Indian runners will soon be carrying the news of it, and then they'll
cluster around us like flies seeking sugar."

"You're right, Mr. Wilton," said Willet. "After we build this fort
it's as sure as the sun is in the heavens that we'll have to fight for
it."

Two days later they reached the site for their little fortress which
they named Fort Refuge, because they intended it as a place in which
harried settlers might find shelter. It was a hill near a large creek,
and the source of a small brook lay within the grounds they intended
to occupy, securing to them an unfailing supply of good water in case
of siege.

Now, the young soldiers entered upon one of the most arduous tasks of
the war, to build a fort, which was even more trying to them than
battle. Arms and backs ached as Colden, Wilton and Carson, advised by
Willet, drove them hard. A strong log blockhouse was erected, and then
a stout palisade, enclosing the house and about an acre of ground,
including the precious spring which spouted from under a ledge of
stone at the very wall of the blockhouse itself. Behind the building
they raised a shed in which the horses could be sheltered, as all of
them foresaw a long stay, dragging into winter with its sleet and
snow, and it was important to save the animals.

Robert, Willet and Tayoga had a roving commission, and, as they could
stay with Colden and his command as long as they chose, they chose
accordingly to remain where they thought they could do the most
good. Robert took little part in the hunting, but labored with the
soldiers on the building, although it was not the kind of work to