"Come hither with thy musket, Reuben Ring," said Content, hurriedly;
"the wind stirreth the smoke, here; the savages still heap fuel against
the wall."
The borderer complied. There were in fact moments when dark human forms
were to be seen gliding in silence around the building, though the density
of the vapor rendered the forms indistinct and their movements doubtful.
With a cool and practised eye, the youth sought a victim; but as he
discharged his musket, an object glanced near his own visage, as though
the bullet had recoiled on him who had given it a very different mission.
Stepping backward a little hurriedly, he saw the stranger pointing through
the smoke at an arrow which still quivered in the floor above them.
"We cannot long abide these assaults," the soldier muttered; "something
must be speedily devised, or we fall."
His words ceased, for a yell that appeared to lift the floor on which he
stood, announced the destruction of the door and the presence of the
savages in the basement of the tower. Both parties appeared momentarily
confounded at this unexpected success; for while the one stood mute with
astonishment and dread, the other did little more than triumph.
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