CHAPTER IV.FOUR AGAINST FORTY.

No answer was made to this inquiry, while the scout stared upward for a moment as if in astonishment, and then turned his inquiring gaze into the faces of those about him, as though he was mutely demanding who the stranger was.

But they had no chance to answer him, before a huge pair of feet appeared upon the upper round of the ladder, followed by a pair of legs so long that Dick began to wonder if any body would follow at all. But it did at length, crowned by a head, and the whole of the stranger was revealed to his wondering gaze.

Long and lank, it seemed to Dick as though he must be at least seven feet in hight. He had only stopped to half clothe himself, and the rest of his garments he carried upon his arm. His face was sharp and thin, and the lower part of it was covered with a long, thin beard, which stuck out in every direction like the quills of a porcupine. His eyes, which were small and restless, had a sharp look about them, and his tone and twang proclaimed him at once to be a Yankee.

If the scout gazed upon him curiously, the new-comer returned it with interest. Evidently he had never seen such an extraordinary figure as that presented by the scout. Evidently he wished to make some remarks upon him, but he contented himself with a single exclamation.

“Whew!”

“Who are you?” demanded Dick, a little impatient of the scrutiny the other had bestowed upon him, forgetting that he himself had been guilty of the same.

“Wal, I don’t mind telling ye,” answered the Yankee, as he went on with his toilet. “My name is Peleg Parker, and I hail from New Hampshire. I was raised in Pigwaket, right up under the shadder of the White Mountains. I couldn’t make money fast enough up there, and so I took to peddling, and so wandered away out into these ’ere parts. My pack is up in the garret, and I’ve got as good an assortment in it as ever was seen this side of the mountains. Prehaps I can trade a little with ye in the morning? Will sell cheaper than dirt. There didn’t any of you see that button drop down here, did ye? I wouldn’t lose it for a fourpence, for I couldn’t match it out in these parts.”

Mrs. Wilson replied in the negative, and then Ned Tapley said:

“You don’t know, perhaps, the danger we’re in. We’re expecting every moment that the savages will attack the cabin.”

“I know it, and I’m worried nigh about to death about my pack. If the red-skins get hold on it I’m ruined. My hull fortin is in it—ev’ry darned cent I’m worth. Say, Mister, you don’t think they can break in here, do you?”

This was addressed to Dick, who replied somewhat angrily:

“I wouldn’t wonder if they did. They’ll do their best to, at any rate. You had better worry about yer scalp than about that ’ere pack o’ your’n. If you wa’n’t asleep when I came here, you wouldn’t ask such a question as that.”

“Asleep! I’ll be darned if I’ve slept a wink to-night. I knew the young folks were courting down here, and it put me in mind of the time when I used to be in that business myself. I’ve courted more’n a dozen gals, off and on, up in New Hampshire, and nigh about every one of ’em give me the mitten in the end.”

“I don’t wonder at it,” muttered the scout.

“Wal, I thought of ’em down here for a good while, and got a-wondering if I couldn’t sell ’em a good bargain out of my pack if they were going to housekeeping, and then I rolled over and was just going to sleep, when you made that thundering racket at the door. And now here I am up ag’in without having got a wink of sleep to-night.”

“You’ll be lucky if you ever do again,” muttered the scout. “If we can’t keep the red-skins out of here, you’ve taken your last nap and cheated the last one you ever will.”

The Yankee was about to make some rejoinder to this, when Sam Wilson broke in:

“This won’t do for us to stand talking here. We must keep a watch without. I will go up into the loft and station myself at one of the loopholes there. We mustn’t let the red-skins get up under the walls of the cabin unless we want to be smoked out.”

“I will go,” said Ned, making a move toward the ladder. “Do you stay here and make ready for their coming. I’llkeep my eyes open, and give the alarm the first glimpse I get on them.”

“I swan, I wish I was in New Hampshire,” exclaimed Peleg. “I’ll bet a dollar that ’ere pack will go afore I get out of this scrape.”

“What have you got for weapons?” demanded the scout, sharply. “We shall have need of every thing in that line afore morning. Have you got a rifle?”

“How in the name of Jerusalem do you think I can carry a rifle along with a pack? I guess you never was in the peddling line, was ye?”

“No.”

“So I thought. And jest at this time I wish I wa’n’t neither. I guess it would be money in my pocket if I was out of this scrape.”

“But what have you got?” demanded the scout, impatiently. “Any pistols?”

“Yes, a pair of beauties up in my pack. But I don’t want to dirt ’em up in this scrape if I can help it. I calculated to make a good thing out of ’em when I found the right customer.”

Dick gave utterance to something which sounded very much like an oath.

