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diff --git a/old/65667-0.txt b/old/65667-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d8a83c0..0000000 --- a/old/65667-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4679 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Wolf Queen, by Charles Howard - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Wolf Queen - or, The Giant Hermit of the Scioto - -Author: Charles Howard - -Release Date: June 22, 2021 [eBook #65667] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: David Edwards, Susan Carr and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern Illinois - University Digital Library at http://digital.lib.niu.edu/) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOLF QUEEN *** - - - - - THE - - WOLF QUEEN, - - OR, - - THE GIANT HERMIT OF THE SCIOTO. - - BY CAPT. CHARLES HOWARD, - AUTHOR OF “THE ELK KING,” (POCKET NOVEL NO. 45.) - - NEW YORK: - BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, - 98 WILLIAM STREET. - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by - FRANK STARR & CO., - In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. - - - - CONTENTS - - PAGE - I. THE RIVER COMBAT. 9 - II. THE HERMIT AND HIS CAVE. 12 - III. JIM GIRTY AND HIS PRISONER. 18 - IV. THE EVENTS OF THAT NIGHT. 22 - V. THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH-SHOTS. 27 - VI. OUT OF THE CAVE TO DOOM. 31 - VII. ALASKA IN HER FRENZY. 36 - VIII. JIM GIRTY TRIUMPHS. 40 - IX. ONE OF ALASKA’S WHIMS. 45 - X. THE FATE OF WELL-LAID PLANS. 50 - XI. THE MOLES ON THE SHOULDER. 56 - XII. NOT YET! NOT YET! 60 - XIII. THE BAFFLED RENEGADE. 66 - XIV. SQUAW VENGEANCE, AND SQUAW RAGE. 71 - XV. A LEAF FROM THE HERMIT’S LIFE. 75 - XVI. THE KING OF THE WOLVES. 78 - XVII. THE CONFERENCE ON THE KNOLL. 80 - XVIII. SIMON GIRTY IN HIS WAR-PAINT. 82 - XIX. A CHANGE IN AFFAIRS. 85 - XX. THE BLOODY MEETING. 89 - XXI. THE LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS. 94 - - - - - THE WOLF-QUEEN; - - OR, - - THE GIANT HERMIT OF THE SCIOTO. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE RIVER COMBAT. - - -The sun was sinking, a great fiery ball, in the leaden west, at the -close of an autumn day, in the year 1804, when a solitary canoe -descended the Scioto, then vastly swollen by recent rains. - -The single occupant of the tiny bark was a youth of two and twenty -summers, clad in buck-skin. His beardless face gave him an extremely -womanish expression. Its smooth surface was yet untanned by the -rays of the sun, which fairness of skin proclaimed him a novice in -backwoods life. - -He plied the oars deftly and noiselessly, and kept in the middle of -the stream. Ever and anon he glanced upward at the ragged cliffs that -hung over the murky and turbulent waters like the hand of doom. But, -at last, he passed beyond the precipitous banks, and gained the mouth -of the Scioto’s nosiest tributary. - -Here he rested upon his oars a moment, as if to decide a mental -debate, then ran his canoe up the new stream, toward the left bank of -which he presently steered. - -“So far without accident,” he murmured in an audible tone, not before -glancing furtively around. “Simon Kenton may be a great hunter; but -he is a sorry prophet. What! did he think I would wait until he -returned from the hazardous expedition he is about to undertake, -and leave Eudora the while in Jim Girty’s hands? And when, in the -ebullition of anger, as I will admit--I called him a lunatic, and -told him that I would rescue the girl without the aid of his potent -arm, he said, with a sneer I shall never forget: ‘Go, rash boy, and -meet the reward for spurning the counsels of your elders. Go to the -death prepared for you by the Wolf-Queen.’” - -“The Wolf-Queen!” the young man continued, after a sneer for the -prophecy of the king of backwoodsmen. “If such a creature exists, I -want to meet her; and I have no reason for doubting her existence, -for Simon Kenton says he once trembled in her presence. And Simon -Kenton never lies. I will pit my strength against the Amazon, and her -wolfish guard. Though rash and young in the ways of the woods, Mayne -Fairfax is not a coward, else why came he from cultivated Virginia to -the dark death-paths of Ohio? No; I--My God!” - -The exclamation was called into being by the terrible sight that -suddenly burst upon the young hunter’s vision. - -Scarce the distance of a hundred yards up-stream, a canoe shot from -the bush-fringed bank, and bore down upon the young Virginian. - -In the center of the bark stood the very person he had lately -expressed a desire to meet--the dreaded Wolf-Queen--dreaded alike by -Indians and whites. - -She towered six feet above her moccasins, and her frame seemed built -of iron. She wore a frock of tanned doe-skin, the fringes of which -touched her knees. The leggins which fitted her nether limbs to a -fault, were composed of panther skins, secured to the moccasins by -painted strips of deer-hide. Over all these garments she wore a -long, dark robe whose ample folds disappeared in the canoe, and lent -a royal aspect to its strange wearer. Her head was surrounded by a -dress, composed of white heron-feathers, and among her raven locks, -which streamed over her shoulders, and covered her beaded bosom, were -curiously, but not distastily, woven the gaudy feathers of the North -American oriole. - -The features, more than the dress of the singular being so suddenly -encountered on the swollen stream, commanded the hunter’s attention. - -They belonged to a woman in the noon, or summer of life. Here and -there a wrinkle was to be seen, and a sadly strange beauty pervaded -her countenance. But the eyes--those faithful indexes of the human -heart--proclaimed their possessor--a white woman--_mad_! - -Yes, the unmistakable fire of insanity blazed fiercely in those -baleful orbs, and told the single beholder that she was a perfect -demon, when the paroxysm of lunacy swayed her. - -But she was not alone. - -On either side of her stood a huge black wolf, while at her feet -sat a monster gray one. A collar of deer-skin, elaborately beaded, -encircled the necks of the fierce brutes, and from their shaggy backs -the muddy water dripped. - -The sight was enough to blanch the boldest cheek, and Mayne Fairfax -could not repress a shriek of terror. It bubbled to his lips -unsummoned. - -He now had ocular proof that the dreadful Wolf-Queen was not a myth. - -The canoe and its terrible freight approached with an impetus -received from the swift waters. No oars were needed to keep it in -the center of the stream--a swift current did this service for the -Wolf-Queen, who stood erect in the bark, clutching a drawn bow. - -Mayne Fairfax’s presence of mind soon returned. He griped his rifle, -but ere it struck his shoulder the twang of a bow-string smote -his ears, and a barbed shaft buried itself in his right breast. -Instantaneously a faintness stole over him, but the courageous hunter -repressed it, as the canoe of the Amazon grated against his. - -He would not die without a struggle, and therefore seized his rifle -for the second time, for the purpose of braining his antagonist. - -At that moment the gray wolf left his post. - -The clubbed rifle dropped into the canoe, as the wolf buried his -fangs in the hunter’s throat, and the brave fellow staggered back, -trying to tear the mad animal from his breast. - -In that terrible moment Simon Kenton’s last words burst doomfully and -prophetically upon his mind! - -But his end was not yet. - -For in the fateful moment that followed the lupine attack, the sharp -report of a rifle rent the air; the wolf relinquished his hold with a -groan, and fell at Mayne Fairfax’s feet--dead! - -The Wolf-Queen turned toward the shore, and saw a great coonskin -cap surmounting a clump of prickly pears. Instantly a cry, but half -earthly, escaped her lips, and a minute later she was flying down the -stream, vainly trying to stanch the crimson tide that flowed from the -gray wolf’s heart; while at her feet crouched the black monsters, -drinking the warm blood of their lifeless companion. - -The young hunter’s canoe began to drift toward the Scioto, and upon -its gory bottom, as motionless as a corpse, lay Mayne Fairfax. - -Suddenly the pear bushes parted, and a backwoods giant, bearing a -long but deadly-looking rifle sprung into the stream, and intercepted -the drifting canoe. - -He looked over the side, and shook his head doubtingly. - -“Poor lad! poor lad!” he murmured, with rough but genuine indications -of sorrow. “I’m afraid he’s going to cross the river.” - -Then, standing in the water in the middle of the tributary, he -stanched the blood that poured from the lacerated throat, which he -bound with the soft linings of his grotesque cap. - -“There!” he cried, surveying his work. “That doctoring will do until -I reach home. This young chap must not die. He’s too brave to perish -in the springtime of his life. I wonder what brought him alone to -these parts!” - -Then with the interrogative still quivering his lips, he towed the -boat ashore, moored it to a clump of alder bushes, and raising the -unconscious youth in his arms, darted away into the great forest, -where strange fortunes and adventures awaited him and the human -burden he bore. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE HERMIT AND HIS CAVE. - - -Now and then a groan parted the lips of the unconscious Virginian, as -the giant rapidly bore him through the wood, throughout the recesses -of which the somber shades of night were gathering. - -At length the surface of the ground grew hilly, and the giant -approached so near the Scioto that the swash of the waters against -its new banks could be distinctly heard. He followed the course of -the stream for some distance, when he turned aside, and darted into a -small ravine once the bed of a tributary of the Scioto. In the banks -of the ravine were just discernible several gloomy apertures, into -one of which the backwoodsman disappeared. - -Five steps from the orifice brought him to a strong oaken door, -seemingly imbedded in the limestone rock, and a short fumbling in the -gloom above his head threw wide the portal. - -Dark as the night without was the gloom beyond the stone threshold; -but a joyful bark greeted the giant’s ears, and a dog sprung forward -to greet him. - -“Home again, Wolf,” said the man, securing the door. “And I’ve -brought you a friend--a friend as near dead, I should judge, as you -get them, for, with an arrow sticking near through one, and the -awfulest torn throat you ever saw, things must look dangerous.” - -The speaker moved forward, and, without the aid of a light, tenderly -placed Mayne Fairfax upon a couch, deep with soft dressed skins. -Then he ignited a tiny pile of bark films, which soon communicated a -warmth to a heap of sticks, which blazed and crackled with some fury. - -“Here, Wolf, quit smelling around the patient,” cried the giant, -turning to his charge. “I’m the doctor in this case, and I’m about -to see what can be done. May be he isn’t so badly hurt as I opine. -That arrow,” he continued, after a long silence, during which he -had critically examined the hunter’s wounds, “that arrow must be -pulled through. I’m not much of a surgeon, but I reckon as how I have -managed some pretty dangerous cases. Here goes! If that arrow ain’t -taken out, a certain young man will never shoulder a rifle again.” - -A protuberance on the young hunter’s back told the giant that the -arrow had nearly gone through the body, and delicately, yet firmly, -the rude surgeon set to work. His keen hunting-knife first severed -the shaft; then made the incision, and the remainder of the shaft was -withdrawn. Then some astringent liniment was rubbed on and into the -wounds, which were covered with strong adhesive plasters. - -As this operation was completed, Mayne Fairfax groaned and opened his -eyes. - -His first inquiry regarded his situation. - -“You’re in the home of Bill Hewitt,” answered the giant, “and he has -just pulled the arrow of that madwoman from your body. Luckily, as I -have discovered, it struck no vital part. The deviation of an inch, -either to the right or the left, would have rendered my surgical -operations unnecessary. So you may begin to believe in special -providences.” - -Fairfax tried to answer, but the condition of his throat, torn by the -jaws of the gray wolf, baffled him. - -“I’ll dress your breathing apparatus right now,” said Hewitt, “and -then I opine you can chatter away like a parrot.” - -The young hunter never winced under the pain occasioned by the -dressing of his throat. - -“It’s best for you to stay down for a few days,” said Hewitt, after -completing the operation. “Exertion of body may irritate your breast -wound, and end in something disagreeable. I’ll stay with you all the -time, for I don’t go visiting much in these parts, nor these times. -Now just lay still, but talk to me while I get supper for two; tell -me all about yourself, and what brought you alone away down here. -Boy, you look like a Virginian.” - -“I am a Virginian,” answered Fairfax, watching the giant’s backwoods -culinary operations. “My name is Fairfax.” - -“Fairfax!” cried the backwoodsman, quickly turning upon the speaker. -“What Fairfax?” - -“The son of Ronald Fairfax, of Roanoke.” - -“I knew him,” said the giant. - -“That is singular. When did you leave Virginia?” - -“So you’ve got to questioning before you’re half through with your -story, eh?” cried Hewitt, with a strange smile. “Well, I’ll tell you; -but you must go on with _your_ tale; and perhaps I’ll tell you mine, -some day. _Perhaps_, I say, and _some day_. I left Rockbridge county -a matter of twenty-one years ago.” - -“Three months since I stood in my father’s house,” resumed young -Fairfax, whose countenance told that he would have questioned -his preserver further; “and were it not for the existence of that -accursed renegade, Jim Girty, I would be there this night.” - -“Yes, curse Jim Girty, boy,” muttered Hewitt. “Oh that curses could -kill.” - -“Yes, yes,” hissed Mayne Fairfax, and his nervous hands closed -in silent anger. “Near Rockbridge county the family of Nicholas -Morriston rather rashly dwelt alone in the wilderness. The father -was a hotheaded man, who lived in fancied security, while Indian -raids were being made all around him. One night, poor fellow, he paid -dearly for his rashness, for often had I entreated him to remove his -family to a place of safety. One night, I say, when too late to fly, -he paid the penalty attached to stubbornness. But not only did he -suffer, but every member of his family, save _one_, fell beneath the -swoop of the white hawk.” - -“The red hawks, you mean,” interrupted Hewitt. - -“No, no. The destroying band was led by Jim Girty, whose evil -passions had been inflamed by the beauty, the innocence and grace of -Eudora Morriston.” - -“I anticipate the remainder of your narrative, boy,” suddenly -interrupted the giant hermit. “Eudora Morriston is now Jim Girty’s -prisoner, and it is she whom you seek in the land of the dread -Wolf-Queen and her tribe.” - -“Yes. By tarrying, perhaps months, in Chillicothe, I might have -secured the assistance of the renowned Simon Kenton; but the thought -of Eudora’s situation--growing more precarious every day--caused me -to spurn the great hunter’s offer, and, alone, I swore to rescue her -or perish in the attempt.” - -“You’re a brave boy, a brave boy!” cried the giant, admiringly. -“I had a little boy once--a tiny fellow with golden hair, and the -prettiest eyes you ever saw. But where he is now, God knows. You love -Eudora Morriston?” - -A flush suffused Mayne Fairfax’s temples. - -“Yes, but she knows it not. I never breathed aught to her of my -passion.” - -For a long time the hunter was silent, and the outward workings of -his countenance, told of mental struggles in the mysterious unseen. - -“I loved once--a long while ago,” he said, at length, fixing his -gaze upon the reclining hunter. “But I don’t think I love anybody -now, save my boy--wherever he is--and Wolf, here,” and he stroked -the mastiff’s shaggy hide. “These hands,” he quickly continued, -stretching forth his broad palms, “are red with the gore of a -fellow-creature, whose skin was as fair as yours, my boy. With the -brand of Cain upon my brow, I fled Virginia--fled between two days, -and here I am, a cave-hermit, on the verge of fifty years, with a -giant’s frame, unracked by disease; but with hair and beard almost as -white as driven snow. - -“Yes, yes,” he continued, as though the young hunter had put a -question, “it is a terrible thing to kill a fellow-creature in the -first heat of passion; but I will not tell you aught further of that -dark night, now. Boy, from that day to this I have not taken a human -life--nor ever will I, not even the life of an Indian. I will assist -you to recover the sweet creature you seek--together we will snatch -her, unharmed, from the fangs of the white wolf--Jim Girty; but into -whatever precarious situations we may fall, remember, boy, that these -hands shed no human blood. These fists are enough for a score of -red-skins. They have proved themselves thus in times gone by. But -here, our supper is ready. I’ll prop you up with these skins, and you -can make out to eat, I hope.” - -The repast proved quite nutritious to Mayne Fairfax, and not a word -passed between the twain until it had ended, and the still smoking -remains thrown to Wolf. - -“Boy, did you ever hear your father speak of William Hewitt?” -suddenly questioned the giant. - -“Never to my knowledge,” answered the young man. - -“Strange, when we knew each other so well,” soliloquized the hermit, -in a semi-audible tone. “But, perhaps, he would have his heirs remain -ignorant of that dark night, as well he might. But, my boy, I’d give -my right arm, nay, my very life, to know what became of him--my boy.” - -“I will make every inquiry when I return,” said Fairfax. - -“But how shall I know the result of your inquiries?” - -“I will return and make them known to you.” - -“How can I reward you?” cried Hewitt, grasping the young man’s hands. - -“Say nothing about that. I am already rewarded. But--what was that?” - -“My door-bell,” said the giant, with a smile, as he rose to his feet -and hastened to the mouth of the cave. - -A minute later Fairfax heard the massive oaken door open and close, -and a confused murmur of voices approaching him. - -“Boy,” suddenly said the giant, leading a tall and athletic young -Indian into the mellow light of the fire, “here is the only visitor I -have. The Bible says that it is not good for man to be alone always, -so I picked up a companion. This is Oonalooska, the bravest young -warrior of his tribe.” - -Mayne Fairfax stretched forth his hand, and the young brave pressed -it with no small degree of feeling. - -“So the madwoman struck the white hunter?” said Oonalooska, half -interrogatively, still retaining Fairfax’s hand. - -“Yes; her shaft pierced my breast, and her wolf tore my throat.” - -“She will be like a great storm now,” returned the Shawnee, “because -one of her wolves is dead. Oonalooska fears for the Pale Flower in -the Shawnee village.” - -“Then she is there!” cried the young hunter, with eagerness. - -“Yes,” answered Oonalooska, “she is under the fiery eyes of the White -Wolf, and unless he guards her well, Alaska will tear her from him, -and put her to the torture.” - -“No, no!” cried Mayne Fairfax. “Hewitt, I feel strong enough to go -and rescue her.” - -“You’re as weak as a kitten,” said the giant, with a smile for the -young hunter’s futile effort to rise. “We will send Oonalooska back -to the village, and he shall report affairs for us. It will be a -terrible conflict if affairs reach such a climax between Girty and -Alaska, the Wolf-Queen; but Girty may still possess the strange -influence he has held over her in days gone by. I am certain that a -crisis will not be reached in the Shawnee village for some time.” - -“But send Oonalooska thither at once,” cried Fairfax, “and tell him -to tell Eudora that a friend seeks her rescue. And, Shawnee,” here he -addressed Oonalooska, “if you can save the Pale Flower at once, do -so, and convey her hither.” - -“Oonalooska will not sleep,” was the reply; “but to overcome the -White Wolf and Alaska he must have the cunning of his white friends.” - -“I cannot leave this young man until his sores are healed,” said -Hewitt. “But that will not be long. Then we will baffle Jim Girty, -and you, who hate him, can send him to Watchemenetoc.” - -The Indian’s eyes flashed at the hermit’s last sentence, and a minute -later Oonalooska was gone. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - JIM GIRTY AND HIS PRISONER. - - -James Girty was one of a quartette of brothers to which the notorious -Simon belonged. He became the prisoner of the Indians early in -Braddock’s ill-fated campaign, when he was in his fourteenth year, -and was adopted by the Shawnees. Growing to manhood, he loved the -life and customs of the red rovers of the trackless forests, and -hated all whom they hated. His passions were as fiery as Simon’s, but -for some unaccountable reasons, he has not figured as conspicuously -on the page of history. - -Simon Girty, notwithstanding his multitudinous crimes, possessed a -few good qualities; but James possessed not one. Simon often pleaded -for the life of a prisoner, James never; and his countenance was the -incarnation of all that is repulsive. - -At the opening of our romance he had attained his sixty-ninth year, -notwithstanding which he still possessed a giant’s frame and a -giant’s strength. - -So well did he bear the burden of his years, that he looked beneath -fifty, and scarce a gray hair was visible upon his head. His eyes -still flashed the fire of manhood’s prime, from beneath long, -midnight lashes, and not a crow’s foot furrowed his forehead. -His face was covered by splotches of red hair, through which -cutaneous eruptions, caused by his dissolute habits, were constantly -making their appearance. When not influenced by wine, he was not -quarrelsome; but for many years he had drawn scarce a single sober -breath. He was an unerring marksman, and his influence over the -Indians was unbounded. - -While hunting in Virginia he encountered Eudora Morriston, whose -beauty fanned the fires of his evil nature; and, as Mayne Fairfax has -already related, he swooped down upon the happy home, at the head -of a band of Shawnees, massacred every one of its inmates, save the -beautiful girl, whom he bore to the Indian village, and placed under -the guardianship of two of the most pliant of his red tools. - -Bright and translucently beautiful upon the Shawnee village broke -the morn that followed the transaction of the events related in the -foregoing chapters. - -James, or as he was commonly called, Jim Girty, would have slumbered -late, had he not been startled from his sleep by the grip of a -human hand upon his arm. He opened his baleful eyes, and beheld a -middle-aged savage bending over him. The first streaks of morning but -illy dispersed the gloom of his lodge, and the renegade sprung to his -feet, with the oath, never absent from his lips. - -“Alaska is a storm!” cried the Indian, springing from Girty’s side, -and throwing aside the curtain of skins that served for a door. “See! -she goes to the lodge of the Pale Flower. Her wolves will kill the -guards, and tear to pieces the White Wolf’s prisoner. Last night the -Lone Man shot Alaska’s gray wolf, and she will now have the blood of -the white captive for it.” - -Astounded at the sight to which the savage directed his gaze--the -Wolf-Queen, guarded by a dozen terrible wolves, and followed by -near a hundred Indians, advancing toward the lodge where dwelt his -prisoner, guarded by but ten braves--Jim Girty jerked his rifle from -its pins over his couch, and bounded to the scene. - -He seemed to fly over the ground, and threw himself between Eudora’s -guards, as the foremost wolves were preparing for the combat. - -“Back!” he yelled, fixing his gaze upon Alaska. “Why does Alaska seek -the life of my prisoner?” - -“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed the madwoman, long and loud. “’Tis for the -White Wolf to question, but for Alaska to answer. Last night Alaska -met a young pale-faced hunter on the little stream. She pierced him -with her shaft, but he was brave. He would use his rifle as a club. -Alaska’s gray wolf--the only snow wolf of Alaska’s band--sought the -hunter’s throat, when the Lone Man, concealed by many bushes, shot -Lupino. Now lies he cold and dead in Alaska’s wigwam. She must have -blood for his, and that blood must flow from the Pale Flower’s heart.” - -She finished, and stepped forward, while her grip tightened on the -long-bladed knife that glittered in the first beams of the sun. - -Girty’s rifle shot to his shoulder. - -He did not dare shoot the Wolf-Queen, for she knew not the value of -life, and her death at his hands would soon be followed by his, by -the claws and fangs of her wolves. - -He directed his weapon at the head of her favorite wolf--a monster -black fellow, around whose neck was a wide beaded collar, and over -the shaggy back dropped a rich mantle. - -“If Alaska does not stay her hand,” he cried, “the White Wolf will -have Leperto’s blood!” - -The Wolf-Queen suddenly paused, and glanced from Girty to the -threatened wolf. Indecision ruled her form, and Girty was on the eve -of triumph, when an old Indian, bent with more than three-score years -and ten, stepped to Alaska’s side. - -His eyes flashed with a fire seldom seen in the orbs of age, when his -gaze fell upon the renegade. - -“Let the White Wolf shoot Leperto,” he cried, addressing the -madwoman. “Old Miantomah will give her another. Let the Pale Flower -die for the act of the Lone Man, and if the White Wolf resists, let -Alaska’s wolves, his brothers, tear him to pieces.” - -Miantomah exercised a weird influence over the Wolf-Queen, and, -inspired by his words, she spoke to her wolves. - -The mad animals fixed their eyes upon Girty, and crawled forward. - -It was a critical moment. - -“Shall an old, empty-headed man rule a mad-woman with his forked -tongue?” cried Girty, appealing to the crowd of warriors. “Let the -White Wolf’s brothers gather around him. He has led them to victory, -and will they now desert him for a crack-headed squaw?” - -“No!” cried Oonalooska, drawing his tomahawk, and springing to -Girty’s side. “Oonalooska is not a squaw. Warriors, follow him!” - -His action electrified the warriors, and, a moment later, all, save -a dozen, surrounded Girty, and displayed a hollow square glistening -with knives, to the Wolf-Queen. - -“Back to your wigwam now, and bury your dead!” cried Girty, in -triumph. - -Alaska regarded him in silence. - -He repeated the command. - -“Alaska moves not hence without the Pale Flower’s blood,” she at -length replied. “Her braves are on the war-path, and at their head, -marches the great Tecumseh, against whom the White Wolf dare not -stand. They will return ere yon ball of fire again rises over the -hills. Then, let the White Wolf fear, then will Alaska have the Pale -Flower’s heart. Here she will remain until Tecumseh comes,” and she -seated herself upon the ground, in the midst of her wolves. - -At the mention of Tecumseh’s name, Girty’s guard exchanged looks -of fear. The great chief was on ill terms with the renegade, and, -fearing to incur the anger of Tecumseh, several braves deserted -Girty, and went over to the mad-woman. - -“Be firm!” cried Girty, lowering upon the disaffection. “They who -stand by me shall be rewarded, and Tecumseh will act justly when he -comes.” - -This retained a goodly portion of his guard. - -The long hours wore away, both parties longing, yet fearing, for the -night. - -Oonalooska knew that Tecumseh would favor the Wolf-Queen, and, with -a determined resolve in his heart, he stepped into the lodge, where -knelt a trembling girl, praying to her God for deliverance. - -He touched her arm. - -She looked up, her eyes bathed in pearly tears. - -“Let the Pale Flower tremble not,” whispered the young brave. -“Tecumseh will not return till midnight, and ere he comes Oonalooska -will save the White Wolf’s captive. The young hunter lives in the -lodge of the great Lone Man.” - -Then he turned away, without noticing the look of gratitude Eudora -bestowed upon him. - -Oh, for the night! - -What had it in store for Eudora Morriston--life or death? - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE EVENTS OF THAT NIGHT. - - -Slowly the hours of that beautiful autumn day wore away, and the -shades of evening seemed a century in making their appearance. - -The squaws of the “town” brought a repast to Girty and his band; but -Alaska dispatched several warriors to her own wigwam, the capacious -larder of which was soon empty for the benefit of herself and wolves. - -The terrible animals never took their eyes from Girty, whose -distasteful form blocked the doorway of Eudora’s lodge. - -“Never fear, girl,” he said, one time, turning upon his prisoner, who -sat listlessly upon her couch of skins. “The wolves shan’t eat you. I -have great influence over Tecumseh, and the chief will quickly drive -the crazy woman to her wigwam.” - -A better dissembler than “Jim” Girty never trod the woods of Ohio. -He knew that the great Shawnee chieftain lived in superstitious awe -of the Wolf-Queen, and that, upon his return, his prisoner would -be given over to the fangs of the wolves. And while he spoke to -Eudora he was plotting to get her beyond the village before Tecumseh -returned. - -The young girl deigned no reply to his words, but in silence set to -work to arrange the disheveled locks which hung over her shoulders. - -She was very beautiful--the possessor of a symmetrical form faultless -in the minutest particular, large, black eyes, lustrous beneath raven -lashes, and a wealth of raven hair, which enhanced her transcendent -loveliness. She wore the coronet of her seventeenth year, though -weeping for the fate of her parents and golden-haired sisters, -mercilessly butchered in her sight, caused her to look beyond her -years. - -The words of Oonalooska shot a cheering ray of hope into her heart, -and caused that guiltless organ to beat for joy. “The young hunter -lives,” he had said; but what “young hunter” did he mean? Quite a -number of “young hunters” had been enraptured by her beauty, though -none had she ever bade hope for the dimpled hand that could send -an arrow unerringly to the target, and direct the bullet with an -accuracy unequaled by many well-known frontiersmen of those “dark and -bloody days.” - -Among her admirers, Mayne Fairfax had called oftenest at her home, -now a heap of ashes, and she had evinced a partiality for his -companionship, which had driven the others from the field. - -Was he the “young hunter” who sought her in the Indian village? - -Her rapid heart-beats proclaimed that she hoped so. - -The afternoon was nearing its close when Girty summoned Oonalooska to -his side. - -The young brave obeyed with alacrity, and was surprised to hear the -renegade make the following proposition: - -“Tecumseh must not meet the Pale Flower in the lodge,” said Girty, -in a low tone, that it might not reach the ears of Alaska, who was -within common earshot. “The chief hates me, but he also fears me. -Without a second thought he would deliver the white-faced girl to -Alaska. To-morrow he will decide otherwise. Not far from this lodge -dwell the exiled Mingoes, on whose grounds no hostile warrior dares -to tread. To-night, then, will not Oonalooska guide the Pale Flower -thither, and guard her until the White Wolf commands their return?” - -Eagerly Oonalooska promised to grant Girty’s request, and the plans -for the escape were quickly formed. - -While the plot was discussed by the warrior and the renegade, dark -clouds were creeping from the west, and soon the whole sky was -overcast--which harbingered a storm. Through a rift in the opaque -masses, the dying rays of the sun fell upon the Shawnee village, and -when night prevailed Girty threw a cordon of braves around Eudora’s -lodge. Alaska witnessed the precautionary movement, but instead of -encircling the cordon with her braves, she moved nearer the aperture -of the wigwam, which she made discernible by torches, thrust into the -yielding earth. - -Girty thought it best to keep Eudora ignorant of the destination he -intended for her; but told Oonalooska to say that he would conduct -her to a place of safety, beyond the reach of _all_ her enemies. - -The night was the incarnation of gloom, and every waning moment -brought Tecumseh and his braves nearer the village. The chief -had promised to return upon that particular night, and he had -never broken his word. In the rear of the wigwam Girty had placed -several braves upon whom he could rely, and, as the first peal of -thunder reverberated through the forest, and far down the Scioto, -Oonalooska’s keen knife gashed the thin bark in the rear of Eudora’s -couch. - -A peal of thunder in autumn always startled the Shawnees, and, -believing it the harbinger of Tecumseh’s approach, the most timid -glided over to the Wolf-Queen. - -Girty did not murmur at their late disaffection, for he knew that -Alaska would not move till the arrival of the giant chief. - -“Oonalooska is ready,” whispered the brave, turning from the -perforated bark to the maiden, whose eyes had witnessed the operation. - -“Then let us hasten,” she said in tremulous accents, “lest Tecumseh’s -arrival doom me to the teeth of the mad-woman’s wolves.” - -Tenderly, noiselessly, Oonalooska lifted Eudora in his arms, and -glided through the slit, and past the posted guards in the rear -of the wigwam. Once beyond the confines of the village, he walked -rapidly, experiencing no difficulty in picking his way rightly in the -cimmerian gloom. - -Presently he entered the forest, and when he had placed a hill -between himself and the village, he paused, and drew a torch from -beneath his wolf-skin robe. - -“Oonalooska does not possess the eyes of the owl,” he said, with a -smile, as he ignited a wisp of bark films with the flints. “The wood -is dark, and unless fire guides Oonalooska, he may wander to the -Mingoes, whither the White Wolf has sent him.” - -“But may not Oonalooska’s torch encounter Tecumseh?” asked Eudora, -who feared the worst. - -“No; the great chief and his braves will cross the creek into the -lodges. Oonalooska must have fire. It will keep the wolves away.” - -The mere mention of the wolves sent an icy shudder to Eudora’s heart. -From the jaws of the ravenous animals she had first been snatched by -the chivalrous red-man, who was once more bearing her through the -labyrinthine recesses of the Scioto forest. - -The hermit home of William, or, as he called himself, “Bill,” Hewitt, -was about fourteen miles from the Shawnee village, and Oonalooska -rapidly traversed the dreary miles. The crisp leaves gave forth a -weird sound, as the Indian’s moccasined feet touched them, and the -great drops of rain that pattered down through the giant, leafless -trees, added to the ghostliness of the moment. Sure enough, the -wolves struck the trail, and, at last, Oonalooska saw many a pair of -fiery eyes far in his rear. - -He felt Eudora shudder as a chorus of yells smote her ear; but he -assured her that they would reach the hermit’s cave in safety, when -he knew that the issue was doubtful. - -At length the warrior uttered a light cry, as he gained the summit -of a knoll, from which he indistinctly heard the roar of a little -cataract that poured its waters into the Scioto. - -“The Pale Flower is near the Lone Man’s lodge,” said the Shawnee, -and he dashed down the knoll, the foot of which he reached as the -foremost wolf poked his head over the summit. - -Once or twice he was forced to turn and beat the band off with his -torch, and, at last, almost exhausted, he dashed into the limestone -corridor of Hewitt’s home. - -He had not time to give the signal--the jerking of a deer-thong in -the darkness overhead--for the wolves were snapping at his lovely -burden, and while his lips uttered a peculiar whoop, he turned and -sent one giant fellow to the ground with his torch. The weapon struck -the animal in the mouth, and, the great tusk closing on it, it was -jerked from his hand. - -He shrieked again as his right hand throttled the leader of the -lupine band, and hurled him senseless among his companions. The dying -torch lent a terribly tragic view to the scene. Pale as death, Eudora -reclined upon the left arm of the Indian, as single-handed he fought -the bloodthirsty gang, and her lips parted with a joyful cry, as the -strong door was burst open, and she found herself borne into a warm -apartment. - -With clubbed rifle, the giant hermit sprung among the wolves, -and before him they divided and scattered like sheep. They had -encountered the invincible before. - -“Fly, cowards!” cried Hewitt, as he reëntered the cave, to find -Eudora kneeling before the couch of her wounded lover. - -He had thrown one arm around her neck, and his lips were whispering -something in her ears--probably the story of tender passion. - -“We will have the whole Shawnee nation to fight now,” said Hewitt, -when Eudora had related her trials while in the hands of Girty. “And -ere morn Tecumseh will be at our door. The wolves of Alaska will -track Eudora hither, and then for the conflict. It must be near dawn -now.” - -As he finished he drew aside a skin, that hung against the wall, and -disappeared in a dark passage. - -Oonalooska awaited his return in silence, while Fairfax and Eudora -conversed in low whispers. - -Suddenly the skin flew aside, and Hewitt sprung into the cave. - -His long beard was filled with tiny particles of decayed wood, and -sparks of fire seemed to dart from his dark orbs. But his voice was -as calm as a midsummer day. - -“Fifty-three braves are nearing us,” he said. “They are headed by -Tecumseh and Alaska, who is surrounded by her accursed wolves. Jim -Girty is not with them.” - -Oonalooska’s expression remained immobile, and Eudora threw a look at -her wounded lover, but her lips uttered nothing. Her dark eyes shot a -mingled look of determination and defiance toward the door. - -All at once a tomahawk struck the oaken planks, and a terrible yell -followed. - -It was the war-whoop of Tecumseh! - -Leperto, the petted wolf, answered it with a dismal howl. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH-SHOTS. - - -Let us witness the return of Tecumseh, and follow the great chief and -the Wolf-Queen to the hermit’s cave. - -Jim Girty did not desert his post, when he found the wigwam -tenantless. On the contrary, he told his band to increase their -vigilance, and remained immobile in the doorway of the lodge. He knew -when Oonalooska disappeared with his prisoner, and he breathed freer -than he had done for long hours. A run of three hours would bring the -young brave to the homes of the exiled Mingoes, across the threshold -of which, even Tecumseh, with all his greatness, dared not step, upon -other than a friendly mission. - -He felt that he could conciliate Tecumseh, and that, when the spasm -of frenzy, that now ruled Alaska’s heart, passed away, he could -command Oonalooska to return with the captive. - -The storm, which proved of brief duration, did no damage to the -village, and midnight brought Tecumseh. - -Several braves deserted Alaska to greet the returning band, and -presently the mighty Shawnee, with angry countenance, faced the -white-faced renegade. - -Jim Girty had learned to read his chieftain’s face, and in the -ghostly glare of the torches, he read thereon an unsuccessful -expedition. Tecumseh was in a fit mood to wreak vengeance on any man -who owned a white skin. - -With drawn tomahawk he paused before the renegade, and shouted, as -his eyes drank in the whole scene: - -“White Wolf, deliver the Pale Flower to Alaska!” - -“The White Wolf will obey his chief,” answered Girty, shooting the -mad-woman a singular look. “Let Tecumseh enter the lodge, and lead -the captive to the Wolf-Queen.” - -As he finished, he stepped aside, and Tecumseh sprung into the lodge. - -One loud yell parted the chief’s lips as his eyes fell upon the -untenanted couch, and a moment later his brawny hand closed on -Girty’s throat. - -“White Wolf’s tongue is forked!” he cried. “Let him tell Tecumseh -where the Pale Flower is, or die!” - -“The White Wolf knows not,” gasped the white liar. “She has been -stolen while we watched.” - -The chief’s grip relaxed, and, at his command, Girty was bound, and a -guard placed over him. - -Alaska could scarcely be restrained from throwing her wolves upon the -prostrate renegade. - -A brief examination revealed the gash in the bark, and instantly the -braves were called. One was missing--Oonalooska, the son of Okalona, -the aged Medicine of the Shawnees. _He_ was the traitor, and, if -captured, his doom would be a terrible one, and speedy. - -Tecumseh’s blood boiled in his dark veins, and his angry passions -were stirred to their depths. All fatigue incurred by the recent -war-expedition, instantly left him, and he called around him a band -of picked warriors. Alaska panted to pursue the traitor, and his -companion, and throwing herself at the head of the party, she placed -her wolves upon Oonalooska’s trail, and away they went, through the -forest, toward the hermit’s cave. - -The renegade was not permitted to accompany the pursuing party; -instead, he found himself under the vigilant eyes of five braves, who -bore him to his lodge, and threw themselves around it. - -He knew that his captivity would not last beyond the return of -Tecumseh, over whom, when calm, he held some influence. - -The war-whoop of Tecumseh and the dismal howl of Leperto, that -ushered in the clear, frosty autumn morning, was answered by a savage -growl from the hermit’s canine companion, who yearned to encounter -the mad-woman’s wolves. - -No human answer following the blow delivered by Tecumseh’s tomahawk, -the chief bestowed a second upon the door, and shouted: - -“Tecumseh, the war-chief of the Shawnees, demands the person of -Oonalooska, the red traitor, and the Pale Flower. Let the Lone Man -speak!” - -The hermit’s answer was not long delayed. - -“Is Tecumseh an empty fool, that he should seek the blood of the Pale -Flower, snatched from her home by the lying White Wolf? If he is -not, let him return to his lodge, the greatest chief of the Shawnee -nation.” - -“The Wolf-Queen seeks the Pale Flower. Tecumseh wants the traitor -Oonalooska,” was the reply. - -“Then let Tecumseh take them!” was the defiant reply, at which a -second war-cry smote the air, and the Shawnee drew back from the -portals. - -“Tecumseh will take them!” he cried, “and beside Oonalooska shall -burn the Lone Man of the woods.” - -“No, no!” shrieked mad Alaska. “The Lone Man shot Lupino. _He_ shall -die by the teeth of Alaska’s wolves.” - -“So be it,” answered Tecumseh, and in a loud tone he commanded his -warriors to heap fagots against the door of the cave. - -The command was obeyed with alacrity, and Tecumseh and several of -his favorite chiefs drew back to witness the work of burning out the -besieged whites. Near him stood the Wolf-Queen, amid her wolfish -guard, and the terrible light of anticipated vengeance danced in her -eyes. - -The work went on without interruption for many minutes, during which -period the golden god of day lazily scaled the oriental horizon, and -threw his warm beams upon the swarthy band. - -Suddenly the sharp report of a rifle rent the gentle breeze that -flitted through the woods, and the stalwart chief, whose shoulder -touched Tecumseh, staggered back with a bloody, crushed temple. - -Instantly the braves left their work, and gathered around the -stricken chief. Whence came the deadly missile? An examination showed -that the ball had been fired from an elevated position, and the -leafless top of every tree was scanned with vengeful eyes. But the -mysterious slayer remained undiscovered. - -“Back!” shouted Tecumseh, after a prolonged search, and the warriors -returned to the cave. “Haste with the work! Tecumseh yearns to see -the traitor, and the Lone Man die.” - -At length the last gathered bough was thrust into the mouth of the -cave, and Tecumseh turned to Nethoto, a chief not below his august -self in prowess, when a second rifle report smote his ears; and -Nethoto staggered back--dead! - -Horror-stricken, Tecumseh shrunk aghast from the work of death, and -for the first time in all his life displayed a frightened face to his -braves. - -He felt that his turn would come next, and instantly, as if in -confirmation of that mental conclusion, a voice rung throughout the -forest. - -“Let Tecumseh hasten to his lodge, else he never steps upon another -war-trail!” - -The savages gazed wildly around as the tones fell upon their ears, -and then looked at their chief, who seemed to have grown into a -statue--so motionless and pale he stood. - -Alaska was the first to break the silence. