eward of fifty pieces of eight to anyone who would kill
your nephew, Auguste de Marion?"

"Objection," Bennett called from his seat. "This has nothing to do with
the defendant's conduct in the Black Hawk War."

"On the contrary Your Honor," said Ford. "It explains how my client got
involved in the war."

"I'll allow it," said David Cooper.

After Ford repeated his question, Raoul said, "I don't remember offering
any reward."

"I can produce at least ten witnesses who heard you and saw you hold up
a money bag."

"Well, he provoked me. He'd tried to cheat me out of my inheritance."

"Apparently you'd already got control of the estate. By force of arms.
Was it necessary to go on and incite men to kill him?"

"I figured he might do just what he did--stir up the Sauk against us and
try to use them to take the land away from me."

Ford turned to the jury, and the spectators could see the incredulous
look on his face. Auguste felt a warmth for Ford. He seemed to know what
he was doing. But it still made him uneasy to know that his life was in
the hands of another man, no matter how competent.

"And why were you going to shoot Auguste, when he came to you with a
white flag at Old Man's Creek?"

"He was trying to lead us into an ambush."

Ford sighed, clasped his hands behind his back and took a few paces away
from Raoul. He threw an exasperated look at the jury, as if to say,
_What can I do with this man?_

Then he turned suddenly and said, "Mr. de Marion, in 1812, when you were
just a boy, were you not present at the incident known as the Fort
Dearborn Massacre?"

"Objection," said Bennett. "This certainly has nothing to do with the
man who's on trial."

"Goes to the character of the witness, Your Honor," said Ford.

"I'll let you ask the question," said Cooper. "Please answer, Mr. de
Marion."

Raoul hunched over and his face grew darker. "God knows I was at Fort
Dearborn."

"And did you not see your sister horribly murdered by Indians. Were you
not subjected to two years of captivity and slavery?"

"I did. I was." The words came out in a hoarse whisper.

Ford said, "Mr. de Marion, after those terrible boyhood experiences, to
have your brother attempt to bring an Indian into the family must have
seemed the crowning insult. I put it to you that your accusations
against Auguste stem, not from any misdeeds of his, but from your hatred
for him because he is an Indian."

Justus Bennett was on his feet. "