is
country rule our selves mostly, but the French in Canada don't have
much to say. It's the officials sent out from France who govern as they
please."

"And you believe they'll attack us, Dave?"

"When they're ready, yes, but they intend to choose time and place. I
think they've been sending war belts to the tribes in the north, but I
can't prove it."

"The French in France are a brave and gallant race, Dave, and they are
brave and gallant here too, but I think they're often more cruel than we
are."

It was in David Willet's mind to say it was because the French had
adapted themselves more readily than the English to the ways of the
Indian, but consideration for the feelings of Tayoga restrained him. The
wilderness ranger had an innate delicacy and to him Tayoga was always a
nobleman of the forest.

"You've often told me, Dave," said Lennox, "that I've French blood in
me."

"There's evidence pointing that way," said Willet, "and when I was in
Quebec I saw some of the men from Northern France. I suppose we mostly
think of the French as short and dark, but these were tall and fair.
Some of them had blue eyes and yellow hair, and they made me think a
little of you, Robert."

Young Lennox sighed and became very thoughtful. The mystery of his
lineage puzzled and saddened him at times. It was a loss never to have
known a father or a mother, and for his kindest and best friends to be
of a blood not his own. The moments of depression, however, were brief,
as he had that greatest of all gifts from the gods, a cheerful and
hopeful temperament.

The three began to paddle with renewed vigor. Gasna Gaowo, the canoe in
which they sat, was a noble example of Onondaga art. It was about
sixteen feet in length and was made of the bark of the red elm, the rim,
however, being of white ash, stitched thoroughly to the bark. The ribs
also were of white ash, strong and flexible, and fastened at each end
under the rim. The prow, where the ends of the bark came together, was
quite sharp, and the canoe, while very light and apparently frail, was
exceedingly strong, able to carry a weight of more than a thousand
pounds. The Indians surpassed all other people in an art so useful in a
land of many lakes and rivers and they lavished willing labor upon their
canoes, often decorating them with great beauty and taste.

"We're now within the land of the Mohawks, are we not, Tayoga?" asked
Lennox.

"Ganeagaono, the Keepers of the Eastern G