The men reprimed their flintlocks, and crawled forward abreast.  Gabriel was at the extreme right.  When they were near enough he gave his signal, the nasal singing of the rattlesnake.  The guns cracked all together, and every Cahokian sprung up to finish the work with knife and hatchet.  Nine of the Puants fell dead, and the rest were gone before the smoke cleared.  They left their meat, their horses, and arms.  They were off like deer, straight through the woods to any place of safety.  Every marksman had taken the Indian directly in front of him, but as they were abreast and the Puants in a circle, those four on the opposite side of the fire had been sheltered.  Le Maudit Pensonneau scalped the red heads by the fire and hung the scalps in his belt.  Our French people took up too easily, indeed, with savage ways; but Le Maudit Pensonneau was always full of his pranks.

Oh, yes, Gabriel himself untied Celeste.  She was wild with joy, and cried on Gabriel’s shoulder; and all the young men who had taken their first communion with Gabriel and had played with this dear girl when she was a child, felt the tears come into their own eyes.  All but Le Maudit Pensonneau.  He was busy rounding up the horses.

“Here’s my uncle Larue’s filly that was taken two weeks ago,” said Le Maudit, calling from the hobbling place.  “And here are the blacks that Ferland lost, and Pierre’s pony—­half these horses are Caho’ horses.”

He tied them together so that they could be driven two or three abreast ahead of the party, and then he gathered up all the guns left by the Indians.

Gabriel now called a council, for it had to be decided directly what they should do next.  Pain Court was seven miles in a straight line from the spot where they stood; while Cahokia was ten miles to the southwest.

“Would it not be best to go at once to Pain Court?” said Gabriel.  “Celeste, after this frightful day, needs food and sleep as soon as she can get them, and my aunt Choutou is ready for her.  And boats can always be found opposite Pain Court.”

All the young men were ready to go to Pain Court.  They really thought, even after all that had happened, that it would be wisest to deal with Alexis Barbeau at a distance.  But Celeste herself decided the matter.  Gabriel had not let go of her.  He kept his hand on her as if afraid she might be kidnaped again.

“We will go home to my grandfather and grandmother au Caho’,” said Celeste.  “I will not go anywhere else.”

“But you forget that Beauvois is au Caho’?” said one of the young men.

“Oh, I never can forget anything connected with this day,” said Celeste, and the tears ran down her face.  “I never can forget how willingly I let those Puants take me, and I laughed as one of them flung me on the horse behind him.  We were nearly to the bluffs before I spoke.  He did not say anything, and the others all had eyes which made me shudder.  I pressed my hands on his buckskin