Albert W. Aiken

“ At the head of the painted warriors was Simon Girty, the renegade.
Girty’s eyes lit up with fiend-like joy as he gazed upon his captives.
“A keen she-devil you are, to snatch the game out of my hands; but did you think that you could escape from me so easily?” he cried, addressing Kate.
The warm blood flushed the face of the “Queen,” as she listened to the insolent words of the white Indian.
“You are in my power; no human force can snatch you from me,” he continued, exultingly. “A nice trick it was, to pretend to watch my prisoner for me, and then aid her to escape in the darkness! ”

“ When the hunters catch the bear they do not let him go free again, nor do they let the Long Rifle go free now that they have caught him. The red chiefs will punish the warrior who has killed their brothers, without risking their lives against him. The fire is burning now before the council-lodge of the Shawnee. When it burns to-morrow the white hunter will be in its center, and the angry flames shall lap up his blood. The ashes of the Long Rifle alone shall remain to tell of the vengeance of the red chiefs. ”

“ The wolf walks on its hind legs like a man. It has the face of a human, and it is striped with war-paint, black and white. In its paw it carries a tomahawk—the edge is crusted with blood that dims the brightness of the steel. The blood comes from the veins of some of the best warriors of the Shawnee nation. The Little Crow hunted the brown deer in the woods of the Scioto. He came not back. His brother found him in the forest dead—the print of a tomahawk in his skull and a Red Arrow graven on his breast. Watega is another great brave of the Shawnee nation. ”

“ All the world despises me. Is it not enough to make me hate all the world?”
“No,” said Virginia, softly, “you are not to blame for the deeds of others. Live so that your life shall be a telling reproof to those who would blame you for the acts of your father. I do not think any the worse of you because you are the daughter of David Kendrick, the renegade. No, I rather pity you. I told you so when first we met in the ravine near Point Pleasant, and I repeat the words, now that I am here a captive in the hands of my enemies.” ”

“ A red brave, decked out in deer-skin garb, stained with the pigments of the earth in many colors, and fringed in fanciful fashion.
The warrior was a tall and muscular savage, one of Nature’s noblemen. A son of the wilderness untrammeled by the taint of civilization—a brave of the great Shawnee tribe, the lords of the Ohio valley from the oil “licks” of the Alleghany stream to the level prairies where the Wabash and the White pour their muddy tide into the great river of the New World, the winding, smiling Ohio. ”

“ Ten to one, Winthrop was speedily overcome and securely bound.
The renegade rose to his feet, his eyes gleaming like a demon’s, and a livid mark upon his face, where the knuckles of the young man had bruised the skin.
“You shall pay dearly for that blow!” Girty cried, between his clenched teeth. “You shall die at the torture-stake, a thousand deaths all in one. The tomahawks of the Indians will cut your flesh from your bones, even while you are a living man. You will cry aloud for death to come to end your misery. ”

“ In the gloomy recesses of the forest he left her to die.”
“Oh! the heartless fiend!” cried the father, in agony.
“And think you that even this glorious vengeance satisfied him? No! He panted for more. Thirsted for it as the hungry wolf thirsts for blood to satisfy the cravings of its savage nature. You still had another daughter left. For years this human bloodhound hung about the station eager to rob you of the sole remaining joy that made your life happy. Time passed on; your daughter grew to womanhood, as fair a flower as ever bloomed on the banks of the Ohio. Patiently your foe waited. ”

“ The Great Medicine sees the future. It is clouded to all other eyes but his. His heart is Shawnee—it is torn with anguish when he reads the future and sees the desolation and dismay that must come upon the Shawnee nation. Before his eyes is a sea of blood, not white blood but red, the blood of the Indian.”
Over the brow of the chief came a gloomy cloud as he listened to the prophetic words of the old man. ”

“ Perhaps, though, it was one of the savages that attacked me; to them all white men are foes.”
“No Indian bullet stretched you on the earth,” said Kate, decidedly. “Had it been an Indian that shot you, he would have taken your scalp instantly, as a trophy of victory; such is the custom of the red-men. You must have been insensible for some time when I reached your side, for quite a little pool of blood, that had flowed from your wound, was on the ground, and, as I came up, a huge gray wolf stole away into the thicket, and a crow winged its flight up through the tree-tops. ”

“ Virginia embraced Kate heartily, and kissed her as if she had been a sister; Winthrop shook her warmly by the hand, and then the two, leaving the forest maid standing by the body of the dead brute, retraced their way to the little trail that led to Point Pleasant.
Kate, leaning on her rifle, remained in a deep reverie, gazing absently upon their departing figures.
Winthrop found his horse exactly where he had left him. Passing the bridle over his arm, he walked by the side of Virginia toward the station.
“What a strange creature that girl is,” he said, as they walked onward. ”

“ Enraged, Kendrick rose to his feet, drew his knife and made a dash at Girty, but his opponent was quicker far than he, for, as Kendrick advanced, Girty dealt him a terrific blow with his tomahawk that felled him like a log to the earth.
“Lie there and rot!” cried Girty, contemptuously. “And now summon the warriors; we must follow our birds at once. As for this affair, you can bear witness, chief, that I struck him in self-defense.” ”

