On the coach to Plymouth, Ebenzer encounters one Peter Sayer, who is really Henry in disguise. Henry reveals that, while trying to ascertain his true identity, he has become embroiled in the politics of Maryland, but has discovered that he was adopted as an infant by one Captain Salmon, after being found floating on a raft in Chesapeake Bay. He has also obtained part of a journal which reveals that his grandfather, Henry Burlingame I, took part in an expedition led by Captain John Smith that was attacked by Indians. In order to save his own life, and that of Burlingame, Smith undergoes a sexual trial with Pocahontas, the daughter of the Indian chief Powhatans. At this point, the journal breaks off, and Henry explains that he is searching for the remaining sections of the document.