; WOLF—GAP;

3
{THE NIGHT - HAWKS OF THE FIRE - LANDS.

1

A TALE OF THE BLOODY FORT

BY CAPT. CHAS. HOWARD,
AUTHOR “nu: ma," “ WOLF QUEEN," “mums nu."

NEW YORK:

BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, ’
' 9: WILLIAM STREET. -

 

 

Med according to Act of Congrats. in the you 1811, by
FRANK STARR ck 00.,
In tho once of the Librarian of Congreu, at Washington.

9.»-- wggu “.

on, ' I

THE NIGHT-HAWKS OF THE FIRE-LANDS.

lg WOLF-CAP ;
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3 c H A P T E R I .

 DOUBLY WARNED. ,

 A SMALL apartment, walled with rough logs, and blackened

Q by smoke.

 ' A substantial fire bums in an uncouth but serviceable fire-

* place, and a man reclines on the puncheons in the ruddy
blaze.

‘ His sole companion is a huge yellow dog of the mastifl'
,apecies; and his master’s long black locks rest upon his shaggy x
V coat.

It is nine o’clock at night, and the moon shines in an un-
clouded armament.

Not a sound disturbs the stillness of the wood; but just
at the edge of the meager clearing that lies before the cabin,
a little river flows northward ’with a low noise, for it is alo
'13, most. bank full.

 Man and dog are wide awake ; the former gazes into the  
v; flre,-the latter looks up into the hard, sunbrowued face.
The master is a great, strong man, whose looks, physiqno_ 1‘ 'j-
l and voiCe, when he speaks, indicates a long frontier life. He ‘ g V
is perhaps three and forty years of age. Some would say that 
he is fifty; but people must not judge age by Germ“ crows‘ ‘ ," 
, feet on the brow; troubles make young men old. His occu- ‘ ‘1 f’
' pation is revealed by a quantity of animal traps lying in one Q,  1
corner of the room, and suspended from a rafter overhead 
,H “albums 0! skins, ready for the market at‘Fort Bui- " , ‘ ‘

 thin—sum a

,._'_uvv w.’ inN '

w. age.

 
     

10 wow-car ; 0R,

But he rises and looks at the dog, who bristles up and runs
to the door, protected by a strong oaken plank.

“ What is it, Yellow Dick?" asks the trapper, standing be-
side his eompat 531;, rifle in hand, and peering into the moon-
light through a ereviee between tWo logs. “ I would liev
sxvorn that I heard the voice of a man; hut—”

lle paused abruptly, for Yellow Dink had suddenly pricked
His long ears anew, and the trapper began to unharricade the x
tloor. ‘

“ "it's old Johnny, Dick, as sure as death," he said, glauc-
ing at the tnastiff while he worked at his plank. “ llehasn’t
been this way for a three month. Meblm he brings news
from the seat of war.”

The dog seemed to understand the man, for his fierceness
abated, and he stepped frotn the portal.

“ There! I knew it was Johnny Appleseed,” the trapper
said triumphantly, as he opened the cabin door, and let a ,
flood of moonlight into the dingy room. “Here he comes, ‘
(town the river. \Vliat.'.~t that he‘s saying, Dick ‘3"

The speaker leaned forward and caught these words ut-
tered in u melodious voice:

“ The spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he hath anointed
me to blow the trumpet in the wilderness and sound the
alarm in the forest: for behold the tribes of the heathen are
round about your door, and a tit-Vouring flame followeth after
them."

The herald of danger stood near the edge of the water, and
looked like some wild being from spirit-land. V '

“Old Johnny means soniethin’; somethin’s gone wrong
smnewhar,” cried the trapper, beeoniiet,r excited, and then in

louder tone he spoke the singular cognomen of the man of
the wilderness—“ Johnny Appleseed !”

The iatter turned and after some hesitation came forward .’

“ Do not detain the Lord’s anointed long,” said the little
wiry :nan,exhibiting his old restless activity, “for the Philis—
tines are this night sweeping down upon the scattered tents
of Israel, who will be found without the cities of refuge.”

“ Rut, Johnny, what has happened ?” queried the Collier,
Who could net repreas a. smile at the herald’s quaint pheno- '

| t

 

THE NIGHT-HAWKS 01" m: FIRE-LANDS. 11

“ The Philistines hold revel in the great Walled city on the
northern water."

"“ What! has IIull surrendered ?”

“ Even so, Israel is again in captivity, and the families on
her borders must feel the fire 110w.”

The trapper was silent for a while.

“ 'l‘hen the red-coated and red-skinned devils are coming to
ileVastate the frontiers,” he said, in a tone scarcely audible.

“ 'l‘heir forces no man can number,” said the strange herald.
“ They are like the sands of the sea-shore. But I must go.
I am appointed to deliver my message before every door in
the forest, that the Lord’s chosen may flee from the wrath to
come."

“ Then go, Johnny. I should not have detained you a min-
ute. Yours is an errand of mercy. I have a duty to perform
this night. Go, Johnny; tell them all of the swoop of the
red eagles; and tell them that Wolf Gap says, ‘ Fly to the block-
houses without delay !’ "

The pioneer hero started forward, but [HttiSt'd after taking
a step, and drew the portion of an old volume from his

\ bosom.
\ “ Here news right fresh from heaven," he said, and he tore
in leaf from the hook and handed it to the trapper.

It was a leaf from Sacdenhorg's writings, for Johnny
Appleseed—Jonathan Chapman—is no myth, and he was a
true disciple of the Swedish seer.

Having accomplished his duty, the strange man, clad in

,‘ Nothing save a. garment fashioned from a coffee sack, and
hearing a. long distafi‘, started off to spread dismay throughout
the fire-lands.

“ So Hall has surrendered," muttered NVolf-Cap through
clenched lips, as he turned into the Cabin again. “I know it.
was a (‘owm'dly affair, for Detroit was proof against ten thou-
atnd foes; hut Hull was the wrong man in the right place. I,
know it; I told the soldiers so when I war there not long
ago. These frontiers hev got to he desolated now, through

5the cowardice of one man," the lone trapper continued, has '-
__ '-. dug himself with preparations for a night journey. “Our
 »-  .riblock-houses are poor excuses for bulwarks; but we must get
1 i7  women/and children in them as quickly as possible.” '

I

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‘11)
t

19 ’ women; on,

He donned his hunting accouterments and the wolf-skin
cap which had given him the sobriquet that entitles our to
mance, and replenished the fire.

“ I’ll leave you to keep house, Dick,” he said, addressing
the dog. “ I‘ll be back about daybreak. Now old fellow du
your duty, and don’t let a sneakin’ red-skin over this portal."

lle patted the dog’s shaggy back, barricaded the door, and
made his exit from the cabin, by the roof.

“ I’m pretty sure that Johnny missed ’em," he said, pausing
for a moment beside the cabin and communing with himself.
“ He came down the river, and they are too far to his deft.
Yes, I guess he missed ’em.”

The last word still qniVered his lips when he started in a
north-easterly direction, leaving the river to his left.

A well-defined trail stretched before him, and he walked
rapidly through the moonlit forest, trailing his long-barreled
rifle at his side. .

It was a‘night in August, 1812, and, as not a breath of -

wind was stirring, the heat was oppressive. Once or twice
the hunter started a deer from the weed-fringed margin of
some forest stream, or frightened a coyote from his feast of
freshly-slain bird.

Suddenly he paused and listened 'to a silver voice, soaring
Skyward far away.

“ That’s Huldah’s voice." he said, audibly. “ No woman
can sing like her .11 these parts. I don’t know, but some how
or.other I think an uncommon sight of that girl. She looks
so much like Bessie did twenty years ago," and here the rough
deer-skin sleeve dashed a tear from the speaker’s eye.

I

“ But I wonder what makes her so happy just now—when ’

terror sits in many a white girl’s heart.
not warn them!” ‘

lle leaped the little rivulet by which he stood while speak-
ing, and threaded the forest mazos again. Presently he came
upon a neat clearing, in the center of which, surrounded by
a rail-fence, stood a cabin, somewhat larger than his bachelor
abode. An air of industry pervaded the spot, and the honey-
suckle: that half concealed the little sqnare windows, pro-

Ah 1 old Johnny di

» claimed the presence of the softer-the flower-loving sex. 9 _. ,5.
The song that had startled the trapper by the littte creek, ~ 5  f

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“I'm-v.1... .. . .

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me NIGHT-HAWKS or m FIRE-LANDS. '18

was mute now, and a dead silence brooded over the settler’l
home, on which the moonlight softly fell. .

Wolf-Cap leaned against a tree at the edge of the clearing,
and thought of-the coming whirlwind of destruction.

He thought till he gritted his teeth, and started forward,
impulsively.

“ Here‘s the toil of months,” he cried. ‘..‘ Levi has labored
ike a giant to build a shelter for Huldah’s head, and now to
think that the flames must, in one brief hour, destroy it all.
Oh, I wish I Could wield the thunderbolls of heaven for a
single minute !” ~

IIe approached the cabin boldly, his giant form bathed in
moonshine, and a low growl saluted his ears as he stepped
upon the little porch before the door.

“ Who’s there 1’” said a woman’s voice, beyond the heavy
door.

“ Me—Wolf-Cnp,” answered the trapper, and he heard nim-
ble fingers undoing the fastenings. I

“Come in, neighbor Belt,” said a voice as the door flew
open, and a beautiful young girl, whose right hand griped a
rifle, appeared to the hunter.

He obeyed, and as he crossed the threshold the door was
closed again and barred.

/ “ Ye warn‘t lookin’ for me to-night, I guess,” he said,
taking in the room at a glance.

“ No, neighbor Belt; but you are none the less welcome.
Father has just retired—”

“ I’ll be thar in a minute, Belt,” interrupted a man’s Voice
in the next room. “ I thought it war you when I heard your
step on the porch. What’s up? Ye kin talk while I
dress.” '

“ A good deal what‘s had is up,” said \Volf-Cnp, in a loud
tone. “IInll has surrendered, and aswarm of British and
Indians are pouring down upon the frontier.”

“ Who told you, Belt ‘3"

The speaker had appeared like a flash, and, scarcely more
than half-dressed, stood before the trapper. \ ~ 4

w“ Who told me t—Johnny Appleseed. He Went down the

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| .

 

‘ 1-1 womwar ; on,

last, Armstrong. We’ve enjoyed comparative quiet thus for
. during the war; but the eowardice—I know it was just that
7 ‘ and nothin’ else—of Ilull, has unloosed the (logs of hell, an’ «-
they‘ll be here pretty soon. To the block-house is the cry
now. If safety lies anywhere, it is there.”

Levi Armstrong, the old settler, stOod in the dim light 3!
the tin fut lamp, and quivered with rage.

“ Belt," he said, slowly and with emphasis, “ I’m not goin
to give up the work of my hands without a struggle. Yot:
kin bet on that."

“But IIuldah must go to the block-house. Strong‘s is the
strongest, and best defended. We must 21ct—-”

“ So long as father remains from the block-house Iremain,
too," interrupted IIuldah Armstrong, as she touched Wolf‘
Cap’s arm. “I share his love for our home. He shall not
be separated from me.”

“ Huldah, you must go to Strong’s to-morrow,” said Levi.
“ I will go with you.”

“ Truly, father ‘1"

“ Truly, girl.”

“ Then I am content to go," she said. “ When do you look
for' the marauders, neighbor Belt?”

 

I “They are liable to come at any hour,” was the reply.
“ But in truth I do not look for them for Sew-ml days yet.
No doubt Johnny heard of the disaster from some Indian, an
‘ is many hours in advance of the Slayers." -
“ And what are you going to do, Belt ?” asked Levi Arm-
strong. '
“ I had settled upon no plan of action. I’ve got a cabin,
and I hate to leave it to the torch. The Night—Hawks are -
with Proctor, you know. I wonder if they will come (low
upon the frontiers ?”
" “ To be SUTE they will, neighbor Belt."
V ‘. ’ “ God help the frontiers, then.” r,
~f “ Yes, yes." '
I; , “ But I must go back,” said the trapper; “ nobody is at
“,y home but Yellow Dick. I guess we’ll not go to the block-
1:37,. house till to-morrow night. I think we’re safe in keeping , 7,.
.tf N ‘aloof till then; ’tis best, you know, to seem in ignorance’ of N,
 ' ,‘ ,the threatening danger." ‘5 :5:

 

 

   

 

m mour-mwxs or m FIRE-LANDS. to

“I think so too, Belt. You’ll come over to-morrow e/en-
lug, ready for the run t"

“ I’ll be here, and then ”—-with a glance at Levi that
told much—“we‘ll shelter our heads beneath Strong’s
roof."

Several minutes later Wolf-Cap was returning to his cabin, , ‘

and at length the grayish dawn of day revealed it to
him.
“ Nobody has disturbed Dick,” he said, after inspecting the

‘ little structure‘s surroundings. “ He‘s a good housekeeper—

no woman in this land kin beat him, but— \Vhat‘s that?
By Huron l somebody hes nailed a piece of paper to my
door."

The trapper was walking forward while speaking, and it
was a piece of paper on his cabin door that called the excla-
mation to his lips. With his eyes fastened upon the object,
he quickencd his steps. and presently paused on the flagstone '
stoop.

Before his eyes was a piece of dingy paper, bordered with
blood, and held in its place by a. knife, the point of which was
buried deeply in the firm wood!

The uncouth letters had been traced on the dirty sheet with
a. stick dipped in gore, and Were arranged in the following
order:

“ WE HUNT YOU. You KNOW vs. FLY on DIEl
“ THE NIGHT-HAWKS."

The trapper looked at the warning a long time, and gradu-
ally a smile of contempt wreathed his lips.
“ So, Royal Funk, you and your devils are in these parts

'again,” he said. “ and I tell you, once for all, that 1 am not

an illegal squatter. You can't scare Card Belt."

Then, without more words, he ascended to the mot and
joined Yellow Dick, who received him with manifestations
of delight in the room below. Feul'lessly he threw wide the
Cabin door, and spread a map of the North-west, face downr
ward, on the floor. ‘

Then, with a piece of charcoal, he traccd these wards on
an parchment: , . _'i

“ Boy Funk,1‘m going to remain on mafichde t quyfl. ,' 

/

    

16 . wow-oar; on,
frighten me. I spare not and no mercy aok. No block-7mm
shall shelter me I” ’

Twice the trapper read the defiance to his dog, as though
the animal was possessed of comprehension, and then he pin-
ned it to the door with the point of a knife.

0 H A P T E R I I.
SILVER HAND, THE WYANDOT.

TEE reader has heard Wolf-Cap aver that he was not an
illegal squatter on the fire-lands, and while he prepares to sus-
, tain the defiance nailed to his cabin door, let us inquire into
the meaning of his declaration, and thereby, if possible, add
to the interest of our story.

The “ fire-lands ” were not, as the menu] reader would sup-
pose, a tract of country blackened and rendered barren almost
by the flames. On the contrary, their broad acres, well wa-
tered by majestic rivers, teemed with plenty, and even their
indolent farmer to-day finds no starVelings about his pre-
mises.

Erie, Huron, and a small part of Ottawa counties, comprise
that portion of the Western Ohio Reserve known as the fire-
lands. The tract embraces five hundred thousand acres, and
the term “ fire-lands ” originated from the circumstance of the
State of Connecticut having granted these lands, in 1792, as a
‘ donation, to certain sufferers by fire occasioned by the Eng-
lish during the Revolutionary war. particularly at New Lo"-
don, Fairlield and Norwalk. Connecticut, at that time, hoh‘l
ing jurisdiction over much land in Ohio, made other grants,
of a nature similar to the above, and to this day the Western
~ Reserve is often called by its old title—New Connecticut.

Though Wolf-Cap, or Card Belt, was not a suil‘erer at Eng-"
lish hands, he had a right to the ground on which his mat
cabin stood. That right was a grant from the proprietors of
-' , the tire-lands; but he had had the misfortune to lose the do«
'  :ment while on route to his claim. He had trapped along

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him I: commanding eye, and a nature tilted to lord it over a  x2:
.10“)! lowteharwters liitu.lh=;eu “hunt he drew around. hm}.—  V~
, htNew Connecticut, and christenet tae 3115.1; llawlts. / p ’...l 
. . r ’ ‘ .'

| m near-awn or Tm: max-um 1’1;- 
tltestreuns of his native State, Connecticut, until they refused , j 7‘
to yield the wished-for supply of fur-bearing animals, and,.
longing for a new pelt El Dorado, he fell in with the induce-
ments ofl'ered by the settlements of New Connecticut.

He established his claim to a Certain spot of ground, not.-
withstanding the loss of tlte title, and erected his cabin, in
1311. A treaty had previously been made with- the Wynn-
dots, who inhabited a portion of the ground, and until the ’
breaking out of the war of 1812, the red denizens of the fire- " -
lands had kept the promises of the treaty unbroken. ‘
But in the settlement of the fire-lands, as iii the settlement s
of all new Countries, :1 class of rough characters appeared on
the snrfacc. These were, in the greater part, Canadian trap-
pers, who were dwelling on the grant prior to its change of
owners, and they refused to accrale to the demands of the
legal squatters. They had no right to the land, for they had

tit

been English soldiers, and disturbers of the peace between "
whites and Indians.
They drove honest squatters from their homes, tutti carried!
on a reign of terror throughout the the lands, until the Con-
necticut company overaWed them with settlers. Still they '
carried on their lawlessness. At midnight they would break
into some squatter’s cahin and demand a sight of his deed;
and if the poor man could not produce it, as Was often the‘
'case, considering the pom- facilities extant those days for pre-
serving paper documents, he would he hustled from his door,
and the torch applied to the logs. ‘
Wolf-Oap‘s domicil was invaded one niultt, two months
prior to the openingr of lltltllililt’r; hut ht: rave the Night- ,
Hawks—as the outlaws Wt'l't: Called—such a warm reception... , ;
that they were glad to depart without accomplishing their, y

purpose. In the affray one. of tin: st'uziudrels was fatally “AOL
by the trapper, and their Ilijlllbt‘l'b thus l‘UtlllCt‘d to nine.

The leader of the hand was a ratltt-r handsome, brigaudisa'
sort of man, boasting of the n'tme of Royal Funk. He had ' x"
served under Arnold in his do-seen‘ upon Countetieut, and -fol‘- ' '
lowed other Tories to the West altr the pttriot struggle. H9;

 

 

- hopes on Hull.

‘ our castle, Dick.

‘ of their plagues afore I go.

‘8 wow CAP ; on,

Their villainies were brought to a close by the declaration of
war. One day they left the fire-lands, and joined the British

army of the North-west, and the settlers breathed freer. They »

devoutly wished that every Night-Hawk might fall beneath
American bullets, and for months the tract enjoyeda peace
that seemed a foretnste of the one quiet peace called blessed!

British gold drew hundreds of savages to the flag of St.
George; but a portion of the Wyandots adhered heroically to
the American cause. The fire-land settlers centered ali their
If he would repulse the allies before Detroit,
their homes were safe. If the General failed, then the Night-
Hawks and their red helpers Would return to devastate homes
illy defended.

Therefore, the reader can imagine the terror spread through-
out the grant by the wild message of Johnny Appleseed:
“ The tribes of the heathen are round about your doors, and
a devouring flame followeth after them.”

“ We are going to help Proctor. When we return, look
out, usurper.”

Such words Wolf-Cap found chalked on his cabin door, on
his return from Sandusky, one day in the spring lately passed.
He saw that he had saved his life by being absent, and he
awaited with impatience and anxiety the result of British
operations in the North-west. Noble-minded and courageous,
almost to a fault, he did not fear the threats of the Night~
Hawks, as the reader has seen by his defiance; but the un-

rolected settlers called forth his sympathy.

“ I’ll help. take Huldah to Strong’s," he said, looking at his
dog, after posting his defiance, “and then I’ll make this cabin
I don’t know as I‘ve got much to live for,
since BLssie left me, and I‘ll try to rid the people of severai
Here be six rifles an’ plenty
o' ammunition, and we’ll drop a doe to-night, if it gets
cloudy."

The trapper hailed the approach of night with joy, and
locking Yellow Dick within the cabin, tOok up the trail to
Levi Armstrong‘s hut. His frequent visits to the cabin had
traced a well-defined trail, and as he hurried along, he plan-

ned for the future, which cast gloomy clouds over him-—

hunted man as he Was. - ‘

. ‘- nah»- 1-

Iv?" ”

 

 

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rm: NIGHT-HAWKS or THE mus-LANDS. 19

“Just let any body touch one o' [lulduh Armstrong’s black
hairs," he suddenly exclaimed, aloud. “ Just let ’01!) do it, I
say, and, be he white or red, I ll let a ray of sunshine through
his heart. That girl is just the purest, fairest creature in
New Connecticut, and I‘m her champion, I am—-—Card Belt.
1 love that girl," and in the gloaming a crimson flush ap.
peared on his check ; “ but not like a young man. No! I'm
old enough to be her father, and I loVe her because she looks
like Bessie. I often wonder if she will ever have a young
lover. Ah! if she gets down to Strong‘s, the young bucks
will go up over her face, and they won’t be able to drop an
Indian for looking into her eyes.”

He communed thus with himself until he reached the creek
near Armstrong’s clearing, when the whiz of a bullet broke
his train of thoughts,and brought him to a sudden halt.

“ That’s close,” he ejaculated, glancing at the work made
by the ball in the tree near his head. “But a miss is as
good as a mile, and I‘ll show the greaser that two men can
play with rifles at the saute time.”

The next moment he sunk into the tall grass that lined
the margin of the stream, resolved to outwit his foe.

“ I begin to see through the mist," he said, with a broad.

smile, a moment after disappearing among the grass. “ Silver
Hand is up to one of his old tricks again. Curse that Indian!
I’Ve got. to break him of such practices. Ile shoots too un-
common close, sometimes."

Then a bird-call issued from the trapper‘s throat, and was
answered from a spot a short distrmCe away, on the opposite
bank of the stream.

“ I knew it was that red-skin,” and with the last word the
trappcr’s cap appeared above the grass. "‘ Howsomever it is
best to be cautious—there l”

A slight noise told that the cap had been struck by, some
object, and the hunter lowered it to find it perforated by an
arrow of singular workmanship.

Then, placing the cap on his head without withdrawing
the shaft, he rose to his feet simultaneously with the appear-

ance of a tufted Indian beyond the murky water. - . ' i

A minute later and the twain had met.

“ Silver Hand, you haven‘t visited a fellow much 0‘ 

       

N

N ’ women ; on,

said Wolf-Gap, looking into the black eyes of the preposeee- ‘_ w
sing young Wyandot. “ I wasn’t looking for you hereabouts;  reg,”
but you’re the very chap I wanted to see.” . u

“ Silver Hand glad to see Wolf-Cap, too,” said the Indian.  u
“ He much to tell white brother ’bout the big white coward ‘ We~
in the north." 08p.

“ I don’t wan‘t to talk about Hull, chief,” said the trapper. mm

“I swear away down in my heart when I think of his cow- «
ardice. But we have work to do. The frontiers swarm  W.
with fiends now, and I go to guide a family to Strong's fort. ' '

   
 
 
 
   
  
  
      
   
     
 
     
 
      
   
   
       

Of course you’re going with me, Silver Hand; we’ll talk as no
we walk.” cc
The trapper started forward with a look at the Indian c5
but the red arm darted forward and touched his arm. b4
“ Wolf-Cap need go no further—house empty,” said Silver E

Hand.

“ Whose house ?” and a deathly pallor oversprcad the set-
tler’s face, and told how he dreaded to hear the Wyandot’s
answer.

“ The house of the tall old pale-face and pretty girl."

i " Empty, Silver Hand? You must be mistaken. They
' . '- were to wait for me.”

“ But they gone, sure,” persisted the chief. “ Silver Hand
stop at cabin to tell them about the big coward; but he find
nobody in house. The dog, too, was gone; but Silver Hand
find paper on the door—paper with pale—face words on
it."

The chief produced a piece of paper from his bosom as he
spoke, and handed it to the trapper. -

It was night now, but the light of the rising moon enabled

‘\ ; onlf-Cap to decipher the rude writing on the sheet. ‘
4' “ We have gone to Strong's with the Logans. We left at
nndown, and you will find us in the old fort.”

;. Thus read the message on the door, and the trapper hit his
I lip w en he looked up at the young warrior.
V ‘ “Mebbe we'll find ’em there and mebbe we won’t,” be
5)., ‘uid, angrily. “ I guess the Logans were frightened nigh to
" .ydefith, and would give old Levi no rest, until he promised to
J guide them to Strong’s. I thought he had a head of his own. ‘ _
tenth- promiud to wait for me, too." \ ’ »

  

   

  

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\oept them if we wanted to.

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m NIGHT-HAW” or m nan-nuns. $1

Wolf-Cap was silent for several moments, and the Indian
regarded him with a puzzled expression of countenance.

“ When pale-faces leave lodge ?” he questioned at length.

“ At sundown. They’re not half-way to Strong’s now.
We‘ll let ‘em go, though, Silver Hand; but we could inter-
Old Levi needs a lesson for his
action.”

