he saw a naked arm emerge from behind some skins which hung
from the upper part of the lodge quite down to the ground, and bury a
tomahawk in the head of the intruder, who fell dead upon the spot. At
the same instant, the dreadful war-whoop rung through the air, and the
chief leaping to his feet, and accompanied by the warrior, who had
been concealed, the two sprung into the open space in front. Arundel
too, hastened after them. In the star-light no objects were clearly
discernible, but dark figures could be dimly seen, engaged in hand to
hand contests, and the cracking of dry branches under trampling feet
could be heard. These sounds were mingled with thick panting breaths,
and occasionally the fall of a body on the ground. They lasted but a
few moments, and then a silence succeeded, as deep as if no living
thing were in the forest. As the eyes of Arundel became more
accustomed to the darkness, he beheld a tall form near by, which he
recognized for that of Sassacus, and immediately approached him.

The chief was standing near the body of a huge Indian, who was lying
prostrate on the earth. He was in the last agonies of death, and while
Arundel was looking on, the sinewy limbs quivered into immobility. Nor
had Sassacus escaped without a wound. The blood was streaming from a
gash in his side, indistinctly seen by light from the fire, but he
paid no heed to it, and the result proved it not to be dangerous.

When the dusky warrior had breathed his last, the chief uttered a
peculiar cry, and immediately half a dozen stalwart men, several of
whom had each a fresh scalp hanging at his girdle, surrounded him. He
addressed them in their own language, and from his gestures, and the
looks of his companions, Arundel supposed that he was speaking of him.
He next pointed to the dead body, and seemed to be giving orders
concerning it. One of the Indians stooped down, and with his knife
made a motion as if to take off the scalp, but being rebuked by the
chief, he desisted, and then lent his assistance to two others in
bearing away the corpse. Arundel had the curiosity to follow. The
three bore the body to the bank of the river, where, binding it with
withes to several large limbs of trees, they thrust it into the
stream, and left it to find its way to the ocean. A few earnest words,
unintelligible to the young man, were on their return spoken by
Sassacus, who had meanwhile had a styptic applied to his wound. When
he had finished spe