swiftly over the camp in pursuit. One of these,
pausing for one moment beside the dead Indian, seized him by the hair,
passed his knife swiftly round the head so as to cut the skin all round,
tore off the scalp, and stuck it under his girdle as he leaped on in
pursuit.

Fortunately the prisoners were not observed. Larry on being awakened by
the yell had half raised himself, but, recollecting Big Ben's caution,
dropped down again and remained perfectly still. The attacking party
had, of course, seen the sentinels fall and the rest of the warriors
spring up and dart away, and naturally supposing, doubtless, that no one
would be so foolish as to remain in the camp, they had passed on without
discovering the prisoners. When they had all passed, and the sounds of
the fight were at a little distance, Big Ben leaped up and exclaimed:--

"Comrades, look sharp, moments are golden. They'll be back like a shot!
Here, Larry, grip this in yer hand an' stick the point of it agin' that
tree."

While he spoke in a cool, calm, almost jocular tone, the trapper acted
with a degree of rapidity and vigour which showed that he thought the
crisis a momentous one. With his fettered hands he plucked the knife
from the girdle of the dead Indian and gave it to Larry O'Hale, who at
once seized it with his right hand, and, as directed, thrust the point
against the stem of a neighbouring tree. The trapper applied the stout
cords that bound him to its edge, and, after a few seconds of energetic
sawing, was free. He instantly liberated his companions.

"Now, lads," said he, "down the stream and into the water as fast as you
can."

Our hero and Larry, being utterly ignorant of the manners and habits of
the people amongst whom they were thrown, obeyed with the docility of
little children--showing themselves, thereby, to be real men! Bunco,
before darting away, seized an Indian gun, powder-horn, and shot-belt
which had been left behind. The attack had been so sudden and
unexpected that many of the savages had found it as much as they could
do to save themselves, leaving their arms behind them. Of course,
therefore, no one had thought of encumbering himself with the weapons of
the prisoners. Big Ben had thought of all this. His wits had long been
sharpened by practice. He also knew that his white comrades would think
only of escaping, and that there was no time to waste in telling them to
look after their weapons. Giving them, therefor