A handsome young woman wearing a black bonnet and a black dress caught his eye. There was a strange intensity in her look, but her mouth was drawn tight, and he could not tell whether she felt hatred or sympathy for him. Then he remembered who she was--Pamela Russell, widow of the town clerk whose brains had been dashed out by a Sauk war club during the attack on Victor. Nicole, on one of her visits to the village hall, had described Russell's death to him and told him how Pamela had insisted on touching off the cannon that broke the war party's attack. _She will probably want to be the one to put the rope around my neck._ The prosecutor called Levi Pope to the stand. The shambling backwoodsman held his coonskin cap in his hand as he approached the witness chair. This was the first time Auguste could remember seeing him without a rifle. Its absence made him look strange. Bennett led Levi Pope through an account of Old Man's Creek. Then Thomas Ford rose to question him. "All right, Levi. When the three Indians, including Auguste, came into your camp with the peace flag, how'd you know it was treachery?" Levi frowned and shook his head. "Well, when we seen that the woods was full of Injuns." "Now, we've heard many times during this trial that 'the woods was full of Injuns.' How many Indians did you see?" "'Twasn't me that saw them. It was the scouts Colonel Raoul sent out." "So you didn't see any sign yourself that the Indians were trying to lead you into some kind of trap?" "Well--no, sir." "And when you rode into the forest on the north side of Old Man's Creek, did you see any Indians?" "No, sir. They must of all run off by that time." "When did you first meet up with Indians?" "Oh, we rode maybe an hour up along the river. It was full dark then, and they come down off a hill in front of us, a-yelling and screaming." "A frontal attack, then. If the Indians were planning to ambush you, what did they gain by sending three men into your camp claiming they wanted to talk surrender?" Levi Pope's face seemed to elongate as he contemplated Ford's question. "I don't rightly know." "Do you think the Indians are stupid, Mr. Pope?" "Well, they was stupid to start this war." Levi grinned at Ford, looking pleased with himself. Auguste heard some appreciative chuckles from the spectators. He turned and saw Levi Pope's wife, a skinny, pale woman, frowning at her husband as if his testimony made her angry. Ford nodded and held off on making his reply while he paced the open space before the judge's table and let his calm gaze travel over all the spectators and jurymen. He waited until the hall was quiet. "Maybe the Indians thought it was a stupid war, too, Mr. Pope. Maybe that is the real reason Black Hawk sent those three braves to your camp." "Objection," called Bennett. "Mr. Ford is just speculating."