His plumes and his flashing steel?
He rides not here in the grassy mere.
In grateful shade of the forest glade
We laugh at those who kneel."

"Ah! but that's worse than the first. I yield the palm of song to him
who goes before me."

This bantering was interrupted by a stalwart man sitting in the prow
of a canoe which overtook them at this point. He was as fine a
specimen of rugged manhood as all the border could produce, being over
six feet in height, of commanding figure and boundless energy and
courage. He was Daniel Morgan and, laughing as he spoke, he said:
"I've heard of hunting Indians with fife and drum, but charmin' 'em
with song is something new, I reckon."

CHAPTER XIV

HORNETS WITH AND WITHOUT WINGS

During Francois's visit a runner came in with the report that two
Indians, descending the Ohio River in a canoe, had been fired upon and
killed by the whites. Inflamed by the brandy they had drank, and
infuriated by the report, several of the younger men blacked their
faces, set up a war post and danced around it in the firelight like
demons, yelling and throwing their hatchets into the post. The
following morning a party of them set out for revenge.

On such occasions Rodney kept in hiding as much as possible and his
mind was dark with forebodings, so that he would wake in the night
from dreams of torture and find himself wet with perspiration.

A little later Logan himself came to the village, pleading that the
Indians dig up the hatchet and unite in a war of revenge upon the
whites for the outrage committed against him. He was a distinguished
looking Indian, straight and tall, a typical chieftain of the better
sort. Ahneota pleaded the necessity of delay, but, that being of no
avail, urged him to secure the services of Cornstalk, the wise and
wily Shawnee chief.

Rodney sympathized with the Indians until a returning party brought
back scalps torn from the heads of women and children as well as from
men, and then his heart sickened and he looked on them with trembling
to see if among them he could discover that of his father.

Having no rifle, the boy armed himself with the bow, this being his
only defence in case of attack, though he knew it would be of little
use against savages armed with rifles. One day, in the latter part of
July, he was strolling through the forest not far from the village
when he heard voices.

During his captivity Rodney