“You’ve got a customer for ’em now, and if you save yer scalp in the trade you’ll make the best bargain you ever did. Bring them down and load them up at once. We ain’t got a moment to lose in getting ready.”

With evident reluctance the Yankee turned away and clambered once more up to the loft. It took him some little time to search them out in the dark, but when he returned he had them in his hands.

The scout took them from him, for the purpose of examining them to see if they were properly loaded and in good order.

“Come,” said Peleg. “What will you give me for ’em? I’ll sell ’em ’tarnal cheap. Speak out. I stump you to make me an offer.”

The sound of footsteps was heard above their heads, and the next moment the excited face of Ned was thrust down through the opening.

“They are coming; a half-score of them at least are crossing the clearing.”

Mrs. Wilson and Ruth grew paler if possible than before, while Sam and the scout exchanged glances, which told of the apprehension they felt. As for the Yankee, he only muttered:

“Darn it, why couldn’t they have waited a minute longer. They’ve sp’iled a trade.”

It was only for a moment that the look of apprehension remained upon the face of the scout. Then it vanished and a look of stern determination took its place.

“Look well to the door, Sam,” he said. “There’s a crack there atween the logs by it, and if you get a good chance give ’em a shot that will tell. I’ll go up with Ned, and if we don’t pick off a couple of ’em at least afore they get here, why we’ll make some bad shots, that’s all.”

“What shall I do?” said the Yankee. “Keep the wimmin folks company?”

“Stay here with Sam, and if you find a chance to use them shooters, whydoit,” said Dick, as he bounded up the ladder, and felt his way along to the spot where Ned Tapley was kneeling before a loophole which had been left between the logs for the very purpose for which it was now employed.

“Look,” said the young man, moving aside so as to give him a chance to peer into the outer world. “There is more of them than I thought. As near as I can make out there is a good two score of them.”

“So there is,” said Dick, as he glanced hastily through and noted the red-skins that as silently as so many spirits of evil were gliding toward the cabin.

“Rushing Water has got half his warriors with him, Iguess. He don’t mean to fail in this thing if he can help it.”

“And I am afraid that he will not,” said Ned, in a low tone. “How can we ever contend against such a horde as that which is pouring down upon us.”

“If the cabin walls only prove true to us, we will make a good fight, and send howling away what we don’t leave stretched out about us. So here goes for one of ’em, Susannah. Mind, old gal, that you do yer duty.”

He thrust the muzzle of his rifle out between the logs and ran his eye along the barrel. Taking good aim upon the foremost savage, he pulled the trigger. There was a report and the savage lay stretched upon the earth.

A shout of rage burst from the throats of the savages, making the echoes of the forest ring on every side.

“There’s one of them gone under,” said the scout, exultingly. “Hear them howl. But they shall have a chance to again before we are done with them. Now, Ned, here is a chance for you.”

He moved aside, hastily reloading his rifle as he did so, and the young man took his place. A glance without showed him that the savages had widely separated, and were hurrying at the top of their speed toward the cabin.

They knew that when once beneath its walls that the marksmen within would not have the chance upon them that they had now.

Ned singled out one of them, and brought his rifle to bear upon him. The next instant, and the messenger of death sped forth upon its errand of destruction, and when the smoke cleared away he saw the savage lying motionless upon the field.

Another moment, and Sam’s rifle spoke from beneath them, and glancing out Ned saw that he, too, had been successful.

The scout’s rifle was reloaded now, and Ned hastily moved away to give him another chance. But, it was too late. The field between the cabin and the clearing was emptied of savages, except those who would never move again. They had gained the shelter of the cabin walls, and each felt a shudder run through his frame, as he thought how near thesavage horde was to them, and only the walls of their little fort between them and destruction.

Were it not for the helpless women, and the terrible fate which threatened Ruth, they would hardly have given their situation a thought. Both had been in a tight fix before, and this time if it was fated that they were to go under, why they would do so with the best grace they could. But they would not give up so long as they had life and strength left them.

Dick withdrew his rifle and stepped back from the loophole.

“Stay here, Ned, and keep a good look without. It may be that you will get a shot at one of the varmints by and by when they are getting kinder keerless. I’ll go down and see what Sam and that long-legged Yankee are up to. To my mind the red-skins will be trying the door afore long. There! I knew they would.”

As he uttered these words, the flooring beneath their feet trembled, and there came a sound from the outside as though a blow had been dealt with great force against the cabin.

Hurriedly Dick descended the ladder, and joined Sam, whose form he made out standing by the door.

The light had been extinguished so that the savages could not see what was passing within the cabin.

The darkness hid the forms of Ruth and her mother, and that of the Yankee was invisible.

