“Put me down, Kinneho—put me down; I will walk. Only save me from those fierce, bad men. Where is John Bonyton? Call him—call him, I say, Kinneho.”
But the Indian made her no reply. He gathered her slight form in his arms as if it had been that of a child, and plunged into the deepest recesses of the forest, above the Saco Falls, where the place of rendezvous had been appointed. In vain Hope tore out masses of her hair, and scattered them along her path. In vain she essayed to call; the chief firmly but not rudely, laid his hand upon her mouth, and enjoined silence.
CHAPTER X.
IN VAIN.
Meanwhile all was distress and confusion in the family of Sir Richard Vines, who, indignant at the language of Richard Mather, and not supposing his daughter in any immediate danger, had confronted her accusers with a demand for the instant withdrawal of the offensive words.
Mistress Vines had witnessed the attempt to arrest Hope, and was hastening to her side when she beheld her running, as we have seen, in the direction of the Pool. She now, with loud cries and frantic gestures, joined her husband, and all descended the bank in search of the lost child.
Following the side of the water, where the thick under-brush might completely conceal a person beneath, they called Hope by every expression of endearing tenderness, but no response came.
“She but hides herself, sweetheart; be comforted. She hides herself in terror. She will soon be home.”
But his pale, anxious face gave the lie to his consoling words.
“Look here, dame—sweetheart, look! Here is a lock of her hair; we shall soon find her.” And in his sudden sense of relief, he threw the tress over the neck of John Bonyton. He continued, to the latter: