"Not five hundred!" cried Joel as if questioning the figures.
"I say so because I am one of the survivors," answered the stranger proudly.
"Then the two fresh scars on your face—"
"I received them at the battle of the Sambre—"
CHAPTER VII.
"WAR! WAR! WAR!"
A furious barking of dogs in the yard and a distinct noise of hard rapping at the gate of the palisade interrupted the stranger's narrative. Still laboring under the painful impression of the traveler's words, the family of the brenn for a moment imagined their homestead was being attacked. The women rose precipitately, the little ones rushed to their mothers' arms, the men ran for their arms that hung from the walls. But the dogs soon ceased barking, although the rapping at the gate continued unabated. Joel said to his family:
"Although they are still rapping, the dogs do not bark. They must know who is at the gate."
Saying this, the brenn stepped out. Several of his kinsmen, the stranger included, followed him out of prudence. The yard gate was opened and two voices were heard outside the palisades crying:
"It is we, friends, ... Albinik and Mikael."