afed like a caged lion at his enforced
detention in Pontiac's camp, he bore it without a murmur, and strove to
aid the cause of his countrymen by endeavoring to impress upon the
Ottawa leader the folly of resistance to the English. He knew nothing
of his daughter's captivity, nor even of her departure from New York,
until one evening, as he sat alone in the room assigned to his use, the
door was gently opened, and she stood before him in all the radiancy of
her youth and beauty. For a moment he stared as though at a vision,
but as she stepped forward he opened wide his arms, and father and
daughter were reunited in a fond embrace. There were so many questions
to be asked and answered, so much news to be told, and so many
conjectures to be made concerning their ultimate fate, that, for more
than an hour, they talked oblivious of everything, save the joy of
being together. Then Edith exclaimed in dismay:--

"If I haven't forgotten poor Ah-mo, and left her waiting outside all
this time, when I said I'd be back in a few minutes! May I fetch her,
father? She is one of my dearest friends, and I want you to know her."

"Certainly, my dear," answered the major, with a smile. "Bring her in,
by all means; for any friend of yours must needs be a friend of mine as
well."

A moment later, when the Indian girl, who had waited patiently all this
time, was led into the bare little room, it was Edith's turn to be
surprised. Instead of receiving her as a stranger, Major Hester
greeted her as a friend whose absence had been a source of genuine
regret.

"It is good to see you once more, Ah-mo," he said. "Though, had I
known the nature of the errand that caused your absence, my anxiety for
your return had been doubled many times. Now I have to bless you and
thank you for your brave care of my dear girl, who has, all unknown to
me, passed through so many recent perils."

"Then you knew Ah-mo before, papa!" exclaimed Edith; "and all this time
she never told me."

"Nor did she tell me that she was going in search of you, for which I
am now grateful, since it saved me a painful anxiety," replied the
major. "Yes; Ah-mo and I are old friends, and, of late, many an hour,
that would otherwise have hung heavily on my hands, has been lightened
by her visits. Forest maiden as she is, I find her to be well versed
in polite literature, and possessed of a shrewd knowledge of affairs,
though, above all, has she learned the value of a si