t on saving the life of the white man who had once saved his,
refused to restore him to a place of such peril. In vain did the
Ojibwa captive--who was no other than our old acquaintance, Mahng--send
messages by the French settlers, who carried occasional communications
between the fort and the Ottawa village, threatening that, if Major
Hester were not exchanged for him, he would influence his tribe to make
peace with the English. Pontiac only sent answer that the major was
not his prisoner, but his guest, and therefore not subject to exchange,
but that the first captive of sufficient consequence who should be
brought in should be offered in his place.

When, therefore, Edith Hester and Madam Rothsay reached the village,
Pontiac conceived the project of presenting the latter before the gates
of Detroit, and demanding the release of the Ojibwa chief in her stead.
To the grief of Madam Rothsay herself, and of the beautiful charge from
whom she was thus separated, this plan was at once carried out, with
the result that Mahng was restored to his followers. He was, however,
more imbittered than ever against Pontiac, not only on account of his
long imprisonment, but because of a woman having been offered and
accepted in exchange for him.

This was not only a severe blow to his own pride, but to that of his
people; and they became clamorous to have the insult avenged, for which
purpose Mahng demanded that Major Hester be delivered to them, to do
with as they pleased. This demand was refused with such indignant
scorn that Mahng's evil face became black with fury; and, though he
strode from Pontiac's presence in silence, his heart was filled with
rage. This was intensified a few days later when the Ottawa chief
upbraided him, and charged him with superstitious cowardice for aiding
the escape of a white prisoner who had been condemned to death. In
this case, Mahng had felt certain that Paymaster Bullen, carefully
disguised as an Indian, would be fired upon and killed by the garrison
of the fort, as he approached it, and was as disgusted as any one could
be by the unexpected result of that experiment.

Distressed as Edith Hester was at being separated from Madam Rothsay,
she rejoiced at the latter's restoration to the protection of British
troops, and became reconciled to her own prolonged captivity when she
found that she was to be allowed to spend it in the company of her
beloved father.

Although the brave old major ch