s full of eagerness for it.

"Every one of my warriors will be glad to go," he said, "and I, as
becomes my place, will lead them. It will be a rare deed, and the news
of it will be heard with wonder and admiration in all our castles."

He spoke in the language of the Ganeagaono, which all the others
understood perfectly, and the two white leaders knew they could rely
upon the courage and enthusiasm of the Mohawks.

"It depends upon the sun whether we shall succeed tonight or not," said
Tayoga, glancing up at the heavens, "and at present he gives no promise
of favoring us. The sun, as you know, Dagaeoga, is with us the Sun God,
also, whom we call Areskoui, or now and then Aieroski, and who is
sometimes almost the same as Manitou."

"I know," said Robert, who had an intimate acquaintance with the complex
Pantheon of the Hodenosaunee, which was yet not so complex after all,
and which also had in its way the elements of the Christian religion in
all their beauty and majesty.

Tayoga gazed out upon Andiatarocte.

Robert's eyes followed the Onondaga's.

"It's true," he said, "that the Sun God, your Areskoui, and mine, too,
for that matter, makes no promise to us. The warriors of the
Hodenosaunee have looked upon Andiatarocte for many centuries, but
doubtless there has never been a day before when any one of them saw it
more beautiful and more gleaming than it is now."

"Yes, Dagaeoga, the waters slide and ripple before the wind, and they
are blue and green, and silver and gold, and all the shades between, as
the sunlight shifts and falls, but it is many hours until night and
Areskoui may be of another mind by then."

"I know it, Tayoga. I remember the two storms on Champlain, and I don't
forget how quickly they can come on either lake. I'm not praying for any
storm, but I do want a dark and cloudy night."

"Dagaeoga should not be too particular," said Tayoga, his eyes
twinkling. "He has told Areskoui exactly what kind of a night he
wishes, but I think he will have to take just the kind of a night that
Areskoui may send."

"I don't dispute it, Tayoga, but when you're praying to the Sun God it's
as well to pray for everything you want."

"We'll watch Areskoui with more than common interest today, you and I,
Dagaeoga, but the warriors of the Ganeagaono, even as the Hurons, the
Abenakis and the Ojibways, will go to sleep. Behold, Daganoweda even now
lies down upon his blanket!"

The Mohawk chief, as if sure that n