Presently they heard voices and saw the figures of the leaders appear among the trees. The Warriors were sure of victory, and they had no thought of the Lake Men coming out to meet them; so they were marching carelessly along, thinking more of getting their canoes up the hill than of preparing to fight. They streamed out into the open, led by their chief who was carrying his axe on his shoulder. Garff waited till the band were well away from the shelter of the trees, and then he sprang to his feet with a great shout. At once his men leaped up, and sent a deadly shower of arrows at the enemy; and every man, as soon as he had shot, fitted another arrow and shot again. Many of the Warriors fell, and many were wounded, and they were thrown into great confusion. But their chief rushed down their ranks shouting to them not to give way, but to take their shields and advance. Then to gain time and to save his broken line, he dashed forward alone, holding up his arm. Garff signed to his men to cease shooting, and the chief of the Warriors came on shouting: “Let one of you fight with me! If there be a man among you, let him come forth and fight with me!” Then Garff strode out from among his men and went forward to meet the chief, who stood brandishing his axe, which glittered as he waved it in the sunlight. And the chief cried out: [Illustration: The Warrior Chief] “Ho! Ho! This is my axe! Skull-pecker is his name, for he has pecked open many a skull--ay, and split them in twain and eaten up the brains. Come on, come on! He will split thy skull even as the others, and slice thy flesh and chop up thy bones. Come on, come on!” But when the chief saw Garff coming out to meet him, he stopped his boasting, for he saw that he had met as tough a fighter as himself. Each man had thrown down his shield and each grasped his axe with both hands. Garff’s weapon was a battle-axe of stone, heavy and strong, but not so keen as the bronze axe of his enemy and not so deadly, unless he could get in a sweeping blow. The chief of the Warriors was taller than Garff, but not stronger, though Garff had the longer arms and was the more active of the two; also the chief had been wounded in the thigh by an arrow, and although he had tugged it out, he could not stop the flow of blood.