of weakness on the part of Edith. "I have
much confidence in this girl, Telie, though I can scarce tell why. A free
road and a round gallop will carry us to our journey's end by nightfall;
and, at the worst, we shall have bright starlight to light us on. Be
comforted, my cousin. I begin heartily to suspect yon cowardly Dodge, or
Dodger, or whatever he calls himself, has been imposed upon by his fears,
and that he has actually seen no Indians at all. The springing up of a
bush from under his horse's feet, and the starting away of a dozen
frighted rabbits, might easily explain his conceit of the long-legged
Indian, and his five murderous accomplices; and as for the savages seen
in ambush at the Ford, the shaking of the cane-brake by the breeze, or by
some skulking bear, would as readily account for them. The idea of his
being allowed to pass a crew of Indians in their lair, without being
pursued, or even fired upon, is quite preposterous."

These ideas, perhaps devised to dispel his kinswoman's fears, were scarce
uttered before they appeared highly reasonable to the inventor himself;
and he straightway rode to Dodge's side, and began to question him more
closely than he had before had leisure to do, in relation to those
wondrous adventures, the recounting of which had produced so serious a
change in the destination of the party. All his efforts, however, to
obtain satisfactory confirmation of his suspicion were unavailing. The
man, now in a great measure relieved of his terrors, repeated his story
with a thousand details, which convinced Roland that it was, in its chief
features, correct. That he had actually been attacked, or fired upon by
some persons, Roland could not doubt, having heard the shots himself. As
to the ambush at the Ford, all he could say was, that he had actually
seen several Indians,--he knew not the number,--stealing through the wood
in the direction opposite the river, as if on the outlook for some
expected party,--Captain Forrester's, he supposed, of which he had heard
among the emigrants; and that this giving him the advantage of the
first discovery, he had darted ahead with all his speed, until arrested
at an unexpected moment by the six warriors, whose guns and voices had
been heard by the party.

Besides communicating all the information which he possessed on these
points, he proceeded, without waiting to be asked, to give an account of
his own history; and a very lamentable one it was. He was f