breeze sprang up from the south. Soon after a
whisper of distant trotting horses was home upon it. Ambrose's heart
leaped to his throat. An excited murmur ran among the Indians. They
picked up their guns.

Watusk's pit was one of the pair covering the upper entrance to the
valley. It was thus farthest away from the approaching horsemen. It
faced straight down the valley. Through the lower gap they caught the
gleam of the red coats.

Ambrose beheld them with a painfully contracted heart. He gaged in his
mind how far his voice might carry. The wind was against him.

Presumably he would only be allowed to cry out once, so it behooved him
to make sure it was heard. However, the same thought was in the minds
of the Indians. They scowled at him suspiciously.

Suddenly, while it was yet useless for him to cry out, they fell upon
him, bearing him to the ground!

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE TEST.

After a fierce struggle Ambrose was securely bound and gagged. He
managed to get to his feet again. His soul sickened at the tragedy it
forecast, yet he had to look.

To his overwhelming relief he saw that the redcoats had halted in the
lower entrance to the valley. Evidently the possibility of an ambush
in so favored a spot had occurred to their leader. The baggage was
sent back.

His relief was short-lived. Presently the advance was resumed at a
walk, and a pair of skirmishers sent out on either side to mount the
hills. Ambrose counted sixteen redcoats in the main body, and a man in
plain clothes, evidently a native guide.

One skirmisher on the left was headed all unconscious straight for a
rifle pit. Ambrose, suffocated by his impotence, tugged at his bonds
and groaned under the gag. "Turn back! Turn back!" shouted his
voiceless tongue.

There was a shot. Ambrose closed his eyes expecting a fusillade to
follow. It did not come. From his pit, Watusk hissed a negative order.

Ambrose heard a shrill whistle from the bottom of the valley, and
opening his eyes, he saw the skirmishers riding slowly back to the main
body. Even at the distance their nonchalant air was evident.

The main body had quietly halted in the middle of the valley. After a
moment's pause, one of their number raised a rifle with a white flag
tied to the barrel.

The Indians surrounding Ambrose, lowered their guns, and murmured
confusedly among themselves. Ambrose looked at Watusk.

The chief betrayed symptoms of indecision