"Eva, take the hand of your aunt," said Mr. Brainerd, who saw that his other daughter was desirous of saying something to him; "and let Maggie and me walk together for a few minutes."  
The child would have preferred to stay by the side of her beloved parent, but she did as requested, and her elder sister slipped back, and, as the ground permitted, ran her own arm beneath her father's, and the two walked together.
 
"Well, Maggie, what is it?" he asked, tenderly.
 
The brave girl repressed her as best she could, but he detected the in the voice which asked the question:
 
"Father, have you told us all about Fred?"
 
"I saw him a while ago."
 
"Do you know whether he is alive or—or—dead?"
 
"Be , my child; I cannot answer that question, but I have hope that we shall see him again. He hurried home from the army to help us, but arrived too late. Reaching Monocacy Island, he became so anxious to find out what had become of me, that he returned to the battle-ground at great risk to himself. We met, providentially, and found that neither was hurt—a piece of good-fortune indeed."
 
"But how did you become separated?"
 
"We started up the river bank in the direction of Fort Wintermoot, believing we would stand a better chance of getting across without , for he had learned from a that you had gotten over. Fred made me promise, while on the way, that if we became separated I should make no effort to rejoin him—that is, to help him, for he must have felt that I could do him no good. I gave the promise, and then demanded that he should make me a similar pledge-but he actually refused."
 
"Just like my noble brother!" exclaimed Maggie, with a glowing ; "well?"
 
"Scarcely five minutes later we approached a portion of the forest, in which we feared were some of the Indians. Fred had assumed the leadership before this, and he told me to stay where I was until he could go forward and learn whether it would do to pick our way through that part of the wood, or whether it was necessary to go around."
 
"Well? well?" asked Maggie, seeing that her father hesitated.
 
"My boy went forward to reconnoiter—and he didn't come back."
 
"O, father!" Maggie, "what became of him?"
 
"You can guess as well as I: there were Indians in there, as I learned immediately after, and one of several things may have happened to him. He may have found himself involved in such a network of danger that he was forced to lie still, not daring to............