ROGER THE RANGER [Illustration: “HE THREW THE WHOLE WEIGHT OF HIS BODY UPON ME AND STRUCK ME DOWN.”] ROGER THE RANGER A STORY OF BORDER LIFE AMONG THE INDIANS BY E. F. POLLARD AUTHOR OF “THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS,” “TRUE UNTO DEATH,” ETC. Publishers--PARTRIDGE--London MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN CONTENTS I. ESAU II. PARTED III. BAD NEWS IV. “MY OWN FAMILIAR FRIEND!” V. A HERO VI. A BRAVE HEART VII. THROUGH STORM AND TEMPEST VIII. BY LAND IX. TRUE MEN X. A NEW FRIENDSHIP XI. DIPLOMACY XII. A TERRIBLE DISASTER XIII. BRAVELY DONE XIV. SILENT INFLUENCE XV. LOST XVI. FRIENDSHIPS XVII. THROUGH THE FOREST XVIII. NADJII XIX. THE ATTACK XX. “LIGHTEN OUR DARKNESS” XXI. AT THE HELM XXII. HOME NEWS XXIII. A CONFESSION XXIV. THE PRODIGAL XXV. TO THE FORE XXVI. THE CHILD XXVII. TWO HEROES XXVIII. AT LAST XXIX. ON THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM XXX. THE VANQUISHED XXXI. WEARY WAITING XXXII. ON THE BATTLE-FIELD XXXIII. A LONG JOURNEY XXXIV. CONCLUSION ROGER THE RANGER: A Story of Border Life among the Indians CHAPTER I ESAU “It is of no use, Father Nat; we have gone over the same ground again and again. I shall never settle down as a New England farmer, and there are other reasons why I should go forth from among you. Mother, you have Marcus; he will stand you in good stead: he has almost reached man’s estate, and he is old for his years; he will be a better son to you than I have ever been. Don’t, Loïs, my darling;” and the speaker, a tall, handsome man of four- or five-and-twenty, in the picturesque dress of the New England hunter, sought to unclasp from round his neck the clinging hands of a young girl, down whose face the tears were flowing fast. “You are my firstborn, and like Esau you are selling your birthright, and surely even as he did you will lose the blessing,” exclaimed his mother, wringing her hands. Martha Langlade was still a handsome woman, not yet fifty years of age, her brow unwrinkled, no silver thread visible in the bands of her soft brown hair, smoothed back under a snowy cap, round which was tied a broad black ribbon, token of her widowhood. “Then even as Esau I shall be a great hunter before the Lord,” answered her son. “I am not leaving you comfortless, mother; you have the children and Loïs and Marcus;” and turning towards a youth standing beside Martha, he held out his hand to him, saying, “Marcus, you must take my place.” “I am too young, Charles; think better of it and stay with us,” he replied. The young man’s features worked; there was a moment’s hesitation, then he shook his head, stooped and kissed again his sister’s upturned face, and, pushing her gently towards a grey-headed man who had stood a silent spectator of the scene, said huskily,-- “Take care of her, take care of them all, Father Nat.”