w would you like to go there?"

"What! alone?" asked Cato, the old look of terror coming back to his
countenance.

"Certainly--you have been there and back you said, didn't you?"

"Yes, but bress your soul! de Injines wan't about den."

"I guess there were as many as there are this minute."

"Oh! gracious! I don't want to go alone. What made ye ax me dat
queshun?"

"Why, I thought this, Cato. You see I expect Oonomoo to return to this
place by nightfall, when I intend to accompany him to the Shawnee
village where Miss Mary is held captive----"

"Goin' to git her?"

"We hope to. I was going to propose that you should make your way to
the settlement and carry the news of this sad affair to Mrs. Prescott
and her daughter, assuring her that the Huron and myself will do all we
can to rescue Mary. They must have seen the light, last night, and no
doubt are dreadfully anxious to learn whether it was their mansion or
not. Besides, I doubt whether the Huron will be willing that you
should accompany us."

"Why won't he? I guess Cato knows enough to take care of his self.
Allus has done it. Done it last night."

"We will let the matter rest until his return. It shall be as he says."

"What time 'spect him?"

"In the course of a few hours. In the meantime, there is another
matter that must be attended to. Do you know whether there is a spade
or shovel lying about?"

"Dunno; guess dar is dough. I'll see in a minute."

Cato ran some distance to where the charred remains of another building
were heaped together, and searching among the ruins, brought forth a
spade with a portion of the handle still left.

"What ye want to do dat ar?" he asked, as he brought it to the
Lieutenant.

"We must bury those bodies, Cato. It would be wrong to deny them a
decent burial when we possess the time and means."

Cato had a mortal horror of touching any creature that was dead, but
more than once he had wished that the corpses were placed in the
ground, although he had not the courage to put them there. He showed
no reluctance now to the performance of his portion of the task.

"You know how to dig, I presume?" asked the Lieutenant.

"Yis, I offin dug wid dis berry same spade. Whar'd you want thar
graves?"

"One grave will answer for the four, and this spot will do as well as
any other."

The soldier gave the proper directions, and the negro commenced his
labor at once. In an hour or two, he had hollowed out