time.

I discovered I was lacking in curiosity as to what each morrow had in
store for us. It savored of the indifference of the fatalist. But I did
come to the alert when I observed Patricia was rapidly returning to
normal. I remembered Lost Sister's warning, "She must keep close to her
manito." I was forced to repeat these words to her.

It was one of the hardest tasks I ever undertook. She suffered deeply when
she began to grasp my meaning. She began to remember things concretely.
Yet life was the stake, and the fact that my life was also involved helped
her much. With the aid of Lost Sister I taught her how to be ever on her
guard, how to carry herself when in the presence of the silent but ever
watchful Indians.

Once the shock wore off somewhat she found it was not difficult to keep up
her role. The most effective way to allay any suspicion was for her to
talk aloud to herself. The savages believed she was holding conversation
with inmates of the invisible world, and drew away from her. But while she
improved, my lethargy continued. My physical and mental strength seemed to
be sapped. I was content to lie on the bank of the creek, my mind idling
with vagaries.

Some six weeks passed in this desultory fashion, then Cornstalk and Black
Hoof returned to the village with three warriors and a negro woman. The
woman had been captured at Sapling Grove within three hundred yards of
Captain Evan Shelby's house, the woman told me. She also informed me that
her captors were led by a very large man, much whiter than any of his
companions, and that he talked good English.

This description fitted either John Logan or Will Emery, the Cherokee
half-breed. I decided the man was Logan. The woman was treated kindly.
Immediately on arrival the two chiefs retired to a wigwam for a long talk.
Then Black Hoof sent for me and Patricia. I warned her to pay no attention
to them, and to talk much to herself. She acted admirably and was kept in
the wigwam only a few minutes.

Cornstalk had watched her closely, and both he and Black Hoof were uneasy
and relieved when she departed. Toward me their manner was incisive, and
they demanded certain information. As I knew conditions had changed vastly
since I was captured I talked freely and improvised considerably. There
was no military value whatever to the news that I imparted.

Cornstalk, who was a large man and of a commanding appearance, and
possessing unusual intellectual powers, was