wed by
any of the foe.

"On reaching the waggon, Stephen agreed with me that we might safely
wait till the next morning. We did so; and poor Yearsley not then
appearing, we proceeded with the waggon along the road we had taken in
coming, until we reached Watfield, a large settlement which had then
been established for three or four years.

"The account we gave of what had happened caused the inhabitants
considerable anxiety and alarm. The men at once flew to arms; stockades
were put up; and sentries were posted at all points, to watch for the
possible approach of the Indians.

"Stephen and I having now no wish to go further east, we determined to
remain where we were. As for the waggon and team, though we had no
written document to show that Yearsley had given them to us, our
statement was believed; and it was agreed that we should be allowed to
keep them,--especially as we consented to give them up should the
original owner return. But nothing was ever heard of him, or of the
other settlers who had gone in pursuit of the retreating foe; and it was
generally believed that the whole had been surrounded and murdered by
the savages.

"As we could not spare time to look after the children, one of us agreed
to marry. Stephen therefore fixed upon your Aunt Hannah, who was, he
had discovered, likely to prove a good housewife, and was kind-hearted
and gentle-mannered. A true mother, too, she has ever proved to our
Lily."

Uncle Mark only spoke the truth when he praised Aunt Hannah; for she had
been like an affectionate mother to me, as well as to Lily, and much I
owed her for the care she had bestowed upon me.

I need not describe my own early days; indeed, several years passed
without the occurrence of any incidents which would be especially
interesting to others. Gradually the border-village grew into a town,
although even then the country continued in almost its original wild
state within a mile or two of us. Both Lily and I got a fair amount of
schooling; and in the holidays I was able to indulge my taste, by
rambling into the forest and increasing my knowledge of the habits of
its denizens. Occasionally I got leave for Lily to accompany me,
although Aunt Hannah did not much approve of her going so far from home.

One day I had persuaded our aunt to let her accompany me--Lily herself
was always ready to go--for the sake of collecting some baskets of
berries. "I promise to come back with as many as I can c