I watched everything attentively, and saw the men stand fast without looking either at my father or the provisions which he placed before them, till the chief said a few words in a loud tone.
Then with an eagerness in sharp contrast to their former apathy, they seized the food and began to eat.
My father spoke to the chief again and again, and the Indian said something coldly in reply; but they were wasted words, and the rough meal was partaken of in comparative silence.
“They only mean to be friendly, father, do they?” I said at last.
“It is impossible to say; they may prove treacherous,” he replied. “But don’t talk, and if you grasp anything they seem to want, tell me, so that I can satisfy them. It would be terrible if they attempted to destroy all we have been at such pains to get together.”
“Couldn’t we all make a dart for indoors, sir?” said Morgan, in a whisper. “We have got plenty of weepons there, sir, and might manage to keep them off till help came.”
“The risk is too great,” said my father. “These men are as active as leopards, and before we could get within doors we should each have an axe in his brain.”
“But, begging your pardon, sir, we can all run.”
“As fast as a tomahawk can fly? No; they are peaceful now, and friendly; let us treat them as friends, and hope that they will soon go.”
At that moment the chief made a sign with his hands to his lips, a sign that was unmistakable, and a large pail of water was fetched out by Morgan, and drunk from with avidity.