Their rifles were good, and the fine double-barreled pistols, formidable weapons, would be a great aid, especially at close quarters.
"I take it," said Tom Ross, "that the Iroquois can't get through at all unless they come along this way, an' it's the same ez ef we wuz settin' on solid earth, poppin' em over, while they come sloshin' up to us." "That's exactly it," said Henry.

"We've a natural defense which we can hold against much greater numbers, and the longer we hold 'em off, the nearer our people will be to Fort Penn." "I never felt more like fightin' in my life," said Tom Ross.
It was a grim utterance, true of them all, although not one among them was bloodthirsty.
"Can any of you hear anything ?" asked Henry.

"Nothin'," replied Shif'less Sol, after a little wait, "nothin' from the women goin', an' nothin' from the Iroquois comin'." "We'll just lie close," said Henry.

"This hard spot of ground isn't more than thirty or forty feet each way, and nobody can get on it without our knowing it." The others did not reply.

All lay motionless upon their sides, with their shoulders raised a little, in order that they might take instant aim when the time came.