plutter."

The men smiled grimly. They had held back from affronting their neighbor's
cousin. They looked upon Dale much as they looked on Baby Kirst when he
came to the settlement and whimpered because he could not find ripe
berries to pick. They were deciding that Dale was mentally irresponsible;
only his malady took a different twist than did Baby's. He was an
Indian-lover instead of hater. Dale's dark face flushed purple with anger.
By an effort he controlled himself and said:

"All right. You men want a fight. I'm afraid you'll have it. But I tell
you that if Dunmore would call off that dog of a Connolly at Fort Pitt I
could go among the Ohio Indians and make a peace which would last."

"How about the Injuns being willing for us to go down into the Kentucky
country?" spoke up Moulton.

"If you want peace with the Indian, you must let him keep a place to hunt
and live in. He can't live if you take away his hunting-grounds."

"Then let's take 'em away so they'll die out tarnation fast," cried Elijah
Runner.

Drawing himself up and speaking with much dignity, Dale said:

"I am sorry for any of you men who came out here to make homes if you will
let a few Indian-killers, who never make homes, spoil your chances for
getting ahead."

"We don't go for to kill every Injun we see," said Davis, heretofore
silent. "I'm a fambly-man. I don't want Injuns butchered here in the
settlement like as Ike Crabtree done for Cherokee Billy. No sense in
that."

"That's what I say, too," agreed another. And this endorsement of Davis'
view became quite general. Of course I had known right along that the
settlers as a whole did not look with favor upon indiscriminate slaughter
of the natives. Dale nodded his approval and said:

"Well, that's something. Only you don't go far enough."

Hughes angrily took up the talk, declaring:

"You cabin-men are mighty tickled to have us Injun-hating fellers come
along when there's any chance of trouble. I've noticed that right along."

"Course we are, Jesse," agreed Davis. "But that don't mean we're mighty
glad when some of you kill a friendly Injun in the settlement and, by
doing so, bring the fighting to us."

"I 'low we've outstayed our welcome," Hughes grimly continued. "You folks
foller this man's trail and it'll lead you all to the stake. I'm moving on
to-night."

"Don't go away mad, Jesse," piped up old Uncle Dick. "Talk don't hurt
nothin'. Stick along an' git your fingers into th