“ But his girl 'too putty to be in the woods at night. Bad
Wyandots and Night-Hawks come down together from the
north, and—” v

“ There I that’s enough, chief,” interrupted the trapper. “ I '
could let old Levi go; but Huldah, never! Come! we kin
catch ’em at the mouth of Eel Creek, for they’ve taken the
black-deer trail to Strong’s. It’ll take fast travelin’, Silver
Hand ; but we kin do it. You an’ we kin do any thing."

Silver Hand sprung to the task with great eagerness, and
whEeling to the left, the twain hurried dowu the right bank
of the creek. A rapid march of several hours brought them

to the objective point ; and Silver Hand at once dropped upon

all-fours to examine the trail.

.“ Party gone by !” he said at last, looking up at the trap-
per. “ Old settler, young man and {our squaws. They Walk.
in’ fast, too—almost run.”

“ The—deuce l” exclaimed Wolf-Cap, much chagrined at
the result of their journey. “ But,” with a faint smile of
satisfaction; I’m glad they passed this point safely. It M'-
gues well for their arrival at Strong’s. How long since did
they pass, Silver Hand ?”

The Wyandot examined the trail again.

“ Only little while ago; grass still bent down.” ~

-“ Then we stand some chances of catching them this aid
0' Strong’s.” ’ a

“ Yes, by fast walkin’.”

“ I‘ll see ’cm inside the tort store I go back to my hut,”
said Wolf-Cap with determination. “ Royal Funk and me
for it, then, for I tell you, Silver—” '

The distant report of a rifle broke his sentence, and «and

him to shoot an anxious look into the Wyandot's eyes. ~ > ‘ A,
- Three more faint reports followed the first, and Wall-Cap; _ , ' '”
‘ was about to spring toward, when Sliver Hand  hilt, 

 
 

 

82.

worm-car ; on,

backward toward the rushes that grew about the mouth of the
creek.

“ Chief—"
u ssh In

The swift tread of feet was heard, and nine dark forms
darted past the couple's concealment, and disappeared in the
darkness that hid from them the flash of the distant rifles.

Without a Word, and at the same moment, the trail-hunters
eaped'lo their feet.

For a moment they listened to the dying footsteps, and
Silver Hand was the first to speak.

“ Wolf-Cap count ’em ?" he asked.

“ Yes. American bullets have spared every Night-Hawk,"
grated the trapper. “ We must call ’om back,” and drawing
a pistol from his belt he discharged it in the air.

The next second the admirable counterfeit of a death-yell
peeled from the Wyaudot‘s throat,and the twain shrunk hack

into the rushes again to await the result of their stratagem.

“ They’re comin’ back, chief,” said the trapper in a low
tone. "Now, come with me. \Ve’ll git hetWeen ’ctn an’
our friends if we can.”

Certain sounds told them that at least a goodly portion of
the outlaws Were returning, and silently they entered the
water and waded away.

The sounds of battle toward Strong’s had died in the

gloom, and an itnpenetrahle‘vail of fearful mystery hung ovor
the fate of the fugitivos.

CHAPTER III.
'rnn: BATTLE AT srnona's.

STRONG’S block-house so frequently ailuded to in the fore-
going pages, had been erected as a place of refuge for the in-
habitants of the “fire-lauds." It was a large structure, ca-
pable of atfbrding shelter for fifty families, and built. with a

“View to strength and endurance. The heavy logs were

 in the old dovetail fashion, and the root was doubly

.“ Y,‘ '4‘
V ,v

z

A
M 3, w :4'
“'1‘. fi.~ ' "' .

 

min;

 

 

(3131:
first
mit
fitt
eto

0V

lit

 

A m morn-sums or- ‘rmz FIRE-LANDS. '23

9f the  clapboardcd. The second story projected five feet over the
1' first, thus enabling the defenders to fire upon any foe that

might. attempt to force the lower doors. The Baron river lay

fifty yards from the front palisade of the block-house, which

"m! :' stood at the foot of a hill, cleared by the settlers’ axes. "'
3 [be 1‘ The bottom of the hill was selected for the building site, \.
’;’ owing to the proximity of water, and a well also yielded the
[em ‘ life-giving fluid within the fort. The strong palisade that:
‘ , urrounded the “house of refuge," was a double security, and
"1d .' the settlers felt proud of their work when completed. A

stalwart. St-ttler named Z<-bulon Strong had superintended the
erection of the stronghold, hence its rather imposing cogno-

h” ': men.

"g 1- There were other. block-houses in the “ fire-lands"; but.
 none Were near enough to afford assistance to Strong’s in a

n 1 Case of imminent danger.

“ I guess the families are all in now,” said Zebulon Strong,
. to ayoung man who was standing by a loop-hole, in the
‘1" second story of the backwoods fort.
" All in, captain? bless you, no. The Logans are out yet."
“And old Levi Armstrong, too,” said another settler, who,
.standing near, had caught the brief conversation.
“ Yes, there is Levi; I had overlooked him,” the youth re-
‘ marked quickly. ,
V, .“He and the Logans do not rightly belong here," said
 Strong. “Levi lent Throop a hand at his fort down on
I V Massanga creek, and there he belongs. He will take the D)-
, gans with him.”'
a “But should he ask admittance here, you will not refuse,
captain ?”

” Our quota of families is full now. We can’t accommo-
date another,” answered Strong, with the air of a man ele-
vated by a small command. “And, besides, I am confident
that we are surrounded now. The girls maintain that they  I
caught a glimpse of Indians at the river, and I, myself, have
seen feathers on the top of the hill. They wait for the open

b ing of the gates; but nothing under heaven can induce me to
please them in that particular. We’ve a good supply of ;
Water, and I tell you, air, that the gates don’t Upt'n again un- ‘ '
til the danger is passed. ~ v r ’

 

 

94

women ; on,

The foregoing conversation occurred on the night of Levi
Armstrong’s abandonment of his cabin, and Zebulon Strong’s
mien told that he was determined to adhere to his determin-
ation at all hazards.

Johnny Appleseed had performed a noble duty. Those
whom be had warned allowed no grass to grow under their
feet. VV‘S‘. - yet lingered in sight of the uncouth cabin, it
was dawned, and its inmates were flying toward Strong’s
fort. All those who claimed shelter beneath its roof had
caused their names to be registered in the commandant‘s book,
so, when the last registered family had passed the palisades,
the gates were closed and barred.

The appearance of the Indians quickly followed the strange
man’s warning. They had executed forced marches from
Detroit, hoping to reach the “ fire-lands ” in advance of tid-
ings of the surrender; but found themselves outwitted. This
disappointment only strengthened their desire for blood, and
on the evening that followed the gathering at the fort, they
made their presence known.

After declaring that the gates should open no more until
the danger had passed, Captain Zebulon Strong left the two
men, the younger of whom turned to the loop-hole looking
upon the level plain, that stretched from the block-house to
the river. The moon was shining brightly, and from his
elevated position he caught the shimmer of the Huron’s
waves.

“ I have seen no Indian feathers,” he murmured, sweeping
the bank with his eye. “ The captain is getting too arbitrary
of late. It’s all well enough to be cautious; but this thing
of barring the gates against our fellow-men won’t do.” ‘ \

The last word was spoken in an underbreath, for the crack
of rifles smote his ears, and instantly the block-house was a
scene of confusion.

The reports sounded terribly distinct on the night air, and
seemed to emanate from a spot about three hundred yards
down the river.

“ Keep your senses, women l” was heard the stern, hoarse
voice of Zebulon Strong, and the look which he threw upon
the timid ones forced them into quietude.
tacked yet. When the devils have forced the palindel and ,

l

“ We are not at- /

 

 

 

I
k

‘5

 

I

  

if.

(I ' m monr-mwxs or m nan-mm. as

  

4

"swarm upstairs, then there will be time for shrieks. What
doyou see, Harmon i” .

g’s The interrogative was addressed to the youth with whom

in- he had convened a short time before, and the motion of the t
young man’s hand caused the commandant to step forward. ‘3‘

se “Look through this loop, captain,” said Mark Harmon, 

ir stepping aside. “Look down the river. The Indians have

it ’flred on some fugitives, and they run for their lives.”

's 1' Zebulon Strong put his eyes to the loop-hole, and saw four \

:1 dark figures running toward the fort. The foremost was a

   

,9, man, who carried a dark, human-shaped object over his left
\ shoulder; the others, seemingly, were women.

“ Open the gates and let ’em in I” cried a voice, and pre-
sently the. same words were heard on all sides.

“I command this block-house I” and with a livid face and .-
flashing eyeballs, Zebulon Strong sprung from the loop and 
wheeled upon his people. “ The gates don’t open till I give
the order. The Indians are ready for a rush so soon as the

. gates grind ajar. Every stump on the plain shelters a red-
} g akin. No, the gates don’t open 1”
“ But the fugitives are the Logans and the Armstrongs l”
remonstrated Mark Harmon, biting his lip with indignation.
“ They belong at Throop’sl” hoarsely hissed the captain.
. “ We’ll be massacred if we open the gates to them.”
‘.‘ Better die for an act of mercy than outraging the dictates
_‘ , \ of humanity."
"' A contemptuous sneer came to the captain’s lips, and as he

'v turned to the port-hole again he drew a pistol.

_ “ I’ll kill the next man who talks of opening the gates this
3*; night,” he said, fiercely. “ The fugitives might have been safe
"at Throop’s; let them pay for their decision at our palisades,

if it comes to this.” ‘
The women shrunk to the space allotted to them with epi- , 't '

‘ I thets of “ monster,” “ fiend,” and the like, falling from their - 4'
1” lips, and the men exchanged looks of indignation. L
 f" They will reach the gates before their pursuers !” cried a. 

.‘ t watcher at a port-hole,joyously; but the words fell on blank ‘ 
15 cars, for the gates, alas! through the inhumanity of one man,
 . would not be open to them. '
" "‘_ Levi is carrying his daughter,” said a second senior.

a.  s

 

 

 

26 WOLF-CAP ; on, ' ‘ V 

“ John Logan is not with them ; he must have been shot down  u
the river.” jaw
The sight of the brave fugitiVes almost at his gates, and f1“;
hard pressed by a savage foe, did not soften Captain Strong’s  A
heart, in which cowardice and personal fear burrowed like a  ma.
ground-hog.  say
The pale faces of the fugitives were visible in the moon- V' - v
light, and all at once a cry came from the very shadow of the. in“;
palisades: T gat

“ Open the gates l"

Zebulon Strong turned from the port-hole and halloed to
the guards below 2

“ Watch the gates closely. Kill the first man who attempts
to open them."

“ All right, captain responded a voice from the darkness
below, and the commandant was rising erect when Mark IIar- \
mou leaped upon him. 1"

The young frontiersman was almost as strong as the cap- 
tain, and he bore him to the puncheons before he could re- 

l

  
  

p,

sist.

“ I'm sorry it comes to this, captain," he said, beckoning
several men to his assistance. “ We're \not going to let Wu~
men die at our doors when we can save them. Now lie still
until we release you, or by heavens we’ll turn you without the
fort l”

Other hands than the young borderman's now seized the
captain, who soon relinquished his struggles, and Harmon
sprung to his feet.

“Quick, Mark!" cried a man at a port-hole. “Quick!
they’re thundering at the gates.”

The next instant the youth had disappeared, and six stal-
wart bordermen vanished win him like a flash. ,

“ Helpless friends are at the gate 1" he cried, as, pistol in
hand, he sprung toward the sentries. “ We command this
fort now. Stand back I" l

The scntries, insteatl of retreating, flew to the work of un-
barring the clumsy gate, and in a moment the work was ac-
oomplished.

' “ Have you no mercy, Captain Strong ?” cried Levi Arm-
strong‘s voice, while the eight men worked at. the fastenlpga

m Nicer-Hams or m FIRE-LANDS. W

‘10an  ‘u Yes, yes—in a minute We’ll save you,” shouted ye
..v~;'Ha,mon, and when the gate flew open he was the first L
2,211? ‘j' leap forward. '
ikebiix As he did so, full twenty dark fcrms rose from behind as
a  many stumps, and the next second, a volley poured in at the

.s' ,gate.
00"- Jw, ' Two of the rescuers staggered back, and Mark Harmon,

the. ,suninjured, but with a wounded girl in his arms, turned to the

5 gate again.
‘1. “ Quick! they are charging you l" shouted a dozen agonized

to 7* voices from the upper portion of the block-house; but such
it words were unnecessary, for the men at the gate compre-

pm * bended their danger.
J38  The clearing seemed literally covered with savages, and
'm I; between the foremost and the bordermen a terrible fight was

‘ progressing at the palisades. A volley was poured into the
} red ranks from the port-holes, and a number fell; but the
p- ~ greater portion of the settlers had rushed below, and were

 

9‘ trying to beat the red-skins from the gate that it might be
,_ closed.

3‘ 7,‘ At last, after half an hour of the most desperate fighting

’1.  on record, the ponderous gate was swung to again and barred ;

and with bloWs indicative of future vengeance, on the heavy
’ oakcn boards, the Indians retreated to cover. ‘
Twelve of their number had fallen in the attack, while no
less than ten of the bordermen, or one fourth of the fort’s
defenders, lay dead between the palisades and the strong
logs.
But. the mission of humanity had resulted in success l
Levi Armstrong, his daughter iIuldah, and the Logan girls
were safe, for a while at least, behind strong timbers; but
the yells of their foes told the settlers that the Wyandot
, , looked upon his defeat in the light of success.
 He had reduced the number of the fort’s defenders, when
not a single man could be spared, while the loss of his twel‘c
, _ braVes would not be felt by the hundreds that still re-
fit mained.
3‘ ‘ “ Captain Strong,” said Mark Harmon after the fight, ‘5 we
are willing to restore you to your command, for we- honor
your experience in Indian warfare. Humanity compelled m ‘

   
 

 
 

 

,«..'\ 

wow-car ; on,

to treat you as we have. Now we are willing that the gates
shall remain closed.” ,

“ I should say you were,” said Zebulon Strong, with an ill-
concealed sneer, as he glanced at the dead bordermen who
had been borne into the fort, prior to burial. “ I will take
command again. I‘m to be obeyed in eVery thing after this.
We are beseiged now, and like men we will die, if die we
must, together.”

His speech was greeted with applause, and many deapair—
ing ones took new hope; but Levi Armstrong whispered to
Mark Harmon :

“ The captain must be Watched.
give you fellers for savin’ our lives.”

After Zebulon Strong resumed command of the fort, its de-
fensive resources were thoroughly inspected, and the dead
buried.

The settlers knew that the siege would be pushed withthe
utmost vigor, and that every Indian artifice would be used to
place them at the mercy of the tomahawk.

They could not look to final success, for their supply of
water was meager, and the whole Indian force of the “ fire-
lands " could be brought to bear against them. ‘

“There’s one man whom we should have with us,” re-

He hasn‘t begun to for-

marked a young settler, in the presence of Captain Strong,

shortly after the burial.

“ Who is he ?" asked a dozen voices.

“ Wolf-Cap. I tell you he’s worth a dozen rifles.”

“Ay, a hundred,” said Mark Harmon. “If he and Sil-
ver Hand were in the fort l”

“ We can get along without ’em,” grated Strong, shooting a
fierce look at the young frontiersman. “ We’ll fight our own

battle without the aid of illegal squatters and Indians l"

His last sentence was uttered in a subdued tone, as he
turned from the group, and other men than the old settler
and Mark Harmon thought that the captain would hear

Watching.

I“ ‘

 

 

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t. ,- ‘ t
I ~ .
V b

’ . m mediums or m rum-um
up. I

 

in-

vho , ‘

um I CHAPTER IV.
lis.  CAUGHT.

We . .
WOLF-CAP entertained several good reasons for suggesting

.Btrong’s fort as a place of refuge for the Armstrong family. . 
Throop’s block-house was nearer the settler’s cabin than_
Strong’sybut the latter was better adapted for defense. It
Was the strongest post in the “ fire-lands," and the trapper as-
sured himself that Zebulon Strong would receive the fugitives
with open arms, and hail the settler’s presence with joy.

Left to his own choice,Levi Armstrong would have sought
shelter at Throop‘s, which post his hands had helped to rear,
and consequently he could well claim protection there. The
Logans, too, belonged to Throop’s; but fearful lest the little

~ block-house, thy-defended, would soon succumb to the red
tomahawk, they resolved to seek Strong’s. As the sequel will
‘«show, they would have fared better at the first-named fort.
‘ The band of six fugitives, after leaving the Armstrong \ I
cabin, traveled fast. Levi counseled a delay till the arrival .
 ' of Wolf-Cap; but John Logan and his sisters would listen to " ‘
no such Counsel, and the settler therefore broke his promise ‘
.  to the trapper. ‘ ‘
 The mouth of Eel Creek was reached, and the Huron
crossed in safety, and the fears of the fugitivus began to sub-
side.

Strong‘s fort would soon be reached, and then'they could
bid defiance to the fiends of the fire-lands. ' ‘ 
, But suddenly, while pushing down the left bank of the . i i
” Huron, the report of arifle saluted their ears, and John Logan} - ~ j, 2

fell to rise no more. Instantly the settler turned. to combat

his foes, when three more shots were poured into their little 1 '-.’
 ranks by the hidden enemies, and then the fugitives, knowing K'
 themselves near Strong’s and ahead of the slayers, turned and ' 
f .  V t I'
 t , Fortunately, the little party escaped injury by the second ' ,‘
volley; but Levi lifted his daughter from the ground, and a 
bore her, shielded by his body, to the frontier tort. . , a , r .» 

 

 

 

 

  

80

wow-car ; on,

The Indians kept near the fugitiVes, but did not attempt t
make a capture.

The fort was already invested by a powerful force of savages

fresh from the victory at Detroit, and certain signals told the;
But the bravery of tho‘

settlers’ pursuers of well-laid plans.
fort’s defenders had defeated the stratagem, as the reader has
seen; but not without the loss of valuable men.

“ Stop, chief! In the name of Heaven, listen to that."

The speaker was Card Belt, and it was the Volle fired by
the stump-sheltered savages at the opening of Strong’s gates,
that called forth his Words

“ Indians attack fort," said the Wyandot, in his native
tongue. “White people get to gates, and when they open,
Indians shoot.”

“ But a real battle is raging. Hark ! I hear the yells of
the Indians. Come! we‘ll go and help the boys !"

But the chief slowly shook his head. ‘

“ No use go there,” he said. “ We can’t help pale-faces,”
and standing in the shadmvs of several giant trees, the couple
listened to the sound of battle.

The trapper, while he listened, acknowledged the strength
of Silver lIand’s counsel. lle bellthftl that Fort Strong was
invested, and knew that, for the present, they could render
no assistance to its inmates. In the future, they might be
able to help them.

At last the couple heard the yells of the beaten savages,
and exchanged looks of satisfaction. .

" I'd like to know whether Levi and his girl got into Strong’s
or not," said Wolf-Cap, with an anxious expression of Coun-
tenauco. " SiIVer lland, they’d better not touch one o’ IInl-
dah Armstrong‘s hairs. I say I‘ll kill the first fellar what
does—there! I should judge that its pretty near midnight
now,” he continued, after a pause, duringr which the Indian
made no attempt to speak. “ We’d better be movin’ some‘
where. The fellars what we fooled down on Eel Creek have-
n't passed yet; but mehbe they've joined their red ln'ethren
by another route. They could do that, you know. The trou-
bles of Strong’s fort has begun now, and we‘ve got to help
’em, somehow or other. But first, let‘s go down to my hot

\ \ ’
l’ l /

They seemed bent on the success of sum-.1
atratagem, which was seen by the whites at the eleventh hour. f

 

., and E
thing

Tl

1.. a ma

. Si
f Stro

': the
~ ’02:!)

. def
’ Tin
the
f I)?“
E’ old
Rt
U1

«rt

Wr

4‘.

 

..; is

  
  

    
    
   
 
 

'mn NIGHT-HAWKS or TEE FIRE-me 81 '

imp” [and stir up a few eatrtbles. Besides. I want to see if every
‘ 80m thing’s right that, and to liberate Yellow Dick.”
' bnur‘ r The Wyandot acquiesced in the trapper’s proposition, and

i ,
nag“ 'a moment. later the spot was deserted.
t: “‘9‘ SiIVer lland belonged to the same nation that besieged Fort
i . . . . . .

m “ Strong Wllil malicious intent. During the Revolutionary war

T the Wyandots divided; a faction headed by the celebran
' ’Captaiu Pipe aided the British, while the minor division, un-

’I
d def the leadershipr White E) es, sided with the colonies.
by t The factions refused to come together after the War, st» when

‘Mea’ ‘ the second trouble with English O[)[ll‘t5.~5i()ll sought the Coin-
. hat of lead and steel, the unreeoneited lndians resumed their
mm ’ old relations. The I‘Jllgiiril \Vyandots, led by Splitlog and

- v

pen! ’ Roundhead joined Pt'octot"s forces, while the friends of the
United S‘ates opposed them. To the litter party Silver Hand
3 of belonged.
t. He was present at the encounter of Hull, but effected his
‘ n v escape after that Catastrophe, and hastened to his old hunt-
8’ ing-grounds—the tire-lands.
“8 ‘5 The white trapper and his staunch red ally reached the vi-
cinity of the prescribed cabin during;r that period of darkness
m f preceding,r dawu.
"*9 ‘E The skies Were darkened overhead, for the moon had dis-
” . appeared, and the scene was made quite dismal by the omi-
m E nous hootings of a great owl perched upon the cone of the
. hut.
” “ Things are too still here for me, Silver lland,” whispered

the trapper, in his cautious tone, when they had halted near
3  the solitary hut. “ I’ve come home at all times 0’. nights and
'_ mornin‘s, but nevor afore hevI see’d an owl on the roof. Jest
 , I'sten to ‘im. Why I kin hear ’im say ‘ go away’ as plainly
‘ as I-hear his voice. No, chief, I don't rush into the old but
. ~ jist now. We‘re on the edge of a trap l"
t,- Silver Hand did not appear to hear the trapper‘s words.
His body was bent forward, and he was trying to discern
the minutiae of the Cabin and its immediate vicinity. Butthe
; darkness baffled him. '
For the period of an hour the twain crouched, like bowl-
" (hrs, in their place of concealment, and then Wolf-Cap matted
forward, leaving the Indian to await his return.

 

 

  

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

,‘X.

v Whoever was in the hut kept very quiet, and the mystery

-culiar cry; but now the death of silence reigned, and the

   

u worm-on ; on,

He approached the cabin until the owl suddenly vacated 2
his perch, and hied away to the forest. "
lessly, then, the trapper returned to his ally.

“ Owl gone," said Silver Hand, before the white man could
find a tongue. “ Who scared ’im ?”

“ That’s jest what I’m goin’ to tell you, chief.
is inhabited. I know it, and somebody from the inside fright-
ened that owl. I know that the bird didn’t leave of his own
accord, and he didn’t see a mouse, either. Now, I’m going
to find out who’s taken possession of the hut.” K

Thereupon a series of snake-like movements were inaugur-
ated by the couple, who succeeded in passing around the ca
bin without discovering a fee.

My cabin

deepened with each succeeding moment.
His dog's silence increased \Volf-Cap’s suspicion of foul-
play. Yellow Dick had always greeted his return with a pe-

trapper had touched the wall of his old home without elicit-
ing any noise from the dog.

A second inspection of the clearing and adjacent forest fol-
lowed the first, and then VVolf-Cap turned suddenly upon the
Indian, with compressed lips.

“ I won’t stand it any longer,” he said, sternly. “ The ras-
cal’s got to show himself now. Watch everywhere, chief,
while I oust ’11:). If I don’t do it, the Night - Hawks
will.”

The last sentence was spoken in an undertone; and with ,
a quantity of light brushwood the trapper moved toward the
cabin»

By the help of steps out in the logs he ascended to the roof,
and deposited his burden between the dry clapboards. Then
he sprinkled a quantity of powder among the combustible
stuff, and ignited the whole with his flints. '
, “ Now 1” he exclaimed, springing to the ground and glanc-
ing up at the fire taking firm hold on the clapboards. “ Now,
I fancy as how the fellow will show himself.”

, His snrmises proved correct.
The tenants of his cabin did show themselves. The root

Quickly but noiee- ":

 

. . door

and

sun
the
803
cid

thi
tn

 

,.., A m".

 

 

of the cabin was soon in a him, and the twain watched the

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

  
 
 

. ready shaped it into the words, “ All ready

THE NIGHT-HAWKS OF THE FIRE LANDS. 

rldoor with ready rifles. A lurid light overspread the clearing,

and bathed the bosom of the river in romantic beauty.

By and by the trapper began to think that, after all. he had,
surmised incorrectly, for the howls of a dog emanated from
the burning building. Silver Hand listened to the cries, the
suspicious part of his nature fully aroused, and himself unde-
'cided how to act.

Wolf-Cap wanted to save his dog, and the Indian noted
the Working of his face in the firelight that stole to their re I
treat. '

“ Silver Hand, I’ve been taken in,” said Belt, suddenly. “I
can’t hear Dick howl that way. By Huron! he shan’t cry
for mercy when I am about !"

“But why he keep still so long ?” retorted Silver Hand,
quickly. “ Trapper answer that if he kin l”

It is doubtful whether VVolfCap caught the gist of the
Wyandot's sentences, for he jerked his arm from the red fin-
gers that encircled it, and rushed in to the firelight.

The thought of his noble dog—the guardian of his life and
home for many years—cooped up within a blazing building,
blinded him to the arguments of caution, and the Indian mut-
tered an oath and leaped to his feet when he saw that Wolf-
Cup was gone!

