"We have already intimated to you, Mr. Bagsley," said Ralph, with a seriousness that immediately attracted the attention of the attorney, "that the Tuscarora is our friend. He has rendered Mr. Barton and myself services for which we are deeply grateful to him."
"That, perhaps, complicates the matter, a little," answered Bagsley: "a debt of gratitude, although not strictly a legal obligation and of a nature to be enforced in a court of law, (although it will frequently support an executed contract by way of consideration,) is, I must confess, exceedingly hard to be rid of; and perhaps one would not be justifiable in repudiating it upon light occasions; but the question here presents itself in this manner; a debt of gratitude upon the one side, which, I have observed, is not actionable, and the lives of two gentlemen of the profession on the other. The preponderance of argument is so obvious, that I should be wasting time in calling your attention to it."
"There is an addition to the argument, upon what you deem the weaker side, that you have forgotten to mention—that is, the lives of our friends, whom you ask us to surrender."
"That was not a matter unthought-of," said Bagsley, with complacency: "it was merely a point reserved. I cannot bring myself to believe that our red friends would carry matters to the extremity which they have threatened. It was probably only one of those pardonable subterfuges by which we endeavor, in the profession, to bring parties to terms—a matter merely held up in terrorem."
"I hope," said Ralph, who was determined to undeceive the attorney at once, "that it may be as you say; but neither Mr. Barton nor myself, however unpleasant to you or ourselves such a determination may be, can think, for a moment, of surrendering the Tuscarora into the hands of enemies who are thirsting for his blood."
This announcement, made in a firm tone, but with a look that indicated the sorrow with which it was made, struck the attorney with surprise and fear. A mortal pallor overspread his features.
"You do not mean, Captain Weston—you cannot mean, Mr. Barton, that you will not release us?"
"Anything that we can do, except the surrender of any of our friends into the hands of the Senecas, we will cheerfully, gladly do. But that, you will yourself see—however unpleasant it may be to you, to acknowledge it—we cannot do."
"My God! my God!" exclaimed Bagsley, forgetting, in his fear, his professional character, "what shall we do?"
"I consider it rather hard fare," said Rogers, who being of a more saturnine temperament than the attorney, was not so susceptible to sudden emotions. "If two white men, and professional gentlemen to boot, arn't reckoned of any more consequence than a couple of wild Injins, what's the use of being white folks, I'd like to know?"