Shif'less Sol and his men never ceased to
pour their fire over their heads and into the red ranks.

"Now! Now!" muttered Henry, through his shut teeth. He was praying for Tom
Ross and the first fifty, and as he prayed his prayer was answered.

A great burst of fire came from the thickets on their own side of the
river, and the savages were smitten on the flanks, as if by a bolt of
lightning. It seemed to them at the same moment as if the fire of the men
with the wagon train, and of those on the high bluff, doubled. They
recoiled. They gave back and they shivered as that terrible fire smote
them a second and a third time on the flank. The soul of Shawnee, Miami,
and Wyandot alike filled with dread. In vain Yellow Panther and Red Eagle,
great war chiefs, raged back and forth, and encouraged their warriors to
go on. In vain they risked their lives again and again. The great bulk of
the wagons bore steadily down upon them, and they were continually lashed
by an unerring fire from three points. Well for the people of the wagon
train that a born leader had planned their crossing and had led them that
day!

"They give, they give!" shouted Henry Ware. "We win, we win!"

"They give, they give! We win, we win!" shouted the brave riflemen, and
they pressed forward more strongly than ever. By their side waded the bold
Amazons, fighting with the best.

The wagons themselves offered great shelter for the pioneers. As Henry had
foreseen, they were driven forward in a mass, which was carried partly by
its own impetus. If the Indians had thought to fire chiefly upon the
horses they would have accomplished more, but the few of these that were
slain did not check the progress of the others. Meanwhile, the riflemen
lurked amid the wheels and behind the wagon beds, incessantly pouring
their deadly hail of bullets upon the exposed savages, and the drivers
from sheltered places did the same. The train became a moving fort,
belching forth fire and death upon its enemies.

The defenders did not advance without loss. Now and then a man sank and
died in the stream, many others suffered wounds, and even the women and
children did not escape; but through it all, through all the roar and
tumult, all the shouting and cries, the train drew steadily closer to the
western bank.

"Now, boys," shouted Shif'less Sol to his faithful fifty, "they're about
to run! Pour it into 'em!"

At the same time Tom Ross was giving a similar command to his own e