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He put out a hand to shush her and to stop the soldiers who stumbled behind them. |
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The gate to the palisade was open, but just slightly. |
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He had sent René and Holly back to the inn with a volunteer cadre of Ainsley's forces. Mariah's friend Francis and the other settlers had agreed to return with the remaining soldiers to Fort Pitt until the current barrage of Indian attacks had ended. There were rumors that a treaty was being negotiated with the Iroquois chiefs to buy a considerable amount of land to be made available for settling. The homesteaders had agreed to wait and see. |
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René might leave the gate totally open, to entice travelers to enter. More likely, in these times, he would keep it closed and bolted. |
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But he would never leave it slightly ajar. |
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"Stay here," he ordered them in a whisper. He looked doubtfully at the soldiers. They were in no condition to help. "All of y u must go back into the forest." |
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"What's wrong?" The words were repeated. He glanced down at Mariah. Her green eyes were troubled, and her sweet mouth had compressed into a worried frown that he suddenly had an urge to kiss away. |
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But he ddn't. There was no time for such foolishness. |
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"I do not know what is wrong," he said. "I only know something is." He managed a quick, ill-humored smile. ''Perhaps four raiders have invaded my inn." |
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He heard her sudden intake of breath. "How do you know?" |
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"A feeling. Plus, the position of the gate is not as René would leave it if all were well." He quickly checked his rifle to make sure it was ready, if need be, to fire. |
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Perhaps he was being foolish. Perhaps René had not yet returned to the inn. The young, sprightly Holly, with whom his friend seemed so amazingly taken, might have convinced him to go off somewhere, to neglect his duties. |
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Unlikely, though. Not René. |
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And even Holly had seemed to take the job, into which she had insinuated herself with Mariah's help, quite seriously. |
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