“Well, Sam, how goes it?” he demanded, in a low tone.

“Well, so far,” returned the settler. “I’ve done for one of ’em, and you and Ned for two more. They’ve tried the door once, but they did not stir it a peg. I should think a half dozen of them threw themselves against it at once.”

At that moment another blow fell upon it, causing it to start back a little, for the instant; only to firmly resume its place when the force of the blow was spent.

“It stands it bravely,” exclaimed the scout. “They’ve got to put on more force than that if they break in here. I guess you built that door, Sam, for jest such a time as this.”

“I hope they won’t get in,” exclaimed a voice from a dark corner of the apartment. “If they should and carry off my pack, I’m a ruined man. Say, mister, what will you give me for it now, and take yer chances?”

“You had better worry about yer scalp than that pack of your’n,” returned the scout. “If you lose that, I don’t think yer knick-nacks will amount to much to ye.”

“Oh dear, I wish I was in New Hampshire! What a ’tarnal fool I was to come out here anyway! Aunt Betsey alwa’s told me that a rolling stone gathered no moss. I wish I had sot down as flat as the big rock in the sheep-pasture afore I had come out here. Jerusalem! but I du believe they will stave the house down.”

Another blow had fallen upon the door with such tremendous force, that it had started a little inward, throwing down the barricade of movable articles which had been piled against it to help strengthen it, making such a clatter that the Yankee asked if the side of the cabin was falling in.

But still the door was not driven from its place, and hastily the two men went to building up the barricade again.

“They used a log of wood that time,” said Sam. “But they have got to deal it a heavier blow than that, before they will batter it down. I may be mistaken, but I think it is good for all they can bring against it.”

“I hope so,” said Dick. “But they are in earnest about getting in here, and I’m afraid they will, some way. Rushing Water will tear this cabin to pieces, but what he will get Ruth into his hands.”

“But while I live, or so long as one log lays upon another, he shall never have my child,” said the settler, in a low, determined tone.

“And I say amen to that,” said Dick, fervently. “The Death-Dealer has not gone under yet, and while he has life he will not leave her.”

“Heaven bless you,” said the settler. “Had it not been for you we should have been butchered by this time, and Ruth in their power.”

Again and again the blows descended upon the door, but it resisted them stoutly, and at last the savages apparently made up their minds they could not gain an entrance in this way.

Therefore the blows ceased, and for the space of five minutes not a sound came from without.

Mrs. Wilson and Ruth came forward from the spot where they had been anxiously waiting the course of events.

“What means this silence, father?” said the latter, in a low tone. “Do you think they have given it up and gone away?”

“Gi’n it up? No, not by a jug-full,” exclaimed the scout, speaking before the settler could answer. “I tell you they won’t give it up so easily. They’re planning some new sort of deviltry. That’s what they’re up to. I know the varmints pretty well and they won’t leave this spot in a hurry unless we make it too hot to hold ’em, and the chances are that they’ll make it toohotfor us. Thar, Ned’s picked off another of ’em, I’ll be bound.”

The report of a rifle rung out above their heads, and hardly had it died away before the voice of Ned was heard summoning the scout to him.

Dick bounded up the ladder, and in a moment was at his side.

“What is it?” he asked, eagerly.

“Look. They’re going to see what fire will do to us.”

The scout uttered an exclamation of alarm, and bending down, peered out through the loophole. A glance showed him that the words of Ned were true.

A huge stack of straw, which stood a little way off, had been brought and heaped against the side of the cabin.

This he saw at a glance, and the next moment all was darkness without.

The moon had managed to struggle for a moment through the great mass of black clouds which had suddenly covered the sky, giving signs that a thunder-storm was close at hand.

It was under the cover of these, that they had heaped the combustible material against the walls of the cabin, and Ned had not been able to see what plan they were preparing to carry out, until they had well-nigh done their work.

One of them he had caught a glimpse of as the last armful was being carried, and had sent a bullet crashing through his head.

“What is to be done?” asked Ned in a whisper. “They will fire the straw in a moment now, and the roof of the cabin, owing to the heat, must be as dry as tinder.”

“We must be smoked out like a coon in a hollow tree,”answered the scout. “When it comes to that we must go out and fight hand to hand for our lives.”

“It will be a fearful odds.”

“I know it. But we must take them. At least they shall know that the Death-Dealer is here, and he will not go under until he has made a half-dozen of them bite the dust.”

“They have fired the straw,” cried Ned. “I can smell the smoke—and look—see the light flashing in through the crevices here. The cursed red-skin would burn up her, whom he would have for his bride.”

It was even as he said. The crackling of the flames outside could now be heard, and all along the side of the cabin the light was flashing in through the slight crevices between the logs. A danger more terrible than any which had before threatened them was upon them now.

