guising himself he would be liable, if captured, to
be shot at once as a spy; but this could not be considered, under the
circumstances, to add to the risk he ran, for, in any case, he was
certain to be killed if detected, and it would have been out of the
question to attempt to approach the French camp in the uniform of a
British officer. Could he have spoken Canadian French, the mission
would have been comparatively easy, but he knew only a few words of the
language, and would be detected the instant he opened his lips.

The canoe was hauled up and carefully concealed on land, and then they
lay down until daylight; for no information, as to the strength of the
enemy, could be gained in the dark. In the morning, the two scouts very
carefully made their toilet. They had brought all necessaries with
them; and soon, in their Indian hunting shirts and fringed leggings,
and with carefully-painted faces, they were in a position to defy the
keenest scrutiny.

When, after a careful survey of each other, they felt that their
disguise was complete, they moved boldly forward, accompanied by James.
After half an hour's walking they emerged from the forest, and the
strong fort of Crown Point lay before them.

It was constructed of stone, and was capable of withstanding a long
siege, by any force which could be brought against it. Round it was the
camp of the French troops, and James judged, from the number of tents,
that there must be some 1500 French soldiers there. A short distance
away were a large number of roughly-constructed huts, roofed with
boughs of trees.

"Them's the Canadians," Jonathan said. "The redskins never build
shelters while on the war path. There are a heap of redskins about."

These, indeed, even at the distance of several hundred yards, could be
easily distinguished from their white allies, by their plumed
headdresses, and by the blankets or long robes of skins which hung from
their shoulders.

"I should put them down at three thousand."

"It is a big army," Nat said. "I should think there must be quite as
many Canadians as French. How many redskins there are, there ain't no
knowing, but we may be sure that they will have got together as many as
they could. Put 'em down at 4000, and that makes 7000 altogether,
enough to eat up Fort William Henry, and to march to Albany--or to New
York, if they are well led and take fancy to it--that is, if the
colonists don't bestir themselves smartly.

"Well, so fa