Page:The last of the Mohicans (1826 Volume 2).djvu/124

 yesterday he hunted for their scalps, and to-day they hear him at the council fire!"

"Magua is a great chief!"

"Let him prove it by teaching his nation how to conduct towards our new friends!"

"Why did the chief of the Canadas bring his young men into the woods, and fire his cannon at yonder earthen house?" demanded the subtle Indian.

"To subdue it. My master owns the land, and your father was ordered to drive off these English squatters. They have consented to go, and now he calls them enemies no longer."

" 'Tis well. Magua took the hatchet to colour it with blood. It is now bright; when it is red it shall be buried."

"But Magua is pledged not to sully the lilies of France. The enemies of the great king across the salt lake are his enemies; his friends the friends of the Hurons."

"Friends!" repeated the Indian, in bitter scorn. "Let his father give Magua a hand."

Montcalm, who felt that his influence