l," replied the young Kentuckian, with a serious
countenance; "I don't know to what tribe they belong, but I believe
they ain't half as bad as the Shawanoes."

"Dey couldn't be any more cruel don dem," was the truthful observation
of the young German.

In the course of a few seconds the boys were fully introduced to the
camp-fire of the strange Indians, who were not in war paint, and who, as
the boys rightly believed, belonged to a less bloodthirsty totem than
did the redskins on the eastern bank of the Mississippi.

Every warrior was standing on his feet, and they all crowded around the
boys, as though they had never seen any of their race until that moment.
They continually talked in their guttural, grunting fashion, smiling and
nodding their heads. Two of them pinched the limbs of the boys as though
testing their muscle. So far from showing any alarm, Jack Carleton
clenched his fist and elevated his arm, swaying the hand back and forth
as if proud to display the development of his biceps. But Otto was in
too doleful a mood to indulge in anything of the kind.

As a matter of course, the Indians could not feel the slightest
misgiving on account of their prisoners. They must have known of the
settlement only a few miles distant, and they had not offered to disturb
it, nor had they molested any of the pioneers when they ventured into
the woods in quest of game.

Such being the case, it can be readily seen that, so far as the settlers
were concerned, the Indians were safe. Although within gunshot of
Martinsville, the red men took no precaution at all against molestation
from them.

It struck Jack as curious that among the warriors gathered around them,
not one had as yet spoken a word that he could understand. The American
race have shown a quickness from the first to pick up expressions from
the language of those near them. Who has forgotten Samoset's "Welcome,
Englishmen!" uttered to the first settlers at Plymouth, who were at a
loss to understand where the red man learned the pleasant words?

Jack Carleton, who retained his self-possession much better than did his
friend, listened hopefully for some word which he could recognize.

While he was disappointed in that respect, he could not believe that he
and Otto were in any imminent peril from their captors, though, on the
other hand, he was very far from feeling safe against harm. With a
coolness that must have awakened admiration among the barbarians, the
yout