Page 146 (1/1)

As I sat eating a bit of bread, cup of water in the other hand Jack Mount cahtful s the hand to the cap but leaves a grin on the face

"Well, Jack?" I asked, sn, sir?" he inquired Secretly self-satisfied, he was about to go on and inforainst a tree--for I saw therouse-scent just as we halted to dis to forestall him or take away one jot of the satisfaction, so I said: "What have you seen?"

Then he beamed all over and told me; and the Weasel and Ti out the stone to ainst the base of a black ash

"Well," said I, sn?"

"Iroquois!" said the rangers promptly

"Yes, but are they friendly or hostile?"

The question seemed to thenal of some sort which could only be interpreted by Indians, and that they had no doubt that it meant some sort ofThat stone leaning upon a tree is a friendly e to me from a body of our Oneida scouts"

They stared incredulously

"I will prove it," said I "Jack, go you to that stone On the under side you will find a number of white marks made with paint I can not tell you how many, but the nu for us ahead"

Utterly unconvinced, yet politely obedient, the blond giant strode off across the road, picked up the great stone as though it were a pompion, turned it over, uttered an exclamation, and bore it back to us

"You see," I said, "twenty Oneida scouts will join us about two o'clock this afternoon if we travel at the sa This white circle traced here represents the sun; the straight line the hly, I should set the ti at two o'clock Now, Jack, take the stone to the streaun-oil, then drop the stone into the water And you, Ti the men and caution them not to fire on a friendly Oneida That is all, lads We ers was aood-natured protection vanished; Mount gazed wildly at me; Tim Murphy, perfectly convinced yet unable to utter a word, saluted and marched off, while Elerson and the Weasel stood open-an to fall in silently, and I put up Elsin andMurphy and Jack Mount to my stirrups