celebrate the first white wedding in the Village of Peace."

Young looked shyly down at his boots; Edwards crossed one leg over
the other, and coughed loudly to hide his embarrassment. Kate wore,
as usual, her pensive smile; Nell's eyes twinkled, and she was about
to speak, when Heckewelder's quizzical glance in her direction made
her lips mute.

"I hope I'll have another wedding on my hands soon," he said
placidly.

This ordinary remark had an extraordinary effect. Nell turned with
burning cheeks and looked out of the window. Jim frowned fiercely
and bit his lips. Edwards began to laugh, and even Mr. Wells'
serious face lapsed into a smile.

"I mean I've picked out a nice little Delaware squaw for Dave," said
Heckewelder, seeing his badinage had somehow gone amiss.

"Oh-h!" suddenly cried Nell, in shuddering tones.

They all gazed at her in amazement. Every vestige of color had
receded from her face, leaving it marblelike. Her eves were fixed in
startled horror. Suddenly she relaxed her grasp on the windowsill
and fell back limp and senseless.

Heckewelder ran to the door to look out, while the others bent over
the unconscious girl, endeavoring to revive her. Presently a
fluttering breath and a quivering of her dark lashes noted a return
of suspended life. Then her beautiful eyes opened wide to gaze with
wonder and fear into the grave faces bent so anxiously over her.

"Nell, dearest, you are safe. What was it? What frightened you so?"
said Kate, tenderly.

"Oh, it was fearful!" gasped Nell, sitting up. She clung to her
sister with one hand, while the other grasped Jim's sleeve.

"I was looking out into the dark, when suddenly I beheld a face, a
terrible face!" cried Nell. Those who watched her marveled at the
shrinking, awful fear in her eyes. "It was right by the window. I
could have touched it. Such a greedy, wolfish face, with a long,
hooked nose! The eyes, oh! the eyes! I'll never forget them. They
made me sick; they paralyzed me. It wasn't an Indian's face. It
belonged to that white man, that awful white man! I never saw him
before; but I knew him."

"Girty!" said Heckewelder, who had come in with his quiet step. "He
looked in at the window. Calm yourself, Nellie. The renegade has
gone."

The incident worried them all at the time, and made Nell nervous for
several days; but as Girty had disappeared, and nothing more was
heard of him, gradually they forgot. Kate's wedding day dawned with
all the