hile for sure. Now hurry."

Bryce obeyed at once and a moment later the elder boy started off in the
other direction for the bank of the creek. He ran carefully, however, so
as not to make any noise and thus warn the canoe party of his presence.
In half an hour he was abreast of the boats, for they progressed but
slowly up the stream. Here he had a good view of the men. In the first
canoe he saw Crow Wing and another young Indian of his tribe, while the
paddlers in the second were likewise Iroquois. The white men were
Yorkers he was sure, and all were heavily armed.

As he scrutinized the whites his eyes rested finally on one man in the
leading canoe whom he was sure he had seen before. He could not mistake
that lean, dark face and hooked nose. Whether or not it was the person
he had seen in the wood the day of Sheriff Ten Eyck's fiasco at the
Breckenridge farm, he was certain of the man's identity. It was Simon
Halpen who, under a New York patent, claimed territory on the
Walloomscoik, a part of which the Harding farm was.

Dodging from tree to tree, the boy followed the canoes and finally,
before they came in sight of the Harding house, saw the party land. The
Indians remained with the canoes; but the white men disembarked with
considerable baggage. One of the men carried a surveyor's instrument,
while a second bore a chain. Halpen led them and when he had seen the
party strike into the forest in the direction of the house, Enoch sped
away on a parallel trail and headed them off, arriving first at the
destination.

He found that his mother and the children had already put up the
shutters and made ready to receive the Yorkers. The cattle were shut in
the yard surrounding the barn and the smaller children were put in their
mother's bed to be out of the way. Bryce went into the loft where he
could watch for the appearance of the enemy; but Enoch remained outside
the door, his rifle in the hollow of his arm, ready to parley with the
Yorkers who soon were reported by Bryce as coming through the lower
fields.

CHAPTER XI

AN UNEQUAL BATTLE

A masterful spirit had entered into Enoch Harding during the past few
months. He was no longer a child; he thought and acted as a man in many
things. Now, with this danger threatening them all, he did not shrink
from the ordeal, and none might know his inmost feelings from the
expression of his face. He did not speak to his mother, nor did she seek
to advise him. Long be