ity she turned toward Dernor.

"You needn't be alarmed," said he, understanding her embarrassment.
"Oonamoo here is an old and tried friend, and will stand by you as long
as I will, which," he added, in a lower tone, "will be as long as the
One above gives me breath. He is devoted to me if he doesn't love you."

"Yes, Oonamoo does--he love all white folks--love the gals--clever to
him and feed him when hungry."

Dernor merely smiled, believing that the remark of the savage fully
explained his passion without any qualifying observation of his own.

"Oonamoo love white folks--love missionaries--tell him all about God up
dere"--pointing upward--"spirit land--happy place--Oonamoo don't take
scalp when Injin sleeping--so he go up dere when he die."

"I believe you will, for if there ever was an honorable savage you are
one," said Dernor, warmly.

The Huron made no reply to this compliment, evidently thinking enough
had been said. It must not be supposed that this conversation occurred
in the connected form in which we have given it. Several moments
sometimes elapsed between the different remarks, and hardly once during
its progress did Dernor look at the savage. Once or twice he turned
toward Edith, as also did Oonamoo, but the danger that menaced him was
too great for either to be diverted from it.

Some twenty minutes had elapsed, when an exclamation from the Huron
showed that some new scheme was afoot. Immediately after, a blazing
arrow came whizzing through the air, and buried itself in the logs. The
sharp crackling told that the twist of flame had communicated with the
logs and it was burning.

"My God! are we to be burnt alive?" exclaimed Dernor, losing his
self-possession for a moment.

"Ugh--can't burn--logs too wet--go out," replied his unmoved companion.

So it proved, although an inch or two of some of the logs were
sufficiently seasoned to take fire, they were all too damp and soaked
to burn. Oonamoo had hardly spoken when the blaze went out of itself. A
perfect storm of arrows, tipped with burning tow, now came sailing in
upon them, but the only inconvenience they occasioned was a blinding,
suffocating smoke, which lasted, however, but a few moments.

"Where the deuce did they get their bows and tow from?" asked Dernor.
"Do they carry such articles with them?"

"Sent for 'em after git here," replied Oonamoo.

"Won't any of these logs burn?"

"Too wet--smoke--but won't blaze."

The Indians soon