again
shouted to them to stop; but perhaps seeing, by my voice and slight
figure, that I was but a youth, they fancied that they could intimidate
me, and uttering terrific shrieks they continued to approach. My life
depended, I knew, on the steadiness of my aim, and pulling the trigger I
sent a bullet into the body of one of the strangers. He staggered and
fell, when drawing a pistol I prepared to receive his companion, who,
however, stopped, and lifting the wounded man to his feet, the two made
off faster than I should have supposed possible.

I thought it prudent not to follow, as I felt sure that other Indians
were in the neighbourhood. The sound of my shot would have aroused my
friends, and from the appearance of the horses they would understand
what had happened.

As the Indians made off in one direction, I ran as fast as my legs could
carry me towards the camp. Before I reached it, I met Sandy and the
other men coming out to my assistance. They expressed their
satisfaction at finding me safe.

Pierre and Pat wanted to set off in pursuit of the enemy, but Sandy
would not allow them.

"Na! na! laddies; we'll gain nothing even if we were to shoot a score of
redskins. We shall want our ammunition to defend ourselves when we are
attacked. Let's count the horses, and see if all have come in," he
said.

On doing so, we discovered that one was missing. The animal had
evidently been carried off by some Blackfeet.

The loss was a serious one, as we should have either to add to the
weight of the loads of the others, or place the packages on one of the
saddle-horses, taking it by turns to walk.

One thing was certain, that even if not attacked, our journey, which we
were anxious to finish as soon as possible, would be prolonged.

As may be supposed, we got no more sleep that night. We had to hobble
the horses, and keep a bright lookout on every side, lest the
treacherous Indians might steal upon us and catch us unprepared. They
must have guessed from the number of horses that our party consisted of
several men, well armed, and from the experience they had had of my
rifle they knew that they could not come openly upon us without the
certainty of some of their number being laid low.

As the sky remained clear, and the moon was bright, we could see objects
at a considerable distance; our enemies could not therefore get near
without being discovered. Our chief fear was that they might, if they
were resolved