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” she laughed, as she caught one of her wolves, and -threw him upon the dead body of Nethoto. “The Great Spirit slays -Nethoto, who once struck Alaska with a whip. Let Tecumseh return to -the village; but Alaska and her wolves will stay. They will enter the -Lone Man’s cave and devour him. The Great Spirit loves Alaska and her -wolves. Ha! ha! ha!” and she clapped her hands with glee to see the -wolves tear Nethoto to pieces. - -Tecumseh knew not how to act. He feared the Wolf-Queen, in awe of -whom his warriors stood, and at his bidding they would remain. If he -stayed, death would soon enter his heart. - -The Wolf-Queen did not notice his indecision. With fiendish delight -she was throwing wolf after wolf upon the dead chief. - -All at once her brutal actions came to an abrupt termination. - -A third shot echoed throughout the wood, and Leperto, the king of the -wolves, sprung back from the corpse--a corpse himself. - -A heart-chilling shriek welled from Alaska’s throat, as she sprung -forward and pressed the dead wolf to her bosom. A moment she gazed -wildly around, as if searching for the mysterious slayer, and then, -with an indescribable horror of countenance, she darted from the -tragic spot, followed by her wolves, Tecumseh and his braves. - -It was the first time that Tecumseh ever turned his back upon the foe. - -Convulsively to her heart the crazy queen pressed Leperto. She tried -to stanch his crimson tide with her long tresses, but it seemed to -flow the faster, and her trail was one of gore. - -“Not long will Tecumseh remain in his beaded lodge,” hissed the great -chief to a plumed Indian, at whose side he ran. “He will return, and -hunger shall drive the pale ones, with the red traitor, from the hole -in the ground, and the blood of Sagasto and Nethoto shall be poured -upon their heads.” - -The mad-woman thought of nothing but her dead wolf; but very soon -other and more terrible thoughts would rule her shattered brain. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - OUT OF THE CAVE TO DOOM. - - -During the brief siege described in the foregoing chapter, but two -persons occupied the cave. These were Mayne Fairfax and the beautiful -Eudora Morriston. - -The young hunter reclined on the couch, and Eudora sat beside him, -holding one of his hands in hers. - -“I wonder how this will end, Mayne,” she said, gazing into his deep -eyes, that never grew weary of gazing into her face. - -“I do not know, Eudora,” replied the hunter; “but I feel that the -end is not far distant. The capitulation of the hermit’s fort, in my -mind, is but a question of time. If Tecumseh can not burn the door, -he can starve us out. But hark, girl! That sounded like a rifle shot.” - -“And that shriek, Mayne!” cried the girl. “An Indian has fallen -beneath the Lone Man’s rifle. Perhaps it was Tecumseh?” - -“No, no, Eudora. Hewitt did not fire that shot. He sheds the blood of -no fellow-man. If an Indian fell, it was beneath Oonalooska’s aim. -Listen! That was the voice of Tecumseh.” - -The conversation ceased, and in the silence that followed the lovers -heard the second shot, that sent Nethoto to the earth. - -“Another!” cried Eudora. “Where do the shots come from, Mayne?” - -“From the top of a giant oak,” answered the young hunter. “Yon -subterranean passage ends beneath the trunk of a great, hollow tree. -Inside, steps lead to the top of the giant, from whence Oonalooska is -smiting the red men.” - -“What a singular man the hermit is!” cried Eudora, as the faint tones -of the Wolf-Queen--faint to the cave listeners--came from the wood. -“He is a mystery to the savages. Girty hates, but fears him, and, to -Tecumseh, he is an enigma. I--” - -“The third shot!” interrupted Mayne, and a minute later the giant -hermit stepped into the cave. - -“Our enemies are routed,” he said, bestowing a smile upon the lovers. -“Beneath Oonalooska’s rifle fell two chiefs and Leperto.” - -“Alaska’s wolf,” said Eudora, turning to Fairfax. “The poor woman -will be inconsolable now.” - -“Oonalooska wanted to shoot the queen, but I covered the flint with -my hand in time to save her life. I could not witness the killing of -that poor mad-woman, though if we ever fall into her hands we will -receive no mercy.” - -“Her wolves tore Oonalooska’s venison once,” hissed the chief, who -stood beside the hermit, and he added, in an undertone. “Some day -when Lone Man is abroad, Oonalooska’s flint will not be covered by a -pale hand.” - -“Do you think our enemies will return?” asked the young Virginian, -looking into the hermit’s face. - -“Yes. Already I believe that Tecumseh’s spies lurk in the vicinity, -and, ere long, the chief will return with a large force, which can -not be successfully resisted. I know Tecumseh as few men know him. I -have watched him grow to manhood, unforgiving and vindictive.” - -“In view of our situation, then, what do you propose?” questioned -Fairfax, with eagerness. - -“Flight--to Chillicothe,” was the reply. - -“Not by day?” - -“No; to the contrary. We are not far from the river, which I believe -will not be guarded to-night. From this cave leads a passage which -terminates not a great ways from the river. That passage I have never -had occasion to use, having never, until this day, been besieged. -Above the termination of that passage, the crust has not been broken. -We will use that to-night, and near dawn, no accidents intervening, -we will be beyond danger. My boy, can you crawl to the opening of the -passage? Thence we will assist you to the boat.” - -“Yes,” cried Fairfax, rising with a mighty effort, that sent a -thousand painful arrows throughout his frame, “I feel strong -again--the events of the last twenty-four hours have made me a giant.” - -Hewitt shook his head doubtingly, and faintly smiled, as a sense of -giddiness forced the young hunter upon the couch again. - -“Tecumseh will not return before nightfall,” continued the hermit, -after a brief silence, “and while they besiege the cave, we will be -flying up the river to Chillicothe--which, for us, means safety.” - -Then the strange man drew a repast from his store, and the victuals -were discussed with a relish, and conversation in which they tried to -forget their perilous situation. - -Slowly the day waned, and, at length, a growl from the mastiff, who -lay at the brush-burdened door, told the hunted that an Indian was -near. - -Then Oonalooska disappeared in the subterranean passage, already used -during the progress of our romance; but presently returned with the -information that several spies were in the wood, at the mouth of the -cave. - -The hour for escape had arrived. - -“I’ve lived in this hole in the ground for eighteen years,” said -the hermit, taking a mournful survey of the cave, whose walls were -lined with the skins of all animals, “and you may think that it goes -hard with me to leave it. But if I stay here now, Alaska’s wolves -will drink Hewitt blood. I want to live till I can see my boy again, -and--” here he turned away, and muttered in an undertone: “Yes, I’d -like to see her, too. I could forgive her now; but, oh, God! will I -ever meet my wife on earth more?” - -A great tear dewed his tawny cheek, and a tremor crossed his giant -frame, as he turned to the trio. - -“Well, we’re ready now,” he said, calm again. “Here, girl, take the -extra rifle. I’ve heard tell as how you can use it.” - -“I can and will, if I must,” said Eudora, proudly, as she took the -proffered firearm. - -The hermit stepped to the further end of the cave, and revealed a -gloomy passage, by throwing aside a wolf-skin that concealed it. - -“Lead off, Oona,” he said, addressing the Indian. “Wolf and I’ll -bring up the rear.” - -The Indian dropped upon all fours, and entered the passage; and the -dog bounded in, in advance of his master. - -“Good-by, old home,” said the hermit, taking a last look at the -apartment. “Mebbe I’ll come back again, and mebbe I won’t, that’s -all.” - -The curtain fell and the cave was tenantless. - -The underground corridor seemed interminable; but, at last, -Oonalooska paused. The end was reached. - -It was the noiseless work of a few moments to admit an invigorating -current of night-air into the gloomy way, and the Shawnee emerged -upon _terra firma_. - -“Now for the river,” whispered Hewitt, throwing himself in advance of -the party. - -The night was dark around, though many stars twinkled in the blue -overhead. - -Eudora trod in the hermit’s tracks, and her lover leaned upon the arm -of Oonalooska. - -At length they stood upon the right bank of the Scioto. It was lined -with thick clumps of weeping willows, the leaves of which touched the -dark water, causing many faint ripples, that fell ominously upon the -ears of the hunted quartette. - -The hermit glided from his companions, and, after a long absence, -returned with the startling information that his boat was gone! - -Mayne Fairfax’s groan of despair was stifled by Hewitt’s hand, and in -his ear were breathed these words: - -“We are within thirty feet of a gang of red-skins.” - -The hermit turned to Oonalooska, when a grunt from his dog startled -every one. - -Instantaneously the tramp of many feet smote the ears of the -imperiled ones, and a circle of Indians seemed to rise from the earth. - -“Spare all!” was heard the voice of Jim Girty, as he rushed forward, -at the head of the main band. - -He met the man he feared--the strong hermit--in whose arms he was but -a child. - -Hewitt raised the renegade above his head, and tossed him far out -into the Scioto. Oonalooska fought nobly, and would have escaped had -he not stumbled over a prostrate Indian, and been seized before he -could rise. Mayne Fairfax, weak from his wounds, did not resist, and -he and Eudora, who fought valiantly with clubbed rifle, were made -prisoners. - -It cost the Shawnees a Herculean struggle to secure the hermit and -it was not until the entire band rushed upon him _en masse_, that he -became a captive. - -At the conclusion of the victory, a chief sent a shrill whoop through -the forest. - -“Why shout the Shawnees?” asked the hermit, with a nonchalance which, -under the circumstances was truly wonderful. - -“Manitowoc calls Tecumseh,” was the reply. “The great chief and -Alaska are at the Lone Man’s hole in the ground.” - -The reply sent an indescribable feeling to the prisoners’ hearts, and -no wonder. - -All--with, perhaps, a single exception--felt that they had marched -from the cave to doom. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - ALASKA IN HER FRENZY. - - -The shrill whoop was answered by the glare of a multitude of torches, -and the rushing sound of many feet. - -All the prisoners, save Oonalooska, were unbound, but closely -guarded. The swarthy Shawnee stood proudly erect, with his hands tied -upon his back, and his nether limbs bound by tried deer-thongs. He -looked defiance at his captors, in whose faces he read the terrible -doom. Tecumseh would speak for him when he arrived. - -Suddenly the great chief halted before the circle, and a shout of -triumph parted his red lips as his eyes fell upon Oonalooska. The -captive calmly returned that vengeful look, and something like a -sarcastic smile, played with his lips. - -A step behind Tecumseh towered Alaska, the Wolf-Queen, and a wild cry -rose from her throat, as she discovered Eudora, standing beside the -hermit, who seemed her mighty protector. - -The next moment she flung her torch to the earth, and caught up one -of her mad black wolves. Her eyes flashed their fire upon the maiden, -as she executed a forward step, with the snarling animal poised above -her head. Her mad intention could not be mistaken. She had long -been in the habit of hurling her animals upon the objects of her -vengeance, and the white, glistening teeth were instantly buried in -that with which they came in contact. - -Now for Eudora’s delicate flesh were these dread fangs intended, and -before the maid could shrink, the wolf went hissing through the air. -A shriek parted the girl’s pale lips, as the giant hermit threw -himself before her, and his great hand shot forward, to close on the -animal’s throat. - -The Indians shrunk back, amazed at the dexterity and fearlessness -displayed by the hermit, whose teeth were gritted, and whose eyes -glared at the Wolf-Queen, as he throttled her pet at arm’s length. - -Not a sound disturbed the scene, save the frantic gasps for fleeting -breath made by the dying wolf. Even Alaska stared aghast, unable to -move, and the remainder of her wolfish guard crouched at her feet, -and quietly watched the death of their companion. - -At length a shudder passed over the animal’s frame, and the hermit -tossed him at Alaska’s feet. - -That action aroused the queen. - -Quick as thought she stooped and seized a second wolf, when Tecumseh -threw himself between her and the hermit. - -“The Lone Man will kill all Alaska’s children,” he said, gazing -straight into her eyes. “If she would save the rest, let her give him -over to Tecumseh, and he shall die in the great lodge.” - -A change suddenly became visible in the mad-woman’s eyes, and she -dropped the wolf she had raised. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” she laughed, “the Lone Man shall be torn to pieces by -Alaska’s children in the great lodge, and the Pale Flower and her -lover shall die there, too. But, ho! ho! who have we here? The White -Wolf, ha! ha! ha!” and her eyes fell upon the renegade, who had just -emerged, dripping, from the river. - -Tecumseh turned upon him. - -“The White Wolf is faithful,” he said. “He has captured the white -ones, and the red traitor,” and he added in a tone unheard by Alaska, -“Tecumseh will keep his promise.” - -A moment later the whites were bound, and Tecumseh ordered the return -to the village. As the band started forward the hermit called the -chief to his side. - -“The young white hunter is weak,” he said, nodding to Mayne Fairfax, -who tottered along like a drunken man. “He fell beneath Alaska’s wolf -and arrow. The Lone Man would support the young hunter.” - -Tecumseh owned a heart susceptible of pity, and he commanded the -hands of the hermit to be made free. - -“Now let the Lone Man support the young hunter,” he said, returning -to the head of his band, and Mayne Fairfax acknowledged the Indian’s -kindness in audible tones, as he stepped to Hewitt’s side, and leaned -upon his strong arm. - -During that midnight march the Shawnees taunted Oonalooska with the -fate in store for him. He maintained a taciturnity for a long time, -when a remark from Tecumseh drew forth the words that bubbled to his -lips. - -The chief called his red prisoner the son of a sorcerer, for against -the father of Oonalooska, Tecumseh had long borne a silent hatred. - -The words stung Oonalooska to the quick. - -“If Oonalooska’s father does talk with Watchemenetocs, he never gave -a poor Pale Flower a head as empty as the hollow of his hand--he -never made a prisoner a devil!” - -A flash of rage overspread Tecumseh’s face, and he wheeled with -uplifted tomahawk. - -“Strike!” hissed Oonalooska, shooting him a glance of resignation. -“Oonalooska is ready to enter the great lodge among the stars. Yes, -yes, Tecumseh’s father struck a squaw, and made her a--” - -He suddenly paused, for the eyes of Alaska fell upon him. - -“Tecumseh will not strike the traitor!” said the great Indian, -suddenly lowering the hatchet, and becoming wonderfully calm. “He -will see him die in the village--not by fire, no, not by fire, for -Tecumseh never burns an enemy.” - -Again the march was resumed, with Tecumseh thoughtful, at the head of -the band. - -By degrees Oonalooska approached the hermit, and at length walked at -his side. - -“Oona,” said Hewitt, in the lowest of whispers, “when struck -Tecumseh’s father a white-face?” - -“Many, oh, so many moons ago, when the ground was white with feathers -that fell from great birds in the clouds,” was the figurative answer, -as softly uttered as the question had been. - -“Where is the pale-face now?” - -“She walks with her wolves,” was the reply, and the speaker bestowed -a look upon Alaska, whose tranquil, almost thoughtful countenance -breathed not of insanity. - -Hewitt raised his eyes to a contemplation of her face, vividly -revealed by the glare of the torch borne by the brave in advance of -her. - -The workings of his countenance told that memory was busy, and, as he -turned his eyes from the lunatic, his lips parted. - -“So like, yet so unlike,” he murmured. “Oh, my God, can it be?--no, -no, I will not think thus, and yet those lips--those lips--God, -why did I fly my home that fearful night?” he suddenly interrupted -himself, and a moment later he groaned. “But my boy--my Edgar. Oh -Heaven, does he live? Oonalooska!” - -The Indian touched the hermit’s arm significantly. - -“Oona, whence came poor mad Alaska?” - -Oonalooska started at the hermit’s tone. - -“From the great land beyond the northern Kiskepila Sepe,[1]” he -answered. - -“From Virginia,” murmured Hewitt, “the land where I was happy once. -Oona?” - -“Hush!” whispered the captive brave as a shout burst from the -vanguard. “The Shawnees are near their lodges.” - -A moment later, the prisoners gained the summit of a high knoll, and, -in the center of the valley that turned away from its foot, nestled -the Indian village, upon which the day was breaking. - -Suddenly Alaska turned upon the hermit. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” she laughed, pointing toward the village. “Yonder the -Lone Man and his friends will feel the fangs of Alaska’s children.” - -Never before, in the broad light of noon, had Hewitt been so near the -mad-woman, and as her eyes fell upon him he started back, exclaiming: - -“My God! dispel my dreadful doubts. More like one, once beloved by -me, she grows!” - -And the queen laughed more discordantly at his words, whose import -she did not comprehend. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - JIM GIRTY TRIUMPHS. - - -Jim Girty, the renegade, lowered fierce looks upon the hermit, as -the band marched toward the village, and once or twice his fingers -clutched his tomahawk, whose keen edge he would fain have buried in -the giant’s brain. But he dared not strike, for Hewitt was Tecumseh’s -prisoner, and he bided his time for vengeance. - -When Tecumseh returned to his lodge, after the destructive, -mysterious shots, Girty effected a reconciliation with him, and was -released. The renegade at once entered into the plans of the chief -for the recapture of the whites, and led a band of braves to the -banks of the Scioto to cut off their escape in that direction. For -he knew that the hermit would never inhabit a cave without more than -one avenue of escape, and his belief was verified, as the reader has -witnessed. - -Before departing on his mission, he had exacted from Tecumseh an oath -to the effect that Eudora, if recaptured, should not be delivered -over to the Wolf-Queen; but, on the contrary, should remain his -prisoner, as before. - -On the confines of the Indian “town” great numbers of women and -children greeted the triumphant band, but Tecumseh would not permit a -single birch to be applied to the persons of his prisoners. - -Straight to the council-house marched the august chief and an -imperative wave of the hand summoned the warriors to their accustomed -positions. - -Alaska followed, but paused without the line of braves, and fixed her -eyes upon Tecumseh. - -“The white-faces and the red traitor shall be tried at once,” said -the chief, striding to the center of the structure. “The Pale Flower -is White Chief’s prisoner. Now let Tecumseh’s chiefs speak.” - -For a moment silence reigned, and then the renegade strode from his -position. - -His baleful eyes flashed hatred upon the prisoners, who stood bound, -near the center post of the council-house, and his words sounded like -icy drops falling upon red-hot iron. - -“The White Chief speaks for death,” he cried, “for death at the -stake! The pale-faces and the red-skinned traitor have slain two -of Tecumseh’s bravest chiefs. Shall they long escape the doom they -merit? I will claim my prisoner,” and he strode toward Eudora. -“Ha! girl!” he hissed, in her ear, as his great hand closed on her -delicate arm, “you never dreamed that I am in league with powers not -of earth. All the powers of heaven and hell can not baffle Jim Girty. -You are mine--mine--mine! That word is sweeter to me than wildwood -honey.” - -“One word with her before we part,” said Mayne Fairfax, smothering -his rage, and stepping towards Eudora. “If God permits devils to -triumph, then we never meet again. Eudora--” - -The captive turned, but ere Fairfax could execute another step nearer -her, Girty’s arm shot from his shoulder, and the young hunter went to -the earth like a stricken statue. - -“There! weakling!” cried the brute, darting a fierce look upon his -fallen foe. “I’ll teach you how to interfere in other people’s -business. Lay still there, or I’ll kick you to pieces.” - -And again grasping Eudora’s arm, he hurried her toward the further -end of the council-house. - -The blow worked the hermit into a terrible passion, and had his hands -then been free, the renegade would have paid dearly for the insult. -Even mad Alaska did not witness the scene without emotion, for she -suddenly stooped and raised one of her wolves above her head. But -a look from Tecumseh, to whom she looked as though for authority, -subdued her passion, and the animal was returned to his companions. - -After a while, Mayne Fairfax regained his senses, and drew himself to -his feet, by the aid of Hewitt’s garments. - -“Oh, if I were free, boy!” whispered the giant, “I would walk across -this council-house and choke that devil to death But his time is -coming. Hark! a new arrival!” and the hermit listened to the shouts -nearing them from beyond the collection of lodges. - -The shouts rapidly increased in distinctness, and presently the -new-comers burst upon the sight of all. - -The party consisted of three half-naked braves, and Tecumseh’s famous -brother, the Prophet. - -Through his devilish incantations, Laulewasikaw swayed the Indian -mind to no common degree, and, sooner than disobey his commands, the -Shawnees would have plucked their eyes from their sockets, or severed -their most useful members. - -His arrival was quite unexpected, and Tecumseh’s countenance told -that he would rather that Laulewasikaw were at that time in his lodge -at Greenville. - -The Prophet advanced to the center of the house, and greeted the -warriors assembled, then strode to Tecumseh, with whom he conversed -for a short time in low tones. It was plainly manifest that the -conversation was not agreeable to Tecumseh, for Laulewasikaw suddenly -turned from him and sought Jim Girty. - -“The council must proceed!” cried Tecumseh, intending, if possible, -to prevent a conversation between his brother and the renegade. “The -pale-faces must die, and the braves know that Tecumseh burns no -prisoners at the tree. What, then, shall be their doom?” - -After a moment of deathly silence, several chiefs arose and declared -for _crawling_ the gantlet, which punishment found favor in the eyes -of Tecumseh. - -“We will hear from Laulewasikaw, our Prophet,” said the renegade. “He -will talk with the Manitou.” - -Tecumseh frowned at this, but he dared not cross the path of his -brother, the red sorcerer. - -The Prophet left Girty’s side and walked to the middle ground. His -single eye threw fierce glances at the three prisoners, calmly -awaiting their doom, and he knew that they were in his power. His -sorcery could doom them to any death desirable. - -He drew a small bundle of sticks, tied with deer-thongs, beneath his -long robe, and spread them upon the ground, each the distance of -several inches from its neighbors. Then after mumbling some gibberish -with upturned face, and hands crossed upon his breast, he applied -fire to the first stick. It burned freely, and was soon consumed. -Another and another followed it to an ashy state, until every stick, -save one, was consumed, and the last stubbornly refused to burn! - -All eyes were centered upon the Prophet, during this heathenish -specimen of his sorcery, and around the lips of Tecumseh played a -smile of contempt. - -In the great Shawnee’s mind there always existed a disbelief in -sorcery, and at times he was outspoken against the black arts his -brother practiced. But, in a convocation of his chiefs and warriors, -he never dared to declaim against Laulewasikaw. - -After several efforts--persistent ones they seemed to all save the -prisoners--to fire the last and stubborn stick, the Prophet rose to -his feet. - -“The great Prophet of the Manitou will speak the doom of the pale -lips, and their brother, the red traitor. The Manitou speaks through -Laulewasikaw: ‘_The skin must be torn from their bodies, when the -Manitou’s lights appear, and then they must burn!