The Daughter of the Chieftain | Page 6

him--all go--den no one be hurt."
"Very well; we will wait till you come to us again. We will take good
care of Linna."
And without another word the Delaware turned once more, strode to
the forest, which was then in fullest leaf, and vanished among the trees.
Mrs. Ripley walked slowly back to the door. On the threshold she
halted, and looked around again for her absent boy. It was growing
dark, and she began to feel a vague alarm for him.
A whistle fell on her ear. It was the sweetest music she had ever heard,
for it came from the lips of her boy.
He was in sight, coming along the well worn path that led in front of
the other dwellings and to her own door. When he saw her, he waved
his hand in salutation, but could not afford to break in on the vigorous
melody which kept his lips puckered.
She saw he was carrying something on his shoulder. A second glance
showed that it was one of the heavy rifles used by the pioneers a
hundred years ago. The sight--taken with what Omas had just said
--filled her heart with forebodings.
She waited until the lad came up. He kissed her affectionately, and then
in the offhand manner of a big boy, let the butt of the gun drop on the
ground, leaned the top away from him, and glancing from it to his
mother, asked--"What do you think of it?"
"It seems to be a good gun. Whose is it?"
"Mine," was the proud response. "Colonel Butler ordered that it be

given to me, and I'm to use it, too, mother."
"For what purpose?"
"The other Colonel Butler--you know he is a cousin to ours--has got a
whole lot of Tories" (who, you know, were Americans fighting against
their countrymen) "and Indians, and they're coming down to wipe out
Wyoming; but I guess they will find it a harder job than they think."
And to show his contempt for the danger, the muscular lad lifted his
weighty weapon to a level, and pretended to sight it at a tree.
"I wish that was a Tory or one of those Six Nation Indians-- wouldn't I
drop him!"
The mother could not share the buoyancy of her son. She stepped
outside, so as to be beyond the hearing of the little ones.
"Omas has been here; that is his little girl that you hear laughing with
Alice. He has told me the same as you--the Tories and Indians are
coming, and he wants us to flee with him."
"What does he mean by that?" asked the half indignant boy.
"He says they will put us all to death, and if we do not go with him, we
will be killed too."
The handsome face of Benjamin Ripley took on an expression of scorn,
and as he straightened up, he seemed to become several inches taller.
"He forgets that I am with you! Omas is very kind; but he and his Tory
friends had better look out for themselves. Why, with the men at the
fort, Colonel Butler will have several hundred."
"But they are mostly old men and boys."
"Well," said the high spirited lad, with a twinkle of his fine hazel eyes,
"add up a lot of old men and boys, and the average is the same number
of middle aged men, isn't it? Don't you worry, mother --things are all

right. If Omas comes back, give him our thanks, and tell him we are not
going to sneak off when we are needed at home."
It was hard to resist the contagion of Ben's hopefulness. The mother not
only loved but respected him as much as she could have done had he
been several years older. He had been her mainstay for the two years
past, during which the father was absent with the patriot army; and she
came to lean upon him more and more, though her heart sank when
Ben began to talk of following his father into the ranks, to help in the
struggle for independence.
She found herself looking upon the situation as Ben did. If so great
danger threatened Wyoming, it would be cowardly for them to leave
their friends to their fate. It was clear all could not find safety by going,
and she would feel she was doing wrong if she gave no heed to the
others.
Ben was tall and strong for his years, and the fact that he had taken the
gun from Colonel Butler to be used in taking care of the settlement
bound the youth in honor to do so.
"It shall be as you say," said the mother; "I cannot be as hopeful as you,
but it is our duty to stay.