Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) THE FREE RANGERS [Illustration] JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER _The_ FREE RANGERS _The_ FREE RANGERS A STORY OF EARLY DAYS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI BY JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER AUTHOR OF "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," "THE FOREST RUNNERS," ETC. [Illustration] APPLETON-CENTURY-CROFTS, INC. NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY _All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers._ Copyright, 1936, by Sallie B. Altsheler Printed in the United States of America "THE FREE RANGERS," WHILE AN INDEPENDENT STORY IN ITSELF, CONTINUES THE FORTUNES OF THE TWO BOYS AND THEIR COMRADES WHO WERE THE CENTRAL CHARACTERS IN "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," "THE FOREST RUNNERS," "THE KEEPERS OF THE TRAIL" AND "THE EYES of THE WOODS." CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE CALL 1 II. A FOREST ENVOY 17 III. AN INVISIBLE CHASE 39 IV. TAKING A "GALLEON" 54 V. ON THE GREAT RIVER 74 VI. BATTLE AND STORM 96 VII. THE LONE VOYAGER 115 VIII. THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU 133 IX. PAUL AND THE SPANIARD 153 X. A BARBARIC ORDEAL 171 XI. THE SPANIARD'S OFFER 181 XII. THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST 196 XIII. THE WHITE STALLION 214 XIV. NEW ORLEANS 230 XV. BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ 251 XVI. IN PRISON 271 XVII. THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR 285 XVIII. NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET 302 XIX. THE BATTLE OF THE BANK 322 XX. THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU 334 XXI. THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE 349 XXII. THE CHOSEN TASK 361 THE FREE RANGERS CHAPTER I THE CALL The wilderness rolled away to north and to south, and also it rolled away to east and to west, an unbroken sweep of dark, glossy green. Straight up stood the mighty trunks, but the leaves rippled and sang low when a gentle south wind breathed upon them. It was the forest as God made it, the magnificent valley of North America, upon whose edges the white man had just begun to nibble.