_’” - -This terrible doom sent a thrill to every heart beneath the roof of -the council-house, and drew a shriek from Eudora’s bloodless lips. - -“My God!” cried Fairfax with pallid cheeks--for well might that -sentence, which even Tecumseh could not affect, drive the color from -the bravest face. “Flayed alive, and then burned!” - -All knew that such a doom had resulted from Laulewasikaw’s brief -conversation with the renegade. - -Tecumseh made an effort to throw it aside. He argued eloquently -against its brutality, but all to no effect. He reminded his braves -that since he became a chief no prisoner had died at the stake, and -to sustain his honour, he hoped that their votes would sustain him. - -Briefly, sneeringly, and bitterly Laulewasikaw replied: - -“Dared the Shawnees disobey the commands of the Great Spirit? If -so, let them abide the consequences, which would prove swift and -terrible.” - -Seeing himself defeated, Tecumseh turned his back upon his brother, -and commanded the voting to proceed. - -The sole ballot, a great club, upon which were carved many devices -intelligible only to the savage mind, was handed to the nearest -warrior. Around the circle it swiftly passed. Those who decided for -death by crawling the gantlet, struck the earth once with the club; -those who decided for the dreadful doom pronounced by the sorcerer, -bestowed two blows upon _terra-firma_. - -Our friends held their breath as the club went round the living, -doomful circle, and ere it returned to him who first handed it, they -read the decision. - -Nearly twenty braves had the manhood to sustain Tecumseh’s honor; but -the others, slaves to the prophet’s cunning, decided the vote. - -_Flayed alive and then burned!_ - -The result was hailed with gleeful shouts by the concourse of squaws -assembled beyond the circle of warriors. - -“To the strong lodge with the prisoners!” commanded Tecumseh, vainly -trying to bridle his rage. “Great Spirit, know that Tecumseh does not -sanction the work of Watchemenetoc.” - -Among the braves who sprung forward to obey his command was the -renegade, who did not attempt to conceal his triumph. - -“_I_ hold the best hand, now,” he hissed, as he paused before the -giant hermit. “I’ll blunt the keen edge of my knife, and it will -_tear_ the covering from your heart.” - -The hermit gritted his teeth, and something like a tremor passed over -his frame. It was the tremor attesting the gathering of his Samsonian -strength. The next moment, his bonds burst with a sharp noise, and -his fingers griped Jim Girty’s throat! - -Tighter and tighter grew the terrible grip; Girty’s eyes stared -wildly at his foe, his tongue protruded from his throat, and his -color changed to a sickly hue. - -Tecumseh smiled at Hewitt’s action, and looked for Alaska; but she -and her wolves stood not among the throng of women. - -For some moments the savages gazed upon the scene spellbound, when, -with sudden impulse, they sprung at the giant. A score of hands -grasped his arm, and, unresisting, he let Girty slide from his grip -to the earth, where he lay blackened and motionless. - -The next moment they were being hurried toward the prison-lodge, -there to await their dreadful doom. - -“I guess I’ve choked that devil to death,” whispered Hewitt to the -weak young hunter, whom he supported at his side. “But I guess, too, -that we’re in for it to-night, unless something mighty uncommon turns -up. I thought that mad-woman would do something for us; but I reckon -that she sees revenge in the fate proclaimed for us by the man she -hates. Oh! I’d like to know who she is; but I guess that I will never -know now.” - -A few minutes later, the door of the strong hut closed behind them. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - ONE OF ALASKA’S WHIMS. - - -While the Shawnee council was deciding the doom of the three hunters, -Alaska silently left the spot, and sought her wigwam. Her countenance -bore but few traces of insanity. The wild fire of lunacy had grown -dim in her eyes, and a casual observer would have believed her -possessed of sanity. - -From a cache beneath several strips of bark, comprising a portion of -the floor of her lodge, she drew some large pieces of illy-cooked -venison which she fed to her wolves that crowded around, eager for -their daily repast. - -“Ah! my children!” she cried, as piece after piece of venison dropped -into the red mouths; “the White Chief would cheat you out of the meat -of the pale-faces, and Oonalooska, the red traitor. Shall he do it? -The giant slew Lupino, your brother, and now he is among our lodges. -Hist!” and springing to her feet, she bounded to the door of the -wigwam. - -“The council is ended, and the red-men conduct the three pale men to -the strong lodge. But, ha! ha! ha! why leans the White Chief on the -shoulder of Laulewasikaw? He walks as though he were drunk with the -fire-water of the pale-faces in Chillicothe. And the White Lily walks -beside Kalaska, to the White Chief’s lodge. Why is all this? Alaska’s -ears must hear it!” and from the lodge she bounded toward the party -who were just leaving the council-house. - -“Whose fingers closed on White Chief’s throat?” she demanded of the -Prophet, when her eye--once more fired with insanity--fell upon the -renegade’s throat. - -“The giant pale-face,” answered the sorcerer. “He dies to-night.” - -“Yes, curse him!” hissed Jim Girty, placing his hand on his throat, -which still bore the marks of Hewitt’s fingers, “I’ll file teeth in -my knife, and by Heaven! I’ll saw his skin off by inches! Then I’ll -throw him to Alaska’s wolves.” - -The renegade’s words did not please the mad queen. - -“When the White Chief throws the Lone Man to Alaska’s children, his -flesh would be cold,” she said. “They shall not touch him after the -White Chief’s knife has robbed him of his skin. They shall tear his -throat, and the throats, too, of the young hunter and Oonalooska.” - -“Curse her mad whims!” grated Girty, motioning the Prophet to resume -his march. - -Alaska did not follow, but turned on her heel and resought her lodge. - -“The White Chief must keep his eyes on Alaska,” said Laulewasikaw, -“or she will have her wolves upon the Shawnees’ prisoners, and his -knife will not touch their flesh.” - -“I will watch the mad she-devil,” hissed the renegade. “When night -comes, I will throw a guard around her wigwam, and she shall be my -prisoner until the bones of the hated three become ashes beneath the -stake.” - -“But who will be so brave as to guard Alaska and her wolves?” asked -the Prophet. - -The question nonplussed the renegade. - -“Ah! the White Chief is puzzled!” said Laulewasikaw; “but the Great -Prophet of the Shawnees can cut the sinews. In his paint-bag he -carries the juice of a leaf that kills.” - -The eyes of the renegade lighted up with a new, fierce fire, and he -bade the Prophet keep silent until some future time. - -The remainder of the distance to the renegade’s lodge was traversed -in silence, and again Eudora found herself beneath Jim Girty’s roof. - -“My throat feels better, now,” he said. “Oh, curse that giant -villain; his hand seemed a mighty vice moved by some infernal -machinery, and I saw every star that ever glittered in the sky since -the creation. Now let Laulewasikaw speak of the leaf that kills.” - -Thus spoke the renegade when the twain found themselves in a lodge, -belonging, by the right of erection, to the Prophet. Several -guards had been stationed by Eudora’s prison, rendering her escape -impossible. - -Before the Prophet answered Girty, he drew a bunch of leaves from -his medicine-pouch, and bruised them between two small, flat stones. -A greenish liquid exuded from the leaves, and into this the Indian -dipped his finger. - -“Long ago Laulewasikaw discovered the juice that kills,” said the -Prophet, looking up at Girty, who had watched his movements with -feverish impatience. “Now let the White Chief and a trusty brave go -to Alaska’s lodge, and let him throw to her wolves venison drunk with -the juice of Watchemenetoc’s plant. Without her wolves, Alaska can do -nothing.” - -“I fear not the mad queen,” said Girty; “but her wolves.” - -“Has the White Chief a brave in his band who is not afraid to enter -Alaska’s lodge?” - -“Yes,” said Girty, quickly. “Newaska is welcome to Alaska’s lodge. -Her wolves wag their tails when he approaches.” - -“Ah! he shall go!” cried the Prophet. “When the sun goes down he must -go to the queen’s lodge, and awhile after he has sat down in the -midst of her children, we will take the prisoners to the forest.” - -“I will seek Newaska at once,” cried the renegade, springing to his -feet. “My hour of triumph over all I hate is at hand, and once more -Jim Girty will be enemyless!” - -The Prophet remained in the lodge, and a short time after the -renegade’s departure, a young brave entered the structure. - -It was Newaska, the young warrior deputed to poison Alaska’s wolves. - -For a number of years the young Shawnee had been a favorite of the -Wolf-Queen’s; often he had slept in her double lodge, and caressed -the lupine gang whose fangs were harmless playthings to him. But, -by and by Jim Girty drew him into his band of merciless braves, and -Newaska became the renegade’s most pliant tool. - -To the Prophet, by the poisoner, the White Chief sent several pieces -of venison, into which the sorcerer infused a quantity of the juice -of the deadly nightshade. - -“Now,” said he, “Newaska will throw the venison to Alaska’s children, -and step from her lodge.” - -“When does it send them on the trail of death?” asked the young -brave, thrusting the meat into a pouch beneath his robe. - -“Before Newaska can repeat the names of the chiefs of his nation,” -was the reply. “He must get Alaska beyond his sight before he feeds -her children.” - -“Newaska will work like the serpent,” said the brave, and glided from -the Prophet’s lodge. - -Meanwhile the day passed quickly to the doomed prisoners in the -strong lodge. They saw no hope with cheering lay ahead. - -Oonalooska was sullen and silent; and, weakened by the scenes through -which he had passed within the last twenty-four hours, and his wounds -irritated by fatigue, Mayne Fairfax slumbered. - -The hermit’s spirits did not desert him. Now and then he would walk -to the heavy oaken door, shaped and hung by Girty’s hands, whence he -would shower defiant words upon his guards. - -“I say,” he cried once, “did I choke the white devil to death?” - -“No,” answer the only guard who replied to him; “the White Chief is -in the Prophet’s lodge.” - -“Still at his old trade!” returned Hewitt, “plotting chief. I want -another chance at him to-night, and I hope and pray that I may get -it.” - -“The pale giant should sing his death-song,” said the guard. “The -great light of the Manitou nears the hills, and when the lesser -lights come forth, we will lead the three to the trees.” - -“Where’s Tecumseh?” - -“Tecumseh sits in his lodge. He has spoken against the great Prophet, -and the Manitou is angry with him. He can not save the enemies of the -Shawnees from being skinned and burned.” - -Hewitt knew that, and turned from the door. - -In silence another hour passed, and through the crevices our three -friends saw the light fade, and the stars come forth. - -Suddenly many feet approached the prison, and the door was thrown -open. A band of four-score warriors, headed by Jim Girty, greeted -the eyes of the trio, and soon they were marching to the already -blackened trees, at which more than one brave life had gone out amid -flames. - -“See!” cried Girty, thrusting into the hermit’s face, a blade which -he had converted into a saw. “Didn’t I say that I would _saw_ your -skin off? By heaven! I’m going to do more than that! You shall eat -that weakling’s heart;” and the brute’s hand pointed at Mayne Fairfax. - -“Courage, boy, courage!” whispered the hermit, as the renegade -returned to the head of the band. “If they just free my hands a -moment, I’ll rid the world of a devil. I’ll make sure work of him, -this time.” - -“I fear not death!” answered the young man. “But the thought that I -must leave Eudora in the hands of that demon. Oh, it is terrible!” - -As the band hurried through the village Hewitt noticed the absence -of the women and children, who always showed themselves on such -occasions. - -Regarding their absence he questioned a Shawnee, who walked at his -side. - -“The squaws are at the trees,” was the reply, “and there, too, stand -all the warriors, waiting to see the captives die.” - -The band was near Alaska’s lodge, when, suddenly, the yelp of a wolf, -quickly followed by a human voice, half-shriek--half-groan, fell -distinctly upon the ears of all. - -“That means something,” whispered Hewitt to the young hunter, and in -the darkness Oonalooska’s finger pressed the giant’s shoulder. - -The strange cry caused the renegade to start, and he and the Prophet -exchanged fearful glances. - -A moment later the captives were hurried forward on a run! - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE FATE OF WELL-LAID PLANS. - - -“Newaska is welcome to Alaska’s lodge,” and the mad queen smiled as -she led the young sub-chief to a couch of skins. “A moon has faded -since he darkened Alaska’s door and her children have looked a long -time for him in vain. See how glad they are to meet him!” - -The brave stroked the shaggy backs of the animals that gathered -around, manifesting signs of joy at his return, and the Wolf-Queen -looked admiringly on. - -“When do the pale-faces die?” asked Alaska. - -“When the Manitou trims his fires,” replied Newaska. “The White Chief -has promised to tell Alaska when the hour comes.” - -“The White chief is a serpent,” hissed the mad-woman. “If he could, -he would deceive Alaska, but she will triumph over him at last. -Newaska, whence came the giant hunter?” - -“From his hole in the ground, as Alaska well knows,” was the reply. - -“Alaska knows that, but whence came he _to_ his hole in the earth?” - -“Newaska knows not. Why does Alaska ask?” - -The queen pressed her hands against her temples, and for a long time -was silent, while the light of reason illumined her countenance. - -It surprised Newaska. - -“Oh, once Alaska’s head was not sore,” she said, expressing insanity -in her feeble way. “A long time--many moons ago, she saw eyes as -black as the big hermit’s. Alaska had a little boy once. But see! -dark shadows flit apast Alaska’s door.” Thus suddenly interrupting -herself, she drew aside the curtain of skins that served for a door, -and beheld a gang of women and children hurrying toward the northern -confines of the village. - -“Whither go the squaws and young warriors of the Shawnees?” she -asked, turning suddenly upon Newaska. “Do they seek the stakes?” - -“No,” answered the Shawnee, “they go to the wood to cut boughs for -their fires. Did Alaska not notice that each squaw, and even the -young Shawnees, bore a knife?” - -“Alaska’s eyes were not shut,” the Wolf-Queen replied, not -satisfied--as her manner indicated--with Newaska’s artful answer. -“Alaska will go abroad--for the White Chief may _forget_ to tell me -when they lead the captives to the trees.” - -“Let Alaska remain,” cried the deputed poisoner, springing to his -feet and grasping the mad queen’s arm. “If Alaska will retire to -her sleeping room, Newaska will go and discover when they lead the -prisoners forth. The White Chief would be angry, were our queen to -seek him ere he put on his torture dress. Will Alaska obey Newaska?” - -“Yes,” was the reply, and the fire in her eyes suddenly went out. - -“Alaska will remain in her sleeping-room till Newaska returns. He can -take her wolves with him if he chooses. They will follow Newaska.” - -“Newaska will take the wolves,” said the brave, as Alaska disappeared -beyond the skin partition that divided the two apartments. “But first -he will put a collar on Letheto.” - -The treacherous red-skin possessed the Wolf-Queen’s entire -confidence, and, under pretext of collaring Letheto, he prepared for -his work. - -He first stepped to the door and heard the tramp of the band that -bore the doomed captives to the fatal trees that crowned the hills -above the “town.” - -“Newaska must to work,” he muttered, “and when the White Chief passes -the wigwam he will join him.” - -He drew the meat from his pouch, and threw it before the mad queen’s -wolves. With one accord, the lupine band dashed for it, and one of -the largest secured it. The effect began immediately, for the wolf -retired to one corner of the room and laid down. Another piece of -meat quickly followed the first, and a second wolf slunk from the -gang, never to rejoin it again. - -Not a sound came from the apartment to which Alaska had retired, and -the prisoner congratulated himself on his success. - -“Here, Letheto,” he called to the fiercest of the wolves, extending a -hunk of the poisoned venison to the monster creature. “Newaska--” - -There was a sudden parting of the curtains, and the wolves mistress -appeared! - -“Why tarries Newaska in Alaska’s lodge?” she demanded, gazing upon -the savage’s fearful face, revealed by the light thrown out from the -dying fire in the center of the lodge. “Ha! he fears Alaska’s wolves. -Does he not know that no hand save Alaska’s shall give them meat?” - -Before an answer could be framed, a terrible light shot from the mad -queen’s distended eyes, and her bony hand closed on the prisoner’s -throat. - -A cry, half-shriek, half-groan, welled from Newaska’s heart, as the -fingers tightened on his throat, and he felt himself hurled back. - -The next moment several heavy weights fell upon him; he felt dreadful -fangs pulling at his throat; then sense left him; he gasped once or -twice, a tremor crept over his frame, and life was ended for Newaska. - -Alaska tried to save the young chief when it was too late--when -Letheto’s sharp teeth had severed his jugulars, for it seemed that -not until then did she recognize his danger. - -“See!” she cried, as she tore the wolves from the inanimate but -still warm body, “he killed two of Alaska’s children! He killed them -with his meat! Oh, why did the Great Spirit permit this? Alaska -never harmed Newaska! When he became one of White Chief’s braves, -she did not say no. White Chief! Oh, he did this--he, the child of -Watchemenetoc.” - -As she finished, she caught the two dead wolves in her arms, and -darted from the lodge. - -Beyond its portals she paused, and a minute later was about to dart -toward the renegade’s lodge, when voices came to her ears from the -hills to her right. - -“They are at the trees!” she cried. “White Chief’s knife shall not -strip the captives’ skins off. Alaska’s head is hot now, and her -wolves must drink of the white man’s blood.” - -The last sentence was uttered while she bounded from the village, -followed by the nine remaining wolves of her once invincible band. - - * * * * * - -“Strip the white louts!” commenced Jim Girty, furious with hellish -anticipation, as he halted on one of the wooded hills crowned by -a large concourse of women and children, whose whetted knives and -repulsive faces told how eager they were to dye their hands in the -captives’ blood. - -To the waists our three friends were hurriedly stripped, and bound to -as many trees. - -The squaws had built several large fires, which lent a tragic -coloring that is indescribable to the nocturnal scene, and it was -with great difficulty on the part of Girty and the Prophet, that they -could be restrained from rushing upon the prisoners in a body and -hacking them to