de Peyster and Timmendiquas, side by side, followed him. The
others came in a group.

Catesby led them into a great room, evidently intended as a public
banquet hall, as it had a long and wide table running down its center.
But several large windows were opened wide and Henry conjectured that
this effect--half out of doors--was created purposely. Thus it would be
a place where the Indian chiefs could be entertained without feeling
shut in.

Colonel de Peyster evidently had prepared well. Huge metal dishes held
bear meat, buffalo meat and venison, beef and fish. Bread and all the
other articles of frontier food were abundant. Four soldiers stood by
as waiters. De Peyster sat at the head of the table with Timmendiquas on
his right and Simon Girty on his left. Henry had a seat almost at the
foot, and directly across the table from him was the frowning face of
Braxton Wyatt. Colonel Caldwell sat at the foot of the table and several
other British or Tory officers also were present. The food was served
bountifully, and, as the chiefs had come a long distance and were
hungry, they ate with sharp appetites. Many of them, scorning knives and
forks, cracked the bones with their hands. For a long time the Indians
preserved the calm of the woods, but Colonel de Peyster was bland and
beaming. He talked of the success of the King's army and of the Indian
armies. He told how the settlements had been destroyed throughout
Western New York and Pennsylvania, and he told how those of Kentucky
would soon share the same fate. A singular spirit seemed to possess him.
The Americans, patriots or rebels, as they were variously called, always
hated the Tories more bitterly than they hated the English, and this
hatred was returned in full measure.

Now it seemed to Henry that de Peyster intended his remarks largely for
him. He would justify himself to the captive youth, and at the same time
show him the power of the allied Indians, Tories, and English. He talked
quite freely of the great expedition of Bird and of the cannon that he
carried with him.

"I don't think that your palisades will stand before heavy cannon balls,
will they, Ware?"

"I fear not," replied Henry, "and it is likely that many of our people
will suffer, but you must bear in mind, Colonel de Peyster, that
whenever a man falls in Kentucky another comes to take his place. We are
fighting for the land on which we stand, and you are fighting for an
alien ruler, thousands of mi