"NOW THE PALE-FACED CHIEFTAIN CANNOT BE KILLED."
It was said with such entire sincerity that in spite of himself Seth could not help feeling impressed, and he thanked the chief warmly, saying as he shook his hand:
"You are very kind to give me this medicine. I will take good care of it, and I hope it will take good care of me."
Thus armed against fate the party then resumed its cautious advance toward the fort.
AN EASY TRIUMPH
Had the neighborhood of Fort Duquesne been overrun with scouts as was that of Ticonderoga, the presence of Seth's party could hardly have remained unknown, but there was not at all the same vigilance exercised, and consequently the venturesome intruders upon hostile ground were able to make their way unchallenged to an eminence afterward called Grant's Hill, where, well hidden by trees and bushes, they could look right down upon the fort.
Now the Indians had been reporting to the English commander that the French were very strong, in fact that their numbers quite equalled if they did not surpass his, but after Seth had scrutinized the place he exclaimed: