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 continued, therefore, to stray from hut to hut, looking into each only to encounter additional disappointments, until he had made the entire circuit of the village. Abandoning a species of enquiry that proved so fruitless, he retraced his steps to the council lodge, resolved to seek and question David, in order to put an end to doubts that were becoming painful.

On reaching the building, which had proved alike the seat of judgment and the place of execution, the young man found that the excitement had already subsided. The warriors had re-assembled, and were now calmly smoking, while they conversed gravely on the chief incidents of their recent expedition to the head of the Horican. Though the return of Duncan was likely to remind them of his character, and the suspicious circumstances of his visit, it produced no visible sensation. So far, the terrible scene that had just occurred, proved favourable to his views, and he required no other prompter than his own feelings to convince him of the expediency