"'Town is a trade-maker,' he said; 'men who trade much for things, will also trade for honor.'
"'The Lenni-Lenape carry their honor in their hands,' said Ongyatasse, 'but the Tallegewi carry theirs in their forehead.'
"He meant," said the Mound-Builder, turning to the children, "that the Lenni-Lenape fought for what they held most dear, and the Tallegewi schemed and plotted for it. That was as we were taught. With us, the hand is not lifted until the head has spoken. But as it turned out, between Tallegewi and Lenape, the fighters had the best of it."
He sighed, making the salutation to the dead as he looked off, across the burial-grounds, to the crumbling heap of the god-house.
"But I don't understand," said Dorcas; "were Ongyatasse and White Quiver friends or enemies?"
"They were two foes who loved one another, and though their tribes fell into long and bloody war, between these two there was highness and, at the end, most wonderful kindness. The first time that we got Ongyatasse to his feet and he found that his knee, though feeble, was as good as ever, he said to White Quiver, leaning on his shoulder,--
"'Concerning the call to Council, there was more to it than was written on the scroll, the meaning of which was hidden from me who carried it.'
"'Which is no news to me,' said the Lenni-Lenape; 'also,' he said, 'the message was arranged beforehand, for it required no answer.'
"I asked him how he knew that, and he mocked at me.
"'Any time these five days you could have gone forward with the answer had it been important for you to get back to Cool Waters!'