the negroes had the greatest dread; and even the bravest,
who were ready to match themselves against armed Spaniards, yet
trembled at the thought of the encounter with these ferocious
animals.

It was clear that no repetition of the tactics formerly pursued
would be possible; for if any attempt at night attacks were made,
the dogs would rush out and attack them; and not only prove
formidable enemies themselves, but guide the Spaniards to the
places where they were stationed. Ned and Gerald would fain have
persuaded the natives that dogs, after all, however formidable they
might appear, were easily mastered by well-armed men; and that any
dog rushing to attack them would be pierced with spears and arrows,
to say nothing of being shot by the arquebuses, before he could
seize any of them. The negroes, however, had known so many cases in
which fugitives had been horribly torn, and indeed, frequently
killed, by these ferocious animals, that the dread of them was too
great for them to listen to the boys' explanations. The latter,
seeing that it would be useless to attempt to overcome their fears,
on this ground, abstained from the attempt.

It had been agreed that, in the event of the Spaniards advancing
from different quarters, one column only should be selected for a
main attack; and that, while the others should be harassed by small
parties, who should cast down rocks upon them while passing through
the gorges, and so inflict as much damage as possible, no attempt
would be made to strike any serious blow upon them. The column
selected for attack was, naturally, that whose path led through the
points which had been most strongly prepared and fortified. This
band mustered about three hundred; and was clearly too strong to be
attacked, in open fight, by the forest bands. Gerald and Ned had
already talked the matter over in every light, and decided that a
purely defensive fight must be maintained; each place where
preparations had been made being held to the last, and a rapid
retreat beaten to the next barricade.

The Spaniards advanced in heavy column. At a distance of a hundred
yards, on each side, marched a body of fifty in compact mass,
thereby sheltering the main body from any sudden attack.

The first point at which the lads had determined to make a stand
was the mouth of a gorge. Here steep rocks rose perpendicularly
from the ground, running almost like a wall along that portion of
the forest. In the midst of this