He had slept
under their roof, and eaten of their bread. They were his best
friends; and they his brave Seneca brothers, when they knew of this,
would be glad. He had set out to conduct them to the settlements,
and his brothers would wish all a safe arrival there.
This speech, delivered with far more address than I am able to give
it, worked as a charm. Not the slightest reference was made to the
cowardly Red Wolf, though Omas knew all about him.
The Senecas were won by the words of the wily Delaware. They
indulged in the fiction of saying that they had no thought of how
matters stood between him and these palefaces, and their hearts
were glad to hear the words fall from his lips. They would not harm
his friends, and hoped they would reach in safety the settlement
for which they were looking.
Not only that, but they offered to go with them all the way.
This was too kind, and the offer was gratefully declined. Then the
Senecas withdrew, first returning Ben's rifle to him. Whether they
ever succeeded in overtaking Red Wolf cannot be known, and it is
of no moment.
The peril had burst over the heads of the little party like a
thundercloud; and now it had cleared, and all was sunshine again.
It was some minutes before the Ripleys could fully understand the
great good fortune that had come to them.
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