The bamboo fencing which had been hastily set up around the town was not a very strong affair; and right from the start it gave way in one place after another as the enemy thronged and crowded against it.  Then the Doctor, Long Arrow and Bumpo would hurry to the weak spot, a terrific hand-to-hand fight would take place and the enemy be thrown out.  But almost instantly a cry of alarm would come from some other part of the village-wall; and the Three would have to rush off and do the same thing all over again.

The Popsipetels were themselves no mean fighters; but the strength and weight of those three men of different lands and colors, standing close together, swinging their enormous war-clubs, was really a sight for the wonder and admiration of any one,

Many weeks later when I was passing an Indian camp-fire at night I heard this song being sung.  It has since become one of the traditional folksongs of the Popsipetels.

THE SONG OF THE TERRIBLE THREE

     Oh hear ye the Song of the Terrible Three
 And the fight that they fought by the edge of the sea. 
     Down from the mountains, the rocks and the crags,
 Swarming like wasps, came the Bag-jagderags.

     Surrounding our village, our walls they broke down. 
 Oh, sad was the plight of our men and our town! 
     But Heaven determined our land to set free
 And sent us the help of the Terrible Three. 
     One was a Black—­he was dark as the night;
 One was a Red-skin, a mountain of height;
     But the chief was a White Man, round like a bee;
 And all in a row stood the Terrible Three.

     Shoulder to shoulder, they hammered and hit. 
 Like demons of fury they kicked and they bit. 
     Like a wall of destruction they stood in a row,
 Flattening enemies, six at a blow.

     Oh, strong was the Red-skin fierce was the Black. 
 Bag-jagderags trembled and tried to turn back. 
     But ’twas of the White Man they shouted, “Beware! 
 He throws men in handfuls, straight up in the air!”

     Long shall they frighten bad children at night
 With tales of the Red and the Black and the White. 
     And long shall we sing of the Terrible Three
 And the fight that they fought by the edge of the sea.

THE SIXTH CHAPTER

GENERAL POLYNESIA

But alas! even the Three, mighty though they were, could not last forever against an army which seemed to have no end.  In one of the hottest scrimmages, when the enemy had broken a particularly wide hole through the fence, I saw Long Arrow’s great figure topple and come down with a spear sticking in his broad chest.

For another half-hour Bumpo and the Doctor fought on side by side.  How their strength held out so long I cannot tell, for never a second were they given to get their breath or rest their arms.