evening, Barrett's light words haunted him and
gave him no rest. "Perhaps," he muttered, "perhaps, before my life is
over, we will meet again and there will be three of us at grace."

But his fancies fled and his dreamy face grew hard and alert as he
came to the clearing before his hut. There, in the midst of his
Indian followers, all armed with long poles, stood Chief Towerculla,
threatening Becky. The squaw had placed herself in the door of the
hut, where she stood with folded arms, listening to the Chief's angry
threats. If she felt any fear, there was no trace of it in her
expressionless face. Nor did she seem relieved when Mordecai pushed
between her and the angry Indian and demanded what business had
brought him there. She merely shrugged a little, hitched up her
buckskin skirt and resumed her task of pounding corn between two
stones at the door of the hut, appearing to take no interest in the
quarrel that followed. For like a good squaw, she did not think it
seemly to interfere in her husband's business affairs.

"And now, Towerculla," began Mordecai in the Indian tongue which he
spoke fluently. "Why do you come here and seek to frighten my squaw in
my absence? And why have you brought your men with you?"

The Chief grunted in disgust. "And why do you bring the pale face here
to build?" he answered Mordecai question for question. "Our squaws are
well satisfied to work in the fields, to make oil from the hickory
nuts, to weave blankets. But you would have them sell you cotton to
make you rich; you would build a store and other white men would be
greedy to trade with our women and build other gins and other
stores--and soon there would be many of your people while we--" he
waved his hand toward his warriors, "we children of the red men would
be driven further into the wilderness. You have already driven us too
far, you white men. I am willing to spare you for the sake of 'Old
Milly,' whom we do not fear, for she is one of us. And she has pleaded
for you more than once. So I will allow you and your squaw to depart
in peace. By tomorrow morning leave for some other place--for it is
not good to dwell here any longer."

For a moment Mordecai was too astonished to answer. Then he laughed
boldly into the Indian's angry face. Towerculla sprang for him, but
Mordecai swiftly stepped aside, and crouching, sprung upon the Chief
and struck him to the ground. For a minute the two struggled together.
Then the Indians fell up