ring his absence.

It was not, however, until August that the Indians appeared.
They were four hundred and forty-four in number, led by
Captain Duquesne and other French officers, and with French
and British colors flying. There were but fifty men in the
fort. The situation seemed a desperate one, but under
Boone's command the settlers were resolute, and to the
summons to surrender, the daring commander returned the
bold reply, "We are determined to defend our fort while a
man of us lives."

The next proposition of Duquesne was that nine of the
garrison should come out and treat with him. If they could
come to terms he would peacefully retire. The veteran
pioneer well knew what peril lurked in this specious
promise, and how little safety they would have in trusting
their Indian foes. But, moved by his bold heart and daring
love of adventure, he assented to the dangerous proposition,
though not without taking precautions for safety. He
selected nine of the strongest and most active of his men,
appointed the place of meeting in front of the fort, at one
hundred and twenty feet from the walls, and stationed the
riflemen of the garrison so as to cover the spot with their
guns, in case of treachery.

These precautions taken, Boone led his party out, and was
met by Duquesne and his brother officers. The terms proposed
were liberal enough, but the astute frontiersman knew very
well that the Indians would never assent to them. As the
conference proceeded, the Indian chiefs drew near, and
Blackfish, Boone's adopted father, professed the utmost
friendship, and suggested that the treaty should be
concluded in the Indian manner, by shaking hands.

The artifice was too shallow to deceive the silliest of the
garrison. It was Blackfish's purpose to have two savages
seize each of the whites, drag them away as prisoners, and
then by threats of torture compel their comrades to
surrender the fort. Boone, however, did not hesitate to
assent to the proposition. He wished to unmask his wily
foes. That done, he trusted to the strength of himself and
his fellows, and the bullets of his riflemen, to bring his
party in safety back to the fort.

It proved as he expected. No sooner had they yielded their
hands to the Indians than a desperate attempt was made to
drag them away. The surrounding Indians rushed to the aid of
their fellows. From behind stumps and trees, a shower of
bullets was poured upon the fort. But the alert pioneers
w