Adventure Magazine Cover — page 136: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

130 Durgin insisted on having our friend’s speech translated into English, and after I had finished he showed uneasiness and in- sisted that we push down-stream at once. Opposed in this—an open invitation to be murdered—he declared that we at least must shift to another hiding-place, the pres- ence of the dead warrior disquieting him. _ The Chickasaw repeated that we must wait where we were until nightfall, but we com- promised with the New Englander by re- moving the body. The Night Walker and I conveyed it up-stream and covered it with river-drift. In doing this we left signs the first red passer-by would be quite sure to notice and investigate. However, I was glad to escape the stare of the dead eyes, and I believed our side of the river would not be searched so thor- oughly as the other. The Night Walker returned to the canoe with me and offered to stand guard so that Durgin and I might sleep. When I opened my eyes it was sun- down, and Durgin was munching parched corn. The Chickasaw announced— ‘‘While the white men slept the Night Walker’s medicine voice told him to walk with the white men.”’ We were highly pleased to have his com- pany, and with the first darkness we were afloat. The water was shallow, the channel eccentric, and we did little paddling. We felt our way by poling; and an hour of slow progress convinced us the night would pass and find us short of our destination. So we carried the canoe ashore and concealed it under overhanging boughs. It was a great relief to feel the frm path under our feet. We came toa small Miami village, abandoned, which the Night Walker would not enter for fear of ghosts. When in the early morning we sighted the Ottawa village of Roche de Bceuf (Buffalo Rock) across the river it was our turn to exercise prudence and for the Chick- asaw to court peril. It was with the utmost difficulty that we dissuaded him from crossing and making a sly attack on the sleepers. He would not enter a village of six empty huts, but he gladly would have sought advancement as a warrior by stealing into a big occupied village and hurling de- fiance at the savage Ottawas. The mists were clearing and it was quite light when the path quit the woods and per- Adventure mitted us to see the tilled fields. the trad- ing-house and warehouse of Colonel Mc- Kee. The Chickasaw stared at the build- ings and tilted his head as if listening. “The Night Walker now walks alone,” he announced. “If you see him between here and Detroit you will not know him. His eyes will be like a dead man’s when they look at you. But if Death runs along your trail the Night Walker will stop him. Hide the medicine-gun. It is not good for Shaw- nee, Miami or Delaware to see. McKee will put peace wampum around your necks so that no one will hurt you; but you must get to Detroit before Blue Jacket’s men come and say you are to go back with them.” Durgin was loath to part with his bow- gun but was sensible enough to realize our safety depended on cunning and not armed resistance. Without a word the Chickasaw took the gun and turned back into the woods, leaving us to cross the fields and seek the protection of the British Indian Agent, Colonel Alexander McKee, formerly deputy Indian agent under Sir William Johnson. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and he broke his parole when he fled to take service under the crown and fight against his coun- trymen. He was the man whom General Wayne blamed above all others for the red war now about to block all white roads leading north from the Ohio. Any appeal to this man’s protection would be success- ful only after we had convinced him that the commandant at Detroit could profit by the information we possessed. A wisp of blue smoke rose from the trad- ing-house. Several curs ran out growling and yapping as we boldly left cover and made for the building. We kicked a path through them and reached the low door. We could hear some one moving about in- side, and Durgin whispered that he caught a glimpse of some’.one moving by the small window. ‘Ho, the house!” I heartily called out. ‘“‘Colonel McKee, two recruits for his Ma- jesty’s service need food and clothing.”’ The door swung open, and we entered the darkened room. The door closed; we heard the bar fall in place. For a moment the gloom of the long, low room baffled the gaze. ‘Then we found ourselves suspiciously TO BE CONCLUDED scrutinized by half a dozen savages. Col- onel McKee was not there. comicbooks.conm