We knew full well that no attack would be made until night was nearly come, unless it so chanced our people ventured out incautiously, and settled down with whatsoever of patience we could command, to await their movements. It must have been nearabout noon when we arrived, and until sunset did we lie in the thicket like logs of wood, not daring to move lest we make so much of a noise as might give warning of our whereabouts. What a blessed relief it was, when the gloom of night came like a film through the foliage, to see those half-naked villains move more closely together as if making ready for action, and only then did Master Bartlett give signs that he was on the alert. By gestures he made Giles March and me understand that we were to take stations twenty paces to the right of him, and not to open fire until his musket had been discharged. Inch by inch we wormed ourselves through the leaves and vines until having gained the station pointed out, and there waited impatiently for that struggle which might end only with the death of one or all, for it was by no means certain the savages would fall readily into our trap. Then, as the gloom thickened, we could see the dark forms of the murderers as they crept silently through the screen of bushes toward the cave, and I knew it was their purpose to press on until it might be possible to thrust their muskets between the rocks before firing. I literally held my breath with suspense, fearing lest Stephen Morley be caught off his guard, and could have cried aloud in triumph when the report of a musket rang out, while one of the painted crew came staggering through the bushes to sink on the ground as if having got a mortal hurt. The curs had found that they could not hope to catch Stephen Morley napping, and once more they crouched behind the screen of bushes as if for a consultation. Then, when perhaps ten minutes more had passed, we could see even in the darkness that they were making ready for another move, and I fancied it was possible to distinguish a movement of Master Bartlett’s arm, as if he warned us that our time had come at last. With our muskets raised, Giles March and I waited, and at the very moment when the savages vanished into the gloom a bright flash and a ringing report from the direction of where I had last seen Master Bartlett, sounded our signal to begin the fight; but, alas! it was no longer possible for us to carry out the plan as it had been arranged. The one thought in my mind was that if Giles March and I failed of doing our share, the curs would skulk here and there in the thicket, and instead of our being able to give them such a lesson as we had counted on, it would be a question whether we might be able to make our way back to Eben Towle’s tunnel. All this passed through my mind like a flash, and the echoes of Master Bartlett’s weapon had not yet died away when I sprang forward, followed so closely by Giles March that it was as if we had been yoked together.