s. In the fresh green of its young foliage it looked like a huge
cone set upon a giant stem, and Ross shook his fist at it in futile
anger. Nor was a foe visible elsewhere. The entire savage army lay
hidden in the forest and nothing fluttered or moved but the leaves and
the grass.

The others, led by the same interest, followed Ross, and keeping to the
safety of the walls, stole glances at the tree. As they looked they
heard the faint report of a shot and a cry of death, and saw a brown
body shoot down from the green cone of the tree to the ground, where it
lay still.

"There is a marksman among us who can beat them at their own trick,"
cried the schoolmaster in exultation. "Who did it? Who fired that shot,
Tom?"

Ross did not answer. First a look of wonder came upon his face, and then
he began to study the forest, where all but nature was yet lifeless. The
faint sound of a second shot came and what followed was a duplicate of
the sequel to the first. Another brown body shot downward, and lay
lifeless beside its fellow on the grass.

The master cried out once more in exultation, and wished to know why
others within the palisade did not imitate the skillful sharpshooter.
But Ross shook his head slowly and spoke these slow words:

"A great piece of luck has happened to us, Mr. Pennypacker, an' how it's
happened I don't know, at least not yet. Them shots never come from any
of our men. We've got a friend outside an' he's pickin' off them
ambushed murderers one by one. The savages think we're doin' it, but
they'll soon find out the difference."

There was a third shot and the tree ejected a third body.

"What wonderful shootin'!" exclaimed Ross in a tone of amazement. "Them
shots come from a long distance, but all three of 'em plugged the mark
to the center. Them savages was dead before they touched the ground. I
never saw the like."

The others waited expectantly, as if he could give them an explanation,
but if he had a thought in his mind he kept it to himself.

"There, they've found it out," he said, when a terrific yell full of
anger came from the forest, "but they haven't got him, whoever he is.
They'd shout in a different way if they had."

"Why do you say him?" asked Mr. Pennypacker. "Surely a single man has
not been doing such daring and deadly work!"

"It's one man, because there are not two in all this wilderness who can
shoot like that. I'd hate to be in the place of the savages left in that
tree."