handful
of nuts, and some potatoes, and a crust of bread, and some trinkets
that must have fallen from Charlie's pocket; "den Long Hair see Injins
come, one, two, tree, ten, twenty, many; come all round, crawling,
crawling; get near cabin; Injin think nobody in cabin, 'cause get
near; rifle shoot from cabin, one, two, tree, many rifle; scare Injin;
Injin run like deer; Long Hair wait to see if Injin come again; no
come; shoot from cabin at Long Hair; come out tree; get behind tree
quick; make peace sign at cabin,--no bleeve Long Hair; try shoot at
him; Long Hair come way--come to fort!"

"Well, that's strange," said General McElroy; "from Long Hair's
account, there seems to be a number in the cabin; it must be that all
the settlers were not massacred, and have returned, and taken
possession of the cabin; we must send a force to their relief."

"But where are Charlie and Bub?" asked Mrs. Jones of the Indian.

"Long Hair don't know; think in cabin."

"How many persons, should you judge from the firing, were in the
cabin?" inquired the general.

"Long Hair don't know; no trail."

"What does Long Hair mean by that?" asked Mrs. McElroy of her
husband.

"He means that there is no appearance of any of the settlers being
about the cabin," said the general, "which makes the matter still more
incomprehensible; for if any of the settlers had come back, Long Hair
would have traced them. Isn't that it, Long Hair?" The Indian nodded
assent. "And yet he says that there were many guns fired," continued
the general; "so many that quite a force of the assailing Indians were
panic-struck, and fled. How was the firing done, Long Hair? As if by
persons that were used to handling the rifle?"

"One, two, tree, bery good; hit Injin some; shoot at Long Hair good;
much hard get way; to the most, much poor--shoot here, shoot dere,
shoot everywhere!"

"But what makes you think the children are in the cabin?" asked Mrs.
Jones; for, mother-like, her thoughts were constantly recurring to
them.

"Trail go towards cabin," replied the sagacious red man; "couldn't
follow trail; shoot Long Hair if he follow trail."

"I think that Long Hair is right," said the general, striking the
table with the flat of his hand: "your boys were born to be heroes,
madam. If I mistake not, that Charlie and Bub of yours were the
defenders of that cabin against the savages. And yet," he added,
doubtfully, "that is simply absurd; it's beyond the power of two