-

"It's a dark night."

"Is it dark?" answered a voice from within.

"It is very dark."

All this appeared to be merely a pre-arranged signal, for it had no
sooner been uttered than the owner of the voice within, who seemed
satisfied of Sam's identity, struck a light, with flint and steel, and
carefully closed the door.

The man was apparently a dark mulatto, and his hair was matted about
his head as if with some glutinous substance.

"You sent me this note?" asked Sam.

"Yes, I gave it to the Injun. He said you'd help me."

There was a brogue in the man's voice, very slight,--too slight,
indeed, to be represented in print,--and yet it was perceptible, and
it attracted Sam's attention. Perhaps he would scarcely have noticed
it but for the fact that all his senses were keenly on the alert. He
was not at all sure that he was acting prudently in visiting this man.
He had no knowledge whatever of the man, except that Thlucco had
somehow found him and arranged a meeting. Thlucco had brought Sam a
scrap of dirty paper, on which were traced in a scarcely legible
scrawl, these words:--

"Your man must say, 'It's a dark night!' I'll say, 'Is it dark.' We
will know each other then."

In delivering this note, with directions as to the method of finding
the man, Thlucco had said:--

"Injun no fool. Injun know m'latter man. M'latter man tell Sam heap.
Sam take m'latter man way."

By diligent questioning, Sam had made out that this man had knowledge
of affairs in the British camp which he was willing to sell for some
service that Sam could do him.

Sam was not sure of Thlucco. His knowledge of the Indian character did
not predispose him to trust Indian professions of friendship, and he
strongly suspected treachery of some sort here. He thought it possible
that this was only a scheme to entrap his secret and himself, and he
had gone to the conference determined to be on his guard, and in the
event of trouble, to use the stout cudgel which he carried as
vigorously as possible.

"If we are to talk," he said to the man, "you must come with me."

The man hesitated, afraid, apparently, of treachery.

"I do not know you," he said, "and the Indian may have lied."

"Listen to me," said Sam in reply, "I do not know you, and the Indian
may have lied to me. Yet I have trusted myself here in the dark. You
must trust something to me. Go with me, and when we have talked
together for an hour, if you wish to return here, I ple