"The youth who is not afraid to think of the fight, or to reason on its
chances, will lead to a manhood of spirit and independence. A hundred
thousand striplings like this, might have spared Winthrop his jewel, and
the Stuart the shame of yielding to so vain and so trivial a bribe. But
thou mayst also see, child, that had we come to the death-hug, the wicked
Wampanoag might have found a blade as keen as his own."

The stranger, while speaking, loosened a few strings of his doublet, and
thrust a hand into his bosom. The action enabled more than one eye to
catch a momentary glimpse of a weapon of the same description, but of a
size much smaller than those he had already so freely exhibited. As he
immediately withdrew the member, and again closed the garment with studied
care, no one presumed to advert to the circumstance, but all turned their
attention to the long sharp hunting-knife that he deposited by the side of
the pistols, as he concluded. Mark ventured to open its blade, but he
turned away with sudden consciousness, when he found that a few fibres of
coarse, shaggy wool, that were drawn from the loosened joint, adhered to
his fingers.

"Straight-Horns has been against a bush sharper than the thorn!"
exclaimed Whittal Ring, who had been at hand, and who watched with
childish admiration the smallest proceedings of the different
individuals. "A steel for the back of the blade, a few dried leaves and
broken sticks, with such a carver, would soon make roast and broiled of
the old bell-wether himself. I know that the hair of all my colts is
sorrel, and I counted five at sun-down, which is just as many as went
loping through the underbrush when I loosened them from the hopples in
the morning; but six-and-thirty backs can never carry seven-and-thirty
growing fleeces of unsheared wool. Master knows that, for he is a scholar