y at length, "that some great movement among the
Indians is on foot."

Holdsworth stirred a little against the bark wall, and it seemed to
Henry that a new eagerness came into his eyes. But he replied:

"No, I have not heard of it yet. You are ahead of me there. But the
Indians and British at Detroit are always plotting something against us.
What particular news do you have?"

"That Timmendiquas, the Wyandot, the greatest of the western chiefs,
accompanied by the head chiefs of the Shawnees and Miamis, and a body of
chosen warriors is marching to Detroit. We have been following them,
and they are now not more than twenty-five or thirty miles ahead of us.
I take it that there will be a great council at Detroit, composed of the
British, the Tories, the Western Indians with Timmendiquas at their
head, and perhaps also the Iroquois and other Eastern Indians with
Thayendanegea leading them. The point of attack will be the settlements
in Kentucky. If the allied forces are successful the tomahawk and the
scalping knife will spare none. Doesn't the prospect fill you with
horror, Mr. Holdsworth?"

Holdsworth shaded his face with his hand, and replied slowly:

"It does inspire fear, but perhaps the English and Indian leaders will
be merciful. These are great matters of which you tell me, Mr. Ware. I
had heard some vague reports, but yours are the first details to reach
me. Perhaps if we work together we can obtain information that will be
of great service to the settlements."

"Perhaps," said Henry, and then he relapsed into silence. Holdsworth
remained silent too and gazed into the fire, but Henry saw that his
thoughts were elsewhere. A long time passed and no one spoke. The fire
had certainly added much to the warmth and comfort of the old house.
They were all tired with long marches, and the steady droning sound of
the rain, which could not reach them, was wonderfully soothing. The
figures against the bark walls relaxed, and, as far as the human eye
could see, they dropped asleep one by one, the five on one side and the
three on the other.

The fire, well fed in the beginning, burned for two or three hours, but
after awhile it begun to smolder, and sent up a long thin column of
smoke. The rain came lighter and then ceased entirely. The clouds parted
in the center as if they had been slashed across by a sword blade, and
then rolled away to left and right. The heavens became a silky blue, and
the stars sprang out in spar