Quartermaster and Cap, however, for even the French officer, who had
hitherto stood his ground so well, shrank back at the sound of the
terrible name. So unwilling, indeed, did this individual, a man of iron
nerves, and one long accustomed to the dangers of the peculiar warfare
in which he was engaged, appear to remain exposed to the assaults of
Killdeer, whose reputation throughout all that frontier was as well
established as that of Marlborough in Europe, that he did not disdain to
seek a cover, insisting that his two prisoners should follow him. Mabel
was too glad to be rid of her enemies to lament the departure of her
friends, though she kissed her hand to Cap through the loop, and called
out to him in terms of affection as he moved slowly and unwillingly
away.

The enemy now seemed disposed to abandon all attempts on the blockhouse
for the present; and June, who had ascended to a trap in the roof,
whence the best view was to be obtained, reported that the whole party
had assembled to eat, on a distant and sheltered part of the island,
where Muir and Cap were quietly sharing in the good things which were
going, as if they had no concern on their minds. This information
greatly relieved Mabel, and she began to turn her thoughts again to the
means of effecting her own escape, or at least of letting her father
know of the danger that awaited him. The Sergeant was expected to return
that afternoon, and she knew that a moment gained or lost might decide
his fate.

Three or four hours flew by. The island was again buried in a profound
quiet, the day was wearing away, and yet Mabel had decided on nothing.
June was in the basement, preparing their frugal meal, and Mabel herself
had ascended to the roof, which was provided with a trap that allowed
her to go out on the top of the building, whence she commanded the best
view of surrounding objects that the island possessed; still it was
limited, and much obstructed by the tops of trees. The anxious girl
did not dare to trust her person in sight, knowing well that the
unrestrained passions of some savage might induce him to send a bullet
through her brain. She merely kept her head out of the trap, therefore,
whence, in the course of the afternoon, she made as many surveys of the
different channels about the island as "Anne, sister Anne," took of the
environs of the castle of Blue Beard.

The sun had actually set; no intelligence had been received from the
boats, and Mabel