y the five, and he must not make
the slightest slip of any kind. He reached the grass behind the wagons
and lay there four or five minutes without stirring. He discovered then
that besides those between the cannon there were four behind them loaded
with powder. The horses were tethered in the woods two or three hundred
yards away. He was glad that so much distance separated them from the
cannon and powder.

The torch, although he kept it concealed in the grass, was beginning to
crackle. The problem was not yet simple, but he thought rapidly. The
wagons were covered with canvas. Reaching up, he quickly cut off a long
strip with his hunting knife. Then he inserted the strip inside the
wagon and into the powder, driving the knife deep through canvas and
wood, and leaving it, thrust there to hold the strip fast.

The other end of the thick canvas fell from the wagon to the ground, a
length of about a foot lying in the grass. He ignited this with his
torch, and saw it begin to burn with a steady creeping flame. Then he
moved swiftly away until he reached the edge of the forest, when he rose
and ran with all his might. Three or four hundred yards distant, he
stopped and uttered the cry of the wolf. The answer came instantly from
a point very near, and in two minutes the four joined him.

"Is it arranged?" exclaimed Paul.

"Yes," replied Henry. "There's a chance of a slip, of course. The torch
is set and burning. An Indian may see it and put it out, but I
don't----"

The sentence was never finished. The night was rent by a terrible crash,
and as they were looking toward the Indian camp they saw a pyramid of
fire shoot far up into the sky, and then sink back again. A half minute
of dreadful silence followed, when every leaf and blade of grass seemed
to stand still, and then through the distance came a long and piercing
lament.

"It's done!" said the shiftless one, speaking in a tone of awe.

"The cannon are blown to pieces," said Paul.

"Nothin' but scattered metal now!" said Long Jim.

"Busted up, shore!" said Silent Tom.

"They'll be running in a panic presently," said Henry, "and they won't
stop until they're far across the Ohio."

The hearts of the five swelled. They alone, five against a thousand,
rifles against cannon, had defeated the great Indian army headed by
artillery. They had equalled the knights of old--perhaps had surpassed
them--although it was not done by valor alone, but also by wile and
stratage