In a minute more the loft was so full of smoke that they could not stay there.

Feeling their way to the ladder they descended to the apartment below, where they found their friends also aware of the new danger that threatened them.

“Jerusalem and the Prophets,” cried the Yankee. “That pack of mine will be burned up as sure as preaching.”

No heed was paid to this lament, and Sam Wilson exclaimed:

“The red-skins are trying a new dodge, are they. Do you think they can make the cabin burn?”

“I am afraid so,” answered the scout, and then he told them what they had taken to kindle the flames with.

The roaring of the flames could now be plainly heard as they leaped up the side of the cabin.

“If it catches upon the roof there is no hope for us,” said the settler, despondingly.

“It is there already,” cried Mrs. Wilson, who was gazing up through into the loft. “Father in heaven help us, for we can do nothing of ourselves. Put forth Thy hand and save us from this terrible fate.”

A shout arose from the throats of the savages at that moment; but as though in answer to her prayer, a loud clap of thunder resounded above their heads, drowning the shouts of their enemies. The scout uttered a joyful exclamation.

“That sound does my heart good,” he cried. “If the rain will only come down in ten minutes we are saved.”

“The cabin will be one mass of flames before that time,” cried Ned. “The flames have caught upon the roof and it is blazing like tinder. Pray Heaven that the rain may come at once.”

“Amen,” responded all.

The flames roared and surged without, half drowning the exultant shouts of the savages, who now felt sure of their victims. The smoke poured into the cabin through every crevice, until it was all they could do to breathe. Still though the thunder-peals sounded nearer, the wished-for rain held aloof, as though on purpose to tantalize them and augment their fears.

“Lie down close to the floor,” cried the scout. “You can breathe better there. If it don’t rain in three minutes’ time, we must trust ourselves to the red devils outside.”

They obeyed his direction, but hardly had they stretched themselves out before they were startled by an object which came down from the loft and went bouncing across the floor.

Before they could make up their minds what it was, another object came crashing down upon them.

It was the Yankee and his pack.

He had gone up for it, fearful that the fire might consume it before it fastened upon him.

Come what would he was bound that they should go together.

“Jerusalem and the Prophets, I’m killed, I know I am. Plague take the smoke. I missed the top round and down I come kerwollups.”

“You have nigh about killed me, anyway,” exclaimed Sam. “You fell right acrost my back. I hope you’ll be able to take that pack to the other world with you.”

“Sho! you don’t say so. Well, I can’t say—”

What more he would have said there is no knowing, but the smoke just then set him into a fit of coughing, so the rest of it was lost.

It was a terrible moment.

Above and around them the red flames were crackling;their forked tongues eating their way into where they were. Without, the howling savages were waiting for them to come forth to meet as terrible a fate.

Nothing could save them but the prayed-for rain from heaven.

Would it never come?

Were they surely doomed to death?

It would seem so.

At last the scout cried, chokingly:

“Open the door. We may as well die one way as another. We can’t live longer here.”

At that moment, when all indeed seemed lost; when there appeared no other alternative but to throw themselves out upon the savages, a new sound broke upon their ears.

The floodgates of heaven were at last unloosed, and the rain was descending in torrents.

Never was rain more welcome to human beings than to them.

“Heaven be thanked, we are saved!” cried Sam Wilson, joyously. “The fire can’t stand such a flood as this.”

“That it can’t,” exclaimed the scout. “We’re all right now and the red-skins are balked ag’in.”

For a few moments the rain and the flames fought for the mastery, and then the latter succumbed.

It was no match for its opponent, and in a few minutes the battle was over.

The settlers were saved from danger by the fire.

Silently they stood grouped together, listening to the warring of the elements without, and wondering what had become of the savages.

They had no sign to tell them what they were about.

They did not believe they had given up the errand on which they had come, and departed.

They all knew the nature of the savages too well to expect that.

Sam Wilson demanded of Dick what he thought they were up to.

“Planning some other deviltry, no doubt. They ain’t far off. I shouldn’t wonder if they had took to the forest for shelter till the shower is over.”

“Heaven grant that they may not return again,” said Mrs. Wilson.

“But they will. You can bet on that,” answered the scout. “But where does this water come from, Sam? I didn’t know that your cabin leaked like this.”

“It did not. The fire must have burned the roof away, and so let it in.”

The rain was pouring down upon them in torrents as though there was indeed no covering above their heads.

The scout gave a quick start, as this idea of new danger was forced home to his mind.

“If the roof is burned away we can’t stay here,” he cried. “Stay where you are, and I will try and find out.”

He moved away from them, and they heard him feeling his way up the ladder.

