al among them, still they were not
reckless and foolish enough to leave him to himself, or to permit him to
depart. Besides the two who were stationed at a distance as sentinels,
one remained awake to keep an eye upon his movements. Yet this
precaution was useless; for to all appearances, he slept as deeply as
any of them, and was among the latest who awoke in the morning.

Leland fell asleep about midnight, and gained a few hours of undisturbed
rest. In the morning he was considerably refreshed, and had it not been
for the awful doom that threatened him, would have possessed a joyous
fund of spirits. His wound, which had been only an ugly flesh one, had
ceased to trouble him, and he experienced no pain except from the
ligaments that bound him. As he increased in strength, these were
increased in number and tightness, until his limbs swelled and pained
him more than his hurt.

It is the same with the body as with the mind. The sorest affliction
that can visit us will not occasion half the murmuring and discontent
that the petty annoyances and grievances of every-day life do. Could the
pain which harassed Leland, and in the end nearly drove him frantic,
have been concentrated into a few moments, or even into a half-hour, he
could have borne it without a murmur; but it was the continual,
never-ceasing, monotonous length of it that troubled him.

Several times in the course of their journey, Leland was upon the point
of beseeching his enemies to kill him at once, and end his misery; and
had he reason to believe that they would have gratified him, he would
not have hesitated a moment; but such a request would have been useless.

At noon, as usual, the party came to a halt, and a couple proceeded to
bind Leland to a tree. During the proceeding he broke the cords that
pained him so much, and they were replaced by others. The latter,
however, were much more lax, and he felt greatly relieved when they were
placed upon him.

As soon as he was secured to the body of the tree, the savage left him
and joined his companions. Leland closed his eyes as if to shut out the
terrible reality, and the dancing lights that flickered before him,
together with the hum that filled his ears, told him that for a moment
he had succeeded. But he was soon recalled to a sense of his situation
by the _zip_ of a tomahawk within a few inches of his head. Opening his
eyes, he soon comprehended the state of things. The savages were amusing
themselves