they kill you and me!"

"But what can I do, Olly?" said the mariner, in a somewhat husky voice,
when this pathetic picture was presented to his view. "Your mother
would be the last to advise me to stand by and look on without moving a
finger to save 'em. What can I do, Olly? What can I do?"

This question was more easily put than answered. Poor Oliver looked as
perplexed as his sire.

"Pr'aps," he said, "we might do as Paul said he'd do, an' pray about
it."

"Well, we might do worse, my son. If I only could believe that the
Almighty listens to us an' troubles Himself about our small affairs,
I--"

"Don't you think it likely, father," interrupted the boy, "that if the
Almighty took the trouble to make us, He will take the trouble to think
about and look after us?"

"There's somethin' in that, Olly. Common sense points out that there's
somethin' in that."

Whether or not the captain acted on his son's suggestion, there is no
record to tell. All we can say is that he spent the remainder of that
day in a very disturbed, almost distracted, state of mind, now paying
short visits to the prisoners, anon making sudden rushes towards the
chief's tent with a view to plead their cause, and checking himself on
remembering that he knew no word of the Indian tongue; now and then
arguing hotly with Paul and Hendrick, that all had not been done which
might or ought to have been done, and sometimes hurrying into the woods
alone.

Meanwhile, as had been anticipated, the chief sent for Hendrick and Paul
to demand an explanation of the strange words which they had used about
forgiveness and the broken law of the Great Spirit and Jesus Christ.

It would be out of place here to enter into the details of all that was
said on both sides, but it may not be uninteresting to state that,
during the discussion, both the palefaces and the red men became so
intensely absorbed in contemplation of the vast region of comparatively
new thought into which they were insensibly led, that they forgot for
the time being the main object of the meeting, namely, the ultimate fate
of the captives.

That the chief and his warriors were deeply impressed with the Gospel
message was evident, but it was equally evident that the former was not
to be moved from his decision, and in this the warriors sympathised with
him. His strong convictions in regard to retributive justice were not
to be shaken.

"No," he said, at the end of the palaver, "the b