“The murderin’ spy! He’s come to see how we took the bad news!”
“There’s more of his kidney back in the woods!” shouted a man.
The Indian continued his advance. The various groups of men thinned out and formed a half-circle behind him so as to block his threat. The Indian halted and, still gazing at the court-house, threw back his head and sounded the wolf-howl, wa-ya. With muttered imprecations a score of rifles were brought to bear on him, while several men ran back to the forest to scout for a hidden foe. But the signal was intended only for Sevier, who now appeared at the window. A glance took in the situation, the erect form of the red man and the half-circle of menacing rifles. Leaning from the window, Sevier shouted:
“Put down those guns! I’ll answer for the Cherokee!” Then to the savage, “The Tall Runner is welcome.”
Without a glance behind him, the Indian made for the door. Sevier sighted Jackson and beckoned for him to enter.
Sevier was alone in the long room. He motioned for Jackson to remain in the background and, addressing the Indian, said:
“Tall Runner, of the Aniwaya people, is welcome. What talk does the warrior of the Wolf clan bring to me?”
The man of the Wolf, the most powerful clan of the Cherokee Nation, permitted his gaze to kindle with admiration as he looked on Sevier. After a brief silence he began:
“I bring a talk from Old Tassel. He tells me to say to Tsan-usdi (Little John) that he is an old man. He says he is standing on slippery ground. He says his elder brother’s people are building houses in sight of Cherokee towns and that his young warriors grow nervous. He says the white people living south of the French Broad have no right there, and he asks his elder brother to take them away.”
Sevier waited for a minute, then replied: