ar forever. Rovers, adventurers, masterless men,
they had been, but they died in a good cause, and they were not without
mourners, as their bodies slid into the brown waters.

Adam Colfax had coffee made on several of the boats provided with a
cooking apparatus, and it was served in the darkness to those who fought
on shore. One man had the tin cup shot from his hand as he was raising it
to his lips, but he calmly called for another, and when he had drunk it,
went on with his part of the battle.

The hot coffee heartened them wonderfully, and the ten minute cannon shots
were good company. They grew to look for them, and so strong is habit,
that they knew almost to the second when the shot was due. It was like a
slow, steady chorus, cheering them and telling them to hold on.

Far toward morning there was a tremendous burst of fire from the thickets,
the fierce, high-pitched war shout was repeated three times, and after
that, silence. Then the darkness sank away, and the day came in a burst of
red and gold, gilding river and forest.

"They are gone," said Henry, "you'll find now that the woods are empty."

Many of the voyagers rushed into the forest to discover that he spoke the
truth. Nowhere was there a sign of an enemy. No tree sheltered a warrior,
the thickets were harmless. The peaceful morning breeze had no note of
warning in its song. But when they looked more closely they saw that many
dark stains had soaked into the earth, and they knew that not all the
bullets and cannon balls had gone amiss.

"Well, we drove them off that time," said Adam Colfax cheerfully. "They
found that they couldn't surprise us, and I guess they've concluded that
they couldn't rush us either. I fancy it's the last we'll see of 'em."

Henry shook his head, and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross, who were standing
by, also shook theirs.

"We're pretty' sure that a big league of the southern tribes has been
formed," Henry said, "and there are also many white men with them, white
men who are driven by hate and revenge. They'll stick."

"Then we've got to defend this fleet to the last," said Adam Colfax. "It's
bound to get through; and the first thing I'll have done is to cover up
our barrels of powder, so no fire or hot bullets can reach it. Those
barrels of powder are as precious as gold."

This task was begun at once and everybody reembarked, a joyful little army
that had won a triumph and that felt able to win more if need be. The
wounded