleanor. I've brought her into danger, but God -knows I haven't meant to. I've always had an adventurous spirit, and -I couldn't live in the East--the hills choke me. Somebody has to -blaze the trail to the new places, and I thought I might as well do -it as anybody else. Things are moving westward, and some day, in this -valley, there ought to be a great city about where the Fort stands -now. It's the place for it--the river and the lake, with good farming -country all around. I knew I couldn't live to see it, but I--I thought -my children might." - -The man's voice wavered, but did not break. "It's a commonplace thing -to do," he went on,--"go to a new place to live,--and our people have -been doing it for more than two centuries. No soldiery, no blare of -trumpets, nothing to make it seem fine--only discomfort, privation, -and danger. The first settlers came from across the water, and since -then we've been moving along, a step or two at a time. Some day, -perhaps, people will leave this place to go to another farther on, and -so keep going, till we reach the ocean on the other side. I haven't -done anything," he added, with a short laugh, "only what the men of -our race must do for a century and more to come." - -"You've done what was right, Uncle, and what seemed for the best--no -one could do more. You've given Aunt Eleanor and the children a good -home--shelter, warmth, food, and clothing. You've given your children -sound minds, sound bodies, free air to breathe, and you're giving -them an education. You'll find danger anywhere and everywhere--life -hangs by a thread at its best. If it comes to a fight, we have arms -and ammunition and fifty men, as strong and true as steel. We have -modern weapons against arrows and tomahawks, military skill against -savage instincts; and as for the British, why, I have my grandfather's -sword, that fought them once at Lexington. They tried it and they -failed--they'll fail again; but I say, let them come!" - -"God bless you, boy; you put new courage into me!" - -Soft darkness lay upon the earth, and pale stars shone fitfully from -behind the clouds as slowly the night passed by. Across the river, -with measured tread, the sentries kept guard at the Fort. Through one -watch and well into another the two men sat there talking, with their -voices lowered, lest the sleepers in the house should wake, and from -each other taking heart for the morrow. - -The spirit of his dead fathers lived again in Forsyth; the blood that -burned at Lexington took fire once more at Fort Dearborn. His heart -beat high with that resolute courage which sees the end only, with no -thought of the possible cost--it was as though Victory, in passing, -to hover just beyond him, had brushed his face with her blood-stained -wings. - - * * * * * - -In the first light of morning, Beatrice came across the river from -the Fort. Whether she knew of the impending danger or not, she showed -no signs of fear. "Well," she said, "it was only yesterday that I -told Kit I thought I'd move, and here's a military order to make it -practicable. We're going with the soldiers--Queen and I." - -Forsyth smiled, but made no other answer, and she went on into the -house. Mrs. Mackenzie did not appear, having passed a sleepless night; -so Beatrice presided over the coffee-pot and made breakfast a gay -affair. She revelled in her new authority, and took advantage of her -position to tease the children. - -"Maria Indiana," she said, with mock severity, "you'll have to behave -yourself better from now out, because I'm your mother." - -The child's eyes filled and a big tear rolled down one cheek. She slid -out of her chair and instinctively went to Robert, as one who might be -trusted. "Is Tuzzin Bee my muzzer?" she asked plaintively. - -"No, dear," he laughed, taking her up in his arms. - -"Give her to me!" cried Beatrice, snatching her away from him. "You -darling," she said tenderly, as another tear followed the first one; -"I'm not your 'muzzer,'--I'm only your 'Tuzzin Bee.'" - -"She's too little to joke with," said Forsyth, in an aside. - -"And I'm too big to be lectured," replied Beatrice, with a saucy -smile. "We get on all right, don't we, baby?" - -Something in the girl's attitude, as she held the child in her arms, -reminded Forsyth of a picture of the Madonna, and an unreasoning -giddiness took possession of his senses. With a blind impulse to get -away, he went out on the piazza, but Beatrice followed him. - -"Cousin Rob," she said, in a low tone, "please tell me the truth--is -there danger?" - -There was no denial of that look in the eyes of the girl he loved, -no chance to conceal the truth. He drew a quick inward breath as he -thought, for the first time, what danger might mean to her. "Yes," he -said, in a voice that was scarcely audible; "I am afraid there is." - -In a flash he saw that she had misunderstood him, but it was too late -to explain. The colour flamed into her cheeks, and she held her head -high. "I'm sorry you're afraid," she said, scornfully, "I'm not!" - -He looked after her helplessly as she went into the house, dazed by -the consciousness that he had lost her forever. He knew then that -she had never forgotten his failure to go up-stream with Ronald the -night the Indians had been at Lee's, even though she had asked him to -forgive her. - -"I have lost her," he said to himself, over and over again,--"I have -lost her." Second thought convinced him that he had had no chance from -the beginning--since the night he leaned on his musket in the shelter -of the Fort; confused past the power of action, when the Ensign asked -for volunteers. - -"Want to go over, Rob?" It was Mackenzie who asked the question, and -Forsyth gladly welcomed the respite from his torturing thoughts. - -At the Fort all was changed, for the order had been read that morning -on parade, and the men stood about in little groups earnestly -discussing it. Mrs. Franklin and Katherine were on the porch at the -Lieutenant's, and Robert went there, feeling that their society would -be more bearable than that of the men. - -"If we go," said Katherine, "there'll be very little we can take with -us." - -"If we go!" snapped Mrs. Franklin. "Do you think for a minute we're -not going? A soldier's first duty is to obey orders!" - -Katherine turned a shade paler as she welcomed Forsyth. "Have you -packed your belongings?" she asked. - -"Not yet," he answered, with a hollow laugh. The impending danger was -obscured, in his mind, by something of infinitely more moment. "When -do we start?" he inquired of Mrs. Franklin. - -"I don't know--Wallace hasn't decided. But we'll start when he says we -will, and nobody need think we won't!" - -"Kit," said Mackenzie, as he joined the group, "I wish you'd go over -to your mother--she isn't well. Bee is with her, but perhaps you -could do something." - -"I'll go at once," replied Katherine. - -"And I must go home," said Mrs. Franklin. "If I can do anything, just -let me know." - -Ronald and Lieutenant Howard were standing near the gate, and Forsyth -stopped there when Mackenzie and Katherine went on home. "It's usual -in such circumstances," Ronald was saying, bitterly, "to call a -council of war." - -"And by the Lord," flashed the Lieutenant, "there shall be a council -of war! What are we--children, or fools?" - -Ronald put a friendly arm across Forsyth's shoulders. "What do you -think about it, old man?" - -"I haven't thought about it. I'm not a soldier, you know, and I'm not -supposed to think. Of course, I'll obey orders, and if it comes to -trouble, here's one more man to fight--I'm with you to the last." - -"Bully for you!" said Ronald. "If the Captain would listen to reason, -there wouldn't be any trouble; but he won't--I know him too well." - -"He is only one man," put in the Lieutenant, with sinister -significance. - -"And he is our superior officer," concluded Ronald. "Hello, Norton!" - -The Doctor and the Lieutenant exchanged cool salutations. The faces -of the others were clouded, but the Doctor was as serene as the clear -blue sky overhead. "Haven't you heard?" asked Forsyth, in astonishment. - -"What's the odds?" queried Norton, with a cynical shrug of his broad -shoulders. "So far, we have one life and one death; at the end of one -we meet the other--how does it matter, when or which way?" - -"It matters to me," said Ronald, huskily, "whether I die like a -soldier or like a beast." - -"'Imperial Caesar, dead and turned to clay,'" quoted Norton, -suggestively. "Clay we were in the beginning and clay we shall be at -the end. 'Dust thou art; to dust shalt thou return.'" - -Lieutenant Howard's white teeth showed in a sarcastic smile, but he -said nothing. He seemed interested and even amused by the surgeon's -point of view. - -"That's all very well for you," retorted Ronald, "because you're a -selfish brute, with water in your veins instead of a man's blood. If -you loved a woman----" - -The Lieutenant instantly stiffened. His smile disappeared, leaving a -frown in its place, and Norton's face changed, almost imperceptibly. -"If I loved a woman," he said, "I would protect her at the risk of my -own life, my own happiness, my own soul. If need be, I would protect -her even from herself. If I loved a woman she should think of me in -just one way--as her shield." - -For the sheerest fraction of an instant his eyes met Howard's, openly -and unashamed; then, with another shrug of his shoulders, he turned -away, saying, "I must go back to my lint and my bandages--we may need -them before long." - -Forsyth went back to the trading station, and the other two continued -their uneasy march around the parade-ground. "I think," said the -Lieutenant, "that the sane, reasoning men in the settlement, outside -the ranks, ought to get together and talk to the Captain." - -"It won't do any good," replied Ronald, dubiously. - -"No? Perhaps not, but there's nothing like trying. We don't have to -go, you know--it's not compulsory. The boys would be with us, and, as -I said before, he's only one man." - -Ronald recoiled as if from a blow. "God, man," he said, thickly, -"don't make me forget I'm a soldier!" He swallowed hard, and it -was some time before he spoke again. "I don't mind telling you, -privately, that I don't think much of Captain Franklin, nor," he -added, as an afterthought, "of General Hull; but, in one sense at -least, they're my superior officers. I don't know what's going to -happen to me in the next world, nor even if there is any next world; -but I'll march to the end of my enlistment with my soldier's honour -still unstained." - -The Lieutenant gnawed his mustache in silence while Ronald walked -beside him, breathing heavily. "It's madness," said the Ensign; "we -all know that. The North-western Army is at Detroit, and the British -are at Fort Mackinac--unless they've already started down here. -Meanwhile, the Indians, leagued to a man with the enemy, are waiting -for us to set foot outside the Fort. That fellow that brought the -despatches dared to inquire what we were going to do--so the tribes -could act in harmony, I suppose! Of course, it's possible that we can -get through to Fort Wayne in safety, and go on to Detroit with a force -large enough to clear our path--but I doubt it." - -"Well," said Howard, "let's have a try at it. Let's call a council of -war." - -"All right--I'll go across for Mackenzie and Forsyth, while you get -Norton." - -The Lieutenant waited until he saw the others coming before he -delivered the message. The two men stood facing each other for a -moment after the salute. "Doctor Norton," said Howard, stiffly, "we -have called a council of war at Captain Franklin's, immediately. Will -you be present?" - -"Yes; if you wish it, I will." - -"I do wish it," answered the Lieutenant, clearing his throat. - -Captain Franklin himself opened the door to the five men, and there -was no trace of agitation in his manner as he welcomed them and bade -them be seated. "To what do I owe the honour of this visit?" he -inquired, after an awkward silence. - -"We have come for a word with you, Captain," replied Lieutenant -Howard. "In effect, this is a council of war." - -"One moment please." The Captain went to the door, summoned his -orderly, and gave him a whispered message. "Now, then, I am ready to -listen." - -"Do you intend to obey this order from General Hull's headquarters?" - -"Certainly--why not?" - -"Captain," said Ronald, "we appreciate your position, but you must -see that it is highly improbable that we should ever reach Detroit, or -even Fort Wayne, in safety. Since war was declared against England, -the Indians have been openly hostile. The country through which we -must pass is infested with them, and they are in league with our -enemies. For what reason do the English pay an annual tribute to the -Indians, at the same time searching our ships on the high seas? Do you -remember, before war was declared, two of the Calumet chiefs told you -that our women would soon be hoeing in their corn-fields? If you need -further proof, consider for a moment that the Indian who brought the -despatches wore the blood-red flag of our enemy. - -"Captain, our march must be slow. We have women and children to -protect, and feeble men of seventy and more in our own ranks. We have -only a few horses, scarcely enough for the women, and about fifty -fighting men. If General Hull had been acquainted with the conditions, -he would not have given the order. As it is, we must act upon our own -judgment, and, short of suicide, only one course seems to be open." - -"Is this your opinion also, Lieutenant Howard?" - -"It is." - -"Doctor Norton?" - -"I am not a military man, but I agree in substance with what has been -said." - -"Mr. Mackenzie?" - -"I'm no soldier, either," said the trader, "but I think the proper -course has been described. Of course, if we go, I'll lose everything -I've got in the world; but I don't care for that, if we only do what's -best." - -"Mr. Forsyth?" - -"Like my uncle, I'm no soldier, but I agree with Ensign Ronald. Still, -I will do what seems best, obey whatever orders may be given by those -in authority, and if you wish to send a messenger to Detroit I am at -your service. I will take my horse and start at once." - -"Gentlemen," said the Captain, ignoring the suggestion, "I appreciate -the spirit in which you have come to me, but it is impossible to -disobey orders. A soldier's obedience is paramount to all other -considerations. Special orders have been issued by the War Department -that no post is to be surrendered without battle having been given. -Our force is inadequate to cope with either Indians or British, and I -should be severely censured for remaining, if not court-martialed. - -"On the other hand, even if the Indians are in league with the enemy -because of the yearly distribution of presents, we have weapons of the -same kind in our hands, and I shall not hesitate to use them. There is -a prospect of a safe march through, and I propose to ally the Indians, -temporarily at least, with us." - -Here the orderly entered, bringing with him Black Partridge. - -"Say to him," said Franklin to Mackenzie, "that the White Father bids -him assemble his people from the four quarters of the earth before -noon of to-morrow's sun." The trader translated rapidly as the Captain -spoke. - -"Tell him that we have long dwelt side by side in peace and content, -except when our brother, Black Partridge, was away from us, and the -Winnebagoes, fearing nothing because our protectors were gone, fell -upon us to kill. - -"Say that our Great White Father in Washington has bidden us to -assemble at another place, even as he will bid his people to assemble -here, and that, while our hearts are torn with sorrow, we must obey -the command. Tell him that we wish him and his people to see us start -upon our journey, and that our cattle and our provisions, our clothing -and our supplies, at present in the storehouses of the Great White -Father, will be given to him and his people as a parting gift. Tell -him all this and ask him if he understands." - -Mackenzie was translating, sentence by sentence, and all eyes were -turned upon Black Partridge. The Indian stood as calm and as immovable -as stone, listening intently, with only the glitter of his eyes -betraying any interest whatsoever. - -"Tell him that long shall remain in our hearts the memory of the -kindness received at the hands of our brethren the Pottawattomies, and -the wise counsel of the Great Chief who rules them. Some day, when -other suns have run their course, and the Great White Father gives -us permission, we shall return to live in peace once more with our -brethren, the Pottawattomies, and their Great Chief, Black Partridge, -who is our brother and our friend. Ask him if he understands." - -The harsh gutturals of the question fell upon the ears of the bronze -statue, and, for the moment, there was a tense stillness in the room. -Then the Indian signified that he understood, and withdrew as silently -and as sinuously as a snake in the grass. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -"IF I WERE IN COMMAND" - - -Long before the word had been given, the Indians were coming in. -Winnebagoes, Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawattomies, from north, -south, and west, were gathering in the woods around Fort Dearborn. -Like the rattlesnake coiled to strike, like vultures drawn to a -battlefield, silent, sinister, and deadly, the lines were closing in. - -Noon was the hour appointed for the council, and at that time Black -Partridge, through Mackenzie, made known to Captain Franklin that it -would be another day before all the Pottawattomies could be assembled. -"Till noon of to-morrow's sun," said the Captain, sternly; "not one -moment more." - -Beatrice, from the window of the trading station, saw innumerable -Indians, dressed and painted in the manner of other tribes, carefully -inspecting the house and barn as if appraising their value. The -Agency building was haunted by others, who peered in furtively at -the windows, hoping for an early look at the goods which were to be -distributed among the tribes. - -Mrs. Mackenzie had recovered from the first shock and went about the -house as usual, quiet yet cheerful, and patient with the children and -her manifold household tasks. To Beatrice only she admitted her fear. - -"Don't talk about it, Aunt Eleanor--we must all try to think about -something else." - -"Yes," sighed Mrs. Mackenzie, "we must not fret away the strength we -will need for the journey. Your uncle has slept scarcely an hour since -the news came." - -"I know, Aunt Eleanor, I know." - -"You must help me be brave, dear. Someway, of late, I have felt myself -a coward, and it has made me ashamed. Not for myself alone, but for -the children----" - -The sweet voice quivered, then broke; and for the moment Beatrice's -eyes were dim, but she swiftly put the weakness from her. - -"There's nothing to be afraid of, Aunt Eleanor. The British haven't -come, and as for the Indians, why, they wouldn't dare to attack the -soldiers. We'll get to Fort Wayne, safe and sound, and perhaps the -whole army will go on to Detroit with us. I wonder what my aunt and -uncle will say when they see me riding Queen into Fort Wayne at the -head of the troops!" - -Mrs. Mackenzie laughed in spite of herself. "I hope you're right, Bee." - -Forsyth and Ronald were walking back and forth in front of the -Fort, talking earnestly. A little apart stood Mackenzie and Captain -Franklin, while Indians went in and out of the stockade, apparently at -pleasure. - -"Aunt Eleanor," said Beatrice, thoughtfully, "I read a story once -about a girl. There were two men who--who--well, they liked her, you -know. They were both good, but there was a difference. One always -teased her and tormented her and made her feel at odds with herself, -even though she knew he was just in fun. - -"The other always rested her. No matter how tired she was, or how much -out of sorts she happened to be, it always made her feel better to -be with him. He was quiet and his ways were gentle, and he knew more -about--about books and things, you know. The other one was a soldier, -and this one was a student, but he--he wasn't brave. He couldn't help -it, but he was afraid." - -"A woman never could love a man who wasn't brave," said Mrs. Mackenzie. - -"No, of course she couldn't." - -"And if a man always teased and tormented a woman, and made her feel -irritable, she would never be happy with him." - -"No; she couldn't expect to be." - -"Perhaps she had made a mistake about the other one--perhaps he really -was brave." - -"No; because she saw him twice when she knew he was afraid." - -"Then she shouldn't marry either one." - -"That's what I thought," said Beatrice. - -"Which one did she marry?" - -"Who, Aunt Eleanor?" - -"Why, the girl in the story?" - -"Oh," answered Beatrice, colouring; "why, I--I've forgotten. It's -queer, isn't it, how people forget things?" - -"What book was it in?" - -"I--I don't remember. My memory is poor, Aunt Eleanor. I'm going to my -room, now, if you don't want me, and pack up some of my things." - -Red and white clover blossomed in the yard, where the children were -playing, and a butterfly winged its way through the open window, then -flew swiftly out again. Mrs. Mackenzie sat by the table with her -face hidden in her hands, while childish voices came to her ears in -laughing cadence and filled her heart with fear and pain. Then there -was a touch upon her shoulder. - -"Eleanor!" - -"Why," she said, looking up, "I didn't hear you, John." - -Her clear eyes revealed a sadness beyond tears. "Eleanor," said her -husband, with the muscles working about his mouth, "I can't bear for -you to feel so." - -"I--I'm all right, John. Don't fret about me." - -"No, you ain't all right--don't you think I know? I've brought you -into danger, Eleanor--I see it now, and that's the thing that hurts me -most of all. It's nothing to lose all I've got, for that's happened -to me before, and I'm only fifty--I can get it all back again, but -I can't ever change the fact that I've brought you into danger. I -promised before God that I'd protect you, and I haven't done it. I've -taken you to a place where it ain't safe." - -The man's distress was pitiful. His gigantic frame was bent like an -oak in the path of a furious storm and every line on his haggard face -was distinct, as if it had been cut. His dark eyes, under their bushy -brows, were utterly despairing; he was like one whose hope is dead and -buried past the power of resurrection. - -"John, dear----" she began, with her hand on his bowed head. - -"I've brought you into danger," he said helplessly, "I've brought you -into danger, you and--" A lump in his throat put an end to speech, and -with his hand he indicated the children. - -"John, dear, don't talk so. I--I can't help feeling anxious, but I'm -not afraid. In all the nine years we've lived here, the Indians have -been our friends. There isn't one who would lift his hand against you -or yours." - -"They ain't all our friends, Eleanor. There's hundreds and hundreds -of them coming in, even from as far away as the Wabash. How should -they know that we are their friends? I've brought you into danger," he -repeated. "I can't ever forget that." - -"My husband," she said, and the tone was a caress, "we promised each -other for better or for worse. 