ire had come from behind the cabin, and another bullet,
finding one of the gaping cracks, passed between them with a sound like
the buzz of a monster bee. With a sudden cry he caught her in his arms
and held her tight, as if in his embrace he would shield her.

"Is it possible--they would kill _you_ to get me?"

He loosed his hold of her, sprang to the broken stove, and began
dragging it out of the line of fire that came through the door. The Girl
saw his peril and sprang to help him. He had no time to urge her back.
In ten seconds he had the stove close to the wall, and almost forcibly
he made her crouch down behind it.

"If you expose yourself for one second I swear to Heaven I'll stand up
there against the door until I'm shot!" he threatened. "I will, so help
me God!"

His brain was afire. He was no longer cool or self-possessed. He was
blind with a wild rage, with a mad desire to reach in some way, with his
vengeance, the human beasts who were bent on his death even if it was to
be gained at the sacrifice of the Girl. He rushed to the side of the
cabin from which the fresh attack had come, and glared through one of
the embrasures between the logs. He was close to Tara, and he heard the
low, steady thunder that came out of the grizzly's chest. His enemies
were near on this side. Their fire came from the rocks not more than a
hundred yards away, and all at once, in the heat of the great passion
that possessed him now, he became suddenly aware that they knew the only
weapon he possessed was Nisikoos' little rifle--and Hauck's revolver.
Probably they knew also how limited his ammunition was. And they were
exposing themselves. Why should he save his last three shots? When they
were gone and he no longer answered their fire they would rush the
cabin, beat in the door, and then--the revolver! With that he would tear
out their hearts as they entered. He saw Hauck, fired and missed. A man
stood up within seventy yards of the cabin a moment later, firing as
fast as he could pump the lever of his gun, and David drove one of
Nisikoos' partridge-killers straight into his chest. He fired a second
time at Hauck--another miss! Then he flung the useless rifle to the
floor as he sprang back to Marge.

"Got one. Five left. Now--damn 'em--let then come!"

He drew Hauck's revolver. A bullet flew through one of the cracks, and
they heard the soft thud of it as it struck Tara. The growl in the
grizzly's throat burst forth in a roar