"I am not wrong, am I, sirs? You would not hurt a maiden who trusts
your chivalry and honour?"

"I would slay the first man who dared so much as to lay a finger
upon you, lady," answered Stark impetuously, "even though he were
my own comrade or brother! We are Rogers' Rangers, as you have
rightly guessed; and we are here scouting round Fort Ticonderoga,
ready to intercept its inmates when we may catch them. But you are
right: we war not with women; we fight with men who can fight us
back.

"But tell us, fair lady, how comes it that you are here alone in
the forest? It is scarce safe in these troubled times of warfare,
with Indians all around, and rude soldiers prowling the woods and
lurking in its fastnesses."

"Ah, but my escort is close at hand. I did but stray away a little
in search of flowers. They said the forest was free from peril
today. The Indians have gone off yonder on some enterprise of their
own, and the English are lying within their lines far enough away.
I begged and prayed, and at last they gave way. My brother and the
men are after a fine young deer they sighted. I bid them leave me.
I was not afraid. I thought the worst that could happen would be
that I came face to face with a party of Rangers, and that was
exactly what I have longed to do ever since I arrived."

The girl looked up smiling into the faces of the bronzed, stalwart
men standing before her; then she seated herself upon a fallen tree
and motioned them to be seated likewise.