Not three minutes had passed before he was back again.

“Well?” said Sam Wilson, anxiously.

“Half of the roof is burnt to a cinder, and part of it has tumbled in!”

His words struck to their hearts like ice.

“What is to be done?” said Ned, almost in a tone of despair. “If this be so, we can’t keep the savages out, the moment they discover how matters stand.”

“And then my pack will be gone, as sure as preaching,” groaned the Yankee, who had stood with his hand upon it, ever since he had tumbled down from the loft.

“Yes, they’ll be pouring in upon us thicker than the lice of Egypt. I can’t see but one way. We’ve got to get out of this shell as soon as we can.”

“Where can we go? The moment we go out we fall into the hands of the red-skins.”

“Prehaps not. I’ve got it into my head that they ain’t hanging round here now. They ain’t further off, I’ll allow, than the edge of the forest, but I don’t believe that they are standing out here taking this pelting. At any rate we’ve got to find out, and thar’s no time to lose in doing it.”

“How are we to know?” asked Ned.

“I’m going out to see,” answered the scout, coolly.

An exclamation of surprise broke from the lips of each of the group.

“You will go to your death if you do,” said Sam Wilson.

“And death will come to all of us if we stay here,” said Dick. “If we can get acrost the clearing into the edge of the woods without the varmints knowing it, our sight will be enough better than to stay here. I don’t believe there’s a savage near us, and now is our time. The rain may stop any moment and then it will be too late. It ain’t lightened any lately, and ’cording to that the shower is passing off. Keep quiet here till I come back. If I have good luck I won’t be gone long.”

He turned toward the ladder, instead of the door as they expected.

“How are you going out?” called Ned after him.

“Through the roof. There’s a hole big enough there to let out a giant. If you hear three knocks upon the door you can open it, and let me in. All will be right then.”

They held their breath to listen. They heard him for a moment moving about upon the floor of the loft, and then the beating of the rain drowned all further sound.

It was by the sense of feeling alone, that Dick went up the ladder and moved along the loft with a cautious step.

The darkness was so great that it could almost be felt.

Only here and there above his head, a dull, red light shone on the charred beams, telling that a trace of the fire still lingered there.

But the coals were dim, and gave out no light to serve as a guide to his footsteps.

The rain had well-nigh extinguished them, and if it continued for a few minutes longer they would go out in deeper blackness.

Slowly the scout moved along until he came to a spotwhere the rain came down without hindrance upon his head.

Feeling with his outstretched hands in the darkness, he found that the aperture in the roof at this point was sufficiently large to admit of his passing through without any difficulty.

Thrice he made the attempt, but each time was unsuccessful.

The charred wood was not strong enough to support his weight, and it gave way, letting him back again.

But the fourth time he got a firmer hold and drew himself out upon the roof.

The rain seemed to beat down upon him with redoubled fury, as though it meant to drive him from his perch.

But he did not care for this. His only solicitude was for fear that the roof between him and the eaves was not strong enough to hold him, and that he would fall through into the loft again.

Slowly he moved down over the inclined plane.

It was no easy job to keep his hold good, and at the same time make sure that the roof was strong enough to bear his weight.

The rain made it slippery, and had it not been for the action of the fire upon the timbers of which it was composed, he could never have kept good his hold there.

But slowly and carefully he went on, and at last drew close to the eaves.

It was something like ten feet to the earth, but this was nothing for him to leap down.

On more than one occasion when his life was threatened, he had leaped more than double that distance.

He was close to the edge of the roof now, and was preparing himself for the spring.

He tried to peer down into the darkness to see if the coast was clear of enemies, but the gloom was so dense that he could not see an arm’s length before his face.

At that instant, as luck would have it, a pale flash of lightning lighted up the scene for a moment.

The scout used his eyes well, and thereby made a discovery.

The ground about the cabin was free from savages, exceptat one point, where a single one stood wet and forlorn.

Evidently he had been left to watch the cabin while his comrades sought shelter in the forest until the rain should be over.

It was a wonder that he caught a glimpse of the savage, for he was immediately beneath him, and had he sprung down he must have landed directly upon his head.

The flash was gone in a moment, and then if possible it was darker than before.

For a minute the scout was undecided what to do.

He could not retreat up again over the roof, the way was so difficult; and if he could, it would amount to nothing for him to do so.

There was but one feasible course before him, and that he decided upon.

It was to leap down upon the head of the unsuspicious savage, bear him to the earth and slay him before he could utter a sound of alarm.

Taking his knife from his belt, he placed it between his teeth, and then fixing his hands firmly upon the eaves he was ready for the spring.

