Page:Barbour--Metipoms Hostage.djvu/243

Rh but that was due to the fact that for a moment they failed to penetrate his disguise. It was not until his captors spoke, explaining and pointing, that the Indians began to murmur and growl and even laugh derisively. One seized David’s scalp-lock and gave it a mighty tug as if expecting it to come off like  a wig, and David, resenting the pain,  thoughtlessly struck his arm away. The Indian, a tall, bone-faced brave, uttered a cry and thrust forward with the spear held in his other hand. But David saw in time and leaped back, crowding against the throng behind him, and one of his captors interposed  and the crowd laughed a little. At this moment David was aware of one who was pushing his way toward him with no gentle use of his elbows, a large and heavily built Indian  who wore a coat that was covered entirely  with wampum of many hues arranged not unpleasingly in strange designs. Authority became him well, for, although there was  something sinister in the cold glitter of his  eyes, his features were not unpleasing and  held a certain nobility, and David, observing all fell back in deference, and seeing that  wampum coat whose fame was widespread,  knew that he was face to face with the arch-