him stood Ella,
enjoying the music; and both were totally unconscious of the deadly
peril that menaced them. At the same instant I discovered the head of
the Indian. He had evidently surveyed the interior of the room before,
and he did not see me. I fired, and he dropped. His companions yelled,
and Ella uttered a scream of terror. She was beside herself with fear,
and apparently thinking the house was full of Indians, she rushed out
at the open door as I entered. Mr. Gracewood seized his rifle, and a
revolver which hung on the wall.

I loaded my piece without delay, and followed the recluse out of the
house. I heard him fire before I overtook him. The plan of the savages
failed as soon as they were discovered, for they were too cowardly to
stand up before the rifles of the white man. As I hastened after Mr.
Gracewood, I glanced at the outside of the window through which I had
fired at the Indian. I supposed I had killed him, but his body was not
there. A terrible scream from Ella, followed by a cry of anguish from
her father, startled me at this moment, and I ran with all speed in the
direction from which the sounds came. Passing beyond the house, I
discovered four Indians in full retreat. Two of them were dragging the
shrieking Ella over the ground towards the point on the river where the
dugout lay. My blood ran cold with horror as I realized that they had
captured the fair girl.

The poor child, in her terror, had run away from the house to escape
the savages, who, she supposed, were in it, but only to encounter them
where we could not prevent her capture. The agony of her father was
fearful. He groaned in the heaviness of his soul. We could not fire
upon the Indians without danger of hitting Ella, whom her captors
cunningly used to protect their own bodies from our bullets.

Mr. Gracewood ran, but his limbs seemed to be partially paralyzed by
the agony of his soul. It was but a short distance to the river, and
before we could overtake the Indians they had dragged their prisoner
into one of the dugouts, and pushed off from the shore. I passed the
poor father, but reached the bank of the river too late to be of any
service to Ella. There were two Indians in each boat. They had gone but
a few rods before a bullet whistled near my head, and I retreated to
the shelter of a tree until Mr. Gracewood joined me.

[Illustration: ELLA CARRIED OFF CAPTIVE. Page 119.]

"Heaven be merciful to me and to her!" groaned he, pres