re forever, and,
strong as I was in those young days, the savage was far stronger and
less exhausted by the struggle, so that inch by inch he pressed me
backward, battling like a demon, until I could see the cruel gleam of
his eyes as I gave slowly down. It was God who saved me, for as I fell
I struck the sharp shelving of the bank, and the quick stoppage swung
the savage to one side and below me, so that, even as he gave vent to
an exulting yell of triumph, wrenching his hand loose from my weakening
clasp to strike the death-blow, I whirled and forced him downward, his
face buried in the stream.

Those who write history say the rescuing warriors discovered him alive.
I know not; but this I swear,--I held him there until every struggle
ceased, until answering yells from the westward told me others were
already close at hand, and then, breathless and trembling from the
struggle, blinded by blood and faint from wounds, I sprang forward into
the night-shadows, dimly conscious that my sole hope for escape lay
lakeward. I ran but feebly at first, skirting the partially destroyed
stockade of the old Fort, with its litter of debris, and stumbling
constantly in the darkness over the obstructions that lined the river
bank. As my breath returned, and I somewhat cleared my eyes of blood,
I saw better; and at last ran from the darker soil on to the white sand
of the beach.

There were now many stars in the sky, with the moon struggling feebly
to break through the haze; but to my anxious glance nothing was visible
upon, the water. Surely the boat must have floated to the river-mouth
by this time,--surely the force of the current would have accomplished
that; nor was it likely that Ol' Burns would draw far away from shore
until assured of my fate. The wild shouting told me that savages from
the camp had already found their dead. A moment more would place them
on my trail, hot for revenge; and there was no course left me but to
take the water, before their keen eyes found me out. I waded out,
seeking thus to get far enough from shore to baffle their search, when
suddenly a quick spark of light winked from the blackness in front of
me. Surely it could be nothing less than a signal, the swift stroke of
flint on steel,--no doubt in the faint hope it would prove a beacon to
me in my need.

Desperate as the chance was, it was still a chance, and to my mind the
only one. I glanced behind; a dim figure or two dotted the white san