TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER PAGE I PASSING FLEET 1 II THE SILVER BULLET 16 III THE HOT SPRING 30 IV THE SEVEN HERALDS 39 V THE WYANDOT COUNCIL 51 VI THE RUINED VILLAGE 63 VII THE TAKING OF HENRY 79 VIII THE NORTHWARD MARCH 96 IX AT DETROIT 109 X THE LETTER OF THE FOUR 126 XI THE CRY FROM THE FOREST 143 XII THE CANOE ON THE RIVER 157 XIII ON THE GREAT LAKE 173 XIV A TIMELY RESCUE 188 XV THE PAGES OF A BOOK 205 XVI THE RIVER FIGHT 226 XVII THE ROAD TO WAREVILLE 241XVIII THE SHADOWY FIGURE 265 XIX A HERALD BY WATER 282 XX THE COUNTER-STROKE 316 XXI THE BATTLE OF PIQUA 336 XXII THE LAST STAND 359THE BORDER WATCHCHAPTER ITHE PASSING FLEETA late sun, red and vivid, cast beams of light over a dark river,flowing slowly. The stream was a full half mile from shore to shore, andthe great weight of water moved on in silent majesty. Both banks werelined with heavy forest, dark green by day, but fused now into solidblackness by the approach of night.The scene was wild and primordial. To an eye looking down it would haveseemed that man had never come there, and that this was the dawn oftime. The deep waters lapped the silent shore until a gentle sighingsound arose, a sound that may have gone on unheard for ages. Close tothe water a file of wild ducks flew like an arrow to the north, and, ina little cove where the current came in shallow waves, a stag bent hishead to drink.The sun lingered in the west and then sank behind the vast wall offorest. The beams of red and gold lasted for a little space on thesurface of the river, and then faded into the universal night. Under thegreat cloak of the dark, the surface of the river showed but dimly, andthe rising wind blew through the forest with a chill and uncanny sound.The ordinary soul would have been appalled by the mighty isolation ofthe wilderness, yet the river itself was not without the presence ofhuman life. Close to the northern shore, where the shadow of the tallforest lay deepest, floated a long boat, containing five figures thatrested easily. Two of the crew were boys, but as tall and strong as men.The other three were somewhat older. The boat carried four pairs ofoars, but only one man rowed, and he merely pulled on an oar from timeto time to give direction, while the current did the work. His comradesleaned comfortably against the sides of the boat, and with keen eyes,trained to the darkness, watched for a break in the black battlement ofthe trees.It was Henry Ware who first saw the opening. It was nearly always he whowas the first to see, and he pointed to the place where the dark linemade a loop towards the north."It's a wide break," he said a moment or two later. "It must be themouth of the river.""You're shorely right, Henry," said Shif'less Sol, who sat just behindhim, "an' from the looks o' the break thar, it's a good, big river, too.S'pose we pull up in it a spell afore we make a landin'.""It seems a good idea to me," replied Henry. "What say you, Paul?""I'm for it," replied Paul Cotter. "I'd like to see this new rivercoming down from the north, and it's pretty sure, too, that we'd besafer camping on it for the night than on the Ohio."