Hear he do take all he can find--den hear he don't."
"But you take all you can find, Pigeonswing; and that which is good
in you, cannot be so bad in Peter."
"Don't take scalp from friend. When you hear Pigeonswing scalp
FRIEND, eh?"
"I never did hear it; and hope I never shall. But when did you hear
that Peter is so wicked?"
"S'pose he don't, 'cause he got no friend among pale-face. Bes' take
care of dat man?"
"I'm of your way of thinking, myself, Chippewa; though the corporal
and the priest think him all in all. When I asked Parson Amen how he
came to be the associate of one who went by a scalping name, even he
told me it was all name; that Peter hadn't touched a hair of a human
head, in the way of scalping, since his youth, and that most of his
notions and ways were quite Jewish, The parson has almost as much
faith in Peter, as he has in his religion; I'm not quite sure he has
not even more."
"No matter. Bes' always for pale-face to trust pale-face, and Injin
to trust Injin. Dat most likely to be right."
"Nevertheless, I trust YOU Pigeonswing; and, hitherto, you have not
deceived me!"
The Chippewa cast a glance of so much meaning on the bee-hunter,
that the last was troubled by it.
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