cramping in the boat, yet the climb was not difficult, and he held
back the boughs to give me easy passage. Beyond the fringe of brush
there was an open space, but as we reached this, both paused, stricken
dumb by horror at the sight which met our view. The ground before us
was strewn with dead, and mutilated bodies, and was black with ashes
where the tepees had been burned, and their contents scattered
broadcast.

Never before had I seen such view of devastation, of relentless,
savage cruelty, and I gave utterance to a sudden sob, and shrank back
against De Artigny's arm, hiding my eyes with my hand. He stood and
stared, motionless, breathing heavily, unconsciously gripping my arm.

"_Mon Dieu_!" he burst forth, at last. "What meaneth this? Are the
wolves again loose in the valley?"

He drew me back, until we were both concealed behind a fringe of
leaves, his whole manner alert, every instinct of the woodsman
instantly awakened.

"Remain here hidden," he whispered, "until I learn the truth; we may
face grave peril below."

He left me trembling, and white-lipped, yet I made no effort to
restrain him. The horror of those dead bodies gripped me, but I would
not have him know the terror which held me captive. With utmost
caution he crept forth, and I lay in the shadow of the covert,
watching his movements. Body after body he approached seeking some
victim alive, and able to tell the story. But there was none. At last
he stood erect, satisfied that none beside the dead were on that awful
spot, and came back to me.

"Not one lives," he said soberly, "and there are men, women and
children there. The story is one easily told--an attack at daylight
from the woods yonder. There has been no fighting; a massacre of the
helpless and unarmed."

"But who did such deed of blood?"

"'Tis the work of the Iroquois; the way they scalped tells that, and
besides I saw other signs."

"The Iroquois," I echoed incredulous, for that name was the terror of
my childhood. "How came these savages so far to the westward?"

"Their war parties range to the great river," he answered. "We
followed their bloody trail when first we came to this valley. It was
to gain protection from these raiders that the Algonquins gathered
about the fort. We fought the fiends twice, and drove them back, yet
now they are here again. Come, Adele, we must return to the canoe, and
consult with Barbeau. He has seen much of Indian war."

The canoe rode close