"And if they do fire the cabin, what shall we do? I never thought of that." "We must remain in it as long as we can, and then sally out and fight to the last; but everything depends on circumstances. Be guided by me, and I will save you if I can." "Be guided by you!" "Yes! Recollect I am not in chains now, and that although you have the courage of a man, still you have not been so accustomed to warfare as I have been. I have long been accustomed to command, to plan, and to execute, in times of peril like this." "You have great strength and courage; I little thought what a lion I had chained up," replied she. "Well, I love you all the better for it, and I will be guided by you, for I perceive already that you have the best head of the two. Hark! What is that?" "It is what I said," replied I; "they are laying fire-wood against the logs of the cabin on the windward side--(this was on the side opposite to the door). Now we must try if we cannot pick off some more of them," said I, rising and taking a musket. "Bring the stools over to this side, for we must fire from the upper loop-holes." We remained at our posts for some time without seeing an Indian. They had gone back to the wood for more combustibles. At last we perceived them coming back with the wood. I should imagine there were at least twenty of them. "Now, take good aim," said I. We both fired almost at the same moment, and three Indians fell. "Get down, and give me another musket," said I to my mistress. She handed me one, and, taking another for herself, resumed her station. We fired several times; sometimes with and sometimes without success; for the Indians went away twice for fire-wood before they had collected what they considered sufficient. By this time it was piled up to the eaves of the cabin, and our loop-holes were shut up; we therefore went over to the other side, where the door was, to see if there were any Indians there, but could not see one. We had been on the look-out for about five minutes, when the crackling of the wood, and the smoke forcing itself though the crevices between the logs, told us that the fire had been applied, and the wind soon fanned it up so that the flame poured through every chink and loop-hole, and lighted up the cabin. "We must retreat to the fire-place," said I. "Come quickly, or we shall be shot." "Why so?" said she, as she did as I requested. "They will peep through the loop-holes on the side of the cabin where the door is and see us plainly, until the cabin is filled with smoke, which it soon will be." "But tell me what we are to do now, for I feel if this smoke increases we shall not be able to speak to one another." This she said about five minutes after we had remained standing in the fire-place, with our heads up the chimney.