e, which, if it had been
practised somewhat sooner, must have completely deluded the father and
accomplished the design meditated. If, instead of giving the bell the
monotonous tink, the Indian had shaken the clapper irregularly, it
would have resulted in the certain capture of the child, beyond the
father's power of aid or rescue.

The missionary, we say, penetrated the design of the Indian almost
instantly. Although he saw nothing but the head and top of one
shoulder, he recognized, with a quick instinct, the villain who had
felt the weight of his hand years before, and who had now come in the
fullness of time, to claim his revenge. Directly in front of the
savage rose a small bush, which, while it gave him a view of the boy,
concealed himself from the child's observation.

The object of the Indian seemed to be to lure the boy within his
reach, so as to secure him without his making an outcry or noise. If
he could draw him close to the logs, he would spring upon him in an
instant, and prevent any scream, which assuredly must reach the
father, who, with his unerring rifle would have been upon the ground
in a few moments. It was an easy matter for the savage to slay the
boy. It would not have done to shoot his rifle, but he could have
tomahawked him in an instant; hence it was plain that he desired only
to take him prisoner. He might have sprung upon his prey in the woods,
but there he ran the risk of being seen by the child soon enough for
him to make an outcry, which would not fail of bringing immediate
assistance. His plan, therefore, was, to beguile the little fellow on
until he had walked directly into the snare, as a fly is lured into
the web of a spider.

This, we say, was the plan of the Indian. It had never entered into
his calculations that the goat, after being robbed of her bell, might
go home and tell a tale, or that there were other ways in which the
boy could be secured, without incurring half the peril he already had
incurred.

The moment the father comprehended what we have endeavored to make
plain, he raised his rifle, with the resolve to shoot the savage
through the head. As he did so, he recalled the fact that he had but a
single charge, and that, as a consequence, a miss would be the
death-warrant of himself as well as of his child. But he knew his eye
and hand would never fail him. His finger already pressed the trigger,
when he was restrained by an unforeseen impediment.

While the deadly r