Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1916-09-28


seen. yet agreed to reiur here under
my leadership"
who is their. chiefT'
sold Sequitah-you know himT"
"Ay. a real warrior. lis better than
| dared hope, for / have been in battle
with him before. Do you number a
~hundredY"
"And fifty more. though indirer-
emily armed"
and fifty more. though indiferently
armed. Never have I seen the Him
in action. D'Artigny; they seem to me
a poor lot, so frightened Of the wolves
as to be yalueless."
$50 they are If left to themselves,
but under white leadership they stiff
fen. They will fight 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 it remains dark. we
ought to get within a few yards of the
red demons without discovery. They
will fight desperately, no doubt, fol-
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 fort?"
"Twice before"
"Then you know the nature of the
ground. TITS all woodland until within
a few hundred yards of the gates. YOU
recall the great rock beside the trail?'
GAY and the view from the top"
"My plan would be to creep up thai
far, with f1anking parties on the slope:
below. In front, as you may remem
Der, 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 tree!
waiting daylight. Is my thought right?'
"'Tis the most likely spot"
'Then listen; l have thought this al
out. You and l, with Sequitah, will
take a hundred of your Indians, eros.
the small river. and advance up tn
trail. That leaves fifty warriors t.
creep through the woods on eithei
slope, twenty-five to a side, led by you
two couriers du bois. We will wait a
the great rock, and give the signal"
La Forest stood silent a moment
thinking; then rested his hand on D'Ar
tigny's shoulder.
at looks feasible enough, but tn
lanking parties may not reach thei
positions in time"
"The one from the west will no
have as far to travel as we do. TIL
other does not make so much differ
ence, for if the Iroquois break the,
will come in this direction-the othe
side Of the trail is sheer rock"
"And what about the lady?'
AZ shall go with you, m~essieurs,"
said quietly. "There will be no NOR
danger there than here; besides, 20
would not leave me alone without
guard, and you will need every fight
ing man."
I felt the grip Of Rene's hand, but
was La Forests voice that spoke.
"The right ring to that, hey, D'Al
tigny! Madame answers my last al
gument. But first let us have wor
with the chief"
He addressed a word into the crow
of indistinguishable figures, and an Ii
dian came forward. Dim as the ligf
was, I was impressed with the dignit
Of his carriage, the firm character {
his facial outline.
II am Sequitah, chief Of the Ma
coutins," he said gravely, "for whol
the white chief sent"
D'Artigny stepped forward, standin
as erect as the other. .
"Sequitah is great chief" he sal
quietly, "a warrior of many battle
the friend of La Sale. We hay
smoked the peace-pipe together, an
walked side by side on the war-trai
Sequitah knows who speaks?
"The French warrior they call D'A
tigny."
Right; tbs not the first time yc
land l have met the Iroquois! TT
wolves are here again; they hay
burned the villages of the Illinois, al
! killed your women and children. II
valley is black with smoke, and re