“Father, say nothing of that; it is all as you wish.”

“Thank God!  Give me your hand, Mabel —­ here, Pathfinder, take it.  I can do no more than give you the girl in this way.  I know you will make her a kind husband.  Do not wait on account of my death; but there will be a chaplain in the fort before the season closes, and let him marry you at once.  My brother, if living, will wish to go back to his vessel, and then the child will have no protector.  Mabel, your husband will have been my friend, and that will be some consolation to you, I hope.”

“Trust this matter to me, Sergeant,” put in Pathfinder; “leave it all in my hands as your dying request; and, depend on it, all will go as it should.”

“I do, I do put all confidence in you, my trusty friend, and empower you to act as I could act myself in every particular.  Mabel, child, —­ hand me the water, —­ you will never repent this night.  Bless you, my daughter!  God bless, and have you in His holy keeping!”

This tenderness was inexpressibly touching to one of Mabel’s feelings; and she felt at that moment as if her future union with Pathfinder had received a solemnization that no ceremony of the Church could render more holy.  Still, a weight, as that of a mountain, lay upon her heart, and she thought it would be happiness to die.  Then followed a short pause, when the Sergeant, in broken sentences, briefly related what had passed since he parted with Pathfinder and the Delaware.  The wind had come more favorable; and, instead of encamping on an island agreeably to the original intention, he had determined to continue, and reach the station that night.  Their approach would have been unseen, and a portion of the calamity avoided, he thought, had they not grounded on the point of a neighboring island, where, no doubt, the noise made by the men in getting off the boat gave notice of their approach, and enabled the enemy to be in readiness to receive them.  They had landed without the slightest suspicion of danger, though surprised at not finding a sentinel, and had actually left their arms in the boat, with the intention of first securing their knapsacks and provisions.  The fire had been so close, that, notwithstanding the obscurity, it was very deadly.  Every man had fallen, though two or three subsequently arose and disappeared.  Four or five of the soldiers had been killed, or so nearly so as to survive but a few minutes; though, for some unknown reason, the enemy did not make the usual rush for the scalps.  Sergeant Dunham fell with the others; and he had heard the voice of Mabel, as she rushed from the blockhouse.  This frantic appeal aroused all his parental feelings, and had enabled him to crawl as far as the door of the building, where he had raised himself against the logs in the manner already mentioned.

After this simple explanation was made, the Sergeant was so weak as to need repose, and his companions, while they ministered to his wants, suffered some time to pass in silence.  Pathfinder took the occasion to reconnoitre from the loops and the roof, and he examined the condition of the rifles, of which there were a dozen kept in the building, the soldiers having used their regimental muskets in the expedition.  But Mabel never left her father’s side for an instant; and when, by his breathing, she fancied he slept, she bent her knees and prayed.