, and then
to wait for the signal to be given.

As the parties gradually approached nearer and nearer to the Indians and
Percival, the Old Raven appeared to be uneasy, he looked round and round
him, and once or twice laid his ear to the ground; whenever he did this,
they all stopped, and almost held their breaths.

"The Indian woman says that the Old Raven is suspicious; he is sure that
some one is in the woods near him, and she thinks that she had better go
to him," said the Strawberry to Captain Sinclair.

"Let her go," said Captain Sinclair.

The Indian rose, and walked up in the direction of the Indians, who
immediately turned to her as she approached.

She spoke to them, and appeared to be telling them how it was she
returned. At all events, she occupied the attention of the Old Raven
till the parties were close to them, when Malachi arose, and immediately
all the others did the same, and rushed upon them. After a short and
useless struggle, they were secured, but not before the younger Indian
had wounded one of the soldiers, by stabbing him with his knife. The
thongs were already fast round the arms and legs of the Indians, when
Percival, who had not been tied, again attempted to escape, and by the
direction of Malachi, he was bound, as well as the other two.

As soon as the prisoners were secured, Martin and Graves and the
soldiers employed themselves cutting up the venison and preparing it for
dinner, while the Strawberry and the Indian woman were collecting wood
for a fire. In the mean while Captain Sinclair, Alfred, Malachi, and
John were seated by the prisoners, and directing their attention to
Percival, whom they had been compelled to bind, that he might not make
his escape; for his sojourn of nearly two years in the woods with the
Indians, without seeing the face of a white man, had (as has been
invariably proved to be the fact in every instance where the parties
were very young) wholly obliterated, for the time, his recollections of
his former life--so rapid is our falling off to the savage state. To
the questions of Alfred he returned no reply, and appeared not to
understand him.

"Let me try him, sir," said Malachi, "I will speak to him in the Injun
tongue, he has perhaps forgotten his own. It is wonderful how soon we
return to a state of nature when we are once in the woods."

Malachi then spoke to Percival in the Indian language; Percival listened
for some time, and at last replied in th