aid Jack, mysteriously. 'Here, Guy,
come down and look at this.'

Guy read it and whistled. 'We must report this to the General at once,'
he said gravely.

Both boys were very solemn, and yet had a certain novel air of satisfied
importance.

'Shall we tell her?' asked Guy.

'She must know it some time,' returned Jack; 'we'll break it by
degrees.--We've just had notice that we're going to be attacked by Red
Indians, Hazel; don't be alarmed.'

'I'll try not to be,' she said, conquering a very strong inclination to
laugh. She saw that they took it quite seriously; and, though she had at
once suspected that some one in the village was playing them a trick,
she did not choose to enlighten them. Hazel had a malicious desire to
see what the General would do. 'I don't believe he will like the idea at
all,' she said to herself. 'What fun it will be!'

Hazel's expectations seemed about to be fulfilled; for already she could
hear steps on the plank of the little bridge, and in another minute the
General himself entered the fortress.

'I say, you fellows,' he began, 'this is too bad--no one on guard, and a
girl inside! Why, she might be a spy for anything you could tell!'

'Thank you, Clarence!' said Hazel; for this insinuation was rather
trying to a person of her dignity.

'I say, General,' began Jack, 'never mind about rowing us now; we've
some queer news to report. This has just fallen into our hands.'

Hazel watched Tinling closely as he read the paper. It was grimy, and
printed in lead pencil, and contained these words:--'BE ON THE LUKOUT.
RED INGIANS ON THE WORPATH. I HERD THEM SAYING THEY MENT TO ATACK YURE
FORT AT NITEFAL. FROM A FREND.'

She was soon compelled to own that she had done him a great injustice.
He was certainly as far as possible from betraying the slightest fear;
on the contrary, his eye seemed actually to brighten with satisfaction.
He behaved exactly as all heroes in books of adventure do on such
occasions--he went through it twice carefully, and then inquired at what
time the warning had arrived.

'About five minutes ago. Round a stone,' answered Guy, with true
military conciseness.

'This will be a bad business,' observed the General, his face
brightening with the joy of battle. 'We have no time to spare--we must
give these demons a lesson they will not forget!' (this was out of the
books). 'Look to your arms, my men, and see that we are provisioned for
a siege (you might get the cook to