om the ground, and seated her firmly on her
horse's back--and placing the bridle in her hand, turned to assist the
rest; but they had all mounted, and were waiting directions which way
to proceed. Up to this moment they had not heard the voices nor seen
the forms of those who were to accompany them, save by the dusky
outlines which did not even reveal the number, and so quiet and rapidly
had the whole transpired, that they had no time to think of anything.

"Guides! move on!" said Minawanda; "follow, brothers, they will lead
you to your own people--and when there, forget not that a generous,
disinterested deed may be performed by an Indian, although he risks
life in so doing." So saying, he shook hands with them all in rapid
succession, and darting away, they were alone with the guides, whom
they saw were two in number, and mounted like themselves.

"Well, Jones," one of them said, in a very subdued tone, "if this is
not one of the queerest pieces of work I ever saw, then call me an
Arab."

"Never mind, Cole," the other answered, "push ahead as fast as you can,
or the Indians will broil us yet. We must get a good start to cheat the
rascally red-skins."

"Hush about the broiling, you make me nervous. How about our company?
All there?" again sung out the one called by his companion, Jones.

"Here! all right; five of us, following we do not know who, nor where
he will lead us to," said Howe, in a merry tone.

"Don't know? Well, perhaps you never heard of Jones, son of old Major
Jones, away down in old Connecticut. That is me, and I guess you will
not be sorry you are following me, especially as Cole says, we were all
to be broiled in a heap by those red skins."

"That I shall not, and right glad I am of your services to help us out
of as deep an entanglement as I think ever a set of Christians got
into," said the trapper.

"Well, I do not know, but I guess we will cheat them; the moon will be
up soon, and then we can ride faster," replied Jones.

"Are you sure of the way you have to go?" asked Sidney, who was still
nervous about getting bewildered in the forest.

"I guess I am," replied Jones. "Did I not come over it this morning?"

"Yes, but you might miss your way," returned Sidney.

"Might miss! Why young man, where was you educated, to learn the
possibility of doing such a thing? There is no such word as failing to
a downeaster."

"I think you must have failed once, or you would not be here," retorted
S