"I'm sure that, if you take the trouble to look, Mr. Wayne, you will find that he was placing another of his friendly birch-bark messages under the door of our cabin." It was Bob, however, inspired by a sudden thrilling hope, who turned to look; and, hardly had Sandy spoken, than the other gave a shout of delight, as he snatched some object up from the ground, where it had been pushed from the stoop by the hasty exit of the Armstrong family. "The precious wampum belt, Sandy!" he cried in glee; "see, Buckongahelas has brought it back to us, and was about to leave it at our doorstep when I jumped on his back!" "Oh! where do you think he could have found it?" gasped Sandy, as he took the gift of the great Pontiac from the hand of his brother, and even pressed it to his lips, because he considered it the greatest blessing the little colony could own. "Stop and think, Sandy," said Bob, trying to control his voice; "and you will surely remember what Jacques said about some one creeping upon them while they slept last night, taking only the belt, and nothing more. Buckongahelas did that; and to complete his splendid showing of Indian gratitude." They all now turned upon the young Delaware, as though expecting that he should explain the mystery; which he did not seem averse to doing, though he evidently knew so little of English that he spoke to Pat in his native tongue, and the trapper translated the same to the colonists. "Buckongahelas owes his life to the young white hunters. When he would have died like the old wolf that has lost its teeth, and can no longer hold fast to its prey, they came and saved him. More than that, they gave him meat to take him on his journey to the lodges of his people. "It is not well that a Delaware, and the son of a chief, should be in the debt of a white man. Buckongahelas made a vow to the Great Manitou that he would repay it all. So he hovered about the home of the palefaces. Many times he saw them and they knew it not. He had reason to hate the two French trappers who came from far away in the land of the setting sun. He watched, and saw that they meant harm to the family of the white friends of Buckongahelas. Again, and yet again, did the Delaware send messages with warning. Yet did the bad palefaces steal the belt of Pontiac away, and flee for the land of the Great Water. "That was bad. Buckongahelas could not bear to see the grief of his white friends, and go back to his own lodge. A Delaware knows no fear. So, when they journeyed down the beautiful river on their new boat the Delaware was always near by. Day and night Buckongahelas kept with the palefaces; sometimes on a log floating along, and passing their camp, but always watching for the two bad men who would wrong their own kind by keeping the belt of Pontiac, that did not belong to them.