the firmness and courage which had so wonderfully sustained his wife
while she was obliged to act for herself, forsook her the moment she
felt herself supported by her Rodolph's arm; and faintly exclaiming, 'O
my son, my son!' she fainted; while little Edith burst into tears, and
sobbed out her brother's name.

'Tell me, in the name of heaven, what all this means!' exclaimed
Maitland, turning a look of eager inquiry on Mooanam, who stood with
characteristic silence and apparent composure, waiting the proper
moment to speak. 'Tell me,' cried the distracted father again, 'what
dire calamity has befallen my boy?'

'My heart is dark for you,' replied the Sachem, in a voice of perfect
calmness, though a tear glistened in his coal black eye, and his brow
was clouded by anxiety. 'My heart is very dark for you, and for your
young warrior--for, boy as he was, he was a brave at heart.'

Mooanam spoke in his native tongue, intermixed with English words and
phrases, which he had learned from Brewster and the other settlers; but
the father's heart comprehended all he said, and needed no interpreter.

'Is my son dead, then?' he exclaimed. 'Has accident or violence
quenched his young spirit?'

'Worse than dead,' slowly replied the Sachem; and he looked pityingly
at Helen, who now began to recover her senses. 'Leave your wife to the
care of the squaws,' he added, 'and come with me to the wise man
yonder, and he will tell you all.'

He led Rodolph to where Brewster was occupied in making preparations,