Arnold, assisted by two
travellers who had arrived that afternoon from Date Creek on their way
to Prescott, closed the windows and doorways with heavy puncheon
shutters, removed the stops from the loop-holes, directed the girls to
carry provisions and property into the earthwork, got the arms and
ammunition ready, and awaited further demonstrations.
The available defensive force consisted of every member of the family,
including Sergeant Henry Burton and the two strangers. The mother and
daughters had been taught the use of fire-arms by the husband and
father, and Brenda had been taught by the boy sergeants. In an
emergency like the one being narrated, where death and mutilation were
sure to follow capture, the girls were nerved to do all that could
have been expected of boys at their ages.
Until the Apaches gained possession of the second out-building, few
shots had been exchanged, and the besieged closely watched their
movements through the loop-holes. It was while doing this that a
bullet pierced the brain of Mrs. Arnold, and she fell dead in the
midst of her family.
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