but they were all round
us. I felt his despairing, clutching hands torn from round my waist
whilst I was hacking and hewing down the men in front. I heard the
shriek of agony and the gurgling cry as the tomahawk descended upon
his head.

"I knew that he was dead, and the rage which filled me drove me on
and on with the strength of madness. I had lost the sense of
direction. I only knew that I had burst through the ring of my
assailants, and that I was running my headlong course with the
whole pack of them yelling at my heels. Now and again a cry from
right or left would divert one or another of my pursuers, but some
of them held resolutely on, and I knew that my strength must
eventually give out, and that only a horrible death awaited me.

"Then it was that I heard shouts in the English tongue, and knew
that some person or persons had come to my rescue. But my eyes were
full of blood, and my senses were well nigh failing. It was only by
degrees I came to know who had saved my life. I shall never forget
it, though I cannot say what is in my heart."

He held out his hand first to one and then to the other of his
comrades, and they grasped it warmly. Roche lifted his right hand
and shook it upwards.

"May Heaven give me the chance to revenge this day's work upon the
foes of England! May the time come when France shall drink deep of
that cup of suffering and humiliation which she has caused us to
drink withal; and may I be there to see!"

And yet, before many months had passed, Roche and his companions
had reason to know that their foes could be chivalrous and generous
to an enemy in distress.

The comrades lay in close hiding for many days, until the work of
demolishing the hapless fort had been accomplished, and the French,
together with their savage allies, had withdrawn back to their own
lines at Ticonderoga.

There was no dash made upon Fort Edward, as might well have been
the case. Satisfied with what he had accomplished, and under orders
to permit the Canadian troops to return home in time to gather in
the harvest, the Marquis de Montcalm withdrew his forces when his
task was finished. Possibly he felt that victory was too dearly
purchased at the cost of such horrors as had followed the capture
of Fort William Henry.

Pringle recovered from his wounds, which, though numerous, were
none of them severe. The spell of rest was welcome to all after the
fatigues and privations of the siege. Fritz was an expert