Middletown transcript., 1916-10-28

seen, yet agreed to return here under
my leadership
WHO Is their chief9''
."Old 'Sequitah-you know hima"
"Ay, a real warrior. IT'S better than
l dared hope. forI have been in battle
with him before. Do you number a
hundred?"
eAnd fifty more, though indiffer-
emily armed"
"And fifty more, though indiferently
armed. Never have seen the lllini
in action, D'Artigny; they seem to me
a poor lot, SO frightened Of the wolves
as to be valueless."
80 they are if left to themselves,
but under white leadership they stiff
fen. They will tight If given the In
dian style. They will never stand In
defense, but If we lead them to a-sur-
prise, they'll give good account OF
themselves. That is my plan, La For
est-that we creep up through. the
woods behind the Iroquois lines. They
will expect no attack from the rear.
and Will have no guard. If we move
quickly while 1t remains dark. we
ought to get within a few yards of the
red demons without discovery. They
will fight desperately. no doubt, for
their only hope of escape would be to
either plunge down the rocky banks on
either SIDE or cut a way through. You
have been at the fortT
"Twice before"
"Then you know the nature of the
ground. 'Tis all woodland until within
few hundred yards Of the gates. You
recall the great rock beside the traiIY
"Ay and the view from the top"
"My plan would be to creep up that
far, with fianking parties on the slopes
below. In front, as you may remem-
ber, there is an open space, then
fringe of forest hiding the clearing be-
fore the stockade. The Iroquois will
be gathered behind that fringe Of trees
waiting daylight. Is my thought right?
"'Tis the most likely spot"
"Then lister; have thought this all
out. You and l, with Sequitah, will
take a hundred of your Indians, cross
the small river, and advance up the
trail. That leaves fifty warriors to
creep through the woods on either
slope, twenty-five TO a side. led by your
two couriers du bois. We will wait at
the great rock, and give the signal"
La Forest stood silent moment,
thinking; then rested his hand on D'Ar-
tigny's shoulder. -.
"It looks feasible enough, but the
fanking parties may not reach their
positions In time"
"The one from the west will not
have as far to travel as we do. The
other does not make so much differ
ence, for If the Iroquois break they
will come in this direction-the other
side Of the trail is sheer rock"
"And what about the lady?"
81 shall go with you, messieurs," l
said quietly. "There will be no more
danger there than here; besides, you
would not leave me alone without
guard, and you will need every fight
ing man."
felt the grip of Rene's hand, but 1t
was La Forests voice that spoke.
"The right ring to that, hey, D'Ar-
tigny! Madame answers my last ar
gument. But first let us have word
with the chief"
He addressed a word into the crowd
of indistInguishable figures, and an In
dian came forward. Dim as the light
was, l was Impressed with the dignity
of his carriage, the firm character of
his facial outline.
81 am Sequitah. chief of the Mas
coutins." he said gravely. "for whom
the white chief sent"
D'Artigny stepped forward, standing
as erect as the other.
"Sequitah is great chief" he said
quietly, "a warrior Of many battles,
the friend of La Sale. We have
smoked the peace-pipe together, and
walked side by side on the war-trail
Sequitah knows who speaks?"
''The French warrior they call DAT
tigny."
Fright; tbs not the first time you
and l have met the Iroquois! The
wolves are here again; they have
burned the villages of the Illinois, and
killed your women and children. The
valley is black with smoke, and red