Mexico Missouri message., 1916-10-26

| bdrfe'B commission, dnO KNOWS no
more Of Indian war than a Quebec
storekeeper. The garrison numbers
fifty men. oil told; two-thirds soldiers,
and poor lot"
| "With ammunition and food?"
"Ample to eat, but Boisrondet fells
me with scarce a dozen rounds per
man. The Iroquois are at. the gates,
and will attack at daylight"
"You know thls?"
'"The signs are. plain. We passed
one party clambering up the cliff-no
less than fifty warriors naked and
painted for war. Tuscaroras, madame
said from the words she overheard as
they slipped past where we hid. TITS
not likely they made reconnaissance
alone. The fiends have been a week
In this valley, and have swept all clear
of our Indian allies; now they can
bring their full force against the fort"
"No doubt you are right"
"Twas my judgment, at least, and
we sought help when we ran into you.
What Indians have your
"Illini, mostly, with a handful of
Miamis and Kickapoos. We met them
at the crossing, hiding in the hills.
They were sadly demoralized, and
| filed with horror at what they had
seen, yet agreed to return here under
my leadership"
"Who is their chiefw
"Old Sequitah-you know himT
"Ay, a real warrior. IT'S better than
1 dared hope, for have been in battle
with him before. DO you number a
hundred?"
"And fifty more, though indiffer-
emily armed"
"And fifty more, though indifferently
armed. Never have I seen the Illinl
in action, D'Artigny; they seem to me
poor lot, so frightened Of the wolves
as to be valueless."
$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 1T remains dark, we
ought to get within 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. IT'S all woodland until within
few hundred yards of the gates. You
recall the great rock beside the tratl"
"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-
Der, there is an open space, then
fringe Of forest hiding the clearing be-
fore the stoekade. The Iroquois will
be gathered behind that fringe of trees
waiting daylight. Is my thought right?"
otis the most likely spot"
'Then listen; have thought this all
out. You and I, 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 a moment,
thinking; then rested his hand on DAT
tigny's shoulder.
at 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 so with you, messieurs," I
said quietly. "There will be no more
danger there than here; besides, you
would not leave me alone without a
guard, and you will need every fight
ing man."
felt the grip of Rene's hand, but it
was La Forests voice that spoke.
"The right ring to that, hey, DAT
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, 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 speaksr
Arm. m IL