The Indians had gone some distance farther and camped with the white prisoners.

"Red Feather could speak English, so I told him if he would untie my hands, I would make his fire, and bake his corn cake for him.

"He was old and feeble, and had lost much of his natural cunning. He knew me, and trusted me; so without speaking, he took his hunting knife from his belt, cut the cords, and I was free.

"I took the hatchet that he gave me to cut some branches for a fire, and went to work very meekly, with my head down.

"I dared not speak to Mary, for fear he might see me, for his eyes were fixed on me every moment. I baked his corn cake in the ashes, and gave it to him. By this time it was dark, but the light from our fire shone far out into the woods.

"I noticed Red Feather did not watch me so closely, and his eyes would now and then shut, for he was very tired.

"He leaned forward to light his pipe in the ashes, when instantly, almost without thinking, I seized the hatchet, and struck him with all my might.

"With a loud scream, I plunged into the woods toward home. Turning an instant, I saw Mary spring up, totter, and fall. With another sharp report came a twinge of pain in my side. Suddenly I fell, and in the darkness of the woods, they passed on, leaving me stunned and nearly dead.

“I will not tell you now, my dear Robbie, how I was cared for, and who brought home little Mary and laid her to rest under the elm, beside mother-but the bullet that struck me then, I still carry in my side, and shall as long as I live.

66

Many years have passed since that terrible day, but I can never forget it. As long as the history of this country lasts, Indian Spring will be remembered, and other boys will listen, with eyes as wide open as yours, to the tale it has to tell.

Directions for Reading.-Should the second or third paragraph of the lesson be read the faster?

When do we speak more rapidly-in telling an exciting story, or in common conversation?

Do our feelings guide us when we speak slowly or rapidly ?— when we speak quietly or forcibly?

Point out three paragraphs in the lesson that you would read as slowly as Lesson XIII; three that you would read more rapidly. In reading rapidly, be careful not to omit syllables, and not to run words together. (See Directions for Reading, page 42.)

Our noble ship lay at anchor in the Bay of Tangiers, a town in the north-west part of Africa.

The day had been very mild, with a gentle breeze sweeping to the northward and westward. Towards the close of the day the seabreeze died away, and hot, sultry breathings came from the great, sunburnt desert of Sahara.

Half an hour before sundown, the captain gave the cheering order to call the hands to "go in swimming;" and, in less than five minutes, the forms of our sailors were seen leaping from the arms of the lower yards into the water.

One of the sails, with its corners fastened from the main yard-arm and the swinging

boom, had been lowered into the water, and into this most of the swimmers made their

way.

Among those who seemed to be enjoying the sport most heartily were two boys, one of whom was the son of our old gunner; and, in a laughing mood, they started out from the sail on a race.

There was a loud ringing shout of joy on their lips as they put off; they darted through the water like fishes. The surface of the sea was smooth as glass, though its bosom rose in long heavy swells that set in from the ocean.

One of the buoys which was attached to the anchor, to show where it lay, was far away on the starboard quarter, where it rose and fell with the lazy swell of the

waves.

Towards this buoy the two lads made their way, the old gunner's son taking the lead; but, when they were within about sixty yards of the buoy, the other boy shot ahead and promised to win the race.

The old gunner had watched the progress of his son with great pride; and when he saw him drop behind, he leaped upon

the quarter-deck, and was just upon the point of urging him on by a shout, when that struck him with

a cry was heard that

instant horror.

"A shark! a shark!" shouted the officer of the deck; and, at the sound of those terrible words, the men who were in the water, leaped and plunged towards the ship.

Three or four hundred yards away the back of a monster shark was seen cleaving the water. His course was for the boys.

For a moment the gunner stood like one who had lost his reason; but he at once shouted at the top of his voice for the boys to turn; but they heard him not.

Stoutly the two swimmers strove, knowing nothing of the danger from the shark. Their merry laugh still rang over the waters, as they were both nearing the buoy.

O, what anxiety filled the heart of the gunner! A boat had put off, but he knew it could not reach the boys in time to prevent the shark from overtaking them.

Every moment he expected to see the monster sink from sight,-then he knew all