an to do it, brother?"

"Sit close, all of you. Give me room--you shall see presently."

As directed by Basil, they all cowered closely down, so as to occupy as
little space as possible. Basil, having uncovered the lock of his
rifle--which had been carefully bound up in a piece of deer's bladder--
placed himself in a firm position, and appeared as if about to fire.
Such was his intention--for in a few moments he was seen to raise the
gun to his shoulder, and take aim. None of his companions uttered a
word. They had already guessed the object of this movement, and sat
silently awaiting the result.

On the rock which they had left, the rope still bound fast passed around
one of the angles, in such a way that, from the point where Basil stood,
it offered a fair mark. It was at this Basil was aiming. His object
was to cut the thong with his bullet. He could not do it with a single
shot, as the thong was broader than the bullet, but he had calculated
that he might effect his purpose with several. If he did not succeed in
cutting it clean through, the ball flattening upon the rock would,
perhaps, tear the rope in such a manner that, by pulling by the other
end, they might detach it. Such were the calculations and hopes of
Basil.

A moment more and the crack of his rifle was heard. At the same instant
the dust rose up from the point at which he had aimed, and several small
fragments flew off into the water. Again was heard Francois's "hurrah,"
for Francois, as well as the others, had seen that the rope had been hit
at the right place, and now exhibited a mangled appearance.

While Basil was reloading, Norman took aim and fired. Norman was a good
shot, though perhaps not so good a one as Basil, for that was no easy
matter, as there were few such marksmen to be found anywhere, not even
among the professional trappers and hunters themselves. But Norman was
a fair shot, and this time hit his mark. The thong was evidently better
than half divided by the two; bullets. Seeing this, Francois took hold
of the other end, and gave it a strong jerk or two, but it was still too
much for him, and he ceased pulling, and waited the effect of Basil's
second shot.

The latter had now reloaded, and, taking deliberate aim again, fired.
The rope was still held taut upon the rock, for part of it dragged in
the current, the force of which kept pressing it hard downward.
Scarcely was the report heard, when the farther end of the