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The three men, instantly observing the effect of the shot, turned round, and, swimming towards their late enemy, laid hold of him, and dragged and pushed him with some difficulty towards the shore. Meanwhile Black Gibault, who had issued from his hiding-place and had witnessed Redhand's successful shot, began to caper and dance and shout in the exuberance of his glee.
But, as the savage raised the scalp of poor Dupont above his head, Redhand's rifle flew to his shoulder, and in another moment the Indian fell to the earth beside his victim. Seeing this, the other Indians darted into the forest.
But Redhand's observations were few. He preferred to listen to the conversations of his comrades, as they plodded steadily along, enlivening their march with many an anecdote and legend. At last Redhand called a halt, and gazed inquiringly around him, as if in search of some object. "Wot's up?" inquired Bounce earnestly.
After digging deep all round the tree, they came to the conclusion that this was all that the cache contained. "Now," said Bounce, after some talk in reference to their newly-found treasure, "wot's to be done with dis here keg o' brandy? As for the baccy, we'll carry that along with us, of course, an' if Master Redhand's a liberal feller, we'll help him to smoke it.
"No," answered Edie, impatiently "could I but get to Tannonburgh. In the name of Heaven, Captain, contrive some way to get me on, and ye'll do this poor ruined family the best day's doing that has been done them since Redhand's days for as sure as e'er an auld saw came true, Knockwinnock house and land will be lost and won this day." "Why, what good can you do, old man?" said Hector.
Redhand's quick eye observed that the rocks at the edge of the fall, on the side of the river on which they stood, projected out so far that a straight line drawn from the eddy to the fall would pass within a yard of them, and that, consequently, if March would push straight across the stream and make vigorously for the bank, he might hit the point of rocks referred to before being carried over.
"No," answered Edie, impatiently "could I but get to Tannonburgh. In the name of Heaven, Captain, contrive some way to get me on, and ye'll do this poor ruined family the best day's doing that has been done them since Redhand's days for as sure as e'er an auld saw came true, Knockwinnock house and land will be lost and won this day." "Why, what good can you do, old man?" said Hector.
On the beautiful afternoon referred to, the first six individuals above named were huddled together in a promiscuous heap, behind a small bush, in such a confused way that an ignorant spectator might have supposed that Bounce's head belonged to Big Waller's body, and the artist's shoulders to Redhand's head, and their respective legs and arms to no one individually, but to all collectively, in a miscellaneous sort of way.
An expression of deep sorrow overspread Redhand's countenance. "Ay," said he mournfully, "I know it well. It belonged to young Blake." Glancing quickly up at a place where several scalps were hanging to a pole, he took one down, and, after gazing at it sadly for a few seconds, he added in a tone of deep melancholy: "Poor, poor Blake! ye had a hearty spirit an' a kindly heart.
They now took shelter behind trees and rocks, and attempted to dislodge the trappers by discharging arrows into the air at such an angle that they should drop into their fortress. One or two endeavoured to ascend the steep cliff, but the instant an arm or a shoulder appeared, a ball from Redhand's deadly rifle struck it, so the attempt was abandoned.
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