Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-04-30

ms very MAN, anu HOW SUu Cah
serve me we'll. II l may journey with
your"
Il am not overly fond OF white men
who turn Indian" l said coldly. How
ever III see you safe TO the fort gates
II you play no forest tricks on the
way. And now you might tell me who
it is ! am to companion with"
He grinned, showing his teeth. and
my eyes noted how firmly he held his
gun.
"A pledge 10 a pledge. Master Hay
ward" he answered, i~nsolently. II am
called Simon Girty."
! Involuntary took a step back.
ward. staring into the mans face.
That he was a renegade Of some sort,
| had realized from the first, yet it
had never nee occurred to me that he
could be that bloody scoundrel, Girty.
There flashed across my mind the
stories l had heard of his atrocities:
his leadership Of Indians in midnight
forays; his malignant cruelty; the
heartlessness with which he watched
victims burning at the stake; his out
RACES on helpless women and children;
the fiendish acts OF savagery with
which his brutal name was connected
along the border. And this was the
man-this co~wardly-eyed bastard, who
stood there ~grinning into my face, evil
IDENTIFY amused at my undisguised ex.
preston OF horror. Protect, and guide
him. My first inclination vas to strike
the man down in his tracks, kill him
as / would a venomous snake. He
read all this in my eyes, in the stiffen.
ing OF my muscles.
NO, no.. Master Hayward" he sheer
ed, bringing his rife forward, don't
let the name brighten you. The half
you've heard Of me are lies. I'm not
SO bad when all is told, and there Is
more than n borderman who car re-
call my mercy. Kenton escaped the
stake through me, and there are white
women and children awaiting ransom
in Detroit because l interceded for
them. Now | play fair, above board
see?" and he dropped his gun on the
grass, and held out his empty hands.
1T is easy to kill me, yet you will not
you are a soldier" .
l stood irresolute, hesitating, half
tempted still to come to blows, yet his
act disarmed me. Beast though he
might be | could not kill him in cold
blood; l was no murderer, yet it was
a struggle to resist.
Now listen. Simon Girty," I man.
aged to say, at last. There is 10
friendship between US, now nor at any
time. ! hold you a murderous rene.
gade, a white savage. to be shown less
mercy than an Indian dog. But l leave
others to deal with you as you de-
serve. AS you say, l am a soldier, and
will act like one I'have pledged you
my word of guidance to Fort Harmar.
/ will keep the pledge to the letter, but
nc more. Beyond the gate you pro-
coed at your own risk. for I lift NO
hand to protect you from Just ven-
geance. ! despise you too much to
fear you. Pick up your rife. That Is
all: now we will break our fast, and
CO."
Convinced as I was that Girty actu-
ally desired to reach the fort, although
somewhat skeptical as to his purpose,
l felt no fear Of treachery. l was Of too
great value to the fellow to warrant
an attack; so, without hesitation, l
led the way, permitting him to follow
or not, as he pleased. I had it in my
mind TO question him, but r~efrained.
What would be the use? The fellow
would only lie, in all probability. and
one word would lead to another. He
would have to be explicit enough once
he confronted Harmar, and my duty
merely consisted In delivering him
safely at the gates of the fort.
II was noon when we came to the
clearings, Uttered with stumps, but
yielding view Of the distant river, and
the scattered log houses of Marietta.
Men were at work In the fields, but l
avoided these as much as possible, al
though they paused In their labor and
stared suspiciously at us as we ad-
vanced. However / was well known.
my size making mi notable, and as
our course was toward the town, no
one objected to our progress. There
was no recognition OF the man, who
chung close to my heels. and I wasted
no time in getting past, eager to be
well rid Of him.
In truth ! felt little hope Of getting
through thus easily. The fellow was
too widely known not to be recognized
by some one. These men Of the fields
were settlers, newly arrived mostly,
and slightly acquainted as yet with
border history, but there would be idle
hunters In the village, backwoodsmen
from across the river, men who had
ranged the northern forests, and to
whom the name of Girty meant much.
Let one of these look upon the man
and his life would scarce be worth
the snap OF a finger. Not that / cared.
except as his safe passage involved my
own word.
Come along" I said harshly. y
would be done with you"
We advanced up the road to where
! the fort gates stood open, a single
sentry standing motionless between
the posts. AS we drew near, q group
| Of hunters-a half dozen maybe-sud-
denly emerged, their long rifles trail.
ing, on their way to the valley. ]
recognized the man in advance as the
Kentuckian Brady, frohtiersman and
Indian fighter. and recognizing me he
stopped.
"Ah, back again. Master Hayward"
he exclaimed good humoredly. But
what is II you have here? No settler
Of this valley, to my remembrance"
He stared at my companion, shading
his eyes with one hand. his face losing
its look of cheerfulDesg.