the blood of their women.

"John had crept to the door by degrees, and now stood with his hand upon
the raised latchet. He applauded the officer's remarks, and was willing,
he said, to aid him in the deed he contemplated. He then proposed
a toast, and, filling a tin-cup with liquor, said in a loud voice,
'_Hurrah for Ginral Washington, and down with the red-coats_!' The
liquor was dashed in McPherson's face, and John vanished from the hut.
Nick immediately summoned his men by a repetition of the toast, and the
fifty hillocks of snow were suddenly changed, as if by magic, into as
many armed and furious 'rebels.' Before the Skinners could recover from
the momentary surprise into which this curious incident had thrown them,
a volley of powder and shot had been fired into their midst. Dashing
like a frightened hare through the open door, McPherson beheld his
assailants. His fears magnified their numbers, and, conceiving there was
no hope in _fight_, he summoned his men to follow him in _flight_.

"They madly rushed after him, and forcing their way through the dry
limbs of brush that stuck up on the banks of the lake, gained the frozen
surface. More than one half their number had taken this course, while
the rest had either fallen victims to the first fire, or taken to their
heels towards the main road. Suddenly a terrible crash was heard,
accompanied by a splash, and a hubbub of unearthly screams. The ice
had broken, and 'Dead Man's Lake' was accomplishing a victory for the
handful of American patriots who stood upon its banks.

"The result was, that over twenty of the Skinners were taken prisoners.
Only half-a-dozen were killed by fire-arms. The lake was examined at
sunrise, and fifteen bodies were drawn from its remorseless bosom. The
remainder, McPherson among them, escaped."

"That Nick Odell was nearly equal to old Nick himself in stratagems,"
said Wilson, when Smith had concluded.

"It's a wonder the men didn't freeze to death under the snow," said
Morton. "I think I should have been opposed to trying such a way of
disposing of myself."

"Oh! there 's no doubt about its keeping you warm," said old Harmar.

"How can cold snow keep men warm?" enquired Thomas Jefferson Harmar.

"I suppose," answered Higgins, "that it's much like blowing your warm
breath on anything hot to cool it."

As nobody seemed disposed to contradict this explanation, old Higgins
took it for granted that he was correct; and Thomas Jefferso