"Is he a tall, handsome man, with two beautiful children?" asked Edith.
"He is a tall, good-looking man," answered Lord H----, "but his children I did not see."
"If he be the man I mean, he can be fully depended upon," answered Edith, "and it may be well to ask his opinion and advice before he goes; but for the present, George, let us consult alone. Perhaps I can judge better than you of poor Walter's present situation; that is first to be considered, and then what are the chances, what the means, of saving him. He is certainly in the hands of the Indians, of that I have no doubt; and I think Black Eagle knew it when he guided us through the forest. Yet I do not think that he would willingly lift the tomahawk against my brother. It will be at the last extremity, when all means have failed of entrapping that unhappy man Brooks. We shall have time; yes, we certainly have time."
"Then the first step to be taken," said Lord H----, "will be to induce the government to make a formal and imperative demand for his release. I will undertake that part of the matter; it shall be done at once."
Edith shook her head sadly. "You know them not," she said. "It would only hurry his fate;" and after dropping her voice to a very low tone, she added: "They would negotiate and hold councils, and Walter would be slain while they were treating."
She pressed her hands upon her eyes as she spoke, as if to shut out the dreadful image her words called up, and then there was a moment or two of silence, at the end of which Lord H---- inquired if it would not be better for him to see Sir William Johnson and consult with him.
"That may be done," said Edith. "No man in the province knows them as well as he does, and his advice may be relied upon; but we must take other measures, too. Otaitsa must be told, and consulted. Do you know, George," she added, with a melancholy smile, "I have lately been inclined at times to think that there is no small love between Walter and the Blossom--something more than friendship, at all events."
"But of course she will hear of his capture, and do the best she can to save him," replied the young nobleman.
Edith shook her head, answering: "Save him she will, if any human power can do it; but that she knows of his capture I much doubt. These Indians are wise, George, as they think, and never trust their acts, their thoughts, or their resolutions to a woman. They will keep the secret from Otaitsa just as Black Eagle kept it from me; but she must be informed, consulted, and perhaps acted with. Then I think, too, that poor man Woodchuck should have tidings of what his act has brought upon us."
"I see not well," said Lord H----, "what result that can produce."