'Where thou goest, I will go, thy -people shall be my people, and--' I forget the rest. - -"If we've come to danger, we'll meet it together, side by side. -When I promised to marry you, I didn't mean it just for the smooth -places, I meant it for all. In all these twelve years you've shielded -me--whatever you could do to make things easier for me, you've done, -and all that love and care has been in vain if I am not strong enough -to do my part now. - -"There's never been a harsh word between us, John; we've never fussed -and quarrelled as some married people do, and we never will. The road -has been long, and sometimes it's been dusty and hot, but we've never -walked on thorns, and whatever we've come to, you've always helped me -through it. - -"If this is the end, why, there's nothing to look back on to make -either of us ashamed, nothing to regret, not a word to be sorry for, -not a single thing for which either of us should say 'Forgive me.' If -this is death, we'll face it as I have dreamed we should, if God were -good to us; we'll face it as I've prayed we might--hand in hand!" - -"Eleanor!" he cried, clasping her in his arms. "Brave heart, you give -me faith! True soul, you make me strong!" His trembling lips sought -hers, then on her face she felt his tears. - - * * * * * - -"Well, upon my word!" said Beatrice, from the doorway. "I hope I don't -interrupt?" - -Blushing like a schoolgirl, Mrs. Mackenzie released herself and the -trader laughed mirthlessly. "You're a saucy minx, Bee," he said, with -a little catch in his voice. Then the primitive masculine impulse -asserted itself and he went out, covered with confusion. - -"What have you been doing, Bee?" - -"Nothing much. How pretty you are, Aunt Eleanor! I haven't seen your -cheeks so pink for many a day." - -The deep colour mantled Mrs. Mackenzie's fair face. "Where's Robert?" -she asked hastily. - -"Don't know," murmured Beatrice, instantly beating a retreat. "See, -Aunt Eleanor." - -Out of the mysterious recesses of her pocket, she drew a bag, made of -gay calico, with a long string attached to it. - -"Very pretty--what is it for, dear?" - -"It's for cartridges," laughed Beatrice. "If I ride with the soldiers, -I have to bear arms. I've got my pistol--the one Mr. Ronald gave me -the day after I came here, and I'm going over to the Fort now, after -ammunition." - -She seemed to be in high spirits as she pirouetted around the room, -but there was an undertone of sadness, even in her laugh. She was -half-way to the door when she turned, moved by a sudden tenderness, -and came back. - -"Dear, sweet Aunt Eleanor," she said, rubbing her cheek against Mrs. -Mackenzie's, "you've always been so good to me. Perhaps you've thought -me ungrateful, but truly I'm not, and I want to thank you now." - -"You've been like a second daughter to me, dear," said the other, a -little unsteadily, "you've done more for me than I ever could do for -you." - -Ronald was waiting for Beatrice on the other side of the river while -she was pulling across, and she waved her bright coloured bag at him -in gay fashion. "You gave me a gun," she said, "but you didn't give me -anything to put in it. I want cartridges." - -"How many?" he asked, smiling. - -"As many as the bag will hold." - -"Foolish child, you never can carry all those." - -"Oh, but I can--you don't know how strong I am! I'm going to tie it -around my waist, you know." - -"Happy bag," said Ronald, as he took it from her. "I'll get them for -you," he continued, seriously. - -"One thing more," she said, with lowered voice. "If--if--well, the -Indians will never get me. And they shall not have Queen. Where shall -I shoot?" - -"Fire at the exact centre of the line between Queen's eyes." - -In spite of herself the girl shuddered. "And--and--?" she asked, -looking up into his face. - -"The right temple," answered Ronald, huskily. "Heart's Desire, you are -a mate for a king!" - -Forsyth passed them on his way to the entrance of the Fort, and -Beatrice put out a restraining hand. "Where are you going, Cousin Rob?" - -"Home--to open school." - -"I thought this was vacation?" - -"It is, but it is better for the children, under the circumstances, to -have their minds occupied." - -The oars splashed in the water, and Ronald turned to her again. -"Darling--" - -"Look," interrupted Beatrice, "there's the Lieutenant." She hailed him -merrily. "Cousin Ralph, is Katherine at home?" - -"I believe so," he answered, coming toward them; "if not, she's at -Mrs. Franklin's." - -"I'm going to find her." She made an elaborate courtesy to each of -them, and departed. - -"Ronald," said the Lieutenant, "this is absolute foolishness, and -something has got to be done. How many hundred Indians do you suppose -have already gathered here--and Black Partridge postponing the council -till the rest get in--any fool can see what it means!" - -"Yes, any fool but the Captain," said the Ensign, bitterly. - -The parade-ground was deserted, for the August heats beat fiercely -upon the land. Stray Indians went in and out, and the sentinel, -with his musket over his shoulder, paced round and round the Fort. -Lieutenant Howard cleared his throat. - -"The lives of the women and children are in our hands," he said, in a -low tone. "I'm not speaking for ourselves, now. If Franklin is still -set on this mad course, there's only one thing to do." His face and -voice were eloquent with sinister meaning. - -The flag hung like a limp rag at the masthead and the long droning -notes of the locusts sounded loudly in the tense stillness. "Murder," -whispered Ronald, with his face white. - -"Yes, murder, if you will have so. It's a harsh word, but I don't -quibble at the term. 'Caesar had his Brutus, King Charles his Cromwell, -and----'" - -Ronald's head was bowed and his hands were tightly clenched. Sharp, -hissing breaths came and went between his set teeth and the -Lieutenant put his hand upon his shoulder. - -"Boy," he said, in a softer tone, "I'm a soldier, like you. So far, -I've marched as you have, true to my colours, but of late, I've been -wondering if it wasn't time to turn. Since the first soldiers marched -against the enemy, there has been a false worship of orders--we have -regarded the dictum of a commander as equivalent to a fiat of God. - -"Good men and true have gone to a needless death, because the -commander was a fool. You know what we're coming to. You can see it, -plain as day. Do you remember, up at Lee's that night, you felt the -mutilated bodies of those two men, and came back, with your hands -stained with their blood? Our boys will be treated worse than that, if -the Captain has his way." - -"If you were in command--" said Ronald, thickly. - -"If I were in command, that order should be torn to bits and scattered -to the four winds. Every ounce of food in the Agency storehouse, every -pound of powder and shot, every musket, every rifle, and every pistol, -should be brought into the Fort. - -"I would drive the cattle inside the enclosure, keep a few in the -stables, kill the rest, salt down the meat, and preserve it. A cellar -should be prepared for the women and children, a hospital corps -drilled, the cannon in the blockhouses manned, and the gates of the -Fort closed. - -"If I were in command there should be no needless slaughter, no -torture of women and children, no disembowelling of our soldiers, no -cutting our hearts out while we are still alive. No! We'd fight like -soldiers, die like men; we'd hold the Fort till the flag was shot to -pieces and not a man stood among its ashes to defend it, if I were in -command!" - -"If you were in command--" muttered Ronald. - -"If I were in command, Fort Dearborn should go down to history with -honour, not shame. Water and food are assured. What if the British -with all their forces were hammering at our gates, allied with the red -devils as they are! We have the Fort at our backs--they have the river -and the open prairie. We could hold it for six months, if necessary. -The War Department says: 'No post shall be surrendered without battle -having been given,' and, by the Lord, we'd give a battle that would -fill hell with our enemies. One stroke will do it--one bullet from our -precious store of ammunition--one man brave enough to strike; but it -must be done to-night--now!" - -The Ensign's face was ghastly. "Think what it means to you," whispered -the Lieutenant. "Think of the woman you love! Oh, I know--I have not -been blind. Would you see her put to the torture, stripped, violated, -torn limb from limb by those fiends that even now are watching the -Fort? - -"Think of their bloody, cruel hands upon her soft flesh--think of the -torture--eyes burned out with charred sticks--finger-nails split off -backward--things that there are no words to name, while Beatrice cries -to you! - -"Boy, think of the woman you love, with her big childish eyes,--shall -the savages burn them out? Her dimpled hands--shall her fingers be -torn out, one by one? Her sweet voice--shall it cry to you in vain? -Think of her fair white body, at the mercy of two thousand fiends! -Think what she means to you--her beauty and her laughter--her -tenderness and her thorns--then think of this! One man--one -bullet--one moment--to-night--now!" - -His voice died into a hoarse whisper and Ronald writhed in anguish. -For an instant, only, the scales hung in the balance, then he turned -and faced him. - -"No!" he roared, "by God, no! I'll protect the woman I love while a -drop of blood is left in my body--as long as this sword has a hand -behind it to fight. If I am powerless to save her, she shall die at my -hands, but I'll be no beast! - -"I'll not commit murder like a Brutus or a Cromwell. I'll not strike -down my Captain like a thief in the night! I'll stab no man in the -back--I'll meet him face to face in fair and open fight, and may the -best man win! - -"Ralph, you're beside yourself--you don't know what you're saying. -You're a soldier, man, you're not a brute! Stand fast to your -soldier's honour, and let God do as He will! - -"We're all against him--officers and men. Perhaps there's not a man in -barracks who would hesitate at what you ask--mutiny and insurrection -stalk abroad in our midst, but, by the Lord, I'll obey my orders! -Strike the blow if you will--go like a coward and a thief to take the -life of a brave man, who is doing what seems to him his duty--hire -your contemptible assassin if you choose, but remember this--the man -who touches one hair of my Captain's head, answers for it--to me!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -SAVED FROM HIMSELF - - -The morning of August twelfth dawned with burning heat. The lake lay -as smooth as a sea of glass and from the south-west came the dreaded -wind of the prairies, hot as a blast from a furnace and laden with -dust. The sun blazed pitilessly in a cloudless sky and countless -Indians patrolled the Fort, the Agency House, and the trading station. - -The newcomers were alive with curiosity. Many of them had never seen -the Fort before, and they swarmed in and out unceasingly. Through -the wicket gate and the main entrance, past the soldiers' barracks, -guard-house, hospital, storehouse, magazine, and contractor's store, -back and forth between the officers' barracks, the Indians continually -passed. They lay down on their faces to smell of the drain, muttered -unintelligibly when they came to the subterranean passage, and -wondered at the flag, with its fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, that -hung limply at the staff. - -They openly defied the sentinels at the gate, climbed into the -blockhouses, where they surreptitiously felt of the cannon and peered -furtively into the muzzles, and even went into the officers' quarters. -It was the kind of a visit that one makes to an occupied house, on the -eve of taking possession. - -"Wallace," said Mrs. Franklin, "isn't there any way to keep these -people out of the Fort?" - -"Why, I hadn't thought about it," returned the Captain, absently. -"They're not doing any harm, are they?" - -"They haven't as yet," retorted Mrs. Franklin, with spirit, "but -they're likely to at any moment. I don't want them in my house, and I -won't have them here!" - -"Tell them so," laughed the Captain. "I have no doubt of the -effectiveness of your request." - -"Don't make fun of me." - -"I'm not making fun of you, dear, but it is of the utmost importance -that we do nothing to excite the Indians. If they think we are -unfriendly, mischief may easily result. I suppose our houses and the -Fort have the same interest for them that their wigwams and blankets -had for us, when we first saw Indians. Personally, I have no objection -whatever to their examining our weapons of offence and defence." - -Mrs. Franklin sighed. "When do we go?" she asked. - -"As soon as possible after the council, which will be held this -afternoon. It takes time, however, to prepare sixty or seventy people -for a long overland journey." - -"I wish we had boats." - -"So do I, but we haven't. Still, I don't know that we'd be any better -off, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, without guides, than we -are here. There may be a trail from the river across to Detroit, but -I don't know anything about it. Lieutenant Swearingen marched his -company around by land, when the Fort was built. When we get to Fort -Wayne, we'll either stay there, or go on to Detroit with a larger -force. It depends upon the movements of the British." - -"Some way, Wallace, I'm afraid of trouble--I don't know why." - -"I don't think there'll be any trouble, dear, but the idea that -it would be right and proper to disobey the order appears to be -spreading. Mackenzie is at the bottom of it, of course, and I don't -know that we should blame him, for it means heavy financial loss to -him. Yet he never could have established himself here if it had not -been for the Fort, and it is his place to uphold the military, rather -than to work against it; but there's no accounting for the vagaries -of the human mind. All of his work here has been contingent upon the -protection of the Fort; when that is withdrawn, he has no right to -complain. Civilians seem to think that an order doesn't mean anything -in particular--it's to be obeyed or not, as suits their erratic fancy. -A soldier is a man who obeys orders--when he is no longer willing to -do that he should get a discharge." - -"Do you think the Indians will destroy this house, after we leave?" - -"Probably, and the Fort also. Quarrels are bound to occur among the -different tribes before long, and while they are settling their -disputes in their own way, we'll get well on to Fort Wayne." - -"I've thought," said Mrs. Franklin, slowly, "that Lieutenant Howard -was inclined to make trouble. I haven't had any reason to think so, -but I can't get it out of my head." - -"It's quite possible," returned the Captain, with a significant shrug -of his shoulders, "for he is one of the men who are always against -everything they do not originate. He's been chafing at his bit all -along because he isn't in command. If he were Captain, he'd want to -be a step higher--I suppose he thinks himself capable of handling -the whole army. But don't bother yourself about it, dear--we'll get -through some way. I must go, now--I've got things to see to." - -In and out of the stockade, parties of Indians were still passing, -braves and squaws, who took great interest in their new surroundings. -Mrs. Franklin locked her door, but savage faces continually appeared -at the windows and at last she determined to go out upon the -parade-ground and find a soldier or two to protect her. - -When she opened the door, she started violently, and put her hand upon -her heart. - -"I'm sorry I frightened you," said Katherine. "I'm frightened myself. -I don't like to have those Indians running in and out. Four squaws -just came into my house and began to look around, just as if I had -something that belonged to them. I don't know what they're doing -now--they're still there. Can't we get some of the boys to drive them -out and shut the gates?" - -Before there was time for an answer, three braves and two squaws -entered the Captain's house and began to inspect the furnishings -of the room. Katherine was stiff with terror, but Mrs. Franklin was -angry. She held her peace, however, until one of the warriors took -down a musket from the wall, aimed it at the ceiling, and fired. - -In an instant the Captain's wife was on her feet. Her husband's rifle -was on the table behind her, and quick as a flash, she levelled it at -the intruders. "Out of my house, you dogs!" she cried, and the Indians -retreated, pausing outside just long enough to make savage grimaces at -the women. - -The report of the musket brought Ronald and some soldiers to the -rescue. "What's up?" he asked, looking from one to the other. - -It was Katherine who explained, for Mrs. Franklin's courage had -deserted her, and she was trembling so she could not speak. "Cheer up, -Mamie," said the Ensign--"I'll see to it." - -Upon his own responsibility, he cleared the Fort of the intruders, -closed the south gate, and put a double line of armed sentinels at the -north entrance. - -No sooner was it accomplished than Captain Franklin came out of the -offices. "May I ask," he sarcastically inquired of Ronald, "by whose -authority you have done this?" - -The Ensign saluted. "By the authority of a Second Lieutenant who sees -the wife of his Captain in danger," he answered stiffly, then turned -on his heel and walked away. - -The two women were sitting on the piazza and the Captain did not share -Ronald's fears for their safety. Mackenzie and Black Partridge passed -through the line of sentinels and he went to meet them. - -"He says," began the trader, indicating the chief, "that noon of the -sun is too early for the council, but that at the second hour after -noon, he and his people will be assembled upon the esplanade, to await -the pleasure of the White Father." - -"Very well," said the Captain, carelessly. - -Black Partridge went out and the Indians at once began to rally around -him. At least a thousand, including the squaws, came out of the woods -and were assigned to different stations, according to their rank. The -chiefs of the several branches of the Pottawattomies and the chiefs -of allied tribes, had places of honour in the front ranks. The braves -and young warriors came next, and the squaws were grouped a little way -off, by themselves. - -For fully an hour before the appointed time, the solid phalanx waited -in the broiling sun. Some of the squaws sat upon the hot ground, -but the braves stood, silent and statuesque, with grim fortitude. -The Ensign went to the gate of the Fort and took a long look at the -assembly, frankly admitting to himself that he did not like the -appearance of it. - -When he had turned back and had passed the sentinels, Doctor Norton -stopped him. "Ronald," he said, in a low tone, "the boys are talking -mutiny." - -The Ensign considered a moment. "How do you know?" - -"Well, I've overheard two or three significant remarks that seemed to -point in the same direction." - -"Who began it?" - -"It seems to have started in about fifty places at once." - -"Do you know the names of the men?" - -"No, I do not." Ronald knew that the Doctor lied, and respected him -for it. - -"Do you think the boys thought of it by themselves?" - -"I should judge so--I didn't hear any references to the officers." - -Ronald looked at him quickly but he