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diff --git a/old/66310-0.txt b/old/66310-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3dcf304..0000000 --- a/old/66310-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5065 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Silver Rifle, the Girl Trailer, 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: Silver Rifle, the Girl Trailer - Beadle's Pocket Novels No. 72 - -Author: Charles Howard - -Release Date: September 14, 2021 [eBook #66310] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Stephen Hutcheson, and the Online - Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - (Northern Illinois University Digital Library) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SILVER RIFLE, THE GIRL -TRAILER *** - - - - - - SILVER RIFLE, - THE GIRL TRAILER; - OR, - THE WHITE TIGERS OF LAKE SUPERIOR. - - - BY CAPTAIN CHARLES HOWARD. - AUTHOR OF THE FOLLOWING POCKET NOVELS: - - No. 45. The Elk King. - No. 50. The Wolf Queen. - No. 52. The Mad Chief. - No. 60. Merciless Mat. - No. 64. The Island Trapper. - No. 69. Yellow Hunter. - - - NEW YORK: - BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, - 98 WILLIAM STREET. - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by - FRANK STARR & CO., - In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I Ahdeek, the Half-Breed 9 - II The Figure in the Chapel 13 - III The Cave 21 - IV Fighting for a Prize 27 - V Silver Rifle Among Her Foes 33 - VI Demanding the Dead 40 - VIII An Unexpected Death-Shot 47 - VIII Escaping 52 - IX The Indian Dogs 60 - X Danger and Deliverance 66 - XI Hondurah’s Last Trail 73 - XII The Dead Hand 77 - XIII A Blow for a Blow 82 - XIV Two Scenes in a Tree Top 88 - XV The Mystery Dissolved 94 - - - - - SILVER RIFLE, - THE GIRL TRAILER. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - AHDEEK, THE HALF-BREED. - - -In the center of a thickly-wooded dell, situated about three miles from -the southern shore of Lake Superior, a half-breed youth, clad in the -habiliments of a Chippewa Indian, _discussed_ a frugal meal. The sun was -sinking behind the wonderful Chapel Rocks, and his last beams, -stretching through the festooned forests, fell upon and clothed the -half-breed in golden light. - -His features were clear-cut and regular, his body lithe but well-knit, -and a tender expression beamed from the blackest of eyes. A -long-barreled rifle rested on his foot, his mink-skin cap surmounted the -stock, and on the index finger of his left hand there was a gold ring of -singular workmanship, surmounted with a single brilliant. - -He was so absorbed in the discussion of his repast, that he grew -oblivious to his surroundings, until he put his hands into his pemmican -bag, and discovered that his stock of that edible was exhausted. - -“Pemmican all gone!” he ejaculated, with a smile. “Ahdeek go, too, now, -he and Nahma not meet for three moons. Nahma promised to be in big cave -when Ahdeek come back, and Ahdeek much to tell him.” - -The youth slowly rose to his feet, picking up his rifle as he executed -the movement. - -“Sun nearly gone to sleep,” he murmured, glancing toward the west. “Soon -he sink to the fishes of Gitche Gumee.”[1] - -A moment longer the half-breed lingered. Then he started toward the -lake, but with a single stride he came to a halt, and the click, click -of a well oiled rifle-lock followed the lifting of his rifle from a -“trail.” - -A suspicious sound had arrested his steps, and, as he leaned forward, -and with shaded eyes tried to penetrate the forest directly before him, -the sharp report of a rifle changed the scene. - -The half-breed recoiled with a quick ejaculation of surprise, and his -own weapon dropped to the ground—the lock knocked out of time by the -unseen enemy’s bullet. - -“Who shoot?” cried the youth, as he sprung to his trusty gun, and -snatched it from the ground. - -His exclamation was answered by terrific yells, and as he sprung erect -with the crippled rifle clubbed, he found a dozen savages rushing upon -him. - -He did not speak, but faced the dusky demons with tomahawk in one hand, -the rifle in the other. He saw at once that his enemies desired to take -him alive, for they could have cleft his heart with a dozen balls while -he walked leisurely beneath the tree vines. - -“The Chippewas have caged the Tiger!” cried the leader of the Indians, a -prepossessing young brave, who had won distinction and his -eagle-feathers quite early in life. “They have trailed him long; they -have watched for him in the caves of Gitche Gumee; they have followed -him through the great wood. Now let him be a man, and surrender when he -sees that he can not escape.” - -The chief spoke in the language of his nation, and a smile wreathed the -lips of the noble quarry, who, a moment after the chief had finished, -threw rifle, knife and tomahawk on the ground in token of surrender. - -Then he folded his half-naked arms, and surveyed the savages who sprung -forward elated with long-sought triumph. - -“The White Tiger is a true brave,” said the red leader, as he reached a -spot within ten feet of the youth. “He knows when—” - -“Ki-o-ee-chee!” - -The yell pealed from the throat of the half-breed, and while yet it -quivered his lips, he was among his dusky enemies, scattering them like -chaff with the butt of his rifle! - -The Chippewas recoiled before the impetuosity of the attack, for the -youth seemed to have suddenly been transformed into a destroying fury, -and quick, sharp exclamations of vengeance continually fell from his -lips, while he plied the rifle with a dexterity which told that he was -no novice in such warfare. - -In a moment he had cleared for himself a path through the ranks of his -foes, and once more, with his weapon at a trail, he was pushing toward -the lake. But he ran at the top of his speed now, and eight mad red-men -were on his trail. - -Determined to take the daring half-breed alive, they put forth their -entire strength in the pursuit. - -Ahdeek ran, perhaps, as he never ran before, for the fellows on his -trail were fresh, while before the attack his features and physique -indicated fatigue. - -However, he cleared fallen trees and clumps of briers with astonishing -dexterity, and at length the swash of Superior’s waves against the -pictured rocks, fell upon his ears. - -“Ahdeek soon meet Nahma, if Kitchi-Manitou watches over him!” said the -half-breed, between short breaths. “But he dead; he travel long from the -little lake near where Pontiac makes war speeches to his braves, and he -loaded with powder for Nahma and Ahdeek.” - -The pursuers seemed to notice their victim’s exhaustion; once or twice -he touched obstacles which, a few moments since, he could have cleared -without difficulty, and, speaking encouragingly to each other, they sent -up a chorus of yells which must have fallen laden with doom upon the -heart of the hunted. - -Nearer and nearer the pictured cliffs Ahdeek approached. - -The sun had disappeared beneath the surface of Superior’s restless -waves, and the forest was growing dark. - -Suddenly, with a grunt indicative of a surprise which smacked of the -terrible, the hunted half-breed stopped in his tracks, and threw his -rifle above his head, while he griped the blade of his keen knife -between his teeth. - -The cause for this strange action was the presence of a new foe, and -that foe indicated his position by a pair of fiery eyeballs, and low, -hoarse growls of bloodthirsty vindictiveness. - -Ahdeek might have avoided the danger by rushing on; but the suddenness -with which he had discovered the panther—for an upward glance had -revealed the wood-terror’s whereabouts—had caused him to halt. It was a -perilous moment, and all at once, with a trebly fierce growl, the beast -left the limb, and shot down upon Ahdeek like a descending bomb, as -fierce and irresistible. - -The half-breed recoiled a pace and struck. But his rifle, outreaching -too far, fell upon the panther’s haunches, and a second later he was -borne backward, his unprotected shoulder between the pearly teeth of the -brute. - -He struggled bravely, but, weakened by the life-chase and deprived of -his knife, he could do but little. - -He heard the footsteps, almost drowned by yells, that approached from -the east, and then, ceasing to struggle, his head fell back, and calmly -he gazed at the brute whose weight seemed to crush his breast. - -“Panther eat Ahdeek,” he cried. “Don’t let Chippewa burn him. They hunt -him long—panther catch him, at last!” - -With the utterance of the last word, the footsteps grew silent, and the -following moment the death-yell of the panther mingled with the roar of -the water that spent its fury against the foundation of Chapel Rock. - -Ahdeek started at the shot, raised himself to his knees, and felt and -looked for his weapons. - -In a moment his eyes fell upon his rifle, and, with a yell of triumph, -he sprung toward it. - -He was determined to die rather than surrender to implacable foes, who -had lately drank the blood of peaceful traders, “scooped up in the -hollow of joined hands.” - -He turned, with clubbed rifle, despite the fearful pain which his -wounded shoulder caused, and dared the vengeance of his foes with a -shout of defiance. - -The shout was greeted with one of like import, and a moment later, the -Chippewas had closed around the brave half-breed. - -Ahdeek struck with his remaining strength; but the rifle was caught by a -young Hercules, and wrenched from his grip. - -“Now, what says the White Tiger?” cried a savage, triumphantly. - -“He says that he slew the Black Eagle with his rifle,” was the reply. -“Not far away lie four Chippewas, who have sung the war-song for the -last time. Ahdeek struck them! Squaws, the young half-breed has not -lived in vain!” - -Irritated beyond endurance, the savages contracted their red ranks, and -tomahawks shot upward for the carnival of death. - -Ahdeek rose with an effort, and faced the savages with folded arms. - -“Strike! Send Ahdeek after Black Eagle.” - -“The White Tiger of Gitche Gumee dies here!” was the reply, and the -spokesman of the party clutched the half-breed’s shoulder, as he raised -his knife. - -But a yell, the counterpart of which pealed from Ahdeek’s throat when -attacked in the dell, startled every one, and the next moment a youthful -figure dropped, like a thunderbolt, among the Chippewas. - -“Devils!” he cried, hurling aside the Indian who held Ahdeek. “Demons, -you’ve caught the wrong man, I say. _I_ am the White Tiger of Lake -Superior! _I_, not the half-breed, am the hunted depopulator of your -accursed race!” - -The savages recoiled aghast, as a dark cloak fell from the youth’s -shoulders, and exposed his handsome figure. - -Ahdeek, with a cry of “Nahma!” stepped to the Destroyer’s side. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - THE FIGURE IN THE CHAPEL. - - -The youth’s voice broke the silence that followed his last word: - -“The Chippewas face the White Tiger now!” he thundered, as his rifle -struck his shoulder, and his eye swept the startled band before him. “He -is not merciless. Bad Indians have lied about him; he does not live on -blood. Now, back to your lodges toward the rising sun. I spare you now, -but if ever you cross the White Tiger’s trail again, Chippewas, you -shall feel his teeth then. I spare you for this time, because you are -young warriors. Why stand you here staring? Back to the trails that lead -to the council-fires. Back! I say, before the White Tiger slays!” - -With the last words the youth’s cheek dropped nearer the rifle, and the -muzzle almost touched the leader’s forehead. - -“Go!” he thundered again. “Hark! the Manitou is speaking; he is painting -the waves of Gitche Gumee with his fire.” - -The dread of the White Tiger was manifest then, for, without a word in -reply, the sub-chief turned on his heel, and strode deliberately into -the forest. - -“Warriors, follow your chief!” cried the Destroyer, and a moment later -he and Ahdeek stood alone amid the prevailing darkness. - -“They fear the White Tiger, Ahdeek,” said the youth, with a smile, as he -turned to the young half-breed. “Boy, had it not been for your wounded -condition, eight Chippewas would not have walked from this spot. But you -could not assist, so I took advantage of the terror which I had inspired -in their bosoms, and, see, they run from the White Tiger when he follows -not.” - -“Nahma has broken his word,” said the young half-breed, refusing to -return the smile of mingled scorn and contempt that wreathed White -Tiger’s lips. “He said that he would never show himself to the red-man -while Ahdeek stood among them. They should not see Nahma and Ahdeek with -one eye.” - -“I know it, Ahdeek; but I could not avoid it to-night. Ahdeek was on the -death-trail; Nahma was near, and his arm, his words, not forked like the -trees, alone could snatch his brother from the jaws of death. Ahdeek -will forgive, will he not?” - -They were walking toward the lake now, and in the stillness of that -festooned woods the half-breed put forth his hand. - -“Ahdeek will forgive his pale brother,” he said, in a low, cautious -tone. “Nahma could not keep his oath, and save his Ahdeek.” - -“Then all is well, boy,” replied the white youth. “The Chippewas now -know that Ahdeek is not the White Tiger of Lake Superior, and that -instead of hunting one destroyer, they must hunt, and be hunted by, two. -But, boy, did you get the powder?” - -“Ahdeek wears two big belts full,” replied the half-breed. - -“Good! we shall not want now. What are the Indians doing?” - -“Bad work! bad work!” cried the half-breed. “Pontiac has struck one hard -blow on the big waters.” - -“That Ottawa fiend! How I wish he would show his painted face in these -parts!” ejaculated the youth, and his fingers closed on his rifle with -determined emphasis as he spoke. “But tell me about that strong blow, -Ahdeek.” - -Then the half-breed proceeded to give an account of the fall of the lake -forts, and the investment of Detroit, all of which was news to the white -youth. - -“While the Ottawas and their allies struck the posts, the Chippewas -struck the trappers hereabouts,” said the White Tiger. “Ahdeek, I can -tell you of twenty-eight trappers who fell in their huts or at their -traps the selfsame night.” - -Ahdeek clutched the Destroyer’s arm. - -“Trappers all dead?” - -“All but several who escaped in boats.” - -“Where Snowbeard?” - -“Dead.” - -The half-breed groaned. - -“Where house?” - -“Burned up!” - -White teeth gritted audibly in the darkness. - -“Now, Ahdeek,” said the youth, “now that Snowbeard is dead, tell me what -he was to you. Why have you left the castle at midnight to seek the hut -of that old man! Unravel the mystery while I unfasten the boat.” - -The youth stooped over the rope that lashed a little boat to a sharp -rock, and tugged at the knots. - -“Ahdeek can not tell Nahma until he takes the trail to Snowbeard’s -house.” - -“Boy, I will keep the secret. Is Ahdeek afraid to trust his brother?” - -“Afraid to trust the brother whose couch he has shared for many moons? -No!” cried the half-breed. “But he can not tell now. Old Snowbeard was -dear to Ahdeek, and the Chippewas shall feel more than ever now the -wildcat’s claws and teeth.” - -The youth did not reply, but continued to work at the boat in silence. -Above him the harsh thunder rolled, and the stormy waves and rocky shore -were vividly revealed by the glare of lightning. - -At length, tired of tugging at knots which the spray had rendered -openless, the boy, with an ejaculation of impatience, severed the rope, -and the twain seated themselves in the boat. - -“I’ll paddle, Ahdeek,” said the white youth. “Don’t worry your shoulder -with any work till I get it fixed up, in the castle. Those devilish -panthers can bite like all get out.” - -“Panthers’ teeth sharp,” replied the half-breed, passing a hand lightly -over the crunched shoulder; “but shoulder soon be well.” - -“Providence willing,” smiled the youth, and a moment later he continued: - -“Ahdeek, a ghost has visited Gitche Gumee during your absence.” - -An exclamation of surprise followed this startling announcement, and by -the lightning the Destroyer saw a pair of eyes staring into his. - -“A spirit from the Manitou-land on the big sea water?” - -“I should call what I have seen a ghost,” was the still mysterious -reply. “One week ago this very night of storm, I saw it first. I was out -on the lake near the Fox’s Leap, and the lightning flashed as it flashes -now. The waves were mad, and to a rock that protruded above them I -moored the boat, resolved to enjoy the storm. All at once the plash of -paddles struck my ears, but the next moment all was still, and I -dismissed the thought. Then, just as I had relaxed my vigilance, a flash -of lightning came, and, Ahdeek, within five feet of me, lashed to my -crag, I beheld a boat.” - -“A real boat?” interrupted the half-breed. - -“A canoe from spirit-land, I guess,” said the Destroyer, smiling. “The -boat, as I could see at a glance, was fashioned like ours, and, boy, it -looked like the boat some thief stole from you a moon since. In that -boat sat a human being, most beautiful to behold. She was white like the -lilies, and as fair. I saw her but a moment, for all became dark, but -ere the last beam of light fled I saw her start, for our eyes had met. -Instantly I sprung forward and griped her rope, but the next second I -heard the zip of a knife-blade, as it cut the wind, and I held a -worthless piece of rope in my hand.” - -“Spirit gone!” smiled the half-breed. - -“Yes, the boat and its occupant had vanished. I could not trail her on -water, and I hunted for her till the storm-clouds passed off, and the -stars shone again. I’ve looked for her every night since, Ahdeek. I’ve -lain for hours in my boat moored to that rock, but the ghost would not -come back. I’d like to have you see it, Ahdeek; you’d believe in spirits -then, I’m thinking.” - -The half-breed laughed in a low voice, but a thoughtful expression soon -returned to his face. - -“He had a daughter who was a pappoose when the squaw died,” he murmured, -in a low tone; but he did not know that the ear of the White Tiger, who -was paddling intently through the white-crested waves, almost touched -his lips. - -“Did White Tiger hear what Ahdeek’s lips said?” exclaimed the -half-breed, as the lightning suddenly revealed his brother’s attitude. - -“I was listening to the waves, boy,” was the evasive reply, and the -paddle was thrust deeper into the water. “We are near the chapel now. -Hark! how madly the waves dash against its foundation.” - -The youth now guided the boat further out into the lake, and dexterously -avoided sunken rocks, which yearned for victims. - -The flashes of lightning were quite frequent, and told the voyagers that -the storm would discharge its fury about the spot where their cave was -situated, nearly nine miles below Chapel Rock. - -“I despise this place on such a night,” ejaculated the white youth. “We -always strike one rock, and they’re getting thick now.” - -The words had scarcely left his mouth when the little canoe brought up -against the rock, and all sounds were drowned by a peal of thunder. - -“We’re near the chapel,” said Ahdeek. - -“Near enough to shoot an Indian from the ‘pulpit,’” replied the -Destroyer. “Curse this rock! We’ll rest here, and look at the boat.” - -So he threw a noose over the sharp crag, and proceeded to examine the -craft which the waves tossed hither and thither, like a cork. - -Ahdeek did not assist, but kept his face turned toward Chapel Rock, -waiting for something, as his countenance indicated. - -That something seemed to be a flash of lightning, for, as it lit up the -water, the half-breed started back with a cry of amazement. - -“What’s up, Ahdeek?” cried the white boy—for boy in years the young -Destroyer seemed—turning quickly from his labor. - -“This spirit!” gasped Ahdeek, and his fingers encircled the youth’s arm. - -“Look up at chapel and wait,” he continued. “Nahma see ghost high on -rock;” and then in silence the twain waited for the lightning. - -The “Grand Chapel,” as the famous rock is now called, stood about fifty -feet above the level of the lake, and its arched roof was supported by -two gigantic and beautiful columns, which appear to have been hewn and -placed there by skillful hands. The backward reach of the roof rests -upon the main cliff, and within the chapel is the base of a broken -column that is strongly suggestive of a pulpit. The roof was then, and -still is, crowned with a growth of fir trees. - -“Ahdeek sure see ghost in chapel. There! look.” - -The lightning played about the great rock a second, and in that brief -moment of time the Destroyer beheld the figure of a young girl standing -against the “pulpit” in the chapel. The color and trimming of her -close-fitting garments could not be distinguished; and her head was -crowned with a white fox-cap, and her right hand clutched a rifle whose -stock glittered like silver, and rested on the ground at her feet. - -She seemed the queen of the storm as she stood above the waves which -madly leaped up the base of the rock, eager, as it were, to grip and -pull her down. - -“The ghost, by heavens!” exclaimed the Destroyer. “Another flash—now!” - -They looked again, and in the succeeding darkness clutched each others’ -arms. - -“Ahdeek, did you see—” - -“Indians above the chapel!” - -“I saw but one.” - -“Ahdeek thought he saw another feather.” - -“It might have been a fir.” - -“Yes, the light did not last long. The Indian Ahdeek saw, hung over the -chapel with a tomahawk in his hand.” - -The White Tiger was silent for a moment. - -“They’ve tracked her to the chapel, and with the next flash the brave -intends to hurl his tomahawk into her brain. Ahdeek, steady the canoe, -for God’s sake!” - -The half-breed dropped his rifle, and hurried to the furthest end of the -light craft, which action served in a measure to steady it in the -momentary languor of the waves. - -The youth cocked and raised his rifle; but with a cry of horror he -quickly lowered it, without firing, before the flash of the next -electric bolt disappeared. - -Three half-naked, painted, and feathered savages stood within the -chapel, and a fourth was lowering himself from the roof! - -But the girl—the spirit of the lake—was gone—not a sign of her late -occupation of the chapel was visible! - -“Strange! terribly strange!” cried the young Destroyer. “I’d give a hand -to know where she is.” - -“Ask the mad waters,” said Ahdeek. “The brave’s tomahawk knocked spirit -from chapel.” - -“Don’t make me think thus, boy. She’s too pretty, too bold, to die in -such a way. I wonder who she was—or is, for I will not believe her -dead.” - -“Then how she got from Indians?” - -The youth was silenced. - -There was but one way to escape the savages, and that was by a leap into -the white waters, forty feet below the chapel! - -And that leap, seemingly, was but a synonym of death. - -“We must go, Ahdeek,” suddenly cried the Destroyer. “But, first, we’ll -tell those murderers that somebody besides themselves are abroad. We can -shoot into the chapel in the dark. We know exactly where it is. Ready!” - -The next moment two rifles were raised, and two reports blended with the -roar of the waters. - -“Loose the canoe now.” - -The half-breed obeyed, and as the paddles kissed the waves once more, -the lightning revealed but two Indians in the chapel! - -“We dropped two,” said the white youth, triumphantly, “And now—” - -He was interrupted by a cry of discovery. - -“Ahdeek, what—” - -“Ahdeek’s lost his shining ring,” was the startling response. “Oh, -Kitchi-Manitou, where is it?” - -“In the lake, Ahdeek.” - -“No, no, say in the woods, White Tiger. Ahdeek swore to give it to a -pale girl after a time. Here, brother, kill Ahdeek for breaking his -word. Ahdeek is a bigger fool than Paupaukeewis. Pale girl never get -ring now. Ahdeek ought to die for losing it,” and the half-breed hid his -eyes as he groaned in all the bitterness of his soul. - -“What is the mystery that enwraps this wild boy’s birth and that ring?” -murmured the Destroyer, as he steered the frail boat among the rocks. -“For months I have tried to fathom it, but can not. He keeps secrets -well. He has said that the pale girl might come after the ring some day, -and I half—no, I _wholly_ believe that the girl in the chapel was the -owner of Ahdeek’s ring, which he would have defended with the last drop -of his blood.” - - - - - CHAPTER III. - THE CAVE. - - -It was near midnight when the two voyagers reached their cave home, -whose main entrance was through a beautiful arch more than one hundred -feet in hight. It lay but eight miles to the west of Chapel Rock, but -the time spent by the twain while watching the strange and ghostly -tableaux, which the lightning had revealed, prevented them from reaching -the “castle” sooner. - -The waves were still unpacified; they dashed into the arch with a fury -perfectly irresistible, and the Destroyer laid the paddle aside as the -white-crested billows took up the barque in their arms, as it were, and -hurled it far into the cave. - -“Well, Ahdeek, here we are once more,” said the youth, springing from -the canoe, which the receding waves had left stranded on the hard floor -of the natural hall. “Now, if nobody has disturbed our furniture and so -forth, we are, indeed, all right. I, for one white boy, feel sleepy, and -I hope daylight will find me in the arms of the drowsy god.” - -“Ahdeek not sleepy at all,” was the reply, as the speaker stepped from -the boat. “He want to find ring, so that when pale girl come to him an’ -say, ‘Where ring?’ Ahdeek say, ‘Here, pale girl,’ an’ he give it up.” - -“Boy, where do you think you lost the ring?” questioned the White Tiger. - -The half-breed, forgetting that they stood in Cimmerian darkness, -answered with a shake of his head, which, of course, his companion could -not see. - -“Maybe you lost it in the woods, when the Chippewas chased you?” he -suggested. - -“Ahdeek go back on trail to-morrow. He hunt for ring; if he no hunt, the -bones of the old pale-face will rise from his grave and haunt -half-breed.” - -“Well, we’ll cease to talk about that ring,” said the Destroyer, who had -lifted the canoe from the beach, and deposited it on pegs against the -black wall. “I’m so glad that you’ve returned safely, and, after supper -I’ll fix your shoulder up; then we’ll divide the powder.” - -They moved off in the gloom. - -“So,” said Ahdeek, musingly, “Chippewas kill all traders. Did they hunt -for White Tiger?” - -“I should reckon the red fiends did hunt for me,” replied the youth. -“Day and night, since the massacre, I have had legions of dusky foes on -my trail, but I have succeeded in eluding them, and when they least -expected the White Tiger, he would leap upon them, and bury his teeth in -their flesh.” - -The half-breed uttered a low ejaculation of supreme satisfaction. - -Now all conversation ceased, and presently Ahdeek found himself standing -alone against a ragged wall. His companion had suddenly, noiselessly -deserted him, and presently the whine of a panther’s cub saluted his -ears. - -“Nobody in castle,” muttered Ahdeek, starting forward, and when he had -advanced several steps the flash of flints greeted his vision. - -“The coast is clear, boy,” said the Destroyer, looking up from the fire -he was kindling. “We’ll enjoy a rest now, and then we’ll see if we can’t -find the ring, the ghost, and at the same time, pay the Indians for -killing our trader friends.” - -The half-breed threw himself before the blaze, and tenderly removed his -hunting-coat. - -“White Tiger look at shoulder now,” he said; “it beginning to hurt.” - -But the boy did not reply. He was gazing at the opposite wall of the -cavern, and slowly, and apparently without noticing Ahdeek, he drew a -torch from the fire and rose to his feet. - -Ahdeek regarded him, silenced by wonder, and afraid to move. - -Once or twice the youth flourished the flambeau about his head, to -brighten the blaze, and then approached the wall with rapid strides. - -“Am I the victim of a delusion?” he queried in a low tone. “Surely I saw -marks on the wall—marks which were not there when I left this place four -days since.” - -Within several feet of the rock he paused, and looked straight ahead, -but saw nothing save gray stone, highly polished by the hand of nature. - -For a moment he was inclined to laugh at this deception, when suddenly -Ahdeek leaped from the fire and with a cry of “The ring!—the ring!” -bounded toward him. - -Was Ahdeek a victim of the delusion as well as himself? - -“There’s no ring here, boy,” began the Destroyer, with a bright smile. -“Our eyes—” - -But his sentence was broken abruptly, for the half-breed jerked him, -with much rudeness, to one side, and pointed to the wall obliquely to -their right. - -The youth uttered a cry of profound wonderment, for on the glittering -surface of the wall, he saw a large ring which, notwithstanding the rude -tracery, resembled the bauble that Ahdeek had lately lost! - -For a minute the twain looked from the picture into each others’ faces. - -What did the ring mean? Who had traced it on the wall? - -The Destroyer stepped nearer, and letters suddenly grew into being on -the smooth stone. The changing of the torch revealed them. - -“What words say?” cried Ahdeek, clutching his comrade’s arm, as he -pointed excitedly to the letters which he could not master. - -The young death-dealer did not reply, but continued to shift his -position until every letter was plainly revealed. - -Then he read: - - “White Tiger, you have my father’s ring! Meet me here one week from - this night, and place it on my finger, else I rid the Chippewas of - their Destroyer. - - “_August 12, 1763._ - “_Signed_, Marie Knight.” - -The Destroyer read the inscription twice before he moved a muscle. - -“Come, brother, what words say?” questioned Ahdeek, impatiently. - -“They tell you to place the ring on the pale girl’s hand one week from -last night, or die.” - -The half-breed smiled ludicrously. - -“Ring lost.” - -“It must be found!” - -“But where pale girl?” - -The death-dealer shook his head, and the scene on Chapel Rock again swam -before his eyes. - -“How girl know Ahdeek had ring?” questioned the boy, a moment later. - -“No doubt she caught a glimpse of it in the wood, as you rushed past her -some time. She has tracked you to the cave, and discovered that here you -live. She believes you the real White Tiger, and, entering here last -night, and finding you absent, she has left her commands on the wall.” - -Ahdeek nodded, and murmured, “Good, good!” - -At length he looked up. - -“Come, White Tiger, tie up Ahdeek’s wounds,” he said. “He want to go -hunt pale girl’s ring. He go ’fore day.” - -“No, no, you must stay here until _I_ leave,” said the Destroyer, with -determination. “Consider, boy; she will not return for one week. In two -days we can retrace your tracks. You lost the ring in the wood -to-night—not in the lake, as I first thought, for your hands were not in -the water. But really, boy, I think that the pale girl will never come -for the ring.” - -The half-breed looked up inquiringly. - -“I believe that we saw her in Chapel Rock to-night.” - -Ahdeek shook his head. - -“May be pale girl,” he said. - -“Then she must be dead. So, Ahdeek, don’t trouble yourself—” - -“Pale girl not dead!” interrupted the half-breed, bringing his hand down -upon his brother’s shoulder with emphasis. “_He_ said that she would -come for ring, and while he spoke, Kitchi-Manitou took him to his -lodge.” - -“Who was _he_, Ahdeek?” - -“Can’t tell now, White Tiger,” was the reply. “She not dead; she must -have ring within six sleeps, or Ahdeek steps upon the long trail.” - -“No!” cried the young avenger. “Ahdeek, we are brothers, and I will kill -the person who sheds one drop of your blood—I’ll break the arm that is -uplifted to strike you.” - -“White Tiger better not strike pale girl,” said the half-breed, looking -the Destroyer squarely in the eye. “She—” - -Here he caught his tongue, and for the fourth time called attention to -his shoulder. - -Before turning to the fire, the youth re-read the writing on the wall, -and, as he stepped therefrom, the lines gradually faded, until they were -entirely lost to his vision. - -Ahdeek remained sullen during the dressing of his wound, which was not -so bad as it might have been, the heavy hunting-frock having protected -his flesh. - -“I do not think the Indians killed Doc Cromer,” said the Destroyer, -looking up from the meal they were discussing before the blaze. “I -couldn’t find his body after the massacre, and I wonder that he has not -been here. You know, boy, that he was the only trader who knew our -cave.” - -“Oh, he dead, like all the traders!” said the half-breed. “Indians make -sure work of traders. Pontiac got long arms and strong voice.” - -The final word still quivered Ahdeek’s lips, when the boy Destroyer -dropped his pemmican at the edge of the fire, and leaped to his feet. - -A second later the half-breed followed his example, and side by side the -twain stood facing the entrance with ready rifles. - -A score of rifle-shots, scarcely distinguishable from a single report, -had risen above the noise of the storm, just beyond the mouth of the -castle. - -“The Chips are everywhere!” exclaimed the youth, in a low tone. “Who can -they be chasing to-night?” - -The question was answered by the sound of footsteps, and the next moment -a figure bounded from the corridor into the firelight. Upon a sight of -it, the faces of the tenants of the cave touched their rifle-stocks; but -the Destroyer quickly dropped his weapon and covered Ahdeek’s flint with -his hand. - -“Spare him, Ahdeek!” he cried. “’Tis Cromer, thank God!” - -The new-comer looked up at the mention of his name, uttered a light cry -of joy, staggered forward, and then sunk heavily to the ground. - -“Shot by the red fiends!” cried the Destroyer, springing toward the -prostrate man, who lay on the rocks bleeding, gasping, and trying to -rise. - -“Leave me!” he ejaculated, noticing the Destroyer’s action. “They were -watching the cave, curse—the—hounds! Listen! there! they’re coming now. -Go! they can’t torture the old trader who outwitted them at his cabin!” - -“We won’t leave you, Doc,” said the youth. “We are not ingrates.” - -“Rifle, rifle, then!” shrieked the trader. “One more shot before I go!” - -With mighty effort he raised himself to his knees, and griped the weapon -which Ahdeek, with a cry of admiration, thrust forward. - -There was no retreating. The trader was too weak to run; the avengers -too brave, too manly to desert him to the tomahawk. - -The moment that followed the trader’s last words saw the mouth of the -corridor swarming with Indians. - -They were met by a trio of rifles, not a shot of which was thrown away. - -The Chippewas did not pause; their dead comrades were hurled aside -before they could touch the ground, and, though the heroic three used -their pistols to advantage, they rushed on to certain victory—which so -often rewards overwhelming numbers. - -Doc Cromer, the trader, sunk exhausted before the fierce onset, and the -clubbed rifles of the White Tiger and his darker brother, who disputed -the ground with heroic valor, could not turn the fortune of battle. - -For a moment a confused mass of humanity swayed to and fro in the center -of the cavern, then it became entangled, and a terrific shout soared to -the circled roof. - -It was a shout telling that the bitterest enemies the Indians ever -possessed, had fallen alive into their hands. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - FIGHTING FOR A PRIZE. - - -The light that broke upon the lake after the night of storm and tempest -greeted a calm. - -The white crested billows had returned to their strongholds, but the -lake shore was strewn with their handiwork. Strong trees, which the wind -had uprooted on islands, had been dashed upon the beach, and in some -places tree was heaped on tree, lending a terrible aspect to the stony -shore. Such storms are frequent visitors to Lake Superior, even at this -late day. - -In the branching top of a young fir, which lay at the edge of the water, -not far from Chapel Rock, something scintillated like a diamond, in the -strong light. - -Its brightness would have dazzled the eyes of a beholder, and, with the -belief that it was something very valuable, he would have been drawn to -the spot. - -As the sun climbed the eastern horizon and darted its beams over the -“pulpit,” directly upon the shining “thing,” the fir-limbs moved as -though something imbued with life lay beneath them, and possessed the -curiosity. - -The woods and shores of Superior swarmed with Indians, and it is not -surprising that from the cliffs above, a red hunter riveted his eyes -upon the particular spot described. Evidently the young brave had lately -reached the hights, for his dress showed proofs of a long journey, and -the results of a late war expedition, in the shape of a snowy scalp, -hung at his deer-skin girdle. - -He had approached the cliff with that proverbial caution characteristic -of his people, and almost the first thing that met his gaze was the -shining object among the fir boughs. He started at the unexpected sight, -and when, at last, the thing resolved itself into a silver star, he rose -with a cry of mingled wonder and exultation, and prepared to descend. -Perhaps he had caught a glimpse of something other than the bright star, -for an anxious expression overspread his face, and he looked cautiously -about while he clambered down a great fissure in the cliffs. All signs -of fatigue had left him now; he seemed the fresh warrior of a fortnight -since, and, after walking erect toward the fir awhile, he suddenly -dropped on all fours, and moved forward again, like a wary animal. - -He reached his objective point at last, and, parting the verdant boughs, -peered through upon the highly ornamented butt of a light rifle! - -The next moment the young Indian’s eyes fell upon the owner of the -weapon. - -She lay near the polished barrel, only deeper among the fir, and the hue -of a corpse rested upon her fair face and slender hands. - -The peeping lids gave the savage a glimpse of blue eyes, and the masses -of golden hair, darkened by the water they held imprisoned, must have -captivated him. - -Motionless, breathless she lay on the stony ground, and the hand which -the Indian touched was as cold as ice. - -He shook his head sorrowfully as he tenderly lifted the body from the -ground. - -“Silver Rifle dead! She no be Dohma’s now! Why she come to Gitche Gumee? -To die by the big waters an’ be buried by the Chippewa whose heart she -stole three moons ago? Dohma go bury Silver Rifle in big hole, far from -bad waters.” - -He did not neglect the beautiful rifle, as he moved down the lake shore -with his burden, for he bore it in the same hand that griped his own. - -A few minutes’ walk brought him to one of the Superior’s numerous -caverns, which he entered by wading to his waist in the cold water. Soon -he found himself in gross darkness, through which he groped his way for -several hundred feet. - -At length he paused, and laid his burden on the ground. - -Then, with the aid of his flints, he kindled a fire among some dried -fir-boughs, into the light of which he bore his silent prize. - -“No Injun strike Silver Rifle,” he murmured aloud. “She fell into water, -and the big waves around her. Dohma follow her long time to tell her he -love her; but he never catch her till—now!” - -While he spoke he was unconsciously chafing the bare arms which the -loose-fitting sleeves revealed, and all at once he started to his feet, -and gazed with all the Indian superstition in his dark eye, upon the -girl. - -The eyes had opened and closed with a dreaminess not of earth. - -A minute later and Dohma was at her side again. - -“Silver Rifle live for Dohma!” he cried with joy. “She no dead, now. The -Great Spirit has heard the prayer of the young chief!” - -Once more he fell to the work of restoring the girl to consciousness -with renewed vigor, and at last found her staring into his swarthy face. -For several moments she seemed to be recalling certain reminiscences of -the past, and then, all at once, she rose to her feet, and deliberately -picked up her silver rifle. - -“Silver Rifle no shoot,” said the Indian, with a smile. “Powder all wet, -flints make fire, but won’t burn powder.” - -She flung the rifle aside, and her hands dropped to her girdle. - -“Knife gone, too,” said the Chippewa. “Silver Rifle no weapons.” - -Then, like one in a dream, she moved to the Indian’s side, and stood -over him in silence. She had not fully recovered her senses. - -“Silver Rifle come to Dohma?” he said, gently, taking her hand. “He find -her among fir, and bring her to cave.” - -She did not resist, and the young savage drew her down to his side, and -looked lovingly into her eyes. - -Slowly but surely her reason returned, and while the Chippewa was in the -midst of a recital of his hunt for her, a footstep sounded on the flinty -floor. - -Quickly Dohma’s hand shot forward to his rifle, and wheeling as he -leaped to his feet, he confronted a huge Indian, a foot taller than -himself, and with the physique of a Hercules. - -For a moment the two Chippewas faced each other amid dead silence, and -then Dohma extended his hand, which the giant griped as he glanced at -the girl. - -“Silver Rifle and Dohma live in cave?” he said, with a sneer, which, -although scarcely perceptible, did not escape the young chief’s notice. - -“Dohma find Silver Rifle dead by the big waters. But he bring her back -to the world,” was the calm rejoinder. - -“Now what Dohma goin’ to do with Silver Rifle?” - -“Teach her to love him!” - -The giant bit his nether lip. - -“Dohma is a Chippewa, so is Renadah,” he said, after a minute’s angry -silence. “Dohma is brave, but his aim is not so long as his big red -brother’s.” - -“But it is as strong!” retorted Dohma, with determination, and as he -spoke he calmly stepped between Silver Rifle and the tall chief. - -“Dohma is a young fir; Renadah is the great oak that grows in the big -woods. He could crush Dohma with one limb.” - -“Let him try it!” - -“He would not harm his red brother. Our great king, Pontiac, needs brave -red-men now; but Dohma, if he would help exterminate the hated English, -must do one thing.” - -The young Indian did not speak, but noted the glance which Renadah threw -over his shoulder at Silver Rifle. - -“He must give to Renadah the woman he loves!” - -Dohma heard a low cry of horror part a pair of pale lips, and caught a -glimpse of Silver Rifle as she recovered her weapon. - -“Dohma will not give Silver Rifle to Renadah,” he said, calmly. “He -found her dead and brought her spirit back from Manitou-land—so, she is -_his_!” - -“She is Renadah’s! The wildcat of the Chippewas saw her before Dohma -knew that she was near Gitche Gumee.” - -“Renadah lies!” - -A cry of rage parted the tall chief’s lips, and he strode forward as his -smaller enemy retreated with drawn tomahawk. - -“Renadah, Silver Rifle can belong to but one of us,” said Dohma. “We -will fight for her!” - -“So be it!” cried Renadah, contemptuously. “Back beyond the fire, Silver -Rifle, touch the wall and be a stone there. Dohma and Renadah fight for -you.” - -Without a word the girl hurried to the wall of the cavern, and surveyed -the red duelists. - -On either side of the fire they stood with ready weapons, and at a -signal from Renadah the tomahawks were uplifted. - -A second signal quickly followed, and the hatchets went crashing through -the air like thunderbolts. - -Silver Rifle saw Dohma’s tomahawk miss his enemy’s head by an inch, and -a wild shriek that quickly followed, told her that the giant’s aim had -been truer. - -Dohma threw up his arms, and while he spun round like a top, his -antagonist shot toward him with a cry of triumph! - -The single spectator sprung from the wall, and, rifle in hand, darted -toward the mouth of the corridor. - -But Renadah saw the movement, and, relinquishing his victim, turned and -pursued. - -A few bounds brought him near the girl, whose limbs were bruised by the -rocks against which the waves had hurled her unconscious body, and -suddenly, still in the firelight, she stopped. - -She saw the giant form that swooped down upon her, and as the red arm -leaped forward to claim the prize which it had just won, she struck with -the butt of her rifle! - -“Coocha!” shrieked Renadah, recoiling from the blow, which had driven -the flint to the bone of his arm. “Silver Rifle—” - -The girl’s action broke the sentence, and he threw up his arm again to -ward off the second stroke. - -But the shield was useless, for Silver Rifle seemed to spring into the -air as she dealt the blow, and with a cry closely allied to a -death-groan, Renadah staggered back and dropped beside his victim! - -“Free again!” said the victor, surveying the work of rifle and hatchet. -“Little did Dohma think that he was bearing me to my stronghold when he -brought me hither! Noble red youth, you saved my life to-day; would to -heaven I could have saved yours! The giant must have seen me borne home, -and so he followed. Dangers thicken fast—dangers and love,” and a smile -played with her lips. “I did not seek this wild land for -lovers—especially red ones. No, I came hither to find a father, or a -ring that will tell me much. Silver Rifle, the Girl Trailer, will find -the ring! The White Tiger of the lakes wears it on his hand, and she has -commanded him to give it to its owner. He shall comply or die!” - -With the last word a sound startled her, and she glanced toward the -savages. - -Dohma was sitting bolt upright! - -The girl darted forward. - -“Dohma, our fates are inseparable,” she cried, washing the blood from -his face. “Heaven tells me they are. Together we will hunt the White -Tiger and find the ring.” - -The Indian smiled, and looked up into Silver Rifle’s face inquiringly. - -“Silver Rifle lose ring?” - -“Yes,” eagerly, anxiously. - -“Yellow ring with pretty stone?” - -“Yes, Dohma. You know something about it!” almost shrieked the girl. - -“Dohma find ring in big wood just ’fore he find Silver Rifle; but he no -put it on his finger. See there, pale girl?” and with the question, the -Indian held up his left hand, the third finger of which was missing. - -“Dohma find ring once, put it on finger. Ring no come off when white -trader want it, so chief cut off Dohma’s finger to get ring. When Dohma -saw pretty ring in woods, he said bad word, an’ let it lay.” - -Silver Rifle groaned. - -“Could you find it again?” she cried, eagerly. - -“Dohma go right to it. It near two big oaks, close to Gitche Gumee.” - -“Then we’ll find it!” cried the girl. “Soon I will know who I am; soon -I’ll lift the vail of mystery that enwraps my birth. How came the ring -in the forest? Have the Indians killed the White Tiger? or did he drop -the ring?” - -“White Tigers live,” said the Indian. - -“There is but one, Dohma.” - -“Dohma saw two White Tigers last dark. One was not white like his -brother.” - -“The youth’s mind is wandering,” mused Silver Rifle. “There is but one -White Tiger, and he is a half-breed.” - -“Half-breed and White Tiger dress alike. Make Indians think there is but -one,” said Dohma, who had caught Silver Rifle’s last words. “But,” and -he raised his hand to the frightful wound inflicted by his rival’s -tomahawk, “Renadah struck deep. Dohma feel sick now. Hatchets bad -medicine.” - -The girl saw an ashy pallor sweep over the Chippewa’s face, and reached -forth her hands to support him. But he eluded them, and fell backward -with a groan. - -“Oh, heavens! is he dead?” she cried; “and has the secret of the ring’s -hiding-place died with him?” - -With pallid face she leant over the youth, and raised his head, which -seemed to her a lump of iron ore. - -“Dead—dead!” she groaned. “The trail which seemed ending grows longer -than ever now. ‘Near two oaks, by the lake,’ he said. There lies the -mystery-prisoning ring. I’ll hunt it till I die! I’ll tear it from the -hands of the chief in the midst of his people, if I encounter it there. -Heaven give me strength to meet the dangers which are to come!” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - SILVER RIFLE AMONG HER FOES. - - -There was no denying the fact—Dohma, the Chippewa, was dead. At least -the girl would have sworn he was. - -Silver Rifle held his head in her lap a long time before she gave him -up. - -She did not want to lose the young Indian when she needed him most, and -now that he was gone, she feared that she would never find the ring. - -“I’ll bury the foes side by side,” she murmured, relinquishing the heavy -head, and approaching the fire. “They’ll not quarrel about me in the -grave, I hope.” - -She supplied herself with a torch from the fire, and moved to a spot -some distance beyond the dead Indians, where earth instead of stone -formed the floor of the cavern. - -Selecting a long and sharp piece of slate, she digged or scooped out a -large grave, and with Herculean strength dragged the two savages from -the light. Tenderly she wrapped Dohma in a blanket, and placed him -beside the furious chief who had sent him to the hunting-grounds of his -people. - -“I’m going to rest awhile, now,” she said, in a long-drawn breath, after -finishing the work of burial, “and then I’m going into the woods again. -Dohma was mistaken. But one White Tiger lives; there can not be another. -I saw him on the lake one night, and since, I have seen him in the -woods. He is a half-breed, too. If I meet him, he must pay for losing -the ring, for undoubtedly the bauble which poor Dohma found in the -forest was mine.” - -When the sun sunk behind Chapel Rock and the shadows of night swept over -lake and forest, Silver Rifle glided from the cave. - -At the mouth of the entrance she found a strange boat, which belonged to -Renadah, who had fallen before her arm. Doubtless he was on the water -when Dohma bore his prize to the cave, and had followed in his canoe. - -Quietly she stepped into the boat and sent it flying through the rocky -gateways out into the calmer waters. - -She coasted toward Chapel Rock, which she sounded, and presently, having -scaled the cliff at a feasible point, found herself in the forest above. -The canoe had been hidden among the fallen firs on the beach, and was -secure from savage prowlers’ eyes. - -The moon was giving tokens of an early visit to the nocturnal heavens, -as Silver Rifle darted into the dangerous wood, apparently having some -objective point in view. - -She knew where two gigantic oaks grew side by side, and to this -particular spot she was hastening. - -The rising moon found her hurrying along the cliffs, and after -traversing several miles, she suddenly wheeled to the left and advanced -with caution. - -Once or twice she stopped among the ghostly shadows, for the cry of a -night-bird had greeted her ears, and she quite naturally associated the -sound with the presence of enemies. - -But no answering signals were heard, and she advanced again until she -stood beneath the boughs of the trees she had sought. - -Surely these were the two oaks mentioned by Dohma; they were the only -two which stood together near the lake-shore. - -“The ring will greet me with its glitter,” she muttered, searching -around the trunks of the trees, and gradually describing larger circles, -which drew her nearer the edge of the cliffs. - -A pale moonlight flooded the ground, and more than once Silver Rifle was -momentarily deceived by the glitter of lake pebbles, which by divers -means had found their way into the forest, so far above their rocky bed. - -“These are not the oaks!” she said at last, in despair, as she suddenly -paused in her search. “Dohma meant other trees than these. And— Ha! what -is yon dark object, and did it not move?” - -Quickly her rifle dropped from her left arm, and the flint was gently -drawn back, while her eye remained riveted upon the object which had -startled her. - -As she looked, the shape grew into the figure of a beast, and she at -length concluded that it was dead. So she moved forward, and at length -stood over the body of the panther which had wounded Ahdeek’s shoulder -with his sharp teeth. She saw evidences of a struggle on the earth about -the dead beast, and discovered that white and red had met there at no -remote hour. - -The discovery somewhat startled the girl, and as she rose to her feet, -the cry of the night-hawk sounded terribly distinct in her ears. It -seemed to emanate from a spot not twenty feet to her right. Slowly but -deliberately she turned toward the spot, and the next instant several -dark forms leaped from behind trees, and advanced upon her! - -“Keep off, red-men!” she cried. “I have as yet spilled but little -Chippewa blood, for I trail not your people. Stand off, I say, else -there be—” - -Her sentence was cut short by a shriek, for she found herself in the -grasp of a stalwart savage who had approached her from the rear, while -the trio engaged her attention in front. - -“White girl no shoot Chippewa now,” laughed her captor, and presently -Silver Rifle found herself standing in the midst of a war-party, -hideously disfigured by paint. “White girl same as Dohma hunt,” quickly -continued the chief. “Dohma tell Oagla he love girl whom he call Silver -Rifle. White girl see Dohma?” - -The girl shook her head, and the savages laughed. - -“Dohma come home by um by an’ find Silver Rifle in Chippewa lodge.” - -“Alas!” thought the girl, “Dohma would never return to his people.” - -“Pale girl got pretty rifle,” said a tall young Indian, who wore a -head-dress of hawk-feathers. “She have heap silver in her lodge. Let -Hawkeye see rifle.” - -With the last word the Chippewa put forth his hand, when, with a -startling cry, the girl started violently back. - -Something glittered in the moonlight on Hawkeye’s tiniest finger. - -“What frighten pale girl?” demanded the chief, not wholly unfrightened -himself. - -“My ring! my ring!” cried Silver Rifle, starting forward. “Hawkeye, -you’ve got my ring! Give it here!” - -She pointed to the ring as she spoke; but the savage drew back, with an -Indian oath. - -“Ring Hawkeye’s,” he cried. “Him find it here by dead panther. Sequesta -grabbed ring when Hawkeye saw it; so they fought for it, and Sequesta -sleeps in Gitche Gumee. Girl shan’t have ring. It’s Hawkeye’s. Too -pretty for Silver Rifle.” - -“Then the price I shall pay for my own property shall be your blood!” -cried the determined girl. “The glitter of that ring has drawn me from -the white man’s greatest city. I will have it, and, for the last time, I -demand it. Take it from your finger, Hawkeye!” - -“Hawkeye keep ring,” was the determined response, and it still quivered -his lips when the girl’s rifle cleared a space about her. - -The savages saw they had a demoness to deal with, and admired her -bravery as they shrunk from the clubbed rifle. She was but a girl—a -young tigress in nature, among twenty braves, and they would humor her -as the cat does the mouse. - -All at once the butt of the weapon dropped to her shoulder, and the next -instant a sharp report shot over the cliffs. - -Hawkeye, with a groan, reeled in the throes of death, like a drunken -man. - -Through the smoke, which obscured her form, the brave huntress sprung, -and, before the savages could recover from their surprise, she had -wrenched the ring from the warrior’s finger, and was flying through the -forest like a deer! - -Hawkeye was dead. The little ring, which was to be the price of more -than one life, had ended his days of savage glory, and the slayer was -seeking safety in flight. - -The eldest members of the war-party, recovering first, had started in -pursuit, and the younger were not far in their rear. Once or twice they -paused and tried to bring the girl down with the rifle; but she flitted -in and out among the trees so as to destroy their aim. - -One hand griped her silver rifle, the other held the ring, and more than -once she shut the member tighter than ever to satisfy her heart that the -prize was still her own. - -She ran toward the spot where she had left Renadah’s boat, and at length -disappeared in the rugged path that led down to the lake shore. - -For some time she had not heard the footsteps of her pursuers, and, -after hiding an hour among the rocks, she approached the beach. Quickly -she drew the light craft from its hiding-place, and as she placed it in -the water the click of a rifle-lock sounded above her head. - -With a cry of horror she dropped the oar, and griped her rifle. - -Half way up the path she saw a tufted head, and caught the glitter of a -rifle-barrel before a jet of fire dazed her eyes. - -A second later she lay motionless beside the boat, and the air resounded -with yells of fiendish triumph. - -Down the rugged path they came, and the foremost lifted Silver Rifle -from the ground. - -“Ball cut girl’s head!” he cried; “but,” looking up with eyes beaming -with devilish satisfaction, “she no dead.” - -The Indians crowded round with “ughs” of surprise. - -“Silver Rifle no dead,” continued the warrior, “She live to die among -the squaws. Oagla take ring. Him wear it now.” - -At first Oagla’s hand shrunk from contact with the ring. - -He thought of Hawkeye lying dead in the forest; but when he saw smiles -of derision, with looks of covetousness, all about him, he took the -ring, and dropped it into his medicine bag. - -“Now, braves, back to the war-path!” he cried. “Omaha carry Silver -Rifle. Oagla glad he did not kill her now. See that she does not escape; -if she does, Omaha steps upon the death-trail.” - -Then the band ascended to the forest again, Omaha, the giant, bearing -the still unconscious girl in his arms, as though she were a babe. - -In single file, through the ghostly forest, the Indians advanced, and by -and by the body of Hawkeye was added to the train. - -“Tell me where I am!” suddenly cried the captive, startling every Indian -with her voice. “I recollect the boat, the red-skin on the cliff, then— -Oh, heavens, am I really in the clutches of the fiends?” - -“Silver Rifle in Omaha’s arms,” said the jailer, with a faint smile. -“Indian shoot when girl go to get in boat.” - -“And the ring! Where is that ring, chief?” - -Omaha looked up and encountered Oagla’s eye. - -“Ring in Gitche Gumee,” he answered. “It lost forever now.” - -“Omaha lies!” boldly cried the Girl Trailer. “I saw the look your chief -shot at you. He has the ring, and unless he gives it back to me he shall -fall as Hawkeye fell.” - -“Pale girl shoot Injuns no more,” was the response. “She die when she -git to Chippewa’s lodge.” - -“We’ll talk more of dying when we get there,” said Silver Rifle. -“Fortune—” - -Oagla suddenly turned toward the band, with uplifted hand, which broke -the captive’s sentence. - -Instantly every savage seemed to grow into a dusky statue. - -From a spot quite a distance to the right, faint cries emanated, and the -forest was tinged with a light that indicated a fire. - -The savages remained silent for several moments, when Oagla started -toward the spot. - -“The Chippewas hold a prisoner,” he cried. “We will see him burn and -hear his death-song.” - -Obedient to their chieftain’s words, the savages started forward, and -presently gained the summit of a wooded knoll which overlooked the -torture-glen. - -This spot was distant several miles from the Chippewa village, and had -witnessed some of the most fiendish tortures ever inflicted by savage -hands. When an enemy fell into the hands of the young braves, he was -brought hither and tortured, and more than once they had spirited -captives from the village and burned them here. - -The war-party saw a white man lashed to a tree near the foot of the -hill. - -The flames were leaping at his throat with the ferocity of famished -wolves, and he was boasting of fierce, vengeful triumphs over the -kindred of his torturers. - -“Ahdeek burns, but the White Tiger will avenge him!” cried the captive. - -The savages on the hill looked into each others’ faces in surprise. - -“He is the White Tiger,” said Oagla, “and yet he says he is not.” - -Omaha was puzzled, and Nahma’s words rushed over Silver Rifle’s -mind—“There be two White Tigers!” - -Now she thought he spoke truly. Here was one; where was the other? - -Her thoughts were broken by a wild cry, sent simultaneously from fifty -throats. - -The captive had leaped from the stake, kicked the firebrands into the -faces of his torturers, and was running for life through the funereal -recesses of the woods. - -During his narration of daring deeds, he had been tugging at his cords, -and success had crowned his efforts. - -With yells of dismay and vengeance, the Indians gave chase, and Oagla’s -braves joined them with cries at once understood. - -Suddenly Silver Rifle, who had witnessed the change of fortune with a -smile, jerked the jaunty mink-skin cap from her head, and waving it -aloft, sent a hearty cheer of encouragement after the fugitive. - -“God help the brave fellow!” she cried. “Chippewas, he’ll pay your young -demons for this night’s work! And I’ll help him if we ever meet.” - -The next moment Oagla stepped before her with a cry of hatred, and she -went to the earth beneath his clenched hand. - -He paid dearly in the future for that blow. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - DEMANDING THE DEAD. - - -“Well, they’ve got Doc Cromer cornered at last. He fooled ’em completely -when they pounced down upon his shanty like buzzards, an’ he’s goin’ to -try an’ fool ’em ag’in. Boy, them red devils war watchin’ the cave, an’ -when they saw me, they couldn’t hold ’emselves longer, so erbout twenty -let drive ter once, an’ I felt a sting in my leg. Jehu! how I sent the -boat through the water then, and of course they follered. I didn’t -’spect to find both you chaps to home, fur I thought the half-breed was -still off on the powder errand.” - -“He returned a few hours prior to our fight. I saved his life in the -woods, and broke an oath by such action.” - -“How, boy?” - -“I had sworn to Ahdeek that I would never appear to the Indians while -they saw him. You see, Doc, I never had any great grudge against the -reds, but Ahdeek is avenging the death of somebody—he won’t tell me who. -True, the greasers have bothered my traps, and that set me against them, -and the boy made me swear that I would assist him to avenge the death of -that mysterious personage, also, as I have further said. The Indians -know that _I_, and not Ahdeek, am the real White Tiger. I told them so -when I saved the boy’s life. Doc, among the murdered traders I possessed -many staunch friends, and if I ever escape from this difficulty, those -brave fellows shall be remembered when I strike.” - -Doc Cromer spoke quickly. - -“And are we to die here?” he asked. - -“I trust not.” - -“Say ‘No,’ boy.” - -“_No!_” - -The trader rose to his feet. - -“Dorsey, something’s going on among the young braves,” he said. “They’ve -been hobnobing in groups for several hours, and p’r’aps they want to -take one of us three down to the hollow.” - -“Should they take us, we’ll escape, Doc.” - -“Yes, but we’ll not be taken. Our guards are old fellows, and the young -Chips will not interfere with them. Ahdeek’s guards are young larks, and -mind I tell you, if they take anybody ’twill be the dark boy. For that -reason they separated us; the old warriors knew that the young ’uns -would want a victim, an’ so they set Ahdeek aside for them.” - -“They won’t kill the boy,” said the White Tiger, confidently. “He’ll -elude the red devils.” - -“Yes, he’s too much for ’em. Dorsey Webb, I’m the last of the traders,” -and the speaker ground his teeth till the guards, attracted by the -grating sound, moved nearer the wigwam and listened. - -After the battle in the White Tiger’s cave, the three captives were -conveyed to the Chippewa village, and thrust into wigwams which were -strongly guarded. - -Nothing definite concerning their fate had been revealed. The Indians -were reticent; but their lowering looks and the clamorings of the squaws -foretold a dark future. - -Cromer’s wound had been rudely dressed by a Chippewa doctor, and he felt -much relieved while they conversed in their prison. - -“It must be near day,” said the trader, after a long pause, “for it -looks so dark out. The village is asleep.” - -“Do the guards slumber?” questioned the White Tiger in a whisper. - -“Not much!” said Cromer, lightly. “When you catch a Chippewa asleep when -he’s entertaining such visitors like ourselves, you’ll see it rain -scalps. Now it’s getting lighter we’ll soon learn if they took Ahdeek -out last night.” - -With the dawn of day excitement entered the village. Old warriors were -seen conversing excitedly, and a strange, knowing smile played with the -lips of the younger ones. - -“I told you so,” said Doc Cromer, turning from a crack to young Webb, -who reclined on a couch of wolf-skins. “They took Ahdeek last night.” - -The White Tiger sprung to his feet, a painful expression crossing his -face. - -“Did they kill him?” - -“Don’t know; the torturers haven’t come back. Some suspicious old -greaser has just discovered the boy’s empty lodge.” - -“Curse the fiends!” grated the Tiger. “Ahdeek was the best friend I had -in the world. I loved him as a brother and—here, Doc, untie my hands and -let me gripe a knife. By Heaven! I’ll make a red pathway through this -accursed den of devils for last night’s work.” - -“Don’t do it, boy,” answered the trader, quietly and with a smile. “My -hands are in a delicate situation, too. S’pose we ask one o’ the guards -to cut us loose.” - -The youth bit his lip and threw himself down on the couch again. Then he -rolled over on his face and recalled the past, which he associated with -Ahdeek, and thought of the dark boy’s doom. - -Several hours flitted over him in that position, while Doc Cromer -continued to peer through the crack upon the Indian village. - -Suddenly a distant shout fell upon the latter’s ear, and he turned to -the boy. - -“Boy, did you hear that?” - -“No,” answered the Tiger, starting up. “If it was a cry, Doc, what did -it mean?” - -“It war a cry, and it meant that a gang of Injuns is comin’ into town -with a captive.” - -“A captive? Who can it be?” - -“I’m puzzled,” said Doc. “The traders ar’ dead, an’ Injun don’t fight -Injun in this war. Come hyar an’ look through this crack. We’ll see -presently who’s comin’.” - -The youth rose and moved to a crack below the one through which his -fellow-prisoner had been taking observations, and in silence they -watched for the returning band. - -The great council-square of the village soon thronged with Indians of -both sexes and all ages, whose eyes were turned to the north, from which -direction the shout had emanated. - -“There they come, down the hill,” whispered Cromer, as a dark body of -Indians descended a rise among the suburbs of the town. “They’ve got a -captive, but not Ahdeek.” - -A few minutes later, the band joined their comrades in the “square,” -where the red ranks broke at a signal, and the gaze of the prisoners -fell upon Silver Rifle! - -“The Spirit of the Lake!” cried the White Tiger, starting from his post. - -“True, by hokey! Not much ghost there, boy. I wonder how they came to -catch ’er? Surely they won’t kill _her_—she’s too pretty. Some chief’ll -take her for his squaw.” - -“Not if I can drive a knife to his heart!” - -Cromer turned quickly upon the fiery speaker. - -“You claim her, then!” he said, with a smile. - -“No; but she sha’n’t be an Indian slave. I never met her with a word. -She knows I live, that is all, and she may see me die.” - -“True as Gospel. But let the gal alone. Think of John Burton; he tried -to cheat an Ottawa out of a white gal, an’ got his everlastin’ fur his -trouble. Gals ar’ dangerous things—worse nor rattlesnakes to fool arter. -Therefore, let that white piece out thar alone.” - -“Doc, I thank you always for advice, whether I take it or not. But see -how she faces the demons.” - -“She’s grit, no doubt, but then she’s got to make the best of her -situation. I don’t care much for her, though I’d like to know what -they’ve done with Ahdeek.” - -“Your curiosity and fear are no greater than mine, Doc,” answered the -Tiger. “But we’ll soon hear.” - -The last words were called forth by the return of a guard, who had -evidently been sent to the crowd to learn something concerning the new -captive and the fate of the half-breed. - -Doc Cromer, whose knowledge of the Chippewa language was quite -extensive, applied his ear to the crevice and listened. - -“Where dark White Tiger?” asked one of the sentries. - -“Dead,” was the reply. “He break from stake and run, but the young -braves catch him, bring him back and burn him.” - -“Who Oagla catch?” - -“Silver Rifle. She hunt for ring in big wood near Gitche Gumee, when -Chippewas slip up and catch her. Hawkeye wear ring gal lookin’ for, and -she killed him for it.” - -Doc Cromer waited to hear no more, but turned quickly upon the boy, who -was waiting with painful anxiety and interest for him to speak. - -“Ahdeek is dead,” he said, gently, and with a sigh. “And the girl has -killed the bravest of the Chippewa chiefs.” - -“Then there’s but little hope for her.” - -“Precious little,” was the reply. “She made a desperate attempt to get -the ring.” - -“What do you know about the ring, Doc?” - -“Nothing, only the girl war looking for it, when they surprised her. -Hawkeye had the ring, an’ she killed him to get it.” - -“Then some Indian has it now?” - -“I rather guess so.” - -“Poor Ahdeek! he’ll never get to fulfill his vow. But”—in an -undertone—“I’ll fulfill it for him.” - -“You’ll do what, boy?” - -Dorsey Webb started and colored to the temples. - -“Nothing!” he stammered. - -“True as Gospel. But— Hello! what does this mean?” - -The newly returned guard had thrown back the door of the prison wigwam, -and confronted the captives. - -“Hondurah want pale-faces in big place,” he said. “Want to say much to -them.” - -“Wal, lead on, an’ don’t stand hyar blabbin’. I’m anxious to hear what -Hondurah has to say.” - -“Pale-face won’t talk so big when sun sleeps, mebbe.” - -The trader made no reply; the Indian’s words had set him to thinking, -and, guarded by the warriors, the twain found themselves on the way to -the “square.” - -Doc Cromer limped somewhat, on account of his wound, but the White Tiger -walked bravely erect at his side, with his eyes fixed upon the motley, -revengeful crowd that awaited him. - -Suddenly he saw the captive girl turn toward him, and her gaze fastened -itself upon his face. A moment later she started back, with a light cry, -which he could not understand. - -“There _are_ two White Tigers,” she said. “_He_ spoke the truth when -dying.” - -Presently the red crowd admitted the whites to the circle in which -Silver Rifle stood, and Hondurah, a noble specimen of the North American -Indian, stepped forward, with folded arms. - -“Hondurah will be brief,” he said, fastening his dark eyes upon the -young White Tiger, who, with head thrown back in lofty defiance, met his -look with unblanched cheek. - -“Dohma and Renadah left their lodges five sleeps ago for the trail. They -were to return last sleep. White Tiger, where are the chiefs?” - -“They never crossed my trail,” was the quick, but measured reply. -“Hondurah, if I slew Dohma and Renadah, I would not lie about it. -Neither was their blood upon my darker brother’s hands.” - -Murmurs of incredulity ran round the red circle, which impulsively -contracted. - -“White Tiger lies,” said the chief, slowly, but with rising indignation. -“A forked tongue will do him no good here. Let him speak the truth, or -die before yonder fiery Manitou sleeps below the waves of Gitche Gumee.” - -“I have spoken the truth, red devils,” the boy hissed with such -bitterness that Doc Cromer stepped reprovingly toward him. “I will not -say there is blood on my hands, when there is none. Make the best of my -answer. I can die but once.” - -Hondurah’s tomahawk shot from his girdle. - -“White Tiger, you have killed many Chippewas,” he hissed. “We have -hunted you long, never dreaming that you were a twin. Your twin brother -is dead; the young braves stole him from the lodge last sleep, and -burned him in the forest. You may not tread the long trail to-day by -taking the forked tongue from your mouth and putting one in that is not -forked. Now Hondurah asks for the last time. Where are Dohma and -Renadah?” - -“I don’t know!” shouted the youth. “If I possessed a knife, Hondurah, -you’d never call another white boy a liar!” - -The sachem almost cracked his teeth with anger. - -“Chiefs,” he cried, turning to several Indians who stood at his left, -“to the torture-tree with the pale liar. He shall not see the sun sleep. -When he burns he will tell where lie our stricken brothers. Hondurah has -spoken. Away.” - -The chiefs had sprung forward to obey the mandate, when, with a great -bound, Silver Rifle threw herself between them and the doomed boy. - -“Let Silver Rifle speak first!” she cried. “In the great cave near the -Manitou’s chapel, sleep Dohma and Renadah, side by side. They fought for -Silver Rifle—fought with tomahawks for the white girl. Dohma died, and -then Renadah fell beneath _this_ arm!” - -She paused, and howls of rage broke from the savage band, and as -Hondurah sprung toward her, scores of scalping-knives and tomahawks -flashed in mid-air, and the click, click, click of rifle-locks resounded -on every side. - -“The innocent,” she cried, “shall not suffer for the guilty! If the -blood of Dohma and Renadah demand a victim, I am here. But, ere I die, -let me clutch the ring that Oagla holds, for I would know who I am.” - -The gaze of many flitted to Oagla, who thrust his hand into the -medicine-bag at his side. - -For a moment he rummaged among the ocherous stones, and then withdrew -his fingers. - -His face told a story. - -The ring was gone! - -“Villain!” cried Silver Rifle, “you’ve thrown it away! Oh if I could -live to pay you for that act!” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - AN UNEXPECTED DEATH-SHOT. - - -Silver Rifle turned suddenly upon the Destroyer. - -“You have trailed with him who has carried the ring long,” she said, in -a tone of intense anxiety. “Can you not tell me who I am?” - -“Alas,” was the reply. “I can not, girl. He kept his own secrets, and -they have died with him.” - -A deep sigh escaped Silver Rifle’s lips, and a moment later the voice of -Hondurah attracted the attention of all. - -“Oagla, where is the pale girl’s ring?” he demanded of the chief. “Let -her read life before she dies.” - -“Ring bad,” answered Oagla, quailing with shame before the flashing eyes -of his stern sachem. “It kill Hawkeye. Oagla fear it kill him, so he -throw it among trees. He hate bad ring; Silver Rifle kill him for it, -mebbe.” - -“Oagla is a coward!” thundered Hondurah, and the flash of his eyes -seemed to blast the look of the superstitious and fearful chief. “The -Chippewa who is afraid of a shining thing should break his gun and -become a squaw. Single out your best trailers now, Oagla, and before -to-morrow’s sleep place the ring in Hondurah’s hand, or be a chief no -longer among the warlike Chippewas. Hondurah has spoken!” - -And, as he resumed his former position, the chief waived aside the -savages who had laid hands on the dauntless girl. - -Murmurs of dissatisfaction now arose on every side, and the sachem’s eye -swept the multitude, as with folded arms he calmly listened to the -hoarse growlings of the storm. - -“Hondurah is not a dog,” he cried at last. “The ring tells the white -girl who she is. She does not know, and she shall not die until she -knows whose child she is. When Oagla returns with the ring that talks, -then shall die the three pale-faces who have spilled Chippewas’ blood. -Peace, warriors; it will not be long. Does Oagla know where he threw the -shining talker?” - -“Oagla does.” - -“Then let him step upon the trail before he speaks again. Wildcat, back -to the prison-lodge with the White Tiger, and his mate. Silver Rifle -will dwell in Hondurah’s lodge, till the boughs are gathered in the -forest.” - -While Hondurah spoke, Oagla was moving among the warriors, and presently -he left the concourse, followed by six athletic young braves, who were -numbered among the best trailers in the village. - -The chief smarted under the reproof he had received from Hondurah, for -he walked thoughtfully at the head of his warriors, and appeared to be -devising a scheme which would bear fruit in the future. - -“Silver Rifle learn to love Hondurah’s daughter,” said the chief, as he -approached his lodge with the captive of his nation. “She with squaws -now; but she come soon when she know that Silver Rifle goin’ to be her -bedfellow for one sleep.” - -The young trailer was ushered into the sachem’s lodge, and seated -herself on a heap of skins, while Hondurah moved to the entrance, in -which he stood with folded arms. - -Presently Silver Rifle heard him speak; then came the soft voice of -woman in reply, and Hondurah stepped back into the lodge leading a -beautiful Indian girl by the hand. - -“Here Clearwater, Silver Rifle,” he said. “She keep you company now, for -Hondurah must go ’mong his chiefs.” - -So, as Silver Rifle rose to greet the dazzling vision of aboriginal -loveliness, he parted the curtains and disappeared. - -Silence reigned between the two girls for several moments. - -The pale captive saw that sadness tugged at Clearwater’s heart-strings -and kept her silent. - -“Why is Clearwater sad when the skies are so bright, and the birds sing -so beautifully?” asked our heroine. - -The Indian girl looked up, and nestled closer to the bosom on which she -had laid her head. - -“The light has left Clearwater’s heart,” she said, softly, sadly. -“Silver Rifle, he is dead.” - -The last words struck a sad, sympathetic chord in our heroine’s heart, -and she echoed the words, mournfully—“He is dead!” - -“They killed him in the big woods,” continued Hondurah’s daughter. “The -mad young braves, headed by Omaha, took him from the prison-lodge last -sleep, and put fire about him.” - -Silver Rifle started. - -Was the girl referring to Ahdeek, the half-breed? - -She would know. - -“What was Ahdeek to Clearwater?” - -“Her sunlight.” - -“He slew her people.” - -“But he loved Clearwater. He would kiss her in the aisles of the forest, -and they have sat by the shores of Gitche Gumee, when Hondurah hunted -for the White Tiger.” - -“Did Clearwater know that there were two White Tigers?” asked Silver -Rifle. - -“Ahdeek could keep nothing from Clearwater, he loved her so. He told her -that the ring was given him by an old man whose beard was white with the -snows of many winters, and that he was to take it to a white girl, who -lived beyond the big waters, when he had killed an Indian for every drop -of blood which they had spilled from the old pale face’s veins.” - -“Is that all he told Clearwater?” - -“Yes—no. Old white-beard have much yellow money, which he give to -trapper Snowbeard to keep, and papers with writing on, too, he said. -Indians kill Snowbeard, and burn down house; so yellow money and -talking-papers all gone!” - -Silver Rifle sighed. - -“Did pale girl see Indians burn Ahdeek?” asked Clearwater, suddenly -looking up into her face. - -“No. I saw him escape; but Oagla struck me when I cheered the brave -fellow on, and when I opened my eyes again we were near the village. So -they must have recaptured Ahdeek, and burned him, while I was -unconscious.” - -Clearwater’s head dropped upon her bosom, and the Girl Trailer heard her -murmur away down in her heart: - -“Poor, poor Ahdeek!” - -“Clearwater, will Oagla find the ring?” asked Silver Rifle, rousing the -Indian girl from her reverie. - -“Oagla see like eagle, his braves like hawks,” was the response; “but -ring hard to find in big woods. Clearwater hate all young braves now. -Omaha never call her squaw. He know she love Ahdeek, and he thought he -would kill him; then Clearwater must turn to him. But he miss mark very -far. He better not cross Clearwater’s path in the forest; she always -carry rifle on her shoulder.” - -The white teeth met with vengeance over the last words, and Silver Rifle -looked proudly down upon the loveless girl. - -“Silver Rifle have to tell Indians that Nahma and Renadah died by her -hand,” said Clearwater, after a long pause. - -“Why, sister?” - -“That right. Clearwater and Silver Rifle sisters now. She have to save -one who was nothing to her.” - -A blush mantled the white girl’s cheeks. - -“Ha!” cried Clearwater, smiling, “Hondurah’s child speak wrong. White -Tiger is something to Silver Rifle.” - -“Girl, I never talked with him until this day.” - -Quickly Clearwater placed her hand on Silver Rifle’s breast, and with a -curious face looked up as she felt the pulsations of the heart. - -“Heart beat fast when Clearwater talk of White Tiger,” said the Indian -girl. “Silver Rifle shall not die when Oagla come back.” - -“Who can save me, girl?” - -“Silver Rifle shall not die when Oagla come back,” repeated the girl, -with emphasis. - -“Shall _he_ die, then?” - -“Silver Rifle see,” and, with sudden impulse, the chief’s daughter -sprung from the cot, and stepped to the door. She parted the curtains, -and stood face to face with her father. - -“Young braves talking bad talk in their lodges,” said Hondurah, as he -entered his own wigwam. “But they won’t take prisoners to the hollow -to-night. Hondurah stand by strong lodge himself, and Yucata with his -old braves and Clearwater guard Silver Rifle.” - -The Indian girl crept back to the captive’s couch and whispered: - -“Clearwater shoot mad buck when he was driving his horns through -Tucata.” - - * * * * * * * - -“Oagla throw ring somewhere here. He see big oak there, when he throw -ring into medicine-bag and pulled out the yellow talker. Braves, -separate now, and look sharp. Let your eyes rival the hawk’s, and do not -leave an inch of ground unsearched. Oagla must find ring, or—or—” He -turned abruptly, and finished the sentence in a whisper: “Or Hondurah -steps upon the death-trail. Oagla will never submit to having his -feathers torn from his head!” - -The party of discovery had reached a portion of the forest which the -captors of Silver Rifle, led, as the reader has seen, by Oagla, had -traversed a few hours before. The trees stood in profusion here and to -some extent lent a gloomy coloring to the ground. - -Oagla had concluded that hereabouts he had tossed aside the mysterious -ring, without the knowledge of Silver Rifle, never expecting that he -would be compelled to hunt for it, with a disgraceful reward promised -for non-success. - -He had a presentiment that the ring boded him no good, for he had -witnessed the fate of Hawkeye, and, to dissipate such thoughts, he had -rid himself of the bauble in a summary manner. - -The party reached the spot I have briefly described about high noon, and -until four o’clock they scoured the ground in vain for the missing ring. - -“Wait till the pale queen shines,” said Oagla, suddenly pausing. “Then -the little talker will be bright, and the Chippewa can find him easily.” - -So the hunt was suspended, and the savages waited for the rising of the -moon, which was full and scaled the horizon quite early. - -Shadow after shadow gathered among the trees, and the ring-hunters -hailed the first approach of the moon with great joy. Her silvery beams -dissipated the shadows, and streaming down through the leafy boughs, -clothed the ground in a weird light. - -Freshened by their rest, the Indians sprung with alacrity to the hunt -again, which had scarcely been inaugurated when Omaha darted to the foot -of a stunted fir, and stooped, with a wild cry of delight. - -Raising quickly, he turned, and something glittered in his upraised -hand. - -It was the ring! - -The Chippewas darted toward him with joyful shouts, and soon Omaha stood -in the center of the wild band. - -“Now!” cried Oagla, “warriors, back to your lodges. Omaha give Oagla the -little talker. He not throw it away now. He—” - -The sharp crack of a rifle benumbed every sense, and Omaha reeled from -Oagla, whose hand was outstretched to grasp the ring! - -And as he reeled, a death-yell pealed from his lips. - -Then there was a quick step, a dark figure dashed through the red ranks, -jerked the bauble from Omaha’s dead fingers, and was away like a rocket! - -All this occupied but a single minute, and when the savages recovered -their self-possession, they were staring into each other’s faces. - -“Swear!” cried Oagla, in thunder tones, “swear, warriors, that in the -village of your people, you will never speak the name of Omaha’s slayer! -Swear that you will never breathe it to the old warriors.” - -In the ghastly moonlight, and by the name of their Great Spirit, the -Indians swore. - -“It is well,” said Oagla. “The little talker is gone. Warriors, to your -lodges!” - -Then, biting his lips with disappointment, he threw himself before his -braves and turned his face toward the south. - -The ring had fallen into the hands of one entirely unlooked for! - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - ESCAPING. - - -Oagla’s band reached the Indian village about nine at night. - -They placed the corpse of Omaha on a mat in the center of the -council-house, and when the population of the town swarmed about it with -vengeful looks and mutterings, the chief rose and addressed the -assemblage. - -He said that a great night bird, with sharp eyes, had darted from a tree -and seized the ring as he was about to pick it up, and that they had -followed the feathered thief through the woods until he flew toward the -lake, and thus they lost sight of him. Omaha was shot, he said, by an -unseen foe, of whose person they were unable to get a single glimpse. - -All this, as the reader knows, was a cunning lie. The elder warriors -drank it in with great credulity, for Oagla was noted for veracity; but -the younger braves whispered to one another, and glanced with faint -smiles at the red speaker. - -Probably a trader, who had escaped the late massacre, was the slayer, as -Oagla suggested, and Hondurah swore to hunt the avenger down. - -The gathering broke up with the decision that the white trio should be -tortured during the coming day, and a few Indians remained to wrap Omaha -in his blankets and bury him. - -The young men had promised that the captives should not be disturbed -during the night; but Hondurah, who had seen so many like promises -broken, smiled knowingly as he shook his feathered head, and stationed -the guards as he had previously designated. - -Silver Rifle saw six dark forms encircle her lodge, and heard Hondurah -tell them that their lives would be taken by his hatchet if she escaped. -Sternly the war-tiger of the Chippewas spoke to his daughter; he loved -her, he said, but despite the affection she might have for the Girl -Trailer, if she assisted her to evade the stake, he would give her, his -only child, over to the vengeance of his people. - -The interior of the chieftain’s lodge was clothed in Cimmerian darkness. -Clearwater said that Silver Rifle wanted to sleep, and dream for the -last time of the birds and flowers that sung and grew beyond the straits -of Gitche Gumee. - -Several hours passed away, and nothing came to disturb the Indian -village. Even the noisy dogs were silent; but Clearwater sat before her -father’s lodge, and conversed in low tones with Yucata. - -That she had broached a subject which was quite unpleasant to the old -commander of the guards, was noticeable in his countenance, and many -times he slowly shook his head while she talked with her lips close to -his ear. - -“Yucata owes Clearwater a life,” said the old Indian, in a low tone; -“but he can not meet Hondurah in the light, and say ‘Silver Rifle -outwitted him.’ No, no!” - -“Then let Yucata go, too; Pontiac fights the English at Detroit; let him -join his king, and fall, if he falls at all, with his face to the -red-coats.” - -“Yucata will do as Clearwater has said,” said the Indian, suddenly -starting forward. “Now, let her go to her work.” - -Quickly Clearwater sprung to her feet and re-entered the lodge, from -which, half an hour later, she emerged and walked rapidly away. - -When she had disappeared, Yucata summoned his sub-alterns to his side, -and composedly lit his pipe. - -“The white girl sleeps,” he said. “Clearwater has gone to weep over the -gave of Omaha, for whom her young heart bled.” - -The savages seated themselves on the ground before the lodge, and Yucata -led them into an animated discussion of the war which was then raging. -The old chief seemed to advance strange ideas, for the sake of argument, -and so intently were the Indians engaged in their war-talk, that the -dark, girlish figure that glided through a long slit in the rear of the -lodge, walked away erect and unnoticed. - -The savages continued to talk, and at last a sub-chief, who was relating -a story, suddenly paused in the midst of his narrative. - -The hoot of an owl which emanated from the adjoining forest had caused -the interruption. - -Yucata started and raised his head. - -“’Tis something,” he whispered. “Yucata will see the eyes of that owl,” -and cautioning his braves to watch the lodge, but not to disturb the -occupant, he rose to his feet and hurried away. - -Once beyond his companions, he walked faster than ever, and all at once -turned to the left and ran at the top of his speed. He soon reached the -last lodge that stood in the northern portion of the village, and waved -a farewell with his hand. - -“Yucata traitor to Hondurah,” he said; “but Clearwater brought his oath -back, and he could not forget it. Yucata never come back here any more.” - -Then he turned again, plunged into the wood, and was lost to view. - -The owl-hoot meant much. - -It told Yucata that he might fly from the lodge which had sheltered him -long, and that the cunning of one woman had outwitted the sharpest chief -of the Chippewa nation. - -“Lead us to the lake, girl,” said a low, but strong voice. “Once there, -we’ll defy the sagacity and bravery of your people. I want to be loose -once more; I want to remind the scarlet fiends that they have tortured -Ahdeek.” - -A sorrowful sigh escaped the lips of the figure that walked beside the -speaker, and she paused and touched his arm. - -“Look up, White Tiger.” - -He obeyed. - -A single star glittered overhead, the others were obscured by clouds. - -“That star, Ahdeek,” said a whispered voice. “He tells Clearwater not to -spare young braves. She spare ’em not.” - -Four figures flitted through the darkness that enwrapped the Indian -village; they were Clearwater, Silver Rifle, the White Tiger, and Doc -Cromer, the trader. - -Clearwater had led the trio to comparative freedom. Her cunning had -outwitted her own father, and, like Yucata’s braves, he guarded an empty -lodge. The hunters were not unprepared for rescue, for, during the day, -Clearwater, while talking to a dandyfied brave who guarded the lodge, -had managed to smuggle a piece of bark to the captives, upon which were -traced Indian characters which, from their acquaintance with savage -life, they easily deciphered. - -By a stratagem Hondurah and his warriors were thrown off their guard, -for the old chief did not dream that his daughter would attempt -treachery before his very eyes, and presently the whites found -themselves free. - -Noiselessly they left the hoodwinked Indians, and soon joined a single -figure, dressed like Clearwater. It was Silver Rifle. - -Then the owl-hoot which drove Yucata away pealed from Clearwater’s -throat, and the quartette moved on. - -One or two Indian dogs which came smelling about them were noiselessly -dispatched, and, as the party reached the summit of a knoll, and were -beginning to breathe freer, they came upon the burial of Omaha. - -The best trail to the lake led by the Chippewa burying-ground, and the -night interment of the slain savage was unknown to the chief’s daughter. -Several torches threw their ghostly light upon the scene, and the -escaping party dropped to the earth which they hugged closely, and -watched the burial. - -They were within thirty feet of the group, and held their breath while -the Indians lowered Omaha into his grave, incumbered, as he was, by his -rifles, hatchets, knives, and well-stocked medicine bag. - -“We must go,” whispered Doc Cromer; “they will smoke over him, and -pow-wow an hour. Let us try the right. Tell the gal.” - -The Destroyer spoke to Clearwater. - -“We must crawl like the cat,” she said. “Clearwater would sooner wait -till the Indians go. But she will lead the pale faces to the right, on a -little trail covered with leaves.” - -Slowly and painfully, then, the four vacated their position, and with -eyes fixed on the Indians, crawled down to the right. Fortune favored -them, however, and they were congratulating themselves, when the most -terrible adventure of the night occurred. - -The party was suddenly brought to a halt by a low sign of danger from -Clearwater, who led the van. - -They were crossing a spot of ground upon which dimly fell the light of -the funeral torches. - -“What’s up?” whispered Doc Cromer, who covered the little band. - -“Somebody’s abroad,” answered the young avenger. “We lie on the brink of -destruction now.” - -The footsteps which had startled Clearwater’s acute ear came nearer, and -told that something was walking painfully slow. - -It came from the north west, directly toward the breathless quartette, -who griped their knives with determination. - -At last they saw the outlines of the night-hawk. - -It was an Indian. - -He was making for the torches of his scarlet brethren, and our imperiled -ones felt a sense of relief when they beheld him swerve to the right and -bid fair to miss them. - -The brilliant eyes of the solitary red-man saw nothing but the tableau -over the grave; but he was soon called to another scene. - -The eyes of Silver Rifle had been riveted upon him from the first, and -when his every feature became plainly visible, when he could have -touched her with his hand, a terrible cry rose from her lips, and she -leaped to her feet, looking like one who had suddenly encountered a -ghost. - -The Indian stopped, and the next moment Doc Cromer, like a tiger, sprung -upon him. - -The red-man was as a babe in the grip of the stout trader; but he -shrieked before the great brown hand closed over his mouth! - -To the ground went white and red, and Silver Rifle leaped toward them as -the Indians turned from Omaha’s grave. - -“My God! girl, what have you done?” cried the White Tiger, springing up -and cocking his rifle, as he glanced from their enemies at Silver Rifle. - -She did not hear him, for she was trying to pull Doc Cromer from the -Chippewa. - -“Don’t kill him, Doc,” she cried. “He saved me, and he’s—” - -The trader sprung erect. - -“I’ve choked the skeleton to death, I guess,” he said, looking down upon -the savage, who lay motionless at his feet. “What made you holler fur?” - -He shot her a maddened look, as he put the question, not destined to be -answered then, and turned as two rifles cracked at his side. He saw a -brace of Indians drop in the woods, and then the remainder of the band -sprung to trees. - -“We must run!” cried the White Tiger. “The whole village will be down -here in a minute.” - -The next moment the quartette turned and dashed toward the lake, still -three miles distant. - -“You’ve dropped one—I haven’t,” cried Cromer, pausing in his race for -life. “I must kill one greaser afore day, with the rifle. Choking -red-skins to death is no fun.” - -He faced the pursuing savages, some fifteen in number, who, confident of -an easy capture, were following with torches through the thinly-timbered -wood, and threw his rifle to his shoulder. - -“Quick, Doc, quick! We’re losing time!” cried the Destroyer. - -“Hold a moment,” was the calm reply. “I want to bore a brain!” - -Seemingly not realizing their danger, the rash trader took matters very -calmly, and, as his finger touched the trigger, Webb leaped forward with -a startling cry. - -“A panther!” - -As he shrieked the name of the beast, he hurled the trader aside, -completely spoiling his aim. - -The next second a yellow body alighted on the spot where Cromer had -stood. - -“Curse your yellow hide!” yelled the mad hunter, as with uplifted rifle -he bounded upon the animal. “I’ll teach you how to interfere with my -business.” - -The rifle descended, the panther received the blow on his head, and -staggered back with an almost human groan. - -With a glance at the Indians, the trader sprung over the stunned brute, -and rejoined his friends. - -“Now for life!” said Webb. “This delay may prove dangerous.” - -The words had scarcely left his lips when the forest resounded with -rifle-shots, and Clearwater dropped over a fallen sapling. - -The Destroyer darted to her side and raised her up. - -A stream of blood gushed from her mouth, and all at once she threw her -arms about his neck, completely depriving him of his balance. He went to -the ground beneath the wounded girl, and Doc Cromer and Silver Rifle -sprung to his aid. - -The trader jerked the Indian loose, and then leaped forward, with an -oath. - -The savages were upon them! - -Boldly among the red demons sprung the trio, fighting with that -determination and despair of a person driven to the wall. - -The trader had dropped two warriors, when a tomahawk, thrown by a young -brave, struck him in the head, and he dropped his rifle, as he sunk back -without a groan. - -“Girl,” cried the White Tiger, who had witnessed the fall of the trader, -“we can but die; then let us fall in the run for life.” - -Suddenly they whirled to the right, and parrying several blows, -furiously given, dashed through an opening, which they had made in the -red ranks, and darted toward the lake once more. - -The Indians were surprised at this move, and for a moment could not -realize the unexpected state of affairs. - -That moment proved of value to the fugitives; they had put many rods -between them and their foes, and after a chase which terminated near the -lake-shore, the latter returned bootless to the scene of battle. - -Here they were greeted with mystery and horror. Their dead had been -scalped during the last pursuit; the body of Clearwater was missing, and -upon the giant tree at whose foot she had lain, was the dreaded mark of -the White Tiger, lately cut, with a bloody tomahawk! - -The warriors gathered around the tree with bated breath, and stared at -the deeply cut double cross. - -“Clearwater plays the White Tiger,” said a young brave, at length. - -“Clearwater!” yelled a gray-haired chief, turning fiercely upon the -speaker. “Clearwater’s arm was weak, and the tomahawk went through the -bark. A man’s muscle drove the hatchet;” and then, raising his -thunderous voice to its highest pitch, he swept the young braves with a -finger of scorn. “Chopah knows all!” he cried. “The young warriors have -lied!” - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - THE INDIAN DOGS. - - -The first shots which the red grave-diggers fired at the escaping party -roused the Indian village. - -The braves who guarded Hondurah’s empty lodge sprung to their feet and -listened intently. - -Suddenly the sound of hasty feet greeted their ears, and a moment the -sachem halted before them. He did not speak, but darted to the lodge, -and throwing wide the curtains, leaped across the threshold. - -Then a cry of rage and disappointment cleft the darkness of the lodge. -The guards turned as Hondurah reappeared. - -“Where Yucata?” he demanded. - -“Gone to catch the owl that hooted.” - -“Where Clearwater?” - -“Gone to see Omaha put in the ground.” - -For a moment the chief was silent. - -“Hear rifles in the dark woods?” he said, half interrogatively, and -while he finished the sentence, the shots were repeated. - -“The pale-faces are in the forest,” he cried. “We catch ’em ’fore day,” -and after issuing a few necessary orders, he and ten warriors hastened -to the scene of conflict; and a moment after the denunciation which, at -the close of our last chapter, rung from Chopah’s lips, they reached the -scene of danger and death. - -“What means this?” demanded Hondurah, striding into the midst of the -baffled party. “Did Chopah allow the pale worms to crawl away? Where are -they now? Where is Hondurah’s child?” - -His glance fell upon the recumbent forms, and a moment later he sprung -to the motionless body of the tomahawked trader. - -“Ha!” he cried; “the trader never trade by Gitche Gumee any more. He -kill last Chippewa: there, take that, white dog!” - -With the last word, he bestowed a brutal kick on the body and turned to -his braves again. - -“Chopah, tell Hondurah all,” he commanded; and turning from the young -braves whom he had called liars, Chopah, with folded arms, faced his -sachem. - -Intently Hondurah listened to the narrative until Chopah mentioned the -name of his child. - -Then he started forward and touched the speaker’s arm. - -“Clearwater help whites?” - -Chopah nodded. - -“No, no, Chopah, don’t tell Hondurah this;” and for a moment the chief -hid his eyes in his hands. “Do not tell him that Clearwater is a -traitress.” - -“Chopah never hides the truth,” was the reply reluctantly given. “The -young braves—the braves who have lied—will say that Chopah speaks the -right words. Braves—” - -He paused suddenly, for the young warriors were gone! One by one, silent -and sullen, they had sneaked unperceived from the spot, unable to -withstand the anger of Hondurah, when Chopah should denounce them. - -Hondurah smiled faintly at the chief’s consternation. - -“Let them go,” said the latter chief. “They have basely deceived us, and -at some other time they shall pay the penalty attached to deception. -Clearwater fell beneath the aim of Chopah’s braves,” continued the -chief; “but while we pursued the White Tiger and his tigress, a man came -and stole her, and tore from their heads the scalps of our braves.” - -“How does Chopah know that a man came?” - -“By the mark on the tree.” - -The tomahawk pointed to the White Tiger’s mark, and Hondurah stepped -nearer and examined it. - -“The White Tiger was far away when this was cut?” he asked, curiously. - -“He was hunted by Chopah, who heard his flying feet in the forest.” - -“Then,” said Hondurah, “_he_ lives!” - -“The young braves have lied,” hissed Chopah, gritting his teeth, as he -gazed upon the mark. - -Hondurah folded his arms, drew himself to his full hight, and fastened -his eye upon the terrible double cross. - -His warriors watched him narrowly, and saw the sinews of anger, black -and terrible, that swept across his face. - -“Hondurah,” he said at length, “is father to a snake. That snake may -live, for _he_ would hardly bear a corpse away. Warriors, Hondurah is a -father no more; he is an avenger. Throw yourselves upon the trails of -the pale-faces; but do not touch Clearwater. When you find her -hiding-place, speed swiftly to Hondurah, for he, and he alone, shall -punish the traitress.” - -“Will he slay his own child?” asked an old warrior, meekly. - -“Question not Hondurah,” was the stern reply. “Seek the white-faces. He -will hunt the traitress, whose fate shall be more terrible than the -wolf’s when the brave has trapped him. Watch now the caves of Gitche -Gumee. Throw your selves at once upon the trail, and if Yucata crosses -it, strike him dead and bring his scalp to me.” - -With the last word the chief turned toward the village. - -“What would Hondurah do?” questioned Chopah. - -“Punish the young braves.” - -“Beware, Hondurah,” said the chief. “The young braves are strong; they -will strike back if Hondurah raises his hand. Let them go.” - -The chief did not speak; but the silent motion of his lips seemed to -frame that determined word, “Never!” - -Chopah shook his head to his warriors as Hondurah turned for the second -time. - -He knew that his nation would soon be sachemless if Hondurah lifted an -arm against the younger warriors, who certainly needed punishment for an -act to be revealed hereafter. - -“We divide here,” said Chopah, after a brief consultation. “The trail of -the scalper is plain. Clearwater’s blood stained the leaves. The White -Tiger rests in one of Gitche Gumee’s caves. We must hunt him there.” - -A few moments later the band divided. Chopah and six braves threw -themselves upon the fugitives’ trail, while another chief, with a like -number of savages, followed the blood-marks that crimsoned the forest -grass. - -Soon the forest resumed its ghostly stillness, and for several hours it -was not disturbed. - -Then a convulsive movement of Doc Cromer’s arm snapped a twig, and the -hand essayed to wipe the blood from his face. - -And in the demi-gloom he raised his body on his elbow and looked about. -His eyes fell upon the motionless forms of the four dead braves, and -with great effort he crawled to each. - -“Dead, by hokey!” he ejaculated, with eminent satisfaction. “Here’s the -chap what I dropped afore the hatchet spoiled my face; but who’s gone -an’ scalped ’em?” - -In the pale moonlight the trader had discovered that the corpse was -scalpless, and this excited his wonder. - -Surely White Tiger and Silver Rifle did not defeat the savages after his -fall, else he would not have been left there, even though he had been -killed. - -“I can’t fathom it,” he said, after a lengthy silence, “and I won’t try -any more. Now, the next thing is to get out of this. Jehu, but I’m as -weak as a weasel. I must have lost a barrel of blood. My face won’t -bleed any more just now, for the blood is hard and shuts the gash.” - -Then, with the help of a tree, the trader drew himself to his feet, and -tried to walk away; but found himself too weak for the undertaking. - -“I’ve got to crawl,” he reluctantly admitted, lowering himself to the -ground again. “By heaven, if I ever git over this, somebody’ll hev to -suffer.” - -He robbed one of the dead Indians of his knife, and then crawled away. - -It was a fearful strait to be in. At any moment his actions might betray -him to vindictive enemies, and he could expect no mercy at their hands. -He brooded over vengeance as he moved along through the forest, as he -thought, toward the lake. - -“This is slow work,” he said, a thousand times. “I hope I’ll be strong -enough to walk like a man after a while. The lake can’t be far off now, -for it is near daylight, and—heavens!” - -Well might the trader utter the ejaculation and shrink back, for his -hand had fallen upon a bare and icy arm! - -He drew a long breath before he advanced, and then it was with a curse. - -“’Tis the greaser I choked to death,” he said. “Here I’ve been crawling -in the wrong direction all the time. What brought me back to this -thing?” and, with a sigh of vexation, he threw himself beside the dead. - -“It isn’t any harm to kill an Injun,” said the trader, with a smile, -which looked ghastly on his bloody face; “but this fellow was sick, for -he was as weak as the weasel’s kittens. I wonder if he hasn’t some -pemmican about ’im. I’m hungry, an’ while I rest hyar, I might as well -take a supper.” - -So the Indian’s medicine-bag was drawn from beneath the body, and Doc -Cromer’s hand disappeared among its contents. - -“There’s not much hyar,” he said; “not an ounce of pemmican; but what’s -this?” - -Quickly he withdrew his hand, and bent forward to examine the object it -clutched. - -The prize glittered like gold in the rays of the moon, and all at once a -strange cry pealed from the trader’s lips. - -“Well, what’s goin’ to happen me next?” he exclaimed. “Hyar’s Silver -Rifle’s ring—in the medicine bag of the greaser what I choked to death, -when she war at my side! Say, Injun,” and he turned toward the corpse, -“whar you run ’cross this? Blast yer ugly picture, ef you don’t tell -I’ll knife you, I will, by hokey!” - -He shook the body violently, and then laughed at his folly. - -“Well, I’ve got the ring, anyhow,” he said, “and, by heavens! I’m goin’ -to deliver it to the gal in person. I’m not goin’ to die hyar! no! Doc -Cromer, suthin’ guided you to this spot—suthin’ we don’t know any thing -about.” - -He started at the sound of his own voice, so singularly harsh and -strong, and rose to his feet without great effort. - -“I’ll strike the lake trail this time,” he murmured. “If I kin but reach -the cave, I’ll be strong in a little while.” - -Then he moved off, but suddenly came to a halt. - -“Hyar they come; them infernal Indian dogs!” he hissed, listening to the -tramp of many feet, and the yells that resounded throughout the forest. -“I thinned their ranks when I war trappin’; but since the boys are all -dead, the dogs will increase. They’re half-starved, I kin tell by their -yelps, and they’re comin’ d’rectly toward me!” - -The trapper hugged a tree, and listened to the noise of the troop. - -The animals, many of which were half-wolf, were snapping and snarling at -each other, and ready to tear to pieces any animated object which -obstructed their path. The Chippewa dogs, tired of gnawing bones around -the lodges, often made incursions into the forest, where they sometimes -met and gave battle to their brother—the wolf. More than one Indian had -fallen a prey to the wild dogs, when returning from an unsuccessful -foray, and of late the young braves had dispatched large numbers of the -brutes, when they could do so without its coming to the knowledge of -their several owners. - -On came the half-starved dogs, and Doc Cromer held his breath. - -“They haven’t tasted meat for days,” he said, “and, thank Heaven! -they’re passin’ me to the right!” - -His ejaculation of joy was quickly followed by an exclamation of -terrible anxiety. - -The dogs had scented him and had paused. - -He dare not move; the slightest action would betray him to the beasts, -and he seemed some dark excrescence in the body of the tree. - -All at once the leader of the troop, a huge half-wolf dog, walked slowly -toward him! - -Cromer uttered an oath, and griped his knife firmer than ever. - -But a prolonged and peculiar whistle brought the dog to a halt. - -His master was calling him! - -A dozen like whistles followed the first, and the trader beheld the -famished canines stand irresolute. - -Had the Indians discovered him, or were they young braves who wished to -call the troop nearer, that they might pour a deadly volley into their -ranks? - -“Heaven keep them from me!” he cried; “but if—they’re comin’ fur me, by -Jehu!” - -The leader had turned to the trader again, for the calls had died away, -and with the nerve characteristic of the trapper and fur-buyer of the -lakes, he awaited the onset. - -On one of the fingers of the left hand, thrown slightly forward as a -shield, glittered Silver Rifle’s fateful ring, while below the tightly -clenched members of the right, there was the soft gleaming of yet -bloodless steel. - -Suddenly, with a half wolfish howl, the big dog sprung forward, upward. - -The next instant there was blood on Doc Cromer’s blade, and the mad -beasts were leaping at him from all sides. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - DANGER AND DELIVERANCE. - - -The savages, as has been seen, pursued the White Tiger and Silver Rifle -to the edge of the forest, when the chase was given up, and the -fugitives rejoiced to find themselves at liberty. - -“We will not remain unmolested long,” said the youth, when they found -themselves near the girl’s cave. “Having slain Ahdeek and the trader, -the red fiends will give no rest to their feet until they have run us to -earth.” - -“They will certainly attempt to run us down,” replied the girl, calmly. -“But when they bring Marie Knight to bay, they may lose some warriors.” - -“So, then, you are a Knight?” - -“Yes.” - -“And you came hither in quest of the ring?” - -“And a father,” finished the girl. “But he must be dead, else that -half-breed would never have worn the ring. Did he ever tell you any -thing about the ring?” - -“But little, girl. He told me that it was a talking ring—that it was -given him by an old man whom the Indians slew; that after he had avenged -the old man’s death, he would seek you beyond the lakes and give you the -ring that would tell you who you are.” - -For a moment the girl was silent. - -“But,” she said, looking up, disappointedly, “the ring is lost, and I -will never know who I am.” - -“Where is your mother?” asked the White Tiger, kindly. - -“Dead.” - -“Would she not tell you any thing?” - -“She told me that on the shores of Lake Superior dwelt a man who -possessed a ring which held my life mystery, and on her death-bed she -bade me hunt him and demand the ring in her name, which he would -restore. She intimated that that man was my father, and I believe he -was. My mother would never speak of the past, and whenever I would ask -where father was, she would point to the North-west and say, ‘Yonder, -perhaps.’ I left Ontario after her death, and once, in these woods, -encountered Ahdeek, your brother. He darted by me like a rocket; but I -saw a ring on his finger, and knew that it was mine. How I trailed him -then; how, not knowing that I was in the country, he eluded me. But,” -with a sigh, “the trail is near an end.” - -“Girl, I will hunt for the ring,” said the White Tiger, quickly -following her last word. “You shall solve the mystery of your life. The -ring shall be recovered, though in the search I tramp these woods till -doomsday—though the trail leads into the jaws of death, the mouth of -hell.” - -The girl stopped sudden in the starlight, and put forth her hand. - -“You are brave!” she said, her great blue eyes sparkling with -tear-pearls. “I have not deserved such sacrifice at your hands. But, -sir, give the ring to me, and I will reward you as best I can.” - -He returned the pressure which she bestowed, and held her hand until, -blushing, she withdrew it, and told him that they had best proceed. - -They entered her cave-home with extreme caution, and, to their relief, -found it tenantless. The gloom was dissipated by the flint, and igniting -a bunch of bark films, Silver Rifle led her companion to the southern -corner of the cavern. - -“I’ll tell you why I shrieked when that Indian crossed our trail in the -forest,” she said, pointing to an excavation at their feet. “’Twas here -that I buried Dohma and Renadah. See, but one remains—’tis the giant. -Dohma escaped from his tomb, and when I beheld him in the wood, -believing him a ghost, I betrayed our presence. I wonder if the trader -killed him?” - -“He is dead; they never escape whom Doc Cromer chokes,” answered the -White Tiger, shuddering at the thought of a man digging out of his own -grave. “He has repeatedly choked panthers to death, so, of course, there -is no hope for the Indian.” - -“Oh, had I but known that Dohma was not dead when I buried him!” said -the girl, in genuine regret. “But he lay so still that I was completely -deceived. He saved my life, as I have told you, and I would have -rewarded him. We will hope that Cromer did not slay him.” - -“Are there no avenues of escape from this cave save that by water?” -asked the youth, when they had returned to the fire. - -“There is one other,” was the reply, “and I will make you acquainted -with it.” - -So she drew a torch from the fire, which they deadened, and led the way -from the main cavern. Past the grave of Renadah and into a narrow, rocky -corridor the twain walked, and, after many tortuous windings, felt the -cool lake breeze on their faces. - -“We have journeyed three miles under ground,” said the girl, thrusting -her torch around a rock, that its light might not attract the attention -of foes who, perhaps, were abroad on the lake. “There are places in the -corridor where we could successfully defend ourselves against a tribe of -red-men. We are below the pictured rocks now, having passed almost -directly beneath the chapel. I seldom use this entrance, because bears -and panthers have been known to lodge in the corridor, and I would not -encounter the brutes unawares. Shall we return now?” - -“Yes, it is getting light on the water,” said the youth, “and perhaps -our presence is needed in the great cave.” - -“I hope no one has entered during our absence. Dohma, to my knowledge, -was the first Indian who ever visited it; then came Renadah.” - -“It seems fatal for Indians to visit here,” said Dorsey Webb, with a -smile. “Hitherto they have met with a warm reception, which is not -encouraging for the red man.” - -The torch was lifted again, fanned into a good blaze, and they started -back. The journey was accompanied with much toil; there were masses of -broken rock to surmount, and near two hours were spent in the feat. - -Suddenly Silver Rifle reached forward, and took the torch from her -companion’s hand. - -“What is it?” he asked, in a low whisper, believing that she had -discovered something. - -“I heard nothing,” was the reply. “We must extinguish the fire now, for -we are very near the mouth of the cave.” - -He did not reply, but saw the torch put out and dragged at her side. - -“Hist!” - -Silver Rifle’s lips touched his ear as she spoke the premonition of -danger, and he instantly became as motionless as a statue. - -The tread of moccasined feet was heard, and they divined that somebody -was groping along the western wall of the cavern, which was very uneven, -and provided with stony shelves. - -The person appeared to be searching for some particular object, for by -running his hand along the shelves, he threw multitudinous pieces of -broken stalactites to the ground, from which emanated ringing sounds as -they struck. - -But one person to all appearances tenanted the cavern, and the twain in -the corridor listened intently until they were startled by sounds in -their rear. - -Silver Rifle clutched the Destroyer’s arm. - -He instantly divined the cause of the gripe, for he had been listening -to the sounds before they became so distinct as to cause alarm. - -“Indians in our rear, and the cavern,” she whispered. “What is to be -done?” - -“Much, and that quickly,” was the low reply. “This fellow in the cave is -approaching. What can he be looking for?” - -“Heaven