D'Ri and I

ter. Day and night we could hear the wings of the wild fowl roaring in the upper air as they flew northward. Summer was coming,-the summer of 1812,-and the war with the

could have no peace at home, I shou

of the woods, waving his cap at us. We ran to meet him-my father and I

. "Git out o' here q

be all massacr

k of his horse with a worn b

bear of the border country. Many a winter's evening we had sat in the firelight, fear-faced, as my father told of the slaught

e, as he ran, "ketch the cow

re hardly out of hearing when we were all in the road. My mother carried the baby, and my father his sword and rifle and one of the little ones. I took the three older children and set them on the feather bed that was bound to the back of the cow. They clung to the bed-cord, their hair flying, as the old cow ran to keep up

dew with thet?" my

ust Injun I see," said he. "I

he men surrounded it. Inside the line were youths, some oddly armed with slings or clubs or cross-guns. I had only the sword my father gave me and a mighty longing to use it. Arv Law rested an end of his pike-pole and stood looking anxiousl

th, to my mother, who passed brimming cups of milk among the children. As night fell, we boys, more daring than our fathers, crept to the edge of the timber

uns comin'," said Bill Foster

ation," said Arv Law,

'ally comes when

yer ready t' hev 'e

erfi

thet air pike-pole, 'n' med up their minds they hed n't better run u

' this pole oughter h

passively resting

"ef Arv sh'u'd cuff an Injun w

disgust. "'T ain't med t' squ'sh with,

d we had no thought of Indians. I was looking into her big hazel eyes, shining in the firelight, and thinking how beautiful she was

net of gold. Then suddenly it burst into a red, leaping tower. A few moments, and the cavern of the woods, along the timber side, was choked with fire. The little hamlet had become a s

her Eastman, as he cocke

us nothing of the kind. He was

rattle of many hoofs on the road. As soon as the column showed in the firelight, Bill Foster up with his musk

come nearer," sa

alloping off in the direction whence they had come. Back in the house a number of the women were praying. My mother came out, her face wh

turning to Rose, who

," she whispered. "I

, I 'd like somethin

she wh

ful red lips. She had

nothing more

me something of what was in her he

" said Arv Law-"thet '

minute," said Asher Eastman, as

took his place in line with a big squi

t us all to our feet. A burst of bugle notes went chasing over the timber-land to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." We looked

id Arv, as he

sh?" someb

"Ain' no Injuns,

rods away and jammed into a big crescent of rearing, trampling hors

u?" one of

" my fathe

re you

ght In

ughter came fr

n, letting thei

'tween here an' St. Regis. We thought you were British, an' it's lucky we did n't

ir way to Ogdensburg, with an escort of cavalry from Sackett's Harbor. The scare was over. Women came out

d hurried to the house, and packed