initial commit of ebook 33470HEADmain

17 files changed, 20493 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/33470-8.txt b/33470-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82d10ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6039 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Forge in the Forest
+
+Author: Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+Release Date: November 23, 2010 [EBook #33470]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORGE IN THE FOREST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: On a block just inside the door sat Marc.]
+
+
+
+
+
+The Forge in the Forest
+
+
+Being
+
+  _The Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean
+  de Mer, Seigneur de Briart; and how
+  he crossed the Black Abbé; and of
+  his Adventures in a Strange
+  Fellowship_
+
+
+
+By
+
+Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+
+
+
+Lamson, Wolffe and Company
+
+Boston, New York and London
+
+William Briggs, Toronto
+
+MDCCCXCVI
+
+
+
+
+Copyright, 1896,
+
+By Lamson, Wolffe and Company.
+
+
+_All rights reserved_
+
+
+
+Norwood Press
+
+J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith
+
+Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+To
+
+George E. Fenety, Esq.
+
+
+  This Story of a Province
+  among whose Honoured Sons he is
+  not least distinguished
+  is dedicated
+  with esteem and affection
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of Peninsula of Acadie (Nova Scotia)]
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+_Part I.--Marc_
+
+
+A Foreword
+
+Chapter
+
+     I.  The Capture at the Forge
+    II.  The Black Abbé
+   III.  Tamin's Little Stratagem
+    IV.  The Governor's Signature
+     V.  In the Run of the Seas
+    VI.  Grűl
+   VII.  The Commander is Embarrassed
+  VIII.  The Black Abbé Comes to Dinner
+    IX.  The Abbé Strikes Again
+     X.  A Bit of White Petticoat
+    XI.  I Fall a Willing Captive
+
+
+_Part II.--Mizpah_
+
+   XII.  In a Strange Fellowship
+  XIII.  My Comrade
+   XIV.  My Comrade Shoots Excellently Well
+    XV.  Grűl's Hour
+   XVI.  I Cool My Adversaries' Courage
+  XVII.  A Night in the Deep
+ XVIII.  The _Osprey_, of Plymouth
+   XIX.  The Camp by Canseau Strait
+    XX.  The Fellowship Dissolved
+   XXI.  The Fight at Grand Pré
+  XXII.  The Black Abbé Strikes in the Dark
+ XXIII.  The Rendezvous at the Forge
+
+
+
+
+Part I
+
+Marc
+
+
+
+The Forge in the Forest
+
+A Foreword
+
+Where the Five Rivers flow down to meet the swinging of the Minas
+tides, and the Great Cape of Blomidon bars out the storm and the fog,
+lies half a county of rich meadow-lands and long-arcaded orchards.  It
+is a deep-bosomed land, a land of fat cattle, of well-filled barns, of
+ample cheeses and strong cider; and a well-conditioned folk inhabit it.
+But behind this countenance of gladness and peace broods the memory of
+a vanished people.  These massive dykes, whereon twice daily the huge
+tide beats in vain, were built by hands not suffered to possess the
+fruits of their labour.  These comfortable fields have been scorched
+with the ruin of burning homes, drenched with the tears of women
+hurried into exile.  These orchard lanes, appropriate to the laughter
+of children or the silences of lovers, have rung with battle and run
+deep with blood.  Though the race whose bane he was has gone, still
+stalks the sinister shadow of the Black Abbé.
+
+The low ridge running between the dykelands of the Habitants and the
+dyke-lands of the Canard still carries patches of forest interspersed
+among its farms, for its soil is sandy and not greatly to be coveted
+for tillage.  These patches are but meagre second growth, with here and
+there a gnarled birch or overpeering pine, lonely survivor of the
+primeval brotherhood.  The undergrowth has long smoothed out all traces
+of what a curious eye might fifty years ago have discerned,--the
+foundations of the chimney of a blacksmith's forge.  It is a mould well
+steeped in fateful devisings, this which lies forgotten under the
+creeping roots of juniper and ragged-robin, between the diminished
+stream of Canard and the yellow tide of Habitants.
+
+The forest then was a wide-spreading solemnity of shade wherein armies
+might have moved unseen.  The forge stood where the trail from Pereau
+ran into the more travelled road from the Canard to Grand Pré.  The
+branches of the ancient wood came down all about its low eaves; and the
+squirrels and blue jays chattered on its roof.  It was a place for the
+gathering of restless spirits, the men of Acadie who hated to accept
+the flag of the English king.  It was the Acadian headquarters of the
+noted ranger, Jean de Mer, who was still called by courtesy, and by the
+grace of such of his people as adhered to his altered fortunes, the
+Seigneur de Briart.  His father had been lord of the whole region
+between Blomidon and Grand Pré; but the English occupation had deprived
+him of all open and formal lordship, for the de Briart sword was
+notably conspicuous on the side of New France.  Nevertheless, many of
+Jean de Mer's habitants maintained to him a chivalrous allegiance, and
+paid him rents for lands which in the English eye were freehold
+properties.  He cherished his hold upon these faithful folk, willing by
+all honest means to keep their hearts to France.  His one son, Marc,
+grew up at Grand Pré, save for the three years of his studying at
+Quebec.  His faithful retainer, Babin, wielding a smith's hammer at the
+Forge, had ears of wisdom and a tongue of discretion for the men who
+came and went.  Once or twice in the year, it was de Mer's custom to
+visit the Grand Pré country, where he would set his hand to the work of
+the forge after Babin's fashion, playing his part to the befooling of
+English eyes, and taking, in truth, a quaint pride in his pretended
+craft.  At the time, however, when this narrative opens, he had been a
+whole three years absent from the Acadian land, and his home-coming was
+yet but three days old.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter I
+
+The Capture at the Forge
+
+It was good to be alive that afternoon.  A speckled patch of sunshine,
+having pushed its way through the branches across the road, lay spread
+out on the dusty floor of the forge.  On a block just inside the door
+sat Marc, his lean, dark face,--the Belleisle face, made more hawklike
+by the blood of his Penobscot grandmother,--all aglow with eagerness.
+The lazy youngster was not shamed at the sight of my diligence, but
+talked right on, with a volubility which would have much displeased his
+Penobscot grandmother.  It was pleasant to be back with the lad again,
+and I was aweary of the war, which of late had kept my feet forever on
+the move from Louisbourg to the Richelieu.  My fire gave a cheerful
+roar as I heaved upon the bellows, and turned my pike-point in the
+glowing charcoal.  As the roar sighed down into silence there was a
+merry whirr of wings, and a covey of young partridges flashed across
+the road.  A contented mind and a full stomach do often make a man a
+fool, or I should have made shift to inquire why the partridges had so
+sharply taken wing.  But I never thought of it.  I turned, and let the
+iron grow cool, and leaned with one foot on the anvil, to hear the
+boy's talk.  My soul was indeed asleep, lulled by content, or I would
+surely have felt the gleam of the beady eyes that watched me through a
+chink in the logs beside the chimney.  But I felt those eyes no more
+than if I had been a log myself.
+
+"Yes, Father," said Marc, pausing in rich contemplation of the picture
+in his mind's eye, "you would like her hair!  It is unmistakably
+red,--a chestnut red.  But her sister's is redder still!"
+
+I smiled at his knowledge of my little weakness for hair of that
+colour; but not of a woman's hair was I thinking at that moment, or I
+should surely have made some question about the sister.  My mind ran
+off upon another trail.
+
+"And what do the English think they're going to do when de Ramezay
+comes down upon them?" I inquired.  "Do they flatter themselves their
+tumble-down Annapolis is strong enough to hold us off?"
+
+The lad flushed resentfully and straightened himself up on his seat.
+
+"Do you suppose, Father, that I was in the fort, and hobnobbing with
+the Governor?" he asked coldly.  "I spoke with none of the English save
+Prudence and her sister, and the child."
+
+"But why not?" said I, unwilling to acknowledge that I had said
+anything at which he might take offence.  "Every one knows your good
+disposition toward the English, and I should suppose you were in favour
+at Annapolis.  The Governor, I know, makes much of all our people who
+favour the English cause."
+
+Marc stood up,--lean, and fine, and a good half head taller than his
+father,--and looked at me with eyes of puzzled wrath.
+
+"And you think that I, knowing all I do of de Ramezay's plans, would
+talk to the English about them!" he exclaimed in a voice of keen
+reproach.
+
+Now, I understood his anger well enough, and in my heart rejoiced at
+it; for though I knew his honour would endure no stain, I had
+nevertheless feared lest I should find his sympathies all English.  He
+was a lad with a way of thinking much and thinking for himself, and
+even now, at twenty year, far more of a scholar than I had ever found
+time to be.  Therefore, I say, his indignation pleased me mightily.
+Nevertheless I kept at him.
+
+"Chut!" said I, "all the world knows by now of de Ramezay's plans.
+There had been no taint of treachery in talking of them!"
+
+Marc sat down again, and the ghost of a smile flickered over his lean
+face.  Though free enough of his speech betimes, he was for the most
+part as unsmiling as an Indian.
+
+"I see you are mocking me, Father," he said presently, relighting his
+pipe.  "Indeed, you know very well I am on your side, for weal or ill.
+As long as there was a chance of the English being left in peaceable
+possession of Acadie, I urged that we should accept their rule fully
+and in good faith.  No one can say they haven't ruled us gently and
+generously.  And I feel right sure they will continue to rule us, for
+the odds are on their side in the game they play with France.  But
+seeing that the game has yet to be played out, there is only one side
+for me, and I believe it to be the losing one.  Though as a boy I liked
+them well enough, I have nothing more to do with the English now except
+to fight them.  How could I have another flag than yours?"
+
+"You are my own true lad, whatever our difference of opinion!" said I.
+And if my voice trembled in a manner that might show a softness
+unsuited to a veteran of my training, bear in mind that, till within
+the past three days, I had not seen the lad for three years, and then
+but briefly.  At Grand Pré, and in Quebec at school, Marc had grown up
+outside my roving life, and I was just opening my eyes to find a
+comrade in this tall son of my boyhood's love.  His mother, a daughter
+of old Baron St. Castin by his Penobscot wife, had died while he was
+yet at the breast.  A babe plays but a small part in the life of a
+ranging bush-fighter, though I had ever a great tenderness for the
+little lad.  Now, however, I was looking upon him with new eyes.
+
+Having blown the coals again into a heat, I returned to Marc's words,
+certain of which had somewhat stuck in my crop.
+
+"But you speak with despondence, lad, of the chances of the war, and of
+the hope of Acadie!  By St. Joseph, we'll drive the English all the way
+back of the Penobscot before you're a twelvemonth older.  And Acadie
+will see the Flag of the Lilies flapping once more over the ramparts of
+Port Royal."
+
+Marc shook his head slowly, and seemed to be following with his eyes
+the vague pattern of the shadows on the floor.
+
+"It seems to me," said he, with a conviction which caught sharply at my
+heart even though I bore in mind his youth and inexperience, "that
+rather will the Flag of the Lilies be cast down even from the strong
+walls of Quebec.  But may that day be far off!  As for our people here
+in Acadie, during the last twelvemonth it has been made very clear to
+me that evil days are ahead.  The Black Abbé is preparing many sorrows
+for us here in Acadie."
+
+"I suppose you mean La Garne!" said I.  "He's a diligent servant to
+France; but I hate a bad priest.  He's a dangerous man to cross, Marc!
+Don't go out of your way to make an enemy of the Black Abbé!"
+
+Again that ghost of a smile glimmered on Marc's lips.
+
+"I fear you speak too late, Father!" said he, quietly.  "The reverend
+Abbé has already marked me.  He so far honours me as to think that I am
+an obstacle in his path.  There be some whose eyes I have opened to his
+villany, so that he has lost much credit in certain of the parishes.  I
+doubt not that he will contrive some shrewd stroke for vengeance."
+
+My face fell somewhat, for I am not ashamed to confess that I fear a
+bad priest, the more so in that I yield to none in my reverence for a
+good one.  I turned my iron sharply in the coals, and then exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, well, we need not greatly trouble ourselves.  There are others,
+methinks, as strong as the Black Abbé, evil though he be!"  But I
+spoke, as I have often found it expedient to do, with more confidence
+than I felt.
