lt not pine for her and to
be gone from amongst us."

"But I must leave here soon, little maid; my people at Jamestown are
waiting for me."

He said this in order to try and discern what was the intention of
Powhatan towards him. Now that his life was saved, his thought was for
his liberty.

"Thou shalt not go," she cried, springing up. "Thou belongest to me and
it is my will to keep thee that thou mayst tell me tales of the world
beyond the sunrise and make new medicine for us. Thou shalt not go."

"So be it," said Smith in a tone he tried to render as unemotional as
possible. He sighed inwardly as he thought of his fellows at Jamestown,
ill, starving, and now doubtless believing him dead. Perhaps if he bided
his time he would find some way of communicating with them. In the
meantime, policy, as well as inclination, urged his making friends with
this eager little savage maiden.

Now that he did not attempt to oppose her, Pocahontas sank down again
beside him. Already there was an audience: braves, squaws and children
were crowding about, watching the paleface eat. Smith had learned since
his captivity the value the Indians set upon an impassive manner, so he
continued cutting off bits of venison and chewing them with as little
attention to those about him as King James himself might show when he
dined in state alone at Guildhall. But for Pocahontas's presence, whose
claim to the captive every one respected, they would have come even
nearer. As it was, one boy slipped behind her and jerked at Smith's
beard. Pocahontas ordered him away and said in excuse:

"Do not be angry, he wanted only to find out if it were fast."

She shared the child's curiosity in regard to the beard. Might it not
be, she wondered, some kind of adornment put on when he set out on the
warpath, as her people decked themselves on special occasions with
painted masks?

Smith tugged at his beard with both hands, smiling, and his audience
burst out laughing. They could appreciate a joke, it seemed, and he was
glad to see that their temper to him was friendly, for the moment at
least. One of the older men pointed to the pocket in his jerkin and
asked what he had in it. Compass and watch were gone, but Smith delved
into its depths in hopes of finding something he had forgotten which
might interest them. He brought out a pencil and a small note-book. He
wrote a few words and handed them to Pocahontas, saying:

"These are medicine marks. If one s