ded--that don't count. You going to keep on shooting?"

"As long as we can pull trigger."

"I'll tell Granville. He wants to save his sister if he can."

"Then he must fight. Tell him so," I warned.

I turned back to Cousin. He was scowling savagely through his peephole.
"Take the back side 'n' watch for signs on the ridge," he mumbled. "Them
out front are huggin' dirt an' not tryin' to git nearer. They're waitin'
for somethin'."

At the back of the cabin I found a tiny chink and applied my eye. My first
thought was that a comet was streaming down into my face. The long
war-arrow, weighted with a blazing mass of pitch-smeared moss, stuck in a
log a few inches below my peephole. From the ridge came a howl of
triumph.

By thrusting my knife-blade through the hole and against the shaft of the
arrow I managed to dislodge it, and it burned itself out against the huge
bottom log. We did not fear fire until the arrows stuck in the roof. The
same thought was in Cousin's mind. He did not look around, but he had
smelled the smoke and he directed:

"Climb up an' work the roof-poles apart a bit so's you can knock 'em off
the roof when they land."

I soon had the poles slightly separated in two places. As I finished a
dozen flying brands poured down on the Granville cabin and ours. One arrow
lodged on our roof close to the eves. Two were burning on the ridgepole of
the Granville cabin. The others either stuck harmlessly in the logs or
overshot and stood so many torches in the ground. By means of the table I
scrambled back to the roof and managed to knock the menace to the ground.
While I was thus engaged Cousin fired both barrels.

"What luck?" I asked as I jumped to the floor.

"Just bein' neighborly," he growled as he rapidly loaded. "Shot them two
arrers off the next roof."

Suddenly the savage howling ceased; nor were there any more fire-arrows.
Then the Englishman began shouting. He was once more calling us. I
answered and wriggled the knife-blade between the logs. Sure of my
attention he loudly informed us: "Dale passes the word for us to stop
fighting. Says he's going to save us."

"To the devil with Dale!" snarled Cousin, showing his teeth like a wolf.

"He's going out to talk with 'em," added the Englishman.

"Lord! What a fool!" lamented Cousin.

"He's going now," continued the Englishman.

I darted to Cousin's side and peered out. We heard the bar drop from the
end cabin; then Dale came into view, walki