had come; but
my father's voice rang out, calling upon the men to stand fast, and it
was well that his order was promptly obeyed, for almost immediately
after there was a whizzing sound that I well knew, accompanied by a
sharp series of pats as of arrows striking wood, and we knew that the
Indians were attacking on our side too.

Then followed the quick firm command, and the darkness was cut by the
flashes of a dozen fire-locks, whose reports went rolling away, to be
echoed by the great trees of the forest beyond the clearings.

Then nothing was heard but the quick beating and hissing of the iron
ramrods in the guns, while I stood close under the shelter of the fence,
listening intently in the terrible silence, and trying to make out
whether the Indians were near.

Again came the report of a firelock, and a volley from nearer the gate,
followed by a burst of yells; and a minute later a fresh volley, and the
same defiant shouting, just as if the Indians had made their attack in
four different places, but had been checked by the watchfulness of our
men, who had been thoroughly prepared for the attacks.

I was wondering to myself whether the Indians were in a body, and had
come on in one place, and then hurried on to the others, or were in four
different bodies; but my wonderings soon ceased, for I quite started at
hearing a voice close to my ear.

"No got arrow 'tick in um dis time, Mass' George. Tell um Injum coming
again."

"Where? Where?" I whispered.

"Pomp see um crawl 'long de groun' like 'gator," he said. "Dah--one,
two, tick, nineteen, twenty."

I gazed intently over the fence, but could only see the dark ground; but
Pomp's warning was too valuable to be trifled with. He had proved
himself now, and I hurried to where my father stood ready with twenty of
our men, and told him.

He gave orders, and half the men fired slowly, one after the other, the
instructions being to those who held their fire, that if they could make
out the bodies of the crawling Indians by the flashing of their
comrades' pieces, they were to fire too.

The rapid scattered reports were followed by a furious burst of yells;
there was the rush of feet, sounds as of blows struck against the stout
poles, and directly after, dimly-seen against the starlit sky, dark
grotesque-looking heads appeared as at least a dozen of the Indians
gained the top of the defence, but only to be beaten back by the
butt-ends of the men's fire-locks, a