With this the speaker turned away, and the crowd instantly dispersed to resume their occupations of preparing for the coming expedition, while our hero and Isaac pressed forward to the cottage of Mrs. Younker.  At the door they were met by the good dame herself, who, with eyes wet with tears, caught the proffered hand of Reynolds in both of hers, pressed it warmly in silence, and led him into the house.  Ella, who was seated at a short distance, on the entrance of Algernon, rose to her feet, took a step forward, staggered back, and the next moment her insensible form was caught in the arms of the being she loved, but had long mourned as dead.

[Footnote 19:  This happened in June, 1782.  For particulars of Crawford’s disastrous campaign, and horrible fate—­See Howe’s Ohio, p. 542.]

CHAPTER XVI.

THE ALARM AND STRATAGEM.

It was late at night; but still Algernon Reynolds sat beside Ella Barnwell, relating the sad story of his many hair-breadth escapes and almost intolerable sufferings.  A rude sort of light, on a rough table, a few feet distant, threw its faint gleams over the homely apartment, and revealed the persons of Isaac and his mother, his wife and her parents, together with several others, attracted hither by curiosity, grouped around our hero, and listening to his thrilling narrative with breathless attention.

“After being sufficiently recovered from my wound and bruises, to proceed upon my journey, (continued Reynolds, to resume the account of his adventures since leaving him at Piqua) Girty came to me, and inquired what I thought of my fate, and how I felt concerning it; to which I replied, rather briefly, that it was no worse than I had expected, since knowing into whose hands I had fallen.

“‘Perhaps you think to escape?’ said he, sneeringly.

“‘I have no such hope,’ I replied.

“‘No, and by ——! you needn’t have, either,’ rejoined he, with a savage grin; ’for I’m determined you shall experience the torture to its fullest extent, if for nothing else than to revenge myself on you for your insults.  I have only one thing to regret; and that is, that you didn’t suffer in place of Younker, who is the only one whose torments I would I had had no hand in.  But you—­you I could see tormented forever, and laugh heartily throughout.  But I’ll wreak my vengeance on you yet; I will by ——!’ and with these words he left me to the charge of my guards, with whom he spoke a short time in the Indian tongue—­probably giving them instructions of caution regarding myself.