o
injury, even in thought merely, to anyone.

At last the eyes of the three alighted upon the old Council House, and
they came forward quickly toward the open end. They were about to enter,
but they saw the five figures against the wall and stopped abruptly. The
man with the harelip bent forward and gazed at them. Henry soon saw by
the expression of his face that he knew they were no mummies. He now
thrust his rifle forward and his hand slipped down toward the trigger.
Then Henry spoke.

"Come in," he said quickly; "we are white like yourselves, and we claim
no exclusive rights to this Council House, which is about the only real
shelter left in the Indian town. We are hunters and scouts."

"So are we," said the man with the harelip, speaking grammatically and
with a fair degree of courtesy. "We are hardened to the wilderness, but
we are thankful for the shelter which you seem to have found before us."

"There is room for all," said Henry. "You will observe the large dry
place at the south end. The bark floor there is solid and no matter how
the wind blows the rain cannot reach you."

"We'll use it," said the ugly man, and now his teeth began to chatter,
"but I confess that I need more than mere shelter. The rain and cold
have entered my system, and I shall suffer severely unless we have a
fire. Is it not possible to build one here near the center of the
Council House? The dry bark will feed it, until it is strong enough to
take hold of the wet wood."

"It is the Indian country," said Henry, and yet he pitied him of the
harelip.

"I know," replied the man, "I know too that all the tribes are on the
war path, and that they are exceedingly bitter against us. My name is
Holdsworth, and I am from Connecticut. These are my men, Fowler and
Perley, also from the East. We're not altogether hunters, as we have
seen service in the Eastern army, and we are now scouting toward Detroit
with the intention of carrying back news about the British and Indian
power there. But I feel that I must light the fire, despite all Indian
danger."

He shook violently and Henry again felt sorry for him. So did the rest
of the five. These three had become their comrades for the night, and it
would not be fair to prevent the fire that the man so evidently needed.

"We can see that what you say is true," said Henry, "and we'll help you
kindle a blaze. These friends of mine are Tom Ross, Jim Hart, Solomon
Hyde, and Paul Cotter. My own name is