a risk as it will be to try to get into the fort at
Wilkesbarre."

"How angry Butler will be!" exclaimed Jo, with as much zest as if he saw
the villain tearing his hair on account of his disappointment.

The plan of the young scouts was pretty well unfolded by this time, so
that both were satisfied the Mohawk knew what the opinions were, and was
able to give his own for the asking. Calm consideration of the
proposition of the friends and companions must lead one to speak of them
favorably. Colonel Butler knew that the fugitives were aiming for
Wilkesbarre, and had taken every precaution to secure their capture.
Nothing could be more certain than that they could not enter, nor even
approach within range of the fortifications of that place, without
encountering some of these redmen or Tories. It would seem, therefore,
that the most foolhardy thing for the whites to do was to persevere in
the effort to reach that place in the face of such danger. There were
plenty of other directions that could be taken, and the plan suggested
by the youths in their brief conversation was only one of the many that
suggested themselves whenever they thought of the subject. Jo Minturn,
believing their wishes had been sufficiently uncovered by what had been
said, now addressed himself directly to the Mohawk:

"Lena-Wingo, you heard what we said; now I should like to know what you
think of it."

"Nonsense."

There it was! an opinion about which there could be no misunderstanding.
There was enough moonlight for the young scouts to see each other's
faces, and they stared in blank dismay. The next thing they did was to
look at Rosa, who was trying hard to restrain her laughter.

"You ought to be satisfied," she said, "without scowling at me that way;
you asked Lena-Wingo what he thought of your plans, which you and Ned
fixed up between you, and he told you in one word."

"That's the trouble; he didn't take quite as many words as we would have
liked to hear. If he had talked the whole thing over, we would have
gained a chance to argue, and perhaps convince him."

The Mohawk, as a matter of course, heard all that passed between his
friends, and he seemed to think the time had come for him to put in an
additional word or two.

"All nonsense," he said, by way of introducing the subject. "The
Iroquois say Lena-Wingo shan't go to Wilkesbarre--all lie--Lena-Wingo
_will_ go there--Iroquois say Lena-Wingo shan't take gal there--all
lie--_will_