344 ON THE FRONTIER 



offensive attempts ; until, nearly a dozen of them, coming 

 simultaneously in view of each other on emerging into an 

 open glade that lay across their line of flight, not seeing 

 their foes and possibly thinking themselves unseen, took 

 courage from numbers, and came together to consult or 

 make a stand. As they did so three quick puffs of smoke, 

 from as many different .directions, showed they had been 

 observed ; and before the sound of the sharp crack of the 

 rifles reached the ear of the watcher, he saw two more 

 Indians fall to the ground, and another reel a few paces, 

 drop to his hands and knees, and crawl into a thicket of 

 vines. Soon the shooting ceased. The rifles were emptied. 

 Fifty-seven shots had been fired in the most rapid suc- 

 cession ; for not only had X. and " the Jboys " been anxious 

 to lose no chance of "saving" an Indian, but well knew 

 their safety depended on keeping the enemy on the run, not 

 allowing their flying foes to recover from surprise, until 

 they were thoroughly dispersed and stampeded. On the 

 firing ceasing, X. gave the recall signal, and he and the rest 

 returned, refilling the magazines of their rifles as they 

 walked back. They arrived at the Lone Oak quite out of 

 breath from their sharp running, and were there joined by 

 the rest of the party. 



Beneath the spreading branches of the tree lay the dead 

 bodies of the two Indians who had fallen at the first fire, and 

 occasional blood drops on the tracks of the fugitives thence 

 announced that some of them were wounded. 



One of the dead had received a ball through his chest, 

 which had broken his spine ; the other had been hit by two 

 balls, one passing through his shoulder, the other striking 



