The Colonel nodded gravely, watching me, his unlighted pipe drooping in his hand.
"There is one thing—before I go," I said. "My betrothed wife is with me. May I leave her in your care, sir?"
"Yes, Carus."
"She is asleep in that room above—" I looked up at the closed shutters, scarcely seeing them for the blinding rush of tears; yet stared steadily till my eyes were dry and hot again, and my choked and tense throat relaxed.
"I think," said the Colonel, "that she is safer in Johnstown Fort than anywhere else just now. I promise you, Carus, to guard and cherish her as though she were my own child. I may be called away—you understand that!—but I mean to hold Johnstown Fort, and shall never be too far from Johnstown to relieve it in event of siege. What can be done I will do on my honor as a soldier. Are you content?"
"Yes."
He lowered his voice: "Is it best to see her before you start?"
I shook my head.
"Then pick your Oneida," he muttered. "Which one?"
"Little Otter. Send for him."