“Meaning that when we gave them the dose they needed inside the stockade, all the others grew disheartened,” Master Bartlett interrupted. “It is the way the sneaks have. If you once get the upper hand of them, they are whipped to a standstill.” “It was not until nearly morning that we came to a little hill this side the fort, where we could have a view of all that was going on,” Giles continued; “but long before arriving there, we heard the howls and yells of the Mohawks, as they sang what we fancied was a dirge for those who had been left behind. By the light of the many fires which had been built, for they believed themselves secure from an attack because of being so near the fort, we could see not less than two hundred of the villains, with here and there a white man among them, and I have the idea that John Butler has got a reasonably big job on his hands to hold the red allies in place, simply because the Minute Boys of Wyoming Valley thrashed them out of their boots.” “There is no question but that the one fight would have sent them back home, save for the fact that others are on the way to join them,” Master Bartlett added. “The lodges appeared to be deserted, and we could see Esther Hinchman sitting outside that one on the river bank. Now you must know that all this hullabaloo was going on in front of the stockade, and perhaps two hundred yards from the nearest wigwam, therefore, taking Master Bartlett’s advice, we made our way down to the stream, where a dead tree was floating in the eddy. Wading into the water, we pushed that off. The branches hid our heads from view, and the remainder of our bodies were beneath the surface. It was an easy matter to make it appear as if the tree grounded by accident directly in front of the lodge where Esther Hinchman was sitting, and then, watching his chance, Daniel went up to her. The only fear was that the girl might scream; but it so happened she did not, and in less than five minutes she also was in the water, clinging to the tree.” “But surely you could not get up-stream in the same way,” I interrupted, and Giles replied, with a laugh: “No, and neither did we try, for about the time Esther Hinchman joined us, the whole gang of Indians filed into the fort, where, most likely, they were to be feasted, in order to brace them up after the disaster of the night. Then was the time when I believed we should make our way into the thicket again, but Master Bartlett insisted that it would be little less than wicked to lose the chance of adding to our store of provisions, so he and I made a regular search of the lodges.” “You were taking too big a risk,” I cried. [Illustration: “‘WATCHING HIS CHANCE, DANIEL WENT UP TO HER.’”] “Having gotten the girl, you should have been satisfied.”