“ Poor, innocent girl, she knew not that as she was thanking Heaven for her rescue, the snare was still close around her; that the man whom she looked upon as a friend and deliverer was a more deadly foe than any painted warrior that roamed the forests of the Ohio valley.
No Indian is so terrible as the renegade to his country and his kin, the white-faced savage. ”

“ The Indian was evidently annoyed that his words had not made more impression upon the scout.
“The white skin does not fear death, then?” the chief asked.
“Yes, I do,” answered Boone; “I fear it like thunder. Just you let me loose once, and see how I’ll run from it. Lightning will be a fool to my heels.”
The joking manner of the scout puzzled the red warrior. He knitted his brows for a moment, as if in deep thought. Then again he spoke.
“The white chief is a great warrior. What would he give to escape the fire-death of the Shawnees?” ”

“ Virginia murmured, faintly.
“And now I go to take the war-path against the settlement—to crimson with blood the waters of the Ohio. I will give to the flames the cabins of the whites; the smoke of the burning dwellings shall mark my course and attest my vengeance. When I return, then—Well, my revenge will be made complete. Let no vain thought of escape cross your mind, for I shall leave you doubly guarded. There is no power on this earth that can save you from me. ”

“ The old hunter could not understand the peculiar feeling that was so gradually stealing over him. The hair upon his head seemed ready to bristle with fright.
“I feel as if I had jumped into an ice-cold river,” muttered Boone, with a half-shiver.
For a moment he took his eyes from the dark form behind him; when he looked again, the form was gone. Naught before him broke the denseness of the gloom.
The hunter rubbed his eyes in wonder.
“Jerusalem!” he muttered, “is it a spook after all?” The hair upon his head rose in fright as the thought crossed his mind. ”

“ When this had been accomplished, Murdock came from his covert in the bushes, and approached the two.
The blackened muzzle of Murdock’s rifle told plainly that it was he who had fired the shot which had stricken the young stranger, Harvey Winthrop, to the earth, even while the kisses of the girl he loved were fresh upon his lips.
“The girl has fainted,” said Benton, who supported the light form of the hapless Virginia in his arms.
“So much the better!” exclaimed Murdock; “it aids our purpose. We must convey her at once to the lonely cabin of the Kanawha.” ”

“ Boone said, after pausing for a moment, as if deliberating upon his answer, “life is sweet; a man would give almost anything for life. But the question with me now is, what can I give?”
“Yourself,” said the chief, laconically.
“Eh?” Boone could not understand
“The white chief is a great brave; he has put to death many great chiefs. If he will become a son of the Shawnee nation, the warriors will forget what he has done, and will look forward to what he will do.” ”

“ Spring should not sit in the lap of Winter, else her blood will be chilled into ice—it is bad.”
“The young brave is not yet a great warrior, but he has a heart as big as a bear, and no white plume is bound up in his scalp-locks. He will be a great chief when years come heavy upon his head,” said the girl, cheered by the encouraging words of the great chief. ”

“ One at whom the finger of scorn is pointed. A wretched creature not fit to associate with others whose skins are white like mine. I am an outcast, a child of the forest. What madness then to think that I can ever win the love of a man like Harvey Winthrop. No, it is impossible.”
Slowly and mournfully Kate spoke, as the truth forced itself upon her mind.
“I must to the Shawnee village!” she cried, suddenly. “The Indians know me as the daughter of the renegade and will not harm me. On my way through the forest I can decide on what course to pursue. ”

“ Kate, clad in buck-skin, Indian fashion, showed few traces of the terrible night-journey, but Virginia, although clad in stout homespun garments, had many a mark of bramble and brier; yet, to the eyes of Winthrop, she looked prettier than ever.
“And your wound?” asked Virginia, suddenly remembering her lover’s hurt.
“I scarcely feel it now,” Winthrop replied; “a few hours has worked wonders. The thought of your danger troubled me more than the pain of my wound.” ”

“ Let your lover look to himself. If you can not be my wife, I swear that you shall not be the wife of any other man. You are a beautiful girl, Virginia, but your beauty will be fatal to the mortal that dares to cross my path!” Murdock spoke in heat, and the angry glare of a demon shot from his fierce black eyes. ”

“ Can it be possible that there is a spirit-form that haunts the woods and marks the Indians for his prey? It is almost beyond belief, and yet there is no disputing the terrible evidence of his hand. Watega was a great brave; few warriors in the Shawnee tribe as good as he, and yet he falls by the hand of this Wolf Demon, apparently without even a struggle for his life, if the words of Kenton can be believed, and he always speaks the truth. ”

“ First to find who this lover is, that has crossed my path—for that the girl has a lover or is in love with some one, I am certain. I marked the slight flush that crimsoned her cheek when I charged her with loving another; that blush revealed to me the truth. I have a rival, and a dangerous one, for she loves him. I must discover who it is. If the young adventurer is the man, let him look to himself, for the fortune that he comes to seek by the banks of the Ohio, may resolve itself into a grave in the forest with the gaunt gray wolves as mourners. ”