life, Dagaeoga."

"St. Luc."

"None other. I could not be mistaken. He is leading the attack upon
us. Perhaps Tandakora is with him. The Frenchman does not like the
Ojibway, but war makes strange comrades. That was close!"

A bullet whistled directly between them, and Tayoga, kneeling, fired
in return. There was no doubt about his aim, as a warrior uttered the
death cry, and a fierce shout of rage from a dozen throats followed.
Robert, imaginative, ready to flame up in a moment, exulted, not
because a warrior had fallen, but because the flank attack upon his
own people had been stopped in the beginning. St. Luc himself would
have admitted that the Americans, or the English, as he would have
called them, were acting wisely. The soldiers, stirred by the
successful shot, showed again a great desire to fire at the black
woods, but Robert and the Onondaga still kept them down.

A crackling fire arose behind them, showing that the main force had
engaged, and now and then the warriors uttered defiant cries. But
Robert had enough power of will to watch in front, sure that Willet
and Black Rifle were sufficient to guide the central defense. He
observed intently the segment of the circle in front of them, and he
wondered if St. Luc would appear there again, but he concluded that he
would not, since the failure of the attempted surprise at that point
would be likely to send him back to the main force.

"Do you think they'll go away and concentrate in front?" he asked
Tayoga.