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Tell not the planting of thy parent tree,
But that the forest tribes have bent for ages
To thee and to thy sires the subject knee.

HALLECK.

The young man knew not whither to turn his steps, except to the hut of
Sassacus, which, however, he felt doubtful of his ability to find at
night. No better plan occurred to him than to make the attempt; he,
therefore, pressed forward, guiding himself as well as he could by the
stars, glimpses of which he caught from time to time through the
branches. He had, however, proceeded but a short distance, when,
without a warning sound, silent as a shadow, the Indian stood at his
side.

"I sought the great chief," said Arundel, contemplating the renowned
warrior, whose name was a synonym with whatever was generous and
daring, with more curiosity than he had regarded the obscure
Waqua--"to warn him of danger."

"Sassacus fears no danger," replied the Indian; "it is for the
Taranteens to tremble when they are in his neighborhood."

"What will the chief do?"

"He will return to his wigwam, but his brother must not go with him;
for the Taranteens desire to carry back with them to-night the scalp
of Sassacus."

"Nay, I will go with thee to partake the danger, if there be any, but
I see no probability thereof. The Taranteens will not seek the scalp
of Sassacus, if he hunts not for theirs."

"My brother knows not that they are owls who fly in the night. The
eyes of Sassacus can pierce the skin on the bosoms of his enemies, and
he saw in them men wandering in the dark, and looking for the chief of
the Pequots."

"But how are these strangers to find the way?"

"When did Sassacus ever make a secret of his lodge? He is not a
beaver, or a wretched wood-chuck, to burrow in the ground, but an
eagle who makes his nest on the highest trees."

From this reply Arundel could only understand, that the place where
the hut stood was too well known to make it difficult for the Indians
to discover it. There was no knowing what their audacity, thirst for
revenge for the insult, and the opportunity to capture or destroy so
famous an enemy, might tempt them to undertake; but he trusted that
the want of a medium of communication (for only the Knight and Eliot,
among the whites, as he supposed, could make themselves intelligible;
and the Aberginians were not likely to approach the Taranteens) would
be an insuperable obstacle in the way of their purpose, should they
entertain any