geance of
Alice's lover, he must quickly throw himself upon the mercy of Clark.
It was his only hope. He chafed inwardly, but bore himself with stern
coolness. He presently sought Farnsworth, pulled him aside and
suggested that something must be done to prevent an assault and a
massacre. The sounds outside seemed to forebode a gathering for a
desperate rush, and in his heart he felt all the terrors of awful
anticipation.

"We are completely at their mercy, that is plain," he said, shrugging
his shoulders and gazing at the wounded men writhing in their agony.
"What do you suggest?"

Captain Farnsworth was a shrewd officer. He recollected that Philip
Dejean, justice of Detroit, was on his way down the Wabash from that
post, and probably near at hand, with a flotilla of men and supplies.
Why not ask for a few days of truce? It could do no harm, and if agreed
to, might be their salvation. Hamilton jumped at the thought, and
forthwith drew up a note which he sent out with a white flag. Never
before in all his military career had he been so comforted by a sudden
cessation of fighting. His soul would grovel in spite of him. Alice's
cold face now had Beverley's beside it in his field of inner vision--a
double assurance of impending doom, it seemed to him.

There was short delay in the arrival of Colonel Clark's reply, hastily
scrawled on a bit of soiled paper. The request for a truce was flatly
refused; but the note closed thus:

"If Mr. Hamilton is Desirous of a Conferance with Col. Clark he will
meet him at the Church with Captn. Helms."

The spelling was not very good, and there was a redundancy of capital
letters; yet Hamilton understood it all; and it was very difficult for
him to conceal his haste to attend the proposed conference. But he was
afraid to go to the church--the thought chilled him. He could not face
Father Beret, who would probably be there. And what if there should be
evidences of the funeral?--what if?--he shuddered and tried to break
away from the vision in his tortured brain.

He sent a proposition to Clark to meet him on the esplanade before the
main gate of the fort; but Clark declined, insisting upon the church.
And thither he at last consented to go. It was an immense brace to his
spirit to have Helm beside him during that walk, which, although but
eighty yards in extent, seemed to him a matter of leagues. On the way
he had to pass near the new position taken up by Beverley and his men.
It was