Both were unarmed, or, at any rate, seemed so. In the presence of such a proof of confidence, the Captain felt ashamed of his suspicions; and after the bridge had been raised again, he dismissed his escort, and only kept Bothrel with him. "Follow me," he said to the strangers. The latter bowed without further reply, and walked at his side. They reached the tower without exchanging a syllable. The Captain introduced them into the keeper's room, where Mrs. Watt was alone, a prey to the most lively anxiety. By a sign her husband ordered her to retire. She gave him a suppliant glance, which he understood, for he did not insist, and she remained silent in her chair. Tranquil had the same calm and open countenance as of yore. Nothing in his manner seemed to evidence that he had any hostile intentions towards the colonists. Black-deer, on the contrary, was gloomy and stern. The Captain offered his guests seats by the fire. "Be seated, gentlemen," he said. "You must feel the need of warmth. Have you come to me as friends or foes?" "It is more easy to ask that question than answer it," the hunter said, honestly; "up to the present our intentions are kindly; you will decide yourself, Captain, as to the terms on which we shall leave you." "In any case, you will not refuse some slight refreshment?" "For the present, I must ask you to excuse us," Tranquil replied, who appeared to be spokesman for himself and friend; "it is better, I think, to settle at once the point that brings us here." "Hum!" the Captain muttered, annoyed in his heart at this refusal, which foreboded nothing good; "in that case speak, and an amicable interview will not depend on me." "I, wish it with all my heart, Captain; the more so, because if I am here it is with the object of avoiding the consequences either of a mistake or a moment of passion." The Captain bowed his thanks, and the Canadian went on. "You are an old soldier, sir," he said, "and the shorter the speech the better you will like it; in two words, then, this is what brings us: the Snake Pawnees accuse you of having seized their village by treachery, and massacred the greater part of their relations and friends. Is that true?" "It is true that I seized their village, but I had the right to do so, since the Redskins refused to surrender it to me; but I deny that I acted treacherously: on the contrary, the Pawnees behaved in that way to me." "Oh!" Black-deer exclaimed, as he rose quickly, "the Paleface has a lying tongue in his mouth." "Peace!" Tranquil cried, as he forced him to take his seat again, "leave me to disentangle this skein, which seems to me very troublesome. Forgive me for insisting," he went on, addressing the Captain, "but the question is a grave one, and the truth must out. Were you not received, on your arrival, by the Chiefs of the tribe, in the light of a friend?" "Yes; our first relations were amicable." "Why, then, did they become hostile?"