ng come back here.
Harding go with him to deer-lick. Look, look--find out, mebbe."

"But after three years how can anything be found?" demanded Enoch, in
despair.

"Will see," returned Crow Wing, and, without further word, entered the
canoe and pushed out into the river. Nor did he turn about to look at
the white youth once while the canoe was in sight. But he left Enoch
Harding stirred to his depths by the brief and significant conversation.
The youth did not understand how Simon Halpen could have compassed his
father's death; yet Crow Wing evidently suspected something which he had
not seen fit to divulge.

CHAPTER XV

THE STORM CLOUD GATHERS

Enoch scarce knew Bryce after his winter's absence. The younger boy had
felt the responsibility of his position as head of the family pro tem
and although he had lost none of his cheeriness and love of action, he
had gained some cautiousness. His care for little Henry and the girls
was delightful and Mrs. Harding was undoubtedly proud of him. Although
kept at home almost continually by his duties, Bryce had been able to
trap enough beavers to buy the rifle which he had long wanted and on the
first training day after the roads dried up in the spring, he went with
Enoch to Bennington and was enrolled in Captain Baker's company.

And during this year of '74 the train bands became of more importance
than ever before. While in Boston and in other cities of the colonies,
meetings were held in secret and companies of minute men were drilled by
stealth, here in the Grants the Whigs trained openly, and the reason for
it was known, too. The course of the foolish King and his ministers was
widening the breach between the mother country and the American colonies
until, when the Continental Congress met on September 5th of this year,
royal authority was suspended almost everywhere but in the New York
Colony. Within its confines were the strongest and most influential
Tories, while the Dutch, who made up a goodly share of the population,
although becoming good patriots in the end and warmly supporting the
struggling nation which was born of that Congress, were phlegmatic of
nature and slow to rouse.

During these months so pregnant with coming trouble, the controversy
between the land jobbers and the Grants waned but little. The Yorkers
had received so many sharp lessons, however, that they were careful to
attack no settlers who were within reach of assistance from any body of