The two rascally trappers had been greatly surprised at being let off without punishment. Perhaps their rough natures were not capable of comprehending the real meaning of the act; but they were glad to get away without paying for their evil deeds; and expressed the intention of fighting shy of the English settlement after that. As to whether they would keep their word or not may be made apparent later on, when many of the characters who have figured in this volume may be met again in the pages of a new book, to be called, "The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri." Bob and Sandy had good reason to feel satisfied with the outcome of their little act of kindness. Of course, it did not amount to much to them, when they released that young Delaware from his rocky trap, by means of which his foot had been held secure for several days; but, to the mind of the Indian, it was a debt that must be sacredly paid several fold. And, whenever they looked upon the magic wampum belt that stood as a signet of the all-powerful protecting arm of Pontiac, the boys were wont to exchange a significant glance, as though to say that "bread cast upon the waters will return ere many days." And surely this saying had been amply justified in their case. THE END. NOTES NOTE 1 (PAGE 5) WHAT Sandy said about the extensive boundaries of Virginia was not surprising; for at this early day, just before the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, the colonists had only a vague idea of the next-to-unknown land that lay to the west. Beyond the Alleghanies, extending to the far-away Mississippi, the country was considered to be a part of Fincastle County, Virginia. Beyond that lay the Northwest Territory, a practically unexplored country, still awaiting the coming of the bold adventurer. NOTE 2 (PAGE 7) While the flood which the young pioneers witnessed may well have been the greatest that the Indians had ever known, it was probably slight compared with the annual floods of the present day. Every spring the Ohio and its tributaries receive a huge volume of water from the melting snows, and from the torrential rains which occur at that season, and these spring freshets are looked upon as a matter of course, and only commented on when they cause unusual loss of property or of human life. One of the greatest floods that the Valley of the Ohio has ever experienced was that in the latter part of March, 1913, when property valued at hundreds of millions of dollars was destroyed and many hundreds of people were drowned.