The daring trapper had reached the path that led from his
door to a spring near the river, when he suddenly paused.

A strange and suspicious Voice beyond the logs had star-
tled him.

It sounded like a man’s voice, and his acute senses had al-
5‘3”

. He had' not time to turn to join Silver Hand nor to signal
him. He was within six feet of the cabin door, and Wes
looking to his rifle, when the pondcrous oaken portal swung
,wide, and five stalwart fellows threw themselves upon him.

They—the Night-Ilznvks—were the tenants of his cabin l

He retreated a step, and delivered a shot that stretched one
man upon the ground, and then, after a desperate struggle, he
w secured and his weapons taken from him.

ilver Hand lent no assistance to his friend; and his as- "
‘Iietanoe would have availed the trapper nothing. ‘J'Nei‘éfor‘e’

 dhi’ef’a disappearance was not a sign of em‘rdke; on the, ' ' ’ I‘

 

 

84 WOLF-CAP ; on,

contrary it was a sign of good judgment, big with assurances ‘_ 4 Mr
of future help. '

“So, cabin-burner, you have bid defiance to the Night- ; :1:
, Hawks," said the Spokesmun of the outlaws, pointing,r to the .v ,
‘ paper still visible on the cabin door: “ No block-house shall i‘ “H
shelter me. I spare not, and no mercy ask." P m,
A wild laugh greeted this quotation from the trapper's do » ‘
'iance, and the outlaws crowded near him. i 8‘
“ Men, I mean erery word I have written on my door,” a. 3 w
he said, calmly. “ 'l‘here war nine of ye; there. ar‘ but eight it .
now,” and here his glance fell upon the man whom he had , I“
shot (lead. “I war williu’ to take the odds ag'in’ me for I
am no illegal squatter, and i hate outlaws. Royal Funk, I 2. 

um free to confess that you’ve got the upper hand now.” t".
“ And I'm going to keep it, Curd Belt,” replied the desper- _'
ado, with a smile. “I posted a fair warning on your door 
last night. ‘ Fly or die,’ it said. You would not fly, so—” 4
“ I must die, eh I?"
“ Just so."
“ \Vhen—now '9” v
“No. We’re going to take you down to the Indians at t
Fort Strong, and I guess the Night-Hawks will treat the set‘ E
tiers to a public eXt-cution. You and Silver II~md played it 
on us to—night. \Ve were following the Armstrongs when
you called us back.”
“ So you came down here and hid in the old cabin ‘3"
N Y(IS.H "
“ Whar’s my dog ?” _
“In the house.” 1 '
A twitch of pain followed by an angry pallor, came to the if
‘ trappor‘s lips, and the light of vengeance flashed in his
‘ eyes. _
 | “ Come, Frank, let’s be goin’,” said one of the outlaws at F
u I this juncture. “ ’Tis gettin‘ day, an’ Splitlog may need us at - '
Strong’s. We want to be there at the death.” 7
“ For that moment you must wait it long' time," said \Volf— L
I" Cap, addressing the leader of the Night-Hawks. “ Strong’s
 i ' .13 prepared to stand a desperate siege."
 ' . “ True; but its fate is inevitable. Curd Belt, so. sure as r
. an}. sun rises this day, Strong’s fort shall be given to tho - 

 

 

1 THE NIGHT-HAWKS OFITHE FIRE-LANDS. 35

“DOES
3.‘ flames, and its inmates, nil save our, to the tomnhnwk. We

are determint-d to (it-populate “the tire-lands.“ Why man,

’ight.
) the i ' four hundred Indians invest the fort at this hour. How can
shall t it escape ‘2"

“It cunl it shall!" Cl‘lt‘d the ti'nm‘cr. “ int,” and his

‘de : tone softened, “hut you say that. one person in Strong’s .1
V shall not die. Pray, Royal Funk, who is to he thus fa- '
Dr,» 3‘ ‘ Voted .3"
gm _ ' “ A certain wonmn—my lady-love,” will the outlaw, strik-
md ing a ridiculous attitude, with his hand thrown back, and his
- I ‘5 thumbs inscrtcd into the sitlvs of his hunting-frock just. below
’ I thc‘armpits. “ \tht l didn’t you know I Was in love, “701?-
 vCup ?"

"Why, all those brave fellows know it. ’i'hoy‘vo patted
' ' me on the hack and said, ‘ Go it, Roy.‘ hit the mith of the
whllt- mutter is. Belt, that I’ve m-wr told my love to her.
She's ignorant of my pmsion, and you sot: i must. got her out
_ of Strong’s so as to hi't-uthc it softly into hm‘ 0:11‘4. (lltl Levi
; '1 might ohth ; but 1 'r/(ncml/y marry nip/[aux /"
g Dvspiltt ill: unticipntions, \Yolllthtp started when the

identity of the outlnw’s love was tl('(‘l:tl'(‘d.

What! slmnhl ltovnl Funk, the Night-llnwl; captain, pos~
Sc.“ Uuhlnh Ai‘mxlrohg‘?

Not, thoung Wolf-(Jun, if he (-ould pix-vent him. But he
7 was under svntt‘ncc of death, and stootl in the shadow of the
Terror’s wing.

Half an hour .‘lfiCI‘ the capture of W'olf-Cap, the Night- ,1
Hawks Elztl‘lt'tl to join the hcsicgvrs 0f Strong’s foit.

 

 

 y

 

 

   

wou- oar; on, i
0'
l e i 5"“:
a
f wh
. ‘y we
CHAPTER v.  if
' t
TEE onrcnorrmos 0F TREASON. ,1 gm
WHEN the flush of day broke upon Strong’s fort, not a fut" ' ab

 

Was to be seen. :
The numerous stumps in the clearing sheltered no feathered ‘3- at
head; but the whites knew that their enemies had not raised ; Ba
the siege. The greater portion of the dusky besiegers had a m
withdrawn to the river bank, while large numbers lay behind I.
the hill, in the rear of the fort. ~
But, as the light became stronger, the defenders caught  v
glimpses of tufts of feathers along the river ; but no shots "‘* I
were fired. I !

In the opinion of several settlers, the perilous situation of
afi'airs called for a council of war, and accordingly Captain w '
Strong, much against his will, was induced to convene such
an assembly. The council met in the lower room of th'.
fort. ‘

“ Men,” said Strong, who could not conceal his ill-humor,
‘fas I have said, I see no necessity for this council. I thought
Iwas director of affairs here, and when Indians are to be
dealt with, I know what to do. But I will listen to any sug-

_ gestions you may offer, and, if I like, will adopt them.”

.~ 7 , Several old “fire-lands” men shook their heads gravely at

' the captain’s words; but made no reply.

,_ Mark Harmon, the young frontiersman,opened the coun-
w " ‘ cil.

',  “In the first place,” he said, “ we need a new Well.” x
‘ i “ We have a well, sir,” said Strong, tartly. :
'T‘ 2 “You seem to forget that we have depended on the river ‘
‘ ’ to! much water. That supply is effectually cut off now, and
our sole well will not supply the demand in case the fort t“ —'
should be set on fire with blazing arrows. We are in for a I
desperate siege ; the result of the gate battle has exasperated
our foes, and they will leave no hellish contrivance for our
capture untried. I look for terrible times to-night.” x

  
  
   
   
     
     
   

   

 
  
 

  
 
  

 ' , gray-haired settler.

: ’sfle-C ?, f "

r.‘

, «a»

m NIGHT-RAVI! 0’ Tu FIRE-LANDS. [
' ," And you will not be disappointed, Harmon," said an old
“We stand on the edge of a crater.”

“ Gentlemen, I anticipate but little hardship,” said 'Btrong,
who had listened to the young scout, with 'a clearly defined

sneer. “The Wyandots will abandon the siege before two
days, for there are other forts weaker than ours. Throop‘s,
Martin‘s, and Westfall’s can not withstand asiege. Knowing

. .‘this, the Indians will desert us for them ; then, during their

absence, we can strengthen our own resources.”

“ Suppose, captain, that an attack should be made to-night,
and our roof be set on fire,” said Levi Armstrong. “ ’Tis
said that there are but two feet of water in the well now, and
none flowing in.” »

“ The statement is not correct,” retorted Strong, quickly.
“Yesterday I fathomed four feet of water, and more was en-

tering. The well is a good one, and can not be clipped dry. '

I know whereof I speak; therefore my positivcness, gentle-
men.”

The council broke up without a command being given for
a new well. A number of the settlers sided with Zebulon
Strong; but a wary few felt that the proposed well was an
absolute want.

However, Mark Harmon got a guard over their water sup;

ply, and each family received a certain quantity of the
precious fluid. The stubbornness of the captain was the cause
of much comment; but as-he Was an old woodman and knew
.much of Indian sieges, it was generally admitted that he knew
best, and so the day wore on.

“ Do you think we will be attacked to-night, Mn Harmon 1"” x

The speaker’s mellow tones denoted her to be IIuldah Arm-
1'mng; and she looked anxiously into the borderer’s face as
he asked the question. They stood near a port-hole that

3 looked at the hills, behind whose bare summit the sun had

just disappeared.

, “ I look for bloodshed before dawn," he said. “ The sav-
ages would have us believe that they have deserted the vicin-
ity; but they still remain. They are not going to raise the
siege so. soon after its inauguration, Miss Armstrong.” And
then glancing through the port he quickly changed the It‘ll)-

 

“ But your run {or life was perilous." , 

 
   
       
     
       
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
       

.’\r

       
     
      
 

   

y 88‘ wow-cu ; on,

“Yes; and, Mr. Harmon, father. says we owe our lives to Tm:
your daring. Therefore, let me thank you.” (In
He blushed to his temples and avvrted his eyes, which had 
returned to hel‘ face. v 01
“No thanks, Miss Armstrong. The brave fellows who -
fought at the gates are the heroes, not I. But I fill] rejoiced C ' h-
to see you safe after such a noble run for life. Bttt—" 1 11

“A flag—a flag 1” was the cry that broke the youth’s er 1‘ f.
tence, and drew his eye to the musket port again.  7_ ft
V “ As I live, Miss Armstrong, our toes are treating us to at
,; flag of truce," he said. his eyes still riveted upon several tig- a g
urea that had Suddenly appeared on the top of the hill. “ This
is an action by the entirely unexpected. What can it ‘ ,
mean?“

Captain Strong “as soon notified of the approach of the
flag, and Watched it through one of theopenings.

His t'aCe worked strangely while he looked, and there was
the light of vengeance in his large, sine-black eyes. But he
kept his face near the port, so that no one in the fort could
study its expressions. '

“If they demand a surrender, of course you will refuse to 
v comply, captain,” venurtd an old settler, who stood near the ‘,I

borderman. 1"
“ Instantly, with a lace erimsoned with rage, Zebulon * I

Strong wheeled from the little emhrasnre: ,.
“ Am I to be dictated to on every hand ‘3” he cried, appeal-
ing to the inmates of the apartment. “If I am Captain here ?
merely in name, I want. to know it. I know a thing or IWo, \
t and if I am to he advised by every frightened man and wo- , 1
man in the fort,you can take my broken sword, and elect au- _
,; other commander. What! surrender to you horde of hntmt.
i. ercrs? Never. When they take Fort Strong, there shad H .
' no living soul to torture.” d 
 A loud cheer greeted Sti'ong‘s final words, and cries of, 'i 
‘ y 7' .“ We want no other captain !” “Do what you pleasel’ re- _
7», sounded or: every side. ; '1
" ‘ So the officer sheathed the Revolutionary sword which he '
had drawn, and turned to see that the bearers of the flag of ~ re
knee had hatled about twenty yards from the paliaudee. 
“ Hut Captain Strong," came a loud and clear votes hon '1 3‘

-
't
‘p

 

 

     

   
   
    
    
   
 
  
 
 
    
  
  
   
  
   
   

   
   
 

‘ : I' ' /”
, V, ,\ ' ~ . ‘ - * J;

‘ an: mom-aunts 01m "mt-um I ' 'Q'
the little group, and it was seen that the speaker was a White I  
Juan clad in the full scarlet uniform of a British oflicer. ‘
4 “ Well, what is Wanting ?" answered Strong, through the " ' t3 '
' ' embrasurc. '
 “You are sutronnded by nine hundred Indium, vrd four
‘  bundled of his majesty}; troops,” said the spolusman of the
3 flag-bearers. “Colonel O'Neill, commander of the Combined

7 forces, desires to spare the effusion of noble blood, and then-

“gifore summons you to surrender at once.” 

if“ 1' Upon what terms ‘r” uaiitd Strong, as n murmur of defi-
-‘ nnce ran through the ranlts of the furt‘s defenders. ' if.

“Your people will be permitted to depart in peace; but.
he“ the fort, of Course, will be destroyed," said the Briton.
L i “ Nine hundred Indians and four hundred British," said
" Strong, turning to his mrn after the Englislunan’s last words.
“_ I did not think the odds were so terrible.”

" The Soldier lies l” cried Levi Armstrong, stepping forward.
“ He has spoken to terrify us, and the quarter we would rc-

 

I:
 lecive is the quarter given to Captain Heald at Chicago. Bor-

: dermen, remember that massacre of nwn, women and chil- /
 dren. ' Shall We surrender ‘t”
' “ No! no t” rung on evm'y side, and Captain Strong’s face
:5. assumed the hue of ashes.
 ’ “ What is your answer?" cried the English oflicer, his im-
1; patience manifest in his voice. “ Colonel O‘Neill pledges his
4} Word of honor as a Soldier of his majzsty’s army, that the

v

 

 tomahawk shall be withheld in the event of a quick surren-

Z" dcr. He can Control the Wyandots, and he'iwill. If the

g, commanderof your fort is Zebulon Strong, hiithen knows ,
if. Colonel Argent O'Neill to be a gentleman.” '

.v--‘-‘,‘Coione1 Argent O’Neill—l know him,” said the captain
" But my men refuse to wrrendrr.” "
A " Ctfluncl O'Neill speaks to Captain Strong— not to his ,
‘* men," returned the Sultiiu‘, proudly ; but with a sneer of con- ;
tempt in his tone. 1
“ Go back to your commander and tell him that Fort Strong
.will he the abode of the dead when he takes it. We know a '
Briton’s promise to be but another name for a lie.” . k "
The last speaker was Mark Harmon, and his words was
Ibfimkd as he turned from the embruapre. ' '

n ‘Y I‘ , |

 
       
   
      

in
'.
r’t
I. "

 

 

 

0 ' wow-oar ; on,

“I was about to answer him,” said Strong, in a bonus 

70iCe.

“ He is answered 1” was the young bordermun’s reply.

The captain hit his lips and turned to the port again as
the British oiliCer spoke :

“ The consequences be upon your own head, Captain
Strong,” he said. “ I have performed my duty; you have re-
fused to perform yours. My Colonel will give the conduct of
the siege to the Indians now.”

Thereupon the speaker turned abruptly on his heel, and
the ting of truce disappeared over the brow of the hill.

A minute later the flash of a musket and the thud of a
bullet told the deftnders of Fort Strong that the battle had
opened.

A single gun from the fort sent a defiance to the hidden
foes, and for the space of an hour quiet reigned.

Captain Strong now seemed eager to defend the block- 

house to the last, and exchanged words of encouragement
with the settlers as he inspected the defenses.

“Well, we‘re in for it, now, Morgan,” he said, in a low
tone, to a burly fellow stationed near the gate where, a few
hours before, so much blood had been shed. “ They refuse
to surrender, and now your part of the work comes. Are you
ready 1’"

“ Yes,” answered the sentry, glancing around. “ The dark-

~ness will aid me.”

“ Can you scale the wall ?"

“ Easily from the inside here.”

“ Then make haste. You know the signal. I will do the
rest.”

(Iuptnin Strong slipped a. piece of paper into the guard’s
lmnd as he spoke the last Word, and turned away.

’i'he next moment Morgan Sawyer sealed the pickets, and
dropped to the ground on the outer side!

Then he ran toward the hill under Cover of the intense
darkness. For dense clouds obscured the sky from horizon

to horizon, thus efl'ectunlly blotting out the light of the moon. ~

(“F.V

 

 

 

Captain Strong had hardly gained the interior of the fort; _

- when Sawyer’s escape was discovered.
f‘ What! a traitor among us?" cried the commandermoum‘

 

1:1   x 3:" »-

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\

m NIGHT-HAWKS on THE FIRE-LANDS. " 41.
Iterfeiting indignation and surprise to an admirable degree,
“And at the gate,too! Harmon and Cole, at once to the
portals! I know you can be trusted. Matt Hunter, you will
take Isaac‘s place at the well. Curse Morg Sawyer! may the
flends scalp him for his treachery!"

The commander’s wish was echoed by more than one de-
termined settler, who waited for the onslaught of the sawtges.

The men at the emhrusures listened and looked for thei-
foes, and Zehulon Strong walked uneasily about, listening all
the time for a certain sound.

Once or twice he. pushed the long black locks from his
ears, and paused for a moment at one of the ports.

Suddenly a pistol~4~hnt came from the hill, then another,
and another.

Strong was descending to the first floor of the block-house
when the sounds fell upon his cars, and he paused in the cen—
ter of the ladder with a smile.

“ Mm;r has succeeded,” he said, in the. lowest of muttering;
“ Now let Hunter do his duty.”

The pistol-shots died away, and no volley of musketry fol-
lowed.

In the dim light of the candles, old Levi Armstrong looked
at Mark Harmon and moved to his side.

“ What do you think now?” he Whispered.

“ The fee on the hill is signaling the foe by the river.”

“Thus you interpret the shots ?"

“ Yes.”

“I differ. They are the result of Morg Sawyer’s treason.
This roof still shelters his confederates.”

The young hunter caught the scttler’s arm.

“For heaven‘s sake, whom do you suspect l" he asked.
“Tell me. We must act at once if we have traitors in our.
midst.”

The old man bent nearer to reply, when the whiz of a.

I burning arrow startled him, and caused him to spring to the

emhrnsure.
But the fiery missile missed the fort, and quivered in I.
stump near the river. ,
” Now take the buckets, men I” cried the voice of Captsin X
Strong. “ We must fight fire with water l"

  

  
  

 

WOLF-CAP ; on,

Instantly a score of stout lenthern buckets were brought
into requisition, and the boards that covered the well _re-
moved. *

“ A little water for the women, first," said Levi Armstrong,
dropping one of the buckets into the well by menus of a
rope.

Down, down Wt nt the reeeptacle, and the men stood about
with anxiom faces. They wanted to know how much water

Was in the Well, for upon a generous supply of the fluid, their 1

liVes and the lives of their wives and little ones depended.

At last the bucket was heard to strike water, and old Levi
lOokcd up almost tlespairingly.

“ There‘s scarcely two feet 0’ water in the well," he said.

“I futhomed four lust, night,” said Zehulon Strong, Conti-
dently. “ But quick! draw up, Arnmtrong, and let more
buekets be lowered. The burning arrows shoot from the hill
like meteors.”

The next instant the water Was at the top, and the settler
threw the rope to Matt, llunter.

“ This is for the wmnut,” said the old man; “ but I’ll taste
it first."

He raised the bucket to his lips, but a moment later ejected
the mouthful of wnter which he had taken, and started toward
the well, with flashing eyes.

“Let nobody swallow a drop of that water ?” he cried. “ It
has been poi<oned, and the poisoner is still sheltered by the
“roof of Fort Strong l”

The effect of the startling words' was utterly indescribaple.
It Could not have been eqtmled by the sudden dropping of a
thunderbolt into the fort.

 

Y

~ .

 

 

 

  
  
  
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
    
   

K ' 't V
l  . * , I.

\

7m mam-nus or m Irma-um  4| " t "

I
r V C H A P r E R v I. ,
WITHOUT THE FORT.

 ‘ DURING the brief period of time that intervened between
I f, the battle at the gates and the discharge of blazing arrows at '
l the fort itself, the beautiful fire-lauds had not escaped the ven-
k’ game of the settlers’ enemies. I 
A The deserted cabins were given over to the mercies of the -‘ [’1

t torch, and the work of months perished in a few hours. The ‘
red burners were accompanied by British soldiers, who outdid
,3? the fiends of the forest in heartless ferocity, and at nightfall
they returned to the besiegers loaded with plunder and glutted
with diabolism.

“ Well, what are you going to do with your man, now that
you‘ve got him ?” asked Colonel O'Neill of Royal Funk, when
the outlaw reappeared at the British head-quarters, fresh from
E the work of destruction above referred to. ,

5 , " What am I going to do with ’im, colonel? Why,I‘ll tell
you. It was my intention to execute ’im on t0p~0' the hill,
‘ . yesterday ; but I’ve changed my mind. There’s a girl in Fort

‘j' Strong—a girl whom I want—lluldah Armstrong, and strange

; to say, Card Belt wants her, too." ‘-

 

y

 “ Ahl I sce," said the British officer, with a smile. “ He

,7 is your rival.” ' a,

_ “ Yes, colonel; but I hold the best hand now, as you will ‘ .5;
 admit by glancing at the cards. We are bound to take the 
s“ tort.” [A

f “It will be ours before another sunset. You know what
‘ Strong is doing ?" "
” Andrews told me, an hour since. But can we rely on‘
him 1'”
V" We can,” said O‘Neill, assuringly, and with emphasis.

. “ Strong, at the heart, is a. coward, yet he will ‘do desperate ‘_ .4
' .things. He Was a secret Tory in Herkimer county, New York, . ‘
flitting the Revolution, and while campaigning in that region,
'Imqqudntodwithhin. Monmuomhef ‘

    
     
   
  

     
   

 
     

‘l
l
4.

. t ) Vt
1 L H wow-cap; on, i.
x . . . . it
’ me With valuable information concerning the movements of ;_
the enemy, an] I believe that the rebels never suspected him. 5.;

His loyalty to King George has never for a moment abated.
I tell you we have a friend in Fort Strong, without whom we
could do nothing. For Splitlog was about to relinquish the
siege when the deserter reached our camp with Strong’s pro-
position. Now the Indians will stay with us. B it the thread
of your story has been broken. I want to know what you
are going to do with the squatter."
“Oh, I’ll tell you in a few words, answered the leader of If
‘I , the Night-Hawks. “ I’m going to marry IIuldah Armstrong |
in his presence, after the Wyandot fashion, and then—why, '4
then I'm going to dispose of him." \
i “ After the Wyandot fashion, also, I suppose,” smiled the '
colonel. l;

“Just so," said Funk, returning the smile. “ When do you
open the lrtttle ‘3"

“ The Indians are preparing the fiery arrows now,” was the
reply. “ Ila! there goes one, already l" and the colonel’s
hand directed the outlaw's gale to a blazing arrow shooting
toward the fort.

It was quickly followed by another and another, until a. r.
perfect shower of fiery mis‘siles rained upon the fort. ‘t I

But the firm and dry clap-boards that formed the roof re-
sisted nobly, and the arroWs rebounded and dropped into the
yard below.

“ We must get the arrows under the hoards,” said O‘Neill,
turning to the chief, Splitlog, who stood at his side. “ Send g"-
sntne of your bravest \Vyandots nearer the fort, and tell them ,
to shoot their red arr )ws beneath the roof.”

Ufa-r 
. ,.

1..

JWW'I

H

T / “ Indians ,«get shot down if they go nearer fort,” returned 
is" ' the chief, with a shrug ot‘ the shoulders. “Let white chief, :'
w ‘ , _ send his int-n."

 O'Neill hit his lip with anger.  A
 _ ‘ “ Who proposed this attack ‘3” he cried, with flashing eyes. .l -.
a,” t “ I brought my men hither at your request. They were not  ‘
 ' torisk their lives. If your Indians are brave, they can fire _;
 F I the fort."  ',

 

Splitlog turned away without another word, and a few
minutes later a number of fiery arrows were seen to amend t, f,

   

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Am memomwxs or m Fran-mm. 46
almost from beneath the very palisades. SeVeral remained in
the roof, and Colonel O‘Neill clapped his hands over the de-
mon’s succcss.

Thus far during the battle not a shot had been fired from
the fort. The allies wondered at this silence; but they were
not Cognizant of the thrilling scenes being enacted behind the
strong walls.

Inslted to a tree on the river’s bank, and strongly guarded
by three white men and two Wyttndots, Wolf-Cap saw the dis-
charge of the fiery missiles. Since his arrival among the al-
lies he had seen nothing of Royal Funk; but he knew that.
that Worthy had absented himself but temporarily.

“ Ve’ll get the fort to-night," said one of the outlaws, tum
ing to VVolf—Cap, during the flight of the blazing shafts.

“ Sir, you don‘t. know who defends it,” the trapper said,
quickly, and with pride. “You walls protect the bravest
men in New Connecticut."

“ But, Captain Strong—what. do you think of him .’” asked
the outlaw, with a curious smile.

“ He has completely deceived me.”

The white guards exchanged significant glances.

“What do you know about him, Belt?”

“ 1 know that he intends to betray a lot of women and
children to the tender mercies of the tomahawk. I’ve seen
Mary Sawyer in your camp. I heard the three pistol-shots
on the hill. Ilntve heard something about Strong's antece-
dents, and, putting things together, I kin read the bluckeel
tale of treason on reCot‘d."