knows,” breathed Silver Rifle; “he must know that we have lately -vacated the cave, else he would use a torch. But—” - -The Destroyer’s hand closed gently over her mouth, and broke the -sentence, and the next moment she felt him leave her side. - -A cry of surprise, the fall of a heavy body quickly followed the leap, -and the short, sharp struggle that succeeded was quickly over. - -The girl sprung forward and landed at White Tiger’s side. - -“I’ve killed him,” he cried. “Now we must fight the devils in the -corridor.” - -There was no time to look, for the savages who had followed them from -the lake shore were quite near, and, as the couple waited for them to -turn a curve that they might fire, a low, angry growl issued from the -corridor. - -“They’ve roused a bear among the rocks,” said Silver Rifle, “and the -beast is being driven down upon us. He has turned the bend now; I hear -him among the loose rocks; wait till the Indians follow his example. -There! they’re around now. Ready—shoot low to kill Bruin if -possible—fire!” - -Simultaneously the rifles cracked, and the howl of brute and humanity -were blended in the darkness. - -The next instant the youth sprung to the smoldering fire, and a kick -illumined the cavern with a dim light, which revealed the mouth of the -corridor, beside which Silver Rifle stood with ready weapon. - -The entrance was scarcely large enough to admit of the passage of a -bear, and two persons stationed there could defend it against numbers of -an enemy. - -The bear had been wounded, and a moment after the shots, he turned with -a howl of pain upon the Indians, who rose with cries of horror, and -poured a volley into the infuriated beast. They shot at random, for they -could not see him; but some of the shots took effect, and more painful -howls followed. Then suddenly, with the impetuosity of a thunderbolt, he -sprung past the young besieged, and confronted them with menacing -attitude and defiant growls in the light of the flickering fire. - -Here was a new danger, a new enemy to be met, and the now antagonist -showed fight, and even moved slowly toward our friends at the mouth of -the corridor. - -Silver Rifle glanced at the young Destroyer, and then raised her rifle. - -He saw this, then was compelled to look away, for the Indians were -moving in the corridor again. - -A moment later the report of a rifle resounded throughout the cave, and -the bear rose on his hind feet, and with his front limbs extended like a -two-legged monster, came forward to take vengeance for the shot which -had plowed a terrible furrow through his eye. - -Straight at the girl darted the brute, and retreating to the edge of the -corridor with drawn knife, our heroine prepared for the battle. - -She glanced at the Destroyer, who, with a low cry, recognized her danger -and leaped toward the animal! - -In a second he thrust his rifle forward, till it struck bruin’s breast -with a dull thud, when his finger pressed the trigger. - -There was a groan, the great head dropped upon the black breast, and the -vanquished terror of the forest dropped dead at Silver Rifle’s feet. - -Then, as the victors turned to the corridor again—for the scene which I -have just described occupied but a minute—a dark, elongated form leaped -into the cavern. - -White Tiger struck as it rose erect before him, and a savage reeled away -with a low cry, indicative of death. Another and another Indian made -their appearance, and after a desperate resistance, Silver Rifle and the -White Tiger found themselves captives once more. Their captors numbered -four Chippewas, who quickly assured them that they had caught the -glimmer of Silver Rifle’s torch from the water, and had pursued, little -dreaming, until they found themselves in the corridor, that they were on -the trail of their worst enemies. - -Two savages had fallen in the conflict in the cavern, and the captives -were secured with strong ropes, and thrown upon the ground near the -fire, which the Indians had revived. - -Young Webb watched the Indians narrowly, and all at once an expression -of surprise crossed his face. - -The Indian whom he had dispatched in the darkness was nowhere to be -seen! - -True he had not noticed him after kicking the fire into life but having -struck him a terrible blow on the head with his tomahawk, he had -bestowed no second thought upon him, for other and more eventful things -demanded his attention. - -Now the mystery of the missing body engrossed his every thought. If the -savage was a Chippewa, and had recovered from the blow, why did he not -make his appearance to his brethren? Why should he depart, when, from -some darkened spot, he could shoot his foes, for the Destroyer also -noticed that the rifle which he had knocked from his hands was missing -also. - -Two of the Indians were ransacking the cave, while the others sat by the -fire guarding their helpless captives. - -Silver Rifle possessed but little for the fiends to take. A rifle or two -fell into their hands, and these they brought to their comrades, with -many manifestations of delight. - -All at once, while the savages were admiring {a} head-dress, which they -had discovered, one of the {red-skins} groaned and staggered from the -fire. - -The captives caught sight of an arrow in his side as he wheeled. - -The other savages turned as a rifle cracked, and a figure leaped from -the ground with a cry of vengeance. - -A second brought the new-comer to his foes, and before they could meet -him, two sweeps of the rifle lowered them to the ground! - -The impetuosity of the sudden attack could not be withstood. - -The victor’s knife glittered over the prisoners for a moment, then they -sprung erect, and recognized their liberator! - -Had the dead arisen? After all, was not their rescuer but the ghost of -one well known? - -No; he was flesh and blood, for the gory furrow of the White Tiger’s -tomahawk was visible near the temple. - -The avenger snatched a brand from the fire, and resumed the search along -the rocky shelves. - -Silver Rifle and the Destroyer watched him in silence. - -At last he turned away, with a cry of mingled disappointment and rage, -and flung the torch on the ground. - -“Silver Rifle’s ring gone again,” he said. “Ahdeek laid it there not -long ’go. Somebody stole it. Him Ahdeek hunt now, an’ he speak not to -Silver Rifle till he find it.” - -Then, with a maddened glance at the rocks, and a farewell look at the -late captives, the half-breed sprung over the dead Indians, and -disappeared down the dark throat of the corridor! - -“He is gone,” said Silver Rifle, recovering her self-possession. “Heaven -speed him on his mission.” - -“So say I, too, girl,” said the youth, and then his glance fell upon the -slaughtered braves. “I hope these days of blood are drawing to a close. -Oh, Heaven, are they not?” - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - HONDURAH’S LAST TRAIL. - - -The day had but an hour to live. - -Already gray shadows were stealing among the trees, and from the lake -there came the mutterings of a storm. - -It was the evening that followed the morn upon which transpired the -final scenes of the foregoing chapter. - -A tall, middle-aged Indian stood beside a tree, around whose trunk lay -the half-devoured carcasses of a dozen dogs. The limbs of some, the head -and entrails of others were gone, and all presented a horrible sight to -the chief. - -If the features of the Indian were not recognizable in the dusk, the -head-dress of gray owl-tails at once proclaimed him Hondurah. - -He seemed to have taken a leap of twenty years in a single day, for he -was looked upon now as the father of a traitress, not as the chief of -the great North-western nation. Then he had punished several of the -lying chiefs by stripping them of every insignia of rank, heedless of -the vengeful scowls they gave him, seemingly not fearing the secret -arrow of the future. - -“I will go to my unfaithful spawn,” he cried, drowning the taunts of the -derisive women. “I will show you that Hondurah can punish his child. I -will not return until I can fling at your feet the black scalp of -Clearwater.” - -Then he plunged into the forest, and his first halt was that executed at -the spot where the half-starved Indian dogs attacked Doc Cromer. -Hondurah knew nothing of the assault; but he saw that a large number of -the dogs had fallen before a knife, and for many minutes he searched the -ground around the tree. - -During this search he discovered that a party of six Indians had rushed -upon the brutes, and, while framing other conclusions, he picked up a -white man’s ear! - -It was a terrible trophy, and the chief smiled grimly as he turned it -over and over in his hand before wrapping it in buck-skin and depositing -it in his medicine-bag. - -“White man fight wild-dogs here,” he murmured to his satisfaction. -“White man lose ear, Injuns take white man, but what do with ’im?” - -Unable to answer the question to his satisfaction, the chief moved -toward the lake, and presently encountered abundant evidences of the -torture-post. A heap of blackened and burned boughs lay at the foot of a -young tree, and an investigation revealed a lot of small charred bones. - -“Indians burn pale-man here,” said the chief. “They save ’im from dogs -and burn ’im here, for they ’fraid he git away if they take ’im to -village.” - -As he spoke, he knelt down and began to examine the bones, which proved -to be those of animals, intent upon solving a certain inquiry to his -satisfaction. He had laid his rifle beside the tree, nor did he dream of -danger. - -Suddenly he was roused by the snapping of a twig, and whirling -instantly, he reached for his rifle, but, to his horror, found it -missing. - -Then, with a cry of defiance, he leaped to his feet, as two dark figures -rounded neighboring trees and threw themselves upon him. - -The assaulters were young, lithe, active Indians; but their features -were concealed by fox-skin masks. - -Hondurah’s knife and hatchet were wrested from him, and when he saw that -he was completely overpowered, he ceased to struggle, and submitted as -quietly as possible. - -To his question, “Who binds Hondurah?” a low, sarcastic reply was given, -and the chief saw he was in the hands of those who would not scruple to -take his life. - -They stripped his owl-feathers from his head, tore every insignia of -chieftainship from his person, hastily bedaubed him, after the manner of -a Green River Indian, with whom the Chippewas were at war, and secured -his eyes with a blindfold. - -Then through the wood they urged the chief, and, after two hours’ tramp, -descended to the stormy lake shore, and filed into a cave whose mouth, -so densely packed with young shrubbery, indigenous to the climate, was -not visible at a distance of ten feet. - -Hondurah could not get a word from his captors, who he felt were the -young chiefs whom he had dishonored; but he held his peace, and did not -venture to accuse one. - -They conducted him a long distance underground, and at last halted in a -place which seemed to be quite large. - -Presently a torch was introduced, and when the light penetrated the -apartment, several savages simultaneously shrunk back, and stared at the -figure of a young Indian girl, asleep on the couch. - -Hondurah knew that the warriors were excited, and his impatience to -learn the cause of that excitement continually increased. - -All at once a hand was laid on his arm. - -“Hondurah stands over his grave,” said one of the masked Indians, in a -disguised tone. “Who would he see before he dies?” - -The answer came quickly: - -“Clearwater.” - -“And what would he do, then?” - -“Kill her! She is a traitress!” - -A moment later the skinny bandage fell from the chieftain’s eyes, and he -beheld one of the masks pointing to the couch. - -His eye followed the scarlet finger, and there, peacefully sleeping, -unconscious of danger, lay his hunted daughter—Clearwater. - -The eyes that peeped from the round holes in the masks were riveted upon -the chief, who could scarcely credit his senses, as his expression -indicated. - -“Will Hondurah keep his word?” asked the spokesman of the conspirators, -breaking the almost palpable silence that reigned throughout the cave. - -“Yes.” - -The word cut the air like a knife. - -An instant later the right hand of the chief was free, and he accepted -the long-bladed knife, which his liberator extended, without a word. - -“We have guided Hondurah to Clearwater,” said the speaking mask. “He -swore that she should pay the penalty of treason by his hand. Now let -him rid the nation of a traitress—let Hondurah go to the Great Spirit -with a word well kept on his hands.” - -The masks drew back now, and with the knife firmly griped, and stern -determination written on every lineament, the chief stepped toward his -child, whose sleep was the deepest that ever fell to the lot of woman. - -There was a smile on Clearwater’s face—a smile which told of a dream of -peace, and once an expression of compassion swept over the father’s -face, as he dropped on one knee beside her couch. - -In that second, no doubt, he lived over eighteen years of the past, and -a thousand times regretted the oath he had taken. He, himself, stood on -the precipice of death; when he had slain his child, the conspirators -would coolly take his life, as they had already informed him. - -It was a thrilling tableau. - -In the father’s moment of indecision he heard a half-suppressed mockery -of applause. - -He glanced upward. - -The contemptuous curling of the red lips was enough for him. - -Then he turned again and raised the knife; but bent forward and kissed -Clearwater’s lips. - -That kiss startled the girl; she moved and opened her eyes. - -Hondurah bit his lip, and the blade shot upward for the death-blow. - -“Hondurah keeps his word!” he cried. “He will die—” - -A rifle-shot terminated the tableau! - -Hondurah staggered to his feet, tore the mask from the face of the -nearest Indian, and recognized one of the chiefs whom he had reduced. - -The Indian pushed Hondurah off; but the red right arm executed a fearful -sweep, and the knife cleft the conspirator’s heart! - -Both Hondurah and the traitor were dead when they touched the ground, -and the remaining masks, five in number, turned to fight the new foes, -that sprung upon them like a brace of tigers. - -The time taken up by Hondurah’s death-vengeance seemed but a minute, so -rapidly did the several events follow each other, and Clearwater, -bewildered to distraction, raised herself on her elbow, and watched the -battle above her. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - THE DEAD HAND. - - -The deceiving braves whom Hondurah had punished had obeyed his -injunction. - -Accidentally discovering the cave that contained Clearwater, they at -once redoubled their search for the vengeful father, who sought her and -her half-breed lover, determined that he should keep his vow, and then -fall himself for the dishonor he had heaped upon them. - -Oagla spoke the truth when he said that Hondurah would rouse the -whirlwind if he punished the young braves, and the whirlwind which he -did call into existence was destroying, as the reader has just seen. - -The torches that dropped from the hands of the savages at the opening of -the unexpected attack, afforded light for the combatants, whose features -were soon recognized by the Indian girl, too weak to rise and lend -assistance. - -The onset of the twain was as the onset of the long-concealed -tiger—absolutely irresistible. Two Indians went down before the battle -fairly commenced, and the remaining three tried to gain the mouth of the -corridor. But in vain, for one of the new foes planted himself before -the aperture, and with the aid of his confederate beat the red-men back. - -“No quarter, girl!” he shouted to his helper, as he sprung forward with -uplifted rifle; but the next moment the stock of the weapon was shivered -against the roof of the cave, and the barrel flew from his hands. - -Quick as thought he sprung forward to reclaim it, and as he stooped the -tomahawk of the sole surviving savage descended upon his head, and the -great red hand caught him before he could fall. - -The Girl Trailer uttered a cry of horror at this, and flew to the White -Tiger’s relief; but the savage held his prey before him as a shield, -leaped backward into the corridor before she could strike, and -disappeared in the gloom, like an arrow! - -She followed, but soon paused, and returned to kneel over Clearwater, -weak with fright and anxiety. - -“Oh, Clearwater, I am so glad that you, at least, are left me,” she -said, taking the hand of the red girl. “The White Tiger and Silver Rifle -have parted for the last time!” - -Clearwater sighed, and gently pressed the white girl’s hand. - -“But we will not be alone long,” she said. “Ahdeek will return before -two more sleeps.” - -“When was he last here?” asked Silver Rifle, eagerly. - -“One sleep ago,” was the reply. “He came back to see that Clearwater was -comfortable. He placed meat and drink within reach, and kissed her -before he left. Yes, he will come back soon with Silver Rifle’s ring.” - -“I pray that he may; but tell me, girl, how you escaped the other night, -and why I have believed Ahdeek dead.” - -“The red man’s bullet did not strike Clearwater’s heart, and while they -chased White Tiger and my white sister, he came where his dead bird lay, -scalped the dead braves, and bore her here. Clearwater should live for -Ahdeek, the Great Spirit says, and she is growing strong now, and she -will soon be on her feet again. The young braves lied,” she resumed, -after a long pause. “They say they burn Ahdeek; they ’fraid to tell -Hondurah and the old men that they let the enemy escape. Ahdeek run -faster than Chippewa—they no catch him, the swift young deer of Gitche -Gumee.” - -Thus, in a few words, was the escape of Ahdeek and Clearwater explained -by the latter. - -Silver Rifle listened attentively, and related the story of the battle -in her cave, and Ahdeek’s bravery. - -“Ahdeek had red gash on his face when he came back to Clearwater,” said -the Indian girl; “but he no tell her where he got it. He say tomahawk -made it; but never say that White Tiger held the bad hatchet.” - -“Girl, we must prepare for defense,” said Silver Rifle, recurring to the -present. “The Indian who escaped will not permit us to lie here long -unmolested. I know the Chippewas—you know them, too. He will not return -alone; but if he finds fellow-braves in the forest, he will step upon -the back trail, and Ahdeek will find a bloody cave when he returns.” - -Silver Rifle’s words, so full of startling logic, aroused the chief’s -daughter. - -“Silver Rifle load Indian guns, quick!” she said, commandingly. “Mossuit -may return before we breathe six times, and he must meet bullets when he -crawls through yon hole.” - -The white girl sprung with alacrity to the task before her. She loaded -the six rifles that lay scattered about the cave, and placed them within -reach of her red sister. - -Clearwater smiled as she examined the locks, and raised one of the -weapons, to show Silver Rifle that she was strong enough to handle it. - -“Do not excite yourself, Clearwater,” said the white girl. “Harbor your -strength for the hour which shall demand it. I will return ere long, -girl, and then we will wait for the arrival of Ahdeek.” - -Selecting the best of the rifles—for her own true weapon still remained -in the Indian village, and she hoped to recover it some day—she bade -Clearwater good-by and plunged into the opening. - -The way was dark, but as she had threaded it an hour before, with the -Destroyer, she managed to elude many of the unseen dangers, and at -length reached the lake-shore. - -Death’s fateful silence brooded everywhere, but it was the silence that -precedes the storm, and Silver Rifle listened keenly as she stood in the -gloom, at the mouth of the passage. - -“Shall I ascend to the forest?” she asked herself twice, and then -answered in the affirmative by stepping forward. - -The ascent of the bank was not difficult, and presently the daring girl -crouched beneath the boughs of a tree, and strained her ears to catch -the slightest sound. - -Sue knew that Indians were abroad; the forests of Lake Superior were -never rid of their presence, and she doubted not but that some red -prowler would soon manifest himself near. - -This thought still lingered in her mind, when a twig snapped and -startled her. - -It was the first sound that had greeted her ear since leaving the cave. - -Was it brute or human? - -A long silence followed the noise; then came the sound of a dozen feet. - -Six Indians were filing through the woods directly toward the lake. - -To rise and return now would be dangerous, for she could not conceal her -footsteps from the keen ear of her foe, and, thinking of the peril that -menaced Clearwater, she held her breath and resolved to lie still. - -She hugged the tree, as the Indians approached, and saw six giant forms -glide so near that she could have touched them with her hand! - -They did not notice her, and she breathed freer. - -Perhaps, after all, their destination was not the cave. - -But she started, a moment later, for the savages had halted, and a voice -fell upon her ear. - -It was the voice of Mossuit, the red fiend who had escaped from the cave -with the Destroyer in his arms. - -Yes, their destination was the cave, and Mossuit, having disposed of the -White Tiger somehow, was leading his brethren to vengeance and death. - -The halt occupied but a minute of time, then the red-men moved on. - -“They’re between me and Clearwater now,” groaned the girl, rising -silently. “Heaven help my poor, weak sister, and grant me strength -enough to aid her.” - -With her last words, she griped her rifle with stern determination, and -had taken a step toward the lake, when the sound of a single footstep -greeted her ear. - -It came from the south, and the owner thereof was on the trail of the -Indians. - -Quickly, then, Silver Rifle dropped earthward again, and waited for the -trailer. - -He was eager to come up with the savages, for his speed was -considerable, and when Silver Rifle caught the outlines of his form, she -quickly sprung to her feet, and the next moment thrust forth her hand. - -It touched the trailer’s bare arm, and he stopped suddenly, like one -shot, then stepped back a pace. Silver Rifle followed him. - -“’Tis I,” she whispered, in a low tone. - -A cautious ejaculation of surprise followed, and the next moment Silver -Rifle and the plumed man stood face to face, with clasped hands. - -“The red-men are near Clearwater,” he said, with fear. - -“Ahdeek came upon them in the forest, and he saw them joined by a chief. -He listened, and heard the new chief speak the name of Ahdeek’s love. -How came Silver Rifle here?” - -Three brief sentences told the disguised half-breed all. - -He darted forward with a cry of mingled horror and vengeance. - -They reached the lake-shore, over which brooded the silence of death. - -Not a savage was to be seen, and the half-breed looked puzzled. - -“They stationed no braves here,” he said; “perhaps, after all, they -turned aside, for these bare rocks show no moccasin-steps. Girl, Ahdeek -find something in woods.” - -“My ring—my ring!” ejaculated Silver Rifle, starting forward as Ahdeek’s -hand sought his medicine-pouch. “Give me the ring, chief, that I may -read the mystery of my life.” - -She trembled with emotion as she watched the hand withdrawn. - -A moment later she caught the sparkle of precious stones in the -starlight, and her fingers closed upon something cold. - -Then she bent