+
+Even at this moment, shrill and clear from the leafage at one end of
+the forge, came the call of the big yellow-winged woodpecker.  I
+pricked up my ears and stiffened my muscles, expectant of I knew not
+what.
+
+Marc looked at me with some surprise.
+
+"It's only a woodpecker!" said he.
+
+"But it's only in the spring," I protested, "that he has a cry like
+that!"
+
+"He cries untimely, as an omen of the ills to come!" said Marc, half
+meaning it and half in jest.
+
+Had it been anywhere on the perilous frontier,--on the Richelieu or in
+the West, or nigh the bloody Massachusetts line, my suspicions would
+have sprung up wide awake.  But in this quiet land between the
+Habitants and the Canard I was off my guard,--and what a relief it was,
+indeed, to let myself be careless for a little!  I thought no more of
+the woodpecker, but remembered that sister with the red hair.  I came
+back to her by indirection, however.
+
+"And how did you manage, lad, to be seeing Mistress Prudence, and her
+sister, and the child, and yet no others of the English?  A matter of
+dark nights and back windows?  Eh?  But come to think of it, there was
+a clear moon this day four weeks back, when you were at Annapolis."
+
+"No, Father," answered Marc, "it was all much more simple and less
+adventurous than that.  Some short way out of the town is a little
+river, the Equille, and a pleasant hidden glade set high upon its bank.
+It is a favoured resort of both the ladies; and there I met them as
+often as I was permitted.  Mizpah would sometimes choose to play apart
+with the child, down by the water's edge if the tide were full, so I
+had some gracious opportunity with Prudence.--  My time being brief, I
+made the most of it!" he added drily.  His quaint directness amused me
+mightily, and I chuckled as I shaped the red iron upon the anvil.
+
+"And who," I inquired, "is this kind sister, with the even redder hair,
+who goes away with such a timely discretion?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Marc, "I forgot you knew nothing of her.  She is
+Mistress Mizpah Hanford, the widow of a Captain Hanford who was some
+far connection of the Governor's.  Her property is in and about
+Annapolis, and she lives there to manage it, keeping Prudence with her
+for companionship.  Her child is four or five years old, a
+yellow-haired, rosy boy called Philip.  She's very tall,--a head taller
+than Prudence, and older, of course, by perhaps eight years; and very
+fair, though not so fair as Prudence; and altogether--"
+
+But at this point I interrupted him.
+
+"What's the matter with the Indian?" I exclaimed, staring out across
+Marc's shoulders.
+
+He sprang to his feet and looked around sharply.  An Indian, carrying
+three shad strung upon a sapling, had just appeared on the road before
+the forge door.  As he came in view he was reeling heavily, and
+clutching at his head.  He dropped his fish; and a moment later he
+himself fell headlong, and lay face downward in the middle of the road.
+I remember thinking that his legs sprawled childishly.  Marc strolled
+over to him with slow indifference.
+
+"Have a care!" I exclaimed.  "There may be some trap in it!  It looks
+not natural!"
+
+"What trap can there be?" asked Marc, turning the body over.  "It's Red
+Moose, a Shubenacadie Micmac.  I like not the breed; but ever since he
+got a hurt on the head, in a fight at Canseau last year, he has been
+subject to the falling sickness.  Let us carry him to a shady place,
+and he'll come to himself presently!"
+
+I was at his side in a moment, and we stooped to lift the seemingly
+lifeless figure.  In an instant its arms were about my neck in a
+strangling embrace.  At the same time my own arms were seized.  I heard
+a fierce cry from Marc, and a groan that was not his.  The next moment,
+though I writhed and struggled with all my strength, I found myself
+bound hand and foot, and seated on the ground with my back against the
+door-post of the forge.  Marc, bound like myself, lay by the roadside;
+and a painted savage sat near him nursing with both hands a broken jaw.
+A dozen Micmacs stood about us.  Leaning against the door-post over
+against me was the black-robed form of La Garne.  He eyed me, for
+perhaps ten seconds, with a smile of fine and penetrating sarcasm.
+Then he told his followers to stand Marc up against a tree.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter II
+
+The Black Abbé
+
+When first I saw that smile on the Black Abbé's face, and realized what
+had befallen us, I came nigh to bursting with rage, and was on the
+point of telling my captor some truths to make his ears tingle.  But
+when I heard the order to stand Marc up against a tree my veins for an
+instant turned to ice.  Many men--and some women, too, God help me, I
+then being bound and gagged,--had I seen thus stood up against a tree,
+and never but for one end.  I could not believe that such an end was
+contemplated now, and that by a priest of the Church, however unworthy
+of his office!  But I checked my tongue and spoke the Abbé fair.
+
+"It is quite plain to me, Monsieur," said I, quietly, "that my son and
+I are the victims of some serious mistake, for which you will, I am
+sure, feel constrained to ask our pardon presently.  I await your
+explanations."
+
+La Garne, still smiling, looked me over slowly.  Never before had I
+seen him face to face, though he had more than once traversed my line
+of vision.  I had known the tireless figure, as tall, almost, as Marc
+himself, stoop-shouldered, but robust, now moving swiftly as if
+propelled by an energy irresistible, now languid with an affectation of
+indolence.  But the face--I hated the possessor of it with a personal
+hate the moment my eyes fell upon that face.  Strong and inflexible was
+the gaunt, broad, and thin jaw, cruel and cunning the high, pinched
+forehead and narrow-set, palely glinting eyes.  The nose, in
+particular, greatly offended me, being very long, and thick at the end.
+"I'll tweak it for him, one fine day," says I to myself, as I boiled
+under his steady smile.
+
+"There is no mistake, Monsieur de Briart, believe me!" he said, still
+smiling.
+
+There could be no more fair words, of course, after that avowal.
+
+"Then, Sir Priest," said I, coldly, "you are both a madman and a scurvy
+rogue, and you shall yet be on your knees to me for this outrage.  You
+will see then the nature of your mistake, I give you my word."
+
+The priest's smile took on something of the complexion of a snarl.
+
+"Don't be alarmed, Monsieur de Briart," said he.  "You are quite safe,
+because I know you for a good servant to France; and for your late
+disrespect to Holy Church, in my person, while in talk with your
+pestilent son, these bonds may be a wholesome and sufficient lesson to
+you!"
+
+"You shall have a lesson sufficient rather than wholesome, I promise
+you!" said I.
+
+"But as for this fellow," went on the Abbé, without noticing my
+interruption, "he is a spy.  You understand how spies fare, Monsieur!"
+And a malignant light made his eyes appear like two points of steel
+beneath the ambush of his ragged brows.
+
+I saw Marc's lean face flush thickly under the gross accusation.
+
+"It is a lie, you frocked hound!" he cried, careless of the instant
+peril in which he stood.
+
+But the Black Abbé never looked at him.
+
+"I wish you joy of your son, a very good Englishman, Monsieur, and now,
+I fear, not long for this world," said he, in a tone of high civility.
+"He has long been fouling with his slanders the names of those whom he
+should reverence, and persuading the people to the English.  But now,
+after patiently waiting, I have proofs.  His treachery shall hang him!"
+
+For a moment the dear lad's peril froze my senses, so that it was but
+dimly I heard his voice, ringing with indignation as he hurled back the
+charge upon the lying lips that made it.
+
+"If the home of lies be anywhere out of Hell, it is in your malignant
+mouth, you shame of the Church," he cried in defiance.  "There can be
+no proof that I am a spy, even as there can be no proof that you are
+other than a false-tongued assassin, defiling your sacred office."
+
+It was the galling defiance of a savage warrior at the stake, and even
+in my fear my heart felt proud of it.  The priest was not galled,
+however, by these penetrating insults.
+
+"As for the proofs," said he, softly, never looking at Marc, but
+keeping his eyes on my face, "Monsieur de Ramezay shall judge whether
+they be proofs or not.  If he say they are not, I am content."
+
+At a sign, a mere turn of his head it seemed to me, the Indians loosed
+Marc's feet to lead him away.
+
+"Farewell, Father," said he, in a firm voice, and turned upon me a look
+of unshakable courage.
+
+"Be of good heart, son," I cried to him.  "I will be there, and this
+devil shall be balked!"
+
+"You, Monsieur," said the priest, still smiling, "will remain here for
+the present.  To-night I will send a villager to loose your bonds.
+Then, by all means, come over and see Monsieur de Ramezay at Chignecto.
+I may not be there then myself, but this business of the spy will have
+been settled, for the commander does not waste time in such small
+matters!"
+
+He turned away to follow his painted band, and I, shaking in my
+impotent rage and fear, called after him:--
+
+"As God lives and is my witness, if the lad comes to any harm, these
+hands will visit it upon you an hundredfold, till you scream for
+death's mercy!"
+
+But the Black Abbé moved off as if he heard no word, and left me a
+twisted heap upon the turf, gnawing fiercely at the tough deer-hide of
+my bonds.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter III
+
+Tamin's Little Stratagem
+
+I had been gnawing, gnawing in an anguish at the thongs, for perhaps
+five minutes.  There had been no more than time for the Abbé's
+wolf-pack to vanish by a turn of the road.  Suddenly a keen blade slit
+the thongs that bound my wrists.  Then my feet felt themselves free.  I
+sat up, astonished, and saw stooping over me the droll, broad face of
+Tamin the Fisher,--or Tamin Violet, as he was rightly, though seldom,
+called.  His mouth was solemn, as always, having never been known to
+wear a smile; but the little wrinkles laughed about his small bright
+eyes.  I sprang up and grasped his hand.
+
+"We must not lose a moment, Tamin, my friend!" I panted, dragging him
+into the thick shade of the wood.
+
+"I was thinking you might be in a hurry, M'sieu," said my rescuer.
+"But unless the mouse wants to be back in the same trap I've just let
+it out of, you'd better keep still a half-minute and make up your mind.
+They've a round road to go, and we'll go straight!"
+
+"You saw it all?" I asked, curbing myself as best I could, for I
+perceived the wisdom of his counsel.
+
+"Oh, ay, M'sieu, I saw it!" replied the Fisher.  "And I laughed in my
+bones to hear the lad talk up to the good father.  There was more than
+one shot went home, I warrant, for all the Black Abbé seemed so deaf.
+They're festering under his soutane even now, belike!"
+
+"But come!" said I.  "I've got my wind!"  And we darted noiselessly
+through the cool of the great trees, turning a little east from the
+road.
+
+We ran silently for a space, my companion's short but massive frame
+leaping, bending, gliding even as lightly as my own, which was ever as
+lithe as a weasel's.  Tamin was a rare woodsman, as I marked
+straightway, though I had known him of old rather as a faithful tenant,
+and marvellously patient to sit in his boat all day a-fishing on the
+drift of the Minas tides.
+
+Presently he spoke, under his breath.
+
+"Very like," said he, drily, "when we come up to them they will all
+fall down.  So, we will take the lad and walk away! eh, what, M'sieu?"
+
+"Only let us come up to them," said I, "and learn their plans.  Then we
+will make ours!"
+
+"Something of theirs I know," said Tamin.  "Their canoes are on the
+Canard maybe three furlongs to east of the road.  Thence they will
+carry the lad to de Ramezay, for the Black Abbé will have things in due
+form when he can conveniently, and now it is plain he has a scheme well
+ripe.  But if this wind holds, we'll be there before them.  My boat is
+lying hard by."
+
+"God be praised!" I muttered; for in truth I saw some light now for the
+first time.  Presently, drawing near the road again, I heard the voice
+of La Garne.  We at once went softly, and, avoiding again, made direct
+for where lay the canoes.  There we disposed ourselves in a swampy
+thicket, with a little breadth of water lying before and all the forest
+behind.  The canoes lay just across the little water, and so close that
+I might have tossed my cap into them.  The clean smell of the wet salt
+sedge came freshly into the thicket.  The shadows lay long on the
+water.  We had time to grow quiet, till our breathing was no longer
+hasty, our blood no longer thumped in our ears.  A flock of
+sand-pipers, with thin cries, settled to feed on the red clay between
+the canoes and the edge of the tide.  Suddenly they got up, and puffed
+away in a flicker of white breasts and brown wings; and I laid a hand
+on Tamin's shoulder.  The painted band, Marc in their midst, La Garne
+in front, were coming down the slope.
