, he paused abruptly, and announced to the
party that he had found the precise direction taken by the maid and her
deliverer. Instantly they all clustered round him, evincing the most
intense interest. Some smelt the surface of the snow, and others
examined the bushes. Small twigs, not larger than pins, were picked up
and closely scrutinized. They well knew that anyone passing through the
frozen and clustered bushes must inevitably sever some of the twigs and
buds Their progress was slow, but unerring. The course they pursued was
the direction taken by Mary and her rescuer. It was not long before they
arrived within a few feet of the place of the maiden's concealment. But
now they were at fault. There were no bushes immediately around the
fallen tree. They paused, the chief in the van, with their bows and
arrows and tomahawks in readiness for instant use. They knew that the
maiden could not return to her friends on foot, or the treacherous
savage be able to bear her far on his shoulder. They thought that one or
both must be concealed somewhere in the neighborhood, and the fallen
tree, were it hollow, was the place most likely to be selected for that
purpose. After scanning the fallen trunk a few minutes in silence, and
discovering nothing to realize their hopes, they uttered a terrific
yell, and commenced striking their tomahawks in the wood, and ripping up
the bark in quest of some hiding-place. But their search was in vain.
The fallen trunk was sound and solid throughout, and the young chief sat
down on it within three paces of Mary! Others, in passing about,
frequently trod on the very verge of the concealed pit.

Mary was awakened by the yell, but knew not that the sound came from her
enemies. The Indian had told her that he would soon return, and her
heart now fluttered with the hope that her father and her friends were
at hand. Yet she prudently determined not to rush from her concealment
until she was better assured of the fact. She did not think that the
savages would ever suspect that she was hid under the snow, but yet she
thought it very strange that her father did not come to her at once.
Several minutes had elapsed since she had been startled by the sounds in
the immediate vicinity. She heard the tramp of men almost directly over
her head, and the strokes against the fallen trunk. She was several
times on the eve of rising up, but was as often withheld by some
mysterious impulse. She endeavored to reflect ca