"Not long. You do not, however, need to speak the Indian tongue, for
we have excellent interpreters."
"We heard much at Fort Pitt and Fort Henry about the danger, as well
as uselessness, of our venture," Jim continued. "The frontiersmen
declared that every rod of the way was beset with savage foes, and
that, even in the unlikely event of our arriving safely at the
Village of Peace, we would then be hemmed in by fierce, vengeful
tribes."
"Hostile savages abound here, of course; but we do not fear them. We
invite them. Our work is to convert the wicked, to teach them to
lead good, useful lives. We will succeed."
Jim could not help warming to the minister for his unswervable
faith, his earnest belief that the work of God could not fail;
nevertheless, while he felt no fear and intended to put all his
heart in the work, he remembered with disquietude Colonel Zane's
warnings. He thought of the wonderful precaution and eternal
vigilance of Jonathan and Wetzel--men of all men who most understood
Indian craft and cunning. It might well be possible that these good
missionaries, wrapped up in saving the souls of these children of
the forest, so full of God's teachings as to have little mind for
aught else, had no knowledge of the Indian nature beyond what the
narrow scope of their work invited.
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