appeared unconscious. "I just -thought I'd tell you," he continued. "Of course, it's none of my -affair." - -"All right--much obliged to you." - -The Doctor went away and Ronald went immediately to his superior -officer. "Lieutenant Howard," he demanded sternly, "have you been -talking mutiny to the men?" - -Howard's eyes met his squarely. "No," he said sharply, "have you?" - -Ronald retreated, shamefaced and ill at ease. "I--I beg your pardon." - -"The boys aren't fools," laughed the Lieutenant. "They can see farther -than some. I've spoken to no one but you, but if mutiny arises, I'll -let it take its rightful course." - -"Well, I won't. Remember what I said." - -"I can't remember all your valuable utterances. Don't cast your pearls -before swine, but reserve them for--for a more appreciative audience." - -Stung to the quick by the insult, Ronald instinctively put his hand on -his sword. Then both saw the Captain coming swiftly toward them, and -waited. - -"It is time for the council," he said. - -"Well?" queried the Lieutenant, after an awkward pause. - -"Are you going with me?" - -Silence. - -"Lieutenant Howard and Ensign Ronald, it is time for the council I -have appointed with the Indians. Are you going with me?" - -"An order, Captain?" inquired Ronald. - -"Neither an order nor a request--not even a suggestion. It is an -opportunity, to be taken or not, as you choose." - -"Speaking for myself," said Ronald, "I do not see what we could -accomplish by going. You are the army and the officers of it." - -"As you pay no attention to our suggestions," remarked the Lieutenant, -"I prefer to remain here." - -"Very well." The Captain and Mackenzie went out alone. - -"Better go to the blockhouse, hadn't we?" asked Ronald. "There may be -trouble." - -"I hope there will be," answered Howard. "Let Franklin fight it out -alone with his precious Indians. Providence may yet intervene and give -me the command." - -Ronald went to the blockhouse alone, trained the cannon at the -port-holes, and watched the Indians. After the first formal greetings -were exchanged, the business of the afternoon began. Franklin spoke to -Mackenzie, who translated for the benefit of Black Partridge, and he, -in turn, conveyed the message to the assembly. - -"We come for the last time," said Captain Franklin, "to speak with our -brothers, the red men. Your Great Chief has told you how our Great -Chief has bidden us to assemble at another place and how, though our -hearts are torn with sorrow, we must obey the command. We have sent -swift messengers a day's journey and more on every side, that we might -say farewell to those with whom we have so long dwelt in peace. The -goods in yonder storehouse, by the mandate of the Great White Father, -are to be given to our brothers as a parting gift, that they may long -hold us in kindly remembrance, as we shall them. - -"We ask, however, a favour in return. We ask that some of our noble -brothers, such as it may please, shall escort us to Fort Wayne, the -place of our first assembly, and long known to the red men, who -have many friends there. We ask that our brothers shall aid us in -protecting our women and children from the dangers of the trail. If -any are graciously inclined to do this kindness for us, we shall press -upon them still other gifts when we reach our destination." - -Black Partridge, in a loud voice, repeated the speech in the Indian -tongue. Each of the chiefs in the front rank then expressed an -opinion upon the subject, as he was asked by the spokesman. Then Black -Partridge spoke apart with Mackenzie. - -"They say," said the interpreter, "that it is well. They will joyously -receive the goods in the storehouse as a parting gift from their white -brothers, beside whom they have so long dwelt in peace. The plains -will be lonely and the river sad without the palefaces. The houses -of the Great White Father will be desolate when the friends of the -red men are gone, but as it is written, so must it be. The bravest of -the warriors will attend on the trail to Fort Wayne and safely shield -the friends of the red men from savages and wild beasts. From all -that stalks abroad with intent to slay, the friends of the palefaces -will guard them. Let the children of the Great White Father have no -fear. All shall be well. Side by side shall they journey with their -brothers, the Pottawattomies and the allied tribes. In three moons, or -perhaps two, if the Great Spirit is kind, the palefaces will return to -dwell with their brothers once more, when their assembly is over and -the Great White Father has made known unto them his commands." - -"Tell them," said Captain Franklin, "that at the same hour of -to-morrow's sun, the presents shall be given them. They shall have -blankets, prints, calicoes, broadcloths, and adornments for their -women and their papooses. For the Great Chiefs there will be tobacco, -war paints, cunning contrivances for the sharpening of weapons, and -provisions against the long cold Winter when the hunting grounds -are barren, which is but four moons away. Say that the Great White -Father will be pleased when he learns how the Great Chiefs, with their -fearless braves and warriors, have safely guided his children unto the -place of assembly." - -"They say it is well," said Mackenzie, after the speech and its answer -had been duly made, "and that at the same hour of to-morrow's sun they -will assemble here, to receive the parting tokens of the Great White -Father." - -With much ceremony, the council was concluded and the Indians -dispersed. Black Partridge lingered to express his pleasure because -all had gone well, then he, too, went along the river bank to the -woods where the Indians were gathered. - -"Captain," said Mackenzie, "I want to talk to you a bit." - -"All right--let's go back to the Fort, where it's cooler." - -Ronald came down from the blockhouse as they entered the stockade and -went across the river, where Beatrice was visible at a shaded window. - -"How about the ammunition and liquor?" asked the trader. "Are you -going to include that in the distribution?" - -"I hadn't thought about it--why?" - -"It's risky," said Mackenzie. "We don't want to furnish them with -weapons to use against us. Arm those seven hundred Indians with -muskets, give them powder and shot, fill them up with liquor, and -where would we be?" - -"It might amuse them," replied the Captain, thoughtfully. "If there -was whiskey enough in the storehouse to get every man of them dead -drunk, except our guides, it might be the best thing to do." - -"Unfortunately, we can't force the proper quantity down the throat of -each one. Some are wiser than the rest and they wouldn't drink." - -"Well, suppose they had the muskets--wouldn't they use them against -each other?" - -"No," said the trader, conclusively, "they wouldn't. They'd turn -against us." - -"I hardly think that any of them will go with us, except Black -Partridge and a few of his friends. By to-morrow, numerous fights -will have started, and they'll be too busy to notice our departure. -Besides, they have promised." - -"Captain Franklin, the promise of an Indian is absolutely worthless, -as you must know by this time. Since the troubles on the Wabash, the -general trend of feeling toward us has been hostile. Their tomahawks -are bad enough--they don't need our own weapons. When I got as far as -De Charme's, last Fall, on my way to Detroit, and heard of the battle -of Tippecanoe, I turned back immediately to Fort Dearborn and sent -messengers to the outer trading posts with positive orders to furnish -neither ammunition nor liquor to the Indians. Do you remember?" - -"Yes, I remember. Perhaps it would be as well to keep back the liquor -and ammunition, but in that case, they must not know we have them. How -can we manage?" - -"Bring everything into the Fort secretly, by night, and destroy it." - -"Very well," said the Captain, after a silence; "you have had better -opportunities than I have had to gain an intimate knowledge of the -Indians. To-night and to-morrow night, as secretly as may be, I will -have the goods brought in and destroyed." - -After Mackenzie went home, the Captain went out to walk back and forth -on the prairie near the Fort. His head was bowed and his arms were -folded. In spite of General Hull's order and the friendly professions -of the Indians, he felt the situation keenly. His responsibility sat -heavily upon him, for he knew his officers were opposed to him and had -begun to suspect that the men were disaffected. He would not have been -surprised at a mutiny, feeling, as he did, that it was a case of one -man against the world. - -From a window, Katherine saw him walking to and fro, and at first -she thought it was her husband, but a second look convinced her of -her mistake. She was about to turn away when something arrested her -attention. - -On the Captain's right, and at some little distance from him, an -Indian was moving stealthily toward the Fort. On his left, and still -farther away from him, another was doing the same thing. - -The Captain turned to the right, and instantly the Indian on that side -dropped full length on the grass, while the other moved more quickly -toward the Fort. When the Captain turned to the left the manoeuvre -was repeated, but it was some time before she grasped the horrid -significance of their actions. - -When she perceived that both Indians were endeavouring to get -between the Captain and the Fort, the blood froze in her veins. The -parade-ground was deserted, and the long, droning notes of the locusts -were the only sound she heard. She screamed, but the Captain did not -turn, and no one seemed to hear. At the gate the sentinel leaned on -his musket, unconscious of danger. She screamed again, but could not -hear her own voice. - -Then the springs of action threw off their lethargy. She dashed out of -the house and flew over the parade-ground, with the taste of hot blood -in her mouth and a heavy weight upon her breast. Trembling in every -nerve, she climbed the ladder that led to the blockhouse, and entered, -flushed and gasping. She was dimly conscious that she was not alone, -but there was no time to waste. - -Praying that she might not be too late, she seized a loaded musket, -aimed through the porthole, and fired. It seemed an age before she saw -the Captain through the smoke, running back to the Fort, and the two -Indians making for the woods. - -"Thank God!" she breathed, "thank God!" Then she turned--and faced her -husband, his face so ghastly that she scarcely knew him. - -"Ralph!" she whispered, hoarsely. "Ralph!" - -His eyes refused to meet hers, and a tumult surged in her brain. -Detached pictures of her childhood, confused and unrelated memories, -and a thousand trivial things passed swiftly before her mental vision. -Then, as if by magic, there was a clearing--all things gave way to the -horrible knowledge that he had seen--and had failed to warn. - -"Ralph! Ralph! My husband!" - -The blood beat hard in her pulses and her lips curled in scorn. Then -her unspeakable contempt melted to pity, as she saw how the man was -suffering. Like an avenging angel she stood before him, confronting -him mutely with his sin. - -Captain Franklin came into the Fort. As the Lieutenant saw him safe -and sound, he groaned deeply, like one whose suspense is ended. Then -he raised his eyes to the face of his wife. - -"I thank you, Katherine," he said, gravely; "you have saved me from -myself." - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -RECONCILIATION - - -That night, while the sentries kept guard, Lieutenant Howard paced to -and fro, as sleepless and as vigilant as they. Now and then parties -of soldiers came through the gates with ammunition or liquor from the -Agency, and piled it in front of the storehouse to await the Captain's -orders. Throughout the night the contraband goods were transported, as -quietly as possible, in order that the suspicions of the Indians might -not be aroused. - -The Second in Command was in the midst of that battle with self which -every man fights at least once in his life. The events of the past -few days and his own part in them confronted him with persistent -accusation. The prairie beyond the Fort and the figure of the Captain -were etched upon his mental vision with the acid of relentless memory. - -The scales fell from his eyes at last, and he saw himself -clearly--mutinous, insubordinate, unworthy of his office; distrusting -his wife and alienating his friends. Conscience, too long asleep, -awoke to demand such reparation as lay in his power to make. - -Ten minutes more and it would have been too late. Ten minutes more and -the deadly tomahawk of an unseen foe would have been buried in the -Captain's brain. That little space of time was all that stood between -him and the command of Fort Dearborn--a command which he had planned -to use in open rebellion against the orders of his superior officer. - -Cold sweat stood out upon his forehead, and his clenched hands -trembled. Ten minutes more and he would have been a murderer in deed -as well as in thought, though his hands would not have been stained -and there would have been no proof of his guilt. The pine knots blazed -fitfully in the crevices of the stockade, turning to a ghastly glare -as daylight came on. "A murderer!" he said to himself over and over -again; "a murderer!" He was like one who wakes from some horrible -nightmare with the spell of it still upon him, and wondering yet if it -is not true. - -Behind it all was a new emotion,--a new feeling for Katherine. Her -hand had saved him. She had drawn him back from the brink of the abyss -even as the ground was crumbling beneath his feet--Katherine, his -wife, whom he had sworn to love and to cherish, and whom he had made -miserable instead. To-morrow, or at most the day after, would see the -end of it all. Two days remained in which to make atonement--two days, -snatched from the past, to fulfil the promise of the future that once -had seemed so fair. - -"All in, sir," said a soldier. "Not a box nor a barrel is left at -the Agency. It's all there." He pointed to a pyramid in front of the -storehouse, which was almost as high as the building itself. - -"No one saw you?" queried the Lieutenant. - -"No, sir; no one saw. One of the pickets has just come in, and he -says, sir, that every blamed Injun is up in the north woods. There's -been a dance going on all night." - -"Very well," answered the Lieutenant, carelessly; but his heart sank -within him. - -"Mad Margaret was there, too, sir--she was havin' one of her spells." - -"Well," said the Lieutenant, sharply, "what of it?" - -"Nothing, sir--excuse me, sir." The soldier saluted and went away. - -The night wind died down and the sun rose in a fury of heat. No clouds -softened the hard, metallic sky--it was like a concave mirror on which -the sun beat pitilessly. - -The guard was changed, and presently Doctor Norton came out on the -parade-ground. When he saw who was there, he turned to go back, then -waited, for the Lieutenant was coming swiftly toward him. - -They faced each other for a moment, like adversaries measuring the -opposing strength, then Norton smiled. "Well?" he asked calmly. - -"I have not come to you," said the Lieutenant, thickly, "as you have -doubtless expected me to. We have no time to cherish any sort of a -grudge when, in two days at least, we start for Fort Wayne. You know -what awaits us on the way, and if worst comes to worst, and I can no -longer protect her, I ask you to make Mrs. Howard your especial care." - -Schooled as he was in self-control, the Doctor started, and the -expression of his face changed as he looked keenly at the Lieutenant. - -"What!" cried the other, scornfully, "are you not willing to do that -much for her?" - -"Lieutenant Howard, as you say, it is no time to cherish a grudge. -What you have asked of me would be an honour at any time, but I will -not accept the trust until you know from me how I stand. I love your -wife with all my heart and soul." - -"Have you told her so?" asked Howard, quickly. - -"In words, no--but I think she understands--in fact, I hope and -believe that she understands." - -The silence was tense, and Lieutenant Howard gnawed his mustache -nervously. His hand went to his belt instinctively, then dropped to -his side. - -"I fear you have misjudged her," the Doctor continued. "A purer, truer -woman never drew the breath of life. In word or act or thought she has -never been disloyal to you. I said a moment ago that I loved her, but -it is more than that--it is the worship that a man gives to a woman as -far above him as the stars." - -"In that case," said Howard, in a hoarse whisper, "you are well fitted -to protect her." - -"You still offer me that trust?" asked the other, eagerly. - -The answer was scarcely audible. "I do." - -Their eyes met in a long look of keen scrutiny on one side, and of -fearless honesty upon the other. Then Norton extended his hand. The -Lieutenant grasped it, caught his breath quickly, then turned away, -for once the master of himself. - -Beatrice came out of the Captain's house and smiled at him as he stood -there with his head bowed. "You're--you're out early," he said, with -an effort. - -"I couldn't sleep. It was hot, and--Cousin Ralph, you must tell me. I -am not a child, to be kept in the dark. What is this horrible thing -that seems to be hovering over us? Uncle John does not speak to any -one; twice yesterday I found Aunt Eleanor crying; Cousin Rob and Mr. -Ronald are not in the least like themselves; Kit and Mrs. Franklin are -as pale as ghosts, and you--I saw you walking here all night. What -does it mean? Tell me!" - -"We fear attack," he answered sharply. - -"Indians or British?" - -"Indians--under British orders." - -For a moment the girl stared at him as if she did not believe what he -said. "Would they--would they--" she gasped, "turn those fiends upon -us?" - -"Yes," he cried, "they would! They have done so in times past and -they will do so again! They--I beg your pardon--I have forgotten -myself--I--I--" - -"Cousin Ralph, you are not well. You have walked all night, and you -need rest. I understand your anxiety, your fears for us, but you need -not be alarmed. We are women, but we are weak only in body--at heart -we are soldiers like you, and, like you, we will obey orders. Cousin -Ralph! You are ill! Come!" - -He staggered, but did not fall. Beatrice put her arm around him and -helped him home. "Don't be frightened, Kit," she said, when the door -was opened; "he's just tired. He's been up all night and sleep will -bring him to himself again." - -"Can I help?" asked Forsyth, anxiously. He had come to ask Beatrice if -she would not breakfast at home. - -"Yes, please," said Mrs. Howard, quietly. "Help me get him into bed. -He has been under a great nervous strain." - -Beatrice sat on the piazza and waited. She had said she was not weak, -but she was suffering keenly, none the less. After a little Robert -came back. "He went to sleep immediately," he said; "but Mrs. Howard -prefers to stay with him." - -"Then we'll go home," she sighed. Together they went out of the -stockade into the merciless heat that already had set shimmering waves -to vibrating in the air. She drooped like a broken lily--her strength -was gone. - -Robert's heart went out to her in pity, and something more. When they -reached the piazza he put his hand upon her arm. "Beatrice, dear," he -said, softly, "lean on me. I cannot bear to see you so--my darling, -let me help you!" - -His voice shook, but she did not seem to hear. "I'm tired," she -answered dully; "I--I didn't sleep." She put him away from her very -gently. "I--I'm so tired," she repeated, with an hysterical laugh that -sounded like a sob. "I don't want any breakfast--I just want to lie -down and rest. Don't let Aunt Eleanor worry." - -She went down the passage unsteadily, and he watched her until she was -safely within her own room. He quieted Mrs. Mackenzie's fears as best -he could, and managed to eat a part of his breakfast, though it was as -dust and ashes in his mouth. - -"Rob," said the trader, "can you help me to-day?" - -"Certainly, Uncle." - -"We've got to get all the goods out of here and out of the Agency, -and divide them into lots of equal value. Black Partridge says seven -hundred of his people are entitled to the gifts. The Captain and I -decided last night to put the things out behind the Fort, send the -Indians by in single file, and let each one choose as he will. Black -Partridge agreed to the plan. He will form the line himself, so -there's no chance for trouble." - -The bateau was put into service, and Chandonnais was instructed to -carry all the stores from the trading station to the esplanade, where -two of the soldiers kept guard. Mackenzie and Forsyth, with the aid -of a number of soldiers, carried out nearly all the stores from the -Agency House, reserving only the provisions needed for the march. - -Mackenzie had made out lists the night before from his inventory, so -the task was not as difficult as it first appeared. As the men brought -out the goods, articles of a kind were grouped together, so, with the -aid of his note-book, the lots were quickly formed. - -Had it not been for the heat, the task would have been finished by -noon; but two o'clock found the tired men still at work and the long -line of Indians waiting impatiently, kept back by the pickets on guard -and the commands of their chief. - -"Why," said Mackenzie, in surprise, "the things aren't all here. Three -blankets are missing, two hams, a side of bacon, some calico, and I -don't know what all." - -"Haven't you made a mistake, Uncle?" - -"No, I'm sure I haven't. Somebody must have stolen them, but I don't -know how nor when it could have happened. Go up to the Fort, Rob, and -get all the blankets they can spare--I can even up while you're gone." - -The Indians were waiting with ill-concealed eagerness, and in half an -hour more the word was given. Each went in turn to the wide stretch -of prairie where the piles of merchandise were placed, and where -sentinels were stationed to prevent stealing. When one started back -with his goods, another went, and so on, until late in the afternoon. - -On account of the great number of Indians and the reservation of -provisions for the march, as well as four months' depletion of the -stores, the portion of each one was small; but there were no signs -of discontent until the distribution was over and the last Indian -gathered up the single pile that was left and went back to his place -at the foot of the line. - -Then Black Partridge called Mackenzie and said he wished to speak to -Captain Franklin. - -"The goods of the White Father have been given to his children, the -red men," translated Mackenzie. "We have received the blankets, -calicoes, prints, paints, broadcloths, and the tobacco that the White -Father promised us at the second hour after noon of yesterday's sun. -All is as it was written. But where is the powder and shot of the -Great White Father? Where are the muskets that were in the storehouse? -Why can we not have weapons for our hunting during the long Winter -that is but four moons away? - -"The feet of the palefaces have a strange tread. They have frightened -away the deer, the wolves, and the foxes that the Great Spirit has -placed in the forest for his children to slay. Where is the firewater -that strengthens the arm and the heart of the red man--the firewater -which is the best gift of the Great White Father? Much of it was in -the storehouse--we have seen it with our own eyes, but now it is gone." - -"Say to him," said the Captain, "that when the strange tread of the -palefaces has died away on the trail, the forest will once more fill -with the wolves and the deer and the foxes that the Great Spirit has -given for his children to kill. In the meantime, we leave our cattle -for our brothers, the Pottawattomies, beside whom we have so long -dwelt in peace. The grass is green upon the plains and there is water -for all. When the long Winter night comes upon them, the hay that we -have stacked in the fields will sustain the cattle until the Great -Spirit once more sends the sun. There are roots in our storehouses -with which they may do as they please, and they will not miss the deer -and the wolves and the foxes that the palefaces have frightened away. - -"The firewater which our brothers think they have seen in our -storehouses was not firewater, but only empty casks. The red man is -brave, and it has been written by the Great White Father that he needs -no firewater to strengthen his arm and his heart. It is for women and -for children and for men who are not strong, as the medicine man of -the Pottawattomies has told them many times. It would be displeasing -to the Great White Father should we take away the firewater from the -palefaces who need it, for the sake of the red men who need it not. - -"We have given to our brothers freely all that we have to give. It is -a sorrow in our hearts that there is not more, but our storehouses are -empty, as they must see, and other gifts are promised at the place of -our assembly. - -"When other moons have waxed and waned, and when the Great White -Father has made known unto us his commands, we shall return once more -to the river and the plains to dwell by the Great Blue Water with our -brothers, the Pottawattomies, whose kindness and whose wise counsels -are forever written in our hearts." - -"They say it is well," said Mackenzie, when the long speech and its -brief answer had been translated; "and that they will pray unceasingly -to the Great Spirit that the moons may be few ere the friends of the -red men return." - -Forsyth and Mackenzie went home thoroughly exhausted. Night brought no -relief from the intense heat, and the guards paced listlessly to and -fro. Under cover of the darkness a small company of soldiers, under -Ronald's orders, broke up the muskets and flint-locks, wet down the -powder, put the shot into the well in the sally-port, and knocked in -the heads of the barrels containing liquor. - -Careful as they were, noise was inevitable. Barrel after barrel was -rolled to the river bank and its contents poured into the stream. A -cask of alcohol shared the same fate, and the peculiar, pungent odour -filled the air. - -"It's too late, sir," said a soldier, when he came in, rolling the -last empty barrel before him. - -"What do you mean?" demanded Ronald. - -"The Indians, sir. Three of them are lying in the grass downstream, -drinking the river water for the sake of the grog." - -"Where are the rest?" - -"In the woods, sir, dancing, same as last night. The northern pickets -told me, sir." - -A long, low whistle came from the Ensign's lips. "If I might be so -bold, sir," continued the man, in a low tone, "some of the boys have -thought as how you weren't falling in with this order of the Cap'n's. -Orders is orders--we know that--but the boys are with you, to a man. -We'll do whatever you say, sir." - -In spite of the threat which the words veiled, Ronald was deeply -touched by the devotion of the barracks. He laid his hand on the man's -shoulders before speaking. - -"To be with me is to be with the Captain," he said. "It is one and the -same. Trying times must come to all of us, and for a soldier there -can be no nobler end than to die fighting for his country. Captain -Franklin will ask no one of us to go where he would not go himself. -Tell the boys that, and that to stand by the Captain is to stand by -me." - -"All right, sir. And the barrels isn't all emptied. There's a cask -over in the barracks. The boys thought it might hearten 'em up a bit, -and they said, sir, that you wouldn't care." - -"You are welcome to it," answered Ronald, absently, "but make a good -use of it. We'll need a steady hand, each and every man of us, when we -start out on the march." - -The night sentinels came on and the soldier went on to the barracks, -where his comrades were making merry with the wine. "I wonder," said -Ronald to himself, "what would have happened if he had said that -to--to another?" - -Even in his thought he did not name the Lieutenant, but, as he passed -the house, he saw Katherine moving back and forth before the open -window. "Poor girl," he said aloud. "Poor girl!" - -Katherine had had a hard day, even though her husband had slept -without a break since Forsyth helped her get him into bed. At first -she thought he had been drinking, though she knew he was not in -the habit of it. Mrs. Franklin had been over and had been told -indifferently that the Lieutenant was tired out and was resting. - -It was late when he awoke, rubbed his eyes, and sat up in bed. -Katherine went to him and put her cool hand upon his hot face. "Are -you better, dear?" she asked. - -"Yes," he sighed; "I'm all right. It's hot, isn't it?" - -She sat down on the bed beside him and talked to him soothingly, as -if he were a tired child. She told him everything that had occurred -during the day, and said she was glad he could rest. She got him a -glass of water, then bathed his flushed face with a soft cloth and -stroked his hands gently with her cool fingers. - -For a long time he watched her as she ministered to him with unfailing -gentleness. Her straight shoulders were bent a little and there were -lines upon her face; but the ashen gold of her hair and the deep blue -of her eyes were the same as when he first loved her--so long ago. He -remembered the mad joy that possessed him when his lips first touched -hers, and the crushing sorrow of their bereavement, which should have -drawn them closer together, but instead had driven them apart. He knew -that another man loved her and that she knew it also, yet she had been -loyal. - -As she went out, he wondered whether another woman in her place would -have been true to him. With a swift searching of self he tried to -remember some tender word that he had said to her, but it was all -blotted out, as if darkness had come between them. For the first time -he looked at their life together from her point of view, and shuddered -as he saw how she might think of him. Her silence and her patience -were evident to him, as they had not been before. Many a time he had -seen the blue eyes fill and the sweet mouth tremble at some careless -word of his, and often, too, he had seen her shut her teeth together -hard when some shaft was meant to sting. - -Two days were left--no, only one--for it was night now. One day in -which to atone for the countless hurts of the past four years. The -dominant self melted into unwonted tenderness as she came back into -the room. - -"I was gone too long," she said quickly; "but I didn't mean to be." - -"Katherine!" he said in a new voice. - -"Yes, dear; what is it?" She sat down beside him once more and looked -anxiously into his face, fearing that he was ill. - -"What is it, dear?" she asked again. - -"Nothing," he said huskily; "only that I love you and I want you to -forgive me." - -"Ralph! Ralph!" she cried, sinking into his arms, "there's nothing to -forgive; but I've prayed so long that I might hear you say it!" - -"Will you?" he pleaded, with his face hidden against her breast. - -"Yes," she cried, "a thousand times, yes! I've wanted you to love me -as I've never wanted anything else in the world!" - -"I love you with all my soul," he said simply. "I----" A catch in his -throat put an end to speech, for her love-lit face, wet with tears, -was very near to his. His arms closed hungrily around her, and the -lips that but a moment before were quivering with sobs, were crushed -in eternal pardon against his own. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE LAST DAY IN THE FORT - - -"Sir," said a soldier; "some one is coming!" - -"From which way?" asked the Captain. - -"South, sir." - -Captain Franklin climbed the ladder that led into the blockhouse at -the south-east corner of the stockade, wondering whether it was friend -or foe who approached. Dim upon the far horizon was a single rider, -who moved slowly, as if his horse were tired. Behind him marched a -small company of Indians. - -"What do you make of it, sir?" asked the guard in the blockhouse, -anxiously. - -"He bears no flag," answered the Captain. "Train the guns and wait for -a signal." - -Only the north gate of the Fort was open, and, as always of late, it -was well protected; but, none the less, the Captain's heart was heavy. -He strained his eyes toward the rider, far across the sun-baked -prairie, and the minutes seemed like hours. The man sat his horse like -an Indian, yet, someway, even at the distance, conveyed the impression -that he was a white man. - -The news quickly spread, and the soldiers who were off duty mounted -the stockade. As the company came nearer, the rider waved his hat, but -the men at the Fort made no answer until one soldier, with keener eyes -than the rest, shouted joyously, "Captain Wells!" - -"Captain Wells! Captain Wells!" The parade-ground rang with the cry. -The two fifes and two drums struck up a military air, and a small -escort marched to meet him. - -"Captain Wells!" The shout brought every soldier to the front, and -even the women, smiling, waited for him at the gate. The escort turned -back, and, swiftly upon the sound of the music, the cannon boomed a -welcome. - -When the travel-stained rider dismounted, Captain Franklin wrung his -hand as if he never would let it go. "God bless you," he cried; "what -brought you here?" - -"Orders from General Hull," answered Captain Wells. "I have brought -thirty faithful Miami Indians to escort your command to Fort Wayne." - -Beatrice, Forsyth, the Mackenzies and their children, as well as -every one at the Fort, gave Captain Wells a warm reception. "Come to -our house," said Katherine. - -"He's not going to your house," answered Mrs. Franklin. "He's my -uncle, and he's coming to mine." - -It was some time before the Indian escort was taken care of, and Wells -and Franklin had an opportunity to discuss the situation. - -"How are things with you?" asked Wells, anxiously. - -"All right, I guess; I've been doing the best I can. On the ninth I -received orders from General Hull to evacuate the post and proceed -with my command to Detroit by land, leaving it to my discretion to -dispose of the public property as I thought proper. The Indians -got the information as early as I did, and they have come from all -quarters to receive the gifts. I asked Black Partridge to summon his -people, but I don't believe all the Indians here are Pottawattomies. -I have given them all the goods in the factory store, and all the -provisions which we cannot take with us. I have destroyed the surplus -arms and ammunition, fearing they would make a bad use of it, and I -have also destroyed all the liquor." - -"Do the Indians seem friendly?" - -"Yes--of course they wanted the ammunition and liquor, but I explained -that. There has been some friction here at the post. The Mackenzies, -of course, are opposed to going, and the feeling has affected others. -There does not seem to be much danger, though, unless the British come -down from Fort Mackinac, which seems hardly possible. The Indians have -promised to see us safely to Fort Wayne, but then--what's the promise -of an Indian?" - -"Not much, I admit," answered Wells; "but I'm here to stand by you. If -worst comes to worst, here's one more man to fight. I'm with you to -the last." - -"It is a great relief to me," said Franklin, after an eloquent -silence, "for I have felt myself alone--one man against the world." - -"I'd do all I could for your wife's sake, if for no other reason. Call -an Indian council this afternoon and let me talk to them." - -Franklin's face brightened. "The very thing!" he cried. "I'll give the -order at once." Then he grasped the other's hand and said again, "God -bless you!" - - * * * * * - -At the appointed hour in the afternoon the entire company of Indians -assembled upon the esplanade. After ceremonious greetings were -exchanged with the chiefs, Captain Wells turned to the others. - -"A good day to you, my brothers," he said. "The time has seemed long -indeed since we parted. I see among you many new faces from the -far country, and I am rejoiced to learn that you have promised to -accompany the White Father and his people to the assembling place. Had -I known of this I should not have come, but should have trusted wholly -to my brothers. - -"However, it is a happiness to me to see my friends once more. -Although I am a white man, I have been brought up like one of you. I -have learned the secrets of the forest and the trail and I have fought -side by side with the red men. For many of you I have sad news. The -Great Chief, Little Turtle, whose daughter I have taken in marriage, -went to the happy hunting grounds on the fourteenth day of the last -moon. - -"Were he alive he would send his greetings to his brothers who are -here assembled. Thirty of his people have come with me to lead the -Americans safely upon the trail. For three or more days must we -journey, since the feet of the palefaces are slow, but we have no -fears. From the dangers of the day and the night, from wild beasts, -from every creature that stalks abroad with intent to slay; from -the unlearned tribes who are unfriendly to the whites, and from the -warriors of another White Chief, who may be known by their red coats, -we will protect our friends. It has been written by the Great White -Father that after we have led his people safely to the assembling -place, many gifts shall be distributed among us there. My brothers, I -bid you farewell." - -Silently the Indians went back to the woods. No answer was made to -the speech except that it was good, and that all should be as it was -written. - -"Franklin," said Wells, when they were again alone, "everything seems -to be all right, and yet I scent trouble. Do you suppose they have -received orders from the British to cut us off?" - -"I wish I knew," answered Franklin, sadly; "and yet what could I do?" - -"We must get out of here as quickly as possible. How much ammunition -have you reserved?" - -"Twenty-five rounds per man." - -"How about provisions?" - -"We have enough for a long march. We'll take all we can, and give the -remainder to the Indians on reaching Fort Wayne." - -"How many horses have you?" - -"Enough for the officers and the women, as well as for the waggons. -The children can go in the waggons." - -"Things are better than I feared," said Wells. "I hope we'll get -through all right--at any rate we'll do our best." - -Orders were given for an early start on the following morning, and the -baggage of each person was limited to the absolute essentials. The -day passed in active preparations for departure, and the appearance -of Captain Wells, with the guard, had lightened the situation -considerably. - -All of the pine knots that were left were fastened between the bars of -the stockade, as the soldiers had determined to illuminate in honour -of Captain Wells. The day had promised to be a little cooler, but the -lake breeze of early morning soon retreated before the onslaught of -the south-west wind. - -The women had packed up their toilet articles and a few little -trinkets valued for their associations, and the kit of every soldier -was in readiness. Forsyth made a belt for his sword, pistol, and -cartridges, which looked oddly enough when it was fastened over his -suit of rusty black. Beatrice had recovered her spirit enough to laugh -heartily at the picture he presented. - -All save Ronald were more cheerful than they had been for many a day. -He walked about as if he were in a trance, and when he was spoken to -he did not seem to hear. More than once he was seen staring into space -with a glassy look in his eyes. - -In the evening the Mackenzies became sad at the prospect of leaving -their old home, as they sat before the desolate hearth, side by side, -for the last time. For a little while Beatrice sat there with them. -The children were asleep, Robert was finishing his packing, and she -felt herself an intruder, so at last she stole away and went over to -the Fort, where the pine knots blazed with a lurid light and cast -shadows afar. - -Lieutenant Howard and Katherine were on the piazza at Franklin's, -where Captain Wells sat with his hosts. Under cover of the darkness -the Lieutenant was holding Katherine's hand, and Captain Franklin sat -with his arm over the back of his wife's chair. - -"See what it is to be a spinster," laughed Beatrice, as she -approached. "Captain Wells, would you mind holding my hand?" - -Wells stammered an excuse, for he was unused to the ways of women, -and Beatrice made him the subject of her playful scorn. "Am I so -unattractive, then?" she queried, looking sideways at the discomfited -Captain from under her drooping lids. - -"N--no," answered Wells, miserably; "but--" He floundered into -helpless silence, not at all relieved by the laughter of the others. - -That evening, if at no other time, Beatrice was beautiful. Her high -colour had faded to a languorous paleness, and the harshness of her -manner was gone. Her trailing white gown was turned in a little at her -round, white throat, and her long, shining hair hung far below her -waist in a heavy braid. - -"Ronald," called the Lieutenant, "come here!" - -The Ensign came slowly across the parade-ground. His shoulders drooped -and his face was very pale. "What is it?" he asked. - -The tone was unlike Ronald. "Nothing," replied the Lieutenant, "except -that Beatrice wants somebody to hold her hand and Captain Wells won't. -He's too bashful, and the rest of us are occupied." - -"It's too hot," sighed the Ensign. He sat down on the piazza, near -Beatrice, and fanned himself with his cap; but he took no part in the -conversation, and did not even answer Katherine's "good-night" when -her husband took her home. - -"I'm going in, too," said Mrs. Franklin, "if nobody minds. I'm very -tired." - -Franklin and Wells talked listlessly, feeling the restraint of the -others' presence. "Come out for a little while," said Ronald to -Beatrice. "I don't think they want us here." - -The full moon was low in the heavens and the lake was calm. They went -out of the Fort and down near the water, but still he did not speak. -Then Beatrice put her hand on his arm. "What's wrong with you?" she -asked softly; "can't you tell me?" - -His breath came quickly at her touch and he swallowed hard. "Heart's -Desire," he said huskily, "I die to-morrow--will you tell me you love -me to-night?" - -"Die!" cried Beatrice. "What do you mean?" - -"Sweet, the death watch ticked last night--Norton and I heard it and -most of the men. To-night, while I have eyes to see and ears to hear, -let me dream that you are kind. Since that first day, when I saw you -across the river, I have hungered for you; yes, I have thirsted for -you like a man in the desert who sees