ows or spreads until it burns out all
the dross that years of wrong-doing have implanted there. Why it was and
how it came about, Simon Kenton to his dying day never fully understood,
but he always insisted that at that moment he heard the voice of
Missionary Finley, with unmistakable distinctness, in his ear:

"Show him mercy, and mercy shall be shown to you when you need it!"

Impelled by a power which he dared not resist, the ranger rose from the
chest of The Panther, and said in tones that sounded like those of
another person:

"Shawanoe, take your life; I give it to you!"

CHAPTER XXX.

CONCLUSION.

The heart of Missionary Finley stood still when he saw The Panther
stride from the wood into the open space where the campfire was burning.
He knew that the terrible chieftain and Simon Kenton had met in mortal
combat, and what could the return of the Shawanoe mean but that the
prince of pioneers and rangers had been overthrown and slain by his
implacable enemy?

With a self-possession which surprised even himself, the good man looked
straight into the face of the Indian as he approached, and, noting its
strange expression, said:

"Wa-on-mon has met the white hunter and conquered him."

Three paces away The Panther abruptly halted and stood for several
seconds, looking silently at the missionary. Then he said, in a low,
deliberate voice:

"Wa-on-mon has met the white hunter--the white hunter has conquered
Wa-on-mon."

Missionary Finley was quick to catch the point of a situation; but, for
a moment, he was dumfounded. Then a suspicion of the truth flashed upon
him.

The good man was too sagacious to question The Panther. A strange,
hitherto impossible condition of affairs existed. It was dangerous to
meddle with them.

Suppressing all evidence of emotion, Finley asked:

"What are the wishes of my brother, the mighty Wa-on-mon?"

"She opens her eyes; she has awakened!"

He pointed to the little captive, who just then looked around, with a
bewildered air, sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Where is papa? where is mamma?" she asked, looking from one to the
other, and at a loss to comprehend her situation and her surroundings.

"Take the captive," said The Panther. "No harm shall come to her and my
brother until after they meet their friends."

It was fair notice that the remarkable truce ended at the moment of the
arrival of the missionary and the child among their people.

Again Finley display