Page:Hendryx--Connie Morgan with the Mounted.djvu/143

Rh yells of triumph. Tex Gordon, with a strip of blanket bound tightly about his head, rushed up.

"They've quit! They've quit, kid! Look at 'em run!" Connie peered through the loophole, and saw the half-naked forms running toward the timber across the clearing. The battle for that day was won!

The sun had long set before the full extent of the fierce onslaught was ascertained. Thanks to the barricade, the defenders of the village, although outnumbered fully two to one, had not fared nearly so badly as the attacking party, which had re- treated, leaving more than half its number dead or wounded upon the ground. The loss within the barricade, however, was serious. Seven dead, including Toad Jones, who had climbed recklessly to the top of the barrier, and whose rifle had spoken to purpose during the earlier moments of the fray. Of the living, only Ick Far and three others had escaped without a scratch, while four were so badly wounded as to be incapable of further action. This left only eight of the original fighting force, but to offset the loss, fifteen squaws clamoured for a place on the firing line, and so eagerly and efficiently did they throw themselves