Yes, it was true.  They could all hear the sound of shots.  What had gone before had only reached the ears of Charles; but the report of firearms carried far.  In three minutes the bold little company had started at a brisk run through the snow-covered forest, getting quickly into the long swing of their snowshoes, and skimming over the ground at an inconceivably rapid pace, considering the nature of the ground traversed.

All at once the forest opened before them.  They came out upon its farthest fringe; and below them lay, white and bare, and sparkling in the moonlight, the frozen, snow-laden plateau of the lake.

It was a weirdly beautiful scene which lay spread like a panorama before them in the winter moonlight; but they had no time to think of that now.  All eyes were fixed upon the stirring scene enacted in the middle of the lake, or at least well out upon its frozen surface, where a band of resolute men, sheltering themselves behind a few sledges, which made them a sort of rampart, were firing steadily, volley after volley, at a band of leaping, yelling Indians who had partially surrounded them, and who were slowly but steadily advancing, despite their heavy loss, returning the fire of the defendants, though by no means so steadily and regularly, and whooping and yelling with a fearful ferocity.

It was easy to see, even by the moonlight alone, that the men behind the sledges were white men.  A sudden enthusiasm and excitement possessed our little band of Rangers as this sight burst upon them, and Stark gave the instant word: 

“Steady, men, but lose not a moment.  Form two lines, and rush them from behind.  Reserve your fire till I give the word.  Then let them have it hot, and close upon them from behind.  When they find themselves between two fires, they will think themselves trapped.  They will scatter like hunted hares.  See, they have no notion of any foe save the one in front.  Keep beneath the shadow of the forest till the last moment, and then rush them and fire!”

The men nodded, and unslung their guns.  They made no noise gliding down the steep snow bank upon their long shoes, and then out upon the ice of the lake.

“Fire!” exclaimed Stark at the right moment; and as one man the Rangers halted, and each picked his man.

Crack-crack-crack!

Literally each bullet told.  Twelve dusky savages bounded into the air, and fell dead upon the blood-stained snow.

Crack-crack-crack!

The affrighted Indians had faced round only to meet another volley from the intrepid little band behind.

That was enough.  The prowess of the Rangers was well known from one end of the lake to the other.  To be hemmed in between two companies was more than Indian bravery or Indian stoicism could stand.  With yells of terror they dropped their arms and fled to the forest, followed by a fierce firing from both parties, which made great havoc in their ranks.  The rout was complete and instantaneous.  Had it not been for panic, they might have paused to note how few were those new foes in number, and how small even the united body was as compared with their own numbers; but they fled, as Stark had foretold, like hunted hares, and the white men were left upon the lake face to face, with dead and dying Indians around them.