Whitey-blue eyes,
ugly scar!"

"Don't you remember?" she said quickly. "The stage to the Landing----"

"Xavier! Of course!" he cried.

"And the second woman?"

"I only saw a ring of gray curls under her hat."

"Mary Co-que-wasa!"

"Hm! The entire _dramatis personae_?" said Garth.

Natalie, not to be outdone, saluted with her good arm, and asked:
"Orders of the day, Captain?"

In a truly desperate pass one breaks down--or laughs. Youth laughs. They
bolstered each other's courage with their jests, each secretly wondering
and admiring of the other.

"We have the house, anyway!" said Garth. "Good old tumbledown shanty!"

"No! Fort Indefatigable!" amended Natalie.

"It'll be besieged all right," said Garth. "We must carry in everything
we own, and fill up the rest of the space with wood for the fire. I
would share my room with Cy, but the old boy couldn't get his ribs
through the door!"

Natalie was told off for sentry duty. She took up her position at the
edge of the shore, where she could report on all that transpired in the
other camp. It seemed to be the design of these people first to overawe
them with a display of force. They pitched camp openly, in and around
Mabyn's hut; and moved about all day in plain view. The men amused
themselves by shooting their guns at various marks, clearly to show the
number and strength of their weapons. Up to dark, Natalie was able to
report that none of the five had left camp.

Garth, meanwhile, worked like a Trojan. All the wood cut for the fire
was carried inside, and he had, besides, a quantity of logs left over or
discarded from the building of the shack; and these were likewise
stored. The hut was built so near the edge of the bank there was little
possibility of an attack from in front; in each of the other three sides
he cut a loophole for observation and defense. The last hours of
daylight he spent in hunting near camp; and in setting snares to be
visited later. Two rabbits were all that fell to his bag.

At nightfall they locked themselves in. Garth did not stop then, but
worked for hours piling the spare logs around the three vulnerable sides
of the shack; so that if the bullets should fly, they would be protected
under a double barrier.

The night passed without alarms.

In the morning Garth wished to venture forth as if nothing had happened.
Inaction was intolerable to him. He insisted it would be fatal for him
to act as if he were afraid.

Natalie was