He spoke courteously to
Tandakora, but, as his words were in the Ojibway dialect, Robert did not
understand them. The Indian made a guttural reply and continued to gnaw
fiercely at the bone of the deer. De Courcelles still took no offense,
and spoke again, his words smooth and his face smiling. Then Tandakora,
in his deep guttural, spoke rapidly and with heat. When he had finished
de Courcelles turned to his guests, and with a deprecatory gesture,
said:

"Tandakora's heart burns with wrath. He says that you attacked him and
his party in the forest and have slain some of his warriors."

"Tandakora lies!"

It was the Onondaga who spoke. His voice was not raised, but every
syllable was articulated clearly, and the statement came with the impact
of a bullet. The tan of de Courcelles' face could not keep a momentary
flush from breaking through, but he kept his presence of mind.

"It is easy enough to call a man a liar," he said, "but it is another
thing to prove it."

"Since when," said Tayoga, haughtily, "has the word of an Ojibway, a
barbarian who knows not the law, been worth more than that of one who is
a member of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the great
League of the Hodenosaunee?"

He spoke in English, which Robert knew the Ojibway understood and which
both Frenchmen spoke fluently. The great hand of Tandakora drifted down
toward the handle of his tomahawk, but Tayoga apparently did not see
him, his fathomless eyes again staring into the fire. Robert looked at
Willet, and he saw the hunter's eye also fall upon the handle of his
tomahawk, a weapon which he knew the Great Bear could hurl with a
swiftness and precision equal to those of any Indian. He understood at
once that Tayoga was protected by the hunter from any sudden movement by
the Ojibway and his great strain relaxed.

De Courcelles frowned, but his face cleared in an instant. Robert,
watching him now, believed he was not at all averse to a quarrel between
the Onondaga and the Ojibway.

"It is not a question for me to decide," he replied. "The differences of
the Hodenosaunee and the western tribes are not mine, though His
Majesty, King Louis of France, wishes all his red brethren to dwell
together in peace. Yet I but tell to you, Tayoga, what Tandakora has
told to me. He says that you three attacked him and peaceful warriors
back there in a gorge of the river, and slew some of his comrades."

"Tandakora lies," repeated Tayoga in ca