A streak of flame shot above the trees, curved and fell. It was followed
by another and another. Ned was puzzled, but the Panther laughed low.
"This can't be fireworks on election night," said Davy Crockett. "It
seems hardly the place for such a display."
"They're fireworks, all right," said the Panther, "but it's not election
night. You're correct about that part of it. Look, there goes the fourth
an' the fifth."
Two more streaks of flame curved and fell, and Ned and Crockett were
still puzzled.
"Them's burnin' arrers," said the Panther. "It's an old trick of the
Injuns. If they had time enough they'd be sure to set the cabin on fire,
and then from ambush they'd shoot the people as they ran out. But what
we're here for is to stop that little game of theirs. The flight of the
arrers enables us to locate the spot from which they come an' there
we'll find the Comanches."
They crept toward the point from which the lighted arrows were flying,
and peering; from the thicket saw a score or more of Comanches gathered
in the bushes and under the trees. One of the Tennesseans, seeking a
better position, caused a loud rustling, and the alert Comanches,
instantly taking alarm, turned their attention to the point from which
the sound had come.
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