ne point, which he had now reached,
but was slow to present. A momentary pause ensued; Ellen was in doubt as to
the nature of the requirement, and he of the propriety of making it. But he
had set his all upon the desperate stake for which he was playing, and it
would not now do to leave the game. He at length went on:

"I shall not feel myself safe in society unless I can form an alliance with
some family of note and respectability. I am not as extensively acquainted
as some others--in a word, I know of no young lady but yourself to whom I
can offer my hand, and having loved you so long and ardently, I can do
nothing less than make this as my final request, _that you consent to
become my wife_. I make this request the only condition of release, and
upon your acceptance of my hand depends my present and future hope, my
salvation in time and eternity. My fate is in your hands, and you can raise
me to heaven, or cast me down to hell. Will you save me?"

It would be quite impossible to depict the consternation this announcement
created in the mind of Ellen. In spite of her better judgment, and the
precedents in the villain's former life, she had suffered herself to be
beguiled by his seeming sincerity of manner into the hope that he was
really desirous of reforming; and even now she could hardly believe her own
ears, so consummate was his hypocrisy; but as the whole truth shone out to
her comprehension, she saw through his scheme at once--that all his seeming
repentance was a pretense as hollow as his own heart. The hope that had
begun to swell in her heart was blotted out in a moment. She replied
without hesitation:

"I cannot accede to your last proposition."

"Why not?"

"It is impossible."

"Then you willingly consign me to wretchedness in this life, and to
perdition hereafter."

"I do no such thing. _You_ are not responsible for _my_ acts; and your
repentance can be just as sincere without a wife as with one."

"You are mistaken. If I am doomed to remain among the Indians, I shall
never be able to reform, however earnestly I may desire to do so; and if I
go to the settlements, I shall be slain as a foe, unless protected by
family ties and influence; these I can secure in no other way than by
becoming your husband."

"I am of an entirely different opinion; and I think your whole scheme a
very thin and flimsy contrivance, of which you ought to be ashamed."

"But there are two against you. Mr. Hamilton, as you