A moment sufficed to let Joyce and his companions into the state of affairs.  There now being four armed men on the stage, one took each of the three exposed sides of the buildings to watch, leaving the master of the house to move from post to post, to listen to suggestions, hear reports, and communicate orders.

The dark object that lay at the foot of the palisades was pointed out to the serjeant the instant he was on the stage, and one of his offices was to observe it, in order to ascertain if it moved, or whether any attempts were made to carry off the body.  The American Indians attach all the glory or shame of a battle to the acquisition or loss of scalps, and one of their practices was to remove those who had fallen, at every hazard, in order to escape the customary mutilation.  Some tribes even believed it disgrace to suffer a dead body to be struck by the enemy, and many a warrior has lost his life in the effort to save the senseless corpse of a comrade from this fancied degradation.

As soon as the little stir created in the Hut by the mustering of the men was over, a stillness as profound as that which had preceded the alarm reigned around the place.  No noise came from the direction of the mill; no cry, or call, or signal of battle was heard; everything lay in the quiet of midnight.  Half an hour thus passed, when the streak of light that appeared in the east announced the approach of day.

The twenty minutes that succeeded were filled with intense anxiety.  The slow approach of light gradually brought out object after object in the little panorama, awakening and removing alike, conjectures and apprehensions.  At first the grey of the palisades became visible; then the chapel, in its sombre outlines; the skirts of the woods; the different cabins that lined them; the cattle in the fields, and the scattering trees.  As for Joyce, he kept his gaze fastened on the object at the foot of the stockade, expecting every instant there would be an attempt to carry it off.

At length, the light became so strong as to allow the eye to take in the entire surface of the natural glacis without the defences, bringing the assurance that no enemy was near.  As the ground was perfectly clear, a few fruit-trees and shrubs on the lawn excepted, and by changing positions on the stage, these last could now be examined on all sides, nothing was easier than to make certain of this fact.  The fences, too, were light and open, rendering it impossible for any ambush or advancing party to shelter itself behind them.  In a word, daylight brought the comfortable assurance to those within the palisades that another night was passed without bringing an assault.

“We shall escape this morning, I do believe, Joyce,” said the captain, who had laid down his rifle, and no longer felt it necessary to keep the upper portions of his body concealed behind the roof—­“Nothing can be seen that denotes an intention to attack, and not an enemy is near.”