+
+The lad's face was stern and scornful.  To my joy I saw that there was
+to be no immediate departure.  The redskins flung themselves down
+indolently.  The Black Abbé saw his prisoner made fast to a tree, and
+then, telling his followers that he had duties at Pereau which would
+keep him till past sunset, strode off swiftly up the trail.  Tamin and
+I, creeping as silently as snakes back into the forest, followed him.
+
+For half an hour we followed him, keeping pace for pace through the
+shadow of the wood.  Then said I softly to Tamin:--
+
+"This is my quarrel, my friend!  Do you keep back, and not bring down
+his vengeance on your head."
+
+"That for his vengeance!" whispered Tamin, with a derisive gesture.  "I
+will take service with de Ramezay, as a regular soldier of France!"
+
+"Even there," said I, "his arm might reach and pluck you forth.  Keep
+back now, and let him not see your face!"
+
+"Priest though he be, M'sieu," urged Tamin, anxiously, "he is a mighty
+man of his hands!"
+
+I turned upon him a face of scorn which he found sufficient answer.
+Then, signing to him to hold off, I sped forward silently.  No weapon
+had I but a light stick of green ash, just cut.  There was smooth,
+mossy ground along the trail, and my running feet made no more sound
+than a cat's.  I was within a pace of springing upon his neck, when he
+must have felt my coming.  He turned like a flash, uttered a piercing
+signal cry, and whipped out a dagger.
+
+"They'll never hear it," mocked I, and sent the dagger spinning with a
+smart pass of my stick.  The same stroke went nigh to breaking his
+wrist.  He grappled bravely, however, as I took him by the throat, and
+I was astonished at his force and suppleness.  Nevertheless the
+struggle was but brief, and the result a matter to be sworn to
+beforehand; for I, though not of great stature, am stronger than any
+other man, big or little, with whom I have ever come to trial; and more
+than that, when I was a prisoner among the English, I learned their
+shrewd fashion of wrestling.  In a little space the Black Abbé lay
+choked into submission, after which I bound him in a way to endure, and
+seated him against a tree.  Behind him I caught view of Tamin,
+gesturing drolly, whereat I laughed till I marked an amazement growing
+in the priest's malignant eyes.
+
+"How like you my lesson, good Father?" I inquired.
+
+But he only glared upon me.  I suppose, having no speech that would
+fitly express his feelings, he conceived that his silence would be most
+eloquent.  But I could see that my next move startled him.  With my
+knife I cut a piece from my shirt, and made therewith a neat gag.
+
+"Though you seem so dumb at this present," said I, "I suspect that you
+might find a tongue after my departure.  Therefore I must beseech you
+to wear this ornament, for my sake, for a little."  And very civilly
+prying his teeth open, I adjusted the gag.
+
+"Do not be afraid!" I continued.  "I will leave you in this discomfort
+no longer than you thought it necessary to leave me so.  You shall be
+free after to-morrow's sunrise, if not before.  Farewell, good Father,
+and may you rest well!  Let me borrow this ring as a pledge for the
+safe return of the fragment of my good shirt which you hold so
+obstinately between your teeth!"  And drawing his ring from his finger
+I turned away and plunged into the forest, where Tamin presently joined
+me.
+
+Tamin chuckled, deep in his stomach.
+
+"My turn now!" said he.  "Give me the ring, M'sieu, and I'll give you
+the boy!"
+
+"I see you take me!" said I, highly pleased at his quick discernment.
+
+We now made way at leisure back to the canoes, and our plans ripened as
+we went.
+
+Before we came within hearing of the Indians I gave over the ring with
+final directions, to Tamin, and then hastened toward the point of land
+which runs far out beyond the mouth of the Habitants.  Around this
+point, as I knew, lay the little creek-mouth wherein Tamin kept his
+boat.  Beyond the point, perchance a furlong, was a narrow sand-spit
+covered deep at every flood tide.  In a thicket of fir bushes on the
+bluff over against this sand-spit I lay down to wait for what Tamin
+should bring to pass.  I had some little time to wait; and here let me
+unfold, as I learned it after, what Tamin did whilst I waited.
+
+About sunset, the tide being far out, and the Indians beginning to
+expect their Abbé's return, came Tamin to them running in haste along
+the trail from Pereau, as one who carried orders of importance.  Going
+straight to the chief, he pointed derisively at Marc, whose back was
+towards him, and cried:--
+
+"The good father commands that you take this dog of a spy straightway
+to the sand-spit that lies off the point yonder.  There you will drive
+a strong stake into the sand, and bind the fellow to it, and leave him
+there, and return here to await the Abbé's coming.  You shall do no
+hurt to the spy, and set no mark upon him.  When the tide next ebbs you
+will go again to the sand-spit and bring his body back; and if the Abbé
+finds any mark upon him, you will get no pay for this venture.  You
+will make your camp here to-night, and if the good father be not
+returned to you by sunrise to-morrow, you will go to meet him along the
+Pereau trail, for he will be in need of you."
+
+The tall chief grunted, and eyed him doubtfully.  After a brief
+contemplation he inquired, in broken French:--
+
+"How know you no lie to me?"
+
+"Here is the holy father's ring, in warranty; and you shall give it
+back to him when he comes."
+
+"It is well," said the chief, taking the ring, and turning to give some
+commands in his own guttural tongue.  Tamin repeated his message word
+by word, then strode away; and before he got out of sight he saw two
+canoes put off for the sand-spit.  Then he made all haste to join me on
+the point.
+
+Long before he arrived the canoes had come stealing around the point
+and were drawn up on the treacherous isle of sand.  My heart bled for
+the horror of death which, as I knew, must now be clutching at Marc's
+soul; but I kept telling myself how soon I would make him glad.  It
+wanted yet three hours or more till the tide should cover the
+sand-spit.  I lay very still among the young fir trees, so that a
+wood-mouse ran within an arm's length of my face, till it caught the
+moving of my eyes and scurried off with a frightened squeak.  I heard
+the low change in the note of the tide as the first of the flood began
+to creep in upon the weeds and pebbles.  Then with some farewell
+taunts, to which Marc answered not a word, the savages went again to
+their canoes and paddled off swiftly.
+
+[Illustration: Marc tied to post]
+
+When they had become but specks on the dim water, I doffed my clothes,
+took my knife between my teeth, and swam across to the sand-spit.
+There was a low moon, obscured by thin and slowly drifting clouds, and
+as I swam through the faint trail of it, Marc must have seen me coming.
+Nevertheless he gave no sign, and I could see that his head drooped
+forward upon his breast.  An awful fear came down upon me, and for a
+second or two I was like to sink, so numb I turned at the thought that
+perchance the savages had put the knife to him before quitting.  I
+recovered, however, as I called to mind the orders which Tamin had
+rehearsed to me ere starting on his venture; for I knew how sorely the
+Black Abbé was feared by his savage flock.  What they deemed him to
+have commanded, that would they do.
+
+Drawing closer now, I felt the ground beneath my feet.
+
+"Marc," I called softly, "I'm coming, lad!"
+
+The drooped head was lifted.
+
+"Father!" he exclaimed.  And there was something like a sob in that cry
+of joy.  It caught my heart strangely, telling me he was still a boy
+for all he had borne himself so manfully in the face of sudden and
+appalling peril.  Now the long tension was loosed.  He was alone with
+me.  As I sprang to him and cut the thongs that held him, one arm went
+about my neck and I was held very close for the space of some few
+heart-beats.  Then he fetched a deep breath, stretched his cramped
+limbs this way and that, and said simply, "I knew you would come,
+Father!  I knew you would find a way!"
+
+
+
+
+Chapter IV
+
+The Governor's Signature
+
+The clouds slipped clear of the moon's face, and we three--Marc, I, and
+the stake--cast sudden long black shadows which led all the way down to
+the edge of the increeping tide.  I looked at the shadows, and a
+shudder passed through me as if a cold hand had been laid upon my back.
+Marc stood off a little,--never have I seen such quick control, such
+composure, in one so inexperienced,--and remarked to me:--
+
+"What a figure of a man you are, Father, to be sure!"
+
+I fell into his pretence of lightness at once, a high relief after the
+long and deadly strain; and I laughed with some pleasure at the praise.
+In very truth, I cherished a secret pride in my body.
+
+"'Tis well enough, no doubt, in a dim light," said I, "though by now
+surely somewhat battered!"
+
+Marc was already taking off his clothes.  As he knotted them into a
+convenient bundle, there came from the woods, a little way back of the
+point, the hollow "Too-hoo-hoo-whoo-oo!" of the small gray owl.
+
+"There's Tamin!" said I, and was on the point of answering in like
+fashion, when the cry was reiterated twice.
+
+"That means danger, and much need of haste for us," I growled.
+Together we ran down into the tide, striking out with long strokes for
+the fine white line that seethed softly along the dark base of the
+point.  I commended the lad mightily for his swimming, as we scrambled
+upon the beach and slipped swiftly into our clothes.  Though carrying
+his bundle on his head, he had given me all I could do to keep abreast
+of him.
+
+We climbed the bluff, and ran through the wet, keen-scented bushes
+toward the creek where lay the boat.  Ere we had gone half-way Tamin
+met us, breathless.
+
+"What danger?" I asked.
+
+"I think they're coming back to tuck the lad in for the night, and see
+that he's comfortable!" replied Tamin, panting heavily.  "I heard
+paddles when they should have been long out of earshot."
+
+"Something has put them in doubt!" said Marc.
+
+"Sure," said I, "and not strange, if one but think of it!"
+
+"Yet I told them a fair tale," panted Tamin, as he went on swiftly
+toward his boat.
+
+The boat lay yet some yards above the edge of tide, having been run
+aground near high water.  The three of us were not long in dragging her
+down and getting her afloat.  Then came the question that was uppermost.
+
+"Which way?" asked Tamin, laconically, taking the tiller, while Marc
+stood by to hoist the dark and well-patched sail.
+
+I considered the wind for some moments.
+
+"For Chignecto!" said I, with emphasis.  "We must see de Ramezay and
+settle this hound La Garne.  Otherwise Marc stands in hourly peril."
+
+As the broad sail drew, and the good boat, leaning well over, gathered
+way, and the small waves swished and gurgled merrily under her quarter,
+I could hardly withhold from laughing for sheer gladness.  Marc was
+already smoking with great composure beside the mast, his lean face
+thoughtful, but untroubled.  He looked, I thought, almost as old as his
+war-battered sire who now watched him with so proud an eye.  Presently
+I heard Tamin fetch a succession of mighty breaths, as he emptied and
+filled the ample bellows of his lungs.  He snatched the green and
+yellow cap of knitted wool from his head, and let the wind cool the
+sweating black tangle that coarsely thatched his broad skull.
+
+"Hein!" he exclaimed, with a droll glance at Marc, "that's better than
+_that_!"  And he made an expressive gesture as of setting a knife to
+his scalp.  To me this seemed much out of place and time; but Tamin was
+ever privileged in the eyes of a de Mer, so I grumbled not.  As for
+Marc, that phantom of a smile, which I had already learned to watch
+for, just touched his lips, as he remarked calmly:
+
+"Vraiment, much better.  That, as you call it, my Tamin, came so near
+to-night that my scalp needs no cooling since!"
+
+"But whither steering?" I inquired; for the boat was speeding
+south-eastward, straight toward Grand Pré.
+
+Tamin's face told plainly that he had his reasons, and I doubted not
+that they were good.  For some moments that wide, grave mouth opened
+not to make reply, while the little, twinkling, contradictory eyes were
+fixed intently on some far-off landmark, to me invisible.  This point
+being made apparently to his satisfaction, he relaxed and explained.
+
+"You see, M'sieu," said he, "we must get under the loom o' the shore,
+so's we'll be out of sight when the canoes come round the point.  If
+they see a sail, at this time o' night, they'll suspicion the whole
+thing and be after us.  Better let 'em amuse themselves for a spell
+hunting for the lad on dry land, so's we won't be rushed.  Been enough
+rush!"
+
+"Yes!  Yes!" assented I, scanning eagerly the point behind us.  And
+Marc said:--
+
+"Very great is your sagacity, my Tamin.  The Black Abbé fooled himself
+when he forgot to take you into his reckoning!"
