natural appendages of those animals.  Thus accoutred, he walked past the soldier, who, seeing the object approach, quickly stood upon his guard.  But a well-known grunt eased his fears, and he suffered it to pass, it being too dark for any one to discover the cheat.  The beast, as it appeared to be, quietly sought the thicket to the left; it was nearly out of sight, when, through a sudden break in the clouds, the moon shone bright upon it.  The soldier then perceived the ornamented moccasin of an Indian, and, quick as thought, prepared to fire.  But, fearing lest he might be mistaken, and thus needlessly alarm the camp, and also supposing, if he were right, the other savages would be near at hand, he refrained, and having a perfect knowledge of Indian subtlety and craft, quickly took off his coat and cap, and, after hanging them on the stump where he had reclined, secured his rifle, and softly groped his way toward the thicket.  He had barely reached it, when the whizzing of an arrow passed his head, and told him of the danger he had escaped.  Turning his eyes toward a small spot of cleared land within the thicket, he perceived a dozen of the same animals sitting on their hind legs, instead of feeding on the acorns, which, at this season, lay plentifully upon the surface of the leaves; and, listening attentively, he heard them conversing in the Iroquois tongue.  The substance of their conversation was, that, if the sentinel should not discover them, the next evening, as soon as the moon should afford them sufficient light for their operations, they would make an attack upon the American camp.  They then quitted their rendezvous, and soon their tall forms were lost in the gloom of the forest.  The soldier now returned to his post, and found the arrow sunk deep in the stump, it having passed through the breast of his coat.

He directly returned to the encampment, and desired the orderly at the marquee to inform the commander of his wish to speak with him, having information of importance of communicate.  He was admitted, and, having been heard, the colonel bestowed on him the vacant post of lieutenant of the corps, and directed him to be ready, with a picket-guard, to march, at eight o’clock in the evening, to the spot he had occupied the night before, where he was to place his hat and coat upon the stump, and then lie in ambush for the intruders.  Accordingly, the party proceeded, and obeyed the colonel’s orders.  The moon rose, but shone dimly through the thick branches of the forest.

While the new lieutenant was waiting the result of his manoeuver, an arrow whizzed from the same quarter as before.  The mock soldier fell on his face.  A dozen subdued voices sounded from within the thicket, which were soon followed by the sudden appearance of the Indians themselves.  They barely reached the stump, when our hero gave the order to fire, and the whole band were stretched dead upon the plain.  After stripping them of their arms and trappings, the Americans returned to the camp.