to his panting comrades.
"They'll get over their fright in a minute or two and be after us."

"I'm thinkin' you're right," said Seth Cole, "but nothin' kin save this
boat now. She must be an old one. She burns so fast."

Henry sprang into the river and the five followed him, swimming with
their utmost power toward the southern shore. They heard behind them the
crackling of the flames, and a crimson light was cast upon the water.

Henry looked back over his shoulder. The boat was blazing, but the light
from it reached his comrades and himself. The Indians on the bank saw
them. Hasty bullets began to flick the water near them. Canoes were
already starting in chase.

"If that light keeps up, they're bound to git us," said Seth Cole.

"But it won't keep up," said Henry. "Swim, boys! Swim with all your
might! It's not Indians alone that we've got to dodge!"

Tired as they were, they increased their speed by a supreme effort for a
minute or so, and then as if by the same impulse all looked back. The
boat was a mass of flame, a huge core of light, casting a brilliant
reflection far out over the river and upon the bank, where trees,
bushes, and warriors alike stood out in the red flare.

The boat seemed to quiver, and suddenly it leaped into the air. Then
came a tremendous explosion and a gush of overpowering flame. Henry and
his comrades dived instantly and swam as far as they could under water
toward the eastern shore. When they came up again the flatboat and its
terrible cannon were gone, heavy darkness again hung over land and
water, and pieces of burning wood were falling with a hissing splash
into the river. But they heard the voices of warriors calling to each
other, organizing already for pursuit. Their expedition was a brilliant
success, but Henry knew that it would be a hard task to regain Fort
Prescott. Led by the renegades and driven on by their bitter chagrin,
the Indians would swarm upon the river in their canoes, seeking for them
everywhere with eyes used to darkness.

"Are you all here, boys?" he asked. He had been scorched on the shoulder
by a burning fragment, but in the excitement he did not notice it. Two
of the men were slightly wounded, but at that time they thought nothing
of their hurts. All six were there, and at Henry's suggestion they dived
again, floating down stream as long as they could hold their breath.
When they came up again the six heads were somewhat scattered, but Henry
called to the