and he must not hear us."

Had Mrs. Shirril given permission, the servant would have hurried up the
ladder and taken the fellow to task, without a moment's delay or
hesitation.

But the Comanche was better prepared for his work than they suspected.
They plainly heard him scratch a match on the wall of the room, and the
next moment the faintest possible glow showed through the gloom, above
the open door at the head of the ladder. The redskin was taking the only
effectual means at his command to learn his bearings.

With the tiny light still burning, he passed quickly from one room to
another, his location being easily told by the listeners below. It took
him less than a minute to gain the knowledge he wished, when the match
burned out and was flung aside.

"I wonder wheder he'll set fiah----"

A sharp pinch on Dinah's arm warned her that she was displeasing her
mistress, and she closed her mouth.

The Comanche was too wise to attempt to go down the ladder with a
burning match in his hand. Had he done so, he would have committed the
fatal error of the citizen who awakes in the night and sets out with
lighted lamp to hunt for a burglar: all the advantage is on the side of
the law-breaker.

But the Indian had seen the ladder leading from the second story to the
lower floor, and the women were sure he would pay them a visit. Indeed,
his errand would be futile unless he did so, for it was not to be
supposed that he had come into the cabin through simple curiosity.

Mrs. Shirril had no fear of his trying to burn the structure, for, if he
did so, his own situation would be as hopeless as theirs. The sounds of
firing and the noise on the roof, which soon reached her ears, caused
great uneasiness for her husband, but, like a pioneer's wife, she gave
her whole attention to the peril that confronted her.

Suddenly the servant touched her arm. She did not speak, but her
mistress knew the meaning of the act. The Comanche had placed his foot
on the upper round of the ladder and was about to descend to the lower
apartments, where they were awaiting him.

"Leave him to me," whispered Mrs. Shirril; "don't stir or do anything."

The cunning warrior knew the women were below, and he knew, too, that
unless he used extreme caution, he would find himself in a veritable
hornet's nest. The care with which he placed his moccasins on the
rounds, and gradually came down, proved this, but the hearing of the
women was attuned to so fi