“ Wouldn’t you like to be in the fort, just now ‘2” taunted
Sam Cole, the Night-Hawk.

I i The trapper’s eyes [lashed ; but he said nothing.

“ But how about that notice you put on your door for us
You said that no walls should protect you while you fought
us." ‘
“I intend to adhere to that declaration," said Wolf-Cup
firmly. I

“ So you wouldn‘t creep into Fort Strong it we war to 16.
you go Y”

I“ I would not I”

rl‘hoioutluu laughed deriuively.

, |

 

    

  

to won-cu; on,

 
 

’ “ I’ve a mind to try you,” said Cole, drawing his knife and
glancing at his fellow-guards.
\‘t Wolf-Cap said nothing.

The plztcu where they stood was thickly studded with young
trees and lull grass, the httter much soiled by humun feet. A
fire some distnnce down the river threw a. weird light over

» / the scene; but toward the fort, in its river front, the depth
_ ‘7 of darkness prevailed.

The Indian guards gthed at the outlaw with an immobility
of countenance, and when he stepped toward the trapper with
uplifted knife, they did not interpose a hand. They had
lately taken their stations as \Volanp‘s guards, and had
Watched the helpless man with vigilant eyes.

“I say I‘ve a mind to try you, Wolf-Cup," reiterated the
outlaw.

“No, it won‘t do, Sam,” suddenly cried another, springing
forward and layingr his hmwny hand on Cole’s shoulder.
“He'll escape if you cut his cords. What do a squatter’s
words amount to? Let him he i”

.For a moment Cole glared fiercely upon the speaker, and
then sullenly dropped the knife again.

I “ I’Ve heard that Curd Belt is it man of his word," he said.
“ And I want to try ’im.”

With the lust word the outlaw shook the hand from his

shoulder, and stepped toward the trapper again.

if “ Don‘t do it, Stun."
' “ I will !"
1‘ . “ You slntn't l"

‘I ‘ The knife of the last speaker suddenly leaped from its
leklhern sheath, and be advanced upon Cole, who turned and

‘3‘ pushed him back.

f“, “Stand off, Duke White,” Were Cole’s menacing word

 .1 ' “ I don’t wunt a difficulty with you. I know what I’m do
j} ' ing. rn try won—cup if I wish to.”

 “You shall not !" and White tried to step between Colo

    
   
  

and the enptive. .

" - ; pothia soul fully aroused, he sprung at his Titan comrade.
' ‘. ‘ \Oolo. new the movement, and received the stuck with the

, Bu’t,’With n fierce oath, Cole hurled Duke from the tree.
'" rg-I'Duke recovered in a moment, and with all the baser passions ‘ "

‘ht

 

m

. v ‘y‘r‘.

 

  

’"TH‘

"‘ g.

» vh‘gvru _, ..

 

 

 

‘. Hold out like men.

\
\

m mom-rum or m FIRE-LANDS. '47 '

knife, for it was apparent that the blood of a NightrHawk

had to be shed by a brother’s hand.

I say that Cole met the attack with the knife, and blood
flowed from the Wound inflicted in Duke White’s breast by
the shining steel.
swayed to and fro in the struggle of life and death like con-
tending giants.

The third white guard sturth forward to strike Cole with
clubbed rifle, when one of the Indians, with a quick glance
at. his companion, leaped toward the tree.

A knife flushed in the hruVe’s lmnds, and when it descend-

ed Wolf-Cup sprung from the syrmnore—Jrec! He saw the
secund savage hurl the third guard into the murky waws of
the Huron, and glanced at the struggling Night-Hawks, now
on the ground. .

“ Wolf-Cup run down the river,” said the trapper’s deliverer,
quickly pointing down the strenm.

“ Nul I go to the fort, Silvt-r Hand. Seek the hlnck cave.
I’ll meet you there at dawn. Quick l They come.”

He spoke in the Wyundot tongue, and the next instant
bounded toward the fort. He glided rapidly through the
gloom, twoiding the numerous stumps, and yells on the river-
bauk told him that the deed just enacted there lmd been dis-
covered.

But he run on, unarmed, saw, with a knife, which Silver
Hand hud thrust into his grip, and he struck the ponderous

\

gate of the pulisnde twice with the bony hilt. ,

1

“ Guurdl guard l” he shouted, and then he heard the sen-
try speak to some one beyond the pickets.
“ Listen! I know that VoiCe.”

' “ "I‘is me—Wolf-Cap,” called the trapper quickly upon :tlee‘

guard’s Words. “ I don’t Want to get in. Cuptuin Strong is I

traitor; he has promised to helrny you into the hands of the '

Indians l"

A moment of silence. folhmed. The trapper Lad paused I

for breath.

“ Your roof is on fire.
, 9’

the fiver.

The next tnomtnt they had grappled, and ‘

Put it out, and Sea to the truitur. v 7
You’ll get help from outside hy-zmd-h . v '
Then Wolf-Cap turned from the gate and started toward

  

A

"8 women; on,

The darkness favored his flight. As yet no attack had
been made upon the fort from the stream. The major por-

tion of the besiegers were on the hill, the summit of which _

Was on a level with the embrasures, into which the foe could
shoot with effect.

Thus far the enemy had trusted to the blazing arrowa ; but,
as the trapper gained the stream, a volley was poured into
the block-house.

The next moment it was returned by the besieged, and nu-
merous cries told Wolf-Cap that some of the foe had fallen.

“1 don’t like to leave the boys,” said the trapper, sadly,
pausing in his flight, and listening to the battle which had
now opened furiously. " And Huldah is yonder in the midst
of it all. But the Indians wait for me at the cave. Three
can do more than one. I wish the two “'itr here now;
then—”

There was the quick, sharp snapping of a twig, and Silver
Hand and his assistant stood before the trapper.

" We no go to cave," said Silver lland. “ lIide here ’while

to watch light. But look, \VOlf-Uttpl roof all on fire. Why
don’t pale-faces put it out? They got water in fort.”
“Yes, but the traitor has disabled them SOIDUllOW. I'm

afraid it’s all day with the brave fellows.
die alone 1" and the trapper started forward.
“ Silver Hand and Golden Cheek go with Wolf-Cap,”

But they shan't

Said

'the Wyandot, and a moment later the trio were hurrying to-

fi'ard the seemingly doomed structure.
That side of the roof which looked to the hill was in a fu-

~ rious blaze, which threw a lurid glare upon the battle-ground,

 

and thedischarges of musketry by both parties resembled a
pitched battle.

Suddenly the artillery of heaven added its thunder to tlul
fight, and great drops of rain began to fall thick and fast from

,the inky clouds.

But let us return to the fort, and see what followed Levi
Armstrong‘s discovery of the poisoning of the well.

r~ yum-3'. .

 

-*"v,

«

l. r”

\

wig-r

 

m ‘ ,-

 
  

m mom inwxs or m FIRE-LANDS.

CHAPTER VII.
THE WORK OF A LIE.

THE settler’s eyes fell upon Z3hnlou Strong, as the .(artling
words written at the conclusion of chapter the rung from his
lips.

But the captain stood the scrutiny unflinchingly, and started '
forward with drawn sword.

“ The traitor shall die !” he cried. “ Let every one look to
his neighbor, and watch him closely. As for int self, I believe
that Morg Sawyer is the villain ; but he is beyond ottr power.
Melt, to the lower floor with picks; We‘ll dig another well
tmmediately. By the help of God, We’ll hold out against the
red and white fiends until fresh \Htlt'l' can be struck !" '

He turned away as he finished, and was ordering a number
of men below to inaugurate the (lingng of a new Well, when
Huldah Armstrong hounded toward the M‘llltl‘ and touched
his arm.

“-Fathe."," she said, in a cautious tone, “ C tpt-tin Strong is
the traitor! I was standing “HIV the logs, a moment since,
and heard Wolf-Cap at lllt‘ irate. “U told the git trtla that out
captain had betrayed us into the hands of toe sayagesf’ '

The next instant Lc-vi jerked nix" mm [rurn llnldah’s grip,
and started toward Strong, who was handing, irut'kets' of Water
to the inert on the tout. I.

“ Men,” he cried, in thunderous lotus, “ tit-awn must not.
thrive here. Captain Strong, )Htl tit-m (itlllhitlt‘l' yourself the
prisoner of the gtttt‘i:’trtt." 

Before tttrninsr to tit»,- ohl .‘l‘dlt‘l' the traitor passed thé
bunkct he Wa-t it] the act of lifting to the llt‘:tl'.sl tittttl.

He retained a \\'(llltl‘,3l'll‘tl \t‘ll l'tllttgantll't‘.

“ I submit, if it it: the will Hi the men," llt,‘ said (faintly.
“ Heaven forcfenti that l shonttl m3. L, to lJrltit)‘ these women

and children into thereile ilfii.ti>,‘ and he gamut around 0}: ,

the thflby {noes t‘et'ealei ll) he anovt oipb.

 

 

»‘.”'2

m. '=

I

1' great heaps.
‘ that his life would be forfeited if he attempted to escape.

  

wow-oar ; on,

“ Let the captain help us,” cried several voices ; but old Levi '

silenced the speakers with a look.

“I’d like to, but it won’t do,” be said. “The evidence is
strong against him. I saw him whispering to Morg Sawyer
at the gate, a minute before that dog’s desertion, and Wolf-

Cap has just shouted over the palisades that he is a trai-

tor.”
For the first time the captain’s face grew pale, and Levi
proceeded to disarm him.

I
“I’m sorry for all this, Cap," he said, sympathetically ; “ but

you see, we’ve got to do it, and—”

“ Arrest Captain Strong 1” interrupted a sturdy young set-
tler, whose head shot above the hatchway at this juncture.
“ Wolf-Cap has just halloed over the gate that he is a traitor.
Ah! so you’ve already caught the dog! Zeb Strong, for a
shilling I’d strike you stiff and cold on these boards. I’ve
two sisters here, and to think that you would give them over
to the tomahawk !”

The youth towered before the suspected man with flashing
eyes and leveled gun, and other weapons were drawn to shed
the Captain’s blood.

“No, no, boys; he’s not condemned yet,” said Levi Arm-
strong, pushing the weapons aside. “ We’ll tend to him after
the fight.” ' \

" But we may not win.”

“Then, of course, he dies.”

A guard of several men was placed over the captain, who
was taken below where strong arms threw up the earth in
Mad eyes fell upon the captive, and he Was told

. Above, the settlers fought the flames at the risk of their
“ms, for the foe were raining bullets from the hill' and the
- battle‘had opened in terrible earnest. '
_ Suddenly a startling cry came from the vicinity of the
hell.
t “ No more water 1"
And the words were echoed on every side.
pressed their babes to their breasts, and told the little one:

a that the last drop of water had been drawn from the

Mothers ’

.r

h :

71 ,

 

 

 

t. or:

 

 

 

 

 

  

‘a moment the rain descended in scattered quantities, and then

  

l > ' '

TEE NIGHT-HAWKS 01 T33 FIRE-LANDS.

  

fix
.. “ What of the fire P" shouted Armstrong to the men on the V
roof.  ‘

“ If we had more water we could master it,” was the reply.
“ Without water we are doomed.” ‘ V

Then he leaped to the gangway and cried to the Well-dig-
gers below.

“ No water yet ‘2”

‘“ No l" was the despairing answer.

The fire-fighters threw the buckets from the roof and clam
bered down after them. But all who went up did not come
down. Several had been shot by the enemy, and lay dead
on the ground between the fort and the palisades. a ‘

Now every one believed that the fort was doomed to de-
struction. The clapboards on the western roof were blazing

,furiously, and Cinders were falling among the besieged. The

light added to the ghastly seene; but the settlers stood nobly
at the port-holes and more than one shot proved the death‘-
kuell of a foe. '

All at once a peal of thunder, rattling over their heads,
shook the fort to its very foundation, and ejaculations of joy" , 
burst from every throat. ~ .

“ God [be praised i" cried a woman bursting from the shud-
dering throng with her babe in her arms. “ He is sending
the rain to save us. Praised be His holy name i" ‘r

A moment later and the storm clouds broke and great gray
drops fell splattering in the fire.

The rain was greeted with a hearty cheer that reached the . ‘
ears of the besiegers, and every faint heart took hope. For I‘ -

\

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
  

it came down in gigantic and irresistible sheets.

“ We are saved -—-hurrah l hurrah i" cried the younger set-‘
tiers, stepping back from the ports and slipping in the blood
and water that covered the puncheons. “ Open the well and ' y 4‘
let the water in.” , 

Sure enough, the crimson demon was yielding to the del- _
uge, and may one saw in their deliverance the hand» off 
Deity. ' ' i

“ We're not out of the fire yet,” said Levi Armstrong, calm?
ly’, for to him command of the fort had been given bylnmnlg'
mom consent. " Atter the rain we must fight sgainvtlien’no 

l “‘“t

  

 

worm-car ; on,

root can protect us—the fire-arrows will drop among us.
But we must to work. Remove the ammunition below to a
dry place, and let our dead he laid aside and the wounded
cared for.

Brave men sprung with eagerness to the task. SCVeral

kegs of powder were carried below, and the loss of the gar-
rison looked after.
I It was discovered that it had sufl'ered quite severely during
the battle. From behind stumps, the Indians had fired into
the ports, distinctly revealed by the widely-leaping flames of
the roof, and with fatal effect. The majority of the stricken
settlers were killed outright—shot through the head—while
every wound was dangerous. Twenty-one men had fallen,
including the loss at the gate and another, Morgan Sawyer,
had deserted.

“ The well-diggers struck water as the storm broke over
the fort; but they did not cease their labors, for they knew
that it would not last long—a summer shower, but a furious,
a‘saving one.

“ Miss Armstrong, can I trust you ?”

“ You can.”

“ Then come with me.”

The first speaker was Matt Hunter, the man whom Captain
Strong had placed over the well after Sawyer’s defection.

He was a small, wiry man, rather prepossessing in appear-
ance, and had fought like a tiger with the water buckets.

Huldah Armstrong drew from his look that he had some-
thing in view for the good of the garriSUn, and followed him
to the gangway.

But, as the settler had put his foot on the first round of
the ladder, the face of a strange man was revealed below, and
he started back.

“ Wolf-Cap l" he shouted to the busy men and women about
him. “ Wolf-Cap is here !”

Immediately the cry of “ Wolf~Cap " resounded throughout
the fort, and the next minute the Night-Hawks’ foe appeared
above‘ the hatch !

“ Welcome, welcome, neighbor Belt!" cried old Levi,
springing to the trapper. “ Bloody times, these.”

", “ Ay, ay,” said WolLCap, quickly. “ But to the ports;

3".

up nynmu ~

 

 

 

LL

‘
.

 

  

 

\

m mam-mwxs or ran nah-mans. 88

The foe is crawling

This is the darkest hour of the night.
Thank

through the storm both from the river and hill.
heavenl the rain has saved your fort.”

The settlers sprung to their places.

“The demons carry ladders,” continued Wolf-Cap, “and
they’ll make a desperate effort to carry the palisades by
storm.”

Matt Hunter and Iluldah did not wait to hear the trapper’s
Words, but hurried below and paused before the guard at the
lower door.

“ You can‘t get out here,” said the sentry.

“ Can’t,” echoed Hunter. “We’re on a missiOn from our
new captain.”

“ True, Miss ?” asked the soldier, looking at Huldah.

“Mr. Hunter should know,” she answered, and the heavy
door was unholted, and they stepped into the yard.

“ Miss Armstrong, I am on a secret mission for your father,"
he said, when they heard the door shut violently. “I can
not disclose it yet, so please bear with me. We must now
relieve the gate guards.”

He walked rapidly toward the gate, where three sturdy
settlers stood.

“Jones, Vanderherg and Poston, I believe,” he said, paus-
ing before the trio, whose forms were just visible in the
gloom.

" Yes,” answered a rough voice, “ them’s we.
Wanting ?" ‘ ,

“Our new captain wants Vanderbcrg and Poston to the
council up-stairs. Wolf-Cap advocates a change of tactics.
Wc—Miss Armstrong and I—will guard the gate with Jones.
until relieved. “We were sent hither for that duty.”

Matt Hunter paused; but the two men hesitated. Since
the arrest of Zebulon Strong, they did not know whom to
trust, and theirs was the most important post connected with

the safety of the fort.

“ No doubt other strength will he sent hither on your ap-
pearance above," said Hunter, uneasily. “ Your voices are
needed in the Council. You can leave your muskets here;
'lmt I think we will not need ’em. Wolf Cap reports the foe

under cover.”

What’s

 

   

    

/

,54 worm-cu; on,

kets against the stockade and left the gate.

" , Without difficulty they gained the interior of the fort, and

‘- paused a moment to inquire into the progress of the Well—
diggers.

,,\ ' Then they ascended the ladder and appeared in the battle-

. room. The storm had spent its fury by this time, but the

wind was flaring,r the dips and imparting u demi-gloom to the
k ’ entire interior of the place. Still, the light enabled the sen-
tries to see men at the port-holes, and the women were scruh-'
* hing the floor with bedding. There was nothing that looked
H tlike a council of war.
 "‘ Where’s the cap’n ?" asked Vunderberg, touching a wo-
man's arm—and the dame could not repress a cry when she
j looked up into his white face.
"Herc," called it lusty voice from a darkened corner, and
a tall form advanced toward the guard. ” l’m here—what’s
wanting ?” and then the commander caught sight of Vander-
berg’s farce. “ Roger Vunderherg, what are you doing here .9”
he cried, and his hand closed on the settler’s arm. “Your
post is at the outer gate. What can have brought you hither?
Speak! These are nights when traitors are abroad.”
The guard, now thoroughly alarmed and frightened, Could
not find his tongue for a moment.
“ And Poston, you here too? \Vho is at the gate ?"
‘x “ Sir, your daughter and Matt Hunterfi’ cried Vuuderberg,
‘ ‘ will) considerable fire in his tone. “He sent me up to the
I Council."
' “Council? there’s no council here,“ and the old settler's
cheeks suddenly grew pale. “ I never sent for you—never!
"Mutt Ilunter must mean something terrible. We‘ll go down _
‘ \. and see.”
He sprung to the hatch, and quickly disappeared, followed!
by the sentries.
T The lower guard opened the door without a. challenge, and
 r the trio passed into the yard.
"  i There Levi Armstrong’s worst fears were realized. The
 gete was deserted and stood ajarl
- ~Impeaertedi’ No i At the foot of one of the poets lay the
~ 4/ bodylot s nun. ~

   
 
 
   
 
  

His last words decided the guards; they leaned their/mus- ‘i

.«C.

.n

 

 

I in

d!

  

   
 
 
 
 
   
    
  
   
    
  
 
 
   
   
   
   
  

    

m mane-name! 111: mm mm ,.§5.
“Heavens! Huldah is gone l" cried the settler, staggering

 from the scene, for a moment Completely unmanned.

“  {I For a moment only.

1‘ T; “The gate! the gate I" he cried, springing forward, but

i . Vanderberg and Poston had foreseen the danger.

3' “, Thelr strong arms closed the ponderous structure, as a ham
9 ' tired arrows buried their flinty heads in the hoards!

a  The gate was then barricaded in a jifl'y.

'  “ Listen! They’re about to storm us,” said Vanderherg.

-' . . u Quick, then! Summon thirty men hither !” shouted Levi.

“ We must meet them here first. ’Twill be daylight Soon,
thank heaven l"

Vanderberg sprung to execute the task assigned him, and
r the old settler bent over the form lying at the gate. .
“E It was poor Jones. His skull had been crushed by the but: . 
of a musket, and he was quite dead. ' ‘
.v', 1‘ “The old fort swarms with traitors," said Armstrong, look-
ing up at Poston. “ Hunter was Strong’s confederate. Now
We’ll meet the storming dogs.” _

He muttered the last sentence as a body of men emerged
,t.’ from the fort.
' ' “Huldah isn’t gone, Armstrong?" said the foremost man,
Whose wolf-skin cap proclaimed his personality.

“ Gone—gone, Beltl"

“ Curse the luck ! Why didn’t I shoot Matt Hunter, when
I caught him tampering with my traps, two years ago ?”
, “ Would to heaven you had.” ‘ ‘ 
it . Wolf-Cap looked at the settler and then gritted his great ' f‘
teeth till they fairly cracked.
\ *f j “‘ Matt llunter took the girl along to buy his own liberty,” , ,
. {2 ‘he murmured. “Royal Funk will get her now. But he
sha‘n't Wear her—no! not while my name is Card Belt.”
‘2 “Nor while mine is Mark Harmon l” v
‘v  The trapper started and saw the young borderman standing ‘
.1, . by his side. ‘ '
_, . , “Your hand on that, buy l" cried the trapper, with a smile,
and two hands Were clasped and sealed in determination.

“I guess the dogs have gone back to growl," said Belt,
glancing up. “They’ve let the golden moment slip. , ' It’s, 
fltfln’ too light to attack now." ' g 4» o 1’ .

l . .
- »

.wf/w,

I

        
 

 

    
   
 

 

56 wow-on; on, ' ‘ 3. “

CHAPTER VIII.

A BIT OF MUTINY. 3,

Porn STRONG could not have successfully resisted an ass-*1 i

sault of the allies on the Stockade. The settlers knew this ;;-"
but were determined that the foe should be met with courage
as fierce as his own, and that he should find none but deadfii‘

bodies when he entered the fort. 0

Already the women were arming themSelves and their words "

of encouragement threw more strength into their husbands’fi

arms.

We left Wolf-Cap and the two Indian chiefs hurrying to? : I

ward the fort, and have also witnessed the former’s appear-
ance among the besieged. Before entering, he had tarried a .
while without for the purpose of watching the enemy. His '
great heart leaped for joy when the rain begun to descend,§

and beside the gate, he dismissed the chiefs with low words, 2
t.

intended for their ears alone.

He heard the foe approach, and learned that they bore lads \ v.
ders which, no doubt, they had constructed beyond the hill ‘ 
during the day, and then he hastened to prepare the settlers 

for the new danger.
But the sky grew lighter, and the nasault came not.

 g

From ,

some cause which the besieged could not fathom, the proposed ‘ '-

attack had been suddenly abandoned, and when the light ren- 1

dered objects distinguishable from the fort, not an enemy .'
could be seen. '1

The dun storm-clouds rolled heavily toWard the south,and 7 

by-and- by the sun’s rays fell upon the charred roof of Fort 4.11

Strong

learn why the assault was abundotted—abandoned when the

But let us follow the fortunes of llnldah Armstrong, and 

.4

 

most unlearned Warrior Could foresee the result of a grand at- .
‘ tack with the ladders. \

To all appearances, the Indians had been withdrawn from ,fi‘
the river; but such was not the case The light or the bitm-l :.

l
I
I
l

4

fl
«I

I f.
a
.‘ '.

 

 

'3; m NIGHT—HAWKS or me nan-mm. 
 roof revealed the ground between fort and stream, but not
:4. 'M'bmve lay behind the stumps. Colonel O’Neill attacked the
~  ort from the hill only, thinking that the garrison might be ,
g'fdrlven to an attempt to fly to the river and escape by boats.
 Therefore, he had drawn the Indians to the tall grass on the
:.; bank, and during the entire fight not a shot was fired from
\rthe ambush.
i' But the colouel’s plans did not succeed.
3' rt, “ Why this delay?" exclaimed the officer, angrily, looking
_ *hnd listening from the summit of the hill where he stood, sur-
 rounded by half a dozen Indians and as many English ofl‘l-
ii'cers. “ The assault should have been made ere this."
1 ' “ We have not heard Funk’s signal‘ yet, colonel,” answered
finite of the officers, suggestively. '
K “ Fire and fury ! he should have given it five minutes since,"
. {and O’Neill looked at a beautiful chronometer which he drew
'* from his bosom. “ The truth of the matter is, Funk is crazy
' x “After a girl in the fort, and if he can get her, he will let the
'v {foe beat us off. Curse the laggard I”
' l i, ‘ A minute’s silence followed the Briton’s last words. The
«idgnal, whatever it was to have been, did not cleave the cool
” night air—not a sound came from the fort. ‘
“The jig is up,” hoarsely hissed O’Neill, stamping his foot
. Flth rage. “ Fuuk‘s infernal passion for that girl has ruined
gour plans. Splitlog, is he a specimen of the men you associ-
y‘tte with? Go and recall the forces! The day is breaking.
jinow, and if our men are not instantly withdrawn, they will
«he slanghtered like sheep.”
I. ii The Wyandot sachem left the hill, and presently every be-
.f’lieger relinquished the designed attack.
‘X Colonel O’Neill was livid with rage, and threatened to
. ggfwithdraw his troops.
, “Frank is the cause of all this,” he thundered to Splitlog.
7'“ You should take the villain out and shoot him when he
 shows his face in camp. But he’ll never have the audacity to
" Ihow his face here. Perhaps he succeeded in getting the
filth], and has fled to parts unknown. The fort would have
been ours after a brief struggle. The deserter declares that
matron; has six men on whom he can depend. So, chief, you"
 whathwe have missed by one man's absorbing passion.”

._

 

 

    
 
 

 

 

 
 

' castiCall y.

58 worm-car ; on, .

("I ‘1  ..
. nu.“

“ Night-Hawk do had work, sure,” said Splitlog, like the I :‘~

At the head of the array walked Roy Funk and his remain- '-

ing Night-Hawks, six in number, for Sam Cole hnd slain his

white adversary at the tree to which Wolf-Cap was bound at 

the opening ot the fort fight, and the second Night-Hawk
whom Silver Hand threw into the river on the same occasion,
would march no more to deeds of brigandage.

