Thus day after day, and week after week went by;
and so strictly watched were they that they could find no opportunity of
escaping. They were treated all the time, however, by the women as
kindly as at first; and the chiefs two daughters gave them to
understand, that, if they would promise to remain, they should become
their husbands and leaders of the tribe. Neither Gilbert nor Fenton,
however, desired this honour, though they were too wise directly to
refuse the proposal.

Their captivity being light, they were tolerably happy, and would have
been more so had they been able to let their friends know that they were
safe. At last, the chief confided to them the cause of their detention:
a tribe, between whom and his people an hereditary feud had existed, had
of late years always proved victorious, the reason being, as he
observed, that they had a white man dwelling among them, who, although
he did not himself fight, always directed their counsels; and now, as he
had got two white men, he hoped to beat his enemies, especially if they
accompanied him to battle, which he had made up his mind that they
should do. On receiving this announcement, Gilbert and Fenton consulted
together as to how they should act. Gilbert declared he had no wish to
fight any Indians who had not molested him. As to that, Fenton thought
that there was no great harm, and that it was their duty to help those
who had befriended them. "If the Indians go out to fight, and we are
compelled to accompany them, we may as well help them to gain the
victory, and bring the war sooner to a conclusion," he answered. His
reasoning, however, did not satisfy Gilbert.

"Have you considered who the white man possibly is of whom the chief
speaks?" he asked. "My idea is, that, if he has been among them for
several years, he must be my father; and, if so, I would never consent
to fight against his friends, though he himself were not in the battle."

"I should say, on the contrary," said Fenton. "Supposing the white man
spoken of is your father, they must have detained him against his will,
and therefore, if we can conquer them, we shall be doing him good
service by setting him free."

The next day there was a great stir in the village, and warriors from
all directions came flocking in, adorned with war-paint and feathers.
The chief made them a long harangue, and informed them that his white
sons were going forth with their lightning-makers to assist them