trict watch. They meant to penetrate to the town in the night. But they
waited a long time, until they believed most of the children and squaws
would be asleep, and then they advanced again.

Their surmise was correct. In a half hour they were on the outskirts of
Chillicothe, the great Indian town. It was surrounded by fields of maize
and pumpkin, but it seemed to the five to consist of several hundred
lodges and modern houses. As they made this reckoning they stood at the
edge of a large corn field that stretched between them and the town. The
stalks of corn were higher than a man's head, and the leaves had begun
to turn brown under the August sun.

"We must go nearer," said Henry, "and it seems to me that this corn
field offers a way of approach. The corn will hide us until we come to
the very edge of the town."

The others agreed, and they set off across the field. After they entered
it they could see nothing but the corn itself. The dying stalks rustled
mournfully above their heads, as they advanced between the rows, but no
sounds came from the town. It was about three hundred yards across the
field, and when they reached its far edge they saw several lights which
came from Chillicothe itself. They paused, while still in the corn, and,
lying upon the ground, they got a good view of the big village.

Chillicothe seemed to run a long distance from north to south, but Henry
at once noticed among the buildings, obviously of a permanent character,
many tepees such as the Indians erect only for a night or two. His
logical mind immediately drew the inference. Chillicothe was full of
strange warriors. The Wyandots, Shawnees, Miamis, Delawares, Ottawas,
Illinois, all were there and the circumstance indicated that they would
not try to lay an ambush for Clark, but would await him at Chillicothe.
He whispered to his comrades and they agreed with him.

"Can you see how far this corn field runs down to the right?" he asked
Tom Ross.

"'Bout two hundred yards, I reckon."

"Then let's drop down its edge and see if the new tepees are scattered
everywhere through the town."

The trip revealed an abundance of the temporary lodges and farther down
they saw signs of an embankment freshly made. But this breastwork of
earth did not extend far. Evidently it had been left incomplete.

"What do you make of that, Henry?" asked Ross.

"That the Indians are in a state of indecision," replied Henry promptly.
"They intended to fortify