There Was a cloud on the outlaw’s face as he neared the .y'
little group; but he walked boldly erect, unmindful of the ,

fierce looks and muttered epithets that the Indians hurled
upon him.
At length be halted before the couple at the tent, and
looked them calmly in the eye without a word. ‘
“ You have come to report,” said O‘Neill, suddenly and m:

“ With your permission, sir,” retorted the Night-Hawk
captain.

“ If you wish, you may tell the story of your treachery:
Though I would rather not hear it, I will listen. You know
the disaster you have hurled upon this army."

“I am, to some extent, perhaps, to blame for the non—at-

\

Colonel, in no good humor. “ He better not come back to‘ 
braves." * i“
“ Killing him won’t mend matters; but—3’ ‘ y 
g The interruption that broke the sentence was caused by 
the sudden appearance of a young Wyandot warrior, who in- iv
formed the twain that Royal Funk and his Nigl)t-Han:;-;__ ‘_
were boldly approaching.  I,
O’Neill and the chief exchanged looks of surprise. E
“That man possesses the audacity of the devil," said the g? 2‘
colonel. “Now stick to your word, Splitlog; pay him up. he
Do not listen to his excuses. If you do, he‘ll conquer." ,
White and red occupied the tent of the former, and when 
they stepped out, they beheld a large body of soldiers and ~3
savages approaching. t-tj

.515 vex, *m‘Ir-T'». .?

«2.1: 2-12: "_

 

tack on the stockade. I am willing to take all the blame on

my shoulders at any rate. They are strong,” and he shrugged 1
‘ them, “ and can carry heavy loads." ‘

m3"! .

“ But let the Night-Hawk talk of his dog acts,” cried-Split. ‘_

log, steppingnearer Funk, furious almost beyond control.  , 1'

 

 

 

\, I

 
   

was mam-rum‘ or m FIRE-LANDS. It

yum  «I was about ready to give my signal when we be-
' ‘0'. kid a suspicious figure creeping from the fort to the river.
‘ We followed, and captured a man—Matt Hunter by name.
I" He was a deserter and told us much. Captain Strong is a

,by Eprimner in the fort. His designs have been discovered.
"" *Wolf-Cap is in the fort.”

“:5  “I thought you held him captive 1’" said O‘Neill, at this
srj'uncture.

,  “I did, but Cole wanted to trust his honesty, and Duk:
me  White here interfered. They fought and Cole got the best
“I” “of Duke; but, after all, WolLCnp escaped."

r “ But what about the man you caught ?"

‘6" kg “ The boys gave him to the Wyandots by the river. He’s
"d iyonder now with Sawyer, the other deserter. lie was carry-
, Fhing a woman from the fort.”

'"' “- - “ Stealing a woman, eh? Go on, Roy Funk, this is a ro-
‘js i‘mantic story you‘re telling. Took some hard thinking no
at 'h' doubt."

71‘ P An illy-concealed sneer pervaded the oflicer’s Words; but

n'» i [the outlaw chief did not appeal“ to notice it.
~, f “ We got the girl of course, and,” looking at O’Neill, “ she’s
'0‘ my girl, colouel—Huldah Armstrong.” '
‘° ' , “This will all do to tell, Roy Funk,” said the soldier; “hut
:d -' it won’t slip down. You don‘t understand greasing lies.
' That is an art which you should have mastered.”

5 ' “You’ll believe me if I produ0e the descrter and girl 1’"
‘t‘ flashed Funk. .

i' “ I will, and not until then will I credit a single word you
{I have utteret.”

k , The outlaw turned quickly upon one of his men.

,. r! «Jackson, g” and bring Hunter and the girl here,” he
V' 1, said, in mnddened tones, and the look which he then darted
at his other Night-Hawks drew them nearer his imperiled
lorm. -

a “You shall see that I haven’t lied l” he said, turning to
“f? 'D’Neill again. “ Splitlog has enjoyed a long acquaintanco
 with me, and he can not put his finger on a single lie , of
Jrinlne.” ’

\ “But what.” you in extenuation of your crime of diso-

beying orders 1“ .t

at

 

     

 

women ; on,

“Circumstances, sir, interposed to check my career, and'
when I had disposed of my captives, you were withdrawing ;,
But, Colonel O‘Neill, I want you to understand a ;«
Roy Funk and his fellows do as; 

your troops.
that I am a free man here.
they please; but for this time I have condescended to be a
subordinate. You, sir, are the minority here.
superiority of numbers commands.”

' O'Neill bit his lip and referred the outlaw to the Wyandot
for punishment.

booter out of his way.

A brief time elapsed between Jackson’s disappearance and
his return.

A line of knolls or hills encircled the southern side of the
fort, and terminated at the river. They enabled the outlaw
to perform his errand without being seen by the besieged
settlers, and he approached the assemblage with IIuldah Arm-
strong and the treacherous borderman.

“ There !” said Funk, in triumph, looking at his prisoners.
“ Colonel O‘Neill, have I lied P"

The British soldier did not reply, for he was looking at .

the settler‘s daughter, whose wonderful backwoods beauty Was
entrancing his Highland-tainted heart.

“What does Night-Hawk want to do with white girl ?”
asked Spiiliog, breaking the silence that followed Funk’s
speech. '

“I intend making her Mrs. Funk, as I have told the col-
onel," said the outlaw, quickly, glancing at the officer as he
spoke. “ t he is mine !"

“But Night-Hawk didn‘t give signal.
(T with his head.”

He let a squaw run

Splitlog’s anger was rising again, and O’Neill was secretly.

t-jnicing.
“ I know it, chief; but to-night we’ll work together.”
“ Like we did when it was dark before,” hissed the Wynn-
, dot, and his right arm started back threateningly. “ The
' Night-Hawk is a traitor, and traitors are dOgs. He no man
I at all who'll let blue eyes draw him from duty.”
‘ “ Well, what is Splitlog going to do about it i"

Splitlog by »

He felt that Splitlog would rid himself of 
Funk’s presence, and now he devoutly wished the forest free- 

.Yw‘y. .

..

v3 1

1‘

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:42: >9.

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4 B“.=‘¢.

31.. ~7— Y‘. -
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THE mam-mwxs or run FIRE-LANDS. £1 

 The question was put calmly, but there was the lurking of
Hg. defiant, devil-may-care spirit in the words. ,

nd  “ He going to make example, as the pale-faces say," was the
urge-(reply, “ Little Hickory, take the girl—"

a 172 e‘ No you Won’t l" interrupted the outlaw, and before the
.Tfiehief addressed could advance a. step, Jackson threw Huldah
4 Armstrong forward and Funk caught her in his arms.

 u I appeal to the braves of the Wyandot nation, and to true I
'  English soldiers,” he cried, springing upon a fallen tree and, _
Vfga’looking around over the crowd. “I have fought for the flat -\ ’ {3‘
 of St. George and for the wampum of the Wyandots. I faileu '
pin a duty last night, but to-night we can take the fort. Put
{yourselves in my place last night. For such a pretty woman
f711,8 this, who would not have forgotten every thing save love 1’”
' ‘ Numerous cheers greeted the outlaw’s speech, but Splitlog,
7"\with a cloud on his face, advancod toward the log.

 “ Stop. chief," cried Funk, cocking one of his pistols, and
'g‘looking down upon the Wyandot. “I don’t want to shed
3 blood on this occasion. My men will stand by tne-if we go
 down, ’twill be as the fall of one man."

 ' Stern determination was written on the Night~Hawk’s face,
 and he glanced at lluldah, hanging half-senseless across his
 left arm.

7 “Don’t give in to him i” whispered O‘Neill to Splitlog,
’ who had stopped. “ Make an example of the dog I”

 
     
     
   
   
     
   

    
  
    
   

  
      
     
   
         
      

The chief was inclined to do so. 
1 “ A vote ! a vote i” cried the soldiers. .
'1' “ V'Ve‘ll have no votes on this question i" thundered Col— - ‘1

    
   
 

is; one] O'Neill. ,/
, “ We will i" answered a stalwart corporal, stepping forward, 4
 pistol in hand. “ Colonel O’Neill, your men say that Funltis

1' date shall not be settled by one man." 3. 
' “Fire and furies, this is mutiny!” and the English sword  ._ 
9 leaped from its scabbard. “Corporal, who commands the i
 .Ninety-flrst—you or I?" V \\ v:
.5. Corporal Qniunan (lit! not reply, but saluted his superior " '
‘ g-itmd stepped aside. ‘

V'  , “ We will vote on Funk’s life i" came a cry from the to.
.  belllous quarter, and the Indians began to demand a ballot, in
l i “01d: 0th language.

 
       
      
    
     
     
   

  

won-cu ,; on,

   
 

   
 

  
 
 

Colonel O'Neill Was shaking with rage. ,

   
        
     
     
    

  
 
 

  
 
     
    
  

   
  
  

   
 

“ Colonel, you had best listen to the men 1” ventured Qu -; ,‘l

man, again. . -‘ ' .4
 i “ Who gave you authority to suggest to me P” roared t .  {I
‘1 ‘ epnuleted Briton, starting toward the corporal. “Serge n"
Wilkinson, arrest the mutineer.” Vmw
But the Sergeant did not stir. 5 DUI
. “ What l dare you disobey, too i?"  fret
“ I dare l” was the quiet response. “ Colonel,” 11 mnjorit “a:
filo:

desvrves death, we will submit. But one man, and he an I ' 
dian, shall not dictate in such a case as this.” 130w
_‘- \ s , The mutinecrs applauded the sergeunt's Words, and Colon?” f
O’Neill stepped back, and gazed'with horror into Splitlog' ..[Wi
face. : {on
' “ I know what you want, colonel,” said Roy Funk, at. lhi 71th
juncture, “ and I don’t blame you, either, for you don’t pick 
;v\' up such a girl as this in the woods every day. Let the red-“hi
"-K coats vote, and the Indians, too. If they snyI deserve death, 39.1

you may kill me.” _
O'Neill. looked up at the outlaw, and then turned to thfl
 Ii lacucm. f.
' “ I leave it to you, Splitlog,” he said. “Count me out 
but Funk should live if he can cower such a mun as you t”

 
     
     
 

CHAPTER IX.

SENT INTO EXILE.

 
    
     

BPLITLOG shrugged his shoulders and turned to his tunes. ‘ 
. The lives of many brave men hung upon his savage ca- 
 - prices, and the silence that followed ()‘Neill’s last and bitter -
 ‘ words seemed palpable. s
The Wynndot hated, detested the British, Colonel O’Neill._~}

, particularly; but he had 801d his nation to the English mm, '1;
‘ ,Ind he must not, in a single act, manifest an nbatoment ctr;
“uni. ‘The colonel, under whose command Splitlug lad  3,,

 
 
 

  

 
   

   
  
 

. 1:"

 
 

   
 

\

    

«

THE NIGHT-HAWKS or m FIRE-LANDS. - as

    

  

y 'y fought, had said that Royal Funk’s disobedience should
rv [punished with death, and the Indian believed that he spoke
. the king.

-. 3’2But the British soldiers were demanding something of a x _
{tial for the outlaw, and his Indians ware joining in the 0121- t, 
_ mor. So far as he was personally concerned, he would not '
~ fllunish Funk, and here was an opportunity to favor the forest
5}Nebooler. Funk, no doubt, had done Splitlog a serviee in
hays gone by, and an Indian never forgets such an ac-

        
    
       
 
 

  
     
 
 

  

He stood before the outlaw a moment in silence, and then
.’f't>0ke.

911- " _" f“ Splithg hears the voices of his people,” he said. “ He
03' {Will not strike the Night-Hawk until they have pronounced
.V‘On his fate. Ile," pointing to Funk, “ has lived long among
' 3th}: Wyandots; they know him—he is brave.”

 As the Indian paused, O‘Neill stepped forward, and laid
 hand on the naked shoulder. The Briton’s face was still
.lififlame with rage.

, 1“" Say nothing for nor against him, chief,” he said, in the
"ZWytsndot tongue. “ Tell your braves to say life or death,
3- t, tmd that quickly.” . g.

 
   
       
      
 
 

     
    
 

  
      
    

l". A. He snapped the words out fiercely, and darted a malignant
.' look at Splitlog as he turned away: , v\
. ,' '“ I’ll pay you for this, you scarlet dog," he murmured, uu- ' .
' *fder his breath. “ I‘ll pay you for lying, see if I don’t.” ,,
A Bplitlog smiled contemptuously, and hit his nether lip. -»

 
 

'. “Down with you, Wynndots,” he cried, angrily. flashing \
V; ‘Jtis eyes over his armed nation. “ Down like wolves, and let I z ,
"y. the warriors who vote for life hold up their guns.” , t l
 Like one man the rod assembly dropped to the ground, ’ ‘
Ind nenr two hundred guns were held on high!

A majority voted for life.
I “I knew they’d do it," hisSed O‘Neill. “And Splitlog
', lanctions the deci:ion. My men shall not vote."
 ‘ A stern determination clothed the last words, and they
knitwere yet quivering on his lips when the chief, with a triumph .
A' . “widen his best diuimulative arts Could not conceal, turned 
upon him: ‘ '  
 t‘Now lot the rod costs vote," cried Splitlog. “11 mm, ‘

 
     
   
   
   
       
     
       
       

 

M ~ wow-car ; on, '

of them any “death,” the waters of the Huron shall roll over 30‘

the Night-Hawk.”

Au eager gleam of hope lit up the colonel's eyes at this.

Sword in hand he leaped upon the log near the Night-Hawk
captain.

“ You who vote for life will advance ten paces westward.
Right about—face. Forward—march 1"

Many a Briton obeyed the military Command, and the colo- ‘
n l ordered a Sergeant to count the ayes.

Two hundred and one men voted for life, and strange to .
say, a like number had kept their places I

“ I vote for death 1” said the colonel, when he had informed
Splitlog of the even counts; “therefore I make a majority,
and the outlaw dies.”

“Did Splitlog vote ‘2" cried the chief. “ No! he left it to
his men. But he will look to the vote of the red-coats. He
says that the Night-Hawk shall fly from the land of the VVy-
andots before the sun sweeps over the bosom of the Huron
again, and he shall never return. Does this suit the king’s
soldier l’”

“ He should die.
O’Neill.

“ But Indians say, ‘ Live, Night-Hawk."

1

We, his own people, say as much,” said ,

Splitlog must lis-

ten to his people; when they say ‘No,’ he must not say ‘

‘ Yes.’ ”
“ So be it, then. But he shall not take his captive along."
“ \Vhatever is his he may, keep,” ansvvered the Indian, and
then he looked up at Royal Funk. '

i

i‘ou
. .Aap
- 'sco

tht

‘ ile

. m
CO

la
tl‘

 

“ Night-Hawk, you are free to go," he said. “After this
night, let these forests hear your tread no more. Splitlog
and his braves say so.”

“ Agreed,” answered Funk. “ I accept your mercy. I go,
never to return. Soldiers who voted for my life, I thank
you ; and, Colonel O’Neill, my fervent prayer is that we may
meet again."

“ Amen l" grated the Briton.
the bottom of my heart 1”

"‘ Come, boys,” said the outlaw, descending from his perch,‘
and addressing his band in a low tone, “ we‘ll leave this we‘-
cuued place at once, or so soon as we can get. of. We’ll go

“ I echo your prayer from

":4, .

  

rm: mon'r—nwxs or man nan-um .65

l oven flown the river in barges, and after a while strike over land
ffioward Detroit. There's no use in talking. Our days are
iis. . i-up in the ‘ flre-lands,’ though I‘d like to linger here to settle
{awk -‘scores with Wolf-Cup."
: The Night-Hawks expressed their willingness to follow
vard.  their leader, but they abominated the thought of a forced ex-
 il‘e. They had lorded it over the fire-lands until they believed \ '
:olo-  themselves invincible, but they had discovered one at whose
’- command they must depart.
a to i i “ Well, Miss Iluldah, we are going to leave the old fire-
, lands, and we’re never coming back any more. What do you ‘
mad  think about that ?”
it)”, ,, " For a moment the scttler’s child said nothing. She stood
before the outlaw in the little tent which Colonel O’Neill had
to  given him, when they Were on better terms than now, and
He L" looked up into his darkly handsome lace.
’y-  “Of course, sir, I do not wish to go,” were the words that
013 f fell from her lips, at last. “But I know ’tis useless for me to
g's : ~ appeal to you.”
_- “ Utterly useless, Huldah,” he answered, calmly. “ I will /
id 3 offer you no violence, and none shall come to you from any '
Y‘ one. But let me tell you now that I am very passionate, and
8- '_: ,that no hand shall snatch you from me. I will make no
y \  avowal of love; this is not the place for such; but if I did
_ not love you I would return you to the old man who,in your
" fl‘ presencc calls you child. Huldah, tell me how many lovers
1 .I’ you‘possess 1’”
“ None, unless I must regard you as such," she' answered,

l  with a faint smile.
’  “ You should have thought a moment before you spoke. ,

‘ " There's \Volf-Cap—" . I.
“ His hair is gray in many places," said Holdall, interrupt- ' ,\
lng him. “ lie is not my lover.”
“ Granted; but hasn‘t some young hunter in Fort Strong
looked softly into your eyes? Sneak tr't’y, Huldah Arm-

 

. . Strong-I want to know.”

For a moment the settler’s daughter recalled the daring
young men who had bravely defended their loved ones in the
besieged fort, and a flush of crimson mantled her fair

 cheeks. ' . i 

 

WOLF-CAP; on. \
“ I think I have no lover,” she said, looking up again. " .
“ But you blushed while you thought,” said the outlaw, -'
quickly; “ and blushes, like figures, IInldah, do not lie. Some ,
young buck-skin~clad fellow has made your heart beat fast be- 
bind the Walls of the doomed fort. rI‘ell me his name.” V
“ Why would you know ?” ‘
~ “I would kill him, if he es0aped the massacre. Huldah,I‘ r'
will endure no rivals for your hand. Remember this. 
you have skipped a lover." .
The fair girl, whose cheeks had grown pale beneath thegf,
vengeful words, looked surprised. .
“ Yes, you possess a third lover, IIuldah. Can you not.
name him 1*" A

“I can not. Your words are fraught with mystery,” she I L'

replied. '

“Colonel O'Neill is your lover. He tried to have me shot,
that he might possess you. What do you think of your red-
coated Adonis? He‘s the handsomest of all your lovers—isn’t
he, Huldah '3”

The outlaw laughed at his sarcastic question, and turned _
to talk to one of his men, whose face appeared at the opening. " ‘

A short conversation in a low whisper passed between the ’
Night-Hawks, when the face disappeared, and Funk turned to
his Captive again. _

“ We won’t get off till near sundown,” he said. “That
iiveried dog has refused to loan us his boats, and Splitlog has
been compelled to send to the mouth of the Catauga for sev-
eral of his own. By heavens! iluldah, I want to meet that
man away from his men. I’d pr )mote szor Gosuoke to the
Colont-lcy with a bullet. 'l‘here’s something devilish afoot. I
feel it. This night will witness treacherous deeds. O’Neill
will not give you up tnmely—neither will Ii"

A moment later the outlaw walked from the tent, and Hul-
dah Armstrong heard him say a few words to the Night-
Hawks who guarded her, before he walked away.

The long hours of that summer day waned, and not a shot I. '-'

was fired at. the fort. It was a painful silence to the girl,and
told of bloon seenes during the coming darkness. She could ,
‘00. the charred root from her prison, but not a besieged forth

I ,‘~

.*.,,.\l._ w,,
s -‘ ,, .vw?  ’c' 4&1?”

 

I 5»; ‘ '
\

33;, THE, NIGHT-HAWKS or 1'2:- rxnn.mm.v ‘ Q7

By and by the trees on the river~bank cast long shadows,

Haw. -' fid Sphaog' followed by numerous warriors and a few sol-
me tillers, was seen approaching the outluw’s tent.

the.  ‘Five Night~Hawks received the company with lowering
‘Lguze, and a word from the chief drew out Roy Funk and his
l"-{nisonen
""1 f; “ We’re ready, chief,” said the Night-Hawk lender.
But l “ Then to the river,” replied Splitlog, pointing to the wa-
iter. “ The boats wait for the Night-Hawks of the fire-
 binds.”
t; The entire party marched down to the river, where an out-
00‘ '5 law and several Indians guarded twu large and strong boats.
1 “ This is the beginning of our journey, Iluldah,” said Roy
me "e Funk, as he gently lifted the settler’s daughter into one of the
Q, barks. “ The beginning, I say ; God knows what the ending
0" - ;:,will be.”
"3‘ it. ‘ His words implied grave doubtsof a safe termination of the
I" voyage; hut the next. moment he \Vns talking cheerfully to his

r

it ,. men and the chief.

 

3d gt “ We'll see you again, Splitlog," culled the outlrtw, us the
g‘ T boats were east from their moorings. “ We’ll drink tire-wa-
le - ter some day th-r our doings in the fire-lands. llut remem-
k’ ’ her what I whispered in your ear: watch him, as you would
. V n snnbu i”

It , 'l‘hen the outlaws seized the pliant paddles, and the two big
'5 { bouts moVed rapidly down the current.

" _ For the dusk that stretched before the voyagers seemed

‘ ‘ to breathe of a lurking foe.
: fi' Splitlog and his compunions watched the boats until a bend
l

 in the riVer hid them from sight.

7“ " “ Now," said the chief, turning away, “ the white man’s
J ‘l'ort t'nlls. The night is coming on, and the flames of the
V big timbers must light, the sky.”

'  But other scenes than the taking of the block-house, were
1" to demand the Wyatndot’s attention before dawn.

1 .'
5‘;

   

 

"08 wont-cu ; on. r

,the hills to the river, and the Indians took a south-easterly

\ 
.31
3‘0

CHAPTER X. ' é“
RAFFLED IN AMBUSH. 4‘
’Fll
A1! hour after the departure of the exiles, night spread llt' 
pull cver the earth, and two men scaled the stockade of For $10.
Strong and glided toward the hill lately tenanted by th ye,
foe. '1
a:

The spies—for spies the couple undoubtedly were—boasts: 
of white skins, and the moon, just rising and showering he.
light through the trees beside the river, proclaimed the a -'
Wolf-Cap and Mark Harmon. v_

“ I can’t understand this silence," remarked the old trappe 
to his companion. “ Surely the demons hevn’t given over th 41‘
attack."

“Perhaps they have quarreled among themselves,” said, 1“
young Harmon. h

“ It may be. O’Neill is a. fldgety fellow, they say, and if a
he gets spiteful at Splitlog, Why he’ll withdraw his support. 
Why they didn’t attack us last night when they could have N
won, may ever reuntin :t mystery. But silence now—We’ve 
reached the hill." '

For some minutes the twain crouched at the foot of the
acclivity and listened, but heard nothing. Where was the foe ?
Wolf-Cup was puzzled, and threw one of his queer enigmati-
cul looks into Harmon’s face. ‘ ‘

“ Bless me! if I don‘t b’lieve they’ve vamosed,” he whis-j ,
pered, and then, bidding his comrade retain his position, he 1
proceeded to extend the reconnoissnnce to the top of the lzilh‘ ,

Ten minutes later he returned.

“ Good news for the fort, boy i” he said, in tones of midis-‘12,.
guised joy. “The varmints hev vzunosed the diggin‘s.” V "

“ What! they huVen’t retreated with victory in their 5 '
grasp l” exclaimed the youth.

“They’re gone, anyhow. The red dogs marched around

Vi

'w_u‘*~fl7

 

 

trnil. This tells the story of a family quarrel. O’Neill he!

    
  

m NIGH‘I‘oBAWKI 0’ THE rum-mm

I t his back up about suthin' and so he cut loose from Split-
v  , n
f" “ But why didn’t the Indian remain and attack 1?"
g; “ He Wanted to show his choler, too. He wouldn’t stay
"7 or spite, but we’ll hear from him in the M uskingum valley
yore long." ,
l “ Then let‘s go back and tell the good news,” said Mark

'Hermon, eagerly. “ Then we hunt for Huldah.”

he .1; .. Yes; “my” follow Splitlog until we find Funk, for the
‘” outlaw win, of course, stick with the chief; they’ve been old

'Cronies for years, and Funk isn’t the man to trust himself

gnmong a. British regiment with a pretty woman. O’Neill

t ~t ight want llulduh, you See, and, backed by his men, Funk

“Wouldn’t hev the ghost of a show as his rival.”

5 The spies now set out on their return to the fort, and

7 Wolf-Cap rapped heavily on the gate with the butt of his gun.

’ “Don’t be afraid to fling ’er wide, boys,” he cried, in a

viiloud. tone. “ The devils hev got scared at their own shadow,

'i Itnd the old fort is saved l”

“ Saved l saVedl the foe has fled l” shouted the guard, as

‘Ifshe opened the gate, and then cheer on cheer shook the old

yatructure to its staunch foundation logs.

m; Fathers dropped their weapons and embraced wives in the

re itransport oi joy, and mothers kissed their children a. bum
fixed times, and thanked God for deliverance with tearful

i'cyes.

