nic of a hunter, with a cap and feather
upon his head. He passed across like the others, and they vanished into
the shadows as silently as they had appeared. It was five minutes
before Du Lhut thought it safe to rise from their shelter.

"By Saint Anne," he whispered, "did you count them?"

"Three hundred and ninety-six," said Amos.

"I made it four hundred and two."

"And you thought that there were only a hundred and fifty of them!"
cried De Catinat.

"Ah, you do not understand. This is a fresh band. The others who took
the blockhouse must be over there, for their trail lies between us and
the river."

"They could not be the same," said Amos, "for there was not a fresh
scalp among them."

Du Lhut gave the young hunter a glance of approval. "On my word," said
he, "I did not know that your woodsmen are as good as they seem to be.
You have eyes, monsieur, and it may please you some day to remember that
Greysolon du Lhut told you so."

Amos felt a flush of pride at these words from a man whose name was
honoured wherever trader or trapper smoked round a camp fire. He was
about to make some answer when a dreadful cry broke suddenly out of the
woods, a horrible screech, as from some one who was goaded to the very
last pitch of human misery. Again and again, as they stood with
blanched cheeks in the darkness, they heard that awful cry swelling up
from the night and ringing drearily through the forest.

"They are torturing the women," said Du Lhut.

"Their camp lies over there."

"Can we do nothing to aid them?" cried Amos.

"Ay, ay, lad," said the captain in English. "We can't pass distress
signals without going out of our course. Let us put about and run down
yonder."

"In that camp," said Du Lhut slowly, "there are now nearly six hundred
warriors. We are four. What you say has no sense. Unless we warn them
at Sainte Marie, these devils will lay some trap for them. Their
parties are assembling by land and by water, and there may be a thousand
before daybreak. Our duty is to push on and give our warning."

"He speaks the truth," said Amos to Ephraim. "Nay, but you must not go
alone!" He seized the stout old seaman by the arm and held him by main
force to prevent him from breaking off through the woods.

"There is one thing which we can do to spoil their night's amusement,"
said Du Lhut. "The woods are as dry as powder, and there has been no
drop of rain for a long three months."

"Yes?"