h to Shawanee Springs this day, and see any man a fair
fight that tries to stop me."

"And who's in command here?" demanded Harrod.

"I am, for one," said McGary, with an oath, "and my corn's on the ear.
I've held back long enough, I tell you, and I'll starve this winter for
you nor any one else."

Harrod turned.

"Where's Clark?" he said to Bowman.

"Clark!" roared McGary, "Clark be d--d. Ye'd think he was a woman." He
strode up to Harrod until their faces almost touched, and his voice shook
with the intensity of his anger. "By G--d, you nor Clark nor any one
else will stop me, I say!" He swung around and faced the people. "Come
on, boys! We'll fetch that corn, or know the reason why."

A responding murmur showed that the bulk of them were with him. Weary of
the pent-up life, longing for action, and starved for a good meal, the
anger of his many followers against Clark and Harrod was nigh as great as
his. He started roughly to shoulder his way out, and whether from
accident or design Captain Harrod slipped in front of him, I never knew.
The thing that followed happened quickly as the catching of my breath. I
saw McGary powdering his pan, and Harrod his, and felt the crowd giving
back like buffalo. All at once the circle had vanished, and the two men
were standing not five paces apart with their rifles clutched across
their bodies, each watching, catlike, for the other to level. It was a
cry that startled us--and them. There was a vision of a woman flying
across the common, and we saw the dauntless Mrs. Harrod snatching her
husband's gun from his resisting hands. So she saved his life and
McGary's.

At this point Colonel Clark was seen coming from the gate. When he got
to Harrod and McGary the quarrel blazed up again, but now it was between
the three of them, and Clark took Harrod's rifle from Mrs. Harrod and
held it. However, it was presently decided that McGary should wait one
more day before going to his clearing, whereupon the gates were opened,
the picked men going ahead to take station as a guard, and soon we were
hard at work, ploughing here and mowing there, and in another place
putting seed in the ground: in the cheer of the work hardships were
forgotten, and we paused now and again to laugh at some sally of Terence
McCann's or odd word of Swein Poulsson's. As the day wore on to
afternoon a blue haze--harbinger of autumn--settled over fort and forest.
Bees hummed in the air as they searched hither and t