k Harry's indiscretion, however, at this juncture spoilt Moose's
plan of surprising the Indians and effecting their object without
bloodshed. As they approached nearer the light that glimmered from amid
the trees, they could see that three Indians were seated round it, while
close adjoining them was poor Sailor Bill lashed tightly to a tree, like
a poor lamb that was to be slaughtered in some butcher's shop.

The sight was too much for the unthinking but gallant seaman, so,
despite Mr Rawlings' strict injunctions to the contrary, he levelled
his rifle and fired point-blank into the group of Indians huddled over
the fire.

The savages started up with a yell of alarm; and, seizing their arms
hurriedly, one of them darted towards the motionless figure of Sailor
Bill with an uplifted hatchet in his hand.

At that moment Mr Rawlings, seeing the imminent jeopardy of the boy,
fired, and the Indian's arm fell as if broken by the bullet, the hatchet
dropping from his hand; in another second, however, the savage picked up
the weapon again and would have brained Sailor Bill, being in the act of
hurling it at him with a malignant aim, when Wolf, who had stolen
forward at the first outburst, dashed at the Indian's throat with a low
growl of vengeance, and brought him to the ground.

"Don't kill them!" shouted Mr Rawlings, in a voice that made itself
heard above the melee; and after a brief struggle, the two remaining
Indians were secured and firmly bound, although it took all Black
Harry's strength to overcome the one he grappled, who turned out to be
the chief of the party, while the one Wolf had brought down suffered
terribly from the grip of the dog on his throat.

After all had cooled down from the contest, which had lasted some little
time, Mr Rawlings directed Moose to ask the Indian chief--who, the
half-breed said, was a leading warrior of the Sioux tribe, rejoicing in
the sounding title of "Rising Cloud,"--why he had attacked an innocent
settler and miner like Seth Allport, and stolen away the boy that was
with him?

The Indian, however, did not seem to require the services of an
interpreter, for he answered Mr Rawlings as if he thoroughly
comprehended the gist of the question Moose was deputed to ask him.

"Paleface lie!" he said angrily, in broken English, which he mastered
much better indeed than the half-breed did in his half-Spanish patter.
"Rising Cloud was hunting on the lands of his tribe when tall paleface