pieces. But the renegade threw a line of warriors -between them and the trees, and impatiently awaited the completion of -the stripping process. - -“Now!” he shouted, with fiendish glee, springing forward at last with -the saw-blade flashing above his head, “I will skin the Giant devil, -and then the Shawnees can torture the red traitor, and the weakling!” - -Hewitt regarded the renegade with a calm look, as he strode forward, -hissing his triumph from between clenched teeth. - -“I told you so, you giant white dog. Now for a square inch of your -accursed hide.” - -The ragged blade descended; it had touched Hewitt’s breast, and was -red with his blood, when a shout greeted the renegade’s ears. - -“Alaska!” - -A frightful oath, that would have shamed devils, shot from Jim -Girty’s lips, and, as he turned with crimsoned blade, he saw the -crowd making way for the mad queen, clothed in a passion born in -Pandemonium. - -He turned to the Prophet with a mute appeal for aid, but Laulewasikaw -shrunk from the crazy woman, and hid himself behind a tree. - -The Shawnees had never beheld Alaska in such a frenzy and, with -shrieks, they fled from her, as though she were living contagion. - -Even the bravest warrior fled like a frightened deer, and the forest -resounded with flying footsteps. - -Jim Girty could not fly. The sight of the mad-woman riveted him to -the spot, and his knees smote one another, even as Belshazzar’s smote -at his doom on the palace walls. - -Suddenly at his feet Alaska threw the poisoned wolves, and fastened -her gaze upon his icy face, where cold sweatdrops were forming. - -“The White Chief sent Newaska with poisoned meat to Alaska’s lodge!” -she hissed. “There lies Newaska’s work! The red snake lies in -Alaska’s wigwam, with great holes in his throat.” - -As she spoke, she neared Girty, holding a writhing wolf above her -head. - -“Letheto’s fangs shall kiss each other in White Chief’s throat!” she -continued, and the wolf was lowered. - -With his eyes starting from their sockets, Girty, devoid of volition, -awaited his doom. - -The wolf’s hot breath almost scorched his face, and, as the jaws flew -open to close on his throat, Tecumseh sprung to Alaska’s side. - -The renegade drew a breath of relief. - -“Alaska must not slay the White Chief,” said the sachem, calmly -meeting the fiery gaze she shot at him. - -“Why?” - -“Long ago he snatched Tecumseh’s son from the waves of the Scioto.” - -Almost instantly the frenzy abated, which was a wonderful proof of -the influence Tecumseh possessed over poor, mad Alaska. - -“Alaska loves Tecumseh,” she said; “but the captives?” and her eyes -fell upon the trio at the trees. - -Tecumseh’s gaze followed the mad queen’s, but he said nothing. - -“Let them be Alaska’s prisoners,” suddenly cried the Wolf-Queen. “Let -them return to the strong lodge, and when Alaska has mourned for her -two children, killed by Newaska, she will deal with them.” - -“Thus it shall be,” said Tecumseh, and, at his command, the three -prisoners were taken from the stakes. - -Theirs was a miraculous escape, and Hewitt saw a kind light in -Tecumseh’s eyes, as he turned toward the village. - -Unknown to the renegade, Tecumseh and his body-guard of tried braves -had glided into the forest, for the purpose, if it were possible, to -save the captives from the terrible death, so against his feelings. - -“We’re free, yet prisoners, boy,” whispered Hewitt to Fairfax, as he -walked along. “But so long as that Jim Girty lives our lives hang on -threads. I wish he’d let Tecumseh’s little greaser drown, and then -Alaska would have killed him. Did the devils tear your linen off when -they stripped me?” - -“Yes; but I don’t mind it,” said Mayne, with a smile. “Our escape -drives my hurts from my mind. I am saved for Eudora yet.” - -The hermit sighed audibly, and called Tecumseh to his side. - -He pointed to our hero’s wound. - -“It shall be dressed,” said the chief, and he threw his blanket over -Mayne’s shoulders, for the night-air was chilling. - -Alaska witnessed the humane action. - -“The young hunter shall go to Alaska’s lodge,” she said, springing to -Mayne’s side. “She will cure him, and make him fat for her wolves.” - -A shiver crept to the young man’s heart. - -“Don’t say no, boy,” whispered Hewitt. “Good’ll come of it. Go with -the poor creature, and mebbe she’ll change her mind, and make you her -boy. Crazy people take strange notions sometimes.” - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE MOLES ON THE SHOULDER. - - -When Alaska rekindled the fire in her lodge, a horrible sight met -Mayne Fairfax’s gaze. - -Stiff and bloody, in one corner of the first apartment, lay Newaska, -a terrible example of the vengeance of the wolf. His eyes, pregnant -with the stare of death, were wide extended, and the lifeless balls -seemed bursting from their sockets. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed the mad-woman, pointing to the ghastly corpse. -“Newaska was loved by Alaska: but he worked for the White Chief, and -her children tore the great veins in his throat.” - -Her own senses--if any that mad-woman possessed--disgusted at the -horrible sight, Alaska covered the corpse with several robes, and -threw more boughs on the fire. - -It was now near the silent midnight hour, and not a sound telling of -the recent turmoil, came to the Wolf-Queen’s lodge, which, while she -replenished the fire, the young man took occasion to notice. It was -large and commodious, that is, in the eye of the Indian. The birchen -walls were covered with gaudy skins, fantastically arranged, and the -natural floor was hidden by thick mats, formed by Alaska’s hands. -In one corner of the first apartment lay the stiff form of Leperto, -slain by the mysterious shot from Hewitt’s cave, and over it stood -a wolf as sentry. The guard showed his teeth as Fairfax entered the -lodge, and each one of Alaska’s children--strange progeny for a -mad-woman!--seemed eager to bury their fangs in the young hunter’s -flesh. - -Mayne Fairfax realized the danger he was in. - -Now the Wolf-Queen was calm and seemingly lucid; but he knew not how -soon the spasm of lunacy would take possession of her injured brain, -and the consequences of that spasm he knew would be dreadful, for he -was completely in her power. - -For some minutes the mad queen busied herself with the fire, when -all at once she turned, and, grasping Fairfax’s arm hurried him into -the inner apartment. - -“Let the young pale-face recline upon the wild skins,” said Alaska, -pointing to a couch, deep with finely tanned skins, and as soft as -down. “Let him rest his limbs until Alaska brings him the meat of the -deer, and puts good herbs on his wounds.” - -Without a word Fairfax obeyed, and the Wolf-Queen glided from the -chamber. - -Beyond the partition the young hunter heard her bustling about, now -and then speaking a command to the wolves, that seemed inclined to be -obstreperous. - -At length she returned, and placed some smoking venison before -the hunter upon a strip of bark. In a wooden vessel she bore some -steaming gruel, which seemed to infuse strength in the hunter’s -frame. Mayne Fairfax sat up on the edge of the couch as he discussed -the repast, and from him the eyes of the queen were never drawn. - -“Now,” said Alaska, as the hungry hunter drained the wooden bowl, -“Alaska will dress the white-face’s wounds.” - -That his wounds needed attention Fairfax well knew, for they pained -him exceedingly, and falling back upon the couch he motioned to the -queen to proceed. - -Instantly she rose and left the apartment, but soon returned, bearing -a cup, containing many kinds of bruised herbs. Kneeling over the -hunter she drew aside his hunting-shirt, and displayed the bandages -the hermit had placed over the wound made by her barbed shaft. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed the queen. “Alaska’s shaft struck deep! and -the young hunter was very near Kajai Manitou, when the Lone Man shot -Lupino.” - -As she spoke she continued to display the white flesh of the hunter, -and suddenly, as the hunting garments crept over his right shoulder, -she sprung to her feet with a guttural cry, and stared at the member -just exposed to view. - -Mayne Fairfax looked up at her in amazement, and while he could not -fathom her strange action and emotion--for her frame quivered like an -aspen’s leaf--he divined the object at which she stared. - -That object was nothing but three little moles upon the hunter’s -shoulder! - -Alaska gazed upon these spots for a moment, when she darted from the -lodge, leaving Fairfax at the mercy of her wolves! - -She directed her steps toward Tecumseh’s lodge, in which she found -the mighty Shawnee partaking of some venison. - -He started upon the sudden entrance of the queen, and, almost -frightened at her wild look, sprung to his feet. - -Without speaking, Alaska clutched his arms, and pointed toward her -lodge. - -“She has given the young white hunter to the wolves,” was Tecumseh’s -mental ejaculation; and, a moment later, the red and white twain were -flying toward Alaska’s lodge. - -The appearance of their queen frightened the wolves from a meditated -attack upon the wounded hunter, and, drawing Tecumseh into the inner -room, Alaska pointed to the three moles on the shoulder. - -The chief looked at it a moment, and then turned to Alaska with an -inquiring look. - -“Ha! ha! ha! Long ago Alaska had a little boy,” said the mad queen. -“Oh, it was long, long ago; how long Alaska don’t know. Oh, what -hurts poor Alaska’s head?” and she covered her temples with her bony, -bloodless hands. - -Memory would return to the poor woman, but, unaccompanied by reason, -it seemed of little account. - -“Yes, yes,” she cried, throwing herself before Fairfax, and fastening -her dark eyes on the three spots. “Alaska had a little boy once, -and he had three marks on his shoulder, just like these,” and her -finger touched the birth marks. “Oh, it was many, many moons ago, -when Alaska had no wolves. But the Great Spirit has given Alaska her -little boy again, and he shall become a Shawnee--he shall not die. He -shall be King of the Wolves!” - -While she spoke, Tecumseh glided from the lodge, and resought his own. - -“The white hunter may be Alaska’s boy,” he muttered, “for -Puekeshinwa, Tecumseh’s father, spoke thus many snows ago. Then he -will not die.” - -Mayne Fairfax listened a long time to Alaska’s words, before he spoke. - -He knew well his parentage--that he was the child of Ronald Fairfax. -His first recollections were of Fairfax manor, and he, of course, -believed himself to be a Fairfax. The moles on his shoulder he -believed to be mere accidental counterparts of those on the person of -a child loved by Alaska before her days of lunacy--and he resolved -not to gainsay the mad queen, for the moles might prove the means of -saving his life, and perhaps instrumental in the rescue of Eudora, -and the prisoners of the strong lodge. - -“The white hunter is Alaska’s little boy,” he said, smiling at the -oddity of his own words, “and he will be King of the Wolves. Let -Alaska haste to make him well, and he will tame all the wolves in the -great forests, and become their White King.” - -“And will Alaska’s child hate the White Chief?” she asked, with great -eagerness. - -“Yes,” answered Mayne, and he continued, inaudibly, “God knows my -heart spoke then.” - -His words brought a laugh to Alaska’s lips, and continually calling -him her “little boy,” she applied bruised and emollient herbs to his -wounds, and the young Virginian, assured of his safety, so far as -the mad queen’s protection went, received new strength. With such a -potent protector as she, white nor Indian would not dare seek his -life. - -But he was soon to be divested of that consoling thought. - -After his wounds were dressed, young Fairfax fell back on the couch, -and was soon enjoying the sweetest sleep he had known for many hours. - -Once, between midnight and dawn, Alaska’s face looked down upon -his, upon which a stray moonbeam fell, bathing its paleness in -indescribable beauty. - -“Yes, yes,” she murmured, turning reluctantly away, “Co Hago, the -King of the Wolves, is Alaska’s little boy, and he who touches a -hair of his head shall go to Watchemenetoc from the jaws of her -wolves. How good the Great Spirit was to send Alaska her boy! For -many moons poor Alaska thought that Newaska was her son, but now she -knows that her pappoose had a skin as white as the water-flowers, -and little brown spots on his arm. Guard him well, Letheto,” she -said, bestowing a look upon the gaunt brute that lay at the entrance -of the apartment, where the young hunter slept. “He is your king, -now--_your king_, I say; and if the children of Watchemenetoc walk -over you to his heart--if you sleep at his door--Alaska will throw -you to your brethren, and they shall devour your heart.” - -The animal threw a glance upward, as though he understood her, and -resumed his vigil. - -A kind spirit was ruling Alaska now, and, for once in many hours, -Mayne Fairfax slumbered without fear of molestation, though in the -jaws of death. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - NOT YET! NOT YET! - - -When the door of the strong lodge again closed on Oonalooska and the -hermit, the former thrust something into the latter’s hands. - -The fingers clutched it with eagerness. It was the hilt of a -long-bladed knife! - -“Where did you get this, chief?” asked the hermit, in a low tone, -which, to the listening guards beyond the wall, was a confused murmur. - -“When Alaska took the young white hunter to her lodge, Okolona’s hand -thrust the knife into his son’s fingers. Ah! big hunter, the old -Medicine loves his boy!” - -“And I thank God for that love,” fervently responded Hewitt. “With -this knife we can cut the thick bark above our heads, and the caged -birds will be free again. Oonalooska, we must first get beyond the -Shawnees’ lodge, before we can help the young hunter and the girl.” - -The Indian acknowledged the giant’s argument. - -“Then let us escape to-night, and before another moon we will return -and rescue our friends. Alaska will not harm that chap till his -wounds have healed, and they will not heal for two moons to come.” - -“Oonalooska and the Lone Man must lie in the strong lodge until -another darkness,” replied the Indian. - -“Why?” disappointedly questioned Hewitt. - -“Tecumseh’s braves will not sleep to-night. They stand around this -lodge, and when another darkness comes they will not guard so well. -Oonalooska knows this, for he has been a guard himself.” - -Against his impatience, the hermit acquiesced in the Shawnee’s words, -and, hiding the knife, they threw themselves upon the ground and went -to sleep. - -To say that Jim Girty was chagrined over the unexpected drift of -affairs, would not express the state of his mind. - -He was furious--almost beside himself with rage. He appreciated -Tecumseh’s interference, which saved his life, and he knew that -the chief had canceled the debt he owed him. Now Tecumseh owed -him nothing, and _vice versa_. Though thrown again upon his own -resources, he did not despair of ultimate success. In all his life -his plots had never entirely failed, and whenever his feet touched -the sands of the gulf of adversity, he always hoped for, plotted for, -a brighter finale. - -To the renegade every cloud had a silver lining, which sometimes his -short-sightedness would not permit him to see. - -He was angry at Laulewasikaw for the loss of Newaska, his trustiest -brave, his keenest spy, and when the Prophet would enter his tent -that night, after the scene in the wood, he waved him back. - -“Let Laulewasikaw return to his lodge on the Miami,” he said. “The -White Chief is inconsolable for the loss of Newaska, who would still -have lived, had the Prophet not come.” - -The words that flowed from the renegade’s lips, seemed steeped in -gall, and when he had finished, the Prophet, whose sensibilities -ofttimes a single word could wound, drew back from Girty, and -fastened his dark orbs upon his face, pale with rage, in the soft -starlight. - -“Laulewasikaw has served the White Chief and well,” he said slowly, -uttering every syllable distinctly. “He will serve him no longer. -Henceforth let the White Chief shut his mouth to the great Prophet. -Laulewasikaw could tell the Shawnees that the Great Spirit demanded -the White Chief’s heart, and they would take it. But the Prophet -turns not upon the adder that he has warmed in his bosom. If it -can be guilty of ingratitude, Laulewasikaw spurns it,” and without -another word, he turned away, and sought Greenville. - -“Go!” hissed Girty, “I can git along without you. I know you took me -to your lodge when you found me drunk and freezing to death, thirty -odd years ago, but I’ve paid you, old devil, for that. I gave you a -barrel of whisky which more than canceled _that_ debt. Yes, yes, old -fellow, we’re square.” - -Finished speaking, he passed the guards and entered the lodge where, -for a moment, he listened to the regular breathings of a slumbering -person, beyond a partition of skins. - -“I’ve half a mind to--,” and he suddenly rose from his couch, and -stepped toward the curtains. “No,” and he paused as abruptly as he -had risen, “if I can’t eucher all my enemies, both red and white, -then I’ll have recourse to the knife. I might kill her now, and beat -them to-morrow. Then I’d be in a pretty fix, wouldn’t I? I’ve always -come out best in the end,” and with this he resought his couch. - -Nothing of interest transpired in the Shawnee village the day that -followed the night of thrilling scenes. Jim Girty moved about among -the lodges as though nothing unusual had occurred; but Tecumseh’s -warriors noticed that he kept quite a distance from the Wolf-Queen’s -wigwam. He feared that the sight of his repulsive form would throw -the mad-woman into a frenzy, which might result fatally to him. - -Around the strong lodge stood Tecumseh’s trustiest braves--men whom -he dared not approach--and he must seek the hearts of the prisoners, -if he sought them at all, by proxy. He tried to fathom Tecumseh’s -feelings toward him, but, while the chief spoke friendly, Girty -noticed something lurking behind his manner--something indicative of -hatred. - -The interview was not prolonged, for so soon as he had felt the -chief’s heart, he returned to his lodge. - -“I have it at last!” and a minute later he darted from his wigwam, -much to the surprise of the guards. “I will make mad the hearts of -Nethoto and Sagasto’s squaws, and by heaven! they will tear the -captives from Alaska. Tecumseh _dare_ not interfere, then,” and -with this new idea from his internal prompter, he hurried toward the -lodges of the widowed squaws. - - * * * * * - -To the hermit and Oonalooska the night seemed a long while coming. - -They sat in the demi-gloom of the prison cabin, and watched the rise -and fall of the god of day. True to the Shawnee’s words, the savages -relaxed their vigilance, and long ere the shades of night fell, a -portion of the guard were withdrawn, which action left but three on -duty. - -“Now for freedom, Oona,” said Hewitt, feeling about in the gloom till -his hand touched the savage, who was listening to the conversation of -the guards without the hut. “The Indians are recounting their brave -deeds, eh? Well, they’ll get to fighting over them after a while; but -we’ll not stay to hear the thumps.” - -The Shawnee turned from the door, and a minute later, standing upon -the giant hermit’s shoulders, he was cutting a hole in the bark above -their heads. - -To the noisy guard the knife made no noise, and at length Oonalooska -sprung to the ground. - -Hewitt looked up, and saw the stars through the aperture. - -“Now, Oona,” he said, clambering toward the perforated roof, “I’ll go -first, and you may follow.” - -The escape from the cabin was effected without discovery, and the -twain moved off in the brilliant starlight. - -“I’d like to take the boy with us,” whispered the hermit; “but he -could never be rescued from that mad-woman and her wolves. By and -by we’ll come back, Oona, and catch the boy out o’ her fingers -somewhere. I tell you ’twould be impossible to take him from the -animal’s jaws.” - -“Alaska’s children have sharp teeth,” responded Oonalooska, in the -low tone that characterized the hermit’s words, “and they know how to -use them. When the Lone Man and Oonalooska return, Okalona will get -the boy to the edge of the Shawnees’ town.” - -Across spots where no shadows fell, the twain were forced to crawl on -all-fours, and at length found themselves near the confines of the -village. - -“Let’s rise now,” whispered Hewitt; “that long crawl has cramped me, -and my legs feel as heavy as stones.” - -The brave whispered approvingly, and Hewitt sprung to his feet. “Free -at last!” he uttered, in an audible tone, for they were fully thirty -feet from the nearest lodge, and in the shade. - -The next instant the Indian grasped his arm, and pulled him to the -earth. - -“What’s up, Oona? I--” - -The sight that greeted the hermit’s vision promptly terminated the -sentence he was framing. - -In the starlight just upon the edge of the shade, as though they had -suddenly risen from the earth, stood Alaska and a gigantic wolf. - -Her appearance, so sudden, so unexpected, and at such a time and -place, startled the hermit, and he grasped the Indian’s hand, mutely -appealing for a solution of the mystery. - -Oonalooska was calm. - -“Alaska has been to the forest,” he said. “See, her arms are full of -plants. They are for the hunter’s wounds. She never gathers plants -when the sun is in the sky. The sun dries their sap, and beneath the -stars it runs like water.” - -“Has she seen us?” queried the hermit. - -“She stopped when the Lone Man said ‘Free at last!’” responded the -Indian. “Oonalooska saw Letheto prick up his long ears. She sees us -now!” - -“Then we are hers,” said Hewitt, with despair in his tones. - -“No, no,” returned the Indian. “When Oonalooska was a boy, his father -taught him to throw the knife. He has not forgotten those lessons. -He will throw the knife into Alaska’s heart; then we can frighten -Letheto away.” - -When the Indian finished he caught the knife by the tip of the -dagger-like blade, and drew back for the death-blow. - -The mad queen stood scarce twenty feet from them, with her eyes fixed -upon their forms. But she could not note their actions, for the shade -in which they crouched was too gloomy to be minutely penetrated by -the naked eye. - -Strange emotions swayed the hermit’s form while he gazed upon -Alaska, and listened to Oonalooska’s plan for their escape. One blow -would insure their freedom, and rid them of the greatest foe they -possessed; but Hewitt vowed that that blow should not be given. - -Therefore, when the Indian’s muscles flew to the work of speeding the -knife to Alaska’s heart, Hewitt’s hand closed around his wrist. - -“What means the white man?” questioned Oonalooska, throwing a strange -look into the giant’s eyes. “Is his head cracked?” - -“No, no,” he answered, calmly. “Long ago the Lone Man loved a woman -who looked like poor Alaska; but she has long been absent from him. -Oonalooska shall not throw the knife. If he would escape, let him -glide away. I will become her prisoner. Perhaps--yes, yes, she may -be--” - -He said no more, for the Wolf Queen was approaching them. - -“Oonalooska pities the Lone Man,” said the Indian. “He will remain -with him, though his path leads from freedom to the stake.” - -They rose to their feet, and, with a word to the wolf, Alaska sprung -forward. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” she laughed, not in anger, but in triumph, “the Great -Spirit has guided Oonalooska and the Lone Man to Alaska. The Great -Spirit is good to poor Alaska; he guided her little boy to her lodge, -and she is happy once more. She will take the pale-face and red-skin -back to the strong lodge.” - -At her bidding, our friends turned toward their prison again. - -As they walked through the rays of the morn that had just clambered -over the eastern hills, Hewitt studied the face of the Wolf-Queen. -The scrutiny took him back to the days of his youth, and, in vision, -he saw the face that he had kissed at the altar. - -The Indian walked along, dogged and sullen. - -When they reached the prison, the guards stared aghast at the scene, -and Alaska harshly upbraided them for their negligence. And when the -twain found themselves once more beyond the threshold of the hut, an -Indian looked down upon them from the hole in the roof! - -Alaska slowly returned to her lodge, seemingly unconscious of her -work. - -“Beaten by a crazy woman!” hissed a man, as he stepped from the -shadow of a lodge not far from the prison structure. “Oh, if I had -known that Alaska was abroad--but then--then all her wolves were not -with her! Curse her tricks! I wish they were dead! But I’ve arranged -things for your digestion, my beaten chappies!” and his eyes fell -upon the prison lodge. “I’ve inflamed the vengeful passions of the -widowed squaws, and at any hour they may take you from your prison -and tear your hearts out. I’ll begin on you, and finish on Alaska and -the weakling. Oh, I’m a devil, I am!” - -And with a fiendish expression darkening his face, he sneaked toward -his own lodge. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE BAFFLED RENEGADE. - - -Jim Girty, the renegade, was elate with anticipated triumph when he -left the lodge of the widowed squaws. - -He had succeeded in inflaming their revengeful passions and their -fingers itched to clutch the captives’ throats. - -“When Tecumseh sleeps, we will come to the strong lodge, bind his -braves, take the captives into the dark woods, and burn them with -fire,” cried the stalwart Amasqua, one of the stricken chief’s -squaws. “We will do more.” - -“What will Amasqua and her women do?” asked Girty. - -“We will tear the white weakling from Alaska’s wolves, and burn him -with the other captives.” - -“Amasqua and her women must be wary,” said the renegade, “Alaska’s -children bite.” - -“We will first transfix them with arrows.” - -“Ah!” ejaculated Girty, “then Amasqua can take the white lout’s -heart.” - -Thus was the plot for the violent death of our three male friends -concocted, and it is not to be wondered that the renegade returned to -his lodge with heart elate. - -During the short interval that elapsed between his return and dawn, -he slept but little, and when the first streak of day penetrated the -village he sprung from his couch. - -After glancing into Eudora’s apartment, and finding her still asleep, -he set to work cleaning his rifle. - -“I may need the gun,” he said in an undertone, “and now above -all times it should be cleaned. Tecumseh says that weak lout is -Alaska’s child. Who’d have thought that crazy hag would take such an -outlandish notion? Her boy! So am I, then, and I know that I am old -enough to be her father. Curse the weakling! If he hadn’t come into -these parts, I’d ’a’ been enjoying myself with the girl--after the -Indian fashion she would have been my wife. And then that crazy hag -would not be against me. Oh! curse that boy!” - -As he uttered the imprecation, he dashed a fierce look toward -Alaska’s lodge, plainly visible from his own. - -“If the lout would show himself now, I’d shoot him,” hissed Girty, -“ay, and none could tell whence the shot came, for all save my guards -still sleep. Why don’t he take an airing? I wish--Ha! have I no more -than to wish?” - -As if intent upon the gratification of the renegade’s desires, Mayne -Fairfax parted the curtains of Alaska’s lodge, and stepped beyond the -threshold, where he paused to enjoy the beauties of the morning. - -“It’s your last airing, my boy,” hissed Girty, quickly throwing the -different parts of his rifle into their proper places, while the -fiendish light of revenge lit up his countenance with a lividness as -horrible as unnatural. “I’ll forestall the mad squaws in a portion of -their work!” - -Stepping aside, that he might not be perceived by his intended -victim, Girty rammed a bullet home, and again returned to the curtain. - -Unsuspicious of danger, our young hero still stood before Alaska’s -lodge. His keen eyes seemed to be employed in surveying the village, -no doubt for future action. - -With a muttered oath the renegade drew his gun to his shoulder, and -his eye glanced along the freshly-polished barrel. - -“Shall I take him atween the eyes or through the heart?” he asked, -self-communingly. “I want to make a dead shot--I want to keep up my -reputation as such, and if I fire at his heart I might fail. I can -see his forehead; his accursed heart is hidden.” - -Then he elevated the gun just the least degree, and threw all his -energies into the drawing of the “bead” upon Fairfax’s forehead. - -“Now--here--you--go!” muttered Girty, and his finger pressed the -trigger. - -The last word still quivered his lips when something sprung past him, -and the rifle was knocked from his grasp. - -“Hell and Furies!” yelled Girty, darting to his feet, and clutching -the swan-like throat of the girl who fearlessly confronted him. -“You’re a she-wolf, and, curse you, I’ve a mind to throttle you!” - -She could not speak, but her look was indicative of triumph over the -brute. - -At length he released her, and, shorn of her strength by his -vice-like grip, Eudora fell to the ground. - -“Back!” cried Girty to the guards, who were crowding into the lodge. -“Warriors never desert their posts. I will attend to the girl. Back! -I say.” - -Overawed by the renegade’s manner, the Indians slunk away, and Girty, -still crimson with rage, lifted Eudora from the earth, and rudely -tossed her back into her chamber. - -“There! curse you, live or die, I care not which!” he hissed. “If I -have choked you to death, I’m sure that I don’t care; but I guess -you’ll worry it through, for a woman is as hard to kill as a cat.” - -He continued to gaze awhile upon Eudora, who lay motionless upon her -couch, admirably counterfeiting death. Then he strode from the lodge, -pausing a moment to say to one of the guards: - -“If the white girl steps upon the trail of death, bear her beyond the -village, and throw her body to the fishes in the swift stream.” - -The Indians exchanged startled glances, and listened at the door, as -the renegade walked away. - -No sound came to their ears. - -One ventured to peep into the captive’s apartment. Eudora still lay -motionless, without a sign of returning life. Had the renegade’s grip -proved fatal? - - * * * * * - -“Who fired at Alaska’s boy?” asked the Wolf-Queen, when Mayne Fairfax -sought her lodge, after Girty’s shot. - -His face indicated that his young life had been attempted. - -“I know not,” he answered. “The ball almost touched my cheek.” - -“Who would shoot Co Hago, but the White Chief?” cried Alaska, -springing to his side. “Whence came the ball?” - -Fairfax stepped to the opening, and indicated the path of the -renegade’s bullet. - -“Yes, yes; the White Chief fired the lead at Co Hago,” she said, “but -why did he not hit him? White Chief never misses. He has the eye of -an eagle.” - -“Providence turned the ball aside,” said Fairfax. - -Alaska stared at the young hunter, unable to comprehend his words. - -“The Great Spirit saved Co Hago,” he said, that she might understand -him. - -“The Great Spirit?” she said, in a low tone, drawing him back into -the lodge. “A long time ago, when Alaska’s head and heart were not -sore, she sung songs to the Great Spirit, beside a little stream -where the birds warbled their happy hymns.” - -“When was that, mother?” asked Mayne, anxious to fathom the story of -her life, before insanity swayed her mind. - -A smile illumined her face at the word “mother,” and she imprinted a -kiss on the Virginian’s forehead. - -“Alaska was a little girl when she sung with the birds by the great -tree, split by the Great Spirit’s fiery ax.” - -“How singular!” mused Mayne Fairfax. “Not far from my home, where -once a cabin stood, stands a great lightning-riven oak. Can it be -that this poor mad-woman once lived so near Fairfax manor?” - -The crazy queen watched him narrowly, as he communed with himself. - -“Did Alaska--my mother, dwell near the riven oak? Why did my mother -come to the Shawnees?” - -“Alas! Alaska forgets every thing save the big tree and her boy,” -said the woman. “Some day the Great Spirit will chase the pain from -this head, as the Shawnees chase the deer from their coverts.” - -The young hunter was almost satisfied that Alaska, in the days of -sanity, had dwelt near his own home; but her chaotic mind refused her -the recollection he coveted. - -Again and again he questioned her; but, learning nothing, at last -gave up in despair. - -He hoped that the “some day” to which she referred with prophetic -mien, would soon arrive, and he prayed that he might witness its -arrival. - -He felt deeply interested in that insane woman! - -During the day he busied himself in forming the acquaintance of -Alaska’s wolves. At first the animals were inclined to shyness and -war; but their queen drew them to Mayne Fairfax’s side, and at last -they acknowledged their king--coming at his beck and call. - -“After three more sleeps,” said Alaska, when the shades of night were -gently falling around the village, “Co Hago will be proclaimed King -of the Wolves, in the presence of the entire Shawnee nation. Then he -can come and go when and where he pleases, and none--not even the -hated White Chief--dare cross his path.” - -“Then,” murmured our hero, “I can work, and I will snatch my friends -from their perilous situations, upon my life.” - -He retired early to the inner apartment, and an hour later a hand -roused him from slumber. - -He started to his feet and confronted Alaska. - -“Hist!” she cried with finger upon lip. - -A chorus of yells penetrated the lodge. - -“The mad squaws seek the captives’ lives!” cried Alaska, seizing -Mayne’s arm, and darting from the wigwam. “Alaska will let them burn -the prisoners, for the blood of Nethoto and Sagasto cry aloud from -the forest.” - -As she uttered the last words she sprung forward in the direction -from whence floated the hell of mad cries. - -Had her hand not encircled the hunter’s wrist, he would have -experienced great difficulty in keeping beside her. - -With every bound the yells grew more distinct, and presently they -found a response from the wolves that trotted at Alaska’s heels. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - SQUAW VENGEANCE, AND SQUAW RAGE. - - -Mayne Fairfax and his red companion soon gained the immediate -neighborhood of the exciting scene that was being enacted. - -On the southern side of the village square, and before the door of -the prison lodge, surged a crowd of women with disheveled tresses, -and hands full of clubs, hatchets, and knives. - -Against the door of the hut stood Tecumseh, with flashing eyes -and drawn tomahawk; and confronting the chief were two gaunt -hags--perfect furies in looks and contour--demanding the surrender to -them and their supporters, of the two prisoners. - -A short distance from the sachem stood Jim Girty, smiling upon the -vengeful work of his hands. - -Tecumseh maintained a firm and dignified bearing, though a close -observer might have noticed sighs of trepidation, as his piercing eye -took in the scene. - -The leaders of the mob were the squaws, or Indian wives, of the -chiefs Sagasto and Nethoto, slain by Oonalooska at the hermit’s cave. -The mad women could not bide the time set apart by Tecumseh for the -execution of the prisoners. Their hideous cries for blood, roused the -village from slumber, and at the head of a motley crowd, composed of -warriors, women, and children, they started to the prison-house. But -Tecumseh, having been awakened, met them at the door, and refused -them admittance. - -He had recourse to many arguments to induce the rioters to return to -their respective lodges, and wait till the coming day for the death -of their prisoners; but they fell upon deaf ears. - -“The squaws of Nethoto and Sagasto love Tecumseh,” spoke Nethoto’s -wife. “They would not harm a hair of his head; but, unless he -gives the pale-face and the red traitor to them, there may be no -Tecumseh--the leader’s lodge may be empty to-morrow.” - -Tecumseh saw the angry look that accompanied those threatening words. -Everywhere knives glittered, and he realized that he had bloodthirsty -_women_ to deal with, not men. - -“The squaws are very mad,” said Girty, stealing to Tecumseh’s side. -“They will have the prisoners, though they walk over Tecumseh. Why -bid them wait till day, and die? Let Tecumseh glide to his beaded -lodge, if he would not see the prisoners die.” - -“Tecumseh will go,” answered the chief. “He would not witness -the work of the mad women. White Wolf, do not let them burn the -prisoners. Tecumseh will have no such work within sound of his lodge. -If they _must_ burn, let them be carried to the wood.” - -The chief threw a parting look at the mad squaws, and glided through -the crowd to his lodge. As he left the throng, Jim Girty threw -himself before the door of the hut, and his strong voice rent the air: - -“Tecumseh has listened to the words of Amasqua,” he said. “The -pale-face and red traitor must not die in the village. Let them be -borne to the wood.” - -His speech was received with yells of satisfaction, and the renegade -tore Tecumseh’s wampum from the door of the hut. Throwing himself -against the barrier, he forced himself into the structure, and a -minute later the hermit and his red companion found themselves in -the hands of the most furious band of humans that ever surrounded a -prisoner. - -“To the wood! the dark wood!” was the import of the chorus of -vengeful yells that floated heavenward, and away toward the gloomy -tarn the twain were hurried. - -Alaska and Mayne Fairfax followed in the rear of the band. Many a -lowering glance was thrown at the young hunter, and had it not been -for the presence of his strong protector and her guard of brutes, he -would soon have stood at the prisoners’ side. - -Mayne Fairfax kept from the sight of Oonalooska and the hermit. He -did not wish them to know that he was a forced witness to their -doom, and a refusal to accompany his mad mother might have proved his -death-warrant. - -The wood was soon reached, and two lithe trees selected for the -death-stakes. - -Jim Girty was now beside himself with fiendish triumph, and his -stentorian voice rung loud and clear above the yells of the red-skins. - -He insulted Hewitt in every way that suggested itself to his devilish -mind. He struck him with his open hand, spit in his face, and plucked -out a handful of his beautiful beard! Hewitt stood his indignities -without a murmur, but a sarcastic smile lurked around his lips. -Failing to draw a groan from the hermit, the renegade turned to -Oonalooska, but was obliged to desist with the same result. - -“To the trees!” he said at last, and the hands of the prisoners were -momentarily unbound, that they might be fastened to the saplings. - -As the hermit felt his hands spring from the thongs, he darted a look -at Oonalooska, and his lips parted to utter a single word, which drew -a spark of fire from the young brave’s eyes. - -The next instant the twain sprung forward, and, before the mob could -recover from its surprise, Oonalooska had snatched the tomahawk -from Amasqua, and Jim Girty staggered to the earth beneath Hewitt’s -clenched hand. Then, having driven the Indians back a goodly space, -by their unexpected movements, the twain turned, and darted through -the forest with the speed of the deer. - -To pursue by sight was utterly useless, for the captives had -disappeared in an instant, and Jim Girty, who was the first to -recover his senses, darted to Alaska’s side. - -“The white-face and the red traitor who shot Alaska’s wolves have -escaped,” he cried, pointing in the direction of the trail of the -twain. “Let Alaska throw her children upon the trail, that her -enemies may die.” - -“Do not, my mother,” cried Fairfax, laying his hand upon Alaska’s -arm, before she had a chance to reply to the renegade. “If the Lone -Man and Oonalooska die, Alaska’s child will not become King of the -Wolves.” - -The Wolf-Queen looked down upon the face upturned to her--the face -of, as she believed, her son, and Fairfax discovered that he held an -unbounded influence over that mad-woman. - -“Alaska’s wolves shall scent no trail to-night,” she said, addressing -him, and then she turned to Girty, and the mad, clamoring clique -that surrounded him. “The captives may fly,” she said, with teeth -firm-set, as her dark eyes fell upon the renegade, thence wandering -to the bloodthirsty band. “Alaska hears the words of her son, and -the wolves strike not a pale-face trail to-night. If the White Wolf -and Amasqua would catch the lost birds, they must find them without -Alaska’s children. Alaska and her white son, who soon will be a -Shawnee and King of the Wolves, will return to her lodge.” - -The queen made a retiring motion, when Girty turned to the band. - -“Shall the Shawnees’ captives escape by the words of a white-livered -dog?” he hissed, pointing to young Fairfax. “The weakling rules -Alaska, and he is turning her against her people. Shall the Shawnees -tamely submit to this? If so, let them not touch the white-faced dog!” - -His words drew yells from the lips of the baffled band, and, with -glittering blade, Amasqua, Nethoto’s vengeful wife, stepped forward. - -“Would Amasqua meet Ogita?” cried the Wolf-Queen, suddenly catching -up one of her wolves, and raising him on high. - -The mad widow paused, and, still holding the wolf aloft, Alaska -retrograded toward the village, her eyes shooting defiance at the -mob. Close to her side moved the young Virginian, inwardly rejoicing -at the double escape, but not forgetful of his own imminent danger. - -Slowly Alaska retreated, and slowly her enemies followed, afraid to -raise a hand. - -Jim Girty quivered with rage, in the spasm of which he would have -shot the mad queen of the wolves; but the hermit had snatched his -rifle from his grip, and not a savage had borne his from the village. -He dared not raise his hand to hurl a hatchet at the lunatic, for -such a movement would bring the wolf to his throat; and the renegade -feared the queen’s wolves as he feared unnatural death. - -For Fairfax’s intercession, he would have the man’s blood, and he now -saw that that hour had not arrived. - -The mad squaws, too, were afraid to raise a hand against the -passioned queen, and dark were the plots against her and her “son” -that then found birth in their bosoms. - -Step by step Alaska retreated, with seven gaunt wolves covering her -track, and, as she and the hunter glided into the double lodge, a -chorus of baffled cries smote the air of night, and fell faintly upon -listening ears far up the moonlit Scioto. