_In Which There Are Too Many Knocks At the Gate, a
Stratagem Is Successful, Red Feather Draws a Tomahawk, and
an Indian Girl Appears On the Scene_
"McLeod turned on his heel and went to the shop," David continued;
"and when he had ordered a watch to be kept on the clearing on all
sides, we devoted ourselves to the matter in hand--the preparation of
the regular quarterly statement for the officials at headquarters. But
as we laboured, hatchets, knives and the cruel, evil faces of the
savages, by whom, as I chose to think, we were threatened, mixed
themselves with the figures, to my bewilderment.
"Soon the dusk came, and while I trimmed and lighted the candles in
the shadowy outer room there seemed to be shapes in the corners which
I had never seen there in quieter times. McLeod, however, was
unperturbed. He had forgotten all about the numerous band which he
stood ready to defy.
"'Do you think there is danger?' said I.
"'Danger?' said he. 'From what?'
"'Buffalo Horn's band,' said I.
"'Nonsense!' said he. 'What is that last total? There seems to be a
shilling and sixpence missing here.'
"At that moment one of the helpers came in. He was visibly excited--like
a man who bears tidings.
"'Red Feather is at the gate,' he said.
"'Is he alone?' said McLeod.
"'Yes, sir. We made sure of that.'
"'Fetch him here,' said the factor, calmly. 'Take Tom and Tobias to
the gate, and don't let Red Feather hold it open.'
"Red Feather was soon brought in. He was the chief of the band, an
old, crafty Indian, chief in name, but inferior in authority to
Buffalo Horn, who was chief in fact. McLeod continued his work.
"'Let us talk,' said Red Feather, at last.
"He spoke in his own tongue, which I shall interpret freely for you.
McLeod put his pen aside and faced about.
"'What have we to talk about?' he asked. 'The trading is done. You
have your supplies. There is no business between us.'
"'We have the white man to talk about,' said Red Feather. 'He has
killed a child of our tribe, and you have given him refuge here. He
has killed the son of Buffalo Horn with the evil eye. He must be put
to death.'
"'I know this man,' said McLeod. 'He has not the evil eye. He has
killed no man, and he shall not be given up.'
"'His life is forfeit to the tribe.'
"'His life is in my keeping. I have said that he shall not lose it. Am
I the man to break my word?'
"'You have kept your word between us,' said Red Feather. 'You are not
the man to break your word.'
"'What business, then, lies between us? Our talk is done.'
"The guard at the gate interrupted. 'There is a man knocking at the
gate,' he said.
"'It is my brother,' said Red Feather. 'He comes to join the talk. Let
him in.'
"'Open the gate,' said McLeod.
"It was growing dark. I went with the guard to admit the brother of
Red Feather. Dusk had fallen over the clearing. The sky was overcast;
in half an hour it would be deep night, the clearing one with the
forest. But we opened the gate. A tall Indian stalked in. He was
alone, and I knew him for the brother of Red Feather. I followed him
to the shop, making sure first that the bar was in place.
"'Let us have the white man,' he said to McLeod. 'Let the peace
between us continue.'
"McLeod perceived the threat. He was not a rash man. He had no wish to
provoke a conflict, but he had no thought of surrendering the refugee.
As for me, my trust was in the stockade.
"'I will talk with the white man,' he said.
"The factor was gone for half an hour. He secreted Landley, inspected
the defenses, gathered the women and children in the blockhouse, and
returned to the council.
"'The white man is not blood-guilty,' he said, proudly. 'I have
promised him protection and he shall have it.'
"Again the helper came. 'There is another knock at the gate,' said
he.
"'Who is there?' said McLeod.
"'It's so dark I can't see,' said the helper.
"'The man is my cousin,' said Red Feather. 'He has come to talk with
us. Let him in, for he is a wise man and may help us.'
"'Open the gate,' said McLeod.
"We sat silent, waiting for the cousin of Red Feather, the wise man
who might help us. I heard the rattle of the bar as the helper lifted
it, then the creak of the gate. Then a furious outcry, a confusion of
howls and screams, a war-whoop and a rush of feet. The Indians were
within the stockade. A moment later they burst into the shop and
advanced upon us, uttering blood-curdling whoops and brandishing their
hatchets and knives. McLeod reached for the musket above the desk, but
before his fingers touched it Red Feather caught him by the arms, and
with the help of the brother made him prisoner. At the same instant I
was secured.
"'Let us strike! Let us strike!' the Indians kept shouting, all the
while dancing about us, flourishing their weapons.
