“The savage wretches!” exclaimed Joe, trembling with indignation. “Suppose they should kill him to-night!” “Do you hear, doctor,” resumed Kennedy, seizing the doctor’s hand. “Suppose they should kill him to-night!” “It is not at all likely, my friends. These savage tribes kill their captives in broad daylight; they must have the sunshine.” “Now, if I were to take advantage of the darkness to slip down to the poor fellow?” said Kennedy. “And I’ll go with you,” said Joe, warmly. “Pause, my friends—pause! The suggestion does honor to your hearts and to your courage; but you would expose us all to great peril, and do still greater harm to the unfortunate man whom you wish to aid.” “Why so?” asked Kennedy. “These savages are frightened and dispersed: they will not return.” “Dick, I implore you, heed what I say. I am acting for the common good; and if by any accident you should be taken by surprise, all would be lost.” “But, think of that poor wretch, hoping for aid, waiting there, praying, calling aloud. Is no one to go to his assistance? He must think that his senses deceived him; that he heard nothing!” “We can reassure him, on that score,” said Dr. Ferguson—and, standing erect, making a speaking-trumpet of his hands, he shouted at the top of his voice, in French: “Whoever you are, be of good cheer! Three friends are watching over you.” A terrific howl from the savages responded to these words—no doubt drowning the prisoner’s reply. “They are murdering him! they are murdering him!” exclaimed Kennedy. “Our interference will have served no other purpose than to hasten the hour of his doom. We must act!” “But how, Dick? What do you expect to do in the midst of this darkness?” “Oh, if it was only daylight!” sighed Joe. “Well, and suppose it were daylight?” said the doctor, in a singular tone. “Nothing more simple, doctor,” said Kennedy. “I’d go down and scatter all these savage villains with powder and ball!” “And you, Joe, what would you do?” “I, master? why, I’d act more prudently, maybe, by telling the prisoner to make his escape in a certain direction that we’d agree upon.” “And how would you get him to know that?” “By means of this arrow that I caught flying the other day. I’d tie a note to it, or I’d just call out to him in a loud voice what you want him to do, because these black fellows don’t understand the language that you’d speak in!” “Your plans are impracticable, my dear friends. The greatest difficulty would be for this poor fellow to escape at all—even admitting that he should manage to elude the vigilance of his captors. As for you, my dear Dick, with determined daring, and profiting by their alarm at our fire-arms, your project might possibly succeed; but, were it to fail, you would be lost, and we should have two persons to save instead of one. No! we must put _all_ the chances on _our_ side, and go to work differently.” “But let us act at once!” said the hunter.