nd the glory of their triumphs.

Every thing having life, notwithstanding the excesses of the night, was
abroad with the appearance of the sun. The expression of exultation,
which had so lately been seen on every countenance, was now changed to
one better suited to the feeling of the moment. It was understood by
all, that the Pale-faces, who had befriended their chief were about
to take their final leave of the tribe. The soldiers of Middleton, in
anticipation of his arrival, had bargained with an unsuccessful trader
for the use of his boat, which lay in the stream ready to receive its
cargo, and nothing remained to complete the arrangements for the long
journey.

Middleton did not see this moment arrive entirely without distrust.
The admiration with which Hard-Heart regarded Inez, had not escaped his
jealous eye, any more than had the lawless wishes of Mahtoree. He knew
the consummate manner in which a savage could conceal his designs, and
he felt that it would be a culpable weakness to be unprepared for the
worst. Secret instructions were therefore given to his men, while the
preparations they made were properly masked behind the show of military
parade, with which it was intended to signalise their departure.

The conscience of the young soldier reproached him, when he saw the
whole tribe accompanying his party to the margin of the stream, with
unarmed hands and sorrowful countenances. They gathered in a circle
around the strangers and their chief, and became not only peaceful, but
highly interested observers of what was passing. As it was evident that
Hard-Heart intended to speak, the former stopped, and manifested their
readiness to listen, the trapper performing the office of interpreter.
Then the young chief addressed his people, in the usual metaphorical
language of an Indian. He commenced by alluding to the antiquity and
renown of his own nation. He spoke of their successes in the hunts and
on the war-path; of the manner in which they had always known how to
defend their rights and to chastise their enemies. After he had said
enough to manifest his respect for the greatness of the Loups, and to
satisfy the pride of the listeners, he made a sudden transition to the
race of whom the strangers were members. He compared their countless
numbers to the flights of migratory birds in the season of blossoms, or
in the fall of the year. With a delicacy, that none know better how
to practise than an Indian warrior, he m