silence by placing his
hand upon his mouth. After carefully disengaging himself from his
comrades, he crept quietly away, and soon vanished entirely from sight
on the northern side of the spreading beech. Mary expected he would
soon return and assist her to escape. Although she was aware of the
hardships and perils that would attend her flight, yet the thought of
again meeting her friends was enough to nerve her for the undertaking,
and she waited with anxious impatience the coming of her rescuer. But
he came not. She could attribute no other design in his conduct but
that of effecting her escape, and yet he neither came for her nor
beckoned her away. She had reposed confidence in his promise, for she
knew that the Indian, savage as he was, rarely forfeited his word; but
when gratitude inspired a pledge, she could not believe that he would
use deceit. The fire was now burning quite low, and its waning light
scarce cast a beam upon the branches over head. It was evidently not
far from morning, and every hope of present escape entirely fled from
her bosom. But just as she was yielding to despair, she saw the Indian
returning in a stealthy pace, bearing some dark object in his arms. He
glided to her side, and beckoned her to leave the snow-canoe, and also
to take with her all the robes with which she had been enveloped. She
did his bidding, and then he carefully deposited the burden he bore in
the place she had just occupied. A portion of the object becoming
unwrapped, Mary discovered it to be a huge mass of snow, resembling,
in some respects, a human form, and the Indian's stratagem was at once
apparent to her. Relinquishing herself to his guidance, she was led
noiselessly through the bushes about a hundred paces distant from the
fire, to a large fallen tree that had yielded to some furious storm,
when her conductor paused. He pointed to a spot where a curve caused
the huge trunk to rise about a foot from the present surface, under
which was a round hole cut through the drifted snow down to the earth,
and in which were deposited several buffalo robes, and so arranged
that a person could repose within without coming in contact with the
frozen element around. Mary looked down, and then at her companion, to
ascertain his intentions. He spoke to her in a low tone, enough of
which she comprehended to understand that he desired her to descend
into the pit without delay. She obeyed, and when he had carefully
folded the robes and