he could escape, however, and did not feel very much alarmed.

“So ye think ye’re safe, do ye, hey?”

Dick was an exceedingly swift runner, and it was to this that he owed his success, so far, and to this fact he finally owed his good fortune in getting away from his pursuers, for he gradually drew away from the Indians, and when they had followed him a mile or so, they gave up the pursuit and turned back. Doubtless they decided that it was of more importance to be ready to attack the fort when the time came than to keep on in pursuit of a fugitive that could run like the one they had been after.

And when he was certain that the redskins had ceased pursuing him, Dick slackened his speed to a walk, went onward at a moderate pace, and presently paused and stood listening intently.

He did not hear a sound in the direction from which he had come, and he drew a breath of relief, and murmured aloud: “They have given up the chase and gone back. That is good. Now I am safe, and will take it a little easier.”

“So ye think ye’re safe, do ye, hey?” exclaimed a voice almost in Dick’s ear, and then he felt a pair of exceedingly strong arms encircle his body, pinioning his arms to his side. He struggled fiercely, but could not break the hold of the person who had seized him.

“Oh, thar ain’t no use tryin’ to git loose,” chuckled a gruff voice. “I’ve got ye, an’ ye kain’t git erway.”

CHAPTER V

Gabe Gurley

About two hours after Dick Dare left the fort, the Indians made the attack. They tried to take the settlers by surprise, by slipping up to the fort, but were discovered and fired upon, and then they uttered wild yells and made a desperate attack.

The settlers made a strong and determined defense, firing as fast as they could reload their rifles, and the calls of the redskins were varied by yells and shrieks of pain, proving that some of the bullets found lodgment in the bodies of the redskins.

Then, suddenly a cry went up from the settlers, for they saw that the stockade-wall was on fire. The Indians had not been able to break the wall down, or to scale it, so they had set fire to it.

There was a well inside the enclosure, however, and the settlers began carrying water and pouring it down on the fire, from the platform on the inside of the fence, and two or three of the settlers were wounded by arrows while engaged in this work, but they finally succeeded in putting the fire out.

The Indians, disappointed, repeated their war-whoops and yells betokening anger. Then they withdrew, having given up the attack, at least for the present. But that they had given up the matter permanently was not likely.

The settlers were glad of the cessation of hostilities, however, and it afforded them an opportunity for reloading their rifles, and, for needed rest, a watch was set so as to be ready for another attack, if it was made.

Morning came at last, however, without a renewal of the onslaught, and the settlers took a look around. They saw that the fort was surrounded by at least a hundred redskins, and they realized that the Indians intended to stay till they captured the fort.

“They will put in the day planning, and to-night they’ll attack us again,” said Mr. Holden, after looking at the Indians a while.

“Yes, that’ll be their game,” said Mr. Perkins.

“But they can’t capture the fort, can they?” asked Tom Dare, who was standing on the platform, beside the two men, taking a look at the Indians.

“I don’t think they could capture the fort,” said Perkins, “but likely they’ll lay siege to it and try to make us surrender, arter our grub gives out.”

“But you have enough to last quite a while, haven’t you?”

“Two or three days, I guess.”

“Well, Dick will be back with General Greene and his army in four or five days, I think.”

“Maybe we can hold out till then,” said Mr. Perkins.

“I think we can,” said Holden.

“We can fight them off, I feel certain,” said another of the settlers. “So all we will have to do will be to go easy on the rations till General Greene gets here.”

“Yes, that is what we’ll do,” said Perkins.

Tom and Ben were greatly interested. This was the first time they had ever had anything to do with fighting Indians, and they were glad that they had come down into this region of the Cherokees, for there was a peculiar glamour to this kind of warfare that did not attach to fighting against the redcoats.

“Dick will miss most of the fighting by going on the trip,” said Tom.

“Yes, but there will be plenty of Indian fighting after he gets back,” said Ben.

“Yes, likely. And it will be a great relief to the people of this part of the country when the patriot soldiers get down here and get after the redskins.”

“Yes, so it will.”

About the middle of the afternoon there was seen to be considerable stir among the Indians to the northward, near the edge of the forest, and Mr. Holden, who, with Perkins and two or three others of the settlers, and Tom and Ben, were standing on the platform, watching, said:

“Look. There’s that renegade-Tory, Gabe Gurley.”

Sure enough, a white man was seen standing among the redskins, and it could be seen that he was an exceedingly large man, a giant in size, in fact. He was talking to the Indians, and gesticulating, and they were listening with evident interest.

“What a big fellow he is!” exclaimed Tom.

“And a big scoundrel,” said Perkins.

“Yes, he’s worse’n the redskins,” said another of the settlers.

“I don’t like to see him there among the redskins,” said Mr. Holden, a sober look on his face. “He may put them up to some scheme to enable them to capture the fort before General Greene and his army can get here.”

“We’ll have to be on our guard, sure enough,” said Perkins.

“I hope Dick didn’t meet him,” exclaimed Tom,

“It isn’t likely that he did,” said Ben.

Presently the renegade, Gabe Gurley, ceased talking to the Indians and came striding toward the fort, holding up his hand, with the palm toward the settlers.

“He wants to talk to us,” said Perkins.

“Yes,” said Holden. “I s’pose we might as well hear what he has to say.”

“Yes.”

Gurley advanced till within about fifty feet of the stockade-wall, and then stopped. “How are ye, Holden? How are ye, Perkins?” he called out.

“What do you want, Gabe Gurley?” asked Holden, rather gruffly.

“I’ve come to ask ye to surrender,” was the reply.

“Then you are wasting your time, Gurley.”

“Ye mean thet ye won’t surrender?”

“Yes.”

“Ye’d better. We can stay here till yer grub gives out, an’ then ye’ll have to surrender, an’ ye might as well do et now.”

“We have provisions to last us till--”

Holden hesitated, but Gurley finished: “Till Gin’ral Greene an’ his army gits here, ye was goin’ to say, hey?” with a grin. “Well, they won’t git here as soon as ye think, I can tell ye that.”

“Why won’t they?” asked Holden.

“Because I captured ther young feller what ye sent frum here last night, to bring Greene, an’ I’ve got ’im a pris’ner, an’ so he won’t carry the news, as ye expected, an’ Greene an’ his army won’t be here--not for a good while, anyhow.”

An exclamation escaped the lips of Tom Dare. “You big ruffian!” he cried. “You say you captured my brother?”

The giant looked at Tom and grinned. “I don’ know whether I captured your brother or not,