As
he did so his eye lighted on a pile of books and papers that had been
tossed from the windows of the building beneath which he was concealed.
Even in that glance he recognized them as belonging to his uncle, and
being the same that he had helped to pack when the fort was abandoned.
Realizing their importance, and despairing of being able to afford
further aid to any of the recent occupants of the fort, Rene determined
to attempt to save these papers. It was a bold undertaking, for to
reach them he was obliged to leave the shelter of the building and
advance some distance into the open, where at any moment he might be
revealed to his enemies by flashes of firelight from the smouldering
timbers near by. Fully realizing the risk he ran, but undismayed by
it, the brave boy made several trips to and from the pile of books and
papers. He had removed nearly all of them to the tunnel, which he felt
to be the only safe place for them, when he suddenly became aware that
morning was near at hand, and that the rapidly increasing light of day
had made his task doubly dangerous.
Knowing, however, that all that were left could be carried on one more
trip, he determined to make it. Just as he gathered into his arms the
last of the papers to save which he was risking his life, a yell of
delight announced that he was discovered. A quick glance revealed two
Spanish soldiers rushing towards him with levelled pikes, and gleaming
eyes that were red and bloodshot as those of the tiger who has tasted
blood.
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