For only an instant did he hesitate, and then he went down upon the unsuspicious savage, whose first intimation of danger was the full force of the descending scout upon his head and shoulders.

No one taken at such a disadvantage could resist the shock, and the red-skin went down to the earth as suddenly as though the cabin itself had fallen upon him.

He tried to utter a cry of alarm, but it died away before his lips could give it utterance.

The fingers of the Death-Dealer were upon his throat with a grip like iron, and he could utter no sound.

Another moment, and the scout had his knife in his right hand, ready to strike a fatal blow.

The savage struggled fiercely, but he was like a child in the hand of his enemy.

The opportunity the scout sought came soon. The breast of the savage was exposed, and he drove the knife to the hilt in his heart.

Coolly wiping the blade upon the garments of the savage, Dick rose to his feet and quietly listened.

Not a sound met his ear except the beating of the rain and the distant rumble of thunder away to the eastward.

“I wonder if thar is any more of the varmints sneaking round here,” he said to himself. “It looks light up thar to the westward, and the rain will be over soon I guess. I wish there would be another bit of a flash, so that I might get another glimpse of matters round here.”

Hardly had the thought been expressed, when as though in answer to his desire, another pale gleam of lightning lighted up the scene about him.

It was only momentary; but the scout used his eyes well, and was convinced that there was no savage near except the one whose corpse lay bleeding beside him. But he knew that the moment the rain held up a little they would be back again. From the looks of the sky he felt assured that they had only a few moments that they could call their own, and that they must bestir themselves if they hoped to escape.

Hastily he passed round the cabin to make assurance doubly sure, and then he approached the door and gave the three low raps upon it; the signal they had agreed upon.

They heard it, for he could hear them removing the barricade inside, and in a little time he heard the voice of Sam Wilson demanding as he opened the door a little way:

“It is you, is it not, Dick?”

“Of course it is. Open the door. There’s no danger jest now.”

The settler complied, and the scout stepped within and the door was immediately closed behind him.

“Are the savages gone?” demanded Ned.

“Yes, that is, they are now. I didn’t find but one of ’em there, and I fixed him so that he won’t trouble us ag’in. I guess it puzzled him a little to think where I come from when I landed on his head. But I did not give him a great while to think about it, afore he had a touch of my knife, which done for him so far as this world is concerned.”

Mrs. Wilson and Ruth shuddered. It made their blood run cold to hear him talk so coolly of what to them, despite the circumstances seemed almost like murder.

“And you still think that we had better leave the cabin?” said Ned.

“Of course. If we stay here a half-hour longer we can’t call our ha’r our own. It will be hanging to the belt of some of the red-skins. Get ready as soon as ye can. Don’t take any thing to weigh ye down for we shall have all we can do to get away with our lives I’m afraid.”

“I shall take my pack,” cried the Yankee. “You don’t think I’ll leave that behind, do ye? I had rather leave my ha’r than that. I might get money enough to buy a wig, but I could never get a new pack ag’in.”

“Take it if you want to,” growled Dick; “but I’ll bet a dollar that the red-skins will have the ransacking of it afore you’re out of this scrape. I believe you think more of that bundle than you do of any thing else in the world.”

“I guess you’re right,” chuckled the Yankee. “I do think a master sight of it. Nigh about as much as I should of a wife if I had one. But I’ll be deuced if I ain’t afraid that the rain will spile every thing there is in it. Say, mister, hadn’t we better wait ’till it holds up a little?”

“Can’t you hold that tongue of your’n?” cried the scout, angrily. “I never saw such a thing to wag in my life. Stay behind if you want to, and make a dicker with the red-skins if you can. Pass me Susannah, Ned, I believe it was you that took her when I went up.”

“Who is Susannah?” inquired the Yankee. “I didn’t know that there was any lady here by that name. Oh! it’s yer rifle, is it? I swan, I never heard a gun called by that name afore.”

Each in obedience to the scout’s commands prepared to leave the cabin.

Hastily Mrs. Wilson and Ruth donned their outer garments so that in a measure they might be protected from the rain.

They could take nothing with them. All they possessed they must leave behind to the savages.

But they gave no thought to this. Could their lives but be spared they would be content.

A few moments sufficed to make them ready for their flight, and then the scout laid his hand upon the door and opened it a little way.

“Come,” he said, quickly. “The clouds are breaking and the rain will be over in a minute. We haven’t got a moment’s time to spare.”

He stepped out into the darkness, followed by Ned, who held the hand of Ruth in his own. Mrs. Wilson came next, and after her the Yankee with his pack upon his back. The settler came last, closing the door of his home behind him with a sad heart. It was not likely, he thought, that he would ever set foot over its threshold again. Once in the hands of the savages they would not leave it until it was a mass of blackened embers.

“Fasten it if you can in some way,” said the scout, in a whisper. “I don’t want them to know that we are gone, if they get here within the next ten minutes.”

There was no way to do this upon the outside, the settler said. The scout hesitated for an instant. If he had felt sure of the time, he would have gone within, made it fast, and come out by way of the roof as he had done before. But he dared not do it, so he said:

“No matter, let it go. Perhaps they won’t think to try the door as soon as they get back. Follow me close and don’t speak above a whisper. We don’t know how near we may come to the red-skins in crossing the clearing. There’s a chance that we may run full into ’em. But we won’t take that so long as there is another. Come on, I’m afeard of them clouds up yonder where the moon is. If they break away and it comes out bright and clear afore we get to the edge of the woods it will be bad for us. If the red-skins get their eye upon us our chances will be slim.”

It was the shortest distance to the woods upon the south, but the scout did not start off in that direction. He thought, and wisely, that the savages would have fled to the nearest point for shelter when the rain drove them from the cabin. Therefore he bent his steps in the opposite direction, while the other fugitives followed close at his heels, hoping that the cover of the forest might be gained in safety before the moon by breaking forth should reveal them to their enemies.

Eagerly they pressed forward as fast as they were able. Despite the symptoms the moon gave of breaking through the clouds, it was still intensely dark. The way was rough, insome places over fallen trees, and here they found it impossible to make the time they hoped to do. Hardly a word passed between them, and when they did open their lips the words they uttered were hardly above their breath. Each felt how much depended upon secrecy and expedition, and therefore they used every caution which was in their power.

“Courage,” whispered the scout. “In three minutes more we shall be safe. I can see the dark line of the woods now, right ahead of us.”

Hardly had the words left his lips before through a rift in the dark clouds a flood of moonlight passed down, revealing the clearing and all it contained almost as plainly as the sunlight would have done.

“Quick! for your lives!” exclaimed the scout, as he broke into a run; but before either of them had gained the shelter of the forest, a fierce war-whoop behind them told that they were discovered.

A cry of terror and despair broke from the lips of Ruth and her mother, as the shout of the savages fell like a knell of death upon their ears.

“Hush! keep quiet as you hope for your lives,” cried the scout, in a thrilling tone. “It may be that they ain’t seen us arter all. Who knows but what they g’in that shout when they got back to the cabin? We had ought to thank our stars that we ain’t back there now.”

Dick looked backward as he said this, hoping that the words he uttered might be true, though he felt sure that they need not hope for any such good luck. That glance showed him how frail his hopes were. Between them and the cabin he could see nearly a score of human forms coming swiftly in their direction. As ill-fortune would have it, the moon had shone out a few moments too soon, and an evil chance had revealed them to the savages at that selfsame moment.

But, the moonlight did not linger long over the clearing. As if content with the mischief it had done, it hid its face again behind the clouds and a deeper gloom than before took its place.

“Courage,” cried Dick, urging them onward. “They’ve got to have sharp eyes if they can find us in the forest afore daylight comes. Strike off here to the left a little. We can fool them now if the moon don’t come out ag’in.”

“Darn it all, I wish I was to hum,” muttered the Yankee. “If I was only up in New Hampshire I’d give a dollar. I sw’ar I would now.”

The movement of the clouds over the face of the moon favored them, and they were well in the shelter of the forest before it showed itself again.

It was so dark here that they could hardly see their hand before their face; but the scout did not allow them to pause for an instant, though they almost had to feel their way along. Yet though they made the best time they could, their pace was slow, for they had as it were to feel their way along. Haste would only expose them to more danger, for they would be liable to make some sound which would betray them. The snapping of a twig might convey to the savages the knowledge of their whereabouts, and expose them to capture or instant death.

For some twenty minutes after they had gained the shelter of the forest, they kept on in this way, and then, in a low tone, the scout bade them pause.

Each stood motionless in their tracks, their ears strained to the utmost to catch the faintest sound of their pursuers.

A silence as profound as that of the grave was around them. The forest seemed to be holding its breath in expectancy.

The savages, if they were following them close, were doing so with noiseless feet, for not the slightest sound could they catch on either side.

After a silence the scout spoke again:

“We’re all right now for an hour or two,” he said. “Unless they stumble over us, they can’t find us more than they can a weasel in a wall. Should the moon come out bright they may strike our trail and follow it, but I hardly thinkthey can. But they will do their best as soon as the sun comes up. But by that time we must be a long way from here toward the settlement. Rushing Water thought he was sure of the gal when he see us, but he’ll find out afore he’s through that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

“That’s what old Sal Fisher used to say up in New Hampshire,” said Peleg. “She—”

What it was she said the company did not learn, for the scout broke in with:

“Keep that tongue of your’n still, will ye? It’s wuss than a clapper to a bell; and I shouldn’t wonder if it brought the hull tribe of savages down upon ye. Follow me ag’in, and don’t one of ye speak above a whisper.”

