ose the occupants of the wooden fort should
fire upon him?

At this idea he dropped upon all fours and it is perhaps well that he
did so, for one bullet did come from a loophole, singing viciously above
his head. Then an angry voice of command rose on the night air: "Haud
yir hand, mon! Let's see an' it be fri'nd or foe." The tone and accent
were broadly Scotch, and this, too, added to Enoch's amazement. He had
not heard of Scotch people coming to Otter Creek since those placed
there by Colonel Reid had been driven forth. At once his suspicions were
aroused, but he cried aloud:

"I am a friend and am alone. I only came for a night's lodging."

"'Tis a laddie, mon! There's naught t' fear," declared the voice within,
as though answering some objection which Enoch could not hear. The
candles were lighted and in another moment the door was opened again,
revealing a tall, raw-boned Scot with a shock of red hair and beard. He
grasped a bared sword, almost as big as a two-handed claymore, and he
looked sternly upon the boy as the latter approached.

"Ha! 'tis wrang for a laddie t' be oot this time o' night," he declared.
"Air ye sure alone?"

"Quite alone," Enoch replied. "I have been hunting west of here and we
camped at the mouth of the creek. My comrades have gone northward and I
was returning home by way of the creek. I did not know that the settlers
here were in fear of Indians----"

"Ha! 'tis little we think o' them rid chiels. There's war nor they in
yon forest-land, an' well we ken that."

"Who do you mean?" demanded Enoch, now stepping within the open door.

"Why, the robber Allen, an' his followers. We do oor wark wi' guns in
oor han's for fear of them same outlaws. Eh, mon! but they're a bold
mob."

Enoch made no reply, but advanced to the gun rack and stood up his rifle
and dropped his pack. He knew now what had occurred at the settlement.
The land-grabber Reid had come back to the Grants, ousted the Hampshire
settlers, and again established minions of his own in their places. The
boy glanced about and saw at least a dozen hardy looking Scots. Every
one of them had doubtless served in Colonel Reid's regiment of
Highlanders. They were descended from men almost as wild and
bloodthirsty as the red Indians themselves, and although ordinarily they
might be harmless enough, that thrust of the sword had shown Enoch that
they were likely to fight first and inquire the reason for it afterward.
They had come to Ot