“How we chuckled as he said it; then, in English, ‘House!’ I cried,
While my comrades all stood ready, when the door should open wide.
“With one hand his rifle grasping, Merrill then unclosed the door,
When we poured a sudden volley, and he sank upon the floor.
“In the fall the gun exploded, lighting up again the dark;
But no fingers drew the trigger, and the bullet found no mark.
“Ere we reached the open portal, though the journey was not far,
Lo! the woman Merrill closed it, and secured it with a bar.
“Long we hacked and long we hammered at the door with useless din,
Till at length a heavy sapling, fiercely driven, burst it in.