Martin was right when he stated that he perceived the form of the Angry Snake under the shade of the trees. The chief was then watching what occurred, and had been witness to the capture of his emissary, and, following those who had the Young Otter in charge, saw him conveyed to the fort. In the meantime, Malachi, Martin, and Alfred went home, without any suspicion being raised among the other branches of the family of what had occurred. This gave them great satisfaction. "Well, Malachi," said Alfred the next morning, as they were all busily employed getting the seed into the cleared land, "what do you imagine will be the steps now taken by the Angry Snake?" "It's hard to say, sir," replied Malachi; "for he well deserves the name of a snake, if, as the Scripture says, it is the subtlest thing on earth: he will try all he can, you may be sure; and if it were not that he is afraid of us, he would attack us immediately; but that I have no idea that he will venture upon." "No, for your letter says that he has only two rifles in his band, which are not enough to give him any chance of success." "Very true, sir. I hear that the _bateaux_ are coming from the fort for the plank and flour." "Yes, to-morrow, if there is not so much wind as there is to-day; it blows very fresh. Where is John?" "I left him with the Strawberry, sir; they were busy with the sugar." "By-the-bye, how much have you got, Malachi?" "About three or four hundred pounds, sir, as near as I can reckon; quite as much as madam will require." "Yes, I should think so; now we shall have preserves of all sorts and the fruit for nothing; the wild raspberries are nearly ripe, and so are the cherries; my cousins want John to help to gather them." "Well, sir, I dare say he will do so, although I believe that he would rather do anything else. He said he was going to fish this morning." "The water is too rough, and he will not be able to manage the punt by himself." "Then that's the very reason why he'll go out," replied Malachi; "he doesn't like easy jobs like picking raspberries. Is it true, Mr Alfred, that we are to have some more settlers come here?" "Yes, I believe so; my father is very anxious to have them; he thinks it will be a great security, and he has offered them very advantageous terms. You won't much like that, Malachi?"