that you have the best
head of the two. Hark! What is that?"

"It is what I said," replied I; "they are laying fire-wood against the
logs of the cabin on the windward side--(this was on the side opposite
to the door). Now we must try if we cannot pick off some more of them,"
said I, rising and taking a musket. "Bring the stools over to this
side, for we must fire from the upper loop-holes."

We remained at our posts for some time without seeing an Indian. They
had gone back to the wood for more combustibles. At last we perceived
them coming back with the wood. I should imagine there were at least
twenty of them.

"Now, take good aim," said I.

We both fired almost at the same moment, and three Indians fell.

"Get down, and give me another musket," said I to my mistress.

She handed me one, and, taking another for herself, resumed her station.
We fired several times; sometimes with and sometimes without success;
for the Indians went away twice for fire-wood before they had collected
what they considered sufficient. By this time it was piled up to the
eaves of the cabin, and our loop-holes were shut up; we therefore went
over to the other side, where the door was, to see if there were any
Indians there, but could not see one. We had been on the look-out for
about five minutes, when the crackling of the wood, and the smoke
forcing itself though the crevices between the logs, told us that the
fire had been applied, and the wind soon fanned it up so that the flame
poured through every chink and loop-hole, and lighted up the cabin.

"We must retreat to the fire-place," said I. "Come quickly, or we shall
be shot."

"Why so?" said she, as she did as I requested.

"They will peep through the loop-holes on the side of the cabin where
the door is and see us plainly, until the cabin is filled with smoke,
which it soon will be."

"But tell me what we are to do now, for I feel if this smoke increases
we shall not be able to speak to one another."

This she said about five minutes after we had remained standing in the
fire-place, with our heads up the chimney.

"Perhaps it will be as well," replied I, "that I do speak so. This
fierce wind drives the smoke to leeward in volumes, but the great burst
of smoke will be when the roof is well on fire. It is now burning
fiercely on the windward side, but we must wait till the lee-side has
caught, and then the volume of smoke will be greater. The great point
is to