+
+At this speech the little wrinkles gathered thicker about Tamin's eyes.
+At length, deeming us to have gone far enough to catch the loom of the
+land, as it lay for one watching from the sand-spit, Tamin altered our
+course, and we ran up the basin.  Just then we marked two canoes
+rounding the point.  They were plainly visible to us, and I made sure
+we should be seen at once; but a glance at Tamin's face reassured me.
+The Fisher understood, as few even among old woodsmen understand it,
+the lay of the shadow-belts on a wide water at night.
+
+Noiselessly we lowered our sail and lay drifting, solicitous to mark
+what the savages might do.  The sand-spit was by this so small that
+from where we lay it was not to be discerned; but we observed the
+Indians run their canoes upon it, disembark, and stoop to examine the
+footprints in the sand.  In a moment or two they embarked again, and
+paddled straight to the point.
+
+"Shrewd enough!" said Marc.
+
+"Yes," said I, "and now they'll track us straight to Tamin's creek, and
+understand that we've taken the boat.  But they won't know what
+direction we've taken!"
+
+"No, M'sieu," muttered Tamin, "but no use loafing round here till they
+find out!"
+
+Which being undoubted wisdom of Tamin's, we again hoisted sail and
+continued our voyage.
+
+Having run some miles up the Basin, we altered our course and stood
+straight across for the northern shore.  We now felt secure from
+pursuit, holding it highly improbable that the savages would guess our
+purpose and destination.  As we sat contenting our eyes with the great
+bellying of the sail, and the fine flurries of spray that ever and
+again flashed up from our speeding prow, and the silver-blue creaming
+of our wake, Marc gave us a surprise.  Thrusting his hand into the
+bosom of his shirt he drew out a packet and handed it to me.
+
+"Here, perhaps, are the proofs on which the gentle Abbé relied!" said
+he.
+
+Taking the packet mechanically, I stared at the lad in astonishment.
+But there was no information to be gathered from that inscrutable
+countenance, so I presently recollected myself, and unfolded the
+papers.  There were two of them.  The moon was partly clear at the
+moment, and I made out the first to be an order, written in English, on
+one Master Nathaniel Apthorp, merchant, of Boston, directing him to pay
+Master Marc de Mer, of Grand Pré in Nova Scotia, the sum of two hundred
+and fifty pounds.  It was signed "Paul Mascarene, Gov^r of Nova
+Scotia."  The other paper was written in finer and more hasty
+characters, and I could not decipher it in the uncertain light.  But
+the signature was the same as that appended to the order on Mr. Apthorp.
+
+"I cannot decipher this one, in this bad light," said I; "but what does
+it all mean, Marc?  How comes the English Governor to be owing you two
+hundred and fifty pounds?"
+
+"Does he owe me two hundred and fifty pounds?  That's surely news of
+interest!" said Marc.
+
+I looked at him, amazed.
+
+"Do you mean to say that you don't know what is in these papers?" I
+inquired, handing them back.
+
+"How should I know that?" said Marc, with a calmness which was not a
+little irritating.  "They were placed in my pocket by the good Abbé;
+and since then my opportunities of reading have been but scant!"
+
+Tamin ejaculated a huge grunt of indignant comprehension; and I,
+beholding all at once the whole wicked device, threw up my hands and
+fell to whistling an idle air.  It seemed to me a case for which curses
+would seem but tame and pale.
+
+"This other, then," said I, presently, "must be a letter that would
+seem to have been written to you by the Governor, and worded in such a
+fashion as to compromise you plainly!"
+
+"'Tis altogether probable, Father," replied Marc, musingly, as he
+scanned the page.  He was trying to prove his own eyesight better than
+mine, but found the enterprise beyond him,--as I knew he would.
+
+"I can make out nothing of this other, save the signature," he
+continued.  "We must even wait for daylight.  And in the meanwhile I
+think you had better keep the packet, Father, for I feel my wits and my
+experience something lacking in this snarl."
+
+I took the papers and hid them in a deep pocket which I wore within the
+bosom of my shirt.
+
+"The trap was well set, and deadly, lad," said I, highly pleased at his
+confidence in my wisdom to conduct the affair.  "But trust me to spring
+it.  Whatever this other paper may contain, de Ramezay shall see them
+both and understand the whole plot."
+
+"'Twill be hard to explain away," said Marc, doubtfully, "if it be
+forged with any fair degree of skill!"
+
+"Trust my credit with de Ramezay for that.  It is something the Black
+Abbé has not reckoned upon!" said I, with assurance, stuffing my pipe
+contentedly with the right Virginia leaf.  Marc, being well tired with
+all that he had undergone that day, laid his head on the cuddy and was
+presently sound asleep.  In a low voice, not to disturb the slumberer,
+I talked with Tamin, and learned how he had chanced to come so pat upon
+me in my bonds.  He had been on the way up to the Forge, coming not by
+the trail, but straight through the forest, when he caught a view of
+the Indians, and took alarm at the stealth of their approach.  He had
+tracked them with a cunning beyond their own, and so achieved to outdo
+them with their own weapons.
+
+The moon now swam clear in the naked sky, the clouds lying far below.
+By the broad light I could see very well to read the letter.  It was
+but brief, and ran thus:--
+
+
+_To my good Friend and trusted Helper Monsieur Marc de Mer_:--
+
+DEAR SIR,--As touching the affair which you have so prudently carried
+through, and my gratitude for your so good help, permit the enclosed
+order on Master Apthorp to speak for me.  If I might hope that you
+would find it in your heart and within your convenience to put me under
+yet weightier obligations, I would be so bold as to desire an exact
+account of the forces at Chignecto, and of the enterprize upon which
+Monsieur de Ramezay is purposing to employ them.
+
+Believe me to be, my dear Sir, yours with high esteem and consideration,
+
+PAUL MASCARENE.
+
+
+With a wonder of indignation I read it through, and then again aloud to
+Tamin, who cursed the author with such ingenious Acadian oaths as made
+me presently smile.
+
+"It is right shrewdly devised," said I, "but the deviser knew little of
+the blunt English Governor, or never would he have made him write with
+such courtly circumlocutions.  De Ramezay, very like, will have seen
+communications of Mascarene's before now, and will scarce fail to note
+the disagreement."
+
+"The fox has been known to file his tongue too smooth," said Tamin,
+sententiously.
+
+By this we were come over against the huge black front of Blomidon, but
+our course lay far outside the shadow of his frown, in the silvery run
+of the seas.  The moon floated high over the great Cape, yellow as
+gold, and the bare sky was like an unruffled lake.  Far behind us
+opened the mouth of the Piziquid stream, a bright gap in the dark but
+vague shore-line.  On our right the waters unrolled without obstruction
+till they mixed pallidly with the sky in the mouth of Cobequid Bay.
+Five miles ahead rose the lofty shore which formed the northern wall of
+Minas Channel,--grim and forbidding enough by day; but now, in such
+fashion did the moonlight fall along it, wearing a face of fairyland,
+and hinting of fountained palaces in its glens and high hollows.  After
+I had filled my heart with the fairness and the wonder of it, I lay
+down upon a thwart and fell asleep.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter V
+
+In the Run of the Seas
+
+It seemed as if I had but fairly got my eyes shut, when I was awakened
+by a violent pitching of the boat.  I sat up, grasping the gunwale, and
+saw Marc just catching my knee to rouse me.  The boat, heeling far
+over, and hauled close to the wind, was heading a little up the channel
+and straight for a narrow inlet which I knew to be the joint mouth of
+two small rivers.
+
+"Where are you going?  Why is our course changed?" I asked sharply,
+being nettled by a sudden notion that they had made some change of plan
+without my counsel.
+
+"Look yonder, Father!" said Marc, pointing.
+
+I looked, and my heart shook with mingled wrath and apprehension.
+Behind us followed three canoes, urged on by sail and paddle.
+
+"They outsail us?" I inquired.
+
+"Ay, before the wind, they do, M'sieu!" said Tamin.  "On this tack,
+maybe not.  We'll soon see!"
+
+"But what's this but a mere trap we are running our heads into?" I
+urged.
+
+"I fear there's nothing else but to quit the boat and make through the
+woods, Father," explained Marc; "that is, if we're so fortunate as to
+keep ahead till we reach land."
+
+"In the woods, I suppose, we can outwit them or outfoot them," said I;
+"but those Micmacs are untiring on the trail."
+
+"I know a good man with a good boat over by Shulie on the Fundy shore,"
+interposed Tamin.  "And I know the way over the hills.  We'll cheat the
+rogue of a priest yet!"  And he shrewdly measured the distance that
+parted us from our pursuers.
+
+"It galls me to be running from these dogs!" I growled.
+
+"Our turn will come," said Marc, glowering darkly at the canoes.  "Do
+you guess the Black Abbé is with them?"
+
+"Not he!" grunted Tamin.
+
+"Things may happen this time," said I, "and the good father may wish to
+keep his soutane clear of them.  It's all plain enough to me now.  The
+Indians, finding themselves tricked, have gone back on the Pereau trail
+and most inopportunely have released the gentle Abbé from his bonds.
+He has seen through our game, and has sent his pack to look to it that
+we never get to de Ramezay.  But _he_ will have no hand in it.  Oh, no!"
+
+"What's plain to me now," interrupted Tamin, with some anxiety in his
+voice, "is that they're gaining on us fast.  They've put down
+leeboards; an' with leeboards down a Micmac canoe's hard to beat."
+
+"Oh!" I exclaimed bitterly, "if we had but our muskets!  Fool that I
+was, thus to think to save time and not go back for our weapons!  Trust
+me, lad, it's the first time that Jean de Mer has had that particular
+kind of folly to repent of!"
+
+"But there was nought else for it, Father," said Marc.  "And if, as
+seems most possible, we come to close quarters presently, we are not so
+naked as we might be.  Here's your two pistols, my good whinger, and
+Tamin's fishy dirk.  And Tamin's gaff here will make a pretty lance.
+It is borne in upon me that some of the good Abbé's lambs will bleat
+for their shepherd before this night's work be done!"
+
+There was a steady light in his eyes that rejoiced me much, and his
+voice rose and fell as if fain to break into a war song; and I said to
+myself, "The boy is a fighter, and the fire is in his blood, for all
+his scholar's prating of peace!"  Yet he straightway turned his back
+upon the enemy and with great indifference went to filling his pipe.
+
+"Ay, an' there be a right good gun in the cuddy!" grunted Tamin, after
+a second or two of silence.
+
+"The saints be praised!" said I.  And Marc's long arm reached in to
+capture it.  It was a huge weapon, and my heart beat high at sight of
+it.  Marc caressed it for an instant, then reluctantly passed it to me,
+with the powder-horn.
+
+"I can shoot, a little, myself," said he, "but I would be presumptuous
+to boast when you were by, Father!"
+
+"Ay, vraiment," said Tamin, sharply; "don't think you can shoot with
+the Sieur de Briart yet!"
+
+"I don't," replied Marc, simply, as he handed me out a pouch of bullets
+and a pouch of slugs.
+
+The pursuing canoes were by this come within fair range.  There came a
+strident hail from the foremost:--
+
+"Lay to, or we shoot!"
+
+"Shoot, dogs!" I shouted, ramming home the good measure of powder which
+I had poured into my hand.  I followed it with a fair charge of slugs,
+and was wadding it loosely, when--
+
+"Duck!" cries Tamin, bobbing his head lower than the tiller.
+
+Neither Marc nor I moved a hair.  But we gazed at the canoes.  On the
+instant two red flames blazed out, with a redoubled bang; and one
+bullet went through the sail a little above my head.
+
+"Not bad!" said Marc, glancing tranquilly at the bullet hole.
+
+But for my own part, I was angry.  To be fired upon thus, at a priest's
+orders, by a pack of scurvy savages in the pay of our own party,--never
+before had Jean de Briart been put to such indignity.  I kneeled, and
+took a very cautious aim,--not, however, at the savages, but at the bow
+of the nearest canoe.
+
+Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my shoulder very
+vilely.  But the result of the shot was all that we could desire.  As I
+made haste to load again I noticed that the savage in the bow had
+fallen backward in his place, hit by a stray slug.  The bulk of the
+charge, however, had torn a great hole in the bark, close to the
+water-line.
