" The rock-hard wetness of her heavy leather shoes had frozen her toes and blistered her heels. But now her feet were cozy inside the soft moccasins. She felt guilty about the others, still suffering, and then, astonished, saw that all the prisoners were being given moccasins. She and Eben Nims stared at each other. "They they would take this many prisoners, Eben," whispered Mercy. "They have enough moccasins to go around. They have little pairs and big pairs." She thought of them back in Canada, around their fires, among their French allies, planning how many pairs of moccasins they would need when they sacked Deerfield. They mean us to live, thought Mercy. But why? What will they do with all of us?"