the blessed, life-giving water -just beyond his reach. My arms have ached to hold you close--my rose, -my star, my very soul!" - -"All my life has been lived only for this; to find you and to tell -you what I tell you now. I have no gift of words--I'm only an awkward -soldier, but with all my life I love you. Poets may find new words -for it, but there is nothing else for a man to say. Just those three -words, 'I love you,' to hold the universe and to measure it, for there -is nothing else worth keeping in all the world!" - -Shaken by his passion, he stood before her with the moonlight full -upon his face. His shoulders were straight once more, but his eyes -were misty and he breathed hard, like a man in pain. - -The girl was sobbing, and very gently he put his arm around her. -"Heart's Desire," he said again, "I die to-morrow--will you tell me -you love me to-night?" - -"I do--I do," she cried, as he drew her closer; "but, oh, you must -not talk so! You cannot die to-morrow--you are young--you are strong! -Don't! Don't! I must not let you misunderstand! It is not what you -think!" - -His cry of joy changed to an inarticulate murmur, and his arms -stiffened about her as she stood with her face against his breast. "I -must be a stone," she sobbed, "or I would care. Don't think I haven't -known, for I have; but I've been afraid--I've always been afraid to -care, and now I've grown so hard I can't! Pity me--be kind to me--I -cannot care, and on my soul I wish I could!" - -His arms fell to his sides and she was free. Half fearfully she lifted -her lovely, tear-stained face to his. "I wish I could!" she sobbed. -"Believe me, upon my soul, I wish I could!" - -"Heart's Desire, I would have no words of mine bring tears to your -dear eyes. To see you so is worse than death to me. I was a fool and -a brute to speak, but the words would come. I have known you were not -for me. I have walked in the mire, and you are a star; but sometimes -men dream that even a star may descend to lift one up. Forget it, -Sweet, forget that I was mad, and if you can, forgive me!" - -"I never shall forget," she answered, with her lips still quivering, -"for it is the sweetest thing God has yet given to me. But all my life -I have been afraid to trust, afraid to yield, and now, when I would, -I cannot. It is my punishment, and even though I hurt you, I must be -honest with you." - -"Sweetheart, the hurt is naught--it is a kindness since it comes from -you. I ask your pardon, and remember I shall never speak of it again. -Others, perhaps, would say I have had enough--my youth, my strength, -and all that makes life fair. I have served my country well and -to-morrow I die fighting, as soldiers pray that they may. Women have -loved me, and yet-- My darling, I die to-morrow--ah, kiss me just once -for to-night!" - -She was very near him, but she turned her face away. "No," she -whispered, "I can't. I will give you nothing unless I give you all." - -"So let it be," he sighed. He put his arm around her again, and she -tried to move away, but he held her fast. "Don't be afraid of me," -he said. "Dear Heart, can't you trust me? You might lay your sweet -lips full on mine, and yet mine would not answer unless you said -they might. I just want to tell you this. I can see no farther than -to-morrow, and after that--I do not know. But I'm not afraid of death, -nor hell, nor of God Himself, because I take with me these two things. -I think all else will be forgiven, Sweet, because I have served my -country well and I have been man enough to love you." - -"Oh," cried Beatrice, with the tears raining down her face, "I can -bear it no longer--let me go home!" - -She went across the river alone, and the sound of her sobbing came -through the darkness and cut into his heart like a knife. The dull -stupor of the day gave place to keenest pain. He was alive to the -degree that no man knows till he is wounded past all healing. Every -sense was eager for its final hurt. "How shall I live!" he muttered. -"How shall I live until to-morrow, when I die!" - -He went back into the Fort with his head bowed upon his breast. As in -a dream he saw Wells and Franklin sitting by a table in the Captain's -house. The single tallow dip, with its tiny star of flame, was almost -too much light for his eyes to bear. The pine knots in the crevices of -the stockade filled the place with a lurid glare that seemed like the -blaze of a noonday sun. - -He sat alone in a dark corner, muttering, "How shall I live! How shall -I live until to-morrow, when I die!" Lieutenant Howard passed him, but -did not see him. Then Doctor Norton called out, "Do you know where -Ronald is?"--but the Lieutenant did not know. - - * * * * * - -There was a stir at the gate and Mackenzie came in, accompanied by -Black Partridge. They went straight to the Captain's quarters and -were admitted at once. Mackenzie's face was grey and haggard, but -the Indian was as stolid as ever, save that his eyes glittered -cruelly. Wells and Franklin felt an instant alarm. "What is it?" asked -Franklin, hurriedly. - -Black Partridge took off the silver medal which Captain Wells had -given to him and laid it on the table. The light of the tallow dip -shone strangely on the metal, and picked out the figures upon it in -significant relief. Then he spoke rapidly, and Mackenzie translated. - -"Father, I come to deliver up to you the medal I wear. It was given -me by the Americans, and I have long worn it in token of our mutual -friendship. But our young men are resolved to bury their hands in the -blood of the whites. I cannot restrain them, and I will not wear a -token of peace while I am compelled to act as an enemy." - -"Captain," cried a soldier, rushing in, "the Indians are having a war -dance in the hollow!" - -"Close the gates," commanded Franklin, "and call the pickets in." He -was outwardly calm, though cold sweat stood out upon his forehead, and -Captain Wells stood by in silent distress. Before any one had time to -speak, Black Partridge was gone. He passed through the gates almost at -the moment they rumbled into place, and fled like a deer to join his -people. - -"I suppose," said the trader, "that in the face of this you will not -march to-morrow." - -"Yes," cried the Captain, in a voice that rang; "we march to-morrow in -spite of hell!" - -Beside himself with fear, anger, and pain, Mackenzie rushed out and -told the first soldier he met all that had passed. In an instant there -was the sound of hurrying feet and the Fort was aflame with rebellion. -"Wells," said Franklin, quietly, "I wish you'd go to the barracks. You -may be needed there." - -But the barracks were empty. As the guns thundered the signal for the -pickets to return, the men gathered around Ronald. Instinctively, in -times of trouble, they looked to him. - -"Go to the barracks, boys," he said, in a low tone, "and wait for me -there. I'll do what I can." - -A white figure appeared at a window and the Lieutenant went in to -speak to Katherine. Doctor Norton went straight to the Captain. - -Franklin's eyes were blazing and his body was tense. The martial -spirit of the frontier had set his blood aflame. His fingers fairly -itched for his sword, and his hands were clenched. "Captain," said the -Doctor, calmly, "is there no other way?" - -"No," cried Franklin; "there is no other way! Are you a coward that -you ask me this?" - -The Doctor laughed unpleasantly, and went out without another word. -Hardly had his footsteps died away before Lieutenant Howard came in, -white to the lips with wrath. - -"Is this true?" he shouted. "Do we march to-morrow, with our women and -children, when the Indians have declared war?" - -"Yes," said Franklin, meeting his gaze steadily, "we do." - -"Captain, this is madness. The men will never go. It is certain death -to leave the Fort. Your orders will not be obeyed, if it comes to -that." - -"Lieutenant Howard, my orders will be obeyed. The man who refuses will -be shot." - -"Captain, can't you listen to reason? Our force is small. We never can -cope with those fiends that even now are having their war-dance in the -hollow. I said it was certain death, but death in itself is nothing -to fear. Torture waits for us--for our women and children. Captain, -change the order--stay!" - -"Sir, I have my orders." - -The Lieutenant turned away. "Stop!" commanded the Captain. "You need -not go to the men. I am in command of this Fort and I will have no -mutiny. The soldier who attempts to disobey my orders will be shot -down like a dog, be he officer or man. We march to-morrow, if I go -alone!" - -The Lieutenant staggered out and almost into the Ensign's arms. -"Ronald," he pleaded thickly, "go to the Captain. See if you cannot -do something to save us all. Don't ask for ourselves--he is pitiless -there--but the women and the children--" His voice broke at the words, -but he kept on. "Ronald, for God's sake, go!" - -The thought of Beatrice's danger stirred the Ensign's blood to fever -heat, and he rushed into the house like a madman. "Captain!" he cried. - -There was an instant of tense silence. A torrent of words was on -Ronald's lips, but the Captain raised his hand. "I suppose," he -said coolly, "that you are merely following the general tendency. -Mackenzie, Norton, and the Lieutenant have all been here to suggest -that I disobey my orders. Is that your purpose, also?" - -"Yes," shouted Ronald, "it is!" - -"By what right do you presume to offer unasked advice to your superior -officer?" - -"By the right of one who has kept your men from mutiny!" - -The Captain cleared his throat. "Well?" - -"I have no plea to make for myself, Captain. I have come to ask at -your hands the lives of the women and children who are under our -protection--to ask you not to betray the most sacred trust that can be -given to man. You speak of orders. As I understand it, no time was set -for the evacuation of the Fort?" - -"We have delayed too long already." - -"Suppose the British army was at our gates--would those orders hold -good?" - -"Sir, you are impertinent!" - -"Captain, that medal which Black Partridge returned to you to-night -was equivalent to a declaration of war. If you are not willing to -act upon your own responsibility, send Captain Wells and his Indians -to General Hull to ask for reinforcements. If Captain Wells is not -willing to go, I am. I know the provisions have been given to the -Indians, but we have the cattle and perhaps enough else to last the -garrison two weeks or more. With reinforcements we can hold the Fort -against any force that may be brought against it. Captain--let me go!" - -"Sir, I have my orders." - -"Orders be damned!" - -"At West Point," asked the Captain, hoarsely, "were you taught to -speak to your superior officer in that way?" - -"Captain, I speak to you not as my superior officer, but as man to -man. Our force is small, some of our boys are too old to fight, and we -have women and children to protect. I ask nothing for myself, nor for -men like me--we are soldiers. I plead for the helpless ones under our -care. I ask you only to wait, not to disobey. I beg you to save the -women and children from torture--from cutting their flesh to ribbons -while they still live--from things that one man cannot look another in -the face and name." - -Franklin turned away, his muscles rigid as steel. - -"You have a wife, Captain--a tender, loving, helpless woman. Are you -willing to give her to the Indians and let them do as they please -with her? Suppose you had a child, just old enough to walk--a little -daughter, whose flesh was so soft that you almost feared to touch -her--a child who loved you, trusted you, and leaned upon you, knowing -that you would risk your life to save her from the slightest hurt. -Suppose two thousand Indians in their war-paint were pounding at the -gates of the Fort, and the knife and the stake were waiting for their -victims--would you stand upon the stockade and throw that child to -those beasts? - -"That is what you are going to do to-morrow. You will sacrifice your -own wife, the wife of every man at the post, and every little child, -but it touches you only at one point. In the name of the woman who -loves you--in the name of the children who might have called you -father--Captain--in God's name--stay!" - -The Captain's face was ashen, but his voice was clear. "Sir, I am a -soldier--I have my orders!" - -With a muttered curse, Ronald flung himself out of the room. He -staggered to the parade-ground blindly, gasping with every breath. -Then the door opened softly and a white figure, barefooted, came -quietly into the room. - -"What!" cried the Captain; "you, too?" - -Her gown was no whiter than her face, but she came to him steadily. -"Wallace," she said, "you are a soldier, and I am a soldier's wife. I -could not help hearing what they said. Don't think I blame you--I know -you will do what is right. Captain Wells and I will stand by you!" - -He took her into his arms, and then a hoarse murmur came to their -ears. She started away from him in fear. "What is it?" she cried. - -"It's only the barracks," he answered, trying to smile. "Come, dear, -come!" - -When Ronald opened the door, where the men were drinking heavily, -the confusion was heard to the farthest limits of the Fort. "Boys," -he cried, "it's all over--there's nothing any one of us can do!" -Lieutenant Howard, the Doctor, and Captain Wells were standing -together near the door, but he did not seem to see them. - -Straight to the middle of the room he went, and a soldier filled his -glass. "Make merry while you can, my brave boys," he shouted, "for -this is the last of life for us! To-night we are men--to-morrow we -are food for the vultures! To-night we are soldiers--to-morrow we -are clay! To-night we may sleep--to-morrow we wake to the knife, the -scourge, and the flames! To-night, for the last time, we stand side by -side--to-morrow we fight a merciless foe of ten times our strength! - -"If you have neither wife nor child, thank God that you stand -alone. If you have, load your muskets and strike them down at -sunrise to-morrow,--yes, stain your hands with their innocent blood -that you may save them from something worse. Twelve hours of life -remains--waste none of it in sleep! Fill your glasses to the brim -and drink till the night is past. Pray that your senses may leave -you--that your reason may be replaced by the madness of beasts! Pray -for strong arms to-morrow--pray for a soldier's fate! Drink while the -stakes are being put in place for us--drink to your ashes and the fall -of Fort Dearborn--drink, boys--to Death!" - -The room had been deadly still while he was speaking, but now the cry -rang to the rafters,--"To Death!" - -"Again," shouted Ronald, "fill your glasses once more! To the -strong arm and the fearless heart--to the torture that waits for us -to-morrow--to the red spawn of hell that is grinning at our gates--a -toast to Death!" - -The door opened and Captain Franklin came into the room. Every man -turned accusing eyes upon him save one. "To the Captain!" cried Wells, -lifting his glass. - -He drank alone, since, for the moment, no one else moved. Then, with -one accord, the wine was thrown to the floor and the sharp crash of -glass followed it, as the deep-throated bell sounded taps--for the -last time. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE RED DEATH - - -"Attention! Forward--march!" - -To the music of the Dead March the column swung into line and turned -southward from the Fort. At the head rode Captain Wells, who, after an -Indian custom, had blackened his face with wet gunpowder in token of -approaching death. Half of the Miami escort followed him, then came -the regulars, accompanied by the women, all of whom were mounted; then -the three waggons, and the remainder of the Miami escort. - -Mrs. Mackenzie and her four children were in the bateau, with their -clothing and a limited amount of supplies. Chandonnais and a friendly -Indian were at the oars. Black Partridge had appeared at the trading -station before daylight, to ask Mackenzie and his family to go in the -boat. The trader refused, saying he would march with the soldiers; -and Robert also declined the opportunity. Both Mackenzie and his -wife insisted that Beatrice should take the safer course, but it was -useless. - -"What?" she asked, "and leave Queen? Not I! We're going with the -soldiers!" - -The other children at the post, eleven or twelve in all, were in -the first waggon, which was driven by a soldier. The second waggon -contained the supplies for the march; and in the third, where the -ammunition was stored, sat Mad Margaret. She had come very early in -the morning, with a small bundle, ready for departure. - -The day was intensely hot, and the lake was like a sea of glass. The -line of march was along the water's edge, where sand hills intervened -between the beach and the prairie. The Pottawattomies, more than six -hundred strong, kept behind the sand hills and were seldom visible. - -As the little company proceeded toward Fort Wayne, heavy hearts grew -lighter and anxious faces became peaceful. No Indians were in sight -save the Miami escort at front and rear. The music of the Dead March -ceased, and then upon the silence came Mad Margaret's voice, as she -croaked dismally, "I see blood--much blood, then fire, and afterward -peace." - -Beatrice was riding with Robert, a little way behind Ronald. That -morning she had seen Mad Margaret for the first time. "Listen," she -said, as she leaned forward to stroke Queen's glossy neck, "doesn't -that sound like a raven in the woods? She's a bird of evil omen, but, -just as we were starting, she told me I should find my heart's desire -to-day." - -"I trust you may," said Robert, gravely. Then he called to Ronald, but -the Ensign did not hear. He had begun the day in the dull stupor of -yesterday. - -At the mouth of the river a Pottawattomie chief crept up behind the -column and signalled to the Indian in the bateau to stop rowing. He -did so, and the company went on a little way without missing the boat. - -They were about a mile and a half from the Fort when Captain Wells -came riding back furiously. "They are about to attack us," he shouted. -"Turn and charge!" - -Captain Franklin and his company dashed up a sand hill,--a veteran of -seventy falling by the way,--and were greeted with a volley at the -top. In an instant the massacre was on. Under cover of the sand hills -a part of the Pottawattomies had reached the front, and now surrounded -them at every point. The Miamis fled to a safe place when the first -shot was fired. - -Captain Franklin endeavoured to mass the waggons upon the shore, but -it was useless, for dire confusion was in the ranks and each man -fought for himself as best he could. Behind them lay the lake--at the -right and left and in front of them were six hundred savages, armed -with arrows, muskets, and tomahawks. The plain rang with the war-whoop -and the cries of the victims, while shrill and clear above the clamour -came Mad Margaret's voice, shrieking, "The time of the blood is at -hand!" - -At the first alarm, Chandonnais leaped out of the bateau, swam ashore -and ran to join the troops, leaving Mrs. Mackenzie and the children -alone with the Indian. He made his way through the left line of the -savages with incredible quickness, fighting as he went with the -ferocity of a beast. A painted warrior raised his weapon to strike, -but the half-breed, cursing, snatched it away from him and laid him -low with his own tomahawk. - -Now and then Captain Franklin's voice could be heard giving orders. -His plan was to break through the line, turn, and close in, but the -attempt failed and was fraught with heavy loss. - -Beatrice was a little way off, partially sheltered by a sand hill. Her -eyes were wide and staring, and the blood was frozen in her veins. -Even in dreams she had not thought it could be like this. Queen -snorted and pawed the ground impatiently, but the hands on the bridle -were numb, and there was no chance to escape. - -The exultant cries of the Indians beat upon her ears with physical -pain. The early goldenrod, in full flower on the prairie, was broken -down as by some terrible storm. She saw Mackenzie repeatedly fire his -musket, and always effectively, in spite of warning shouts from the -enemy. Lieutenant Howard was wounded in the shoulder, but was still -fighting gallantly; and Ronald, in the front rank, seemed possessed of -the strength of a madman. - -Robert was nowhere to be seen, and even then Beatrice's lip curled -contemptuously. Mrs. Franklin, separated from her husband, turned -blindly back toward the Fort, but two warriors overtook her, pulled -her down from her horse, and carried her away screaming. - -Katherine dashed by, toward the thickest of the fight, for her horse -was maddened and utterly beyond control. Doctor Norton was beside her, -his face streaming with blood, and he was making desperate efforts to -reach the dangling bridle rein. - -Beatrice laughed hysterically. After they were out of sight, a -deadened auditory nerve resumed its functions, and she heard -Katherine's voice saying, hoarsely, "You were right--I am glad I have -lost my boy!" The power of thought came back to the girl by slow -degrees. She must get away--but how? - -Far out on the lake and a little to the rear was the bateau, where -Mrs. Mackenzie sat as if she were made of stone, with the children -huddled about her. Beatrice dismounted, and climbed, gasping, part way -up the sand hill that sheltered her, then looked to see if the trail -were clear, but the battle seemed to be thickest there. Isolated upon -a low mound, far across the plain, she saw Captain Franklin and half -a dozen men. Fifty or more Indians, with yells of fiendish glee, were -running toward them, and Beatrice slipped back, down the incline of -burning sand, afraid to look a moment longer. - -She thought if she could attract Mrs. Mackenzie's attention, the boat -might be brought near enough to shore for Queen to reach it safely, -but the flutter of her handkerchief was not even seen, much less -understood. If she could not get to the boat there was only one other -way--to watch for an opening and ride like mad to Fort Wayne, trusting -to Queen's speed for her safety. It seemed hardly possible that she -could hide among the sand hills till dark, or even until there was an -opportunity to try the last desperate plan. - -Then out upon that plain of death danced Mad Margaret, with her white -hair hanging loosely about her. "I see blood!" she shrieked. "The time -of the blood is at hand!" - -A tomahawk gleamed in the air, but fell harmlessly beyond her, and -there was a murmur of horror in the ranks of the Indians. She went -straight toward them, and they fell back, afraid of her and of her -alone. Doctor Norton saw what she intended to do, and, with his hand -on the bridle of Katherine's horse, kept behind her and out of range. - -Step by step, with demoniac laughter and unintelligible cries, with -every muscle of her frail body tense, Mad Margaret forced the Indians -back. One, bolder than the rest, and drunk with blood, stole up behind -her with his tomahawk upraised. - -"_Mere! Ma mere!