afforded a scanty
footing, down which the Indian glided, Tom following him, although
dizzy with the height. Passing along for a short distance, they came
to a scrub oak, the roots of which had struck into the side of the
ledge. Climbing around it, a small opening appeared. Motioning Tom to
enter, Long Hair said,--

"If both stay, Injun kill both. Long Hair run swift like deer;" and he
darted up the ridge again with cat-like agility.

When Tom's eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he found himself in
a spacious, rocky room. It was one of those natural caves which seem
as if the work of art, rather than a freak of nature. The room was
almost a perfect square, and extending around its sides was a seat of
solid rock, while in a square hole, which looked as if it had been
excavated for the purpose, was a spring, the water of which was icy
cold, and of crystal clearness.

Tom seated himself to await the result of the strange events that had
so suddenly befallen him. Not a sound was to be heard in the forest;
and had he not known enough of the Indian acuteness in detecting the
approach of a concealed or distant foe, he would have doubted Long
Hair's representations of the impending peril. Indeed, as the moments
sped,--and they seemed long to him,--he had begun to consider the
propriety of venturing out to look about a little, when a slight
rustle in the ravine below arrested his attention. At any other time
he would not have noticed the sound, it was so like the passing of the
breeze. The scrawny roots of the tree at the entrance of the cave, and
the darkness within, protected him from observation; and, drawing
nearer the mouth of the cavern, he watched the bushes below with
strained eye. He had not long to wait when he saw an Indian creeping
cautiously along; then, a little farther off, another came into view,
and still another. They were Long Hair's pursuers; and from their
belts hung a number of scalps, which, from their bloody appearance,
showed that they had recently been taken; and the luxuriant tresses of
some of them indicated that they were from the heads of white women.
At the sight Tom's blood almost froze in his veins. But his heart gave
a sudden bound as he heard the sound of soft footfalls. From this he
judged that the Indians had got upon Long Hair's trail, and some of
them had gone round in front of the ridge, while the others followed
closely in his track. Tom felt that his hour had come, and a mortal