terror seized him. Then, thinking of his imperilled father and mother,
to whose succor Long Hair had bidden him go, he was astonished at the
fierce reaction which followed. He had no weapons; so, planting
himself behind the tree, he lay in wait, ready to spring upon the
first intruder, and hurl him into the depths below.

The dark figure of an Indian creeping stealthily along, like a horrid
serpent, he saw cautiously approaching the tree: a moment more, and
the death grapple would come, when an exclamation above made the
Indian turn his head. Long Hair's trail, returning from the cave, had
been struck by another Indian. At the same instant, Long Hair's
defiant war-whoop, challenging his pursuers to come on, was heard in
the distance. The answering yell of the savages from the ravine below
and the ridge above rang out as they dashed after. The Indian, unaware
of the presence of Tom, stepped to the tree to turn himself on the
face of the cliff, so that he stood with his brawny back close to Tom.
His waist also was hung with gory scalps. The sight maddened Tom to
frenzy. The savage let go the tree, and started to join the chase,
when Tom thrust his hands at once through the fissure, and sent him
headlong from the precipice. The body struck with a dull, heavy thud,
and all was still.

Tom could hear the sound of the pursuit as it died away, and knew that
there was now no immediate danger to him; and, stooping down, he took
a long draught from the spring, and bathed his fevered brow. Then,
climbing out of his hiding-place, he passed quickly upon the ridge,
and descended into the ravine below, where lay the mutilated form of
the red man.

"Who knows but he is the murderer of some of our family?" he said, as
he drew near. "No; none of our folks have such hair as that," he
added, after examining the scalps, one by one. Then, taking possession
of the rifle, powder-horn, and bullet-pouch, and thrusting the
Indian's scalping-knife into his belt, and throwing some limbs over
the body, that it might not so soon be discovered by his friends, Tom
hurried away in the direction of the fort, as Long Hair had
suggested. He lingered a moment, however, wishing that he could do
something to serve Long Hair, who, he well knew, had uttered that
challenging war-cry that saved his life on purpose to call the Indians
away from the cave.

But what was he? A mere boy against so many infuriated savages.
Besides, they were now far away, he knew