, “ We’re going now, Mark, and I,” said Wolf-Cap to Levi

. ~Armstrong, in the midst of the rejoicings, “ and we're going

it. do fetch your girl back, too.”

i “ You shall not go alone, Belt. I will—"

 er, imperatively. “You are needed here. Some band of
(dusky fellows may attack the fort during my absence, and
'iftirese helpless women and children can not spare you. Did
  say that Mark and I war going alone? Yes. But we are
. “yet. Sliver lland and Golden Cheek will join us somewhar
—Jn the woods, and those two fellows kin outwit a thousand
‘fiigbt-Hawksf’

 5;," )Armstrong reluctantly consented to remain in command 0!
 . ~ fort.

  

  

“ You will stay right where you are l" interrupted the hun- -

      
     
       
   
   
     
       
   
   
   
   
   
   
      
 
 
   
 
   
   
      
      
   
   
    
 

    
 

70‘ ' human; 03,. ' I  It

‘ denly returned to the fort without hullng the trapper. ii

 

I“ When will you return, Belt ?” he asked. ‘ ' u

“ Within five days, or more.” \_ ‘
“ Shall we keep Strong untried for five days 2” ‘4‘.
“ No: put him on trial to-morrow. If he is proven a. traitor, 
deal with him accordingly. You can testify for me, for IR]
have told you all that I know bearing on the case. But we, .3"
must be of, Armstrong." ; :i
The trapper put forth his hand, and with many go" 

wishes for the journey, Armstrong pressed it and saw th 
twain puss out the gate. ' 

“ I may never see him again,” said the old settler, pausing 1]
suddenly us tlte ponderous gate swung back. “ IIe ought. to r {I
know all now. I will tell him; it will make him more caul A!
tious, and he will hate me, I know. Yes, I will disclose the,“

secret.” H
VQuickly then, he turned to the gate again, and bade the
sentry open. it!

“I Want to see Wolf-Cup again,” said Levi, and then he: ‘
stepped without. t . ,
The dusky forms of the two men were still visible toward in
the river. .‘
lIc hurried forward ; but his heart failed him, for he sud- ) 1

 

"I can't break the spell, he said, slowly and in an under- ;
tone, shaking his head. “ I still hold the blessed belief into
which I have schooled my heart for many years. When ‘1
Wolf-Cap brings her back, I’ll tell him all. God give her R ;(
back to toe, for I love her. Though he kill tne, I will tell ,1
him all." 1‘

It Was the earnest prayer of a brave man, and he soon 70- . :,
joined the settlers, still happy ovvr the unexpected delimit-{R
once. ‘3‘

But we must return to the British Colonel. ’, 

At a certain point two miles below the bend in the rivrrfi 
mentioned at. the conclusion of the preceding chapter, Sev-'”
erul large trees lay on the ground, hurled down by the. fury 
of some storm-demon. These trees furnished a nature! am- 
lmslt,nltno.~t entirely impenetrable by the human eyefian‘dt f“
fmm their leafy eoverts a company of soldiens could wear, .g
the stream either way, for a" great distance. "  ' 1’

, .

*‘

   

.r,

“I NIGfli'-i)A\VKS OF THE FIRE-LANDS.

The ambush was not untenanted when Roy Funk and his
mpanions left the Indians, and turned the prowa of theirct»
8 toward Lake Erie. ' '
The moon, us she scaled the horizon, looked down upon
V inlet uniforms beneath the leaves, and the night-winds
It‘éard low voices.
' ' “ Colonel, do you think Gosnoke equul to the emergt-nCy ?"
,Cflkcd a soldier, looking at the British Colonel peeping throng;
the boughs. t
44.1 do. Ere this) he has obeyed orders, and peacefully
100, for we have heard no noise. Splitlog knows now, that.
I tun not to he trampled, and spit on with impunity. I
played the red-skin devil at Bl‘lll>ll trick to-night, and he will
never forget it. But I‘m tired of Waiting here. It is almost
- time for Gomoke’s appearance, and here Funk ttlltl his ac-
 purscd hounds have not hove in sight.”
. " The officer never took his eyes from the shining surface of
to water, while he .‘tttSWt'l'ctl the luthtlc, and his nervous
' )ictions proclaimed his itnputient-e.
‘ The render eun guns the mothe tltut led the Briton to the
- fMihush. lIe intended to intercept the exiles, and finish the ri-
yttlt'y that existed l)t:i\‘(’L‘ll himself and the Night-Hawk for
t We fact: of Iluldnh Armstrong. lie selected a dozen sol-
diers whom he could trust, and while the outlaws were pres
baring to depart, he led his men to the mnhush.
' Mnjot‘ GOAKIIIkt‘ was left at the hill to withdraw the British
faces from co-operution with Splitlog’s warriors. lie—the
0010nel~tlnretl not curry out his treachery in person», for the
W‘yaudot SthlIClll was un itnpulsivo snvngc, and he might pay
willie penalty of his tlesel‘tiolt with his life. _
'  For many minutes after the brief conversation between th
619mm; his privates, a dead silence reigned oVer fort-n
9nd stream, but all :it once this was broken by the voice of a
lltlier.
'“ The boats are coming !"
"Colonel O'Neillstuited and looked up the river. Two

lack spots were visible on the shinng water. Undoubtedly
canoes belonged to the Nielit-lluwk's party. ' I
‘Rmdy, men t" whispered O‘Neill, turning to his {room
he dei/ils his sailing right into our clutches. We wmznw ~

 

 

'19 ' won-car ; on,

 

noise now. Murphy, you are to do the hailing— recor. 

' lect." .
The soldier nodded, and all eyes were fastened on the ap-

pro'iehing boats.

The muskets were at full cock, ready, if needed, to pour 

a deadly lire into the barges.

j].
,

 

Colonel O‘Neill held his breath and glanced anxiously :

from the boats to Murphy, who, with the hailing Words on;

his lips, awaited his commands.

“'l‘hey’re in the shadow now," said O’Neill, in reply to 

a look from his soldier.
four more strokes, you may speak.”

“When they emerge and execute .-

A group of trees threw a belt of shadow across the stream 
a short distance above the ambush, and into this darkness the '

two boats bad glided.

All at once they drifted into the moonlight again, and the
studied Words Were on Murphy’s tongue, when he suddenly
started back, and threw a look of amazement into the col-
onel’s face.

The boats Were empty!

The men in the ambush exchanged looks of surprise, min-
gled with superstition.

Colonel O’Neill was so chagrined that he could not speak V

for several moments.

IIe riveted his eyes upon the boats, reluctantly believing
the evidence of his senses.

“Tom Murphy, swim out and intercept the boats!” he
suddenly roared. “ Hell and furiesl we have been be-
trayed l"

Murphy obeyed, and with the aid of several comrades
c‘rt-w the barges ashore.

To the bottom of one canoe a piece of paper was pinned.

“ Take care of my beats, colonel,” it said. “I will take
Care of myself."

Roy Funk‘s name was appended to the writing 1

_ n.

'T’ 

)7. “m I
i ._

[AW

“0. .,

,-

~7"~:1." I)

 

4&3”

-‘,,..._ .2 ',
.c: <v. \

m mar-un- or m mum Tl

}I~ CHAPTER x1.
I' 9' Tnmson IN THE CAMP.

' .f' I COLONEL O’NEILL‘s face grew red and white by turns with I ‘-

0 ~‘ rage-
He looked at the writing until the letters swam before his
I eyes. .
His prey had escaped, and he swore roundly for several
minutes before a gentleinanly word passed his lips.
“Murphy,” he said, his anger slumbering but not ap-
e peased. “Murphy, you, with two men, will await the arriva‘~
"" of the command at this point, and will proceed with it to r~
the destination communicated by me to Gosnoke.”
“ Pray, where does our colonel go ?" asked Murphy, who
ventured because he was on familiar terms with O‘Neill.
“ I’m going after Funk. By heavens! that scoundrel shall
x‘ not escape me. He‘s abandoned the boats somewhere up the
riler, and taken to the forest trails. But how did he know
j that we were waiting here ?"
“ Ah! that puzzles the b’hoys, kurnel,” said an Irishsol-
dier. “Faith an‘ they must hev smelt us, far devil a noise'
‘ did we make among the trees.”
“ Some dastardly red-skin has betrayed us, Teddy,” said I
r O’Neill, coloring again. “ Now, Murphy, mind what I have ‘7‘.
told you. The trail they would take, I think, leads in a _ \ ‘
north-westerly direction to the lake shore. It can he reached '
; by marching due west from this point; but I am not ac- /
'«quainted with the forest hereabout.” ’-
“ Methinks, I can lead you to the trail," said a man who,
though clad in English uniform, was no soldier. “ I’ve .
trumped these parts several times. By good marching, #3
'~'* We can reach the falls of Beaver river by clcvcn. There we ‘ "'
will strike the Detroit trail and discover something of Roy

M _ 
._ , .,

. g ‘1 ’I'lv'tl.

r.

 

.V’Jyv‘

fiFunk." ’
 The Briton was pleased, and a few minutes later disap- 
pared with his men in the funereal recesses of the wood. "

 

'74 WOLF-CAP ; on,

“ I agree with the Indian. There’s no use in running our

legs off after we have eluded the foe. It's a long way to

~, Detroit, and we might as well rest here as on the lake shore.
Boys, I apprehend .no pursuit. Splitlog, of course, will not
follow, and O'Neill will lead his regiment to the lakes when ' V
it joins; him on the river. The Indian counsels a rest till , V‘
morning. He has Walked us fast, and Miss Armstrong is ‘ 
fireatly fatigued.” ,,

The words just written fell from Royal ank’s lips, several 
nours after O’Neill’s disappointment in the amhush. ,

He stood on the bank of a narrow stream which, in‘ those 
days, bore the rather pretentious cognoinen of Beaver river. _
At this point a beautiful cascade added to the wild scenery. 
and he faced his Night-Hawks, who had just halted from a
fatiguing march. ‘ ,

“ Of course we are willin’ to rest, cap’n,” said one of ther ‘-
nten. “ That is, if you really think it best to do so, and of 1
Course you would not talk as you hev if you (lid not. ’A rest' '
till daylight will do us no harm; but,” and the speaker up? ‘
proached Funk and glanced at a half-naked Indian leaning 
against a tree, as he lowered his voice, “hut, cap’u, do you 
fully trust the Wyandot ?"

“ Why should I Call him a traitor? Because he has just a
saved our lives, \Vhalley? lle’s a genuine Wyandot; I’veti3_'
seen hitn a hundred titnes with Splitlog. But what have you .5
against ’im ?" 

“ Nothin’, cap’n, nothin’," answered Whallcy; “ only I 3
Wanted to know if you thought him sound." ‘

"‘ Don’t fear for Spagano,” said Funk. “ He's a faithful
fellow. Remember, we would have rowed into O’Neill's 
muskets if it hadn’t been for him."

The Indian upon hearing his name pronounced left the two 1 _
and came forward. I 

He was a tall, muscular fellow, naked to the waist, and I
wore a crest of painted dove feathers. , _

“ What Night-Hawks want with Spagano ?" he asked, l)! j;

, broken English. “ ‘ '

“ Nothing. But hold, chief.

.Wnight-vhere or acrossthe river f”

 

um NIGHT-HAWKS or 'ran FIRE-LANDS. 7'5

‘ circle with his hand. “ We safe this side Beaver—not so safe,
3‘ p’r’aps, on other side.” ‘
“ Preparations for a sojourn till day, on the bank of Beaver
:  fiver, were at once inaugurated by the party, and several 01
~. E- the outlaws emplOyed themselves in catching fish below the
falls.

Spaguno, the Wyatdot guide, lingered about the little,

 ~:amp.
To him the cutlaws owed their lives. It Was in this man-

,
w

ner:
_ Immediately after rounding the bend that shut the exiles
from Splitlog's sight, an Indian made his appearance on the
river-bank, and Funk was induCed to take him in. He proved
to be the bearer of startling news, and declared that he was
. acting in accordance with the wishes of the Wyandot sachem
, -Splitlog.
.‘ “ Colonel O’Neill and two hundred soldiers (the Indian’s ex-
'\ uggerated statement) were waiting for the outlaws at Dead
1/ Tree Bend. They were well armed, and the colonel was de-
g; termined to rid the “ fire-lands ” of the Night-Hawks at one
blow.
Royal Funk believed the Indian and ran his boats ashore.
I  Then debarking, he wrote the message that so irritated the
“,u-Britonl and sent the canoes adrift. .
1?, The journey to the lake-shore had now to be performed
 OVerland, and as the Wyandot was desirous of vjsiting De-
,‘I troit, he was made the head guide of the party. Before the
brave's appearance, Funk felt that his red-coated rival lay
 EOniewhere in ambush; but now he believed that he had suc-~
'T‘ cessfully eluded him, and that they would not meet in the
«_  forest again.
 ~Spugano was impatient, and ill at ease as he helped pre-
1  ;,.Mi‘e the camp.
‘ 3-, More than once he glanced furtively at IIuldah Armstrong,
'~ fecliuing on a robe at the foot of a sturdy oak, and often
paused in his labors as- if to catch Certain sounds for which
too seemed to be waiting. While gathering brushwood, for
the fire, he made several lengthy journeys into the forest, and ‘
tn the dim light, be practiced the old savage habit of 111% I
#3 with the-ear applied to’the ground. ' ’ ‘

,u

 

women ; Ox,

Once Roy Funk came suddenly upon Spagano in this am:
tudc of detecting sounds, and inquired into his action.

“ Indian listening for British footsteps; but none come to
his ears.”

Funk was satisfied with the reply, and commended the
Wyaudot’s watchfulness.

It was ten or perhaps quite eleven o’clock before the rude
comp Was finished, and after midnight but three persorus
therein appeared awake. The trio consisted of Spugnno and
two Night-llmvks. The recumbent forms of the remaining
outlaws, including their leader, lay in the light of the dying
fire, and resembled wooden statues more than breathing clay.

The white guards sat at the foot of a large tree; Spagano
steed erect and wide-aWake, a few feet to their right. _

“ Whulley, I‘m as sleepy as a winter-treed b’ar,” said one of  ,V ‘
the men, in his unCouth tongue. “ Say, haven’t I nodded a '
little within this past hour or such matter? I don’t see what's
Come over me to~night. I know my chin has pomded my
knees While We’ve been sittin’ here. But I can’t help it,

\Vhalley ; and if I do drop asleep, you‘ll let me go, and keep
mum to the captain, won’t you ‘3”

" Yes, but keep awake if you can,” Zigler, returned Whal-
ley. and a yawn stretched his mouth to its greatest dimensions. . _
“Mind ye, if we go to sleep, that Indian kin do as he pleases, , '

and we might wake up and find ourselves as dead as :1 her- ‘ n

rini.” A
“ Dead or no dead, Whalley,1've got to sleep,” drawled’ ~.
Ziglcr. “ \Vondcr where that Injun got his whisky? Never r
had any to affect. my eyes afore.”

\Vhalley here glanced at the Wyaudot, who stood immobile
against. the tree, looking into the darkness of the wood. ,
“ If I thought he had drugged the whisky, Curse me if I, '
wuuldu‘t—" '

lle paused suddenly, for Zigler was asleep I _

"Zig, this won‘t do I“ he said, with a smile, shaking hid.  '
eoinpunion’s shoulder lightly. “ We’re in the frying-pan yet.
Wake up I”

Zigler responded with a swinish grunt.

“ Well, sleep then," said Whulley, supplementing his t
with an oath. “ I’ll watch the Indian myself I" »

 

, m NIGHT-HAWKS 0? m FIRE-LANDS. ,'

_‘ ‘ He fastened his eyes upon the Wyandot; but soon the In-

_ .~ titan faded into a bluish mist, as it were, and the watcher was

' “asleep, like his comrade! ~
Spagano looked at the sleepers, and glanced from them 'to‘

flthe flask hanging at his Waist. The glance was fraught witli

2 triumph, and breathed of the red-man‘s proverbial treachery

‘. to the white.

, ‘ He watched the guards for several minutes and then ap-
 proached. The scrutiny pleased him, and he crawled from
{the camp and disappeared in the forest. He moved down
the trail which the Night-Hawks had lately traversed, and

;- thirty yards from the camp pauscd and put his ear to the

' ground.

_ 4 All at once he started to his feet, and sprung toward the
, camp.
. ‘ Excitement burned in his swarthy face; but he was calm
Withal, and when on the edge of the light of the dying fire,
 he dropped to the ground, and after listening a moment with
 head turned toward the wood, crawled forward to Huldah
 Armstrong’s cot.
‘ Spagano was proving himle a traitor, and his bearing told
that this was not his first Judas act.
Y He reached the robe-couch, and bent over the sleeping

i girl.

‘_ She lay near Roy Funk, who tossed uneasily about, the vic-
tim of some terrible dream. _

7 .. It seemed impossible for Spagano to steal the girl, if theft
1, was his intention, without rousing her, but he proved himself

" equal to the emergency.

" Suddenly stooping, he clapped one braiwny hand over the
bright-red lips, while the other snatched their owner from the
ground, in the twinkling of an eye! I

, Then he sprung backward over the sleeping Night-Hawks;

1' but was brought to an abrupt stand by the sound of rushing

«- feet.

T.. He leaned forward and looked with an expression of satis-

i‘; faction, which was soon transformed into one of horror.
 For Colonel Q'Neill appeared, like a giant, in the'flickering

Extra-and the savage caught a glimpse of a phalanx of red- ‘

1 Ions in his rear. -

t \

 

women; on,

What would be done?

It was evident that Spagano was aiding parties other than
O'Neill and Royal Funk, and that he had mistaken a deadly

,footstep for a friendly one.

He looked into the Briton’s eyes a moment, and then
glanced at the sleeping outlaws.

The next instant he threw Huldah before his heart, and
sprung toward the forest, a wild yell pealing from his throa
as he executed the latter action.

The effect of spring and yell was electricall

Royal Funk and all his comrades, save Whalley and Zigler,
leaped to their feet, to be greeted with a volley from the Brit-
ish tnusltets.

It was a telling volley. Every Night-Hawk sunk back,‘
either killed or wounded. and Spagano, the girl-stealer, reeled
like a youthful drunkard.

Huldah Armstrong fell from his grasp, and the next mo-
ment Colonel O'Neill was at her side. As he stooped to lift
her up, the Wyandot darted to his feet and hurled him back
with the strength of a tiger. ‘

Soldiers sprung to their leader’s aid ; but ere they reached
the spot Spagano and the girl were gone!

The‘red-coats caught a glimpse of the Intlian’s dusky figure
as he disappeared, and started to pursue. For several min-
utes his footsteps guided them, and then those sounds Ceased.
Colonel O‘Neill was resolved that lIulduh Armstrong should
not escape him.

He had the fire fanned into a new existenco, and soon a
dozen torches flashed their lurid flames throughout. the forest.

The soldiers knew that it was poor policy to hunt a hidden
Indian with torches, but it was evident that Spagano wa

Idespet‘ately, ay, mortally, wounded, and had fallen some
where in the neighborhood. This conjecture, advanced by -
the colonel, was soon confirmed. . :

The Wya-ulott was found dead at the bottom of a {crest v '

. knoll; but lluldah Armstrong was still missing l” l “

“Blast the Indian!” hissed O'Neill, spurning the corpse

with his foot. “He’s past torture, curse ’imt But the girl ‘
,- ' r—We’ll flat. her yet. We must find her! A hundred, _
‘ .1   to t .d soldier who first. discovers her." \ "

 

  

m NIGHT-HAWKS O!" m FIRE-LAN“

    

ten
CHAPTER XII.

ROWING AND RUNNING FOR LIFE.

 
    
      
        
 
        
        
   
   
     
 

m SPAGANO bore Huldah Armstrong to the knoll where his
urength suddenly deserted him, and he sunk to the earth.
3r “ White girl go," he said, looking at Huldah, who stood
it: over him undecided how to act. “ Indian got to die hem t, ,
English bullet cut life-string. The red-coat soldier want
k V girl; he come here soon. Look, there burns his soldiers’ r
3d, fires. Quick, girll keep from him. Wolf-Cap in the wood; , '
i' he find you soon.” ’ 5
1. '3 “Wolf Cap,” cried IIuldah. “Was you working for
't ) him ?"
k ' The Indian nodded, unable to speak. t
“ Where is be 'r" '
d ~ A feeble red hand pointed to the south-east, and the In-
 dian fell back with a groan.
B The settler‘a daughter bent over him, but the red-man’s ‘

 
 

soul was pursuing the trail to his happy hunting-grounds, fat", \-
far away from the death-freighted wood. __
“ Dead—my only friend gone I" exclaimed the girl. “ What as
shall I do? Give myself to the Briton? No, no! a thou-
sand deaths in these forests are preferable to a life with
‘ him." _
t.“ The torches of the red-coated hunters flashe , in her face, ~. I ’5
and snatching up Spagano‘s rifle, she turned, and fled in the
direction lately indicated by the Indian's finger. . 4 
‘ The moon had reached the meridian now, and the faint
7': light which she showered through the trees, enabled lhe fly.
_  ing girl to pick her way without great difficulty. She was, a,"
  Confident that she was hurrying toward the Huron, and she jg
\ knew that by following the river-trail, she would eventually
'reach Fort Strong. 'l‘his hope nerved her to great endurr‘ ‘
ance, and at last, as the day was breaking, she saw the murky "
water rushing lakeward. ‘ , a , *
A thrill of joy shot through her heart, and lifting 

         
        
   
   
   
 

-

 
   
   
           

    
 

,r

 

I

worm-oar ; on, -,

to heaven, she thanked God for guiding her to the water, ‘ V
which was to her, at that hour, a synonym of safety.

She felt fatigued and threw herself upon the ground to
recruit her strength. She felt herself alone by the river, and
the birds performed their matutinal antics about her, perfectly
happy and unconeerned.

Lighter and lighter grew the forest, but Huldah Armstrong
‘Iaw it not. A desire to rest was to her but the precursor of
a doze, and she reclined on the river-bank with closed eyes
and half-shut hands.

Suddenly a boat rounded a bend a few yards above her
place of repose, and came rapidly toward her.

It was a small boat, and contained a man, who handled
the oars like one accustomed to their use. He was a white,
and wore the oft described garb of the settler; but a sword
lay at his side, and rifles and pistols. Ile glanced uneasily at
the banks, as he lit'pl his canoe in the middle of the stream,
and seemed eager to reach a certain objective point still far
away.

But all at once his gaze fell upon Huldah Armstrong,
plainly seen from the river, and a moment after the discovery,
he ran his canoe cautiously to the bank.

At first, after striking the Shore, he was inclined to believe
the maiden a decoy; but after a close scrutiny of the vicinity,
he became bolder and crept up the bank.

His large black eyes burned with a hateful triumph, not
unmixed with the baser passions, and his first care Was to re-
move the rifle from llnldah’s feeble grasp

Then, precisely as Spagano had done a few hours before,
he lifted her from the ground ; but held her at arms’ length
that he might enjoy her horror and surprise at finding herself
captive again.

Huldah opened her eyes with a spasmodic start, and the
bright. color of life deserted her cheeks.

“ Captain Strong, what does this mean? and how came
you here?" she cried, staring into his face, covered with a.
fiendish smile.

‘i I heated it, girl,” he answered; “ but I can’t tell all
 ‘now. We‘ll Continue my voyage, and when I get the craft ;

undufiay‘again, I'll tell a little story.”

 

   

 

' 11 V ‘
-. . . ~

In NIGHT-HAWKS 0’ m FIRE-LANDS.

   

 

  
  

 
 
    
           
         
       
   
   
   
   
      

,3 “ But whither are you going i”
‘9‘" 1 “ ’Tis very natural that you should put that question, sec,
. ing that I’m Captain Strong, and you Huldah Armstrong,’ ' 
5° ' he said, with a light chuckle. “ I’m going to Detroit, .I guess, ‘ '
1nd and you‘re going along.” ‘
“.7 “ r; “ No, not Is it possible, Captain Strong, that you posses; 
‘_ '3,» the inhumanity of the savage?” 7 r
“8’ .‘ “ It is, if you Would think so. But we're losing time
"f  here. I want to overtake the barges; they’re traveling , 
‘99 1 ' slowly, being heavily loaded, and .I guess we can come up 
, with them at the mouth of the Iluron.” *
i” ' With the lust word he started toward the river with his
 prize, and presently, with her lntnds fastened upon herback,
d v" the Settler’s child faced the captain in the craft.
92 .; “ Now, my girl, We‘re fairly under way,” he said, when.
d . they had proceeded some distance, “and I'll tell you the\
‘ promised story."
i “I should like to hear it, Captain Strong. I can not con-
? éeive how you escaped from the fort."

     

He smiled.

“Men relenl, sometimes," he answered. “ After the uban
donment of the siege, they plner d me on trial, out] I found
. ,. that it current had set in in my lawn: But many cried like
9-"- wolves for my deuth—zunong tlum, one Levi Armstrong.
But a Vote was taken, and a meager majority pronounced in
fttvorofi my exile. I swore new 1' to return to the “ tire-lnuds,"
and they murehed me. down to the river and rhoved me off
with every thing I called my (mu. l “as glad to get oil", for,
If it Iodn‘t been for you and your

 
     
   
   
   
   
   
    

" girl, I expected to die.
 father. I‘d have been with the king". HliziiL‘l'S now.”
, “ How did I prevent you '3" ilFiH'ti littitlult.
 “You told your father tl1~-.t you heard me whispering to”
 Sawyer at the gate, and the o‘d m.n iesotved to nab 
’ It then.” . ,
' “ Then, Captain Strong, you l(.‘ .lly ur- a ll'uiiOl‘ ?” said the,
girl, bitterly.
He hit his lip and looltetl (letter-rs at her before he spoke

again.

