t us all go to work and shovel it away on the
outside," cried Joe, running about in quest of the spades. "Oh, St.
Peter!" he continued, "the spades are out at the cave-spring!"

"Run and bring them," said Glenn.

"Never--not for the world! They'd take my scalp to a certainty before
I could get back again," replied Joe, trembling all over.

"There is no danger yet," said Roughgrove, the deep snow having
occurred to him at the first announcement of the threatened attack,
and produced many painful fears in his breast, which caused a sadness
to rest upon his time-worn features; "but," he continued, "it would
not be in our power to remove the snow in two whole days, and a few
hours only are left us to prepare for the worst."

"Let them come within the inclosure," said Glenn, "and even then they
cannot harm us. The walls of my house are made of stone, and so is the
ceiling; they can only burn the roof--I do not think they can harm our
persons. We have food enough to last for months, and there is no
likelihood of the siege lasting a single week."

"I'll make sure of the deer," muttered Joe; and before any one could
interpose, he struck off the head of the doe with an axe, as it still
lay bound upon the sled. And he was brandishing the reeking steel over
the neck of the fawn, that stood by, looking on innocently, when a cry
from Mary arrested the blow.

"If you injure a hair of Mary's gift," said Glenn, in anger, "you
shall suffer as severe a fate yourself."

"Pardon me," said Joe to Mary; "I was excited--I didn't hardly know
what I was doing. I thought as we were going to be pent up by the
Indians, for goodness only knows how long, that we'd better provide
enough food to keep from starving. I love the fawn as well as you do,
and Mr. Glenn loves it because you gave it to him; but its natural to
prefer our own lives to the lives of dumb animals."

"I forgive you," said Mary, playing with the silken ears of the pet.

"Say no more about it," said Glenn; "but as you are so anxious to be
well provided with comforts, if we are besieged, there is one thing I
had forgotten, that is absolutely necessary for our existence, which
you can procure."

"What is it? Be quick, for we havn't a moment to lose," said Joe.

"Water," replied Glenn.

"That's a fact--but--its way off at the spring, by the ferry," said
Joe, disliking the idea of exposing himself without the inclosure.

"True, yet it must be had. If you can get it nearer