All the assembled Friends were aware of his presence by thistime, but not one of them moved. Mrs. Hoxie glanced towardsher little daughter, and saw, to her great relief, that Dinah had fallen asleep. Benjamin"s lips were tightly shut; and, with eyes that were unusually bright, he followed every movement of the Indian chief, who, as it seemed, in one bound, and without making the slightest noise, had moved round to the open doorway.
There he stood, the naked, brown figure, in full war paint and feathers, looking with piercing eyes at each man Friend in turn, as if one of them must have the weapons that he sought. But the Friends were entirely unarmed. There was not a gun, or a rifle, or a sword to be found in any of their dwelling-houses, so there could not be any in their peaceful meeting.
A minute later, a dozen other Redskins, equally terrible, stood beside the chief; and the bushes in the distance were quite still. It was Benjamin who found it hard not to tremble now, as he saw thirteen sharp arrows taken from their quivers by thirteen skinny brown hands, and their notches held taut to thirteen bow-strings, all ready to shoot. He saw, too, what the objects were that hung from the strangers" waists. They were scalps- scalps of men and women that the Indians had killed. Yet still the Friends sat on, without stirring, in complete silence.
Only Benjamin, turning his head to look at his grand- father, saw Zebulun Hoxie gazing full at the chief who had first approached. The Indian"s flashing eyes, under the matted black eyebrows, gazed back fiercely beneath his narrow red foreheadinto the Quaker"s calm blue eyes beneath the high white browand snowy hair. No word was spoken; but, in silence, two powers were measured against each other-the power of hate, and the power of love, for steady friendliness to his strange visitors was written in every line of Zebulun Hoxie"s face.
At length, for some unknown reason, the Indian"s eyes fell. His head, which he had carried high and haughtily, sank towards his breast. Then he signed to his followers : the thirteen arrows were noiselessly replaced in thirteen quivers; the thirteen bows were laid down and rested against the wall; many footsteps, lighter than falling snow, crossed the floor; the Indian chief, unarmed, sat himself down in the nearest seat, with his followers in all their war-paint, but also unarmed, close around him.
The meeting did not stop. The meeting continued- one of the strangest Friends" meetings, surely, that ever was held! The Friends sat in their accustomed quietness, but the Indians sat more quietly than any of them. They seemed strangely at home in the silence, those wild men of the woods.
The slow minutes slipped past. At last, when the accustomed hour of worship was ended, the two Friends at the head of the meeting shook hands solemnly. Then, and not till then, did old Zebulun Hoxie advance to the Indian chief, and, with signs, he invited him and his followers to come to his house close at hand. With signs they accepted. Zebulun put bread and cheese on the table, and invited his guests to help themselves. They did so, thanking him with signs, as they knew no English.
Robert Nisbet, however, the visiting Friend, who could speakand understand French, had a conversation with the two chiefs in that language, and this was what the Indians said :-"We surrounded your house, meaning to destroy every living person within it. But, when we saw you sitting with your door open, and without weapons of defence, we had no wish any longer to hurt you. Now we would fight for you, and defend you ourselves from all who wish you ill. "So saying, the chief took a white feather from one of his arrows, and stuck it firmly over the centre of the roof in a peculiar way. "With that white feather above your house, " he said to Robert Nisbet, " your settlement is safe. We Indians are your friends henceforward, and you are ours. "Nothing more was said; and, a few moments later, the strange guests, with their weapons in their hands, had all disappeared as noiselessly as they had come.
Author.-Anonymous. The story is abridged from the Friends" Quarterly Examiner of July, 1916.
General.-Who were the Friends? Who was their great leader in America? How did he treat the Indians? Name the persons of this story. Was Zebulun Hoxie a brave man? What makes you think so? Could his plan be carried out with all armed raiders? Discuss the question. Tell the story as the Indian chief would tell it on his return to the wigwams of the Redskins.
Lesson 86
CHARITY
Not what we give, but what we share, For the gift without the giver is bare;Who gives himself with his alms feeds three- Himself, his suffering neighbour, and Me.
Lesson 87
OUR NEW NEIGHBOURS
When I saw the little house building, an eighth of a mile beyond my own, on the Old Bay Road, I wondered who were to be the tenants. The modest structure was set well back from the road, among the trees, as if the inmates were to care nothing whatever for a view of the stylish equipages that sweep by during the summer season. For my part, I like to see them passing in town or country; but each has his own unaccountable taste. The proprietor, who seemed to be als0 the architect of the new house, superintended the various details of the work with an assiduity that gave me a high opinion of his intelligence and executive ability, and I congratulated myself on the prospect of having some very agreeable neighbours.
