to be first, yelling like fiends, guns
brandished in air, or spitting fire, animated by but one purpose--the
battering of a way into that cabin. I know not who led them--all I saw
was a mass of half-naked bodies bounding toward me, long hair
streaming, copper faces aglow, weapons glittering in the light. Yes, I
saw more--the meaning of that fierce rush; the instrument of
destruction they brought with them. It was there in the center of the
maelstrom of leaping figures, protected by the grouped bodies, half
hidden by gesticulating red arms--a huge log, borne irresistibly
forward on the shoulders of twenty warriors, gripped by other hands,
and hurled toward us as though swept on by a human sea. Again and
again I fired blindly into the yelping mob; I heard the crack of Tim's
rifle echoing mine, and the chug of lead from without striking the
solid logs. Bullets ploughed crashing through the door panels and
Elsie's shrill screams of fright rang out above the unearthly din. A
slug tore through my loophole, drawing blood from my shoulder in its
passage, and imbedded itself in the opposite wall. In front of me
savages fell, staggering, screams of anger and agony mingling as the
astonished assailants realized the fight before them. An instant we
held them, startled, and demoralized. The warriors bearing the log
stumbled over a dead body and went down, the great timber crushing out
another life as it fell. Again we fired, this time straight into their
faces--but there was no stopping them. A red blanket flashed back
beyond the big tree; a guttural voice shouted, its hoarse note rising
above the hellish uproar, and those demons were on their feet again,
filled with new frenzy. It was a minute--no more. With a blow that
shook the cabin, propelled by twenty strong arms, the great tree butt
struck, splintering the oak wood as though it were so much pine, and
driving a jagged hole clear through one panel. Kennedy was there,
blazing away directly into the assailants eyes, and I joined him.

Again they struck, and again, the jagged end of their battering ram
protruded through the shattered wood. We killed, but they were too
many. Once more the great butt came crashing forward, this time caving
in the entire door, bursting it back upon its hinges. In through the
opening the red mob hurled itself, reckless of death or wounds, mad
with the thirst for victory; a jam of naked beasts, crazed by the smell
of blood--a wave of s