ifle was poised, the boy stretched himself up at
full length, a movement which made known to the father that his child
was exactly in range with the Indian himself, and that a bullet
passing through the head of the savage could not fail to bury itself
in the little fellow's body. This startling circumstance arrested the
pressure of the trigger at the very moment the ball was to be sped
upon its errand of death.

The missionary sunk down upon one knee, with the intention of bringing
the head of the savage so high as to carry the bullet over the body of
his boy, but this he found could not be done without too seriously
endangering his aim. He drew a bead from one side of the tree, and
then from the other, but from both stand-points the same dreadful
danger threatened. The ground behind the tree was somewhat elevated,
and was the only spot from which he could secure a fair view of the
bronze head of the relentless enemy.

Two resorts were at the command of Richter. He could leave the tree
altogether, and pass around so as to come upon the savage from a
different direction; but this involved delay during which his boy
might fall into the Indian's power and be dispatched, as he would be
sure to do when he found that the father was close at hand; and from
the proximity of the two men, it could hardly fail to precipitate a
collision between them. The Indian, finding himself at bay, could not
fail to prove a most troublesome and dangerous customer, unarmed, as
Richter was, with weapons for a close encounter.

The father might also wait until the boy should pass out of range.
Still, there was the possibility of his proceeding directly up to the
spot where the savage lurked, thus keeping in range all the while.
Then the attempted rescue would have to be deferred until the child
was in the hands of the savage. These considerations, passing through
Richter's brain much more rapidly than we have narrated them, decided
him to abandon both plans, and to resort to what, beyond question, was
a most desperate expedient.

The Indian held the bell in his left hand. It was suspended by the
string which had clasped the neck of the goat, and, as it swayed
gently back and forth, this string slowly twisted and untwisted
itself, the bell, of course, turning back and forth. The father
determined to slay the Indian and save his son by _shooting this
bell_!

It is not necessary to describe the shape and make of the common
cow-bell in general