+
+[Illustration: Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my
+shoulder very vilely.]
+
+"You've done it, Father!" said Marc, in a tone of quiet exultation.
+
+"Hein!" grunted Tamin.  "They don't like the wet!"
+
+The canoe was going down by the bow.  The other two craft ranged
+hurriedly alongside, and took in the gesticulating crew,--all but one,
+whom they left in the stern to paddle the damaged canoe to land, being
+loth to lose a serviceable craft.  With broken bow high in air the
+canoe spun around, and sped off up the Basin before the wind.  The
+remaining two resumed the chase of us.  We had gained a great space
+during the confusion, yet they came up upon us fast.
+
+But now, ere I judged them to be within gunshot, they slackened speed.
+
+"They think better of it!" said I, raising the gun again to my
+shoulder.  As I did so they sheered off in haste to a safer distance.
+
+"They are not such fools as I had hoped!" said Marc.
+
+"I so far flatter myself as to think," said I, with some complacency,
+"that they won't trust themselves willingly again within range of this
+good barker."
+
+By this we were come well within the wide mouth of the estuary, and a
+steep, wooded point thrust out upon our right.  All at once I muttered
+a curse upon my dulness.
+
+"What fools we are, to be sure!" I cried.  "No reason that we should
+toil across the mountains to your good man's good boat at Shulie, my
+Tamin.  Put her about, and we'll sail in comfort around to Chignecto;
+and let these fellows come in range again at their peril!"
+
+"To be sure, indeed!" grunted Tamin; and with a lurch and great
+flapping we went about.
+
+The canoes, indeed, now fled before us with excellent discretion.  Our
+new course carried us under the gloom of the promontory, whence, in a
+few minutes, we shot out again into the moonlight.  It was pleasant to
+see our antagonists making such courteous haste to give us room.  I
+could not forbear to chuckle over it, and wished mightily that the
+Black Abbé were in one of the canoes.
+
+"I fear me there's to be no work for Tamin's fishy dirk or my good
+whinger," sighed Marc, with a nice air of melancholy; and Tamin, with
+the little wrinkles thicker than ever about his eyes, yelled droll
+taunts after our late pursuers.  In fact, we were all three in immense
+high feather,--when on a sudden there came a crashing bump that tumbled
+us headlong, the mast went overboard, and there we were stuck fast upon
+a sharp rock.  The boat was crushed in like an egg-shell, and lay over
+on her side.  The short, chopping seas huddled upon us in a smother.
+As I rose up, sputtering, I took note of Tamin's woollen cap washing
+away debonairly, snatched off, belike, by a taut rope as the mast fell.
+Then, clinging all three to the topmost gunwale, the waves jumping and
+sousing us derisively, we stared at each other in speechless dismay.
+But a chorus of triumphant screeches from the canoes, as they noted our
+mishap and made to turn, brought us to our senses.
+
+"Nothing for it but to swim!" said I, thrusting down the now useless
+musket into the cuddy, where I hoped it might stay in case the wrecked
+boat should drift ashore.  It was drenched, of course, and something
+too heavy to swim with.  I emptied the slugs from my pocket.  Tamin
+ducked his head under water and fumbled in the cuddy till I was on the
+point of plucking him forth, fearing he would drown,--Marc, meanwhile,
+looking on tranquilly and silently, with that fleeting remembrance of a
+smile.  But now Tamin arose, gasping, with a small sack and a salted
+hake in his hands.  The fish he passed over to me.
+
+"Bread, M'sieu!" said he, holding up the drenched sack in triumph.
+"Now for the woods!"
+
+'Twas but the toss of a biscuit to shore, and we had gained it ere our
+enemies were come within gunshot.  Running swiftly along the strip of
+beach that skirted the steep, we put the shoulder of the cape between,
+and were safe from observation for a few minutes.
+
+"To the woods, M'sieu!" cried Tamin, in a suppressed voice.
+
+"No!" said I, sternly.  "Straight along the beach, till I give the word
+to turn in!  Follow me!"
+
+"'Tis the one chance, to get out of sight now!" grumbled Tamin, running
+beside me, and clutching at his wet sack of bread.
+
+"Don't you suppose he knows what he is doing, my Tamin?" interrupted
+Marc.  "'Tis for you and me to obey orders!"
+
+Tamin growled, but said no more.
+
+"Now in with you to cover," I commanded, waving my salt fish as it had
+been a marshal's baton.  At the same moment I turned, ran up the wet
+slope where a spring bubbled out of the wood's edge and spread itself
+over the stones, and sprang behind a thick screen of viburnums.  My
+companions were beside me on the instant,--but it was not an instant
+too soon.  As we paused to look back, there were the canoes coming
+furiously around the point.
+
+Staying not long to observe them, I led the way straight into the
+darkness of the woods, aiming for the seashore at the other side of the
+point.  But Tamin was not satisfied.
+
+"Our road lies straight up yon river," said he.
+
+"My friend," said I, "we must e'en find another road to Shulie.  Those
+fellows will be sure to agree that we have gone that way.  Knowing that
+I am a cunning woodsman, they will say, 'He will make them to run in
+the water, and so leave no trail.'  And they will give hot chase up the
+river."
+
+"But there be two rivers," objected Tamin.
+
+"Bien," said I, "they will divide their party, and give hot chase up
+two rivers!"
+
+"And in the meanwhile?" inquired Marc.
+
+"I'll find the way to Shulie," said I.  "The stars and the sun are
+guide enough!  I know the main lay of all these coasts."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter VI
+
+Grűl
+
+The undergrowth into which we had now come was thick and hindering, so
+there was no further chance of speech.  A few minutes more and we came
+out upon the seaward slope of the point.  We pushed straight down to
+the water, here sheltered from the wind and little troubled.  That our
+footprints might be hidden, at least for a time, we ran, one behind the
+other, along the lip of the tide, where the water was about ankle deep.
+In the stillness our splashing sounded dangerously loud, and Tamin, yet
+in a grumbling humour, spoke of it.
+
+"But you forget, my friend," said I, gently, "that there is noise and
+to spare where our enemies are,--across there in the wind!"
+
+In a moment Tamin spoke again, pointing some little way ahead.
+
+"The land drops away yonder, M'sieu, 'twixt the point and the main
+shore!" he growled, with conspicuous anxiety in his voice.  He was no
+trembler; but it fretted him to be taking what he deemed the weaker
+course.  "Nothing," he added, "but a bit of bare beach that the waves
+go over at spring tides when the wind's down the Basin!"
+
+I paused in some dismay.  But my mind was made up.
+
+"We must go on," said I.  "But we will stoop low, and lose no time in
+the passage.  They'll scarce be landed yet."
+
+And now, as I came to see how low indeed that strip of perilous beach
+was, I somewhat misdoubted of success in getting by unseen.  But we
+went a little deeper in the tide, and bowed our bodies with great
+humbleness, and so passed over with painful effort but not a little
+speed.  Being come again under shelter, we straightened ourselves, well
+pleased, fetched a deep breath or two, and ran on with fresh celerity.
+
+"But if a redskin should think to step over the beach, there'd be our
+goose cooked!" muttered Tamin.
+
+"Well said!" I answered.  "Therefore let us strike inland at once!"
+And I led the way again into the darkness of the forest.
+
+Dark as it was, there was yet light enough from the moon to enable me
+to direct my course as I wished.  I struck well west of the course
+which would have taken us most speedily to Shulie, being determined to
+avoid the valley of the stream which I considered our pursuers were
+most likely to ascend.  To satisfy Tamin's doubts I explained my
+purpose, which was to aim straight for Shulie as soon as we were over
+the water-shed.  And I must do him the justice to say he was content,
+beginning now to come more graciously to my view.  We went but slowly,
+climbing, ever climbing.  At times we would be groping through a great
+blackness of hemlocks.  Again the forest would be more open, a mingling
+of fir trees, and birches, and maples.  Coming at last to more level
+ground, we were still much hindered by innumerable rocks, amid which
+the underbrush and wild vines prepared pitfalls for our weary feet.
+But I was not yet willing to call a halt for breath.  On, on we
+stumbled, the wet branches buffeting our faces, but a cool and pleasant
+savour of the wild herbs which we trod upon ever exhaling upwards to
+refresh our senses.  As we crossed a little grassy glade, I observed
+that Marc had come to Tamin's help, and was carrying the sack of bread.
+I observed, also, that Tamin's face was drawn with fatigue, and that he
+went with a kind of dogged heaviness.  I took pity upon him.  We had
+put, I guessed, good miles between ourselves and our pursuers, and I
+felt that we were, in all reason, safe for the time.  At the further
+limit of the glade there chattered a shallow brook, whose sweet noise
+reminded me that I was parched with thirst.  The pallor of first dawn
+was now coming into the sky, and the tree tops began to lift and float
+in an aerial grayness.  I glanced at Marc, and his eyes met mine with a
+keen brightness that told me he was yet unwearied.  Nevertheless I
+cried:--
+
+"Halt, and fall out for breakfast."  And with the words I flung myself
+down by the brook, thrust my burning face into the babbling chill of
+it, and drank luxuriously.  Tamin was beside me in an instant; but Marc
+slaked his thirst at more leisure, when he had well enjoyed watching
+our satisfaction.
+
+We lay for a little, till the sky was touched here and there with
+saffron and flying wisps of pink, and we began to see the colour of
+grass and leaves.  Then we made our meal,--a morsel each of the salt
+hake which I had clung to through our flight, and some bits of Tamin's
+black bread.  This bread was wholesome, as I well knew, and to our
+hunger it was not unsavoury; but it was of a hardness which the
+sea-water had scarce availed to mitigate.
+
+As we ground hastily upon the meagre fare, I felt, rather than heard, a
+presence come behind me.  I turned my head with a start, and at the
+same instant heard a high, plangent voice, close beside us, crying
+slowly:--
+
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh."
+
+It was an astonishing figure upon which my eyes fell,--a figure which
+might have been grotesque, but was not.  Instead of laughing, my heart
+thrilled with a kind of awe.  The man was not old,--his frame was erect
+and strong with manhood; but the long hair hanging about his neck was
+white, the long beard streaming upon his half-naked breast was white.
+He wore leathern breeches, and the upper portion of his body was
+covered only by a cloak of coarse woollen stuff, woven in a staring
+pattern of black and yellow.  On his head was a rimless cap of plaited
+straw, with a high, pointed crown; and this was stuck full of gaudy
+flowers and feathers.  From the point of the crown rose the stump of
+what had been, belike, a spray of goldenrod, broken by a hasty
+journeying through the obstructions of the forest.  The man's eyes, of
+a wild and flaming blue, fixed themselves on mine.  In one hand he
+carried a white stick, with a grotesque carven head, dyed scarlet,
+which he pointed straight at me.
+
+"Do you lie down, like cows that chew the cud, when the wolves are on
+the trail?" demanded that plangent voice.
+
+"It's Grűl!" cried Tamin, springing to his feet and thrusting a piece
+of black bread into the stranger's hand.
+
+But the offering was thrust aside, while those wide eyes flamed yet
+more wildly upon me.
+
+"They are on the trail, I tell you!" he repeated.  "I hear their feet
+even now!  Go!  Run!  Fly!" and he stooped, with an ear toward the
+ground.
+
+"But which way should we fly?" I asked, half in doubt whether his
+warning should be heeded or derided.  I could see that neither Marc nor
+Tamin had any such doubts.  They were on the strain to be off, and only
+awaited my word.
+
+"Go up the brook," said he, in a lower voice.  "The first small stream
+on your left hand, turn up that a little way, and so--for the wolves
+shall this time be balked.  But the black wolf's teeth bite deep.  They
+shall bite upon the throats of the people!" he continued, his voice
+rising keenly, his white staff, with its grinning scarlet head, waving
+in strange, intricate curves.  We were already off, making at almost
+full speed up the brook.  Glancing back, I saw the fantastic form
+running to and fro over the ground where we had lain; and when the
+trees hid him we heard those ominous words wailed slowly over and over
+with the reiterance of a tolling bell:--
+
+"Woe, woe for Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh!"
+
+"He'll throw them off the trail!" said Tamin, confidently.
+
+"But how did they ever get on it?" queried Marc.
