Reluctantly Timmendiquas, Thayendanegea and the
Mohawks, Senecas, and Wyandots, who were most strenuous in the
conflict, gave ground. Yet the battlefield, with its numerous
trees, stumps, and inequalities, still favored them. They
retreated slowly, firing from every covert, sending a shower of
bullets, and now and then tittering the war whoop.
Henry heard a panting breath by his side. He looked around and
saw the face of Heemskerk, glowing red with zeal and exertion.
"The victory is won already!" said he. "Now to drive it home!"
"Come on," cried Henry in return, "and we'll lead!"
A single glance showed him that none of his comrades had fallen.
Long Jim and Tom Ross had suffered slight wounds that they
scarcely noticed, and they and the whole group of scouts were
just behind Henry. But they now took breath, reloaded their
rifles, and, throwing themselves down in Indian fashion, opened a
deadly fire upon their antagonists. Their bullets searched all
the thickets, drove out the Iroquois, and compelled them to
retreat anew.
The attack was now pressed with fresh vigor. In truth, with so
much that the bravest of the Indians at last yielded to panic.
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