vincing in his role of frontiersman. Turn back the
clock far enough and this could have been one of General Anthony
Wayne's scouts at the battle of Fallen Timbers. He even _smelled_ the
part.

* * * * *

"My father got hisself put on by General Harmer as a scout a fortnight
back. The General, on orders from President Washington, was to lead
his sojers to the north after the Injuns up there. Pop allowed as I
was ready to try my luck agin the abbregynes, so he took me along.

"Three-four nights after we set out ahead the rest, Pop an' me come
onto fresh Injun signs. We move powerful careful through the woods an'
right soon we catch sight of camp fires. There's a whole grist of them
red devils prancin' around, all fixed out in war paint--more of 'em as
I ever see'd afore. Even Pop allows as how it bugs out _his_ eyes--and
Pop's a man to do an amount of travelin'."

It was a page torn out of technicolor nightmare: three of the world's
most important men hanging onto the words of a madman who claimed to
be an Eighteenth Century Indian scout in the employ of one of George
Washington's generals. Yet the man's every word, every gesture,
everything he wore, was as authentic to that period as the powder horn
around his neck.

"We draw back in the woods aways an' wait. It's gettin' along to'ard
sun-up, an' Pop says he aims to get a better idea how many Injuns
they is, an' what tribes. Most of the braves got nice new British guns
an' General Harmer'll want to know about that."

Wetzel's voice began to shake a little, remembering. "Pop an' me are
hidin' in a clump of sumac when this here sudden racket starts up,
equal to a hundred waterfalls goin' all at oncet. We look up in the
air where it's comin' from, and holy hokey if fallin' right out of the
sky ain't this round iron thing! Flat as a hoe-cake an' big around as
an acre of land, with the fires of Hell breathin' at its edges!

"Well sir, them Injuns lit a shuck out of there like the spirits was
after them. My legs were tryin' to run, too. But Pop takes a holt on
my arm an' says, 'By Janey, I aim to see this if'en I swing for it!'

"It drops down," Wetzel continued, demonstrating with a slow graceful
movement of his hand, "lookin' no less than a big shiny stove-lid, an'
settles in the clearin' as light an' easy as the feather off'en a
duck's back. It stands high as a Pennsylvany school house an' twicet
the size around, an' no sound from it