Tom grabbed his rifle at the sound of the shotgun, saying "Gerald, scout ahead on the trail, quickly! If the way is clear, fire one shot! Adam, we'll hold them here. Everyone else, get ready to run at Gerald's signal!" Tom took cover behind a henhouse that gave him a wide field of fire down the trail. Adam crouched behind a stack of firewood fifty feet away. Tom was surprised to find Willis right behind him. "Willis! What are you doing?" Willis said "I'm staying to fight. It ain't right for me to jus run fo my freedom. I got to fight fo it!" Tom said "Have you ever fired a gun?" Willis shook his head and siad "but I seen you all. Besides, Mr Gerald done give me this scatter-gun and showed me how to load it!" Willis held up the smoothbore percussion rifle. "He says just point at the target and pull th trigger's all I need to do." Tom clapped him on the arm and said "very well then. Take cover behind that fallen tree on our right. That should give good flanking fire. Don't let them sneak around on your right, though." Willis nodded and ran to his post.

A shot was heard from up the trail, Gerald's signal, and Tom motioned to Elizabeth to go. The horses and mules of the little party started at a run up the trail, just at the moment a rifle report was heard, and a shot from down the trail whistled above Tom's head, dropping a clump of leaves on the ground behind him.