Produced by Curtis Weyant, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE RANGER OR THE FUGITIVES OF THE BORDER BY EDWARD S. ELLIS AUTHOR OF "OONOMOO," "SET JONES," "IRONA," ETC. NEW YORK HURST & COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HURST & COMPANY. [Illustration: "Hold! You strike the white man's friend!"] CONTENTS. I. Zeb and his Master II. The Night of Terror III. Kent and Leslie IV. The Captives V. The Meeting on the River VI. The Raft VII. Lost and Found VIII. The Companion in Captivity IX. Zeb's Revenge X. The Brief Reprieve XI. A Friend XII. Escape XIII. The Captive XIV. The Rescue XV. The Fugitives Flying no Longer LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. "Hold! You strike the white man's friend!" George and Rosalind "Them varmints," said he, "are playing particular devil in these parts" There were two horses in the party, and upon one of these Rosalind had been placed "Ready," whispered Leslie, "you take the nearest one." "You shoot Indian, eh?" said one, brandishing his knife at the same time The savages were amusing themselves by ascertaining who could send his tomahawk nearest the body of their captive without touching him "Does the maiden remember Pequanon?" Two savages were left on shore "Yonder is something approaching." KENT, THE RANGER. CHAPTER I. ZEB AND HIS MASTER. At the southern part of Ohio, where the river of that name swerves from its south-western course, and makes a sweeping bend toward the north-west, many years ago stood a large and imposing dwelling. Its character, so different and superior to others found here and there along the Ohio, showed that its owner must have been a man both of superior taste and abundant means. It had been built by Sir William Leland, who had emigrated from Europe with his young wife, and erected a home in the western wilderness. Here they lived a goodly number of days; and when, at last, they took their departure within a year of each other, they left behind them a son and daughter to cherish and inherit their home. George Leland, at the time of which we speak, was but twenty, while his sister Rosalind was three years his junior. Yet both, with the assistance of a faithful negro servant, managed to live quite comfortably. The soil was exceedingly rich, and, with a little pains, yielded abundantly every thing that could be wished, while the river and wood were unfailing resources. Three years had elapsed since the elder Leland's death, and during that time, although living in a country swarming with Indians, nothing had occurred to alarm the fears of our friends, or even to give them the slightest suspicion that danger threatened them. [Illustration: George and Rosalind.]