discovery!" cried Roland, with the agitation of joy and
hope. "Cut my bonds, deliver me, with my cousin and companions,--and the
best farm in the manor shall reward you:--nay, you shall fix your own
terms for your daughter and yourself."

"Exactly," said Atkinson, who, although the prisoner was carefully bound,
exhibited a jealous disinclination to let the will come near his hands,
and now restored it carefully to his own bosom; "we must talk over that
matter of tarms, jist to avoid mistakes. And to begin, captain, I will
jist observe, as before, that if you don't take my offer, and close with
me hard and fast, you will roast at an Injun stake jist as sartainly as
you are now snugging by an Injun fire; you will, d----n me, there's no
two ways about it!"

"The terms, the terms?" cried Roland, eagerly: "name them; I will not
dispute them."

But the renegade was in no such hurry.

"You see," said he, "I'm a d----d rascal, as I said; and in this matter,
I am just as much a rascal as before, for I'm playing foul with Braxley,
having bargained to work out the whole thing in his sarvice. Howsomever,
there is a kind of fair play in cheating _him_, seeing it was him that
made a rascal of me. And moresomever, I have my doubts of him, and
there's no way I can hold him up to a bargain. And, lastly, captain, I
don't see how he can be of any sarvice to my gal! He can't marry her if
he would; and if he could, he shouldn't have her; and as for leaving her
to his tender mercies, I would jist as soon think of hunting her up
quarters in a bear's den. And as for keeping her among these d----d
brutes, the Injuns--for brutes they are captain, there's no denying it--"

"Why need you speak of it more? I will find her a home and protection,--a
home and protection for both of you."

"As for _me_, captain, thanking' you for the favour, you won't do me no
sich thing, seeing as how I don't look for it. There's two or three small
matters agin me in the Settlements, which it is no notion of mine to
bring up for reckoning. The gal's the crittur to be protected; and I'll
take my pay out chiefly in the good you do to her; and for the small
matters, not meaning no offence, I can trust best to her; for she's my
daughter, and she won't cheat me. Now, captain, a better gal than
Telie--her true name's Matilda, but she never heard anything of it but
Telie--a better gal was never seen in the woods, for all she's young and
timorsome; and it's jist my not