Stepping forward in front of the Huron, who with his son had stood silent and gloomy, he said, as he grasped his hand: 

“Oonomoo, receive the thanks of a delighted father for your kindness to his daughter.  Your repeated services have won you the gratitude of hundreds——­”

“Cap’n,” said the Huron, speaking quickly and earnestly, “the Shawnees have found de lodge ob Oonomoo—­his wife runnin’ trough de woods—­de Shawnees chasin’ her—­Oonomoo must go.”

“God bless me!  God bless me!” exclaimed Captain Prescott; “and here the noble-hearted fellow has been waiting a half-hour without saying a word, while my infernal tongue has been going all the time; that tongue will be the death of me yet.  Your wife is in danger, eh?  The ——­ Shawnees at their deviltry again here.  See here, men,” said he, turning around, “Oonomoo’s wife is in danger, and are we going to help her out or not, eh?  I want to know that.  Are we going to stand by and let him do it alone, when for twenty years he has worked night and day for us?”

“NO!” responded every voice, in thunder tones.

“I say, Captain, if I ain’t counted in this muss, I’ll never smile agin.  Freeze me to death on a stump, if I won’t walk into their meat-houses in style, then my name ain’t Tom Lannoch.”

“Jes’ place me whar tha’ll be some heads to crack, with gougin’ and punchin’ thrown in, and then count me in.”

“And hyer’s Dick Smaddock, what——­”

“Order!” roared the Captain; “I’ll arrange matters without any gabbing from you.  We are losing time.  As we are pretty near the settlement, and as there can be no danger between us and that, we will let the Lieutenant take my daughter home, while we go with Oonomoo to shoot Shawnees.”

“I must protest against that,” said Lieutenant Canfield.  “If I thought there could possibly be any danger to Miss Mary, I would not think of deserting her; but surely there cannot be.  I, therefore, propose that Cato act as her guide, while all of us go to assist Oonomoo.  I could never forgive myself if I failed to requite the faithful Huron, in such a small degree, when the opportunity is given.”

The suggestion of the young soldier received the enthusiastic support of all; but, Captain Prescott, who could not bear the thought that his daughter should be placed in the least peril, selected one of his men, a bronzed border-ranger, who, accompanied by Cato, started at once for the settlement with her, which (we may as well remark here) was safely reached by them a few hours later.

“The matter is all arranged then,” said Captain Prescott, when he had selected the man who was to take charge of his daughter.  “We are now ready to follow you, Oonomoo.”

“Come quick, den—­Oonomoo can’t wait—­leave his trail—­all see it.”

As the Huron spoke, his son bounded off in the woods and dashed away like an arrow, while he followed him with such astonishing speed, that he almost instantly disappeared from sight.