When the day came at last, Powhatan was dressed in the grandest Indian fashion. He wore a long robe made of feathers. His face and arms were painted. His people stood around him. He wished Smith to think he was great and powerful.
The white man was brought before him. Smith eagerly watched to see if there were any signs of mercy in the stern face.
Powhatan talked for some time with his warriors. Then two of them got up and went to the side of their white prisoner.
They led him off a short distance and stretched him out on the ground. They placed his head on a stone.
"They are going to kill me," Smith said to himself. "I am bound so tightly I cannot possibly get away. There is no help for me now."
Then a strange thing happened. Just as one of the Indians raised his club to end the white man's life, a young girl rushed to his side. She was Powhatan's favorite daughter. She threw her arms around Smith's neck. Then, turning toward her father, she cried:
"Spare this man's life for my sake."
The beautiful girl had grown to love Smith during his stay in the village. While he was shut up as a prisoner he had made whistles and strings of beads for her. His kindness pleased her and her gentle heart was filled with pity for the white man.
Powhatan could not refuse the daughter he loved so dearly. He said:
"I will spare the man's life for the sake of my child. He shall stay among us and spend his time making ornaments for Pocahontas."