Margery, who seldom quitted his side,
reasoned with him on the subject of the mysterious chief's good
faith, and by means of her own deep reliance on him, she came at
last to the point of instilling some of her own confidence into the
mind of her husband. From that time he worked at the shelter for the
females, and the other little arrangements their situation rendered
necessary, with greater zest, and with far more attention to the
details. So long as we are in doubt of accomplishing good, we
hesitate about employing our energies; but once let hope revive
within us, in the shape of favorable results, and we become new men,
bracing every nerve to the task, and working with redoubled spirit;
even should it be at the pump of the sinking ship, which, we
believe, ranks the highest among the toils that are inflicted on the
unfortunate.
For three days and nights did le Bourdon and his friends remain on
that dry land of the swamp, without hearing or seeing anything of
either Peter or Pigeonswing. The time was growing long, and the
party anxious; though the sense of security was much increased by
this apparent exemption from danger. Still, uncertainty, and the
wish to ascertain the precise state of things in the Openings, were
gradually getting to be painful, and it was with great satisfaction
that the bee-hunter met his young wife as she came running toward
him, on the morning of the fourth day, to announce that an Indian
was approaching, by wading in the margin of the river, keeping
always in the water so as to leave no trail.
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