ut for Little Moccasin, but
Kate said that during the pursuit of John Darknight she had fled from
the camp without an explanation of her departure.

CHAPTER VI.

THE EXCITING COUNSEL.

James Girty, the white renegade, was known to the various tribes as the
White Whirlwind. His brother Simon was the possessor of a few attributes
of kindness, but _he_ was destitute of every redeeming trait. A
repulsive face surmounted an ungainly body, but the fiend was possessed
of almost supernatural strength.

He was a power in the council, and the British agents stirred the
Indians to resist Wayne through him.

We have witnessed his theft of the message which Wolf Cap and young
Catlett left in the hollow tree prior to their departure for the
assistance of the Merriweathers and their friends. It is now our purpose
to follow him and witness his dealings with the warriors of the then
wild northwest.

He crossed the river in a canoe which he drew from a place of
concealment on the bank, and, having hid it on the opposite shore,
plunged into the forest. He seemed impatient to read the contents of the
paper which he had stolen, and as he reached the summit of a wooded
knoll a cry of joy burst from his throat.

For some minutes prior to his arrival on the top of the declivity,
certain sounds had been wafted to his ears by the night winds. They
prepared him for the sight that had burst upon his vision, but still he
could not repress the exclamation.

"I wonder if they are all there?" he murmured as he sprang forward and
heard the forest resound with his Indian name.

Girty had come suddenly, but not unexpectedly upon an Indian council. A
fire that blazed in the ring formed by five hundred painted savages,
furnished the light for the forest tableau, and revealed the renegade to
the gaze of all.

His quick eye swept the circle of faces as he passed through. He saw
representatives of every tribe which confronted Wayne; he noticed a fair
sprinkling of his own ilk, and a group of whites handsomely attired in
British uniforms.

The shouts that greeted his appearance ceased when he sprang through the
cordon and halted in the fire-lit arena.

The British officers exchanged significant looks, and Simon Girty moved
uneasily in his position. It was evident that the arrival of James at
the council was distasteful to him.

The White Whirlwind did not speak until he had mastered the contents of
the stolen message in the light of t