Maitland’s heart beat furiously.  He could not pause, or turn, to look at the coming foe; but his quick and ready mind was active in devising some means of saving the life of his child.

‘Load my gun, Henrich!’ he exclaimed.  ’I cannot long continue this speed.  Be steady, and be quick:  our lives depend upon it!’

The gallant boy instantly obeyed the difficult command; and the instant it was done, Rodolph dropped on one knee, supported his bleeding son on the other, and taking a deliberate aim at the Indian, who was preparing to leap from the rock into the path behind them, he fired.  The upraised arms of the savage fell powerless—­the heavy axe dropped from his hand—­and, falling forward over the rock, he lay expiring in the narrow pathway.  The feathery coronets of several of his comrades were seen above the bushes at some distance:  and again the father raised his son, who now hung fainting in his arms, and hurried, with renewed speed, towards the shore.  As he neared it, he met two of his companions who, having reached the boat, had missed him and Henrich, and hastened back to secure their retreat.  It was a seasonable reinforcement, for Rodolph’s strength was failing him.  He gave his boy into the arms of one of his friends, and loading his gun, he stood with the other, to defend the passage to the shore.  The savages came on; and the white men fired, and retreated, loading as they fell back, and again firing; until their pursuers, either wounded or disheartened, came to a stand still, and contented themselves with yelling their discordant war-cry, and shooting arrows, which happily missed their aim.

The whole party embarked safely, and were soon beyond the reach of the missiles which the Indians continued to discharge; and Maitland had the joy of seeing young Henrich speedily recover his senses, and his spirit too.  It was evident that the arrows used by the red men on this occasion were not poisoned, and no great or permanent evil was likely to arise from any of the wounds received; but a spirit of hostility had been established between the settlers and the Nausett tribe, to which their assailants belonged, and Rodolph was a marked man, and an object of determined revenge, to all who had shared in the conflict.  The spot where it took place was named the First Encounter, in memory of the event, and long retained that name:  and the consequences of this first combat proved to be equally calamitous to the savages, and to their more civilized foes, for many subsequent years.

The exploring party returned to their settlement as speedily as possible, being anxious to obtain medical relief for the wounded.  Helen Maitland and her children were wandering on the shore when the boat first came in sight; and for several evenings the desolate coast had been her constant haunt, after the necessary labors of the day were completed.  It had been with much reluctance that she had consented to her