“ Well—yeS; but it is :1 hard name to bear.”
“ You poisoned the well."

      
     
     
   
   
   
   

    
  

Worm-car ; on,

  
     
   
   
   
   
   
     
     
      
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
   
   
   
   
   
       
   
     

“ Yes-but Matt Hunter stood by me on that."

“ You thought the men would surrender before being -,
burned alive ?” ‘ . ,

“ They would. Oh, we had our plans perfected, Huldah

 Armstrong. Your father arrested me in the nick of time.
If,‘ Twenty minutes more of freedom and I would have flung
wide the gates to the Indians.”

“And what reward was you to receive for your Arnold
trick 1’”

“ My life and yours 1” ‘

) “ I was to have been the price of a massacre ?”
5‘ ‘ “Yes. I'm talking plainly now,” he said. “The three
pistol-shots on the hill told me that O’Neill aCCepted the pro-
, positions which I sent him by the deserter Sawyer; but our
3 ' plans failed."

The girl did not reply; her eyes wandered from his ex-

pression of triumph, and she thought of her perilous situa-
‘ ticn.

Captain Armstrong hated her, and to humor his hate he ‘
would make her a hopeless captive. Mercy at his hands was
not to be thought of; he would shoot her down before he
would surrender her into other hands, and she upbraided her-
self for not allowing O'Neill to capture her in the forest. The
colonel, a monster though he was, possessed several good

5“ 'traits; Zebulon Strong, the traitor, could boast of none.

:fl , " You’re tryin’ to catch the British troops?" she said, after

 a long silence.

' I “ Yes."

' ‘ ;. t “ Then what ‘2” ,

,  “ Why, we'll go to Detroit, thence cast. I shall enter the

 A army, probably; but build no hopes on my words; they're .

9;". \ poor foundations, girl. You shall neVer leave me until the f‘ 5.

is... 'Hwhund of death falls heavily on one or both of us. I sWear it I

 hy all that is good and bad i It is the oath of Zebulon Strong, ' f; If

and he is a desperate man. There—girl, what do you see ?” t

A strange light had suddenly flashed in Huldah’s eyes, and

quickly the traitor turned his head and looked up the river”

i A boat containing three men was bearing down upon

 7“. bill l t

t ’ ..-  oath shot from his throat as he turned again

         
     
   

2r

 

   

  

 
   
 
    
 

    
 

THE NIGHT-HAWKS 03' m FIRE-LANDS.

   

, _  “By the eternal world! I‘ve seen then in time i” he said,"
‘. “and they might as well turn back, for they can’t catch Zeb
 Strong.”
3'; Relin‘quishing the oars for a moment, he dofi‘ed his cont
’ and the next minute the canoe was flying down the stream

_,"Tike an arrow. _

5" The figures in the pursuing boat were seen to spring to the
oars with new life, and the race soon became one of the most
exciting character. Captain Strong possessed the strength of

_‘ a giant in his iron frame, and his oars lashed the waves into

f. foam. as he drove the boat toward his goal, lake Erie, distant

 man; miles. .

 “ You needn’t pray for their success,” he cried, looking up

' ' into Huldah’s wishful, hopeful face, “ for they can’t catch uni.

. It‘s impassible. Your father gave me a. splendid boat with

 7 ours that can not break. By heavens! with this canoe I I

  
  
 
 
     
   
 
    
 
 

Could shoot the fury rapids of perdition. With these
sticks—”
I Snap went an oar!
' , A cry of horror rung from the captain’s throat, and he tried

 

to use the broken paddle, but without effect.

 The boat began to become unmanageable, and he tried to
:9, guide it ashore with the sound oar, swearing like a trooper
all the time.

“ Didn‘t I say that nothing but death could separate us 1’"
he asked, darting Iluldah a look of despair. “ I'm Zebulon
Strong—don‘t forget that. I’m a traitor, too, and a devil l"

The canoe struck the bank at last, and the captain looked
at his followers, now within rifle-shot. He saw three'weap-
ons leveled at his breast; but he was shielding it with the

 
 
   
   

‘ 'f girl, and they dared not shoot.

“ Drop the girl l" came a voice from the boat. ,1

Strong greeted it with a laugh.

“ I’m no fool !" he cried. “ l‘ni Zebulon Strong, I am. So
good-by, boys! we’ll meet again, mchbe,” and he Waived m.
hat at the occupants of the heat, then sprung into the forest.

A minute after his disappearance, the trio reached the mm
and sprung upon his trail.
linen and an Indian well known to the reader,” Silver Hand.
Already the traitor.st his prize had vanished among the in“. ,

   

They Were Wolf~Cap, Mark H“. ' .1 

 
 

84 wow—car; on,

and his trail led toward the spot where Colonel O’Neill had *5 "

lately surprised the N ight-Hawks’ camp. .
Undoubtedly the captain knew but little of the intricacies , "

of the wood he was treading; perhaps he was bewildered, 
for he was running from Detroit, having turned his back upon it Q; '

the walls surmounted by the British flag. ,
The trio were confident of catching him, for the trail was x
plain, and certain signs told them that he was giving out.

“ He’ll never turn traitor again if we catch ’im,” said Wolf- 

Cap, with determination.

“ Never, Wolf-Cap,” echoed young Harmon.

Three seconds later the crack of a distant rifle fell upon
the pursuers’ ears.
' They did not pause; but exchanged meaning looks, and'
quickened their gait. 
The drama that followed the surprise of the Night-Hawks’
camp was enacted over again.

Wolf-Cap and his followers at last came up with Zebulon
Strong. '

But the captain lay full length on the ground, with a bel-
let in his brain 1

Sooner than he had expected, death had separated him
and his captive.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE LAST NIGHT-HAWK.

TIRED and disheartened in his search for our heroine, Uni-v
onel Argent O'Neill rejoined his soldiers in the Night-Hawk's
camp an hour or so before day.

He found Royal Funk but slightly wounded, and, with
Whalley and Zigler, the two guards drugged by Spagano,
closely watched by the troops. Funk looked daggers at the
officers as he approached and a smile of satisfaction stole
over his hronzed face when he noted that Huldah had as

4‘ So: youspoke truly when you prophesied that we would \

 

   
 
 
  
  
   
 
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
   
    
  
  
  
 

THE NIGHT-HAWKS OF THE FIRE-LANDS. 85

 

“‘5  "mm again,” exclaimed the colonel, halting before the outlaw

’ :’ With drawn sword. “Fire and furiesl I’m rejoiced that we

"a! x have met, and fortune has given me the best. hand, as you
ed' ,  see. It’s a hand of trumps, too."
on ‘5 :— “ But, colonel, where’s the girl ?”

' 4' The words Were quietly but tauntingly spoken, and the
as  smile grew broader on the Night-Hawk’s face while his lips

I _ - moved.
1- -  " O’Neill did not reply, but allowed his face to become livid
‘43:; With smothered anger. V
#5- ' “Yes, colonel, where is the girl ‘2" he asked, again. “If
n ‘5” you hold such a superb hand, why didn’t you capture my
:9 ‘ “H

queen “ith one of your trumps:

 

I  1 “Because your knave—that infernal Indian—baffled me,"
,  «said O’Neill, apparently a little calmer.
‘ ‘ "Ah, then, he‘ll keep the prize.”
“No, we found him dead in the woods; but the girl was
-_ gone i”
t. A flash of lmpe lighted up the renegade‘s eyes.

“ You should find her, then.”

“ Alas! I have no good trailer with me."

“ I could track her."

 “ But you won’t l” retorted the colonel. “ Roy Funk, I’m

" I; ‘ not going to set you free and trust to your guidance. Colonel

‘ Argent O’Neill is not a condemned fool 1 But you’ll be free

,, directly—free forever,” and the old malignant look came

fix back to the red-coat’s eyes. “ We’re going to leave

‘ i this place. Curse the winding paths of this American
wood! No such forests in England; that is God’s
land; this the devil’s. Our guide got. bewildered, else we

‘ Would have been here long ago, and we would have had the

 

girl, too."
“ She will never be yours now, sir.”
“ Never! how do you know that ’3” _ ‘7
“ I need not explain. Suffice it to say, Colonel O‘Neill, ,
that she will never in this world become your property.” ‘
“ Will she ever hecmne yours?" asked the soldier, with a
devilish leer, as he leaned forward. .
“ That remains to be seen,” was the outlaw’s calm reply.
“What! do you plot in the very jaws of death I" ‘criod

 
   
   
   
   
   
     
   

   
    
  
 
    
  
 
    
  
  
     
   
   

86 WOLF-CAP ; on,

  

O’Neill, springing hack. “Fire and furicsl I’ll Settle that, »
question before the break of day. Boys, are your maskets " r
loaded ?" ‘ ‘

A tall sergeant answered in the affirmative.

“I'm going to exterminate the Night-Hawks of the fire-
lands," continued the angry colonel, turning to Funk again.‘
“As you are their leader, you should be the last survivor.
Kings often witness the destruction of their kingdoms.
Ready to die, I suppose, Roy Funk ?” f

“ Ready 1" was the firm response.

“ What would you do did I stand in your shoes and you

y

1

rr-r

I in mine?" w
“I’d shoot you down like a dog l" ,. :

“But I’m more merciful. l’m going to grant you a 501- 

dier’s death, for you have fought for the flag of our king.” E.

 

Their. six soldiers Were selected as executioners, and Whal-
lcy and Zigler were placed side hy side, fifteen paces from
the muzzles of the leveled muskets. Royal Funk was taken
aside and closely guarded on a spot from whence he could
witness the death of the last of his hand.

He spoke to the doomed men and bade them die game,
which they promised to do.

\Vhalley and Zigler were brave men. They had faced
death in the covert, before stern vigilance Committees, and
the field of battle, and they were not the persons to become
frightened at the monster’s hideous visage now.

Colonel O’Neill conducted the execution. He gave the
command of death in a stern tone, Chal'at'tt‘l‘isiie of the dis-
ciplined soldier that he was, and the leaden Volley stretched

, the Night-Hawks dead upon the leaves.

‘ “ W'ell done, \Vas it not?" he said, turning to Funk who
had witnessed the murder without an outward sign of emo-
 tion. “My men shoot well.” v ,
. “ Quite well,” was the reply, and as the outlaw‘s glance ‘ "
\ fell upon the still forms on the ground, for the first timers L
tear of affection stole to his eye. . 
“Braver men than they never lived,” he murmured; and '7 w

  then, in a lower tone: “I am the last." ’
 He was now led forward, and halted between the corpus
n! 11],: mt”;  followers.

 

 

         
       
         
       
         
     
     

THE NIGHT-HAWKS on Tim Film-LANDS. I [‘87
I
.3 1 ‘I secord you a liberty,” said O‘Neill, admiring, despite
his hate, the unflinching Courage of the man with whom he
,.  Was dealing. “ Raynor, untie his hands.”
The soldier addressed drew a knife and obeyed the com-
mand.
 Funk’s hands crept around to his side, and seemed to hang
A I listlessly there.
5 “Royal Funk, would you see the deadly flash ?" asked
 ,‘ ‘O’Neill. ‘ ‘
‘ “I am a soldier, I would die as one!" was the reply.
_ The Colonel drew a large handkerchief, and tossed it to a
Soldier saying:
“Blindfold him, then. As a soldier, shall the outlaw die,”
_ ‘3 1 he said, sarcastically.
‘ 4; Two soldiers, one bearing a musket, now stepped forward
3" to blindfold the Night-Hawk’s black eyes. One stepped he-
 ?1131iind him and was in the act of drawing the kerchief into
5' .position, when Funk’s hands left his side. They shot up-
" , Ward like rockets, and the soldier who stood before him with
bayoneted gun was hurled backward, like the covering of an
exploding rocket. His musket was wrenched from his hand
at the same moment, and the blindfolder was brained with
the stock before anybody could realize the terrible state of
affairs.
Roy Funk was free, with a musket in his hand-i _
Like a tiger he leaped upon Colonel O’Neill, who retreated ‘
 a step, and threw up his sword to ward oil“ the glistening
‘ V bayonet. ’
But as well he might have tried to stop the descent of an
avalanche with a straw.
, The bayonet came down upon his breast with giant force,,
nd the next instant he staggered back with the shining stem
buried among his Vitals! 
“There, take that, colonel," cried Royal Funk, as he sent
the bayonet home, and then he hurled to the earth the (in)!
'soldier who had presence of mind enough to attempt to im-
‘ pode his further progress. V
Y, “Hurrah! Roy Funk is free again,l Another hamlet
naught-Hawks shall gather at his call, and woe to that 
who crosses his path then." x n j'» {3- 

 

88 ‘ WOLF-CAP ; on,

He turned on his heel with the last word, and darted;
away. '
The soldiers regained their equilibrium as he disappeared,

and a. volley that hurtled harmlessly among the branches was ' 

sent after him. ‘ f
“ Free! free to hate the English, as I hate the Americans,”
he man-mu: .1  he bounded through the forest. “ They’
haw Liliett my Night-Hawks, and by heaven! from this hour
I never spare an English life. Now for the lake shore,
where I gathered the brave fellows who sleep beneath Britiéh
guns. There I‘ll find others as braVe, perhaps, as they, and . .
We’ll hunt O’Neill’s detachment down like the Indian hunts

the tslayet's of his Wigwam pets. O‘Neill—I’ve settled him]
Forever I’ve canceled accounts with that liveried dog. But 
the girl Huldah Armstrong? Shall I give her up, now that
1' am free 9” _ . ,
IIc paused suddenly and seemed inclined to retrace his steps.‘  j
He was running in a north-easterly direction, his objective 
point the lake, and he knew—he had gleaned from O‘Neill’s '

Words—that Spangano had fled with the settler’s daughter ~ i

in an opposite direction. _ . 
The outlaw was tempted to go back, and hunt for the prize 1 "
that had been his.

He had run a great distance, and daylight was chasing I I

night from the forest of the Huron. .

It was extremely hazardous for him to go back now. The .1
British troops were between him and the missing girl, and no i
doubt they would trail him to the death for the murder of ~;
their Colonel. Perhaps, while he stood undecided how to ’
act, they were on his truck. '

“ I can return with my new men,” he said, suddenly, “and ‘
then I can snatch IIuldah from my enemies. It’s getting too ._
light for the to go back. I’ll not risk my life for a girl,
now.” 1',

He started forward again as he spoke the last word, but r
his rapid gait had dwindled into the well-known dog-trot of ‘T
the Indian, and his whiter associate, the renegade. ,

His eagle eye took in every thing as he pushed forward, ‘-
‘ and all at once it flashed with a new light, and he halted 

sprung behind a tree. ‘ “

 

m xrenr-nawxs or run Fran-mm. fit)

2 :Some dark figure was approaching in the gray damn; it

3" Was coming directly toward him. That it was a man he at
‘.,»9nce conceived, and the swaying of the body proclaimed him

" '43 white. If Indians were pursuing the man, the outlaw was

s  fe; he could meet them boldly; but if white was chasing

?  Jihite, he had best remain concealed. He kept his eye on the

; E‘Tunner until he almost started from the tree with excitement,

 an oath escaped his lips.

_ ‘ The fugitive was Captain Strong, and he bore Huldah

I  Armstrong in his arms!

‘  “ 1n the name of heaven, how did he get the girl ‘P—and

.9 g-Tlfhow did he escape the vengeance of the settlers ‘8” exclaimed

2 f, Ihe Night-Hawk, looking at the sight that greeted his eyes.

;  '1‘ But fate is aiding me, and I’ll make something of this golden
.' Opportunity."

 For several moments after the discovery of his identity,
  Zebulon Strong, flying from Wolf-Cap and his friends, as the
L ‘-' reader already knows, continued to run directly toward Funk,
’_ I; but suddenly he veered toward the right.

A ’j, ‘ Had he caught a glimpse of his new fee? The outlaw
:  was inclined to believe thus, and cooked his musket with an
 *~' Oath.

'  “ I’ve shot deer with muskets," he said, audibly, “ and as a
I .7- running shot, I’Ve been celebrated. Can I hit a man’s head
;  at forty yards? Well. if I can’t, then my name isn’t Royal
 :1 'Funk 1" a

, . Talking thus to himself, the outlaw raised the weapon, and

glanced over the glittering barrel at his rival, who ran on, un-
' conscious of the new fee.

For a moment Funk sighted the moving figure, and then a‘

jet of flame leaped from the bore of the gun. ‘

. Captain Strong stopped suddenly in his tracks, and, with

‘ the Cry of "A dead shot I” the murderer bounded from the
We and ran toWard him.

‘ But the traitor suddenly attempted to continue his flight.

'38 ran forward a few steps, then reeled, and fell deadl

Huldah, released, started back and gazed bewildered upon v

‘he corpse. Her unexpected delivery had stunned her senses,

1' she did not move nor take her eyes from the dead until I

nd encircled her arm. '

 

wont-car ; on,

Then she started violently, and recognized her new captor
with a shriek. ' ’
“Mine again, and forever, girl i" cried the outlaw, as he j

jerked her from the ground, and then he asked, quickly,l '

.

“ Who chased you ?” I
“ You shall see presently,” she cried, casting a quick, wish- ‘ "
ful look toward the river. 
“Not Indians, as I know,” said Funk, reading the languaue ._
of her eyes. “ Well, we’ll outwit ’em, Huldah, whoever thet' ;
be. Roy Funk is alone in the world now. His boys are all ., :
dead, and he wants somebody to cheer his heart.” ,
He spoke the'last words while he was running, with our ' '

heroine in his arms, in a northerly direction, and at no insig- sit“

nificant pace. 

“If 1 know these Woods, we‘re not far from a place of I .
safety. Whoever hunts you shall never take you back to the _, :'
old stamping-ground. IIuldah Armstrong, you will not be- ‘

lieve me, perhaps, when I say I love you. I do, earnestly, .
truly, and with a pure love. You could make a man of
Royal Funk, if you would. Your obstinacy, coupled with
your pretty face, has caused me to act as I have. If the stars‘

love their Creator and the dove his burnished sweetheart, I , '

love you. Your lovers are out of the way, now—all save
Royal Funk, I mean. Will you not wean him from his wild
life by loving him ? Will you not be the making of a
man 3” Y

He looked down into the girl‘s eyes, as he spoke, with genu- '
iue earnestness, and for a moment his footsteps were the only
noise- makers in the great forest.

Then she answered him :

“ Royal Funk, do not seek my love. It can never be y' ‘

yours.”

He sighed :

“ Then I must do that which I would not. You shall be
my wife. Death alone shall separate as l”

Huldah started. Captain Strong had uttered the cam
Wordst ~

 

CHAPTER XIV.
wow‘s DEN.

\ 'Tm reader will recollect that Wolf-Cup dismissed his in
‘ , «titan anies, Silver Hand and Golden Cheek, beneath the pull
‘ aides of Fort Strong, a few moments prior to his appearance
. 346111ng the runks of the besieged. '
.  5The red twain sought the cumpof the foe, and in time wit-
‘l ‘j'nessed the triumph of Roan Funk, us already related. SiIVer
 Hand, the shrewder of the two, saw that Colonel O‘Neill
would not relinquish the contest for llllltlttll Armstrong’s per-
’ _§ fact: without another struggle, and so he watched that red-
. .T'r'comed worthy narrowly. lie therefore sent his Confederate
' ‘3 down the river to intercept the Niglit-lluwk,u11d to warn him
of the ambush.
, I ,Golden Cheek undertook the mission cheerfully, while Sil-
 gver Hand hastened to secure the assistance of WolfrCap, in
' :5 order to snatch Huldnh from her outlaWed lover's powur, and
,-  u, put ‘an end to the maraudiug band.
Ex Spagnno, the Indian, who turned Roy Funk from the am-~
‘ 2": bush, and afterward stole Huhhth from his camp and Wes shot
. ~lby O'Neill‘s then, its the reader hns already seen,‘\\'us none
- other than Golden Cheek. He had mistaken the British foot-
:3me for those of his friends, and he hnd thought to steal the
7311-] on their approach, that they might poura destructive vol-
:1” among the sleepers. . '
' But he failed, and fell in the wood,hke muny of his unsea-
- .tors had fallen before him.
 finger Hand was more successful. He found Wolf-Cap and
Ter Harinon after trailing them some distance, and hastened
flown the river. They were surprised when they beheld er
‘ bulon Strong hearing Huldah krmstrong down the self-same
“team, and the pursuit which they inaugurated in bright an-
ticipation; ended over the captain's corpse.
“ Tm; beau me,” said WolLCap, who dropped on his kneel
:  the dead frontiersman. "I can’t see through it all.

 

wow-car ; on,

Here lies the man we’ve been chasing, an’ thar’s a British bul-
let in his brain. Now the question is: who shot ’im? It
war no Indian, for the red-skins don’t take to muskets;
shoot rifles, and I'm sure that Funk isn’t. in these parts.
shoots a rifle with the smallest bore you ever saw. What:
have you discovered, chief ?” '

The Indian addressed was approaching, with the glow of
discovery on his face. >

“ White man shoot traitor and run off with girl.”

VVolf—Cap rose to his feet.

“ A white man, you say, chief ?”

“ Yes, pale-face."

“ Show me the signs l”

Silver-[land strode forward, and pointed to a faint trail,
leading in a north-easterly direction. Wolf-Cap examined the
“ sign” a minute, and then looked up into his companion’s
eyes.

“Well, he’s got the girl ag‘in,” he said.

“ IIe—who ?” cried Harmon.

“Roy Funk 1”

“ He would not be alone in these parts and running to- ,
Ward the IIuron’s mouth. Golden Cheek was to have guided:
him to Beaver River.” v,

“ Don’t I know his foot-track ‘3” queried the trapper. L ‘
“ Haven’t I seen it too often to be deceived? I rather guess ;
I have. Come, boys, while IIuldah is in Royal Funk’s power"
it is a sin to rest. I‘ve an idea where he intends stopping a J
while; but. I hope he will go further on—I do, indeed.”

The Night-Hawk‘s trail told the trio that he was hurrying ,
through the woods at no insignifiCant speed, but they did not-:'
follow in a gait equal to his own. ' "

Before leaving Zebulon Strong, \Volf—Cap had covered him“
with orush, and all alone the traitor slept the everlasting sleep 
of the dead. IIuldah Armstrong seemed a fatal prize. She}?
had brought death to the door of more than one heart. Spa: j
gano—brave Golden Cheek—Zebulon Strong, Colonel O'Neill: *-
and the Night-Hawks had already fallen for her, and per. :v
haps others yet might die for the beautiful prize. 

The trio pursued the trail an hour in silence, and Mark

Hermon was the first. to speak. ' ‘ _ " 

 

m NIGHT-HAWKS 01'I THE FIRE-LANDI.

‘I‘ Wolf-Gap,” he said, in a low tone, glancing at Silver
find, who was walking along, with his head on his breast,
, his dark eyes on the faint trail, “I've been thinking abou
tome words that puzzle me.” .
Card Belt slowly lifted his eyes to the youth.
-“ War it some words that I left drop ‘2” he inquired.
'No."
“ Did Silver Hand shoot ’em out ?”
“ No; they fell from Armstrong’s lips last night, in thc'
ort.”
“ Well, what did old Levi say?”
a “I was standing at the third port-hole looking toward the
’hill, and all at once I heard a voice at my elbow. It said:
‘ If she was mine I could not low: her more. God pity me
nd let me live to make amends.’ I turned quickly, for there
*Was a depth of agony in the Speaker's tone, and I beheld Levi

 Armstrong movingr from the port-hole at my left."

I I Wolf-Cap’s face was ghastly in its coloring, when the youth
100ked into it again, and a white hand griped his arm.

“Are you sure it was old Levi 1’” stammered the trapper.

“I am, for I spoke to him a second later,” answered the
young man eonfi‘lently. “ I heard the words plainly, and you
know all that he said.” '

Wolf-Cap suddenly stopped in his tracks, and drew the
.Whole attention of his companions upon him.

1:: “ I begin to see light now, and I curse mysslf for being so

blind until this moment,” he said. “Let me tell you.”

i “VVolf-Uap speak after while,” said Silvrr lland. “We
' a trail now and this no time for long talks. Pale Night.
Hawk fly to the big water with snow-bird, and he must be
(might before he sees the green waves." «

“ Heaven is helping me,” said Belt, impressively. “I feel
that the end of this terrible wood drama is near at hand. I a
, ill tell my story here, and now! Silver lland,you may

34.10811 against that tree, or trail the Night-Hawk. I care not

{Which you do.”

I ‘ "l‘he impatient Indian bit his, lip, and leaned against the I

 gsigna‘ted tree. -

" ; “Twenty years ago," said Belt, looking at Harmon, “I

5.. ed beside the Mystic, in Connecticut. Not. alone did I in» 

 

wow-car ; on,

. habit the little cabin, where now the stranger dwells. A
wife kissed me then, and a babe Was soon to cheer on:
childless home with its sunny smiles. How I waited for the
new joy; but alas t" and a cloud leaped to the trapper’s brow,‘
“ alas! the devil came to our home. One night I returned
from Saybrook and found an empty cabin on the Myst-id~
My wife—my Bessie—was gone i" ' e
' Belt paused, and, with face buried in his broad hands, be"
swayed to and fro like a storm-cursed tree.