eagerly forward, and, with a startling cry, discovered -that she griped a dead hand, lately severed from an arm, and that her -ring glittered on one of the icy fingers! - -Silver Rifle then did what nine-tenths of her sex would have -done—dropped the dead member, and stared into Ahdeek’s face. - -For the hand was that of a white man! - -Ahdeek sprung to pick it up, and, as he stooped, four rifles flashed on -the top of the cliff above them! - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - A BLOW FOR A BLOW. - - -Silver Rifle, blinded by the flashes, started back; but the next moment -she cocked her gun and sprung with Ahdeek, who, fortunately, had escaped -injury, into the mouth of the cave! - -“The Chips no shoot good,” smiled the half-breed, trying to catch a -glimpse of their foes at the risk of his life. “They heard Ahdeek comin’ -through the wood, so they wait for him on bank, an’ shoot at him; not to -kill, but to hurt. But, Silver Rifle, where pale hand?” - -“I have it, thank Heaven!” said the girl, in tones of satisfaction; “the -ring is at last in my possession. Ahdeek, whose hand is it, and how came -it in your power?” - -“Ahdeek not tell pale girl story now,” was the half-breed’s response. -“He say he find both in the wood—so he did; let that answer satisfy her -now. He tell all by ’m by.” - -The dead hand lay in the pouch that hung by our heroine’s side, and -while they guarded the entrance to the cave, she tried to slip the ring -from the icy finger. But her efforts were unrealized; the finger clung -to the bauble; it pressed it tightly against the palm, and ceasing her -labors, she looked up at Ahdeek, whose eyes met hers in the dim -starlight. - -“Hand hold to ring,” he said, with a faint smile. “Ahdeek take it off by -’m by. He find trapper’s girl at last. Pretty soon he go an’ dig up what -Snowbeard buried.” - -“What do you mean, chief?” said Silver Rifle, eagerly, excitedly. “Your -words are clothed in mystery.” - -“Light come by ’m by,” was the reply. - -The girl was about to urge the half-breed to explain, when his hand fell -lightly upon her arm. She knew the meaning of that touch and remained -silent. - -Their foes were moving. - -For many minutes a dreadful suspense held the watchers in the mouth of -the cave. Ahdeek crouched in the gloom, knife in hand, and rifle across -his knee. Silver Rifle, too, was ready to encounter the Indians, who -they knew were planning some devilish surprise. - -The painful silence told this. - -“Injun near now,” whispered Ahdeek, in the lowest of voices, and then he -prepared for a spring. - -Silver Rifle held her breath, for it was the decisive moment. - -Looking from the cave, they could see the pretty stars that shone upon -the lake. - -Suddenly the celestial worlds were blotted from their vision. - -A mass of humanity had leaped into the aperture. - -Ahdeek met it near the entrance, and for several moments the noise of a -desperate struggle resounded in the dark passage. - -Then the shouts of victory cleft the close, hot air, tinctured with the -odor of newly-spilled blood. - -The cries were in the Chippewa language! - -While Ahdeek was aware of the proximity of his foes, he was not wholly -prepared for the tactics which they displayed. They knew that he and -Silver Rifle were just beyond the threshold of the corridor, and had -decided upon the action which inaugurated the attack. The advantages -were with the assaulters, and in a brief time, which had cost the -Indians two of their braves, the whites were overpowered and secured. - -“Now,” cried Mossuit, elated with his triumph, “now we catch the -traitress, and all shall die by the torture.” - -Down the dark, grim corridor the captors went, bearing their prisoners, -whose hands were lashed on their backs, and afforded no hopes of -liberty. - -“You best not touch Clearwater,” hissed Ahdeek, thinking only of the -wounded girl, whom he had left on her couch of skins in the cave. - -“She shall die!” was the response, “and that before the eyes of her -yellow lover.” - -“Who is not dead yet. Ahdeek swears that the brave who hurts Clearwater -shall tread the long trail before the Manitou calls him home.” - -The savages chuckled audibly over this threat, and examined the -captives’ bonds to see that they were secure. - -Suddenly they halted and placed their prisoners in the van. - -This was upon the suggestion of Mossuit, who knew that loaded rifles lay -within Clearwater’s reach, and that, if strong enough, she would drop -the first red-man who showed his face in the cave. Therefore, he -shielded himself and braves with those whom she would not slay. - -This piece of strategy was successful, for, as Ahdeek came in sight of -Clearwater, he saw a rifle drop from her fingers, and she sprung half -erect with a low cry of mingled pain and terror. - -Had the savages been in the advance, one or two would have fallen. - -The Indians were delighted with the success of their plans. - -“Clearwater go to woods,” said Mossuit, turning suddenly upon Ahdeek, -whom they had permitted to kneel beside the couch. “Oagla trails the -forest for the traitress, and Mossuit might cross his trail before the -light comes.” - -Ahdeek sprung to his feet with a look of resentment. - -“Clearwater is still as weak as the young squirrel,” he said. “She can -not walk a step.” - -“Then she crawl. She must go into the woods with Mossuit. We can not -tarry here. Mossuit has a prisoner in the woods, and he would see him -now.” - -Silver Rifle’s heart leaped for joy. - -Mossuit’s prisoner was the White Tiger! - -“Let me carry Clearwater, an’ she go,” said Ahdeek. - -The Indians exchanged glances of horror. - -“Ahdeek wants the Chippewas to untie his limbs, that he might run away -in the big woods.” - -“Liars!” was the thunderous response. “Is Ahdeek’s word worth nothing? -Here, bind Clearwater on my back, an’ I’ll carry her with my hands still -bound. If she leaves this hole in the ground it shall be on my person, -not in the arms of an Indian.” - -The half-breed was at once taken at his words. Clearwater was lifted -from her couch, and, with more tenderness than the Indians usually -exhibit to an enemy, lashed to her lover’s back. - -A minute later the entire party were crawling through the gloomy passage -again, and at length gained the forest above the lake. - -Several hours had passed since the first combat in the cave, and the -position of several stars told that it was near midnight. - -From the lake came the hoarse mutterings of a storm, and the savages -quickened their steps as they entered the city of ghostly trees. - -Ahdeek, with his lovely burden, kept pace with them. He was a strong -young fellow, who did not mind his load in the least, and often glanced -with a smile at Silver Rifle, who kept at his side. - -All at once, at the foot of a knoll, and on the brink of a sluggish -forest stream, Mossuit halted. The rest of the party followed his -example, and silence fell over all. - -Presently the chief imitated the hoot of the little night-owl, and then -moved forward. - -There was no response to the cry, which was thrice repeated, and at last -the chief returned. - -“Come; Mossuit show braves something,” he said, in a hoarse, excited -tone; and the party followed his leading. - -Suddenly the chief stooped, and raised a dark object from the ground. - -It was a dead Indian whose limbs were still warm. - -The savages greeted the spectacle with ejaculations of horror, which -increased in number and intensity when a second Chippewa, as dead as the -first, was exposed to their view by the chief. - -“White Tiger gone!” gasped Mossuit, burning with rage. “Mossuit bring -him here from cave, and Indians promised to watch him well. But he too -much for ’em. He kill ’em and go!” - -And, in the silence of chagrin that followed, Silver Rifle uttered an -inaudible “Thank heaven,” and an expression of satisfaction stole over -Ahdeek’s face. - -Several minutes were spent in hunting the Destroyer’s trail; but Mossuit -could spare no warriors to pursue, and reluctantly turned away. - -“We hunt him when three captives safe,” he said. “We cut his heart out, -an’ make him eat it—the base white dog. Now, braves—” - -He paused abruptly, for a cry, similar to the one which he had just -repeated, floated through the forest, and after a brief interval the -chief replied in a like noise. - -Then, for several moments, a conversation was carried on by means of -bird-calls, and at last footsteps came from a certain quarter of the -black wood. - -Mossuit turned to his warriors, with an announcement that Oagla and his -trail-hunters were approaching. - -The meeting of the bands was unexpected, but quite cordial, and when -Oagla recognized the captives, he started forward, with a cry of joy, -and grasped Mossuit’s hand again. - -“They escape no more!” he said. “Now Hondurah can rid the Chippewas of a -traitress.” - -Mossuit shook his head. - -“Hondurah is on his last trail,” he said. - -“On the trail which leads to the happy hunting-grounds?” - -Mossuit nodded. - -“Who sent him thither?” - -“Either Silver Rifle or the White Tiger!” - -In the terrible suspense of calm that followed, Oagla turned upon our -heroine. - -“Who shot Hondurah?” - -“Silver Rifle.” - -A cry of rage burst from the red band, and the next moment a lithe young -warrior leaped to Oagla’s side. - -“There is the dog that stole the little talker!” he cried, pointing to -Ahdeek. “He has given it to Silver Rifle. Oagla has sworn to make it -talk to him. Make it talk now!” - -Impulsively the chief stepped toward the girl, and in the light of a -fire which several braves had kindled upon the forest meeting, the -maiden shrunk back with blanched cheek and flashing eyes. - -“Girl, give Oagla little talker!” demanded the chief. - -“Unbind my hands, that I may do it,” was the reply. “What is it to -Silver Rifle now? ’Tis near a spot which the Indian’s hand must not -touch; but Silver Rifle will give it to him when she is free.” - -Oagla smiled faintly, drew his knife, and, before Mossuit could -interpose to prevent him, severed the girl’s bonds. - -“Silver Rifle is Mossuit’s captive,” said that red worthy, stepping -before Oagla. - -“Oagla is a chief; Mossuit little more than a brave!” was the angry -response, as the speaker, disdaining further words with his questioner, -turned to the girl again. - -“Give Oagla the little talker,” was the demand. “His blood’s hot now.” - -Silver Rifle drew back an inch as the big Indian, with outstretched -hand, stepped toward her as though he would crush her; but the next -moment she leaped forward, and held his knife in her right hand. - -Mossuit and his band applauded the lightning action, and, thus goaded to -further madness, Oagla darted upon the girl! - -Then Mossuit leaped forward and flung the giant aside. - -“If Oagla wants blood—” - -Mossuit was sent reeling from the giant, with whom he could not cope, -and the challenge was broken. - -Nor was it ever renewed, for in the second that followed, Oagla sprung -upon the girl again, and staggered back with a crimson spot on the bosom -of his hunting-frock. - -And from the point of the knife which Silver Rifle griped, fresh, warm -blood dropped and stained the leaves at her feet! - -“I’ll defend the little talker to the death!” she cried, facing the -savages, whose tomahawks shone and clashed scarce five feet away. “I -have but paid Oagla for his indignity of other days. I scorn to fly now. -I am the prisoner of Mossuit, and the Oaglan brave who touches me -receives the blade damp with the blood of his chief!” - -The avenging warriors shrunk from her flashing eyes, and the tableau was -broken by Mossuit himself, who sprung into the gap, and declared that -the path to Silver Rifle led over his dead body! - -Sullen, but not silent, the braves eyed the chief whose wiles had -encompassed Hondurah’s death; but not a movement was made, until the -report of a rifle, discharged not thirty yards away, startled every one. - -Silver Rifle reeled and fell into the arms of her red companion! - -If she was dead, it was murder most foul! - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - TWO SCENES IN A TREE TOP. - - -It is, perhaps, necessary that the fate of Doc Cromer should be told -here, and some mention made of Dorsey Webb, whose disappearance so -excited Mossuit and his braves. - -The trader found himself in the midst of the wild dogs, after -dispatching their ferocious leader. - -They sprung at him with the fury of famished wolves, and he struck right -and left with deadly effect, until the sharp teeth pulled him to earth, -and then, unable to resist any longer, he gave himself up for lost. - -But at this juncture the sound of human yells rose above the yelps of -the dogs, and a moment later a volley was poured indiscriminately into -their ranks. With howls of pain the canines recoiled from their victim; -then a few more shots sent them howling through the woods. - -More dead than alive, Cromer was lifted from the ground by the rescuing -Indians, who uttered cries of triumph when they recognized him. - -It was plain to them that a man so badly mangled would not live to reach -the village, so they decided upon immediate torture. - -With one ear gone—the ear afterward picked up on the field of battle by -Hondurah—an arm and side lacerated by the sharp teeth and claws of the -brutes, and otherwise injured, Doc Cromer was in no condition to fight -his executioners; but notwithstanding all this, he staggered to his -feet, called for a knife and dared his red foes to mortal combat. - -“Doc Cromer kin whip a nation of skunks, yit,” he cried. “If ye don’t -b’lieve it, come at ’im an’ try. I don’t thank ye a cussid bit for -savin’ of my life. I’d sooner die among real dogs than counterfeit -ones.” - -He said this in a great measure to irritate his foes. He was suffering -unspeakable pain, and forgetting the ring which the blood covered, he -hoped that a tomahawk might terminate his existence. But the blow did -not come. - -After a brief consultation two Indians ascended a tree and lowered a -rude rope, which was fastened about the trader’s body. Then he was drawn -up among the branches, until he was near fifty feet above _terra firma_. - -“Injuns leave trader here now,” said one of the braves, as they lashed -him to the limbs. “By ’m by big birds come and pick holes in his body. -Trader ’feared to die?” - -“Not much,” was the response. “Men hez to peg out some time, and my time -ar’ hyar now.” - -He would speak no more; he left the taunts of the savages unanswered, -until, while tying his feet, one shot in his face an epithet that sent -the hot blood to the remotest recesses of his brain. - -“That’s more ’n humanity kin stand!” he hissed, “so, dog, take thet!” - -With the last word, he tore one foot from the fastenings, but half -secured, and furiously, mercilessly hurled his insulter from the limb. - -Down, down shot the unfortunate brave, wildly clutching at the boughs, -until he struck a root in the midst of his companions below, quivered -once, then died—neck-broken! - -The remaining Indian in the tree rose before the trader, with a yell of -vengeance. - -He struck the gory head with his tomahawk, and in less than a minute -afterward, had torn the scalp away and was descending! - -He encountered half a dozen braves climbing up to butcher the slayer of -their brother; but the scalper told them that he was already dead, and -they rejoined their companions. - -Then the band moved away, leaving the trader lashed to a tree-top, -scalped and bleeding. - -It rained before day, and amid the darkness of the storm Doc Cromer -opened his eyes, he thought, in another world. - -He was burning with fever, and tried to quench his thirst with the rain -that dropped from the black clouds. - -“My God, shall I perish here with the ring that contains the mystery of -a life?” he groaned. “Oh, if I could but slip it from my finger and drop -it down to the ground.” - -But this he could not do, for his arms were not free, and so he lay -through the night and the day that followed. - -The buzzards saw him and descended until they perceived that life was -not extinct. Then they would fly away, wait awhile, and return. - -Terrible was that day, and the trader hailed the approach of night. He -began to hope now—to hope against hope, because he had not perished -during the day; but when the stillness of death settled over the wood, -he thought he would cease to endure the suspense, and yield up the -ghost. - -It might have been midnight—he thought it was—when he became aware that -something was climbing the tree. - -Now, he thought, the death for which he had ofttimes prayed during the -last twenty-four hours was near, and the ring—he did not want to think -about the bauble, which seemed to be the death of every person into -whose hands it fell. - -At first he thought the climber a bear; but he soon discovered that it -was a human being. - -How eagerly he bent forward to catch a glimpse of the intruder, in the -beautiful moonlight that streamed through the sparse branches overhead. - -At length he remarked the outlines of his visitor—an Indian, probably -one of the band which had placed him in the tree; but what had brought -the savage back to his victim? - -The new-comer drew himself up on a limb just below the trader, and then -started back with an ejaculation of horror. - -Doc Cromer recognized the tone. - -“Ahdeek’s ghost!” he gasped. - -The climber, reassured, approached again. - -“Ahdeek no ghost,” he said. “He stop by foot of tree to rest, and heard -trader groan. Then he climb up to see who in tree-top.” - -“’Tis old Doc Cromer, boy,” was the feeble reply. “He’s on his last -trail. They’ve took the scalp that was gettin’ white with honorable -hairs, an’ it’s too much for him.” - -“No, no, Ahdeek save trader; cut him loose an’ take him down.” - -“I tell ye it’s too late, boy. I’m goin’ to peg out right in this tree. -What’s my right ear? Them infernal dogs chawed it up. What tore my arms? -Them sneakin’ Injun wolf hounds. But I finished ’bout ten ov ’em afore -the Injuns took me off. Now, Ahdeek, look hyar.” - -The half-breed bent nearer, but reluctantly, as though he knew what was -coming. - -“Ahdeek, thar’s a ring on my hand.” - -The Tiger sprung at the member, and uttered a cry of delight when he -discovered the bauble. - -“No, don’t take it off, chief. Listen to me. I swore that that hand -should give the gal her ring, an’ by hoky! it must do it. So you’ll cut -my hand off, won’t you, boy, and give it her thus?” - -With manifest reluctance the young half-breed promised. - -“Sech promises won’t do Doc Cromer,” said the trader. “I want to hear -you swear it, and see the hand come off now.” - -“Trader not dead yet,” said the horror-stricken half-breed. - -“No difference. Take that hand off at the wrist, and swear that you will -give it, with the ring, to Silver Rifle. Do this, Ahdeek, or by heaven! -I’ll come back from Manitou land, and haunt you till you die.” - -Thus terribly threatened, the superstitions Ahdeek drew his knife, and -amputated the hand of the trader, who watched the proceeding with a -grim, triumphant smile. - -“Now I know you’ll do the balance, boy,” he said. “’Tis lucky that the -red villains didn’t see the ring. Now, Ahdeek, tell me something before -I die. Tell me whose death you’ve been avenging.” - -The half-breed hesitated. - -The threat of haunting came again. - -“The old trader in Watchemenetoc glen.” - -“Why, he died three years ago.” - -“Yes.” - -“What was he to you?” - -“He was Ahdeek’s father.” - -“Your real father?” - -The half-breed hesitated again. - -“Tell me if that old man was your real father, and the secret of the -ring—for you know it. Don’t lie to me now, boy, for in your sleep, in -the cave, you told me that you knew the secret of the ring. Now tell -me.” - -“Will the trader die then?” - -“Yes.” - -“Then Silver Rifle is—,” the half-breed paused, for the trader’s head -fell heavily on his breast, and lay there still. - -Ahdeek raised it, but the meaningless stare in the eyes told him that -Doc Cromer was dead, beyond peradventure. - -The youth sat in the tree-top for an hour before he stirred a limb. Then -upon the dead breast he made the cross which the Jesuits had preached to -his Indian brethren, and slowly descended. - -The hand, with its treasure, reposed in his medicine-bag, and he assured -himself of its safety many times as he hurried from the ghastly tree. - - * * * * * * * - -The White Tiger was not knocked wholly insensible in the cave by -Mossuit; but he perfectly simulated insensibility, while the savage ran -with him through the forest. - -Soon, however, the chief encountered the same band which had disposed of -Doc Cromer, and the youth, apparently still unconscious, was left under -the charge of two warriors while Mossuit returned to the cave with the -remainder of the new band. - -The boy heard their steps die away in the distance, and in silence -nerved himself for a hazardous task. On account of his seeming -unconsciousness he was not securely bound, and at an hour when the two -guards, seated on the ground, thought not of an attack, he sprung erect -and felled one with a club which fortunately lay at his hand. - -The second savage rose, but was met with his comrade’s gun, which -crushed his head and placed him forever _hors de combat_. Then two -scalps were torn away, and the double cross of the White Tiger marred -the foreheads of the fallen braves. - -“Now for the cave,” murmured the victor. “The red fellows shall pay -dearly for this night’s work.” - -He saw the flash of the four Indian guns on the cliff, heard the battle -between his friends and the savages in the mouth of the cave, but knew -that he could not help them. - -He saw Mossuit emerge with his captives, and followed the band, though -at a respectful distance. - -The death of Oagla was accomplished before the youth’s eyes, and while -Mossuit faced the mad braves, and dared them to advance upon Silver -Rifle, he heard the clicking of a rifle-lock. - -It emanated from a spot not far away, where a footstep, which he had -thought belonged to some animal, had died; but now he knew that the -prowler was a man. - -“Surely the Indian does not know aught of my presence,” he muttered, -“for I was here before he came to yon tree. However, we will soon see -for whose heart he cocked his rifle.” - -He tried to see the body of the foe, and once or twice, believing that -the savage saw him, he drew up to shoot, trusting to luck but lowered -the weapon, undetermined how to act. - -All at once a sharp report rent the air, and the youth saw Silver Rifle -fall, as witnessed in the last chapter. - -He could scarcely repress a cry of horror, for the unseen Indian was the -slayer. - -“Curse me for not shooting!” he hissed. “I might have dropped the fiend, -and then—” - -The savage, flying from his crime, was bounding toward him! - -White Tiger’s heart took a great leap for exultation, and a moment -later, with the butt of his rifle, he scattered the young brave’s brains -far and wide! - -“Oh, heaven, does Silver Rifle live?” he cried, starting impulsively -toward the group about the fire. “That I have learned to love her, must -she be snatched from me now?” - -He saw Mossuit face the menacing braves, with Silver Rifle hanging -heavily on his arm, and then he heard the sub-chief’s voice. - -“Warriors, I will be obeyed now,” cried the young Chippewa. “Hondurah is -dead, and Oagla, who should have stepped into his shoes, lies before us. -The Chippewas are chiefless. In the council-house we must say who shall -be chief in Hondurah’s stead. Now turn upon your heels. Back to the -council-house; and when we have a chief, the captives shall die.” - -Without a word the rebellious warriors turned abruptly on their heels, -and the march through the forest was resumed. - -Mossuit walked erect, with the stricken girl in his arms. - -He gloated over the thought that he had conquered Oagla’s braves, and -was planning his elevation by chicanery to the chief sachemship of the -Chippewa nation. - -The mind of each was absorbed in dark plots, which smacked of the rifle, -knife, tomahawk and stake, nor did they bear the footsteps of the White -Tiger, who trailed them through the dim aisles of the forest. - -The wood drama was drawing to a close; the curtain was rising on the -last acts. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - THE MYSTERY DISSOLVED. - - -“To the woods!” said our hero, calmly, turning to his friends. “There’ll -be the Old Harry to pay directly. Wildcat has cheated Mossuit out of the -chieftainship, and everybody will be after our scalps in a few minutes.” - -The words were uttered by the young Destroyer. How came he here at the -prison-lodge? Love, and anxiety to save those he loved, had led him to -the village, and the dead guards lying on the ground told the means used -to reach the prisoners. He had, one by one, by cunning artifice, lured -the four men from their posts, and the deadly knife did its work, which -the election of a new sachem, in the village, aided, for all the -Chippewas were so interested in this important event that the -prison-lodge was almost forgotten, and the braves left there to guard it -were more interested in the excited doings in the council-chamber than -in their allotted task. So the young Destroyer found his hazardous -enterprise greatly abetted, and his subtlety and nerve had freed his -friends, as we now find them. - -They darted for the forest. Ahdeek bore Clearwater in his arms, and -Silver Rifle ran by the White Tiger’s side. She had really been unharmed -by the bullet meant to take her life. - -The outskirts of the wood were gained as a pandemonium of yells rent the -air. It was the conflict in the village over the new election. Wildcat -had by artifice prevailed over the wily Mossuit, and the two factions -were at war, under which most fortunate circumstance the fugitives fled -on until the shores of the lake were reached. Then the miners’ castle -was sought, and a large canoe taken from a dark passage leading from the -main corridor. - -The boat was launched without difficulty, but Ahdeek did not follow his -companions to a seat in the craft. - -“Come, Ahdeek,” said Dorsey Webb, looking with surprise upon the youth’s -action. “What are you waiting for?” - -“Ahdeek can’t go with his friends yet,” was the reply. - -“Why, boy?” - -“He must go to Snowbeard’s lodge.” - -“His mind must be wandering,” continued the Destroyer to Silver Rifle. -“Boy, Snowbeard died with the other traders, and the fiends burned his -lodge to the ground.” - -“Ahdeek go, anyhow. Snowbeard talk from his grave to him. Wait for -Ahdeek in the cave where the winds never sleep. He be there to-morrow -night.” - -The next moment the half-breed was gone. - -“What can he mean?” queried Silver Rifle, as he vanished. - -“He seeks something regarding your history, I think,” was the White -Tiger’s reply. “The man whom we call Snowbeard was an eccentric old -trader, with whom Ahdeek spent many hours. He—the boy—used to tell me -that the old man had talking-papers which would tell something about a -girl, who knew not who she was. Snowbeard was massacred on the same -night that witnessed the extermination of the Lake Superior traders, and -Ahdeek struck more than one blow of vengeance for the old man.” - -“Then I pray that he may greet us in the Cave of the Winds. I will -suppress my burning curiosity, and not open the ring until he returns.” - -“Which will be to-morrow night, as he has said, for he is too cunning to -endanger us by seeking the cave in daylight.” - -The voyagers, despite the storm that burst upon the lake soon after -Ahdeek’s departure, reached the Winds’ Cave and felt comparatively safe -around a fire in the second chamber. - -Let us follow Ahdeek. - -He hurried along the coast for several miles, until the hills came to a -termination, when he plunged into the wood again. - -Soon again he struck the highlands, sparsely covered with trees, and at -last reached a line of bare cliffs, some of which stretched their long, -rough arms over the Stygian water, irritated by the storm. - -On one of these cliffs Ahdeek found the ruins of a cabin, and soon stood -in the midst of half-burned logs. One corner of the hut had escaped the -ravages of the savage torch, and into this the half-breed suddenly -dropped upon his knees. - -“This is the place where Snowbeard hide talking papers,” he said in a -whisper, and pretty soon he was digging in the dark earth with his -tomahawk. - -He worked assiduously for several minutes, when his hatchet struck a -substance which could not be earth, and an ejaculation of joy parted his -lips. Then he ceased to dig, scooped up the loose dirt from the cavity -with joined hands, and drew forth a box covered with tanned deer-skin. - -“Ahdeek no take box,” he said, prying the lid up with his knife. “He -want talking-papers, that all.” - -The lid soon yielded, and he drew a small bundle of damp parchment from -the box. - -“Snowbeard talk after he dead,” said the young half-breed, thrusting the -papers into his medicine-pouch. “Now he go back to friends, and Silver -Rifle know all ’bout yellow money.” - -He carefully replaced the box in the hole, and rose to his feet, as, -with a sharp cry of triumph, an Indian leaped upon him! - -The half-breed went to the ground beneath the onslaught, but a moment -later the savage rolled from him with a death-groan. The knife of Ahdeek -had done its work. - -He sprung to his feet to confront three new foes, who threw themselves -upon him with the fury of tigers. - -His knife stretched one Indian dead upon the plain, and he hurled -another into the water, then closed with the last. - -All at once the madmen paused for breathing time. - -“Ahdeek find papers that talk ’bout gold,” said the Indian. “Little Fox -heard Snowbeard tell Ahdeek ’bout ’um by his fire last winter. Little -Fox mus’ have talking-papers.” - -“Little Fox wasn’t born to hear Snowbeard’s papers talk,” replied -Ahdeek, calmly, and then they went at it again. - -For several minutes they struggled, when suddenly, by a wrench, Little -Fox secured the medicine-pouch and disengaged himself from his foe. -Then, with a yell of triumph, he stepped back for a spring, by which he -hoped to make his escape. But Ahdeek disconcerted him by following him -up, and suddenly a yell of terror broke from his lips. He was tottering -on the verge of the cliff! He tried to regain his equilibrium, and -Ahdeek essayed to snatch him from his doom, but he fell backward, and -left Ahdeek empty-handed. - -“Talking-papers gone!” he shrieked. “No! no! Ahdeek get them again or -die!” and as he spoke, he, too, sprung into the darkness, down into the -stormy waves of Gitche Gumee! - -Landing safely in the deep water, Ahdeek listened, with his feet on a -rock near the shore. Suddenly something struck his body, and turning -quickly he caught it in his arms. It was Little Fox, who had been, for a -short time, stunned by the fall, but who now again grappled with his -foe. - -But the struggle was brief. The half-breed’s hand closed on the Indian’s -throat, and soon Ahdeek heard the death-gurgle. - -Then he felt for the medicine-pouch, but it was gone! - -He uttered a cry of despair, when something light struck his thigh. - -“The pouch!” he shouted, clutching after the object. - -His fingers touched the beaded fringe of the bag; but before he could -grab again, a wave bore it from him! - - * * * * * * * - -“I wonder why Ahdeek does not come!” said Silver Rifle to the young -Destroyer, on the night that followed their arrival in the Cave of the -Winds. - -“Something must have gone wrong,” was the reply. “He said he would be -here, and if he lives, he surely would not tarry longer than this night. -Girl, if you but knew how I love that boy! And if the red hounds have -killed him, by heavens! I’ll resume the trail of vengeance, and for -every drop of his blood shall flow a crimson river from the Chippewas’ -hearts!” - -The youth rose to his feet as he paused, and for the fiftieth time that -night stepped toward the mouth of the cave to listen for the half-breed. -He had taken but two strides when something, hurled from the gloom, fell -at his feet. - -He started back with ready rifle, and saw that the object was an Indian, -freshly slain and scalped. - -The youth was bewildered, and before he could recover, a figure darted -forward. - -He recognized it with a joyous cry of “Ahdeek!” - -Silver Rifle started to her feet, and Clearwater rose from the couch, -and echoed the name of her lover. - -“Ahdeek just in time,” said the youth, pointing to the dead Indian. “Red -spy find Cave of Winds, and his rifle was aimed at Nahma, when Ahdeek -leaped upon him like the panther, and his life went out over the waters -of Gitche Gumee to the other land.” - -“But, Ahdeek, think you he was the only savage hereabouts?” questioned -the White Tiger, anxiously. - -“Yes, he was alone. Ahdeek come back sooner, but Indians catch him on -the cliff; he fight ’em all; lost medicine-pouch in Gitche Gumee; but -rock catch it for him, and—here, Silver Rifle, talking-papers.” - -The Girl Trailer sprung eagerly forward and clutched the roll of damp -paper which the half-breed extended. - -“Now I shall know all!” she cried, turning to the fire, and filled with -curiosity, the two gathered around her. - -Ahdeek shook with emotion, and kept his large, lustrous eyes, -half-filled with tears, fixed intently upon her. - -“The ring first, Silver Rifle,” he suggested, in a tremulous tone, and -the girl laid the papers aside. - -The ring had been taken from the dead hand of the brave but ill-fated -Doc Cromer, and the member buried amid the water rocks of the lake. - -She soon discovered that the large jewel of the ring could be removed, -and in a short time she had accomplished this and held a small fold of -paper. - -Her fingers shook while she unfolded it, and the trio watched with bated -breath. - -Suddenly the girl looked up and fastened her eyes upon Ahdeek. - -He rose to his feet. - -“My brother!” cried Silver Rifle, stepping toward him with outstretched -hands. “I own you, brave boy; a nobler brother than Ahdeek I would not -wish to own!” - -“Ahdeek Silver Rifle’s brother,” said the young Avenger, drawing the -girl to his heart. “His mother sleeps in the forest; Silver Rifle’s -among the white man’s lodges.” - -For a moment silence reigned in the cave. - -“The mystery of my life is solved,” she said, turning to Dorsey Webb, -who had not yet recovered from this unexpected _denouement_. “My father -was the trader whose death my brother here has avenged. He came to these -shores when lies estranged him and mother, long ago. I was born after -his departure; so I never saw his face. But he tells me all—who I am, -what I am. In his seclusion he wedded a chief’s daughter, who gave him a -son—Ahdeek—then died. I am of noble blood; father tells me so. Oh -Heaven, I thank thee that I have not hunted in vain for the ring. It has -told the story that sealed mother’s lips. Now, Ahdeek, the papers!” - -She unrolled the wet papers, and all present bent over them to decipher, -if possible, the strange diagrams traced upon them. - -“They tell of wealth,” said the White Tiger. “Ahdeek, where is this -cliff marked here? I never saw it.” - -The half-breed looked carefully at the diagram, and after deep thought, -started to his feet. - -“Cliff right ’bove us!” he cried, as he snatched a torch from the fire. - -All was plain to the half-breed now; the cliff beneath which the old -trader’s wealth was deposited stood above them; the hiding-place was the -Cave of the Winds, not named, merely marked, on the rude map. - -The interior of the cave was rudely but thoroughly traced on the -parchment, and at last Ahdeek suddenly dropped the torch, and began to -disturb the stony earth with his tomahawk. - -He struck the right spot, and presently the trader’s earnings during -seventeen years of highly successful toiling rewarded their labors. - -The quartette started back with exclamations of wonderment at the heap -of coin. - -“If I could reward you with this heap, willingly would I do it,” said -Silver Rifle, turning to the young Destroyer. “To your bravery I owe the -happy thoughts of this hour.” - -“Girl, I do claim a reward,” and Dorsey Webb took her hand. “This,” and -he raised the _petite_ member to his lips, “this, Silver Rifle, is the -reward I claim, but I ask too much.” - -Then the beautiful eyes dropped to the ground, and after long silence, -the lips murmured: - -“If this hand can reward thee, White Tiger, it is thine!” - -He drew her to his heart in the ecstasy of his joy. - -“Ahdeek ask Clearwater long ago,” said the half-breed at this juncture. -“He take her beyond Gitche Gumee now.” - -“Yes, Ahdeek, Clearwater is my sister,” and Silver Rifle—Marie -Knight—embraced the Indian Girl. “The light has broken at last.” - -“No, not yet,” shouted the half-breed, suddenly throwing himself before -the girls. “The red dogs come once more!” - -His rifle flashed as he spoke, and a savage staggered forward in the -agonies of death. - -Then the cave resounded with wild yells, and the parties closed in the -final combat. - -The battle raged for many minutes, but the hunted ones fought with a -fury that had never nerved their arms before, and, at last, they stood -over the victorious ground. - -Rigid in death lay Mossuit, and Silver Rifle bent tenderly over him. - -“He saved my life once,” she said, pushing aside the scalp-lock that -shaded the stony face. “Peace to his ashes.” - -A wounded savage told the victors that Mossuit had overcome Wildcat, -and, with a few of his braves, had trailed them to the cave. The Indian -whom Ahdeek slew when returning with the “talking-papers,” was Mossuit’s -spy, and after waiting beyond patience for his return, the chief and his -warriors sought the foe themselves. - -“Our last battle has been fought,” said Dorsey Webb. “How I wish Cromer -could share this hour with us.” - -But such wishes were vain ones, for Doc Cromer had taken his last scalp, -and peacefully slept in the top of a tree. - -Luther Knight, Silver Rifle’s father, before confiding the ring to -Ahdeek, told him who he was, and made him swear that after three years -of vengeance he would seek out his daughter and surrender to her the -talking bauble. And Ahdeek had confided the maps to Snowbeard. - -It had passed through its last adventure. It had proved fatal to more -than one person—indeed, it seemed death to possess it. - -Dohma, waking from his trance in the grove in Silver Rifle’s cave, -allured by the glitter of its diamond, stole it from the shelf whereon -Ahdeek had placed it until he could find the Girl Trailer, and carried -it to the spot where he was choked to death, by the ill-fated trader. - -“At last! at last!” cried our friends, one evening, several days after -the last battle, as they came in sight of a strong French settlement on -the lake shore. - -Well might they shout for joy, for the dangers of the wilderness were -paused. - -“The White Tigers have buried the hatchet forever. Henceforward yonder -woods echo no more to their tread. The Chippewa will see their crosses -on the trees, but he shall not shudder as of yore.” - -Dorsey Webb was the speaker, and he stood in the gloaming of an August -day, pointing to the lodge of the Chippewa. - -“The Past can never return, thank Heaven!” responded the beautiful -creature at his side. “The name of White Tiger has lost itself in that -of Dorsey Webb, and the wild cognomen of Silver Rifle in the softer one -of—” - -“Wife!” - -She blushed, gave him a cheek to kiss, as Ahdeek came up. - -He held a little board in one hand, a piece of chalk in the other. - -“Come, White Tiger,” he said, smiling, “make mark just once more.” - -Then he broke the chalk, and for the last time the avengers made their -mark! - -But this time it was not made red by blood. - - - - - FOOTNOTES - - -[1]The Indian name for Lake Superior—signifying “big sea water.” - - - - - DIME POCKET NOVELS. - - - PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY, AT TEN CENTS EACH. - - 1—Hawkeye Harry. By Oll Coomes. - 2—Dead Shot. By Albert W. Aiken. - 3—The Boy Miners. By Edward S. Ellis. - 4—Blue Dick. By Capt. Mayne Reid. - 5—Nat Wolfe. By Mrs. M. V. Victor. - 6—The White Tracker. By Edward S. Ellis. - 7—The Outlaw’s Wife. By Mrs. Ann S. Stephens. - 8—The Tall Trapper. By Albert W. Aiken. - 9—Lightning Jo. By Capt. Adams. - 10—The Island Pirate. By Capt. Mayne Reid. - 11—The Boy Ranger. By Oll Coomes. - 12—Bess, the Trapper. By E. S. Ellis. - 13—The French Spy. By W. J. Hamilton. - 14—Long Shot. By Capt. Comstock. - 15—The Gunmaker. By James L. Bowen. - 16—Red Hand. By A. G. Piper. - 17—Ben, the Trapper. By Lewis W. Carson. - 18—Wild Raven. By Oll Coomes. - 19—The Specter Chief. By Seelin Robins. - 20—The B’ar-Killer. By Capt. Comstock. - 21—Wild Nat. By Wm. R. Eyster. - 22—Indian Jo. By Lewis W. Carson. - 23—Old Kent, the Ranger. By Edward S. Ellis. - 24—The One-Eyed Trapper. By Capt. Comstock. - 25—Godbold, the Spy. By N. C. Iron. - 26—The Black Ship. By John S. Warner. - 27—Single Eye. By Warren St. John. - 28—Indian Jim. By Edward S. Ellis. - 29—The Scout. By Warren St. John. - 30—Eagle Eye. By W. J. Hamilton. - 31—The Mystic Canoe. By Edward S. Ellis. - 32—The Golden Harpoon. By R. Starbuck. - 33—The Scalp King. By Lieut. Ned Hunter. - 34—Old Lute. By E. W. Archer. - 35—Rainbolt, Ranger. By Oll Coomes. - 36—The Boy Pioneer. By Edward S. Ellis. - 37—Carson, the Guide. By J. H. Randolph. - 38—The Heart Eater. By Harry Hazard. - 39—Wetzel, the Scout. By Boynton Belknap. - 40—The Huge Hunter. By Ed. S. Ellis. - 41—Wild Nat, the Trapper. By Paul Prescott. - 42—Lynx-cap. By Paul Bibbs. - 43—The White Outlaw. By Harry Hazard. - 44—The Dog Trailer. By Frederick Dewey. - 45—The Elk King. By Capt. Chas. Howard. - 46—Adrian, the Pilot. By Col. P. Ingraham. - 47—The Man-hunter. By Maro O. Rolfe. - 48—The Phantom Tracker. By F. Dewey. - 49—Moccasin Bill. By Paul Bibbs. - 50—The Wolf Queen. By Charles Howard. - 51—Tom Hawk, the Trailer. - 52—The Mad Chief. By Chas. Howard. - 53—The Black Wolf. By Edwin E. Ewing. - 54—Arkansas Jack. By Harry Hazard. - 55—Blackbeard. By Paul Bibbs. - 56—The River Rifles. By Billex Muller. - 57—Hunter Ham. By J. Edgar Iliff. - 58—Cloudwood. By J. M. Merrill. - 59—The Texas Hawks. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 60—Merciless Mat. By Capt. Chas. Howard. - 61—Mad Anthony’s Scouts. By E. Rodman. - 62—The Luckless Trapper. By Wm. R. Eyster. - 63—The Florida Scout. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 64—The Island Trapper. By Chas. Howard. - 65—Wolf-Cap. By Capt. Chas. Howard. - 66—Rattling Dick. By Harry Hazard. - 67—Sharp-Eye. By Major Max Martine. - 68—Iron-Hand. By Frederick Forest. - 69—The Yellow Hunter. By Chas. Howard. - 70—The Phantom Rider. By Maro O. Rolfe. - 71—Delaware Tom. By Harry Hazard. - 72—Silver Rifle. By Capt. Chas. Howard. - 73—The Skeleton Scout. By Maj. L. W. Carson. - 74—Little Rifle. By Capt. “Bruin” Adams. - 75—The Wood Witch. By Edwin Emerson. - 76—Old Ruff, the Trapper. By “Bruin” Adams. - 77—The Scarlet Shoulders. By Harry Hazard. - 78—The Border Rifleman. By L. W. Carson. - 79—Outlaw Jack. By Harry Hazard. - 80—Tiger-Tail, the Seminole. By R. Ringwood. - 81—Death-Dealer. By Arthur L. Meserve. - 82—Kenton, the Ranger. By Chas. Howard. - 83—The Specter Horseman. By Frank Dewey. - 84—The Three Trappers. By Seelin Robbins. - 85—Kaleolah. By T. Benton Shields, U.S.N. - 86—The Hunter Hercules. Harry St. George. - 87—Phil Hunter. By Capt. Chas. Howard. - 88—The Indian Scout. By Harry Hazard. - 89—The Girl Avenger. By Chas. Howard. - 90—The Red Hermitess. By Paul Bibbs. - 91—Star-Face, the Slayer. - 92—The Antelope Boy. By Geo. L. Aiken. - 93—The Phantom Hunter. By E. Emerson. - 94—Tom Pintle, the Pilot. By M. Klapp. - 95—The Red Wizard. By Ned Hunter. - 96—The Rival Trappers. By L. W. Carson. - 97—The Squaw Spy. By Capt. Chas. Howard. - 98—Dusky Dick. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 99—Colonel Crockett. By Chas. E. Lasalle. - 100—Old Bear Paw. By Major Max Martine. - 101—Redlaw. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 102—Wild Rube. By W. J. Hamilton. - 103—The Indian Hunters. By J. L. Bowen. - 104—Scarred Eagle. By Andrew Dearborn. - 105—Nick Doyle. By P. Hamilton Myers. - 106—The Indian Spy. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 107—Job Dean. By Ingoldsby North. - 108—The Wood King. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 109—The Scalped Hunter. By Harry Hazard. - 110—Nick, the Scout. By W. J. Hamilton. - 111—The Texas Tiger. By Edward Willett. - 112—The Crossed Knives. By Hamilton. - 113—Tiger-Heart, the Tracker. By Howard. - 114—The Masked Avenger. By Ingraham. - 115—The Pearl Pirates. By Starbuck. - 116—Black Panther. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 117—Abdiel, the Avenger. By Ed. Willett. - 118—Cato, the Creeper. By Fred. Dewey. - 119—Two-Handed Mat. By Jos. E. Badger. - 120—Mad Trail Hunter. By Harry Hazard. - 121—Black Nick. By Frederick Whittaker. - 122—Kit Bird. By W. J. Hamilton. - 123—The Specter Riders. By Geo. Gleason. - 124—Giant Pete. By W. J. Hamilton. - 125—The Girl Captain. By Jos. E. Badger. - 126—Yankee Eph. By J. R. Worcester. - 127—Silverspur. By Edward Willett. - 128—Squatter Dick. By Jos. E. Badger. - 129—The Child Spy. By George Gleason. - 130—Mink Coat. By Jos. E. Badger. - 131—Red Plume. By J. Stanley Henderson. - 132—Clyde, the Trailer. By Maro O. Rolfe. - 133—The Lost Cache. J. Stanley Henderson. - 134—The Cannibal Chief. Paul J. Prescott. - 135—Karaibo. By J. Stanley Henderson. - 136—Scarlet Moccasin. By Paul Bibbs. - 137—Kidnapped. By J. Stanley Henderson. - 138—Maid of the Mountain. By Hamilton. - 139—The Scioto Scouts. By Ed. Willett. - 140—The Border Renegade. By Badger. - 141—The Mute Chief. By C. D. Clark. - 142—Boone, the Hunter. By Whittaker. - 143—Mountain Kate. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 144—The Red Scalper. By W. J. Hamilton. - 145—The Lone Chief. By Jos. E. Badger, Jr. - 146—The Silver Bugle. Lieut. Col. Hazleton. - 147—Chinga, the Cheyenne. By Edward S. Ellis. Ready Feb. 10th. - 148—The Tangled Trail. By Major Max Martine. Ready Feb. 24th. - 149—The Unseen Hand. By J. Stanley Henderson. Ready March 9th. - 150—The Lone Indian. By Capt. Chas. Howard. Ready March 23d. - 151—The Branded Brave. By Paul Bibbs. Ready April 6th. - 152—Billy Bowlegs, the Seminole Chief. Ready April 20th. - 153—The Valley Scout. By Seelin Robins. Ready May 4. - 154—Red Jacket, the Huron. By Paul Bibbs. Ready May 18th. - - BEADLE AND ADAMS, Publishers, 98 William Street, New York. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - -—Silently corrected a few typos. - -—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook - is public-domain in the country of publication. - -—Conjecturally replaced several illegible words (marked by {brackets}). - -—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by - _underscores_. - -—Created a Table of Contents based on the chapter headings. - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SILVER RIFLE, THE GIRL -TRAILER *** - -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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