"Now," the man said, stepping toward the house, "we'll show 'em a bonfire."
As he neared the door a crack of a rifle was heard and the ruffian fell dead in his tracks. A yell of astonishment and rage broke from his followers.
"Jerusalem, youngster! you've got us into a nice fix. Howsomever, since you've begun it, here goes."
And the rifle of the hunter brought down another of the Americans. These, following the first impulse of a frontiersman when attacked, fled for shelter to the house, leaving the settler, with his wife and daughter, standing alone.
"Ye'd best get out of the way," Peter shouted, "or ye may get a bit of lead that wasn't intended for ye."
Catching up his child, Cameron ran toward the forest, making for the side on which his unknown friends were placed, but keeping down toward the lake, so as to be out of their line of fire.
"Make down to 'em, Harold," Peter said. "Tell 'em they'd best go to some neighbor's and stop there for a day or two. The army'll be here to-morrow or next day. Be quick about it, and come back as fast as ye can. I tell ye we're in a hornets' nest, and it'll be as much as we can do to get out of it."
A scattering fire was now being exchanged between the redskins behind the shelter of the trees and the Americans firing from the windows of the log house. Harold was but two or three minutes absent.
"All right, Peter!" he exclaimed, as he rejoined them.
"Come along, then," the hunter said. "Now, chief, let's make up round the top of this clearing and then foot it."