“ Mark Harmon,” he cried, suddenly removing his hands,
“ God alone knows how I loved her. She never knew her-
self, for humanity could not fathom my devotion and love. I
sunk to my floor on the fearful diSCovery, and in the morning,
a neighbor found me, but little less than a madman. Then"
my eyes were opened. I found several letters in the old house
addressed to Bessie. They were signed “Ralph” and " Mor-
ton.” I put the two words together and had a name—“ Ralph:
Morton.” For the owner of that name I hunted for eighteen
years, almost; but I found no traces of him nor my wife;
When I ceased to hunt, I had given her up for dead. I lovu .
Huldah, because she looks like Bessie did twenty years agm;
“Now I do see light. I feel that Levi Armstrong is
Ralph Morton. God keep me alive till I can tell him so.”
“What Would you do with him ‘3" Ventured tlt’e young—v
borderman. , .
“What would you do, young man, with the devil who i

should snatch heavenly happiness from your heart?” said the v

trapper slowly. ‘
“I would hunt him down and kill him i” '

_ “ That’sjust what i am going to do,” returned Wolf-Cap 

through closed lips. “ Some men might forgive such a wrong '1
‘ |, as mine, but I—uever ! Now for her, Mark lIarmon, chief,”'<

‘and the trapper started fox-Ward. “ 0h Heaven! do not dc- ‘
'ceive me at this day—oh do not raise my hopes to dash them“
down into darkness, for lIuldah must be my child, or I die I". '*

The Wyaudot was eager to resume the trail, and led theyf

’van with a quick step For several miles it remained plain»:

bad then it was lost in the waters of a narrow creek. ‘ 
'“I am not surprised,” said Wolf-Gap. “ He is breaking 
10!: the very. place where I don‘t mat to find 'im." ‘ x

 

  
     
 

rm: NIGHT-HAWKS tor 'rrm FIRE-LANDS. , 95 

“ Why does he not Continue his flight?"

“ Because his captive is tired. In Wolf‘s Den he will rest ,
‘ ‘til she recruits her strength.” , C
' “ In Wolf‘s Den 1'” echoed Harmon. “I have heard of the

lace" ‘ 
,  “ I should reckon you bad, boy. Everybody in these parts
Illa: heard of it, and I’ve been thar. Why, thar are n then-
iqnd caves in one, and dark halls lead—perhaps to the iron
 ates of hell. Men have entered the“ den " never to return.
,Tffitrttnge winds blow torches out, and there are bats in the

  
 

  
 
 
 

  
    
   

    
 
 

  
 
   

    
 

  

ls, darkness as big as a Coon. I have believed the Night-Hawk:
:r- Used it for their heud-qunrters, before they descendtd upon ,

  
 

     

I the ‘ fire-lands ’." \ I, _
g, is “Then he is acquainted with its terrors.” 
1n" '1') “ Probably. But \ve'tl follow him to the greatest. of them

  
  

: ,1? ill—death.” . r -'
i V The trio waded down the creek whose banks were masses “ 
Let solid rock, which ofttimes toWered to a hight of n hun- "
g pdred feet above the water. The gray stone was covered with
4- {A loathsome species of the dark green creeper, nnd the re-
..;;Pttlsive hcztd of tnnny n glittering lizard protruded from the
¢xflsstires. ‘-
‘4, “ This is Satan’s land,” said VVolf-Cnp, looking up at the ;" 
{'1 Spectacle just described, “ and presently we‘ll enter his cave.” ‘ ,v '
‘r A few steps brought them to a great fissure, that extended ' '
 from the top of the clitl‘ to the water’s edge, end into which ‘ . I
.n" It man could edge his way. i I \. 
V “ Well, here we are," rem-irked the trapper, stooping t0 61-. 
amine the foot of the crack. “It looks like the cave of’ ’  "
,‘denth, but," looking up suddenly, “it is inhabited.” '
g. “ What l" cried Harmon, springing to his side, “ has he eu-
ered here ‘3"
“ Yes, the ground tells me so i" ,
At lust the end of the Night-Hawk's truil lmd been

      
         
     

       
   
         
   
     
   
   
   

  

“I’ve been here More, and I‘ll lead the Way,” continued
AJW’olf-Cap, stepping forward. ‘ '
' ‘ “ No, silverJIand go ’head," cried the Wyundot, suddenly,' f, 

, lid his right. hand poshcd the trapper aside. ‘f Wyandot- ' _'t.
know more 'hout cave than palcefaces think. ' 

(

  
 

  
     

  

90 won! on ; on,

The next instant the Indian sprung into the fissure, and
darkness, damp and impenetrable, swooped down upon the
adventurers.

It. at once became evident to the whites that their guide
knew much about the interior structure of the cave, for he
pushed forward in the darkness, seemingly with a well-known
destination in view.

‘ But suddenly something struck the wall above the trios’
heads, and then fell heavily to the ground.

Silver Hand stooped and ran his hand over the stouy floor
until it grasped a warm object, with gigantic wings un-
spread.

“ A winged rat,” he said in a low voice, touching his cum-
panions‘ hands with his prize. “It fell from—"

He paused suddenly, for other huge bats were striking the
walls and falling at their feet.

“By heavens! does it rain bats here ‘8” exclaimed Wolf-
Cap, as Silver Hand griped his arm.

“Somebody in the lodges of the winged rats," he said.
“ He knock ’em down here.”

“They must. come from the hat-chamber. I’ve heard of
it,” said the trapper, quickly. “He is fighting’em there;
but how can we reach it?"

“Come,” said the VVandot, with eagerness. “ Silver
Hand fight the flying rats there once himself. He find the
place soon.”

Then they started forward,just as another quartctte of
dead bats fell from the mysterious gloom ahcve. .

Somebody was fighting the winged mammals above the
three. for. as they advanced, they could hear his sturdy blows.

 

 
 

m NIGHT-HAWK! 0" m FIRE-MIDI.

  
    
 

CHAPTER XV.

RETRIBUTION.

  
      

Ln'r us return to the Night-Hawk and his prisoner. ,
1 _ To the former some of the events of Wolf Den was no.
it unknown. Wolf-Cap had spoken truly when he told his
 companions that the cave had once served as the rendezvous
‘ of the outlaws, and as such a place, their leader should be
, ivvittCQuainted with its intricacies. .
'  He saw that his captive needed rest, and Wolf Den naturally “
suggested itself. Therefore, he made it his objective point
-- f‘ after shooting Captain Strong, and intended to hide among

fits dark chambers until Huldah had fully recruited her
 trcngth. ’

Q ' We’ll go up to the bat-chamber, girl,” he said, after enter-
, 5 lug the mouth of the den. “It is rather a gloomy place;

{shut the only one where we can catch a breath of fresh air.”
‘3 So he lifted her from the ground and clambered up the
. 3‘. great broken rocks that. obstructed the natural stairway. _
2, Up, up, still up he bore the girl, and at last paused with a . _ i
 long-fetched sigh of relief and satisfaction. He had reached ‘
‘  the top of the stair. ’ n .
V Funk here lowered the girl, and constructed a torch from t '
a sleeve of his hunting-frock. . 1
- a “ This cave used to swarm with bats,” he said, leading ‘
g  Huldah toward a dark portal of elephantinc proportions. _
. 4‘“ But we drove them out, and used it for head-quarters. . 
. 3; Yes, this is the place, here are the stones on which. we sat, '
’ and the giant night-hawk, which Sam Cole drew on the wall,
still remains. Now, girl— What! a hat ?”
V. Ilis exclamation was caused by the flapping of unseen ’ (
 wings, and then a black object shotithrough the torchlight,ao-  '
'1 companied by a demoniacal chatter ng. 

It/was a bat, and a. great one, too.

. “I thought they would never return after the smoking we ‘
:31 éme them,” he continued, as a down of that hideous baits

 

 
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
         
     
   
       
    

\

 
     
   
      

.

    
       
     
   

wens-car ; on,

darted from the wall to which they had, been clinging;
“ But I’ll tight and drive them out now, for we must take
this chamber. Here, and here only, do we breathe fresh air.
'It comes from the forest above us; the atmosphere in the
other chambers is noxious.” ,

He thrust the torch into Huldah’s hands, and dofi‘ed his
coat. Then, catching it at the neck, he braced himself, and

truck boldly at the hideous, chattering, screeching bats.

The walls of the chamber, which were black upon the

Couple’s entrance, were now gray, for they had been literally

covered with the somber mammals, which now flew about in '

every direction.

More than one great horned owl added to the terror of
the combat, and the monster wings brushed the cheeks of
our heroine, who held the torch above her head that the
Night-Hawk might see what he was doing. .

The heavy coat did good service. It knocked the hats to
the right and left, and dashed many to the feet of other
characters of our story, as the reader has seen. I >

“ We're whipping the demons, IIuldah !” exclaimed R0
Funk, triumphantly, glancing at the girl. “ Already they are
retreating to other fastnvsses. Aha! they know Roy Funk!
they’ve met him before i” ' v

He stood like a giant in” the center of the cave, whirling

the curious weapon about his head, and dashing his enemies .. '

to the stones. His arm never grew weary, nor did his hlows "
Weaken. But all at once he started back, and, dropping the
coat, picked up the musket, that lay at his feet.

His face was turned toward the entrance to the cave, upon
which the firelight fell, and his eyes were riveted upon three.
figures standing there.

They were Wolf-Cap, Mark llarmon, and Silver Hand.
The outlaw saw this in an instant.

'I‘o recover the musket was the work of a Second, and
quickly whirling upon lluldah, he snatched the torch from,
her hand, and' threw it above his head for the purpose of
sending it after the bats he had hurled to the dark corridors
below. In darkness he might hope to escape his new ene-

mics, who, alas for his plans, had been, for once, too quick for

 

  

\ t
‘-

TKI NIGHT'HAWKS OF THE FIRE-LANDS.

   

 
  

\- The Indian darted forward like it rocks: as the flaring stick
phat aloft, and his hand closed on the outlaw’s arm. But
Funk/ wrenched his arm from the gripe, and struck his
foe across the face with the fiery Weapon. He renewed his
, blow, under which the Wyandot staggered, hut recovered in
 a second and hurled him back. With the desperation befit-
Auiug his situation, Roy Funk struggled inanfully, but Silver
.. land held him down, while Wolf-Cap secured his limbs with
 ‘.mpcs or cords.
’ . “ Well, boys, you’ve caught me at last," he said, looking
up into the faces of his white hunters.
 but!" for these infernal hats, Roy Funk would have triumphed
V at last. I (lid my best to outwit you, and if I was free I
iwould do it again. Now, what are you going to do with the
s r outlaw ?"
3i} Wolf-Cap and the young borderman held a conversation in
.. low tones.
‘ “ “7c are going to take you back to Fort Strong," said
v'__ Bolt, at length lookingr at tho outlaw. “ 'I‘hc settlers shall
‘ ' .judge you according to your dccds. I had intended killing
_' you with my own hands, Roy Funk, but you how: wronged
 others more than you have wronged me. Where are your
5 "It'll ‘3"
 In a few Words the outlaw narrated the attack on his
 camp by Colonel O‘Neill, and the destruction of the Nightn
‘ Hawks.
“ So you‘re the last of ’cm 1” said Wolf-Cap.
“I an) the last.”
“ Do you want to go to Fort Strong?"
“ I Care not whither you take me. But if I have to do.
'1 .N, Curd Belt, I would reveal a secret before we quit this
t. ton."
‘ ‘ “ Wal, drive ahead then, for we must get out o’ thir hole
- in a few minutes.
r “ There was a time when the great pursuit of my iifd‘wu

  

  

  

\'

a; - my eagerness became catching, for my men contracted it. We
:7 unused Wealth in Canada and stored it. in this very can)», It
 nothing to me now.
3f [bu what now is yonn." . ,

r, "l"

   

" But if it hadn’t?

"the getting of gold,” said the outlaw. “ I was successful and‘

I will lead you to the spot, and show

    
    
 
 

 
      
  
 

      
       
   
       
       
       
    
   
   
   
         
       
   
       
     
     
   
      

  

    

v

1‘00 ‘ ‘ wow-car; on,

Wolf-Cap and Harmon exchanged glances, .while Silver.
Hand looked on in stem silence. '
“ Well, show us your gold 1” said the trapper.

“ Yonder door leads to it,” replied Funk, looking over his 
right shoulder at a hole in the wall. “ Light the way, some- 
body.” ’ "

Wolf-Cap started forward with the torch. , ~.

Silver Hand led the outlaw after the trapper, and Mark, 
Harmon walked beside Huldah. i , f;

The dark portal led to another cave smaller than the bat- ‘ 
chamber, but as gloomy. A strange smile toyed with the. 
outlaw’s lips, as he walked forward, and there was a lurk— ' '
ing triumph in his tone when he Commanded the party to
halt.

“ Now, Roy Funk, where’s your gold ?" . _

“ Beneath this bowlder,” answered the Night-Hawk, Btrik- 
ing a huge rock with his foot. . ’ 

“It can not be moved,” said Harmon.

Royal Funk laughed.

“Who said it must be moved ?” he asked. “ If you can
trust me, undo my hands a moment, and I will show you the
results of ten years’ toiling for gold.”

Wolf-Cap drew his knife, but Silver Hand shook his head.

“Outlaw lie,’_’ he said. > 5. I

“The Indian does not like me,” said Funk. “I, and I 
alone, can reveal the hidden gold, and when I have shown .fi. 3‘
you it we may talk about a ransom if you will entertain such - i .
a subject." . I
‘ “ We will not, let me tell you this now. All the gold in 1 "
the world could not buy your freedom,” was Harmon’s reply.

-“ But we will see your riches. Now, mind you, Roy Funk, >
not a sign of treachery here. This pistol is ready to speak, 5
to play the man, if life is of any value to you.” A

" If I betray your trust, shoot me,” the Night-Hawk said. . 

The next moment Wolf-Cap severed his bonds, and he  '

, stooped by the stone and ran his hand beneath. ,7 
For a minute he fumbled there, glancing up at the quar-  '
tette above. .3, ~
“I touch the box now,” he said, at length, “and hue... =
it ill” \  "

 

 

 

m NIGHT-HAWKS or m mic-mos. ,. 101

, As he uttered the last word his hand shot from beneath the
none, and threw a cloud of dust into the watchers’ eyes.
‘ They started back ; the outlaw sprung forward! He
caught IIuldah Armstrong from the ground, and darted to-
‘Ward a precipice, dimly revealed by the torch. '
“Fiend l" rung from Mark Harmon’s lips, as he leaped af-
7  ter the outlaw, his eyes half-blinded by the cunning trick.
  . He saw the Night-Hawk on the edge of the cave-clifi', and
- (Chis hand shot forward to save the woman he loved.
' " IIis fingers closed on her arm, and with all his strength he
'Jerked her toward him. IIalf over the precipice, the outlaw
" flcould not struggle, and the young frontiersman tore Huldah
'  from his grip and started back.
“ Then a despairing shriek welled from Roy Funk’s pale
“lips, and clutching wildly at air he fell headlong into the
darkness below i

“ We’ll look down on the old fort from yonder hill,” said
Wolf-Cap, on the evening following the scenes just related.
“ Then, Holdall, you’ll find a father; then—” he turned sud-

"denly from the girl, and finished the sentence under his

' brealh— “then, I’ll take vengeance for the wrongs of the
past. Levi Armstrong—no, Ralph Morton rather, you shall
tell me what became of Bessie.”

A few steps brought them to the summit of the hill desig-
nated by the trapper; but alas! Fort Strong did not greet
their vision. A confused heap of embers proclaimed where

 «it had onco stood l
I w The spectators stared blankly into each other‘s faces, una-
‘iflile to speak.
' Suddenly Wolf-Cap started forward without a word, ant”.
; be others followed.
I Everywhere among the ruins the victims of savage atrocity_
.' ICalpt-d and tomahawked, were to be seen. .
3' “ They’re all dead 1" said Harmon. “May Heaven curse
i. the flends—”

A groan l

Wolf-Cup started forward, and lifted a leg from the chest
 p! a man. ,

f It was Levi Armstrong. He opened his eyes and smiled.

 

108 WOLF-CAP.

“Ob, father! futherl“ cried Iluldah, throwing herself upon '
him. “ Tell me, father, how all this happened.” .

“ Splitlog came buck and took me unawares." was the re.  
ply, in a feeble voice. “ But, Huldah, I—am not your '
father!"

She started -. ' I,

“ Belt, you know me,” and the glassy eyes wandered to the
thpper.

“ You are R-tlph Mutton.” '

“ Yes,” with :t high. “My crime is too great to be for--
given. "I‘nus all my fntllt. Your Bessie fled because I
threatened. Forgive her!” ’

“I did, long ago,” snitl Wolf-Cap, with tearful eyes.

“ She is dead, then 1"”

“ Yes. llllltlttlt, this man is your father. He will tell you
all. Card Belt, you can not take vengeance now, for I all)
dying.” '

Bnt little remnins to be told to complete our Story no‘w.
Wolf-(lap guided Mark Harmon to a minister in the beau-
tiful Muskingum valley, and saw his long-lost daughter take
the Vows of n bride. For many years the trio dWelt in the
then town of Mansfield; but in the city of the same name,
their descmdnnts dwell and are honored to-dny.

1 After nll, It. With well that Matt Hunter stole Hulduh from
Fort Strnne‘, for in the nmssucre thnt followed she Would
doubtless have perished. Silver Hand lived to a good old
age, it true friend to the Americans, and the grasses of but
four summers huve \VtiVCtl over his grave.

As for Johnny Appleseed, who appeared in the opening of
our romance, We may sny, that he, too, fell beneath death’s
LEJkle, ripe for the harvest of the simply jUaL '

Ray Funk sleeps in Wolf’s Den, while the bones: of hi -
followers have been covered by populous cities nnd flourish.
ing towus.

:

 

 

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.\o. l—llawkeye Harry the Young
Trapper Ranger. 8 v 611 (homes.
.\‘o. 2—Dead Shut; or, he While Vulturo.

Bo? Miners; or The En-

chanted Island. iv Edwnril .8. Ellis.

No. 4—Blue Dlek; or, The Yellow Chief’s
Vengeance. By Ch it. Mayne Reld.

No. 5—Nlt 01 e: or, The Gold-Hunters.
By Mrs. M. V. Victor.

No. 8—The White.’l‘racker; or The
Pa ther oi the Plains. Bv Edward S. E'llls.
No. 7—The (butlaw’s Wife; or, The VA]-

ley Rmu‘he. By Mrs. Ann S. Stephens.
No. 8—The Tall Trap er: or, Tim Flow
er oftln- Blackfeet. in A Iert W. Aiken.
No. 9 Lightnlnf J", the Terror of
the Santa Fe rail. by Capt. Animus.
No. 10—'l‘he Inland Pirate. A Title of
the Mississippi. lly Captain Mnin Reid.
No. ll—The llo ' Ranger; or, The. Heir-
ess ot the linlllx'n l urn. By 0“ lemnl.

No. 12—13mm, the Trapper. A Tale u:
the Fur Senilhwrsr. By denrll S. Ellis.
No. 18~~~The French Spy; or, The Full

of Montreal. By “'. J. llmniltnn.
No. Ill-Long Shot; or, The Dnnli'h'uide
By (M )t. Coin-smell.
No. 1 ~The Gui-maker of the Bor-
der. By James L. Bowen.
N0. 16—Red lll‘llld; or, The (‘lmnlwl
Scourge. liv . (i. Piper.
No. IT—Ben, the Trapper' or, The
Mountain Demon. Bx Mnj. lm\vi.~h'.(‘,nrmn.
No. Iii. \Vild Raven the Hunger; or,
The \lissinph‘niule. Hy (Ill (Tammi-c.
No. Ill—The flpeeter Chief; or,'l‘he ln-
dinn'fi Rem-hue. My Suvlin Rnllinn.
N0. 20 —The B’ur-Klller: or, The Iii-nu
Trul‘. llv (hint. (‘uinrt-wk.
N0. 21 kud Nut; Hr. 'l'hr (‘miur .\‘umnp
Brlgmlu. By \"in. R. l‘:)ai0‘l’.
No. 22 Indian Jo. the
AWL». W'. ! 'm'snn.
No. 23 0M Kent, the Ranger. By
Enluuhl S. I'JLlu.
No. 24—1‘he (hie-Eyed Trapper. By
('npl. Coln»tm-k.
No. 25 vGodbold, the Spy. .-\ ’l'nlu or
Arlllllllll Treason. li\ .\. 7.1m“.
N0. 26lel6 Black Slllp. ll_\' John S.
arm-r.
No. 27-—Single Eye, the Scourge. By
Wurrvn St. John.
So. 28—Indlnn Jlm. A '|‘nl.- of the Min-
newt»: Mnrmre. lii' Eduard 5. Ellie.
——The Scout. li\ \"nrrrn St. John.
-Ea le Eye. By W. J. llmnilton.
No. 3lv—Thel‘MyI-tle Canoe. A Rnnmnre
ul’a lllllldi‘n-(l Years Ago. By Hdwn‘d S. Ellls.
{\o. 82—The Golden Harpoon; or, Lost
Among the Flues. Bv Huger Slnrbmk.
Na. 83 ~-The Scalp Hing. B) LienL Ned
unler.
No. 84—0ld Lute, the Indian-lighter:
or, The Den in the Hills. By E. W. Arrllrr.
.\o. sis—Rambo", the Ranger; or, The
Dmnon of the Mountain. My Ull Cmnnrs.
NggfiJl‘he Boy Pioneer. By Edward
. . ‘ lis.

Guide. is)-

 

 

l
1

No. 87—Car-on, the Guide
ilu of the Frontier. Hy Lieut. J.
No. 88 r The lleart Enter or, The ro-
nlmt u!" the H~~llnw Hill. lly } lrry Hnurd.
No. 9 r “'etzel, the Scout; onle Cap-
tive oithe \\ iltlvrneu By li-n mun liwiknap.
No. 40~The Huge Hunter; or, The
Nemn Man of lhv l‘rmriei. lh Rd. S. Ellis.
No. 41—Wlld Nat. the Trapper. By
Paul l’rerarolt.
No. w—Lynx-eap; hr, The Sioux Truk.
By Puul iii 1112..
No. 48-—'l'he White outlaw; or, The
llnmiit. lirignnrl By llnlry Hillard.
' 44—'l'he Iloz Trailer. By Frodsr-
lck Dene}
l‘ a. 45? The Elk King. By Capt. Chss.
U“ llr‘ .
No. 46—Adrlnn, the Pllot. By Col.
Prentiss lnmulnnn.
.\fi.  The Man-hunter. By Mam 0.
0 !t‘.
ho. 4Fl~The Phantom Tracker. By
l‘l‘mlv Ill'h Dewey.
No. 49—Moeennln Bill. By Paul Rihhs.
ho. 50—1‘he Wolf Queen. By Captain
(llnlrles lluwnrd.
Nu. ISL—Tom Hawk, the Trailer. By
Lawn: .lnv Swl .
No. 52~Tho Mad Chief. By Captain
Chats. ll: ward.
 ()8 “The Black “'0”. By Edwin E.
Wing.
50. 54 -Arkansau Jack. By
llnnrd.
\o. 567 Blackbeard. lly l’anl Bihhs.
No]. llng The River Rifles. By Bill»:
. ll t‘l'.
Ng.fi5?»—-llnnter "am. By J.
l .
No. 58~~Cloudw
Hw‘Vililrrim-ss. l:\'
No. 59 r’l‘he Texan Hawks.
liiulgi-r. Jr.
Nlol. 60l Merellen Mat.
.l\\'ill'| .
No. 61 rMad Anthony’s Beonto. By
Enwrsvn Ki tlillitll.
.\'o. 62—'l‘he Luekleon Trapper; or.
Tllv llnulilwl llnnlvr. B) “'illihxu R. E)"

nler.
.\o. 68»~The Fl' rldn .‘euut: nr. Thu

l’rinveus u! the l‘lri-Iglmlt-r. ii} Joe. E. B3l|~

her, .ll’.

.\0. (Ll—The l-lnnd Trapper. My Cup;
(ilms. llnn' tltl l\'¢ ;nl\

No. 65~“'olf—(‘ap. lh (:xpi. Him. Hun
:ml. Ri-mlx

N0. tifi—lluttllng lilek. ll) llul‘r} Hazard.
ltvudy .luu‘. :‘d.

No. 67 ASharp-liye.
tine. lleml) .lun. iii ..

No. 68—-Iron-llaml.
anlv .l-m, :Jmh.

No-69——The Yellow llllnter. liy (‘npl
(films. lime-nu. imm ‘ull. i.ll.

No. 'Nl—The Phantom lllder. By Mint
0. Rollin liv‘u!) '«w, thin

No. 71-lielawnre Tum. “y Hurry Hnl
unl. ilrml) .\.l:.ril.. 1.2L.

or, the Por-
.Rnndol h.

Harry

Ed gsr

liy Jos. l").
B) (‘npt. Chu-

ll_\ .\lnjur Max Min

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