She saw Simon and the hunters stop short in a turnip-patch which had been cleared close under the fire of the fort, and begin to thin the vegetables, as if at their ordinary work.
Every now and then one of the men in the field would shout out some witticism to those in the fort about the Indians having run away, and all this time the lurking savages gave no token of their whereabouts.
All of a sudden, a loud yell was raised from the woods, in rear of the field where the cattle were feeding, followed by a rattling volley of rifles; and the next moment Clark and his Kentuckians darted out of the cover, routing out some fifty Indians, who leaped up and stood bewildered.
At the same moment Kenton and the men in the turnip-patch raised a yell of triumph, and poured a second volley into the now demoralized savages, charging in at the instant of firing.
The Shawnees made a feeble, scattering return, and then fled in great haste, the borderers rushing out after them in hot pursuit—the sound of yells and shots dying away in the distance.
At least an hour elapsed before they returned, and then Ruby was at the gate to meet them. She was anxious to know what had happened. The first person she saw was Colonel Clark, who came up at the head of his men, smiling, as if greatly pleased.
He came straight to Ruby, and addressed her before all the people:
“Mademoiselle Roland, Blackfish decamped last night, as soon as he heard you had got in. We have driven away this little body of spies, and Harrodsburg is safe. Mademoiselle, I accept your proposition.”