ittle
rest.

But this rest was not of long duration. Early the next morning,
before it was well light, Charles, the sleepless watcher, awoke the
camp by his low whistle of warning.

"I hear the sound of a sledge on the ice!" he said.

In a moment every Ranger was on the alert; every man had seized his
weapons, the fires were stamped out, and preparations were made for
an instant move.

A few minutes more and they heard the sound also--the sharp ring of
a sledge upon the ice, and the beat of horse hooves as it drew
nearer.

Now horses were prizes greatly in demand at the English fort, and
Rogers was eager to obtain possession of this prize. He called out
to Stark to make a dash along the lake side with a dozen of his
men, and try to head it off towards the spot where he and the rest
of the Rangers would wait. And hardly had the order left his lips
before Stark was off upon his mission.

On and on dashed the sledge with its unsuspecting occupants. They
had come forth from Ticonderoga, and were heading for Crown Point.
Stark and his men flitted like shadows along the snowy banks. The
horses paused. There was something amiss with the harness. Stark
looked at his men, gave a fine English cheer, and rushed forth upon
the ice, with a dozen stout followers at his heels.

In a moment the occupants of the sledge saw their peril. A yell
arose from the throats of all the three. They turned like
lightning, and the horses sprang forward at a gallop; but in a
moment they were surrounded by Stark and his men, who called upon
them to surrender, and sprang at the horses to stay their headlong
flight.

But now a new terror was added to the scene. Round the bend of the
lake swept other sledges--quite an army of them; and whilst the
French sent up shouts for help, Stark looked round to see what
Rogers and his company were doing.

"Here they come! here they come! Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' Rangers!"
yelled his men, as they saw the compact band of veteran woodsmen
rushing forth to their aid.

That cry was well known to the French. For a moment there was a
pause, the sledges pulling up as though in doubt whether to rush
forward and seek to fight their way through, or to turn and run
back to Ticonderoga. But the energy with which the Rangers came on
settled that point. Every sledge wheeled round and fled, whilst
Rogers' men dashed helter skelter upon them, flinging themselves
upon the horses, firing at the occupants, and in spite