le height. On the most
elevated portion grew the tallest of the trees, which gradually
diminished in size, till at the lower end they were mere bushes. The
current of the river beating against the upper end washed away the
earth, and carried the soil to the lower end, leaving an annual deposit
there.

From the high ground the water had gullied for its passage a channel to
the lower end. As the descent was considerable, it was dry except
during heavy rains. This gully in the part of the island where we had
halted was about four feet deep. Farther up and lower down it was less
than this. In leading the way up to Mr. Gracewood's house, I had
followed this channel, and when we stopped, I had taken shelter behind
a tree on the side of it, whose roots reached into it. The Indians were
some distance from the gully, which led, in a sinuous course, within a
few rods of the house.

"I am going to do something," said I, when I had arranged a plan to
take advantage of the shelter the gully would afford me. "I will follow
this channel up till I can got a good shot at the Indians. When I fire,
you do the same."

"Don't be rash, Phil," said Morgan, who perhaps thought he ought to
perform the perilous work of the expedition; but really one place was
just as safe as the other.

"I will take care of myself," I replied. "Twenty rods farther up the
gully I shall be in position to see behind the trees where the Indians
are. I shall bring down one of them then."

"All right, Phil; but the Indians will see you when you leap into the
gully," added Morgan.

"I shall run the risk of that. If you will do the same, we can make a
sure thing of it."

"I will, for one. I won't have a boy like you get ahead of me; but I
thought you wanted us to stay here."

"One of you stay behind the tree, and the other jump into the ditch."

"All right. I'll jump in," said Morgan.

"I will go up the gully; you go down. I will go without noise; you will
make a noise, so as to make the Indians think we have both gone down
towards the place where we landed. Do you understand me?"

"Like a book."

"And, Plunkett, you must keep both eyes wide open. If an Indian shows
his head, shoot him."

"I'll do that."

"But don't show your own head."

"I won't do that."

I leaped into the gully as soon as I had completed my preparations. One
of the Indians fired instantly. Morgan promptly followed me, and
without drawing the fire of the Indians. I crept careful