+
+"'Tis plain that they have seen or heard us as we passed the strip of
+beach!" said I, in deep vexation, for I hated to be overreached by any
+one in woodcraft.  "If we outwit them now, it's no thanks to my
+tactics, but only to that generous and astonishing madman.  You both
+seemed to know him.  Who, in the name of all the saints, might he be?
+What was it you called him, Tamin?"
+
+"Grűl!" replied Tamin; and said no more, discreetly husbanding his
+wind.  But Marc spoke for him.
+
+"I have heard him called no other name but Grűl!  Madman he is, at
+times, I think.  But sane for the most part, and with some touches of a
+wisdom beyond the wisdom of men.  The guise of madness he wears always;
+and the Indians, as well as our own people, reverence him mightily.  It
+is nigh upon three years since he first appeared in Acadie.  He hates
+the Black Abbé,--who, they say, once did him some great mischief in
+some other land than this,--and his strange ravings, his prodigious
+prophesyings, do something here and there to weaken the Abbé's
+influence with our people."
+
+"Then how does he evade the good father's wrath?" I questioned, in
+wonder.
+
+"Oh," said Marc, "the good father hates him cordially enough.  But the
+Indians could not be persuaded, or bullied, or bribed, to lift a hand
+against him.  They say a Manitou dwells in him."
+
+"Maybe they're not far wrong!" grunted Tamin.
+
+And now I, like Tamin, found it prudent to spare my wind.  But Marc,
+whose lungs seemed untiring, spoke from time to time as he went, and
+told me certain incidents, now of Grűl's acuteness, now of his gift of
+prophecy, now of his fantastic madness.  We came at length, after
+passing two small rivulets on the right, to the stream on the left
+which Grűl had indicated.  It had a firm bed, wherein our footsteps
+left no trace, and we ascended it for perhaps a mile, by many windings.
+Then, with crafty care, we crept up from the stream, in such a fashion
+as to leave no mark of our divergence if, as I thought not likely, our
+pursuers should come that way.  After that we fetched a great circuit,
+crossed the parent brook, and shortly before noon judged that we might
+account ourselves secure.  Where a tiny spring bubbled beneath a
+granite boulder and trickled away north toward the Fundy shore, we
+stopped to munch black bread and the remnant of the fish.  We rested
+for an hour,--Tamin and I sleeping, while Marc, who protested that he
+felt no motion toward slumber, kept watch.  When he roused us, we set
+off pleasantly refreshed, our faces toward Shulie.
+
+Till late that night we journeyed, having a clear moon to guide us.
+Coming at length to the edge of a small lake set with islands, "Here,"
+said I, "is the place where we may sleep secure!"
+
+We stripped, took our bundles on our heads, and swam out into the
+shining stillness.  We swam past two islets, and landed upon one which
+caught my fancy.  There we lay down in a bed of sweet-smelling fern,
+and were well content.  As we supped on Tamin's good black bread, two
+loons laughed to each other out on the silver surface.  We saw their
+black, watchful heads, moving slowly.  Then we slept.  It was high day
+when we awoke.  The bread was now scarce, so we husbanded it, and made
+such good speed all day that while it wanted yet some hours of sunset
+we came out upon a bluff's edge and saw below us the wash and roll of
+Fundy.  We were some way west of Shulie, but not far, Tamin said, from
+the house of his good friend with the good boat.
+
+To this house we came within the hour.  It was a small, home-like
+cabin, among apple trees, in a slant clearing that overhung a narrow
+creek.  There, by a little jetty, I rejoiced to see the boat.  The man
+of the house, one Beaudry, was in the woods looking for his cow, but
+the goodwife made us welcome.  When Beaudry came in he and Tamin fell
+on each other's necks.  And I found, too, that the name of Jean de
+Briart, with something of his poor exploits, was not all unknown in the
+cabin.
+
+How well we supped that night, on fresh shad well broiled, and fresh
+sweet barley bread, and thin brown buckwheat cakes!  It was settled at
+once that Beaudry should put us over to de Ramezay's camp with the
+first of the morrow's tide.  Then, over our pipes, sitting under the
+apple tree by the porch, we told our late adventures.  I say we, but
+Tamin told them, and gave them a droll colouring which delighted me.
+It must have tickled Marc's fancy, too, for I took note that he let his
+pipe out many times during the story.  Beaudry kept crying "Hein!" and
+"Bien!" and "Tiens!" in an ecstasy of admiration.  The goodwife,
+however, was seemingly most touched by the loss of Tamin's knitted cap.
+With a face of great concern, as who should say "Poor soul!" she jumped
+up, ran into the house, was gone a few moments, and returned beaming
+benevolence.
+
+"V'la!" she cried; and stuck upon Tamin's wiry black head a bran-new
+cap of red wool.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter VII
+
+The Commander is Embarrassed
+
+Next day we set out at a good hour, and came without further adventure
+to Chignecto.  Having landed, amid a little swarm of fishing-boats, we
+then went straight to de Ramezay's headquarters, leaving Beaudry at the
+wharf among his cronies.  We crossed a strip of dyked marsh, whereon
+were many sleek Acadian cattle cropping the rich aftermath, and
+ascended the gentle slope of the uplands.  Amid a few scattered cabins
+were ranged the tents of the soldiers.  Camp fires and sheaves of
+stacked muskets gave the bright scene a warlike countenance.  Higher up
+the hill stood a white cottage, larger than the rest, its door painted
+red, with green panels; and from a staff on its gable, blown out
+bravely by the wind which ever sweeps those Fundy marshlands, flapped
+the white banner with the Lilies of France.
+
+The sentry who challenged us at the foot of the slope knew me,--had
+once fought under me in a border skirmish,--and, saluting with great
+respect, summoned a guard to conduct us to headquarters.  As we climbed
+the last dusty rise and turned in, past the long well-sweep and two
+gaunt, steeple-like Lombardy poplars, to the yard before the cottage,
+the door opened and the commander himself stood before us.  His face
+lit up gladly as I stepped forward to greet him, and with great warmth
+he sprang to embrace me.
+
+"My dear Briart!" he cried.  "I have long expected you!"
+
+"I am but just returned to Acadie, my dear friend," said I, with no
+less warmth than he had evinced, "or you would surely have seen me here
+to greet you on your coming.  But the King's service kept me on the
+Richelieu!"
+
+"And even your restless activity, my Jean, cannot put you in two places
+at once," said he, as he turned with an air of courteous inquiry to my
+companions.  Perceiving at once by his dress that Tamin was a habitant,
+his eyes rested upon Marc.
+
+"My son Marc, Monsieur de Ramezay," said I.
+
+The two bowed, Marc very respectfully, as became a young man on
+presentation to a distinguished officer, but de Ramezay with a sudden
+and most noticeable coldness.  At this I flushed with anger, but the
+moment was not one for explanations.  I restrained myself; and turning
+to Tamin, I said in an altered tone:--
+
+"And this, de Ramezay, is my good friend and faithful follower, Tamin
+Violet, of Canard parish, who desires to enlist for service under you.
+More of him, and all to his credit, I will tell you by and by.  I
+merely commend him to you now as brave, capable, and a good shot!"
+
+"I have ever need of such!" said de Ramezay, quickly.  "As you
+recommend him, he shall serve in Monsieur de Ville d'Avray's company,
+which forms my own guard."
+
+Summoning an orderly, he gave directions to this effect.  As Tamin
+turned to depart with the orderly, both Marc and I stepped up to him
+and wrung his hands, and thanked him many times for the courage and
+craft which had saved Marc's life as well as the honour of our family.
+
+"We'll see you again to-night or in the morning, my Tamin," said Marc.
+
+"And tell you how goes my talk with the commander," added I, quietly.
+
+"And for the boat we wrecked," continued Marc, "why, of course, we
+won't remain in your debt for a small thing like that; though for the
+great matter, and for your love, we are always your debtors gladly!"
+
+"And in the King's uniform," said I, cutting short Tamin's attempted
+protestations, "even the Black Abbé will not try to molest you."
+
+I turned again to de Ramezay, who was waiting a few paces aside, and
+said, with a courtesy that was something formal after the warmth of our
+first greeting:--
+
+"Your pardon, de Ramezay!  But Tamin has gone through much with us and
+for us.  And now, my son and I would crave an undisturbed conversation
+with you."
+
+At once, and without a word, he conducted us into his private room,
+where he invited us to be seated.  As we complied, he himself remained
+standing, with every sign of embarrassment in his frank and fearless
+countenance.  I had ever liked him well.  Good cause to like him,
+indeed, I had in my heart, for I had once stood over his body in a
+frontier skirmish, and saved his scalp from the knives of the
+Onondagas.  But now my anger was hot against him, for it was plain to
+me that he had lent ear to some slanders against Marc.  For a second or
+two there was a silence, then Marc sprang to his feet.
+
+"Perhaps if I stand," said he, coldly, "Monsieur de Ramezay will do us
+the honour of sitting."
+
+De Ramezay's erect figure--a very soldierly and imposing figure it was
+in its uniform of white and gold--straightened itself haughtily for an
+instant.  Then he began, but with a stammering tongue:--
+
+"I bitterly regret--it grieves me,--it pains me to even hint it,--" and
+he kept his eyes upon the floor as he spoke,--"but your son, my dear
+friend, is accused--"
+
+Here I broke in upon him, springing to my feet.
+
+"Stop!" said I, sternly.
+
+He looked at me with a face of sorrowful inquiry, into which a tinge of
+anger rose slowly.
+
+"Remember," I continued, "that whatever accusation or imputation you
+make now, I shall require you to prove beyond a peradventure,--or to
+make good with your sword against mine!  My son is the victim of a vile
+conspiracy.  He is--"
+
+"Then he _is_ loyal, you say, to France?" interrupted de Ramezay,
+eagerly.
+
+"I say," said I, in a voice of steel, "that he has done nothing that
+his father, a soldier of France, should blush to tell,--nothing that an
+honest gentleman should not do."  My voice softened a little as I
+noticed the change in his countenance.  "And oh, Ramezay," I continued,
+"had any man an hour ago told me that _you_ would condemn a son of mine
+unheard,--that you, on the mere word of a false priest or his wretched
+tools, would have believed that a son of Jean de Mer could be a
+traitor, I would have driven the words down his throat for a black lie,
+a slander on my friend!"
+
+De Ramezay was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed upon the floor.
+Then he lifted his head.
+
+"I was wrong.  Forgive me, my friend!" said he, very simply.  "I see
+clearly that I ought to have held the teller of those tales in
+suspicion, knowing of him what I do know.  And now, since you give me
+your word the tales are false, they are false.  Pardon me, I beg of
+you, Monsieur!" he added, turning to Marc and holding out his hand.
+
+Marc bowed very low, but appeared not to see the hand.
+
+"If you have heard, Monsieur de Ramezay," said he, "that, before it was
+made plain that France would seek to recover Acadie out of English
+hands, I, a mere boy, urged my fellow Acadians to accept the rule in
+good faith;--if you have heard that I then urged them not to be misled
+to their own undoing by an unscrupulous and merciless intriguer who
+disgraces his priestly office;--if you have heard that, since then, I
+have cursed bitterly the corruption at Quebec which is threatening New
+France with instant ruin,--you have heard but truly!"
+
+De Ramezay bit his lips and flushed slightly.  Marc was not making the
+situation easier; but I could scarce blame him.  Our host, however,
+motioned us to our seats, taking his own chair immediately that he saw
+us seated.  For my own part, my anger was quite assuaged.  I hastened
+to clear the atmosphere.
+
+"Let me tell you the whole story, Ramezay," said I, "and you will
+understand.  But first let me say that my son is wholly devoted to the
+cause of France.  His former friendly intercourse with the English, a
+boyish matter, he brought to an utter end when the war came this way."
+
+"And let me say," interrupted de Ramezay, manfully striving to amend
+his error, "that when one whom I need not name was filling my ear with
+matter not creditable to a young man named Marc de Mer, it did not come
+at all to my mind--and can you wonder?--that the person so spoken of
+was a son of my Briart, of the man who had so perilled his own life to
+save mine!  I thought your son was but a child.  It was thus that the
+accusations were allowed to stick in my mind,--which I do most heartily
+repent of!  And for which I again crave pardon!"
