"No," replied Bob, quickly; "for many reasons that must not be. He has promised to give us a totem flag that will warn any wandering band of Indians we may happen to meet that we are friends of the great Pontiac, and must not be disturbed. And I have promised him that it shall always be kept in our own cabin, only to be shown in case of any uprising."
"Then we must try to find Kenton, Pat and Blue Jacket?" questioned Sandy, who was fairly wild to be away; for he seemed to fear lest their late good fortune turn out to be a dream, from which they might be rudely awakened.
"Yes," Bob went on; "and if we go soon I believe we will run across them at the place Kenton appointed. They will wait there for us the balance of the night, I feel sure."
"What do you think they believed must have happened, Bob?" Kate in turn asked.
"Who can say?" her brother answered, shaking his head, as though puzzled. "Fancy how astonished they must have been when all this racket broke out, before they could make ready to start the fires, or Blue Jacket get among the lodges to steal Kate, here, away. And then, if Kenton was near enough to see Pontiac take our hands in his, how he must have stared!"
"But it seems all for the best, to me," said Sandy, softly; "even my foolish rashness in firing without thinking. We have made a powerful friend in Pontiac, and perhaps saved our mother and father from the doom that comes to so many settlers in the wilderness. And here is Kate given over to our charge without either of us having to shoot down a single Indian. Yes, Heaven was kind to us."
"Here comes the great sachem, and bearing in his hand the totem flag which is to stand between us and harm," remarked Bob, as he saw Pontiac approaching them, followed by a retinue of jostling braves and chiefs.
The object which he thrust into the hand of Bob was a beautifully made wampum belt that had been attached to a stick. It was of unusual wideness, and the symbols represented in its barbaric splendor undoubtedly told a story that every warrior could understand. ([Note 8.])
It seemed as though every brave in the great Seneca village had gathered to hear what the chief among ten thousand Indians had to say, as he presented this badge of friendship to the young pioneers. Some scowled as they surveyed the palefaces; but the majority seemed friendly, because they realized that as Indians they owed a debt of gratitude to the white boy who had saved the life so valuable to their cause.