ey took one prisoner, a strong
fine-looking man. One night the prisoner escaped. It was discovered
that the girl helped him and then went away with him."

He paused and frowned at this point, and the startled Cheenbuk at once
recognised himself and Adolay as the hero and heroine of the story.

"Did the girl," he asked, "go away with the escaped prisoner of her own
will, or did he force her to go?"

"She went of her own will," returned the Indian.

"One of the women of the tribe followed her and heard her speak. But
the father loved his child. He could not hate her, although she forsook
her home. At first he thought of taking all his young men and going on
the war-path to follow the Eskimos, slay the whole tribe, and bring back
his child. But Manitou had put it in the father's mind to think that it
is wrong to kill the innocent because of the guilty. He therefore made
up his mind to set off alone to search for his child."

Again Nazinred paused, and Cheenbuk felt very uncomfortable, for
although he knew that it was impossible for the Indian to guess that the
Eskimo with whom he had once had a personal conflict was the same man as
he who had been taken prisoner and had escaped with his daughter, still
he was not sure that the astute Red man might not have put the two
things together and so have come to suspect the truth.

"So, then, man-of-the-woods," said Cheenbuk at last, "_you_ are the
father who has lost his daughter?"

"I am," returned the Indian, "and I know not to what tribe the young man
belongs with whom she has gone away, but I am glad that I have met with
you, because you perhaps may have heard if any strange girl has come to
stay with any of the tribes around you, and can tell me how and where to
find her. We named her Adolay, because she reminds us of that bright
season when the sun is hot and high."

Cheenbuk was silent for some time, as well he might be, for the sudden
revelation that the Indian who had once been his antagonist, and for
whom he had taken such a liking, was the father of the very girl who had
run away with him against her inclination, quite took his breath away.
It was not easy to determine how or when the true facts should be broken
to the father, and yet it was evident that something must be said, for
Cheenbuk could not make up his mind to lie or to act the part of a
hypocrite.

"I have heard of the girl-of-the-woods you speak of," he said at last;
"I have seen her."

F