"Either my old eyes deceive me, or I fear that I do," replied Ready; "but a few minutes more will decide."
There was a bank of clouds on the horizon to the eastward, but as soon as the sun had risen above them, Ready, who had the telescope fixed in the same direction, said:
"Yes, William, I am right. I thought that those dark patches I saw there were brown grass sails."
"Sails of what, Ready?" said William, hastily.
"Of the Indian canoes; I knew that they would come. Take the glass and look yourself; my eye is quite dim from straining it so long."
"Yes, I have them now," replied William, with his eye to the glass. At last he said:
"Why, there are twenty or thirty of them, Ready, at least."
"And with twenty or thirty men in each too, William."
"What must we do, Ready? How frightened my poor mother will be! I'm afraid we can do nothing against such a number."
"Yes, William, we can do a great deal, and we must do a great deal. That there are hundreds of savages there is no doubt; but recollect that we have a stockade, which they cannot easily climb over, and plenty of firearms and ammunition, so that we can make a good fight of it, and perhaps beat them off, for they have nothing but clubs and spears."