er his bullets hit he could not tell.
Then heavy forms thudded against the log walls of the hut, and through the
loophole he heard deep breathing.

"They've gained the side of the cabin," said Henry, "and we can't reach
'em with our rifles now."

"I did my best, Henry," said Paul ruefully. Conflict did not appeal to
him, but the wilderness left no choice.

"Of course, Paul," said Henry, with every appearance of cheerfulness,
"it's not your fault. In such darkness as this they were bound to get
there. But they are not inside yet by a long sight. Be sure you don't get
in front of any of the loopholes."

There came a heavy push at the door, but neither it nor the bar showed the
slightest sign of giving way. Henry laughed low.

"They can't get enough warriors against that door to push it in," he said.

The two boys rapidly reloaded the empty rifles, and now each crouched
against the wall, where no chance bullet through a loophole could reach
him. An eye unused to the darkness could have seen nothing there. Their
figures were blended against the logs, and they did not speak, but each,
listening intently, could hear what was going on outside. Paul's fancy, as
usual, added to the reality. He heard men moving cautiously, soft
footfalls going pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat around the cabin, and it seemed to
him a stray word of advice or caution now and then.

The silence was broken suddenly by a blaze of fire that seemed to come
through the wall, a report that roared like a cannon in the cabin. A spurt
of smoke entered at one of the holes, and a bullet burled itself in the
opposite wall. A savage had boldly thrust the muzzle of his rifle into a
loophole and fired.

"Be still, Paul," whispered Henry. "They can't hit us, and they are
wasting their ammunition."

A second shot was tried by the besiegers, but the result was only the
roaring, echoing report, the smoke and the flame, and the bullet that
found a vain target of wood. But to Paul, with an imagination fed by
stories of mighty battles, it was like a cannonade. Great guns were
trained upon Henry and himself. A thin, fine smoke from the two shots had
entered the cabin, and it floated about, tickling his nostrils, and
adding, with its savor, to the fever that began to rise in his blood. He
dropped to his knees, and was creeping, rifle ready, toward one of the
loopholes, eager with the desire to fire back, when Henry's strong hand
fell upon his shoulder.

"I understand what y