Then the boys
with their carbines, and Mr. Hardy with the revolvers, opened upon
them, every shot telling in the dense mass who struggled to
surmount the fatal railings.
Frenzied with the danger, dozens attempted to climb them, and,
strong as were the wires and posts, there was a cracking sound, and
the whole side fell. In another minute, of the struggling mass
there remained only some twenty motionless forms. Three or four
more rockets were sent off in the direction where the horses had
been seen, and then another signal rocket, whose light enabled them
to see that the black mass was broken up, and that the whole plain
was covered with scattered figures of men and animals, all flying
at the top of their speed.
"Thank God, it is all over, and we are safe!" Mr. Hardy said
solemnly. "Never again will an Indian attack be made upon Mount
Pleasant. It is all over now, my dear," he said to Mrs. Hardy as he
went down the stairs; "they are off all over the country, and it
will take them hours to get their horses together again. Two of us
have got scratched with arrows, but no real harm is done. Charley's
is only a flesh wound. Don't be frightened," he added quickly, as
Mrs. Hardy turned pale and the girls gave a cry at the appearance
of Charley's face, which was certainly alarming.
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