+
+"I beg of you, Monsieur, that you will think no more of it!" said Marc,
+heartily, being by this quite appeased.
+
+Then with some particularity I told our story,--not omitting Marc's
+visit to his little Puritan at Annapolis, whereat de Ramezay smiled,
+and seemed to understand something which had before been dark to him.
+When the Black Abbé came upon the scene (I had none of our host's
+reluctance to mention the Abbé's name!) de Ramezay's brows gathered
+gloomily.  But he heard the tale through with breathless attention up
+to the point of our landing at Chignecto.
+
+"And now, right glad am I that you are here," he exclaimed, stretching
+out a hand to each of us.  The frank welcome that illuminated the
+strong lines of his face left no more shadow of anger in our hearts.
+
+"And here are the Abbé's precious documents!" said I, fetching forth
+the packet.
+
+De Ramezay examined both letters with the utmost care.
+
+"The reward," he said presently, with a dry smile, "is on a scale that
+savours of Quebec rather more than of thrifty New England.  When Boston
+holds the purse-strings, information is bought cheaper than that!  As
+for the signature, it is passable.  But I fear it would scarce satisfy
+Master Apthorp!"
+
+"I thought as much," said I, "though I have seen Mascarene's signature
+but once."
+
+De Ramezay fingered the paper, and held it up to the light.
+
+"But a point which will interest you particularly, Monsieur," he
+continued, addressing Marc, "is the fact that this paper was made in
+France!"
+
+"It is gratifying to know that, Monsieur!" replied Marc, with his
+vanishing smile.
+
+"It would be embarrassing to some people," said de Ramezay, "if they
+knew we were aware of it.  But I may say here frankly that they must
+not know it.  You will readily understand that my hands are something
+less than free.  As things go now at Quebec, there are methods used
+which I cannot look upon with favour, and which I must therefore seem
+not to see.  I am forced to use the tools which are placed in my hands.
+This priest of whom you speak is a power in Acadie.  He is thought to
+be indispensable to our cause.  He will do the things that, alas, have
+to be done, but which no one else will do.  And I believe he does love
+France,--he is surely sincere in that.  But he rests very heavily,
+methinks, on the conscience of his good bishop at Quebec, who, but for
+the powers that interfere, would call him to a sharp account.  I tell
+you all this so that you will see why I must not charge the Abbé with
+this villany of his.  I am compelled to seem ignorant of it."
+
+I assured him that I apprehended the straits in which he found himself,
+and would be content if he would merely give the Abbé to understand
+that Marc was not to be meddled with.
+
+"Of course," said Marc, at this point, "I wish to enter active service,
+with Father; and I shall therefore be, for the most part, beyond the
+good Abbé's reach.  But we have business at Grand Pré and Canard that
+will hold us there a week or thereabouts; and it is annoying to walk in
+the hourly peril of being tomahawked and scalped for a spy!"
+
+"I'll undertake to secure you in this regard," laughed de Ramezay; "and
+in return, perchance I may count on your support when I move against
+Annapolis, as my purpose is to do ere many weeks!"
+
+"Assuredly!" said Marc, "if my father have made for me no other plans!"
+And he turned to me for my word in the matter.
+
+As it chanced, this was exactly as I had purposed, which I made at once
+to appear.  It was presently agreed, therefore, that we should tarry
+some days at Chignecto, returning thereafter to despatch our affairs at
+home and await de Ramezay's summons.  As the Commander's guests we were
+lodged in his own quarters, and Tamin was detailed to act as our
+orderly.  The good Beaudry, with his good boat, was sent home not
+empty-handed to his goodwife near Shulie, with instructions to come
+again for us in five days.  And Tamin, having now no more need of it,
+sent back to Madame Beaudry, with best compliments, her knitted cap of
+red wool.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter VIII
+
+The Black Abbé Comes to Dinner
+
+Of the pleasant but something irrelevant matter of how merrily we
+supped that night with de Ramezay and his officers,--many of whom I
+knew, all of whom knew me or my adventurous repute,--I will not linger
+to discourse.  Nor of the costly dainties from France which enriched
+the board, side by side with fair salmon from the Tantramar and
+bursting-fat plover from the Joli-Coeur marshes.  Nor of the good red
+wine of Burgundy which so enhanced the relish of those delectable
+birds,--and of which I might perhaps have drunk more sparingly had good
+Providence but made me more abstemious.  Let it suffice to say, there
+was wit enough to spice plainer fare, and courtesy that had shone at
+Versailles.  The long bare room, with its low, black-raftered ceiling
+and polished floor, its dark walls patterned with shelves, was lit by
+the smoky flames of two-score tallow candles.
+
+By and by chairs were pushed back, the company sat with less ceremony,
+the air grew clouded with the blue vapours of the Virginia weed, and
+tongues wagged something more loosely than before.  There were
+songs,--catches from the banks of Rhone, rolling ballads of our own
+voyageurs.  A young captain quite lately from Versailles, the Sieur de
+Ville d'Avray, had an excellent gift of singing.
+
+But now, just when the Sieur de Ville d'Avray was rendering, with most
+commendable taste and spirit, the ballade of "Frčre Lubin," there came
+an interruption.
+
+  "Il presche en theologien,
+  Mais pour boire de belle eau claire,
+  Faictes la boire a vostre chien,
+  Frčre Lubin ne le peult faire,"--
+
+sang the gay voice,--we all nodding our heads in intent approval, or
+even, maybe, seeing that the wine was generous, tapping the measure
+openly with our fingers.  But suddenly, though there was no noise to
+draw them, all eyes turned to the doorway, and the singer paused in his
+song.  I tipped my chair back into the shadow of a shelf, as did Marc,
+who sat a little beyond me.  For the visitor, who thus boldly entered
+unannounced, was none other than the Black Abbé himself.
+
+[Illustration: For the visitor was none other than the Black Abbé
+himself.]
+
+I flung de Ramezay a swift glance of anticipation, which he caught as
+he arose in his place to greet the new-comer.  On the faces around the
+table I took note of an ill-disguised annoyance.  The Abbé, it was
+plain, found small favour in that company.  But to do him justice, he
+seemed but little careful to court favour.  He stood in the doorway,
+frowning, a piercing and bitter light in his close-set eyes.  He waited
+for de Ramezay to come forward and give him welcome,--which de Ramezay
+presently did, and would have led him to a seat at the table.
+
+But "No!" said the grim intruder.  "With all thanks for your courtesy,
+Monsieur, I have no time, nor am I in the temper, for revellings.  When
+I have said my word to you I will get me to the house of one of my
+flock, and sup plainly, and take what rest I may, for at dawn I must
+set out for the Shubenacadie.  There is much to be done, and few to do
+it, and the time grows short!" and he swept a look of reprimand about
+the circle.
+
+"Would you speak with me in private, Father?" asked de Ramezay, with
+great civility.
+
+"It is not necessary, Monsieur!" replied the Abbé.  "I have but to say
+that I arrested the pestilent young traitor, Marc de Mer, on his
+father's estate at Canard, and left him under guard while I went to
+attend to other business.  I found upon his person clear proofs of his
+treachery, which would have justified his hanging on the instant.  But
+I preferred that you should be the judge!"
+
+"You did well!" said de Ramezay, gravely.  "I must ask even you,
+Monsieur l'Abbé, to remember on all occasions that I, and I only, am
+the judge, so long as I remain in Acadie!"
+
+To this rebuke, courteous though it was, the priest vouchsafed no reply
+but a slight smile, which uncovered his strong yellow teeth on one
+side, like a snarl.  He continued his report as if there had been no
+interruption.
+
+"In my brief absence his father, with some disaffected habitants,
+deceived my faithful followers by a trick, and carried off the
+prisoner.  But I have despatched a strong party on the trail of the
+fugitives.  They will certainly be captured, and brought at once--"
+
+But at this point his voice failed him.  His face worked violently with
+mingled rage and amazement, and following his gaze I saw Marc standing
+and bowing with elaborate courtesy.
+
+"They are already here, Sir Abbé," said he, "having made haste that
+they might give you welcome!"
+
+A ripple of laughter went around the table, as the company, recovering
+from some moments of astonishment, began to understand the situation.
+I, too, rose to my feet, smiling expectantly.  The priest's narrow eyes
+met mine for a second, with a light that was akin to madness.  Then
+they shifted.  But he found his voice again.
+
+"I denounce that man as a proved spy and traitor!" he shouted, striding
+forward, and pointing a yellow finger of denunciation across the table
+at Marc, while the revellers over whom he leaned made way for him
+resentfully.  "I demand his instant arrest."
+
+"Gently, Monsieur l'Abbé," said de Ramezay.  "These are serious charges
+to bring against French gentlemen, and friends of the Commander; have
+you proofs--such as will convince me after the closest scrutiny?" he
+added, with unmistakable significance.
+
+"I have myself seen the proofs, I tell you," snarled the Abbé,
+beginning to exert more self-control, but still far unlike the cool,
+inexorable, smiling cynic who had so galled my soul with his
+imperturbability when I lay in his bonds beside the Forge.
+
+"I would fain see them, too," insisted de Ramezay.
+
+The priest glared at me, and then at Marc, baffled.
+
+"I have them not," said he, in his slow and biting tones; "but if you
+would do your duty as the King's servant, Monsieur de Ramezay, and
+arrest yonder spy, you would doubtless find the proofs upon his person,
+if he has not taken the pains to dispose of them."  Upon this insolent
+speech, de Ramezay took his seat, and left the priest standing alone.
+When, after a pause, he spoke, his voice was stern and masterful, as if
+he were addressing a contumacious servant, though he retained the forms
+of courtesy in his phrases.
+
+"Monsieur," said he, "when I wish to learn my duty, it will not be the
+somewhat well-known Abbé la Garne whom I will ask to teach me.  I must
+require you not to presume further upon the sacredness of your office.
+Your soutane saves you from being called to account by the gentleman
+whose honour you have aspersed.  Monsieur Marc de Mer is the son of my
+friend.  He is also one of my aides-de-camp.  I beg that you will
+understand me without more words when I say that I have examined the
+whole matter to which you refer.  For your own credit, press it no
+further.  I trust you catch my meaning!"
+
+"On the contrary," said the Abbé, coolly, being by this time quite
+himself again, and seemingly indifferent to the derisive faces
+confronting him--"on the contrary, your meaning altogether escapes me,
+Monsieur.  All that I understand of your singular behaviour is what the
+Governor and the Intendant, not I their unworthy instrument, will be
+called to pass judgment upon."
+
+"I will trouble you to understand also, Sir Priest," said de Ramezay,
+thoroughly aroused, his tones biting like acid, "that if this young man
+is further troubled by any of your faithful Shubenacadie flock, I will
+hold you responsible; and the fact that you are useful, having fewer
+scruples than trouble a mere layman, shall not save you."
+
+"Be not disturbed for your spy, Monsieur," sneered the Abbé, now finely
+tranquil.  "I wash my hands of all responsibility in regard to him;
+look you to that."
+
+For the space of some seconds there was silence all about that table of
+feasting, while the Abbé swept a smiling, bitter glance around the
+room.  Last, his eyes rested upon mine and leaped with a sudden light
+of triumph, so that one might have thought not he but I had been
+worsted in the present encounter.  Then he turned on his heel and went
+out, scornful of courtesy.
+
+A clamour of talk arose upon this most cherished departure; but I heard
+it as in a dream, being wrapped up in wonder as to the meaning of that
+look of triumph.
+
+"Has the Black Abbé cast a spell upon you, Father?" I heard Marc
+inquiring presently.  Whereupon I came to myself with a kind of start,
+and made merry with the rest of them.
+
+It was late when Marc and I went to the little chamber where our
+pallets were stretched.  There we found Tamin awaiting us.  He was in a
+sweat of fear.
+
+"What is it, my Tamin?" asked Marc.
+
+"The Black Abbé," he grunted, the drollness all chased out of the
+little wrinkles about his eyes.
+
+"Well," said I, impatiently.  "The Black Abbé; and what of him?  He is
+repenting to-night that he ever tried conclusions with me, I'll wager."
+
+I spoke the more confidently because in my heart I was still troubled
+to know the meaning of the Abbé's glance.
