Arv, as he sat impassively resting it upon his knee.

"One things sure," said Foster; "ef Arv sh'u'd cuff an Injun with
thet air he 'll squ'sh 'im."

"Squ'sh 'im!" said Arv, with a look of disgust. "'T ain't med t'
squ'sh with, I cal'late t' p'int it at 'em 'n' jab."

And so, as the evening wore away and sleep hushed the timid, a
better feeling came over us. I sat by Rose Merriman on the steps,
and we had no thought of Indians. I was looking into her big hazel
eyes, shining in the firelight, and thinking how beautiful she was.
And she, too, was looking into my eyes, while we whispered
together, and the sly minx read my thoughts, I know, by the look of
her.

Great flames were now leaping high as the timber-tops at the edge
of the clearing. A dead spruce caught fire as we were looking.
The flames threw over it a lacy, shimmering, crackling net of gold.
Then suddenly it burst into a red, leaping tower. A few moments,
and the cavern of the woods, along the timber side, was choked with
fire. The little hamlet had become a spring of light in the
darkness. We could see the stumps and houses far afield, as if it
had been noonday. Suddenly we all jumped to our feet. A wild yell
came echoing through the woods.

"There they be!" said Asher Eastman, as he cocked his gun. "I tol'
ye so."

As a matter of fact, he had told us nothing of the kind. He was