?"

"Quite a distance. We shall take the canoe, and make it in several
hours."

"Why not wait until daylight?"

"That would not do, as we need darkness for such work. The rebels must
not know of our presence."

"Will there be any danger?" Jean enquired.

Dane smiled as he looked upon her sober face, and saw the anxious
expression in her eyes.

"Nothing to worry about," he replied. "To some it might be a dangerous
undertaking, but Pete and I have been at it so long that it has become
almost second nature to us."

Jean said nothing more just then, but while her father and Dane talked,
she whispered something to Mammy. At once the colored woman became
very busy, and when at last Dane bade the Colonel good-bye, a basket
filled with provisions was set before him.

"It's fo' yo' an' de Injun," Mammy explained. "I hope de Good Lo'd'll
be wif yo', an' help yo' skedaddle dem rebels. But yo' can't do
nuffin' wifout grub, Mistah Dane. No matt'r if yo' is in lub, yo' mus'
eat to lib."

Dane smiled as he took the basket, and thanked the big-hearted woman.

"I shall not forget your kindness, Mammy," he told her. "And neither
will Pete. He has a great memory for such things. Why, all the
Indians along the river know already what you have done for his little
child, and they will also hear of this."

The memory of that night never passed from Jean's mind. She
accompanied Dane to the shore, and stood there for a few minutes after
the two couriers had left, She knew that Dane loved her with all the
strength of his manly nature, and she never felt this more than when he
had held her in his arms and kissed her ere stepping into the canoe.
She did not want him to go, and how unfortunate it was that the summons
should come to him in the midst of the merry-making, and when she was
so happy. A spirit of depression suddenly swept upon her, which was
foreign to her nature. She tried to banish it even after she returned
to the house. But neither the cheerfulness of the fire, nor the
conversation with her father and Mammy could dispel the strange feeling
of some impending calamity.

CHAPTER XII

PLOTTERS IN COUNCIL

Leaving Jean standing upon the shore, Dane settled down to work and
headed the canoe for the main channel. His time of idleness was now
over, and he knew that stern duty lay ahead. Although it was hard for
him to go away from the girl he loved, yet the spirit of a new
adventure thrilled his soul