But though the language of the woman was gentle as her own kind
nature, and her entreaties that he would give some evidence of having
comprehended her meaning were zealous and oft repeated, not the smallest
symptom of intelligence, on this occasion, could be extracted from her
pupil. Disappointed, and not without sorrow, Ruth had abandoned the
compassionate design in despair, when, on a sudden, the old Puritan, who
had been a silent spectator of her fruitless efforts, announced his faith
in the integrity of the lad, and his intention to permit him to make one
of the very next party, that should leave the habitations.
The cause of this sudden change in the hitherto stern watchfulness of Mark
Heathcote was, like so many other of his impulses, a secret in his own
bosom. It has just been said, that during the time Ruth was engaged in her
kind and fruitless experiment to extract some evidence of intelligence
from the boy, the Puritan was a close and interested observer of her
efforts. He appeared to sympathize in her disappointment, but the weal of
those unconverted tribes who were to be led from the darkness of their
ways by the instrumentality of this youth, was far too important to admit
the thought of rashly losing the vantage-ground he had gained, in the
gradually-expanding intellect of the boy, by running the hazard of an
escape.
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