sure, the vicious child of some chieftain would amuse itself by pricking
Kitty's tender skin with a thorn, and hearing her scream in consequence;
or, having seen the black-and-blue marks upon her delicate arms, caused
by the rough handling of her captors, they would pinch her flesh and
watch for the change of color with intense interest. One day they tried
it while Rudolph was standing by, holding the hand of the squaw who had
him in charge. No sooner did the usual scream escape Kitty's lips than,
quick as thought, the boy broke from the woman's grasp, and, rushing
upon his sister's tormentor, laid the little savage in the dust and
pummeled him well. Instead of resenting this, the Indians seemed to
admire the pluck of the young pale-face, and he rose in their favor at
once. Especially did the old squaw, as Indian women are called, applaud
him. She was a strange old creature, named Ka-te-qua (_female eagle_),
and, being half crazy, was looked upon by the Indians as one inspired by
Manitou, or the Great Spirit. Besides, her brother had been a famous
Medicine-man[1] of the tribe; and her two sons, who had been slain in
battle, were celebrated braves or warriors, each owning long chains of
scalps, which they had taken from their enemies. So, of course, when she
wagged her head in approbation of Rudolph's conduct, all the women near
her wagged their heads also. Indeed, had Tom remained ill a few weeks
longer, the black marks on the children's faces would have worn off
without any further injury being done them. But as he grew better, and,
finally, was able to sit upright on his deer-skin couch, the malice of
his captors was renewed. They resolved not only to carry out the
sentence upon the children, but to put the sick pale-face to new
tortures as soon as he was strong enough to afford them the requisite
amount of sport on the occasion. Accordingly on the fourth day after
Rudolph had punished the little "Red-skin," preparations were begun.
Heaps of fagots were industriously piled against an oak tree, which
stood apart. Tom, with feet shackled, and his arms tightly secured to