CHAPTER VII. “She had eyes of sunniest English blue; She had tresses of golden hair; Her cheeks were tipped with the hawthorn’s hue; Her name, Virginia Dare.” Manteo, true to the faith he professed, forgave and forgot, or rather he never spoke of his warning, or Ranteo’s strange visit to Roanoke; when he understood that the white tribe were in trouble, and had fled to him for protection, he solemnly held out his hand to Mrs. Dare, then handed her a long pipe, seeming to take it for granted that she filled her father’s place. She went bravely at it for a few minutes in sight of all Manteo’s warriors, who watched her with a strange awe; then he took the pipe from her and led her to a wigwam, where she was to stay while the refugees were provided for by the Indians. The autumn days slipped by, and the winter came. It was a mild winter, even for that part of the country; and as it broke, and the first mild, balmy spring days came, the settlers began Hopeful Kent and his boat-load that left Roanoke in such a hurry that night had never been seen or even heard of; they had either been drowned, or captured by Wanchese’s men. Autumn again began to paint the trees yellow and red, yet no sign of a sail; the men were growing discontented, and gave up watching for the ships they would never see, and went more ardently at their grumbling. One night, nearly fifteen months after Governor White and his fleet had left the shore of Virginia, the men’s discontent, which had been smouldering like a choked fire, burst into a blaze of defiant rebellion, and on that same night they slipped away in the darkness. Sixty of the men whom Manteo had sheltered and cared for more than a year went to Wanchese. Barnes was the leader in this, as in the former troubles; but he did not tell the men all he meant to do; he knew them too well to expect them to agree to anything so base as this plan. In truth, he meant to betray Manteo. Wanchese listened to his proposal with disdain and distrust, then Life was more quiet and peaceful after the discontented were gone. Of course there were sad hearts among the women and children for a while, for some had lost husbands and fathers. The weaker ones broke down utterly with the life of exposure and hardship. More than one grave had been made; the Indians looking on in awe and wonder at the Christian burial. Mrs. Dare had learned many Indian words, and in a quiet way she had done much for the neglected women and children, for there were such among those poor savages, as there are to-day in our own civilized towns and villages; and in that way she won not only their hearts, but the hearts of the men also. There is no surer way in the world to a man’s heart than through his children. All this time the baby Virginia grew. The soft down on her round head had changed to a halo of golden curls. Her eyes had grown large and deep like the sea; sometimes a sparkling, laughing blue, and sometimes almost a gray when a cloud of sorrow crept She was a little more than a year and a half old when Howe went with Gage to see if there was any sign of Governor White’s fleet. They never came back. Life went on quietly at Croatoan. The men went to their hunt, or, in their gaudy paint and war toggery, went to fight. The women beat out their vessels, or wove baskets, and dried skins. The children played at their sham wars, or went on their imaginary hunts, or sang their songs full of myths and mysteries. The summer that Virginia was three years old, she was playing under the willow-trees outside the wigwam with little Elizabeth, whom she had nicknamed Beth, and whom she was truly fond of; the only one in the world who loved the fretful, delicate child with a love that was Virginia was nearly six when Mrs. Dare began to give up all hopes of seeing the English ships that were to bring her husband and father. The squaw who waited on Iosco, whose name was Adwa, was very fond of both children: her own, she said, had all gone to the Happy Hunting Ground. She would tell them stories by the hour, while the three children sat listening breathlessly, for Virginia always insisted upon bringing Beth in for whatever was going on. As the squaw sat and parched the corn, she would tell them of Mondamin, and how the young Indian fasted and prayed for no selfish purpose, but for the profit of his people; and how he wrestled with and conquered Mondamin, because of his prayer to the Great Spirit. Or “Fire-fly, fire-fly, bright little thing, Light me to bed, and my song I will sing! Give me your light as you fly o’er my head, That I may merrily go to my bed. Give me your light, o’er the grass as you creep, That I may joyfully go to my sleep. Come, little fire-fly, come, little beast, Come, and I’ll make you to-morrow a feast. Come, little candle, that flies as I sing, Bright little fairy-bug, night’s little king. Come, and I’ll dance as you guide me along, Come, and I’ll pay you, my bug, with a song!” Beth could not learn the song; in fact, she had learned very little of the Indian language, while Virginia spoke it quite as well as English. In return for Adwa’s tales of Indian lore, Virginia would often tell the Bible stories she loved so well, old fables, or wonderful fairy tales; she even taught Iosco her favorite hymn. In this |