ch lay a few feet away, where it had
fallen when the dog caught him; but Crusoe seemed to understand him,
for he favoured him with such an additional display of teeth, and
such a low--apparently distant, almost, we might say, subterranean
--_rumble_, that he resigned himself to his fate.

His hands secured, a long line was attached to his neck with a running
noose, so that if he ventured to run away the attempt would effect its
own cure by producing strangulation. The other end of this line was
given to Crusoe, who at the word of command marched him off, while
Dick mounted Charlie and brought up the rear.

Great was the laughter and merriment when this apparition met the eyes
of the trappers; but when they heard that he had attempted to shoot
Dick their ire was raised, and a court-martial was held on the spot.

"Hang the reptile!" cried one.

"Burn him!" shouted another.

"No, no," said a third; "don't imitate them villains: don't be cruel.
Let's shoot him." "Shoot 'im," cried Pierre. "Oui, dat is de ting; it
too goot pour lui, mais it shall be dooed."

"Don't ye think, lads, it would be better to let the poor wretch off?"
said Dick Varley; "he'd p'r'aps give a good account o' us to his
people."

There was a universal shout of contempt at this mild proposal.
Unfortunately, few of the men sent on this exploring expedition were
imbued with the peace-making spirit of their chief, and most of them
seemed glad to have a chance of venting their hatred of the poor
Indians on this unhappy wretch, who, although calm, looked sharply
from one speaker to another, to gather hope, if possible, from the
tones of their voices.

Dick was resolved, at the risk of a quarrel with Pierre, to save the
poor man's life, and had made up his mind to insist on having him
conducted to the camp to be tried by Cameron, when one of the men
suggested that they should take the savage to the top of a hill about
three miles farther on, and there hang him up on a tree as a warning
to all his tribe.

"Agreed, agreed!" cried the men; "come on."

Dick, too, seemed to agree to this proposal, and hastily ordered
Crusoe to run on ahead with the savage; an order which the dog obeyed
so vigorously that, before the men had done laughing at him, he was a
couple of hundred yards ahead of them.

"Take care that he don't get off!" cried Dick, springing on Charlie
and stretching out at a gallop.

In a moment he was beside the Indian. Scraping together