“This Washington does not speak the Indian tongue.”
“What does he do here, then?”
“He and that old man have marched with me a little way, to see me start.”
“Who is that old man with the hawk nose and glass eyes?”
“He is a great English chief. His English name is Lord Fairfax. He owns all this land to the Shenandoah—the Daughter of the Stars.”
“Does he own that house with the lights in it, by the river?” asked Scarouady.
“No. You see the house. That is the great storehouse of the company. It is full of goods for Indian brothers at the Ohio. The company has come this far and only waits for me to mark the trail and open the road to the Ohio.”
“Why does not the company send its chief to talk with chiefs?” demanded Scarouady. “Where is the chief Washington?”
“The chief Washington is sick. He cannot travel. But he is this young chief’s brother, and he has sent his brother with me to the beginning of the road. His brother that you see is young, but he is wise.”
“Well,” said Scarouady, “if that is the house of the Washington company and this Washington is here for his brother who is the chief, why does he not sleep in the warm house instead of out here in the cold and dark like a squirrel?”