d furs entered the stockade, and warily approaching the captain
offered them for sale. Standish controlling all appearance of
indignation parleyed with him and paid a fair price for the furs, but as
the Indian turned toward one of the houses, he called him back, and
dismissed him somewhat peremptorily.
"To spy out the land hath he come," remarked he to Alden. "And I will
not have him glean our purpose." But the savage had already learned
something, and went back to his comrades to report that
The-Sword-of-the-White-Men "spoke smoothly, but his eyes showed that
there was anger in his heart."
The second morning so soon as the gates were opened several Indians
entered together. One of them named Pecksuot, a pniese of great
celebrity, greeted Hobomok jeeringly, and told him that he supposed his
master had come to kill all the Neponsets including himself, and
added,--
"Tell him to begin if he dare; we are not afraid of him, nor shall we
run away and hide. Let him begin unless he is afraid. Is he afraid?"
Hobomok repeated the message word for word, but Standish only replied,--
"Tell the pniese I would speak with his sachem, Obtakiest."
"Obtakiest is busy, or he is feasting, or he is sleeping," replied
Pecksuot disdainfully. "He does not trouble himself to run about after
any little fellow who sends for him."
Again Hobomok translated the insult, but added in a low voice,--
"Obtakiest is waiting for some of his braves who are gone to the
Shawmuts for help. When they return he will attack the white men."
"So! Then we will not wait for them, but so soon as we can gather the
heads in one place we will return some of their courtly challenges." And
Standish ground his strong teeth together in the pain of self-restraint
under insult.
Perceiving that he did not mean to act, some of the Indians who had
lingered a little behind at first, now came forward, hopping and dancing
around Standish, whetting their knives upon their palms, making
insulting gestures, and shouting all sorts of jeers and taunts at him
and the white men generally.
Then Wituwamat came forward and in his own tongue cried out,--
"The Captain Sword-of-the-White-Men escaped the knife I carried to
Canacum for him, but he will not escape this." And he showed a dagger
hung around his neck by a deer's sinew, on whose wooden handle a woman's
face was not inartistically carved.
"This is Wituwamat's squaw-knife," declared he. "At home he has another
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