the deadly weapons, and the other standing erect in the stern to
wield the paddle. In this manner they left the shore, having had
the precaution to haul the canoe, previously to entering it, so
far up the stream as to have got into the comparatively still water
above the rift. It was apparent at a glance that the savage who
guided the boat was skilled in the art; for the long steady sweep
of his paddle sent the light bark over the glassy surface of the
tranquil river as if it were a feather floating in air.

"Shall I fire?" demanded Jasper in a whisper, trembling with
eagerness to engage.

"Not yet, boy, not yet. There are but three of them, and if Master
Cap yonder knows how to use the popguns he carries in his belt, we
may even let them land, and then we shall recover the canoe."

"But Mabel -- ?"

"No fear for the Sergeant's daughter. She is safe in the hollow
stump, you say, with the opening judgmatically hid by the brambles.
If what you tell me of the manner in which you concealed the trail
be true, the sweet one might lie there a month and laugh at the
Mingos."

"We are never certain. I wish we had brought her nearer to our
own cover!"

"What for, Eau-douce? To place her pretty little head and leaping
heart among flying bullets? No, no: she is better where she is,
because she is safer."