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - A LEAF FROM THE HERMIT’S LIFE. - - -The hermit and his red companion guided their steps toward the river, -whose banks they were not long reaching; and, at last, somewhat -fatigued, they ensconced themselves under a shelving ledge, secure -from the observation of foes on land and water. - -The hour of their greatest peril approached--that both men knew, and -as they lay there waiting, Hewitt told the Indian the story of his -past--a story which the brave and devoted savage was entitled to -hear, that the white might be justified in his eyes. - -“The Lone Man will tell Oonalooska all,” said Hewitt, answering to -the expectant look in his companion’s eyes, as an expression of pain -flitted across his face. He brushed something, very much like a -translucent pearl, from his bronzed cheek, and began: - -“Many years ago the Lone Man dwelt beyond the Kiskepila Sepe, in the -great State, called by the whites Virginia. He was young then; though -white his hair now, he is not old. When he grew to manhood he took a -beautiful white maiden to his heart, and, in time, she gave the Lone -Man a laughing little boy.” - -Here emotion overcame the strong man, and, for many moments, his face -was buried in his great hands. - -“The Lone Man sighs for his boy,” he said at length. “Often the Lone -Man left his wife and little one, and journeyed to the great city of -Richmond. He never thought that a snake was creeping into his wigwam. - -“One night the Lone Man returned to his lodge, and saw two shadows -beyond the window. A great storm passed over his heart, his head -burned with a strong fire, and he crept forward. From behind a giant -oak that spread its branches over his cabin, the Lone Man saw another -seated beside his wife, who rocked the cradle where slept his little -boy. The strange white man was a hunter, and one arm he had thrown -around the neck of Agnes. - -“Hotter and hotter grew the Lone Man’s head, and when the hunter’s -lips--unbearded, for he seemed no more than a beautiful boy--touched -the rosy cheeks of Agnes, his rifle flew to his shoulder, and the -young hunter fell across the cradle, with a bullet in his brain. - -“The Lone Man waited not to charge his wife with her unfaithfulness. -He darted into the forest with her shriek ringing in his ears, and -he swore, until death, to dwell alone in the great wood. He crossed -the Kiskepila Sepe, and found the cave near the Scioto, where he has -since dwelt alone. Since that dark night the Lone Man’s hand has -never drunk the blood of man, and until death it never drinks it. -Oonalooska, the Lone Man’s heart bleeds to meet his boy; but he will -never cross the eagle river again. Among the woods of the Ohio he -will die. But when the young hunter goes back to Virginia, he will -hunt for the hermit’s child and wife, and tell him what become of -them. - -“Now, Oonalooska knows why the Lone Man sought the forests of Ohio.” - -For a long time the Indian was silent. - -“Oonalooska would know what became of the Lone Man’s squaw and -pappoose,” he said, at length. “The Shawnee believes that they are -not in the lodge of the Great Spirit.” - -“I pray that they are not,” said the hermit, fervently. “I curse -the impulse that led me to shoot the young hunter without giving -him a chance for his life. Perhaps Agnes was not to blame. Oh, to -think that a moment of calm inquiry might have prevented my being a -murderer,” and a groan of agony burst from the hermit’s heart, as he -buried his face in his palms. - -“Oona, when came Alaska to the lodges of the Shawnees?” asked the -cave man when he, at length, raised his head to the chief. - -“When the snows of four winters rested upon Oonalooska’s head,” was -the reply. - -“How many winters has Oonalooska seen?” - -The Shawnee designated twenty-five, by counting his fingers. - -“How singular!” murmured the hermit, lowering his head. “Twenty-one -years ago my hands were dyed with human blood, and twenty-one years -ago Alaska came to the Shawnees! Oh, the resemblance she bears to -Agnes! Heaven, solve the terrible enigma!” - -He questioned the Shawnee no further regarding the Wolf-Queen; but -both lapsed into silence as they awaited the passing of the day. -Their work was to be done by night alone. - -The afternoon was well spent, when the dip of oars assailed their -ears. Oonalooska glided from the hermit’s side. - -More distinct grew the plash of oars, and presently six canoes, -loaded to the water with painted braves, flitted past the Shawnee’s -line of vision. - -In the prow of the foremost canoe stood Tecumseh. - -“Tecumseh is on the war-path,” said Oonalooska, returning to the -hermit. “The White Wolf is not with him. The Lone Man and Oonalooska -must tear the pale-faces from his people before the great chief -returns.” - -The hermit saw the truth of the Indian’s words, and promptly -acknowledged it. Tecumseh had never been outwitted by a white man. - -At length night came, and the twain left the ledge. - -They glided to the opening through which they had emerged from the -cave, and reëntered the deserted home. It had been pillaged by the -savages; but the couple discovered some jerked meat that satisfied -their hunger, and from a secret cache Hewitt drew two rifles and a -quantity of ammunition. - -Thus equipped they were leaving the deserted home, when from one of -the subterranean passages an animal bounded. It was the hermit’s dog. - -“Wolf, old fellow, with us again,” cried Hewitt, patting the animal’s -shaggy back. “You shall go with us. Mebbe we’ll need your nose and -teeth.” - -Leaving the cave, they hurried toward the Indian village, and -ensconced themselves in a thicket that commanded a tolerable view of -Tecumseh’s home. - -From that thicket soon arose the hoot of an owl, three times -repeated; then all was still as the night. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE KING OF THE WOLVES. - - -Gradually the shades of night fell around the Indian town, and, -unattended by human escort, a form emerged from Alaska’s lodge. - -The step proclaimed the person a white, but the costume an Indian. -A great blanket covered the body, the nether limbs were inclosed -in close-fitting leggins, and a circlet of feathers surrounded the -head. At the person’s feet trotted a large wolf, which ever and anon -ran before its master, and gazed up into his face with a puzzled -expression. - -The solitary walker was Mayne Fairfax, now Co Hago, King of the -Wolves! - -He had left Alaska’s lodge, with her knowledge and consent, for -a stroll--not an unpremeditated one--through the village. He had -declined Tecumseh’s invitation to tread with him the war-trail, on -the pretense that his wounds unfitted him for service, when his -wounds had ceased from troubling. - -He had cause for remaining in the Shawnee town. - -The night was well advanced when he left his “mother’s” lodge, and -his footsteps tended toward that portion of the “town” wherein was -situated Eudora’s prison. - -The night was not intensely dark, for the stars threw shadows, and -Fairfax kept in the darkest spots as he approached the place well -marked by him the preceding day. When quite near the lodge, he -dropped upon all fours, and glided forward in that manner. - -At last the wigwam loomed up between him and the golden worlds that -almost dazzled his eyes when he looked aloft. Instead of two figures -before Eudora’s lodge, three greeted his vision. The third figure was -gigantic in its proportions, and easily recognized as the renegade, -Jim Girty! - -Fearful of his intentions, the renegade had added himself to the -guard of the prison lodge. - -An expression of dismay enthroned itself upon the young Virginian’s -face, as his eyes fell upon Girty, and he gazed at the man a long -time, before he gave utterance to his thoughts. - -“I am baffled for to-night,” he murmured. “Jim Girty fears me, and -guards his prisoner the closer. I must bide my time. He will relax -his vigilance some time, his guards will sleep some night, when I -shall tear Eudora from them. Can I wait until they sleep? No, no, -I will not wait, for the renegade nightly changes his sentries. I -must seek subtle assistance; but where shall I look for that? I am -a Shawnee now; will not a brother aid me? Shall a mean, white dog -baffle the King of the Wolves?” and a smile played with the young -man’s lips, as he mentioned his title. “No, I swear he shall not. I -wonder if Hewitt and Oonalooska will return to assist me?” - -With this muttered interrogation, Fairfax retraced his steps, -attended by his solitary guard. - -It was near midnight, for the beautiful constellation of Cygnus had -gained the meridian, and, in all its magnificence, was slowly sinking -toward the western horizon. - -Suddenly the hoot of the great horned night-owl came dismally -distinct from the densely-wooded knoll to the right of the village. - -The Wolf-King paused, and his companion pricked up his long, ashen -ears. - -Thrice that doleful hoot was repeated, and, as the last echo died -away in the recesses of the forest, Fairfax wheeled and walked -rapidly toward the spot. - -What to him was the hoot of an owl? - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - THE CONFERENCE ON THE KNOLL. - - -For many minutes silence reigned between the two watchers upon the -knoll, when the hermit suddenly laid his cold hand on Oonalooska’s -bare arm. - -“What sees the Lone Man?” questioned the Shawnee. - -“An Indian; look yonder!” and Hewitt directed Oonalooska’s gaze to -the right of the spot they occupied. - -The full-orbed goddess of the night was slowly scaling the eastern -horizon, and against her disk, in striking bas-relief, appeared the -form of a man. He stood in a listening attitude, but not alone, for -beside him stood a huge animal, resembling in the mellow light, a -wolf. The twain were scarce twenty feet from the white man and his -red companion! - -“It must be Okalona,” whispered Oonalooska, after surveying the man -before them, “for he came at Oonalooska’s owl hoot.” - -A second note rose from Oonalooska’s throat and he whispered: - -“_White hunter._” - -The person addressed turned abruptly upon the chief. - -“Who calls?” he cried. - -“Oonalooska,” was the response, and the eyes of the King of the -Wolves fell upon the Shawnee. - -“Back Letheto!” he cried, striking the wolf at his side, slowly -advancing upon Oonalooska, who awaited him, with a ready knife. - -“White hunter is welcome,” said Oonalooska with a smile. “Let the -chief lead him to the Lone Man.” - -The Shawnee guided Fairfax forward, and they soon stood before the -hermit. - -“Boy!” cried Hewitt, springing to his feet, and griped the young -man’s hand. “Have you turned Shawnee, too?” - -“Yes,” answered Fairfax, glancing at the animal crouched at his -feet. “I am the son of Alaska, a Shawnee, and the King of the Wolves.” - -“Adopted, with the freedom to go and come?” said Hewitt. - -“Yes, in every sense, a Shawnee.” - -Then, in brief mention, Fairfax related his adventures in the Shawnee -village, since his capture, and when he had finished the hermit spoke. - -“It is strange that that mad-woman should recognize you as her son -by the mole on your shoulder,” he said; “but, we must not talk of -that now. You must be in her lodge before dawn, and day is not far -distant. We must talk fast. In the shape of Okalona, the Medicine-man -of the Shawnees, you will find a valuable assistant. He hates -Tecumseh and Girty, and they hate him. Go to him to-morrow. Tell him -that you were sent to his lodge by his son, and all will be well. He -deals in drugs that put men to sleep.” - -“And in leaves that send men to the Manitou’s lodge,” said -Oonalooska, as he drew his necklace of bear-claws over his head. -“Take this to Okalona,” the chief continued, extending the necklace -to the young man, “and say that Oonalooska says: ‘Help the pale-face, -for Oonalooska’s heart.’” - -“Work swiftly but surely, boy, and when darkness comes again meet -us here. If your plans promise success, Oonalooska and I will enter -the town, and, all together, we will do a work that will never be -forgotten by the Shawnee nation.” - -Mayne Fairfax’s heart beat with joy. - -“I will work surely,” he said. “With the freedom of the village, -nothing prevents success.” - -Having listened to the sage advice, Mayne Fairfax turned to go, when -the hermit wrung the young man’s hands, and watched him disappear -beyond the brow of the knoll. He walked through the silent street of -the Shawnee town, and into the double lodge, untouched by Alaska’s -wolves. Already the animals knew their “_king_.” In their midst -reclined Alaska fast asleep, and Fairfax gained the inner apartment -without disturbing her. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - SIMON GIRTY IN HIS WAR-PAINT. - - -Jim Girty had deserted the braves who guarded the prison lodge for -the purpose of assassinating Mayne Fairfax; but the absence of the -young man had, for the present, thwarted his diabolical plans. - -After seeing Mayne reënter the double wigwam, he walked to his own -lodge, and threw himself upon an uncleanly couch of skins, and fell -into a deep slumber. - -The young white hunter slept till the golden day-god crept over -the eastern hills, when he was waked by Alaska. The queen seemed -in the possession of all her senses, and talked reasonably, while -Mayne discussed the repast she had prepared. It was one of her lucid -intervals, if her moments of calmness can be termed thus. - -“Mother,” he said, rising from the remains of the feast, “the -Wolf-King would seek the lodge of Okolona, but he knows not which way -to look for it.” - -Silently Alaska approached the door, and pointed to a wigwam covered -with skins of different hues, fantastically arranged. - -The young man, still clad as a Shawnee brave, left the lodge, and a -wolf followed, and trotted at his heels. - -But few braves were astir, as Fairfax walked toward the lodge of the -old Medicine, in whose presence he soon found himself. - -Okolona was bent beneath the burden of eighty winters, his hair was -long and rivaled the snow in spotless beauty; but his face could not -boast of a single wrinkle. Notwithstanding his physical condition, -his limbs owned prodigious strength, and in his eyes the vestiges of -golden manhood still remained--reluctant to leave one who trod the -war-path when the Shawnee nation was a child. - -As we have said, the Medicine had incurred the hatred of Tecumseh -and Jim Girty; but the twain dared not to lift their hands against -the old man, because he dealt in strange poisons, and was terrible -revengeful. - -As Mayne entered the lodge, the interior of which was ornamented with -ghastly, grinning skulls, a smile played with Okolona’s lips, and -when the young man threw his son’s bear-claw necklace into his hands, -he embraced him, and his old lips murmured: - -“My son, my Oonalooska!” - -“Oonalooska says to his father, the Medicine of the Shawnees, ‘Help -the pale prisoner,’” said Fairfax, and the old man’s eyes flashed -with strange fire. - -“Okolona will help Co Hago,” quickly returned the old Indian. “He -would tear the pale Flower from the White Wolf?” - -“Yes.” - -“Let Co Hago draw nearer Okolona, and listen to the great Medicine’s -words.” - -Mayne moved nearer the Medicine, who sat up on his couch; but before -the red lips parted, a loud whoop penetrated the lodge. - -In an instant Okolona was on his feet. - -He approached the opening, seemed to take a quick survey of the -village, and returned. - -“Did Co Hago hear the loud cry?” - -“Yes,” answered Fairfax, looking curiously into the old man’s face. - -“The brother of White Wolf has returned,” said Okolona. “He has been -many moons from the Shawnees’ lodges. Okolona had hoped that he was -with Watchemenetoc.” - -Mayne Fairfax’s heart beat tumultuously in his fearful bosom. - -_Simon_ Girty had arrived! - -The young man had heard much of the cruelty of this monster, the -terror of defenseless homes; but his eyes had never beheld him. - -Burdened with curiosity he stepped to the opening, and exposed his -entire form to gratify his sight. A band of Indians were filing -through the village, toward the council-house. At its head strode a -gigantic man, hideously painted and plumed. His forehead was bound -by a cloth, through which blood oozed, and he trailed a long rifle -at his side. His eagle eye took in every thing at a glance, and -he seemed to be hunting a victim, to appease the anger that sat -enthroned upon his countenance. - -This man Mayne Fairfax knew to be the dreaded Simon Girty; and he -involuntarily shrunk from his line of vision. - -His action was completed too late, for the eyes of Simon Girty fell -upon him, and, with a loud yell, he left the van of the band, and -darted toward the lodge. - -Instantly Okolona, who had witnessed the action of Girty over Mayne’s -shoulder, threw himself in the door of skins, for the purpose of -protecting his guest. - -“Back!” he cried, as the painted renegade paused before him, with -clubbed rifle. “Co Hago is a Shawnee. He is the son of Alaska.” - -“He is a white-livered hound!” shrieked Simon Girty. “Stand aside, -old man, or I’ll send you hellwards.” - -Okolona replied with a withering look, and James Girty sprung to his -brother’s side. - -“Kill the old dog!” he whispered in Simon’s ear, and the butt of the -rifle descended with crushing force. - -Okolona saw the action, and received the blow on his arm; but the -member could not resist the stroke, and he sunk to the earth a limp -lump of senseless and bleeding humanity. - -With drawn knife, and uttering a fierce oath, Jim Girty darted -forward to complete the work his brother had begun, when a blow, -administered by Mayne, with a hatchet hastily snatched from a corner -of the lodge, sent him to _terra firma_. - -Then the young man caught up the wolf, and faced Simon. - -“Simon Girty,” he cried, determined to sell his life dearly, if sell -it he must, “another step will bring my wolf’s teeth in contact with -your throat. I am a Shawnee now; as such acknowledged by Tecumseh, -who is able to punish the bravest man who harms one of his people.” - -“If you be Shawnee, curse you!” cried Girty, mechanically shrinking -from the flashing eyes of the upreared wolf. “But I must have a white -victim. The whites have torn my head open, and I must have white -blood.” - -He turned and took in the village at a glance, as his brother -scrambled to his feet. - -At that moment Miantomah, a deposed chief, and a bitter enemy of Jim -Girty, stepped to his side, and pointed to the prison lodge. - -“In yonder lodge dwells a pale-face captive,” said Miantomah. “Let -the White Chief have her blood.” - -Simon Girty darted forward, his wicked eyes fastened upon Eudora’s -lodge. - -“She’s mine!” yelled James, throwing himself before his mad brother. -“Simon, that girl is mine! Touch her upon your peril!” - -The command was disregarded with an oath, and the enraged Simon threw -his brother from him, and continued his vengeful bounds toward the -prison lodge. - -Jim Girty was soon on his feet, and his first action was to snatch a -rifle from the nearest brave, and level it at his brother! - -“Die! Simon Girty!” he hissed, as his sight flitted along the -glistening barrel. - -Instantly a sharp report rent the morning air, and, with a shriek, -Simon Girty dropped his rifle, and fell forward to the earth, where -he lay motionless. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - A CHANGE IN AFFAIRS. - - -Jim Girty neither felt nor expressed contrition for his fratricidal -deed. With folded arms he gazed calmly, almost triumphantly, upon his -fallen brother, whom he believed dead--pierced through the head by -his ball. - -“I’ll teach you, Simon Girty, how to disobey me!” he at length -hissed, in the silence that reigned after the commission of the dark -crime. “You are my brother, but I care not for that, though I know -that for this act I must fly the Shawnee nation before Tecumseh comes -back. Ha! by heavens! did he move?” - -He thought he detected a movement indicative of returning life in -his brother Simon, and, throwing his rifle above his head, he strode -forward with the intention of completing the deed of blood. - -But the movement--the convulsive action of Simon’s arm--had been -noticed by the savages, and several sprung to his side far in advance -of his impetuous brother. - -The foremost Shawnee, a chief of no mean distinction, jerked the -renegade to his feet, and the eyelids parted, to display eyes -wandering, like lost comets, in their gory sockets. - -With clubbed rifle, Jim Girty reached the spot to be hurled to the -earth by an Indian, and a moment later he found himself being swiftly -borne to the prison lodge, his limbs bound with deer-sinews. - -He knew that Simon’s heart, like his own, possessed no brotherly -feeling, and that when the painted renegade came to his senses, he -would wreak his vengeance upon his own lovely captive and himself. - -On the damp floor of the prison-house Jim Girty found bitter food -for reflection, and, with fate against him, he plotted not only his -own escape, but the freedom of Eudora Morriston. He possessed many -friends in the Shawnee nation; but not so numerous an array as his -brother boasted of. For a long time the brothers had vacillated -between friendship and strife, and James possessed secret friends who -seemed to be active partisans of Simon. His brother was never beyond -the vision of his red spies; and what James lacked in strength he -gained in cunning. - -When he heard his guard leave the prison house, he rolled himself to -the door, and applied his lips to the crevice between the portal and -sill. - -“Who guards the White Wolf?” he asked in a low tone. - -“Giangomah, the Black Whirlwind.” - -Girty’s heart gave an exultant throb. - -Giangomah had long been his secret friend. - -“Who guards with Giangomah?” - -“The Black Whirlwind is alone,” was the reply. - -“Where is the White Shawnee?” - -“He is in his lodge with a crazed head. He will know nothing till -to-morrow.” - -Jim Girty could not repress an ejaculation of joy. - -“Then to-night Giangomah will help the White Wolf to escape,” he said. - -“Yes.” - -“Good! The White Wolf and Giangomah will take the Pale Flower, and -fly to the neutral Mingoes.” - -“Giangomah is ready,” responded the chief. “When the stars come out, -he will glide to the Pale Flower’s lodge, and kill her guards. Then -he will bear her to the White Wolf, and we will fly to the neutral -tribe. There the White Shawnee and Tecumseh dare not enter to harm -us.” - -“No!” cried Girty. “Among the Mingoes the Pale Flower shall become -the White Wolf’s squaw, and woe unto the White Shawnee[2] when he -crosses his path!” - -In his lodge Simon Girty raved like a maniac. The ball fired from -his brother’s rifle, had plowed a furrow along his temple, and -deprived him of reason. Yet his return to a rational state was but a -question of time, two days at the furthest; and then he would rise to -vengeance against his brother, and his white prisoner. - -But let us return to Mayne Fairfax and the old Medicine. - -Simon Girty’s blow broke the old man’s arm, and rendered him -unconscious. Mayne Fairfax dragged him into the interior of the -medicine lodge, and soon restored him to reason. - -“The White Shawnee broke Okalona’s arm,” said the aged Indian, -examining the injured member; “but the old Medicine is far from the -lodge of the Manitou. He will help the King of the Wolves baffle -the White Wolf and his brother. Let Co Hago speak, while he binds -Okalona’s arm.” - -The old man threw himself upon his couch, while Mayne proceeded to -dress the arm according to the instructions of its owner. - -In time, the young man told the old Medicine that he desired the -liberation of Eudora, and Okalona said that the coming night should -witness her freedom. - -“When darkness comes Co Hago can go and bring Oonalooska and the Lone -Man to Okalona’s lodge,” said the Medicine, in conclusion, having -been reticent regarding the course of liberation he intended to -adopt. - -No more opportune time than the coming night suggested itself to -the young hunter, and the sudden change of affairs caused the fates -to appear propitious. With Jim Girty a doomed man in the strong -prison-house, and Simon a temporary maniac, Tecumseh absent, and -Alaska, the mad queen, calm and unsuspecting, what better time could -he have wished? - -From Okalona’s lodge he returned to the double wigwam, from the door -of which, Alaska had witnessed the startling scenes just narrated. - -“Co Hago is worthy to be king of the wolves,” she cried, throwing her -arms around Mayne’s neck. “Alaska saw him face the White Shawnee; but -she did not go to his side with her children, for she saw that he -would fight nobly, and conquer the bad white brothers.” - -Mayne smiled at her words, and entered the lodge. - -She followed, and threw herself upon the couch. - -“Does Alaska know the Lone Man?” asked the young hunter, recollecting -the emotion and singular words of the hermit when he parted with him -on the knoll, the preceding night. - -“The Lone Man is as a star to Alaska,” was the strange reply; “she -can see him, but her arms are too short.” - -The reply furnished food for the young man’s reflection. - -It was evident to him, at least, that Alaska had known Hewitt in -times when insanity was a stranger to her poor brain; but now, -memory served her not--memory had deserted her with reason; but at -intervals, as the reader has seen in the course of our romance, -memory revisited her; but these visits were as fleeting as a sunbeam. - -Again and again Mayne questioned her regarding the hermit, and her -replies served to strengthen his belief, as given above. Perhaps she -was the hermit’s wife, at least he thought that Hewitt half believed -and feared thus, and an inward monitor told him that the coming night -would behold the lifting of mystery’s curtain. - -But he never dreamed the true and terrible revealment of that mystery. - -He remained in the double wigwam until the dawn of twilight, when he -left it unquestioned by Alaska. - -Instead of making his way toward the knoll, where Oonalooska and the -hermit awaited, with mingled anxiety and impatience, his appearance, -he sauntered toward Eudora’s prison. Before the door sat the two -guards, indulging one of their passions by gambling with little -pebbles, after the sportive manner of American children, in the -game called “Hull-gull handful.” The Indians were oblivious to all -surrounding objects, and therefore the young man glided to the rear -of the lodge unnoticed. - -In a few words he acquainted Eudora with the plans, so far as he knew -them, of rescue, and the maiden clasped her hands and prayed for the -success of the attempt. - -It made Mayne Fairfax happy to fill her heart with hope, and, elate -with anticipated triumph, he left her, and hurried toward the knoll. - -A few minutes later he stood before the twain, and without accident -the trio gained the old Medicine’s lodge. