"Did she ever make use of his services before?"
"No."
"Might she not have done so?"
"I don't see how. No occasion ever arose."
"Why, then, did she think him so trustworthy, do you suppose?"
"Why, I suppose because he had been known to us so long, and had been apparently a humble, devoted, and industrious man. We were quite solitary always. We had no friends, and so I suppose she thought of him. It would have been quite as likely, if I were in her situation, that I would have done the same--that is, if I had her cleverness."
"Your sister is clever, then?"
"Very clever indeed. She has always watched over me like a--like a mother," said Zillah, while tears stood in her eyes.
"Ah!" said the chief; and for a time he lost himself in thought.
"How many years is it," he resumed, "since your father died?"