n some of the cannon and
grindstones used by the colonists, and with quick diplomacy he
promised to satisfy this wish if Powhatan would but let him go back to
Jamestown and send with him warriors to carry the coveted articles.
This the wily Indian ruler promised to do, and in return offered him
a tract of land which he did not own, and from which he intended to
push the settlers if they should take possession of it. And Captain
Smith had no intention of giving either cannon or grindstones to
Powhatan, so the shrewd old savage and the quick-witted Captain were
well matched in diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Powhatan's interest in his white captive became so great
that he gave him the freedom he would have accorded one of his own
subjects, even allowing Pocahontas to hunt with him, and when evening
came she would sit by the great fire and listen to her Captain's
stories of his life told with many a graphic gesture which made them
clear to her even though most of his words were unintelligible.

Then came a day when the captive was led to a cabin in the heart of
the forest and seated on a mat before a smoldering fire to await he
knew not what. Suddenly Powhatan appeared before him, fantastically
dressed, followed by two hundred warriors as weirdly decorated as he
was. Rushing in, they surrounded the frightened Captain, but quickly
dispelled his fears by telling him that they were all his friends and
this was only a ceremony to celebrate his speedy return to Jamestown,
for the purpose of sending back cannon and grindstones to their Chief.

This was good news. The Captain showed hearty appreciation of the
favor, and at once said his farewells. Powhatan, the inscrutable, who
bade him a dignified good-by, repeated his promise to give him the
country of the Capahowsick, which he did not own, and said he should
forever honor him as his own son. Then, with an escort of twelve
Indians, Captain Smith set out for Jamestown, and beside him trudged
Pocahontas, looking as resolute as if she were in truth a forest
Princess escorting her chosen cavalier through the wilderness.

As they picked their way along the rough trail, the Captain told her
such tales of the settlement as he could make clear to her and
repeated some simple English words he had been trying to teach her. As
he talked and as she said over and over the words she had learned,
Pocahontas gripped his arm with rapt interest and longed to follow
where he led. But night was coming