The Yankee muttered something in so low a tone that none of the rest of them understood what it was; and they all moved forward in the wake of the scout, who notwithstanding the darkness seemed familiar with every step of the way, far more so than did the settlers who for years had lived so close to where they were.

The hand of Ruth was yet in that of her lover, and though it still trembled with fear, the words which he ever and anon whispered in her ear, went far to reassure her and to give her courage.

Sam Wilson walked by the side of his wife, and behind them bringing up the rear came Peleg Parker with his pack upon his back.

And so for an hour they went on, plunging deeper and deeper into the forest, and leaving as they fondly hoped their enemies behind them.

Were they unable to find their trail before daylight, they were in hopes to be so far on their way toward the nearest settlement, that they would have no trouble in making their escape.

Now and then the moon would break through the clouds, deluging the forest with a flood of silver light, and then it would hide its face again leaving the night blacker than it was before.

The scout knew well that a savage, even, could not follow a trail under these circumstances, and with every minutethey remained unmolested his spirits rose and he felt more sanguine of their escape.

Nearly an hour had passed, and they had kept steadily on their way; when suddenly the scout who had glanced behind them, as the moon broke forth brilliantly, bade them pause in their tracks.

“What is it? Did you see any thing?” demanded Ned Tapley, in a low tone.

“Hist! the red-skins are close behind us!” he answered, in a low voice.

A thrill of alarm and fear struck to the heart of each at these words.

After all their hopes of escape, were they doomed to destruction?

“Are you sure it was savages you saw?” asked Sam Wilson, in a whisper, as he cast a glance backward over the way they had come.

“Yes. There is one if not more upon our track. I saw him dart behind a tree as plainly as I can see you now. Most like there are others along with him though I did not see them.”

“What are we to do?”

“Circumvent the varmints if we can. I know some of their tricks, and I’m going to play ’em off on them. The moon will be under a cloud ag’in in a minute and then I’ll see what can be done. Till then let’s keep on as we’ve been going.”

They went on for perhaps a dozen rods, and then the forest was buried in darkness again.

“Now is our time,” exclaimed the scout. “I’ll let these red-skins know that Dick, the Death-Dealer, is on their track yet. He’s sent a great many of ’em under, and he ain’t got through with the business yet. You, Sam, go slowly on with the wimmen, and Ned you come with me. You are a good shot and it may be that I shall have need of you.”

“You don’t want me, I expect,” said Peleg. “I never was very good at fighting, and besides I’ve got this ere pack to see to. If the red-skins get hold on it, I’m ruined etarnelly.”

“No, I don’t want you,” answered Dick. “Stay whereyou are, and try to keep that tongue of yours still. Mind your rifle, Ned, and come with me.”

The young man gave the hand of Ruth a warm pressure, and whispered a word of assurance in her ear. Then he allowed her to pass on, while he came and stood by the side of the scout, who did not stir out of his tracks until the others had moved on some dozen yards or more.

“What are you going to do?” he asked, in a low tone.

“Find out how many red-skins there is behind us, and shoot ’em all if we can. You see that big tree yonder. Well, get behind it, and shoot the first red-skin that shows himself. I’ll ’tend to the next one, that comes to hand. We’ve got to fight ’em here, or the gal is Rushing Water’s, and we lose our scalps in the bargain.”

“I am ready,” answered Ned. “I had rather die a dozen deaths and see her a corpse, than she should fall into the hands of the red-skins.”

“I don’t doubt it a bit, youngster. But between you and I, I’m afeard our chances are mighty slim. This is a ticklish scrape we’re in, and if we all get out of it and save our ha’r, we shall do well. But let’s take our places and see who comes along. If the red-skins have kept on track of us, they’ll show themselves in a minute or two. Mind that you don’t waste a bullet, for ev’ry shot is going to tell in this scrape.”

Ned moved to the spot the scout had assigned him, and took up his position behind the trunk of the tree. Dick at once took a similar position, and motionless they waited for the coming of their enemies.

One, two, five minutes passed, and there was no sign of their coming.

Could it be that the scout had been mistaken? Though it was dark it was impossible that they should pass them without making their presence known.

Two minutes more passed and then a flood of moonlight poured down upon the spot.

So sudden did it come, that for a moment it almost blinded the eyes of Ned, with its brilliancy. But they became used to it in a moment, and glancing back along the way they had come, he saw a savage within two rods of him.

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