_" cried Chandonnais, darting out of the ranks. In -a flash he had wrenched the weapon away from the Indian and started -toward Margaret, hacking at those who opposed him. - -A savage cry rang at his right, and Margaret turned. She saw the -danger and retreated, then ran like a deer between the Indian and -Chandonnais. "_Mere! Ma mere!_" the half-breed cried again, as the -tomahawk intended for him sank into her darkened brain. With the tears -raining down his face he caught her to him, and went backward, step by -step, toward the place where the others were fighting, with the dead -body of his mother in his arms. - -Instinctively the soldiers drew near him, but kept to the rear. The -Indians were advancing, but no one of them was bold enough to touch -the man who held Mad Margaret. A moment more and the gap would have -been closed, with that frail body forming a powerful defence; but -a warrior, maddened by the loss of his friends, crept in behind -Chandonnais and struck him down. - -Then the battle took a new lease of life. In the midst of the smoke -Norton saw Katherine's strained, white face close to his. They were -surrounded, and a company of Indians, brandishing their war clubs, -were racing toward them. Every avenue of escape was cut off. "Death -comes," said the Doctor, quietly, wiping the blood from his face; "and -here and now I dare to tell you what you must have known, that I----" - -He was wrenched from his horse and his scalp lifted off at a single -blow. Katherine turned, and in an instant she was in the grasp of an -Indian. With desperate strength she tried to get possession of the -scalping knife that hung about his neck, but in the moment that she -had her hand upon it she was seized by another Indian, who lifted her -bodily and carried her to the lake. - -Mrs. Mackenzie saw the painted savage with the body of her daughter in -his arms, then merciful unconsciousness blinded her. - -Captain Wells was in the midst of the battle, fighting with musket -and sword. In and out of the Indian ranks he sped, wreaking vengeance -upon his foes. His hand was steady and his aim was sure. Warrior after -warrior fell before him, and as yet he was but slightly wounded. - -A young Indian entered the covered waggon where the frightened -children were huddled together, and emerged at the other end with his -tomahawk dripping and a look of fiendish satisfaction upon his painted -face. - -"Is that their game?" cried Wells; "butchering women and children! -Then I will kill, too!" - -He wheeled and turned toward the Indian settlement, mad with the -desire for revenge. "Tell my wife," he shouted to some one, "that I -died fighting like a soldier, and that I killed at least seven red -devils!" Then his horse was shot under him, and in the fall he was -pinioned so that he could not escape. - -With wild laughter the savages gathered around him, hacking at him -with their knives. "Don't kill him," muttered one of them, in the -Indian tongue, "but keep him for the festival to-morrow!" - -"Squaws!" cried Wells. "Women! Papooses! Eight against one, and you -dare not strike to kill! Squaws!" The taunt went home, as he intended -it should, and a tomahawk put a merciful end to his suffering. Then -with one accord the savages fell upon the body, cut out the brave -heart and ate it, hoping to gain his fearless strength. - -One of them passed very near Beatrice's hiding-place with a bloody -scalp in his hand. By the black ribbon that dangled from the queue, -she knew that Captain Wells had met the fate he feared. For a moment -horror paralysed her, and the metallic taste of blood was in her mouth. - -Queen was standing as quietly as if she were in her stall, but her -nostrils quivered with excitement. "In a moment, Beauty," whispered -the girl, "we'll make a run for life." There was a muffled step, then -around the base of the hill came Ronald, followed by his faithful dog. - -The blood was streaming from a deep wound in his breast, and he was -plainly done for; but he smiled when he saw her, then reeled, and -would have fallen had it not been for the horse. Beatrice took hold of -him, and, gasping, he sank to the ground at her feet. - -The sand formed a hollow where they were, with the hill on one side -of it and the lake on the other. Drifted ridges of sand still further -screened them, and it was not likely that they would be seen. - -"Poor old Major," said Ronald, with long pauses between the words; -"poor--old--boy!" With trembling hands he loaded his pistol, and, -before she knew what he was going to do, he had shot the dog. - -"They'd--hurt him," he explained, with a feeble wave of his hand. -"They're all--over there. The Captain has surrendered, but--Wells -and Norton are dead--and most of the boys. The squaws are on the -field with--with the others. They're opening up the wounds with--with -pitchforks!" - -His face whitened. Beatrice put her arm around his shoulders, and -he leaned heavily upon her breast. "It's worth while--to die--" he -gasped--"for this!" - -"You're not going to die, dear. We'll stay here till night, then we'll -go on to Fort Wayne. You can ride Queen." - -Hurt as he was, Ronald smiled. "I--I wouldn't ride that--that gun -carriage," he said with something of his old spirit. "Heart's Desire, -you must not stay. At the first chance, go--ride like mad to--to Fort -Wayne--if you are pursued or surrounded--you know what to do!" - -His dimming eyes wandered to the bag of cartridges and the pistol at -her belt. - -"Yes," she said steadily, "I know what to do." - -"Go!" he whispered. - -Beatrice left him for a moment and went up the sand hill to -reconnoitre. Peeping over the top of it, she saw that the Indians were -all north of them, except a few, and that the trail was clear. - -"I can't," she lied, when she came back. "There's hundreds of them in -the south." - -The cry of a wounded horse came from the field, and Queen started in -terror. Beatrice quieted her, then knelt down beside Ronald. A look of -ineffable happiness came into his eyes and his lips moved, but she put -a warning hand upon his face. "Hush--you mustn't talk--lie still!" - -"It seems like heaven," he breathed, "to have you--near me--and to -have you--kind!" - -The hot tears came to her eyes. "Don't!" she pleaded. "Dear boy, can't -you forgive me?" - -"Sweet, there is naught to forgive. I would live it all--to have you -near me--to have you kind." - -"Oh," she sobbed, "you break my heart!" - -His hand closed limply over hers. "You must not stay--go--go--to Fort -Wayne!" - -"I shall never leave you," said Beatrice, simply. - -"Dear Heart, you must--there is no other way. When you are -gone--I--I----" - -He looked her full in the face for a moment before she understood. -"No!" she cried in anguish; "you shall not!" - -"It is best," he said. "I am hurt--even past your healing--it is -better than--the torture--and--and--if you are followed, you must do -the same. Promise me you will!" - -"I promise," she answered, but she hardly knew her own voice. - -"They were--in the north," he went on. "To the southward--all is -clear. If it were not for me--you would go." - -He fumbled around in the sand until he found the pistol and loaded it -once more, though his hands shook. Beatrice tried to take it from -him, but very gently he put her away. - -"It is time," he breathed. "Taps have sounded for me. I said I would -not--not speak of it again--but you--you will grant me pardon--I love -you--so much that death will make--no difference--I love you--with -all--my soul!" With a trembling hand he put the muzzle against his -right temple, and looked up into her face with the ghost of a smile. -His eyes asked mutely for something more. - -Then Beatrice bent over him, and the kiss for which he had vainly -pleaded was laid full upon his lips. He caught his breath quickly, -with a gasp of pain. "God is very good to me," he said unsteadily. -"It was in my dream--but I did not dare--and now--Heart's -Desire--good-bye!" - -He closed his eyes. There was a sharp crack, a puff of smoke, and the -boy was dead; but the supreme exaltation of a man's soul was frozen in -his face. - - * * * * * - -For a long time Beatrice sat there, sobbing helplessly, with his cold -hand in hers. It was nine o'clock when they started, and now the sun -blazed at the zenith. Mrs. Mackenzie and the children were nowhere in -sight--the boat was gone. Beatrice was as absolutely alone as if she -had been in a desert. "Oh, if it were dark!" she thought, and then she -prayed, in a shrill whisper: "Dear God, make it dark now!" - -She felt her reason slipping from her and knew that she must get away. -Blinded by her tears, she climbed to the top of the sand hill once -more, and saw, dimly, that the coast was clear. A few Indians still -moved about among the dead, but there was no firing, and the garrison -horses, riderless and blood-spattered, stood quietly here and there, -apparently heedless of the burning heat. - -With the start she had, she was sure she could get away safely. Once -on the trail, and then---- - -She saw that saddle and bridle were right in every detail, and -mounted. "For life," she whispered to the horse; "for your life and -mine!" She cautiously guided Queen in and out among the sand hills -until she came to the open prairie. Before her lay the trail and -hovering beyond it in her distorted vision, like a mirage glimmering -in the desert, she saw the flag flying from the ramparts of Fort Wayne. - -"Now then, Beauty--fly!" - -Like an arrow shot from a bow, Queen sped across the plain, but there -was a war-whoop just behind them and Beatrice knew she had been seen. -The cry came nearer and she looked back. Fifteen or twenty Indians -were in full pursuit and others, mounted, were following them. - -The girl's heart rose in her throat. "On!" she breathed--"on!" - -The unintelligible cries of the savages echoed and re-echoed in her -ears, becoming perceptibly fainter as she rode on. Then there was -an exultant yell and she turned quickly in her saddle. The mounted -Indians had overtaken the others and seemed to be gaining upon her, -but with a sudden spurt, Queen left them far in the rear. - -Beatrice laughed hysterically and the sickening taste of hot blood -was in her mouth. Those on foot had given up the chase and one of -the horses had fallen, but well in the lead, with his sides bleeding -cruelly, Ronald's big bay charger thundered down the trail. - -An arrow sang past her, then another just missed her, and she leaned -forward, close to the horse. Queen plunged on, then suddenly snorted -and reared as an arrow struck her flank. - -Beatrice managed to loosen the barb and pull it out, hurting the horse -badly as she did so, and in the meantime the enemy gained upon her. -Another arrow, shot from the right, pierced Queen's quivering side, -and Beatrice, hopeless and despairing, reined in long enough to tear -it out. She was sick at the sight of Queen's blood-stained body and -the savage who rode Ronald's horse was almost within range. - -She turned, held her pistol steadily, and waited. Queen was almost -exhausted and breathed heavily. Spurred on to new effort, the other -Indians emerged from a cloud of dust and galloped toward their leader. - -A tomahawk whizzed past her and sank into the sand. Then she fired, -and with a cry of pain, the Indian dropped from his horse. - -Without waiting for the word, Queen started on at a furious pace, but -in spite of it, Beatrice managed to load her pistol again. She looked -back only once, for she could hear the hoof-beats behind her. Ronald's -horse, with a new rider, was again in the lead, and the rest were -close upon his heels. - -Inch by inch they gained upon her and mutterings of hideous portent -reached her ears. Queen's strength was rapidly failing, and when an -arrow struck her in the leg, the gallant little horse stumbled and -fell. A tomahawk gleamed just beyond them and at the same instant an -arrow grazed the girl's left arm. - -Blind with pain, she staggered to her feet, put the muzzle between -Queen's pleading, agonized eyes, and fired. The horse rolled over, -dead, and Beatrice loaded once more, thinking grimly, as she did so, -that there was just time. - -She raised the pistol, felt the burning circle of the muzzle against -her temple, and turned for one last look at the world that once had -seemed so fair. The Indians were almost upon her, but far out on the -plain was a man with neither hat nor coat, riding furiously, and the -pistol fell from her nerveless hand. - -"Robert!" she cried, as if he could hear. "Go back!" - -All at once she saw what he meant to do. Already he had turned a -little toward the lake, hoping to cut them off. - -"Oh God!" breathed Beatrice. "And I called him a coward!" - -The Indians now were not more than three hundred feet away, but when -they saw him coming they swerved away from Beatrice and rode toward -him. Robert turned straight east at a plunging gallop, then there was -a sharp report from his musket and a savage fell dead. - -Then he threw away the musket, pulled out his pistol, fired and -wounded another. A tomahawk grazed his head and the blood dyed his -face, but he kept on. - -From where she stood, she saw it all. Hand to hand, almost--yes, they -were upon him now, but there was a gleam of silver in the sun and two -of them fell back, wounded. - -"Lexington!" she cried. "His grandfather's sword!" - -All but four retreated, though his horse was hurt and well-nigh spent. -His next shot missed fire and his pistol was snatched out of his hand, -but the keen blade shone once more and another was dismounted. - -The blood streamed from his wound as he dashed toward her, gaining -upon the two who were pursuing him. All at once he stopped in his mad -pace, turned, and with a single swift cut struck down the one nearest -him. With a wild war-whoop the second Indian signalled to another who -stood beside his dead horse, far out on the plain, but there was no -answer. Quick as a flash Beatrice ran toward them, aimed steadily, -fired, and the last Indian fell, mortally wounded. - -"Thank God!" cried Robert, as he fell from his horse. "You are safe!" - - * * * * * - -They stood alone upon the desolate plain, looking into each other's -eyes. Robert's clothes were torn and cut, and his face was black with -blood and dust, but he seemed like a god to her. - -"You saved me," she murmured, with parched lips. "How did you save me?" - -"You were like another Beatrice," he whispered,--"you led me through -hell!" - -Face to face at last, after all the misunderstandings, Beatrice saw -him as he was. The terrors of the day were temporarily forgotten, as -when one wakes from a horrible dream to a new joy. Something stirred -in the girl's heart and sprang, full-fledged, into exultant being. The -light in her eyes confused him, and he turned his face away. - -"It was nothing," he said diffidently,--"only a running fight--that's -all. When the history of to-day is written, it will be a single -paragraph--no more. Two officers and thirty-six regulars killed in -action, two women and twelve children--a mere handful. No one will -know that a civilian was so fortunate as to save the woman he loved. -It is a common thing--not worth the writing." - -Beatrice, still transfigured, put her hands upon his shoulders; but, -though he trembled at her touch, he kept his face turned away. - -"Don't thank me," he said unsteadily. "I can't bear it. It is nothing. -Perhaps I've proved that I'm not----" - -The girl put her fingers on his lips. "You shall not say it!" she -cried. "With all my heart I ask you to forgive me--you have covered me -with shame." - -He turned and looked down into her eyes. "Shame," he repeated; "no, -not you. Forget it, Bee; it is nothing. A single paragraph, that is -all--which has to do with the soldiers, not with me." - -"My soldier!" she said in a new voice, "my captain--my king--listen! -No better, braver fight was ever made. The thirty-six who were killed -in action have done no more than you; and some day, when they write it -all, they will say a civilian fought like a soldier to save the life -of the woman who loved him!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -RESCUE - - -After the first part of the battle was over, the bateau in which Mrs. -Mackenzie and the children sat was brought near the shore at the mouth -of the river. When Mrs. Franklin was taken from her horse, an Indian -carried her to the boat, laid her in the bottom of it, signed to her -to keep quiet, and covered her with a blanket. She was badly wounded, -and her position was well-nigh intolerable, but she was afraid to move. - -Two warriors soon approached and demanded the prisoners which -they said were concealed under the luggage, but the Indian at the -oars assured them that the bateau contained only the family of -Shaw-ne-aw-kee, and they went away apparently satisfied. - -Katherine had fainted when she found herself in the arms of a painted -savage. When she came to her senses she was in the deep water, and -the Indian still held her in a firm grasp. She struggled until her -strength was almost gone, but then perceived that her captor did not -intend to drown her. Long and earnestly she looked into his face, and -at length, in spite of the hideous disguise of his war-paint, she -recognised Black Partridge. - -Another brave joined him, and after a long conversation between them -she was left to the care of the second Indian. Black Partridge went -back to the battlefield, received Captain Franklin's surrender, -through an interpreter, and then returned to Mrs. Howard. - -When the firing had ceased, she was lifted out of the water and -carried to the shore. Black Partridge took her by the arm and led her -northward along the beach. She was drenched through, and her clothes -were heavy with water. A squaw had stolen her shoes, and the long -march upon the burning sand was exceedingly painful; but when they -came near the Fort and she saw her mother upon the piazza at the -trading station, she went on with new courage. - -In the dismantled home the survivors were gathered. Captain and -Mrs. Franklin, both wounded; Lieutenant Howard, also wounded; the -Mackenzies, their children, and a few of the soldiers were all that -remained of the company that had fared forth so gallantly only a few -hours before. - -When Katherine staggered in, her husband caught her in his arms, and -his hot tears fell upon her face when he stooped to kiss her. "I -thought you were dead!" he cried. "I never knew till now how much I -love you!" - -A radiant smile illumined her white face. "I thought you were dead, -too," she whispered, "and I did not care to live. I wanted to be with -you, wherever you might be." - -One after another described what he had seen, and the melancholy -details of the battle were soon told. It was stipulated in the terms -of the surrender that the lives of the prisoners should be spared; but -the Indians considered the wounded exempt from that provision, and -horrible things were done upon the field. - -Doctor Norton's heroic efforts to save Katherine, the valiant death -of Captain Wells, Mad Margaret's fearless dash against the enemy, the -half-breed's gallant fight, and the courage of the soldier's wife, -who let herself be literally hacked to pieces rather than be taken -prisoner--these things and many others were sadly recounted. - -Captain Franklin assured them that Ensign Ronald was dead, and they -were glad to believe him; but no one knew what had become of Robert -and Beatrice. "Forsyth fought beside me for a while," said the Captain. - -"And with me, also," added the Lieutenant, "on another part of the -field." - -"Where is my Tuzzin Bee?" asked Maria