mad dog or a venomous reptile whose
living on imperiled the life and honor of the woman we loved.

Thrice, whilst I held him in play, Dick rushed in to end it with a
scythe-sweep of the broadsword; and thrice the Scottish death was turned
aside by the flashing circle of steel wherewith the man striving
shrewdly to gain time made shift to shield himself.

Yet it was not in flesh and blood to fend the double onslaught for more
than some brief minute or two. Play as he would--and no
_schlaegermeister_, of my old field-marshal's picked troop could best him
at this game of parry and defense--he must give ground step by step;
slowly at the pressing of the Ferara, and in quick backward leaps when
the great broadsword bit at him.

For the first few bouts he withstood us in grim silence. But now Richard
cut in again and the claymore stroke, less skilfully turned aside,
brought him to his knees. This broke his bull courage somewhat, and
though he was afoot and on guard before my point could reach him, he
began to bellow lustily for help.

As you would suppose, the call was all unneeded. At the first clash of
steel the outlying troopers were up and swarming to the rescue; and now
on all sides came the trampling rush of the in-closing cordon line.

Had Falconnet held his ground a moment longer he would have had us fast
in the jaws of the trooper-trap; but 'tis the fatal flaw in mere brute
courage that it will break at the pinch. No sooner did the volunteer
captain catch a glimpse of his up-coming reinforcements than he must
needs show us a clean pair of heels, running like a craven coward and
shouting madly to his men to close with us and cut us down.

"After him!" roared Dick, who was by now as rage-mad as any berserker;
and with a cut and thrust to right and left for the nipping trap-jaws we
were out and away in chase.

Now you may mark this as you will; that whilst the devil hath need of
his bond-servant he will come between with a miracle if need be to keep
the villain breath of life in his vassal. Three bounds beyond the
closing trap-jaws fetched us, pursued and pursuers, to the open camp
field; and here the devil's miracle was wrought. Out of the forest
fringe, out of the skirting of undergrowth, out of the very earth, as it
seemed, uprose a yelling mob of Cherokees--the detachment we had met in
the cavern returned in the very nick of time to cut us off from the
pursuit and to ring us in a whooping circle of death.