E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustration. See 25998-h.htm or 25998-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/9/9/25998/25998-h/25998-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/9/9/25998/25998-h.zip) Transcriber's note: [oe] represents the oe-ligature. THE RIFLEMEN OF THE OHIO A Story of Early Days along "The Beautiful River" by JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER Author of "The Young Trailers," "The Forest Runners," "The Free Rangers," Etc. New York and London D. Appleton and Company 1922 Copyright, 1910, by D. Appleton and Company Printed in the United States of America "The Riflemen of the Ohio," while a complete story in itself, continues the fortunes of Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, and their friends, who were the central characters in "The Young Trailers," "The Forest Runners," "The Keepers of the Trail," "The Eyes of the Woods," and "The Free Rangers." [Illustration: "The head came up on the other side."] CONTENTS I.--THE EYE OF THE FLEET II.--THE WYANDOT CHIEF III.--THE SONG OF THE LEAVES IV.--THE FOREST VILLAGE V.--PLAY AND COUNCIL VI.--THE GANTLET VII.--ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS VIII.--THE SHADOW IN THE WATER IX.--THE GATHERING OF THE FIVE X.--THE GREAT BORDERER XI.--THE RACE OF THE FIVE XII.--THE ONE WHO ARRIVED XIII.--AT THE FORT XIV.--SIX FIGURES IN THE DUSK XV.--THE DEED IN THE DARK XVI.--THE RETURN TRAIL XVII.--PICKING UP THE STRANDS XVIII.--THE HALTING OF THE FLEET XIX.--THE WATERY PASS XX.--THE TRUMPET'S PEAL XXI.--FORCES MEET XXII.--THE SPEECH OF TIMMENDIQUAS XXIII.--ON THE OFFENSIVE XXIV.--THE DECISIVE BATTLE THE RIFLEMEN OF THE OHIO CHAPTER I THE EYE OF THE FLEET The fleet of boats and canoes bearing supplies for the far east turned from the Mississippi into the wide mouth of the Ohio, and it seemed, for a time, that they had come into a larger river instead of a tributary. The splendid stream, called by the Indians "The Beautiful River," flowed silently, a huge flood between high banks, and there was not one among the voyagers who did not feel instinctively the depths beneath him.