This is the white bird that came
from the sea," he added, touching the shoulder of Ruth lightly with a
finger, "and this the young, that she warmed under her wing."
Then, folding his arms on his naked breast, he appeared to summon his
energy, lest, in the scene that he knew must follow, his manhood might be
betrayed into some act unworthy of his name.
The captives were necessarily ignorant of the meaning of the scene which
they had just witnessed. So many strange and savage-looking forms were
constantly passing and repassing before their eyes, that the arrival of
one, more or less, was not likely to be noted. Until she heard Conanchet
speak in her native tongue, Ruth had lent no attention to the interview
between him and his wife. But the figurative language and no less
remarkable action of the Narragansett, had the effect to arouse her
suddenly, and in the most exciting manner, from her melancholy.
No child of tender age ever unexpectedly came before the eyes of Ruth
Heathcote, without painfully recalling the image of the cherub she had
lost.
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