rst to
greet him was Israel Boone.

"How many are here?" asked Peleg.

"I do not know," answered Israel. "I have heard that only six of our men
were killed or wounded. When we all started toward Lexington they might
have chased us all the way and taken the fort there, because there was
nobody left to fight for it."

"How many Indians were in that ambuscade?" asked Peleg.

"I hear there were three hundred."

"How did you get to the fort?"

"I ran straight ahead for an hour," replied Israel with a smile. "How
did you come?"

"Henry got me through the lines."

"Henry!" demanded Israel in surprise. "Henry! I thought he was dead."

"So did I, but he is very much alive. I had no time to ask him how he
came to be here. I was thinking mostly of getting inside the fort."

"It is a comfort to know that at least Girty will not lead any more----"

Israel stopped speaking as a lusty shout was heard from a stump that
stood near one of the bastions, and the two young defenders to their
amazement beheld Simon Girty himself standing erect upon the stump and
waving a cloth which at some time in its history may have been white.

In response to this hail every man ran to hear what the renegade leader
of the Indians had to say.

They were soon to know the purpose for which Girty, on his hands and
knees, had crept to the place where he now was standing.

"What do you want?" shouted one of the defenders.

"I have come," replied Girty in a loud voice, "to save your lives. We
have more than six hundred warriors here, and by to-morrow we shall have
more. Some of our friends will bring cannon, and when we have them we
can blow every cabin in Bryant's Station into flinders. If we storm your
fort, as we sure can do when we get our cannon, I will not promise that
one life will be spared. You know the redskins well enough to understand
how I shall not be able to hold them back. If you surrender now, I give
you my word of honour that not a hair of the head of any one of you
shall be hurt. I am Simon Girty, and you know you can rely upon every
word I speak."

A derisive cry from several of the defenders greeted this assertion, but
when Peleg and Israel looked about them they were aware that many of the
men had been strongly moved by Girty's appeal.

CHAPTER XXVII

THE STRUGGLE IN THE RAVINE

Before any conference of the defenders could be held, one of the younger
men leaped to the wall to reply to Girty's plea.

"You k