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE BLOODY MEETING. - - -The flying moments seemed endless to Eudora Morriston, who sat in her -lodge waiting for the coming of her rescuers. - -Hour after hour flitted past, and the fearful captive listened in -vain for her lover’s step. The two guards, tired of gambling, stood -like statues before the birchen portals of the strong wigwam, their -ears catching every sound, and their vigilant eyes noting every dark -form that crossed their line of vision. - -At last a footfall greeted her ear but it was not her lover’s. - -His well-known tread she could not mistake for another’s, and, -wondering who approached she moved to the door, and peered through a -crevice upon the scenes beneath the stars. - -She saw the form of an Indian nearing the guards. He made no -pretensions to stealth, for he walked erect, and when near the lodge, -one of the guards demanded his mission. - -“I am Giangomah, the Black Whirlwind,” he answered, with much -pomposity. “I have a message for the ear of Chabaro.” - -Chabaro hastened eagerly forward, but Giangomah waved him back. - -“Let Chabaro not desert his post,” he said, advancing, with his right -hand hidden from sight, in an unsuspicious manner. - -The guard resumed his post. - -Eudora’s heart beat high, for she doubted not that Giangomah was -Mayne’s red friend sent by him to deliver her. - -Giangomah walked to Chabaro, and placed his lips to the listening -ear. Then, with the unexampled rapidity of thought, his hand flew -from beneath his blanket, and a knife glided noiselessly into the -guard’s side. Not a groan, not a gasp, escaped the lips of the -stricken Shawnee, and while he was sliding from Giangomah’s grip, the -second sentinel felt a hand upon his throat. Useless, on the sentry’s -part, was the brief struggle that followed, for Giangomah’s gory -knife cleft his heart, and he sunk to the earth--dead. - -Seeing the action, Eudora burst the door open, and stepped beyond the -threshold. - -“I am here, Giangomah,” she said. “Oh, how brave you are!” - -The savage was taken aback by her action, but soon recovered his -composure. He stood the dead savage against the lodge, and, taking -Eudora’s hand, hurried from the scene. - -Believing that she was being conducted to her lover, the girl did not -speak, as she was being hurried through the village, and suddenly -Giangomah paused before the prison hut. - -Then Eudora, wondering at the halt executed in such a strange place, -was about to question the chief, when a figure crept from the shade -of the building. It was habited in Indian costume, and she was about -to whisper her lover’s name, when the figure revealed itself. _Jim -Girty!_ - -Involuntarily a shriek bubbled to her lips; but the Renegade stifled -it with his hand, ere it grew into life. - -“Girl, I am saving your life,” he whispered, in her ear. “When my -brother comes to his senses he will kill you and me, too. We must fly -to the Mingoes.” - -“Never, Jim Girty,” said Eudora, firmly. “Murderer of my parents, I -will not fly with you, even though it be to a place of safety. Help!” - -Loud and clear that cry rung through the Indian village, and an -instant later the tramp of feet was heard. - -Maddened beyond control, the renegade drew his hatchet, and caught -Eudora’s arm as the weapon was raised above his head. - -There was the flash of murder in his blood-shot eyes, and he grated -his fiendish intention through clenched teeth. - -“Girl, they are here!” he cried, as hurrying forms loomed up between -him and the gray lodges. “My brother’s captive you become--but a -captive reft of life!” - -The tomahawk trembled on the eve of a deadly descent, when a dark, -limp object left the hands of the foremost of the advancing band, and -the renegade was hurled back by the stroke. - -“Mine!” cried a plumed person, springing to Eudora, and drawing her -to his heart. - -It was Mayne Fairfax! - -“No words!” cried the hermit, seizing the young man’s arm. “The -river! the river! Her cry has roused some braves!” - -The young hunter caught the girl in his arms, and turned to the -right, to behold a dozen forms sweeping down upon them. - -“Save your lives!” cried Eudora, seeing the imminent danger. “They -dare not harm me, and your second attempt at rescue will prove -successful.” - -“Never!” cried Fairfax, throwing himself before Eudora, while he drew -a hatchet from his belt. “We can not escape if we would. If captured, -instant and disgraceful death await us. We will fight!” - -The last word still trembled on Mayne’s lips when the Medicine’s -rifle cracked, and the foremost savage sunk to the earth, where he -writhed in the agonies of death. Okolona’s shot was answered by -Oonalooska’s rifle, and a second Shawnee’s life went out in death. -Then the band closed around the little party, who drew nearer Eudora, -for the purpose of shielding her from the blows that fell on every -side like rain. - -Jim Girty had gained his feet, and was foremost in the conflict. If -he could drive his hatchet to Eudora’s brain he could seek safety in -flight, and thus avoid his brother’s vengeance. - -The white party, being armed with guns, kept the savages at arm’s -length, for the Indians fought with tomahawks and knives, which now -and then were hurled at the brave defenders. - -Every moment added to the numbers of the Indians, and the -extermination of the defenders was but a question of time, in their -eyes. - -Never was such a gallant fight made in Shawnee village. - -Suddenly a yell very near the combatants rent the air, and a dark -object came whirling through the atmosphere, and fell upon the breast -of a stalwart Shawnee. - -It was a wolf! - -Another quickly followed. Its claws laid bare the renegade’s cheek, -as it whizzed past his head, to fall upon a brave, in his rear. - -The Wolf-Queen had taken part in the battle! - -The noise of the strife roused her from refreshing slumber. A glance -proved Fairfax’s couch empty, and with her wolfish guard yelling at -her heels, for already they scented Indian blood, she bounded toward -the startling scene. - -Her wild eye fell upon Fairfax, shielding Eudora with his form, and -her wolves were sent into the midst of her enemies. - -Jim Girty shrieked with pain, at the work of the wolf’s claws, and, -with an oath, he darted upon Alaska, whose eye caught his action. - -“Curse you, mad woman!” he hissed. “No longer shall you baffle me!” -and, as she sent the fourth wolf from her hands, his hatchet went -whizzing through the air. - -The renegade saw the mad queen stagger forward, as the wolf’s teeth -sunk into his own throat, and he fell to the earth insensible, with -the mad animal drinking his blood. - -Scarce had the battle between Alaska and the renegade ended, when a -loud whoop broke from the forest that crowned the hills that bounded -the village on the north, and down among the lodges swarmed a large -band of savages, with Tecumseh at their head. - -Like a whirlwind the great sachem of the Shawnees sprung among the -combatants, and his voice was distinctly heard above the din of -conflict: - -“Back!” he cried, thrusting the foremost brave from him. “Back, -warriors! Tecumseh speaks!” and his tomahawk towered threateningly -above his head. - -His command, freighted with mystery to his warriors, was instantly -obeyed; and he threw himself between the brave little band and the -battled red-skins. - -“Tecumseh returns from the war-path with many scalps!” he said, -addressing the Indians. “A pale-face saved Tecumseh’s life when a -mad white squaw sought it, and Tecumseh swore to free every white -prisoner in the Shawnee village. If the red-men want blood, let them -take Tecumseh’s.” - -A loud shout greeted the conclusion of the chief’s speech, and he -turned to the hermit: - -“The pale-faces are free,” he said. “Tecumseh’s tongue is not forked.” - -Hewitt, covered with wounds, grasped the Sachem’s hand. - -“The Lone Man will never forget Tecumseh,” he said, and then he -glided to the side of the Wolf-Queen. - -“Must my doubts remain undissipated?” he cried, as he knelt over the -mad one. - -No. - -A convulsion passed over the woman’s frame, and her lids unclosed. - -Instantly the hermit noticed a great change--a new light--in her eyes. - -Reason, so long lost, had returned! - -“Oh, God! I thank thee for this moment!” he cried, as her eyes fell -upon him. “I shall know all now!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - THE LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS. - - -Yes, at last, reason had resumed its throne, and Alaska was no longer -the “mad queen of the Shawnees.” - -Torches enabled her to gaze long and deeply into the hermit’s face, -before her lips parted to utter his name: - -“William!” - -He started, and bent nearer her face. - -The renegade’s hatchet had brought reason back to its own, even as a -blow had hurled that peerless queen from her throne. - -She had forgotten the wild life she had led; and when her eyes fell -upon her wolves, a shudder crept over her frame, and she motioned for -the animals to be removed from her sight. - -“Oh! William, I am so glad that you have returned,” she continued. -“He did not die--my brother, whom some bad man shot through the -window of our cabin.” - -The hermit’s face lighted up into a joyful smile, and he murmured: - -“Her brother! Oh, God, I thank thee that I am not a murderer!” - -“Where is my boy--my Edgar?” and her eyes wandered around, as though -they were searching for a particular object. - -At length they fell upon Mayne. - -“Edgar!” she cried, stretching forth her hands. “Come to me.” - -Unable to speak, the young hunter advanced. - -“William, this is our boy,” she said, taking our hero’s hands, and -looking up at Hewitt. “Long I waited for your return, William; but -you came not. At last I resolved to go to Richmond, where I thought -you were detained. I took our boy--a little babe--to Ronald Fairfax, -and told him to keep him till I should return. Then, all alone, I -plunged into the wilderness, but soon the Shawnees circled around -me, and I was a prisoner. While they were conducting me to the -village I tried to escape, but a chief struck me with his tomahawk, -and then all was dark. Oh, William, how long have I been in darkness? -You are so old now, and our Edgar a man!” - -“For twenty years, Agnes, you have lived among the Shawnees, reft of -reason,” whispered Hewitt. - -A shudder crept to the woman’s heart. - -“Twenty years a maniac! My God!” she cried. “Oh, William, speak not -to me of that time. I would forget it. Let us leave this horrid -place.” - -Almost unassisted, she gained her feet, and Tecumseh bade the hermit -conduct her to his beaded lodge, while the chief chivalrously -occupied a meaner one near by. - -The hours of that night were sacred to the reunited trio; and beyond -earshot a band of warriors encircled the beaded wigwam. - -Tecumseh would keep his vow. - -During the late war-expedition the knife of a vengeful mother struck -at his heart; but the intervention of a white prisoner, whom he -liberated, saved his life. - -When the Indians saw the whites beyond the portals of the chief’s -lodge, they returned to the bloody spot for the purpose of attending -to the wounded and the dead. - -The wolves had deserted Jim Girty, and during the absence of -Tecumseh’s band, one of his spies had borne his insensible form to -the river, where they entered a boat, and the spy rowed away. After -much suffering the renegade recovered, and remained from the sight of -his brother Simon the remainder of his life. - -While the savages were attending to the wounded, a groan rose from a -dark form on the earth. It grew into a death-song. - -“Oonalooska is near the great waters! Oonalooska’s dream was from -spirit land! Now let Oonalooska die, for he has seen the Lone Man -find his long-lost squaw and pappoose. Oonalooska is not afraid -to die. Tecumseh can not torture him now, ha! ha! ha!” and thus, -stoically--proud of having cheated his enemies, the soul of the -bravest chief of the Shawnee tribe stepped upon the “trail of death.” - -When morning came Tecumseh tenderly bade the whites farewell, and a -band of trusty warriors escorted them to Chillicothe. - -Thence they set out for Virginia, and Edgar Hewitt--Mayne Fairfax -no longer--presented his long-lost parents to those who had been a -father and mother to him from childhood to manly years. - -A month after the happy reunion in the wood, Edgar wedded the -beautiful girl who had led him to a father and a mother in the -wilderness, and not far from Fairfax Manor arose a stately mansion, -where the quartette peacefully and pleasantly passed the remaining -days of life. - -To this day eleven miles south of Chillicothe on the Portsmouth road -is still to be seen the cave occupied by the hermit for many years, -and over it stands a monument, erected to his memory by the people of -Ross county, Ohio. - -The subsequent life of Tecumseh, and his brother, the Prophet, -are too well known to be rehearsed here. Often, in disguise, the -great chief visited the home of the Hewitts, whose salt he ate with -welcome; but suddenly his visits ceased--he lay dead before Colonel -Johnson. - -A few years subsequent to the incidents related in the foregoing -pages, Simon Girty met the doom he richly deserved. In Proctor’s -defeat he was literally ground to atoms by Johnson’s mounted men. -James, too, fell beneath the arm of white avengers; while Giangomah, -his tool, fell beside his chief at the battle of the Thames. - -After his son’s death, Okolona, the old Medicine, fled to the neutral -Mingoes, where he died a natural death. It was upon his ears, that -Eudora’s shriek first fell, while he and the rescuing party stood, -horror-stricken, before the empty lodge, and its murdered guards. - -And now, reader, having seen mystery unraveled, the actions of wicked -men result in good, and the triumph of right, in a startling drama -of the forest, we lay aside the pen, hoping soon to renew it for the -record of other scenes. - - - THE END. - - - - - THE ILLUMINATED DIME POCKET NOVELS! - - PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY. - - Comprising the best works only of the most popular living writers - in the field of American Romance. Each issue a complete novel, with - illuminated cover, rivaling in effect the popular chromo, - - - AND YET SOLD AT THE STANDARD PRICE, TEN CENTS. - - Incomparably the most beautiful and attractive series, and the most - delightful reading, ever presented to the popular reading public. - - Distancing all rivalry, equally in their beauty and intrinsic - excellence as romances, this new series will quickly take the lead - in public favor, and be regarded as the Paragon Novels! - - - NOW READY, AND IN PRESS. - - =No. 1--Hawkeye Harry, the Young Trapper Ranger.= By Oll Coomes. - - =No. 2--Dead Shot=; or, The White Vulture. By Albert W. Aiken. - - =No. 3--The Boy Miners=; or The Enchanted Island. By Edward S. - Ellis. - - =No. 4--Blue Dick=; or, The Yellow Chief’s Vengeance. By Capt. - Mayne Reid. - - =No. 5--Nat Wolfe=; or, The Gold-Hunters. By Mrs. M. V. Victor. - - =No. 6--The White Tracker=; or, The Panther of the Plains. By - Edward S. Ellis. - - =No. 7--The Outlaw’s Wife=; or, The Valley Ranche. By Mrs. Ann S. - Stephens. - - =No. 8--The Tall Trapper=; or, The Flower of the Blackfeet. By - Albert W. Aiken. - - =No. 9--Lightning Jo, the Terror of the Santa Fe Trail.= By Capt. - Adams. - - =No. 10--The Inland Pirate.= A Tale of the Mississippi. By - Captain Mayne Reid. - - =No. 11--The Boy Ranger=; or, The Heiress of the Golden Horn. By - Oll Coomes. - - =No. 12--Bess, the Trapper.= A Tale of the Far South-west. By - Edward S. Ellis. - - =No. 13--The French Spy=; or, The Fall of Montreal. By W. J. - Hamilton. - - =No. 14--Long Shot=; or, The Dwarf Guide. By Capt. Comstock. - - =No. 15--The Gunmaker of the Border.= By James L. Bowen. - - =No. 16--Red Hand=; or, The Channel Scourge. By A. G. Piper. - - =No. 17--Ben, the Trapper=; or, The Mountain Demon. By Maj. Lewis - W. Carson. - - =No. 18--Wild Raven, the Ranger=; or, The Missing Guide. By Oll - Coomes. - - =No. 19--The Specter Chief=; or, The Indian’s Revenge. By Seelin - Robins. - - =No. 20--The B’ar-Killer=; or, The Long Trail. By Capt. Comstock. - - =No. 21--Wild Nat=; or, The Cedar Swamp Brigade. By Wm. R. Eyster. - - =No. 22--Indian Jo, the Guide.= By Lewis W. Carson. - - =No. 23--Old Kent, the Ranger.= By Edward S. Ellis. - - =No. 24--The One-Eyed Trapper.= By Capt. Comstock. - - =No. 25--Godbold, the Spy.= A Tale of Arnold’s Treason. By N. C. - Iron. - - =No. 26--The Black Ship.= By John S. Warner. - =No. 27--Single Eye, the Scourge.= By Warren St. John. - - =No. 28--Indian Jim.= A Tale of the Minnesota Massacre. By Edward - S. Ellis. - - =No. 29--The Scout.= By Warren St. John. - - =No. 30.--Eagle Eye.= By W. J. Hamilton. - - =No. 31--The Mystic Canoe.= A Romance of a Hundred Years Ago. By - Edward S. Ellis. - - =No. 32--The Golden Harpoon=; or, Lost Among the Floes. By Roger - Starbuck. - - =No. 33--The Scalp King.= By Lieut. Ned Hunter. - - =No. 34--Old Lute, the Indian-fighter=; or, The Den in the Hills. - By E. W. Archer. - - =No. 35--Rainbolt, the Ranger=; or, The Ærial Demon of the - Mountain. By Oll Coomes. - - =No. 36--The Boy Pioneer.= By Edward S. Ellis. - - =No. 37--Carson, the Guide=; or, the Perils of the Frontier. By - Lieut. J. H. Randolph. - - =No. 38--The Heart Eater=; or, The Prophet of the Hollow Hill. By - Harry Hazard. - - =No. 39--Wetzel, the Scout=; or, The Captives of the Wilderness. - By Boynton Belknap, M. D. - - =No. 40--The Huge Hunter=; or, The Steam Man of the Prairies. By - Edward S. Ellis. - - =No. 41--Wild Nat, the Trapper.= By Paul Prescott. - - =No. 42--Lynx-cap=; or, The Sioux Track. By Paul Bibbs. - - =No. 43--The White Outlaw=, _or_, The Bandit Brigand. By Harry - Hazard. - - =No. 44--The Dog Trailer.= By Frederick Dewey. - - =No. 45--The Elk King.= By Capt. Chas. Howard. - - =No. 46--Adrian, the Pilot.= By Col. Prentiss Ingraham. - - =No. 47--The Man-hunter.= By Maro O. Rolfe. - - =No. 48--The Phantom Tracker.= By Frederick Dewey. Ready. - - =No. 49--Moccasin Bill.= By Paul Bibbs. Ready May 9th. - - =No. 50--The Wolf Queen.= By Captain Charles Howard. Ready. - - =No. 51--Tom Hawk, the Trailer.= By Lewis Jay Swift. Ready June - 6th. - - ☞ BEADLE’S DIME POCKET NOVELS are always in print and for sale by - all newsdealers; or will be sent, post-paid, to any address: single - numbers, ten cents; six months (13 Nos.) $1.25; one year (26 Nos.) - $2.50. Address, - - - BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers, 98 William Street, New York. - - - - - FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The Shawnees called the Ohio river _Kiskepila_ Sepe, _i. e._, -Eagle river. - -[2] Simon Girty was often called the White Shawnee by the Indians. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - The Table of Contents at the beginning of the book was created by - the transcriber. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation such as “mad-woman”/“madwoman” - have been maintained. - - Minor punctuation and spelling errors have been silently corrected - and, except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the - text, especially in dialogue, and inconsistent or archaic usage, - have been retained. - - Page 89: “He made no pretentions” changed to “He made no pretensions”. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOLF QUEEN *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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