nded with a hoarse, fiend-like laugh.

"Ugh!" returned Wild-cat, giving a gutteral grunt of satisfaction,
although not a muscle of his rigid features moved, and, save a peculiar
gleam of his dark eye, nothing to show that he felt uncommon interest
in the sentence of Younker: "Peshewa a chief! The Great Spirit give him
memory--the Great Spirit give him invention. He will remember what he
has done to prisoners at the stake,--he can invent new tortures. But
the squaw?"

"Ay, the squaw!" answered the renegade, musingly; "the old man's
wife--she must be disposed of also. Ha! a thought strikes me, Peshewa:
You have no wife--(the savage gave a grunt)--suppose you take her?"

Peshewa started, and his eyes flashed fire, as he said, with great
energy: "Does the wolf mate with his hunter, that you ask a chief of the
Great Spirit's red children to mate with their white destroyer?"

"Then do with her what you ---- please," rejoined Girty, throwing in an
oath. "I was only jesting, Peshewa. But come, we must be on the move!
for this last job will not be long a secret; and then we shall have the
Long Knives after us as hot as h----l. We must divide our party. I will
take with me these last prisoners and six warriors, and you the others.
A quarter of a mile below here we will separate and break our trail
in the stream; you and your party by going up a piece--I and mine by
going down. This will perplex them, and give us time. Make your trail
conspicuous, Peshewa, and I will be careful to leave none whatever, if I
can help it; for, by ----! I must be sure to escape with my prisoners.
If you are close pressed, you can brain and scalp yours; but for some
important reasons, I want mine to live. We will meet, my noble Peshewa,
at the first bend of the Big Miama."

The Indian heard him through, without moving a muscle of his seemingly
blank features, and then answered, a little haughtily:

"Kitchokema[7] plans all, and gives his red brother all the danger; but
Peshewa is brave, and fears not."

"And do you think it's through fear?" asked Girty, angrily.

"Peshewa makes no charges against his brother," answered Wild-cat,
quietly.

"Perhaps it is as well he don't," rejoined Girty, in an under tone,
knitting his brows; and then quickly added: "Come, Peshewa, let us move;
for while we tarry, we are giving time to our white foes."

Thus ended the conference; and in a few minutes after the whole party
was in motion. Following the course o