Indiana, plaintively. "I want my -Tuzzin Bee!" - -At this they all broke down, and even the men were not ashamed of -their tears. Beatrice, the merry-hearted, whose birdlike laughter -still seemed to linger in the desolate home--where was she? "Oh, God," -sobbed Mrs. Mackenzie, "if we only knew that she was dead!" - -"We'll hope she is," said the trader, brokenly. "She must be, or she'd -be here!" He tried to speak as if he were sure, but his face belied -his words. - -Outside, groups of Indians moved about restlessly. From sheer savage -wantonness they had killed the cattle that were left to them, as the -troops turned away from the Fort. The houses had all been plundered, -and incongruous articles were strewn all over the plain. The finery -of the women had been divided, and the savage who had Captain Wells's -scalp at his belt wore Katherine's bonnet upon his head. - -Mackenzie, with his penknife, had removed two bullets from Mrs. -Franklin's arm, and had improvised a bandage from some old linen he -found in the house. Katherine was badly wounded in the shoulder, where -the tomahawk meant for her had struck when Black Partridge snatched -her away. Lieutenant Howard had several cuts upon his body and Captain -Franklin and Mackenzie were each wounded in the thigh. - -As some of them had suspected from the first, they were British -prisoners, and were to be taken to Fort Mackinac or Detroit very soon. -"To-morrow," answered the Indian chief whom Mackenzie asked, "or -perhaps the next day. No stay here long." - -Black Partridge had vanished as completely as if the earth had -swallowed him up. The Mackenzies looked for him anxiously among the -Indians who patrolled the Fort and the river bank. In spite of the -surrender, his presence was the only assurance of safety they had. - -An animated discussion was going on in front of the house, for a party -of Indians, evidently from the Wabash, had just arrived. There was -much loud talking and many gestures, and the bleeding scalps were -fingered with admiring curiosity. Mrs. Mackenzie sat near the window, -sheltered by a curtain, hoping and yet fearing to see Beatrice's -beautiful hair ornamenting the belt of some savage. - -The mutterings outside grew louder, and hostile glances were turned -upon the trading station. "Mackenzie," said the Captain, "have we any -means of defence?" - -"Not even a musket," answered the trader, bitterly; "and that door -wouldn't hold more than two minutes." - -Even as he spoke a company of Indians came up the path. "Quick, -Katherine," commanded Mrs. Mackenzie--"here!" She pushed her on to the -bed in the next room and covered her with the feather-bed, fearing -that her light hair and fair skin would betray her as a newcomer to -the more remote Indians. - -With supreme self-command Mrs. Mackenzie sat on the bed beside her -and sorted out a bag of patchwork pieces, humming as she did so, in a -voice she scarcely knew. - -The intruders entered and went through the house, peering into every -nook and corner. When they were in the next room, Katherine whispered -to her mother: "Oh, let me go! This is unbearable, and I can die but -once--let them have me!" - -"Hush," sang Mrs. Mackenzie, to a faltering tune. "Don't move and -they will go away. If you stir it means the death of us all!" She went -on with her work, scattering the gay pieces all over the bed and the -floor, but the Indians did not go. - -They grouped themselves about the doors and windows, effectually -cutting off escape. Every one of them was heavily armed, and their -faces were sullen and revengeful. They began to mutter to each other -and exchange significant glances. All hope was lost, when the door was -pushed open and Black Partridge came into the room. - -"How now, my friends," he said. "A good day to you. I was told that -there were enemies here, but I am glad to find only friends. Why have -you blackened your faces? Is it that you are mourning for the friends -you have lost in battle? Or is it that you are fasting? If so, ask our -friend here and he will give you to eat. He is the Indians' friend, -and never yet refused them what they had need of." - -Thus shamed, the spokesman of the party explained that they had come -for some white cotton cloth in which to wrap their dead. This was -given them and they went away peaceably. - -Then Mackenzie had a long talk with the chief and told him of their -anxiety for Robert and Beatrice. The others, guessing at the subject, -pressed close around them. "What does he say?" asked Katherine, -anxiously; but the trader made no answer until the Indian had gone. - -"He says he will put a strong guard of his own people all around the -house and that we will be safe here, but we must strike no lights and -make no noise, because some of the Indians from the far country do not -know that we are their friends. He says the big soldier is dead, from -a tomahawk that struck him in the breast, and that the little black -horse is also dead on the plains far south of here; but neither the -scalp of the paleface nor that of her lover are among those his braves -have taken. He bids us to be quiet and to wait for news." - -"To wait," sighed Mrs. Mackenzie--"to wait for news! It is the hardest -thing in the world!" - -The heat of the afternoon was sickening, so the curtains were closely -drawn, and the little company huddled together, scarcely daring to -speak above a whisper, but gathering human comfort and new courage -from the mere sight of each other, wounded though they were. - -Maria Indiana and the baby were put to bed for their regular afternoon -nap, and some of the comforts of life were still left in the house. -So the day passed on, with a double line of Indians around the house, -and the hum and whir of midsummer coming to their ears from the fields -beyond them, as if there had been no massacre and there was no such -thing as death. - - * * * * * - -Robert and Beatrice were in the shade of a sand hill, nearly five -miles south of the Fort. When his horse had rested a little, he -assisted her to mount, and walked by her side until they reached the -only shelter that was available. The sun was approaching the west, -and the mound kept off the direct rays, as well as the south-west -wind. They were faint from hunger, and both were slightly wounded, but -otherwise they were quite comfortable. In front of them lay the lake, -serene and smooth, with not a ripple upon its glassy surface, and no -reflection of the conflict that had just been waged was mirrored upon -its waters. - -Robert was one who recovered his strength quickly, and as the -afternoon wore on he began to feel like himself. After reaching the -sand hill, his first act had been to cut open the sleeve of the girl's -dress and apply his lips to her wound. - -"Why?" she asked. "Why do you do that?" - -"Because the arrow may have been poisoned, dear." - -"Then you'll be poisoned, too," she said, drawing away from him. - -"No, I won't." - -In spite of her protests, he drew the blood until no more came, then -bathed the wound with water from the lake, and bandaged it with a -clean handkerchief he happened to have in his pocket. Afterward, -lover-like, he kissed the fair, smooth arm from shoulder to wrist, -with an exquisite sense of possession. - -"What are we going to do?" asked Beatrice, after a little. - -"We can do nothing until night. Then I'll cover you with sand--all but -your head, and go back to the waggons for food and ammunition. I'll -get another horse, too, if I can find one, and then we'll go to Fort -Wayne." - -"And if you can't find another horse?" - -"You'll ride this one, and I'll lead him. I'll get your saddle if I -can." - -"We'll never make it," she said sadly. - -"Yes, we will--I'm sure of it. Life means too much to us, darling, to -give it up without a fight." - -The deep crimson dyed her white face. "I--I had to tell you," she -whispered, "or you never would have known." - -A long shadow appeared upon the sand, and Robert saw the unmistakable -outlines of a feather head-dress. Beatrice was nestled in his arms, -with her face against his breast. His pistol was at his belt, loaded, -and his sword lay near him. "Is your pistol loaded, dear?" he asked, -very softly. - -She started away from him in terror. "Yes," she cried; "but why?" - -"Hush!" He pointed to the shadow on the sand, which stealthily -approached. - -"Oh!" she moaned; "after all this!" - -Robert rose to his feet and went noiselessly toward the southern side -of the sand hill. Beatrice stood just behind him, white as death. Then -Black Partridge appeared before them, with something very like a smile -upon his face. "How!" he grunted cordially. - -The conversation which followed was a veritable "confusion of -tongues." Robert knew about as much of the Indian language as the -other did of English; but, after some little time, he was made to -understand that they were British prisoners, and that, for the -present, they were safe. - -"Ask him about Aunt Eleanor and the others," said Beatrice. - -There was another long colloquy. "They are all safe," Robert -explained, finally; "the White Father and his wife, the other White -Father and his fair-skinned wife, and the family of Shaw-nee-aw-kee. -They have been anxious about us, and when he goes back he will tell -them that we are all right." - -By signs and broken speech Black Partridge made it evident that they -could not stay where they were, and ordered them to follow him. Robert -demurred, but the chief frowned upon him so fiercely that he dared not -disobey. From a voluble speech in the Indian tongue, Robert gathered -that Black Partridge had not forgotten his promise--that the memory of -the picture was still warm in his heart, and that he was the faithful -friend of the paleface and her lover. - -Beatrice smiled when Robert told her what he had said. "He knew, -didn't he?" she asked shyly. - -They began their long march northward upon the sand. Beatrice was -mounted, and Robert walked beside her. Straight as an arrow and as -tireless as an eagle, the Indian went swiftly in front of them, -looking back, now and then, to see if they were following. - -It was a hard journey for Beatrice, since the dead lay all around -her. Even the Indians Robert had killed seemed to distress her, and -when she passed the spot where Queen lay she could not keep back her -tears. Vultures, with slow-beating wings, were silhouetted now and -then against the setting sun, as they went from one grewsome feast to -another. - -"What are those birds?" asked the girl. "I never saw them before." - -"I do not know," lied Robert. "I have never seen them, either." - -The wind had covered Ronald's body with drifted sand, and she was -spared the bitterness of that; but the plain of death, with its burden -of mangled bodies, would have touched a harder heart than hers. - -"Don't look, darling," he pleaded, and, obediently, she turned her -face away, but the tears fell fast, none the less, and she could not -repress her sobs. - -"Sweetheart," said Forsyth, coming closer to her side, "I can bear -anything but that. Your tears make me weak--your grief unmans me." - -She hid her face in her hands and struggled hard for self-control. -Then he went around to the other side of the horse. "Look at the lake, -dear," he said; "or look at me and forget what lies beyond." - -So they marched, in the full glare of the afternoon sun. The pitiless -heat burned into the sand and was thrown back into their faces. But -Beatrice did not once turn her head to the left, and Robert, looking -past her, was thankful that she did not. Chandonnais and his mother -were side by side, locked in each other's arms. Their bodies had not -been touched, but others near them had been stripped and mutilated -beyond all recognition. - -When they came to the bank of the river, they looked anxiously toward -the Fort and the trading station, but saw only Indians. A young -warrior met Black Partridge here, and Beatrice was told to dismount. -She did so, thinking that in a few minutes more she would be at home -again, but when she saw that they were not going up the river she -could not keep back a cry of pain. - -The chief turned upon her fiercely, and muttered angrily to Robert. -"Hush, dear!" he said to Beatrice, but his face was very pale. - -They stood there for some time, and at length a large canoe was -brought down-stream. "Oh, where are we going!" she moaned. - -"I don't know, dearest," answered Robert, in a low tone; "but wherever -it is, we're going together." His fingers tightened upon his sword, -that still hung at his side. - -They got into the canoe, Beatrice at the bow and Robert at the -stern. Black Partridge took the paddle, and with swift, sure strokes -they shot out into the lake and then turned north. After some time -Robert ventured to ask a question, but received no answer except a -meaningless grunt. - -The last light lay upon the water and touched it to exceeding beauty. -The lake seemed like a great turquoise, deepening slowly to sapphire. -Sunset colours flamed upon the clouds near the horizon, but their -hearts were heavy, and they did not see. - -As twilight approached, the canoe moved even more swiftly and Black -Partridge never faltered at his task. Robert began to wonder if they -were going to Fort Mackinac, and laughed at himself for the thought. - -Now and then, after a sudden spurt ahead, the Indian anxiously scanned -the shore, as if he were looking for a landmark. At last they turned -in. With a grating of the keel the canoe grounded on the beach, and -they got out, still wondering, still afraid, and completely at the -Indian's mercy. - -He signed to them to follow him, and they went up the steep bank as -best they could, catching at saplings and undergrowth to keep their -footing sure. - -Once on the bluff they turned northward again, and Beatrice, utterly -weary and hopeless, leaned heavily upon Robert's arm. Some way, the -ground was familiar to him, but he could not have told where they were. - -It was almost dusk when Black Partridge stopped and waited for them. -They followed him down a little incline, which was smooth and well -worn. "Why!" said Beatrice, in astonishment. - -They were at the door of the little house in the woods that they had -discovered so long ago; and over the doorway the silver cross still -hung, its gleam hidden in the darkness. - -The Indian spoke to Robert, repeating each sentence slowly, until he -understood. Then Robert shook hands with him, and the Indian plunged -down the bluff, ran along the beach to his canoe, and went south. - -With a soft, rhythmic sound the splash of the paddle died into a -murmur, then into silence. "What was it?" asked the girl, still afraid. - -"We are to stay here to-night and perhaps longer--we are to wait until -he comes for us. He says this is Mad Margaret's cabin, and that no one -will dare to molest us here. The Great Spirit is already displeased, -because by an accident she was killed. It is not good to touch her -nor anything that belongs to her." - -"Are we safe?" asked Beatrice, in low, moved tones. "Can it be that we -are safe at last?" - -Robert took her into his arms and kissed her twice. "My sweetheart," -he said, "my own brave girl, we are safe at last, and we are together -for always. Nothing but death can part us now!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE REPRIEVE - - -Beatrice looked around the cabin curiously, though its aspect was very -little changed from her memory of it. The rude, narrow bed at the -farther end was still covered with the blue-and-white patchwork quilt -which Mrs. Mackenzie had so strangely lost. The furniture, as before, -consisted of rough chairs and tables made from boxes and barrels by an -inexperienced hand. New shelves had been added, and these were filled -with provisions in the familiar guise of the trading station. - -A bolt of calico, some warm winter clothing, and countless articles -of necessity and comfort were all neatly put away. Chandonnais had -evidently pilfered from his employer constantly and systematically. -Whatever he saw that seemed desirable for his mother's use, he -had plainly taken at the first opportunity. Even the children's -playthings had been brought there to amuse Mad Margaret. - -Beatrice pulled aside a cotton curtain that had been fastened across -one corner, and was not a little surprised to find her own pink calico -gown, which she had made early in the summer. Robert was as interested -as she was, though the light was rapidly failing. He had found a -tallow dip and kept it within easy reach, though he had his doubts as -to the wisdom of a light. - -With an exclamation of astonishment, he stooped and picked up a pair -of moccasins--small, dainty, and heavily beaded--the very pair he had -lost. - -"See, dearest," he said, "these are the moccasins I had for your -birthday. I told you they had been stolen, don't you remember?" - -The girl turned her sweet face to his. "I'm going to thank you for -them now." - -"I don't deserve it, sweetheart, and I'll tell you why. I wanted to -tell you then, but, someway, I didn't have the courage. I didn't know -it was your birthday--I'd had the moccasins a long time, but I didn't -want George to get the better of me, and so I let you think I knew." - -The mention of Ronald's name brought tears to her eyes. "I have a -confession to make," she said. "Come here." She put her arm around -his neck and drew his head down, then whispered to him. - -"My darling!" he replied, brokenly, "did you think me beast enough to -grudge him that? I'm glad you did it and I always will be. Poor lad, -he couldn't have you, and you are mine for always." - -"I know," she sighed; "but I like to think that I made him happy--that -he was happy when he died." - -"He loved you, Bee--almost as much as I do." - -"He couldn't," she said softly, "for nobody ever loved anybody else as -much as you love me"; and he was quite willing to have it so. - -Shortly afterward he came to an active realisation of the fact that -neither of them had eaten anything since morning. He lighted the -tallow dip and searched the cabin until he found a generous supply of -the plain fare to which they were accustomed. He wanted to build a -fire and make some tea for Beatrice, but she refused, and asked for -water instead. He went down the bluff and brought her some, but it was -so warm as to be almost insipid. - -After they had eaten, the inevitable reaction came to Beatrice. -The high nervous tension of the past week suddenly snapped and -left her as helpless as a child. "Oh!" she moaned, "the heat is -unbearable--why doesn't it get cool!" - -She threw herself upon the narrow bed, utterly exhausted. With a -clumsy, but gentle touch, he took the pins out of her hair and -unfastened her shoes. Beatrice suddenly sat up and threw her shoes -into the farthest corner of the cabin. Then a small, soft, indistinct -bundle was pushed to the floor. - -Robert laughed and brought the moccasins. "Will you let me put them -on?