It is hardly necessary to state that all hands were now engaged with feverish zeal in erecting a fort and stockade. Some demi-culverins were carried ashore from the ships and mounted. The arms were uncased and distributed and certain men were daily drilled in military exercises, whilst a constant guard was maintained throughout the day and night. From this time the intercourse between the whites and Indians was marked on both sides by caution and suspicion. When the defences had been completed, Captain Newport made preparations for an immediate departure and then the Council informed Smith that he was to be returned to England a prisoner for trial. Fortunately for the future of the colony, our hero rebelled against such an unjust proceeding, saying, with reason, that since all persons cognizant of the facts were on the spot, it was on the spot that he should be tried, if anywhere. His contention was so just, and the sentiment in his favor so strong, that the Council was obliged to accede to his demand. He protested against a moment’s delay, declaring that, if found guilty by a jury of his peers, he would willingly return to England in chains with Captain Newport and take the consequences. The trial resulted in a triumphant acquittal. There was not one iota of real evidence adduced against the prisoner. Wingfield and others had nothing but their bare suspicions to bring forward. It did transpire, however, in the course of the proceedings that the President had not only been moved by malice but that he had endeavored to induce certain persons to give false evidence against his enemy. On the strength of these revelations, the jury not only acquitted Captain Smith but sentenced the President to pay him two hundred pounds in damages, which sum, or its equivalent, for it was paid in goods, our hero promptly turned into the common fund. Smith accepted his acquittal with the same calm indifference that had characterized his behavior since his arrest and showed a readiness to forget past differences and encourage harmony among the leaders. Mr. Hunt also strove to produce peace and goodwill in the settlement but the efforts were useless. When Newport left them in June, the colony was divided into two factions, the supporters of Wingfield and those of Smith, who was now of course free of his seat at the Council board. And so it remained to the end of our story--jealousy, meanness, incompetence and even treachery, hazarding the lives and the fortunes of the little band of pioneers who should have been knit together by common interests and common dangers. XV. TREASON AND TREACHERY