most cruel of his tribe. Softswan was seated at the feet of the
missionary, with her face bowed upon her knees. She was not bound, but
a savage stood near to watch her. Whitewing's old mother sat or rather
crouched, close to her.

What had already passed Rushing River of course could only guess. Of
what followed his ears and eyes took note.

"You look very brave just now," said the Blackfoot leader, "but I will
make you change your looks before I take your scalps to dry in the
Blackfoot wigwams."

"You had better take our lives at once," said Big Tim fiercely, "else we
will begin to think that we have had the mischance to fall into the
hands of cowardly squaws."

"Wah!" exclaimed Bounding Bull, with a nod of assent as he directed a
look of scorn at his adversary.

"Tush, tush, boy," said Little Tim to his son reprovingly, in an
undertone. "It ill becomes a man with white blood in his veins, an' who
calls hisself a Christian, to go boastin' like an or'nary savage. I
thowt I had thrashed that out of 'ee when ye was a small boy."

"Daddy," remonstrated Big Tim, "is not Softswan sittin' there at his
marcy?"

"No, lad, no. We are at the marcy of the Lord, an' His marcies are
everlastin'."

A faint smile flickered on the lips of the missionary at that moment,
and, opening his eyes, he said solemnly--

"My son, hope thou in God, for thou shalt yet praise Him who is the
health of thy countenance and thy God."

The savage leader was for the moment startled by the words, uttered in
his own language, by one whom he had thought to be dead, but recovering
himself quickly, he said--

"Your trust will be vain, for you are now in my power, and I only spare
you long enough to tell you that a Blackfoot brave has just met us, who
brings us the good news of what our great Blackfoot chief did when he
crept into the camp of Bounding Bull and carried away his little
daughter from under his very nose, and also the daughter of Leetil Tim.
Wah! Did I not say that I would make you change your looks?"

The savage was so far right that this reference to their great loss was
a terrible stab, and produced considerable change of expression on the
faces of the captives; but with a great effort Bounding Bull resumed his
look of contempt and said that what was news to the Blackfoot leader was
no news to him, and that not many days would pass before his warriors
would pay a visit to the Blackfoot nation.

"That may be so," retort