anage if it came
to a hand-to-hand struggle.

They were armed only with bows and arrows and spears. They pointed to
the smoke, and the elder signified that I was asleep within, or cooking
my dinner. He then fixed an arrow in his bow, and by his gestures I
suspected that he was saying he would shoot me through the tent covering
before I had time to seize my fire-arms or see my enemies. "I'm much
obliged to you for your good intentions, but I will try and frustrate
them, my friends," said I to myself. The elder of the two red-skins now
approached the tent with his bow drawn, ready to send an arrow into the
inmate should he appear at the entrance; the other searched carefully
round the tent, and examined the traces of my feet in the snow. He
seemed apparently satisfied that the owner had gone to the stream and
returned, and was within. The two now got still nearer to the tent,
with their bows drawn; so cautiously did they tread that not a sound
could be heard. They stopped, and eagerly shot several arrows through
the covering, one after the other, as rapidly as they could fix them to
the strings of their bows. "And so you think that you have killed your
prey," said I to myself; but at the same time a sickening sensation came
over my heart. I had never shot at a human being with the intention of
taking away life; I must do so now or become the victim myself. The
savages listened. Of course no sound from within reached their ears.
The elder stooped forward to draw aside the curtain to look in, while
the other stood ready with his spear to transfix the person who they
might expect would attempt to spring out if he had not been killed. Now
I thought I must fire. I took aim at the older Indian. In doing so the
barrel of my rifle touched a twig. The younger savage in a moment
detected the sound; he turned round full on me. His quick eye caught
sight of my rifle as I instantly brought it to bear on him. He uttered
an exclamation of astonishment. It was his last. I fired, and he fell
with his face forward. His companion sprang up, and was about to rush
towards me, but I pulled the trigger of my second barrel, and he too
fell writhing in agony on the snow. Oh! how wretched I felt at what
stern necessity had compelled me to do. How must Cain have felt when he
had killed his brother? I rushed up to my tent. The younger savage was
quite dead: the elder glared at me fiercely. Though badly wounded,
still he migh