"The danger was real and terrible. We were at the mercy of the band,
and at that moment I did not doubt that they were bent on murder and
pillage. There had been a cruel massacre at Fort Pine but a few months
before. The story was fresh in my mind. That crime had gone
unpunished; nor was it likely that a sufficient force would be sent
west to give the band their due. There was nothing now to deter Red
Feather's men from committing a similar outrage. We were remote from
our kind, on the edge of a wilderness into which escape was a simple
matter. Our guns, as I have said, had been our law and defense, and we
were now utterly in the power of our enemies.
"'Let us strike! Let us strike!' was the cry.
"Buffalo Horn had come in with the band. It was soon evident that to
the restraining influence of his presence was due our respite. He
waved his braves back. They withdrew and became quiet.
"'Will you give the murderer of my child to our tribe?' the chief said
to McLeod.
"'He is no longer mine to give,' said the factor.
"'Will you give him to us in peace and forget that he has gone with
us?'
"McLeod was still in the grasp of Red Feather and his brother. Buffalo
Horn was facing him. Behind the chief, awaiting his signal, was the
band, with knives and hatchets in hand.
"'No,' said McLeod.
"The tumult was renewed. The Indians advanced, threatening the factor
with their weapons and crying out for his death. But McLeod was not to
be terrified.
[Illustration: _Courtesy of "The Youth's Companion"_
BUFFALO HORN LOOKED STEADILY INTO McLEOD'S EYES.]
"'Let us take the white man,' said Buffalo Horn, lifting his hand for
silence. 'We have no quarrel with you. Let all be as it was.'
"'No,' said McLeod. 'I will never consent to his murder.'
"'Let us take him.'
"'I said I wouldn't,' said McLeod, 'and I won't.'
"It seemed to me that the end had come. Buffalo Horn looked steadily
into McLeod's eyes. McLeod gave him glance for glance. He was ready to
die for the word he had passed. The Indian hesitated. It may be that
he did not want to precipitate the slaughter. Then he turned, as if to
give the signal. Before his hand was raised, however, the daughter of
the Indian interpreter of the post pushed her way through the band of
braves and stood before their chief.
"'Listen,' said she. 'Have you come to rob the great company of its
goods?'
"'No,' said Buffalo Horn. 'We have no quarrel with the great
company.'
"She was a slip of a girl, to whom, in sickness and in health, McLeod
had been unfailingly kind. She knew no fear, and in intelligence she
was superior to all the other women of her race I have known.
"'Have you come to take the life of this man?' she went on, moving
closer to Buffalo Horn, and looking deep into his eyes.
"'No,' said the chief, 'we have no quarrel with this man. He is a good
man, but he will not deliver the murderer of my child.'
"'Will you take his life because of that?'
"'No; we will take his life because he will betray our part in the
death of the white man whom he has tried to shelter.'
"'There are others who might betray you.'
"'And their lives, also,' said Buffalo Horn, composedly.
"All that had been implied was now expressed. He was to massacre us
all to shield his tribe from the punishment that might follow the
discovery of his revenge.
"'You will lay waste the fort,' said the interpreter's daughter, 'but
will the ruins not accuse you to the great company which this man
serves?'
"'We will be far away.'
"'And will you never care to return to the grounds you have hunted
from childhood?'
"To this Buffalo Horn made no reply. He looked at the floor, his arms
folded, and he was silent for a long time.
"'This man,' said the girl, touching McLeod on the shoulder, 'has
dealt fairly by you. He has kept his faith with you. He said that he
would provide you with food through the hard seasons. Has he not done
so?'
"'He has kept faith with us,' said the chief. 'Therefore he is a good
man.'
"'He is a good man because he has kept faith with you,' the girl said,
eagerly. 'Would you, then, have him break faith with some other? He
has said to the white man, "I will not give you up." Would you have
him break the word he has passed? For if he breaks it once, will he
not break it again? If he should yield up the white man, what security
would you have that he would provide for you through the next hard
season?'
"'He keeps his word,' said Buffalo Horn. 'He is a good man.'
"He made a sign to Red Feather to release McLeod. Then he gathered
his braves about him, and stalking solemnly at their head, led them
out of the shop, over the courtyard and through the gate. We were left
alone.
"'Leave the gate open, Tobias,' said McLeod. 'Come, boy,' to me, 'let
us get to work on the quarterly statement again. This interruption
came at an awkward time. We'll have to make up for it.'"
That was the end of David's story.