sank on
his face, with his head nigh enough to the peak to hold the entire
surface under his eye.

It was well he did so; for from the same corner that the successful
Indian had come, he discerned a second climbing over the eaves. He was
doing so with an eagerness that showed he was discounting his own
chances.

"Whether you are bogus or not, here goes!"

The Texan did not rely upon his revolver to serve him in the crisis, but
hastily aiming his Winchester, pulled the trigger.

The Comanche, whose body was half over the roof, threw up his arms with
a wild screech and disappeared backward, as abruptly as his companion
had gone down the scuttle. There could be no doubt of the success of
_that_ shot.

"I would like to have a few more of you try it," muttered the defender,
compressing his lips and glancing right and left. His blood was up and
he was in a desperate mood.

But his own situation was one of extreme peril. The Comanches must be
aware of his singular dilemma, and were not likely to leave him
undisputed master of the situation, at least as long as he remained on
the outside.

That this supposition was right was proven the next minute, when, from a
point several rods distant, a gun was fired and the bullet skipped over
the surface within a few inches of where he was crouching. A second shot
followed still closer, and the captain crept a little farther from the
scuttle.

But for fear of alarming his friends below, he would have uttered a
cry, as if of pain, with a view of convincing the Comanches that their
shots had proven fatal. Then they would be tempted to send more of
their number over the roof, where they would fall victims to his
marksmanship.

It looked as if the assailants were in doubt on this point, for after
the two shots they ceased firing, and everything remained silent for
several minutes.

Captain Shirril, even in his anxiety for himself, could not forget the
inmates of his home. Two women and a fierce warrior were inside, and
matters were sure to become lively there before long.

In the midst of this oppressive stillness, occurred Avon Burnet's
adventure which has been told elsewhere. It was impossible for the
captain to understand what the confusion on the prairie meant, but he
saw that it was a diversion of some kind which, fortunately for himself,
held the attention of his enemies for a while longer.

He felt a vague suspicion that the Indian in the room below would try to
get a