ke hunted hares. See, they have no notion of
any foe save the one in front. Keep beneath the shadow of the
forest till the last moment, and then rush them and fire!"

The men nodded, and unslung their guns. They made no noise gliding
down the steep snow bank upon their long shoes, and then out upon
the ice of the lake.

"Fire!" exclaimed Stark at the right moment; and as one man the
Rangers halted, and each picked his man.

Crack-crack-crack!

Literally each bullet told. Twelve dusky savages bounded into the
air, and fell dead upon the blood-stained snow.

Crack-crack-crack!

The affrighted Indians had faced round only to meet another volley
from the intrepid little band behind.

That was enough. The prowess of the Rangers was well known from one
end of the lake to the other. To be hemmed in between two companies
was more than Indian bravery or Indian stoicism could stand. With
yells of terror they dropped their arms and fled to the forest,
followed by a fierce firing from both parties, which made great
havoc in their ranks. The rout was complete and instantaneous. Had
it not been for panic, they might have paused to note how few were
those new foes in number, and how small even the united body was as
compared with their own numbers; but they fled, as Stark had
foretold, like hunted hares, and the white men were left upon the
lake face to face, with dead and dying Indians around them.

An enormously tall man leaped up from behind the rampart of
sledges, and came forward with outstretched hand. He was a man of
magnificent physique, with a mass of wild, tangled hair and beard,
and black eyes which seemed to burn like live coals. His features
were rugged and rather handsome, and his nose was of very large
proportions.

Stark took a step forward and shook the outstretched hand. He knew
this man, from descriptions received of him during their months of
wandering.

"You are Captain Rogers?"

"Robert Rogers, of the Rangers, at your service," replied the
other, in a deep, sonorous voice, which seemed to match his size;
"and this is my brother Richard," as another fine-looking man
approached and held out his hand to their deliverers. "And right
glad are we to welcome such bold spirits amongst us, though who you
are and whence you come we know not. You have saved us from peril
of death tonight, and Rogers never forgets a service like that."

"We have come from far to seek you," answered Stark; "we ourselves
are