cold damp air of
an autumnal morning was beginning to make itself felt. More than half
an hour had elapsed since the departure of Ponteac and his companion,
and yet Oucanasta came not. With a sense of the approach of day came
new and discouraging thoughts, and, for some minutes, the mind of the
young officer became petrified with horror, as he reflected on the bare
possibility of his escape being intercepted. The more he lingered on
this apprehension, the more bewildered were his ideas; and already, in
horrible perspective, he beheld the destruction of his nearest and
dearest friends, and the host of those who were humbler followers, and
partakers in the same destiny. Absolutely terrified with the misgivings
of his own heart, he, in the wildness and unconnectedness of his
purpose, now resolved to make the attempt to return alone, although he
knew not even the situation of the path he had so recently quitted. He
had actually moved a pace forward on his desperate enterprise, when he
felt a band touching the extended arm with which he groped to find the
entrance to his hiding-place. The unexpected collision sent a cold
shudder through his frame; and such was the excitement to which he had
worked himself up, it was not without difficulty he suppressed an
exclamation, that must inevitably have sealed his doom. The soft tones
of Oucanasta's voice re-assured him.

"The day will soon dawn," she whispered; "the Saganaw must go."

With the return of hope came the sense of all he owed to the
devotedness of this kind woman. He grasped the hand that still lingered
on his arm, pressed it affectionately in his own, and then placed it in
silence on his throbbing heart. The breathing of Oucanasta became
deeper, and the young officer fancied he could feel her trembling with
agitation. Again, however, and in a tone of more subdued expression,
she whispered that he must go.

There was little urging necessary to induce a prompt compliance with
the hint. Cautiously emerging from his concealment, Captain de Haldimar
now followed close in the rear of his guide, who took the same circuit
of the forest to reach the path that led towards the fort. This they
speedily gained, and then pursued their course in silence, until they
at length arrived at the log where the exchange of mocassins had been
made.

"Here the Saganaw may take breath," she observed, as she seated herself
on the fallen tree; "the sleep of the red skin is sound, and there is