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer he slipped them on her -bare feet, not at all surprised to find that they fitted perfectly. -"The little feet," he said, tenderly; "the bare, soft, dimpled things!" - -"The moccasins are softer," she answered, in a matter-of-fact tone, -"and I think I'm going to sleep now." - -For a long time he sat beside her, holding her hand in his. -They talked of the thousand things which had suddenly become -important--their first meeting, their individual impressions of it, -and of everything that had happened since. With some trepidation he -told her that he was mainly responsible for the poem which accompanied -the Indian basket. - -"It was a very bad poem," she observed. - -"Yes," answered Robert, with a new note of happy laughter in his -voice; "it was an unspeakable poem." - -Then he described the arrangement which he and Ronald had made "to -lessen the friction," as he said, and she smiled in the midst of her -tears. "Poor lad!" she sighed. - -"Poor lad!" he repeated; and then, after a long silence, "true lover -and true friend." - -The intervals between question and answer lengthened insensibly, and -at last Beatrice slept. He stole away from her on tiptoe and went out -in front of the cabin, where there was only a narrow ledge upon the -bluff. He sat down in the doorway, where he could hear the slightest -sound, and deliberately set himself to watch out the night. - -He was physically exhausted, but his mind was strangely active. For -the first time he was in a position to review the events of his stay -at Fort Dearborn, from the night of his arrival, when Mad Margaret had -appeared at the trading station, to the present hour, when he sat in -her pathetic little cabin, with the girl he loved so near him that he -could hear her deep breathing as she slept. - -"What has it done for me?" he thought--"what has it brought me?" The -answer was "Beatrice," which came with a passionate uplifting of -soul. With a certain boyish idea of knight-errantry, he had kept -his hands and his heart clean, and, in consequence, love brought -to him at last an exquisite fineness of joy. In that hour of close -self-communion, his deepest satisfaction was this--that in all the -years, in spite of frequent temptation, there was nothing of which he -need to be ashamed--nothing to remember with a pang of bitterness, -when Beatrice lifted her innocent eyes to his. - -"Sir Galahad," some of his friends had called him, jeeringly, and, -before, it had never failed to bring the colour to his face; but now -the words rang through his consciousness like a trumpet-blast of -victory. He was spared that inner knowledge of shame and unworthiness -which lies, like bitter lees, in the wine of man's love. - -"Beatrice! Beatrice!" Like another of her name she had led him through -hell, and he saw now a certain sweet slavery in prospect. Wherever his -thoughts might wander, she would always be with him, like the golden -thread which runs through a dull tapestry, in and out of the design, -sometimes hidden for an instant, but never lost. - -Aunt Eleanor and Uncle John--they had been like father and mother -to him, and he loved the children as though they were his own. The -plaintive lisps of the little girl came back to his memory with -remorseful tenderness, and he smiled as he wondered, dreamily, what -Beatrice might have been at four or five. Swiftly upon the thought -came another, which set the blood to singing in his veins, and -which he put from him quickly, as one retreats before something too -beautiful and too delicate to touch. - -Captain Wells and Doctor Norton--they were dead. And Ronald--a lump -came into his throat which he could not keep down, for, of all the -men in the world, the blue-eyed soldier was best fitted to be his -friend. They supplemented one another perfectly, each having what -the other lacked, and enough in common to make firm neutral ground -whereupon friendship might safely stand. Of his other friends at the -Fort he thought idly, since he had not known them so well, but he was -genuinely glad that they had survived the horrors of the day. - -As night wore on, the battle assumed indistinct and indefinite -phases. Here and there some incident stood out vividly; unrelated -and detached. He had spoken truly when he told Beatrice that "a mere -handful" had been lost. What, indeed, did such things matter in the -face of history? - -It was but the price of a new country, which courageous souls had -been paying for two centuries and more, and which some must continue -to pay until---- - -Like a lightning flash came sudden breadth of view. What if a thousand -had died instead of fifty; how could it change the meaning? Broad and -beautiful, from the Atlantic to the unknown shore unmeasured leagues -away, stretched a new country, vast beyond the dreams of empire, which -belonged to his race for the asking. - -Something stirred in his pulses, uncertain but vital; so strangely -elemental that it seemed one with the reaches of water that lay just -beyond him. Here, at the head of Lake Michigan, some day there must -be--what? - -There was a rustle beside him, but it was only a leaf. In the -stillness it seemed as if it must wake Beatrice. Another near it -fluttered idly, and a white birch trembled. A sudden coolness came -into the air, then out of the lake rose the blessed north-east wind, -with life and healing upon its grey wings. - -He went into the cabin to put a blanket over Beatrice. Her face was -turned toward the door, that her wounded arm might be uppermost, and -something in her attitude of childish helplessness brought the mist to -his eyes. The white, soft arm, with the bandage upon it, had its own -irresistible appeal. Half fearing to wake her, he stooped to kiss it -softly, thrilled with a tenderness so great that his love was almost -pain. - -He went back to the cabin door, where the wind was rioting amid the -saplings, and sat down again. Already there was a hushed murmur upon -the shore, and when the late moon rose, full and golden, from the -mysterious vault beyond the horizon, the lake was white with tossing -plumes--the manes of the plunging steeds that lead the legions of the -sea. - -Far out upon the water was a path of beaten gold--that fairy path -which the little Beatrice had thought to take when she went to visit -the moon people. The memory of that night came back with rapturous -pain--when he had found the words to tell her what she was and what -she meant to him, as far as words could express the sacred emotion -that was kindled upon the altars of his inmost soul. - -The moonlight shone into the cabin and full upon the girl's face. The -childish sweetness, the womanly softness of her as she lay there came -to him like the breath of a rose. A thread of light went higher and -touched the silver cross to lambent flame. Beyond it, over the cabin, -was---- - -He sprang to his feet and ran up the little incline to the bluff. -In spite of the thick woods he could see the ominous glare upon the -clouds in the south-west, and knew only too well what it portended. -"Cowards! Dogs!" he muttered. "They are burning the Fort!" - -His hands shut and opened nervously, and the nails cut deep into the -flesh. A savage impulse to wrest every foot of soil from the Indians -shook him from head to foot. Here, at the head of Lake Michigan--then -the dream came upon him with the claim of mastery. "The baseless -fabric of this vision.... The cloud-capped towers and gorgeous -palaces...." His thought swiftly framed the words, then he laughed -shortly, and turned away. - -But, all at once, he knew what he must do. He saw himself clearly in -the van of that humble army, which has no trappings of soldiery or -state, but only the weapons of peace, by which, from the beginning, -all men have ultimately conquered. The plough and the harrow, the -spade and the pruning knife, the steady toil with hand and brain--here -and now. - -Step by step he saw the savages forced backward, their arrows met -with muskets and the ring of steel--back to the farthest limits of -the civilisation which at last should sweep them from the face of -the earth. It was the dominant race beating back the opposition; the -conquest of the wilderness by those fitted to rule. - -Fired with purpose and ambition, he stood there until the lurid light -in the south-west began to fade. Not one life, but the many--not the -reaping, but the planting--he did not know it, but strong upon him had -come the spirit of the pioneer. - -The moon rose high in the heavens and from the zenith sent stray -lines of light to touch the cross, where the figure of the Christ, -wondrously moulded, was eloquent with voiceless appeal. The stars -faded, as if blown out by the wind, and then there was a soft voice at -his side: "Have I been asleep, dear?" - -"You sweet girl," he laughed, taking her into his arms; "you've slept -all night--it's nearly time for sunrise, now." - -"I didn't know. You'll go to sleep now, won't you?" - -"No, dearest--I'm not sleepy." - -"Neither am I, so I'm going to stay with you." - -In the doorway of the cabin, with their arms around each other, they -sat while the darkness waned. The wind lifted her magnificent hair in -long, slender strands, and now and then, when a heavy tress touched -his face caressingly, Beatrice laughed and pulled it away. - -"Don't!" he said. - -"You dear, silly boy, you don't want my hair in your face." - -"Yes, I do." - -"Why?" - -"Because I love you, from the crown of your head to your dimpled foot, -with all the strength of my soul." - -There was a long silence, then the girl sighed contentedly. "I never -thought love was anything like this, did you?" - -"No, dear--I didn't know what it was." - -"I didn't, either, but, of course, I wondered. From all I had heard -and read I was afraid of it, and I thought it would make me unhappy, -but it doesn't. I can't tell you how it makes me feel. It seems as if -God made us for each other in the beginning, but kept us apart, and -even after we met it wasn't much better until all at once there was a -light, and then we knew. It seems as if I never could be miserable or -out of sorts again; as if everything was right and always would be; -that whatever came to me you'd help me bear it, and always you'd be my -shield." - -"Sweetheart," he answered, deeply touched, "I trust I may be. It -would be my greatest happiness to bear your pain for you." - -Far in the east there was a faint colour upon the clouds. "See," she -said, "it is day." He drew her closer, and she went on,--"Think what -it means to go away forever from all this horror--to go back to the -hills!" - -Robert swallowed hard, then said thickly, "Heart of Mine, I would die -to shield you, but Destiny calls us here." - -With a cry the girl started to her feet. "Here!" she gasped. "Robert, -what do you mean!" - -In an instant he was beside her, with her cold hand in his. "What do -you mean!" she cried. - -"Listen, dear; I am asking nothing of you--it is for you to say. -To-morrow we will be taken to Detroit as British prisoners--for how -long we do not know. The Indians have burned the Fort, but some day, -when the war is over, we must come here to live, for to go back is to -acknowledge defeat." - -The word stung her pride. "Defeat!" she said; "and why? Why are we -defeated if we choose to live in a safe place instead of in danger--in -peace rather than in the fear of massacre? Yesterday, did you not see? -Only by the merest chance I am not among them--and yet you ask me to -go back!" - -Her voice vibrated with feeling, and her breast heaved. Even in the -dim, purple light of early morning he could see the suffering in her -face, and it struck him like a blow. - -"My darling, listen--let me tell you what I mean. We will go wherever -you say. If it pleases you to live in France or England, we will go -there--it is for you to decide, not for me. Do you understand?" - -"Yes," she answered dully. "Go on." - -Robert's dream was dim and the fire of his ambition had dwindled, but -he went on bravely. "We are at the very edge of civilisation, dear, -and it must go on beyond us. The tide is moving westward, and we must -either go with it or against it. We must go forward or retreat, there -is no standing still. Yesterday a battle was fought, which, in its -essence, was for the possession of the frontier. We have surrendered, -but we have not given up. If we retreat, it must be fought again. From -shore to shore of this great country there must be one flag and one -law. Here, where the ashes of the Fort now lie, some day a city must -stand." - -"So," said the girl, with a harsh laugh, "and you would build a city -from dreams?" - -The tone hurt him to the quick. "Yes," he answered steadfastly, "I -would. Nothing in the world was ever built without a dream at the -beginning." - -"Well," she said, after a silence--"what then?" - -"Sweetheart," he cried, "you make it hard!" - -Upon the purple light in the east came gold and crimson, touched -here and there with deep sapphire blue. Little by little a glorious -fabric was woven upon the vast looms of dawn. Beatrice saw his face, -strained and anxious, and knew in her heart that she would yield. What -Katherine had said came back to her--"When you find your mate, you -have to go--there is no other way." - -"To-morrow we go," he was saying, "back to the hills, but that is not -the end--it is only the reprieve. We must come back here to fight it -out, to finish the task we have begun, to hold our place in the face -of all odds. We must stand in the front rank of civilisation, make our -footing steady and sure, carry the flag westward into the stronghold -of the wilderness--make a city, if you will, from dreams. - -"Beatrice, this is the last time--I shall never ask you again. We will -do as you will--this is my only plea. I ask you now, with the horrors -of yesterday still alive in your heart, with your wound still open and -sore, to come back here with me, when the Fort is rebuilt, and fight -it out by my side. - -"It must be done--by others if not by us, and if we retreat we are -shamed. God knows I love you, or I would not ask you this. God knows I -would shield you, and yet I would not have you shamed. Wherever there -is human life, there is also danger, but we must make a place where -our children and our children's children may live without fear. Heart -of Mine, so strong and brave, you are not the one to falter--my Life, -my Queen," he cried, in a voice that rang, "are you not a mate for a -man?" - -Prismatic colours lay on the water and the sunrise stained her face. -Far across the pearly reaches a new day was dawning, and she looked at -him steadily, as if her eyes would search his inmost soul. - -"Once more," he said huskily, "will you come and do your part? Will -you fight it out with me?" - -Love and pain were in his voice--his body was tense and eager, like -one who pleads for his utmost joy. Beatrice felt his courage, his -passionate uplifting, and it stirred her pulses sharply, like a bugle -call. Caught on that wave of absolute surrender, seeking only for the -ultimate good, the girl's soul rose superbly to meet his own. - -The first ray of sun leaped across the water, to touch her face with -transfiguring light, and there was a gleam from the cross above her, -where the splendour of the morning was turned back toward the altars -from whence it came. Her fear fell from her like a garment, the -horrors of the past were forgotten, and she saw herself one with him, -on whatever height he might choose to stand. - -Her burnished hair was like an aureole about her, and in her eyes was -the fire of victory. Mate for a man she was in that exalted moment, -when she leaned toward him with her lips parted and her soul aflame -with high resolve. The eastern heavens illumined with a flood of white -light that seemed like a challenge. - -"Once more, sweetheart--will you come?" - -She smiled and her sweet lips trembled as if already she felt his -kiss, then clear and strong as the note of a silver trumpet came the -girl's triumphant answer. "Yes," she cried, "I will!" - - -THE END - - - * * * * * - - -By MYRTLE REED - - LOVE LETTERS OF A MUSICIAN - LATER LOVE LETTERS OF A MUSICIAN - THE SPINSTER BOOK - LAVENDER AND OLD LACE - THE SHADOW OF VICTORY - PICKABACK SONGS - -G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS - -New York London - - * * * * * - -By Myrtle Reed - -Lavender and Old Lace - - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.60) net, $1.50 - Full crimson morocco, in a box " 2.00 - Gray ooze leather, in a box " 2.50 - Lavender Silk, in a box " 3.50 - - "A rare book, exquisite in spirit and conception, full of delicate - fancy, of tenderness, of delightful humor and spontaneity. The - story is too dainty, too delicate for analysis.... It is a book - to be enjoyed, and it is so suitably clad that its charm is - enhanced."--_Detroit Free Press_. - - -The Spinster Book - - 12mo. Gilt top. (By mail, $1.60) net, $1.50 - Full crimson morocco, in a box " 2.00 - - "A _gem_ in a dainty, attractive, and artistic setting.... Miss - Reed is delightfully witty, delightfully humorous, delightfully - cynical, delightfully sane, and, above all, delightfully - spontaneous. The pages sparkle with bright, clear wit; they - bubble with honest, hearty humor; they contain many stings but - no savage thrusts.... A magazine of epigrams for a rapid-firing - gun."--_Philadelphia Telegraph._ - - -Love Letters of a Musician } Two -Later Love Letters of a Musician } vols. - - 12mo. Gilt top each, $1.75 - Full crimson morocco, in a box " 2.50 - - "Miss Reed's books are exquisite prose poems--words strung on - thought-threads of gold--in which a musician tells his love for - one whom he has found to be his ideal. The idea is not new, but - the opinion is ventured that nowhere has it been one-half so well - carried out. The ecstacy of hope, the apathy of despair, alternate - in these enchanting letters, without one line of cynicism to mar - the beauty of their effect."--_Rochester Herald_. - - -G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS -New York London - - - * * * * * - - -GOOD FICTION - - -Patricia of the Hills - - By CHARLES KENNETT BURROW. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.10.) _Net_ $1.00 - - "Patriotism without unreasonableness; love of the open air and the - free hills without exaggeration; romance without over-gush; humor - and melancholy side by side without morbidness; an Irish dialect - stopping short of excess; a story full of sincere feeling."--_The - Nation._ - - "No more charming romance of the old sod has been published in a - long time."--_N. Y. World._ - - "A very pretty Irish story."--_N. Y. Tribune._ - - -Eve Triumphant - - By PIERRE DE COULEVAIN. Translated by ALYS HALLARD. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.35.) _Net_ $1.20 - - "Clever, stimulating, interesting, ... a brilliant mingling of - salient truth, candid opinion, and witty comment."--_Chicago - Record._ - - "An audacious and satirical tale which embodies a great deal of - clever and keen observation."--_Detroit Free Press_. - - "An extremely clever work of fiction."--_Louisville - Courier-Journal._ - - -Monsieur Martin - - A Romance of the Great Swedish War. By WYMOND CAREY. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.35.) _Net_ $1.20 - - "It was with genuine pleasure that we read 'M. Martin.' ... We - cordially admire it and sincerely hope that all who read this page - will also read the book."--From a Column Review in the _Syracuse - Herald_. - - "Wymond Carey's name must be added to the list of authors whose - first books have given them a notable place in the world of - letters, for 'Monsieur Martin' is one of the best of recent - historical romances."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._ - - "Mr. Wymond Carey has given us much pleasure in reading his book, - and we are glad to praise it."--_Baltimore Sun._ - - -New York--G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS--London - - - * * * * * - - -GOOD FICTION - - -Lavender and Old Lace - - By MYRTLE REED, author of "Love Letters of a Musician," "The Spinster - Book," etc. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.65) net, $1.50 - Full Crimson Morocco net, $2.00 - - Miss Reed has carried her lively style and charming humor from - letters and essays into the field of fiction. This is the story of - a quaint corner of New England where more than one romance lies - hidden underneath the prim garb of a little village. - - -The Earth and the Fullness Thereof - - A Tale of Styria. By PETER ROSEGGER, author of "The Forest - Schoolmaster," "The God Seeker," etc. Authorized English Version - by FRANCES E. SKINNER. - - 12mo $1.50 - - There is, throughout, that same sweet recognition of the beautiful - in life, even where human existence is the most squalid, that gave - a wonderful quality to "The Forest Schoolmaster." And there is - a true pleasure in the story's happy conclusion that is born of - no playwriter's trick, but of a sense of the eternal justice of - things. - - -Fame for a Woman - - or, Splendid Mourning. By CRANSTOUN METCALFE. With Frontispiece by - ADOLF THIEDE. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.35) net, $1.20 - - Madame de Stael wrote: "Fame is for women only a splendid - mourning for happiness"; Mr. Metcalfe tells us how a sweet - little woman, whose world is little bigger than her husband, - loses that perspective by contact with the superficially clever - young literary set in London. She is persuaded to write, and her - writing is attended with success, such as it is,--the sort of - success which means much figuring in "literary notes," interviews - describing the privacy of one's fireside, and preeminence among - so-called Bohemians. - - -New York--G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS--London - - - * * * * * - - -GOOD FICTION - - -Morchester - - A Story of American Society, Politics, and Affairs. By CHARLES - DACHET. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.35.) _Net_, $1.20 - - "Though unknown to the readers of romance, Mr. Dachet here shows - himself to be a master of the craft of romance writing. The action - of his book takes place in an eastern city which may easily be - identified with Pittsburgh, and in several of the characters - of the story, local politicians of national reputation may be - recognized.... The story on every page shows power, reserve, and - a profound knowledge of the actualities of modern life, and no - little literary handling."--_Chicago Interior._ - - -The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci: The Forerunner - - By DMITRI MEREJKOWSKI, author of "The Death of the Gods," etc. - Authorized translation from the Russian, edited by HERBERT TRENCH. - - 12mo. (By mail, $1.65.) _Net_, $1.50 - - "Leonardo, who is presented as the hero of the story, is a figure - of great nobility.... A finer study of the artistic temperament at - its best could scarcely be found. And Leonardo is the centre of a - crowd of striking figures. It is impossible to speak too highly of - the dramatic power with which they are presented, both singly and - in combination.... The story as a whole is a very powerful piece - of work, standing higher above the level of contemporary fiction - than it would be easy to say."--_London Spectator._ - - -Typhoon - - By JOSEPH CONRAD, author of "Lord Jim." 16mo. (By mail, $1.10.) - - _Net_, $1.00 - - "Its scenes are painted with a vividness that leaves us - breathless.... It is an extraordinarily artistic book.... Only a - man of genius could have written 'Typhoon.'"--_N. Y. Tribune._ - - -New York--G. P. PUTMAN'S SONS--London - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as -possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other -inconsistencies. 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