+
+"Hein," said Tamin.  "He looked--his eyes would lift a scalp!  I was
+standing in the light just under the window, when of a sudden the door
+closed; and there he stood beside me, with no sound, and still as a
+heron.  He looked at me with those two narrow eyes, as if he would eat
+my heart out: and I stood there, and shook.  Then, of a sudden, his
+face changed.  It became like a good priest's face when he says the
+prayer for the soul that is passing; and he looked at me with solemn
+eyes.  And I was yet more afraid.  'It is not for me to rebuke you,' he
+said, speaking so that each word seemed an hour long; 'red runs your
+blood on the deep snow beneath the apple tree.'  And before I could
+steady my teeth to ask him what he meant, he was gone.  'Red runs your
+blood beneath the apple tree.'  What did he mean by that?"
+
+"Oh," said I, speaking lightly to encourage him, though in truth the
+words fell on me with a chill, "he said it to spoil your sleep and
+poison your content.  It was a cunning revenge, seeing that he dare not
+lift a hand to punish you otherwise."
+
+"To be sure, my Tamin, that is all of it," added Marc.  "Who has ever
+heard that the Black Abbé was a prophet?  Faith, 'tis as Father says, a
+cunning and a devilish revenge.  But you can balk it finely by paying
+no heed to it."
+
+Tamin's face had brightened mightily, but he still looked serious.
+
+"Do you think so?" he exclaimed with eagerness.  "'Tis as you say
+indeed,--the Black Abbé is no prophet.  Had it been Grűl, now, that
+said it, there were something to lie awake for, eh?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, if Grűl had said it," muttered Marc, contemplating him
+strangely.
+
+But for me, I was something impatient now to be asleep.
+
+"Think no more of it, my friend," said I, and dismissed him.  Yet
+sleepy as I was, I thought of it, and even I must have begun to dream
+of it.  The white sheet of moonlight that lay across my couch became a
+drift of snow with blood upon it, and the patterned shadow upon the
+wall an apparition leaning over,--when out of an immense distance, as
+it were, I heard Marc's voice.
+
+"Father," he cried softly, "are you awake?"
+
+"Yes, dear lad," said I.  "What is it?"
+
+"I have been wondering," said he, "why the Black Abbé looked at you,
+not me, in his going.  He had such a countenance as warns me that he
+purposes some cunning stroke.  But I fear his enmity has turned from me
+to you."
+
+"Well, lad, it was surely I that balked him.  What would you have?" I
+asked.
+
+"Oh," said he, heavily, "that I should have turned that bloodhound onto
+your trail!"
+
+"Marc, if it will comfort you to know it, carry this in your memory,"
+said I, with a cheerful lightness, like froth upon the strong emotion
+that flooded my heart.  "When the Black Abbé strikes at me, it will be
+through you.  He knows where I am like to prove most vulnerable!"
+
+"'Tis all right, then, so as we sink or swim together, Father," said
+Marc, quietly.
+
+"That's the way of it now, dear lad!  Sweet sleep to you, and dreams of
+red hair!" said I.  And I turned my face drowsily to the wall.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter IX
+
+The Abbé Strikes Again
+
+The few days of our stay at Chignecto were gay and busy ones; and all
+through them hummed the wind steadily across the pale green marshes,
+and buffeted the golden-rod on our high shoulder of upland.  De Ramezay
+gratified me by making much of Marc.  The three of us rode daily abroad
+among the surrounding settlements.  And I spent many hours planning
+with de Ramezay a fort which should be built on the site of this camp,
+in case the coming campaign should fail to drive the English out of
+Acadie.  De Ramezay, as was ever his wont, was full of confidence in
+the event.  But of the sorry doings at Quebec, of the plundering hands
+upon the public purse, of the shamelessness in high places, he hinted
+to me so broadly that I began to see much ground for Marc's misgivings.
+And my heart cried out for my fair country of New France.
+
+On the fifth day of our stay,--it was a Wednesday, and very early in
+the morning,--the good Beaudry with his good boat came for us.  The
+tide serving at about two hours after sunrise, we set out then for
+Grand Pré, well content with the jade Fortune whose whims had so far
+favoured us.  De Ramezay and his officers were at the wharf-end to bid
+us God-speed; and as I muse upon it now they may have thought curiously
+of it to see the loving fashion in which both Marc and I made a point
+to embrace our faithful Tamin.  But that is neither here nor there, so
+long as we let him plainly understand how our hearts were towards him.
+
+The voyage home was uneventful, save that we met contrary winds,
+whereby it fell that not until evening of the second day did we come
+into the Gaspereau mouth and mark the maids of Grand Pré carrying water
+from the village well.
+
+The good Beaudry we paid to his satisfaction, and left to find lodging
+in one of the small houses by the water side; while Marc and I took our
+way up the long street with its white houses standing amid their apple
+trees.  Having gone perhaps four or five furlongs, returning many a
+respectful salutation from the doorways as we passed, we then turned up
+the hill by a little lane which was bordered stiffly with the poplar
+trees of Lombardy, and in short space we came to a pleasant cottage in
+a garden, under shadow of the tall white church which stood sentinel
+over the Grand Pré roofs.  The cottage had some apple trees behind it,
+and many late roses blooming in the garden.  It was the home of the
+good Curé, Father Fafard, most faithful and most gentle of priests.
+
+With Father Fafard we lodged that night, and for some days thereafter.
+The Curé's round face grew unwontedly stern and anxious as we told him
+our adventures, and rehearsed the doings of the Black Abbé.  He got up
+from time to time and paced the room, muttering once--"Alas that such a
+man should discredit our holy office!  What wrath may he not bring down
+upon this land!"--and more to a like purport.
+
+My own house in Grand Pré, where Marc had inhabited of late, and where
+I was wont to pay my flitting visits, I judged well to put off my hands
+for the present, foreseeing that troublous times were nigh.  I
+transferred it in Father Fafard's presence to a trusty villager by name
+Marquette, whom I could count upon to transfer it back to me as soon as
+the skies should clear again.  I knew that if, by any fortune of war,
+English troops should come to be quartered in Grand Pré, they would be
+careful for the property of the villagers; but the house and goods of
+an enemy under arms, such would belike fare ill.  I collected, also,
+certain moneys due me in the village, for I knew that the people were
+prosperous, and I did not know how long their prosperity might
+continue.  This done, Marc and I set out for my own estate beside the
+yellow Canard.  There I had rents to gather in, but no house to put off
+my hands.  At the time when Acadie was ceded to England, a generation
+back, the house of the de Mers had been handed over to one of the most
+prosperous of our habitants, and with that same family it had ever
+since remained, yielding indeed a preposterously scant rental, but
+untroubled by the patient conqueror.
+
+My immediate destination was the Forge, where I expected to find Babin
+awaiting me with news and messages.  At the Forge, too, I would receive
+payment from my tenants, and settle certain points which, as I had
+heard, were at dispute amongst them.
+
+As we drew near the Forge, through the pleasant autumn woods, it wanted
+about an hour of noon.  I heard, far off, the muffled thunder of a
+cock-partridge drumming.  But there was no sound of hammer on clanging
+anvil, no smoke rising from the wide Forge chimney; and when we
+entered, the ashes were dead cold.  It was plain there had been no fire
+in the forge that day.
+
+"Where can Babin be?" I muttered in vexation.  "If he got my message,
+there can be no excuse for his absence."
+
+"I'll wager, Father," said Marc, "that if he is not off on some errand
+of yours, then he is sick abed, or dead.  Nought besides would keep
+Babin when you called him."
+
+I went to a corner and pulled a square of bark from a seemingly hollow
+log up under the rafters.  In the secret niche thus revealed was a
+scrap of birch bark scrawled with some rude characters of Babin's,
+whence I learned that my trusty smith was sick of a sharp inflammation.
+I passed the scrap over to Marc, and felt again in the hollow.
+
+"What, in the name of all the saints, is this?" I exclaimed, drawing
+out a short piece of peeled stick.  A portion of the stick was cut down
+to a flat surface, and on this was drawn with charcoal a straight line,
+having another straight line perpendicular to it, and bisecting it.  At
+the top of the perpendicular was a figure of the sun, thus:--
+
+             *
+             |
+         ----+----
+
+
+"It's a message from Grűl," said Marc, the instant that his eyes fell
+upon it.
+
+"H'm; and how do you know that?" said I, turning it over curiously in
+my fingers.
+
+"Well," replied Marc, "the peeled stick is Grill's sign manual.  What
+does he say?"
+
+"He seems to say that he is going to build a windmill," said I, with
+great seriousness; "but doubtless you will give this hieroglyphic quite
+a different interpretation."
+
+Marc laughed,--yes, laughed audibly.  And it is possible that his
+Penobscot grandmother turned in her grave.  It was good to know that
+the lad _could_ laugh, which I had begun to doubt; but it was puzzling
+to me to hear him laugh at the mere absurdity which I had just uttered,
+when my most polished witticisms, of which I had shot off many of late
+at Chignecto, and in conversation with good Father Fafard, had never
+availed to bring more than a phantom smile to his lips.  However, I
+made no comment, but handed him "Grűl's sign manual," as he chose to
+call it.
+
+"Why, Father," said he, "you understand it well enough, I know.  This
+is plainly the sun at high noon.  At high noon, therefore, we may
+surely expect to see Grűl.  He has been here but a short time back; for
+see, the wood is not yet dry."
+
+"Sapristi!" said I, "do you call that the sun, lad?  It is very much
+like a windmill."
+
+How Marc might have retorted upon me, I know not; for at the moment,
+though it yet wanted much of noon, the fantastic figure of the
+madman--if he were a madman--sped into the Forge.  He stopped abruptly
+before us and scrutinized us for some few seconds in utter silence, his
+eyes glittering and piercing like sword points.  His long white hair
+and beard were disordered with haste, the flowers and feathers in his
+pointed cap were for the most part broken, even as when we had last
+seen him, and his gaudy mantle was somewhat befouled with river mud.
+Yet such power was there in his look and in his gesture, that when he
+stretched out his little white staff toward me and said "Come," I had
+much ado to keep from obeying him without question.  Yet this I would
+not permit myself, as was natural.
+
+"Whither?" I questioned.  "And for what purpose?"
+
+By this time he was out at the door, but he stopped.  Giving me a
+glance of scorn he turned to Marc, and stretched out his staff.
+
+"Come," he said.  And in a breath he was gone, springing with
+incredible swiftness and smoothness through the underbrush.
+
+"We must follow, Father!" cried Marc; and in the same instant was away.
+
+For my own part, it was sorely against me to be led by the nose, and
+thus blindly, by the madman--whom I now declared certainly to be mad.
+But Marc had gone, so I had no choice, as I conceived it, but to stand
+by the lad.  I went too.  And seeing that I had to do it, I did it
+well, and presently overtook them.
+
+"What is this folly?" I asked angrily, panting a little, I confess.
+
+But Marc signed to me to be silent.  I obeyed, though with ill enough
+grace, and ran on till my mouth was like a board, my tongue like wool.
+Then the grim light of the forest whitened suddenly before us, and our
+guide stopped.  Instinctively we imitated his motions, as he stole
+forward and peered through a screen of leafage.  We were on a bank
+overlooking the Canard.  A little below, and paddling swiftly towards
+the river-mouth, were two canoes manned with the Abbé's Micmacs.  In
+the bottom of one canoe lay a little fair-haired boy, bound.
+
+"My God!" cried Marc, under his breath, "'tis the child! 'tis little
+Philip Hanford."
+
+Grűl turned his wild eyes upon us.
+
+"The power of the dog!" he muttered, "the power of the dog!"
+
+"We must get a canoe and follow them!" exclaimed Marc, in great
+agitation, turning to go, and looking at me with passionate appeal.
+But before I could speak, to assure him of my aid and support, Grűl
+interfered.
+
+"Wait!" he said, with meaning emphasis, thrusting his little staff
+almost in the lad's face.  "Come!" and he started up along the river
+bank, going swiftly but with noiseless caution.  I expected Marc to
+demur, but not so.  He evidently had a childlike faith in this
+fantastic being.  He followed without a protest.  Needless to say, I
+followed also.  But all this mystery, and this blind obedience, and
+this lordly lack of explanation, were little to my liking.
+
+We had not gone above half a mile when Grűl stopped, and bent his mad
+head to listen.  Such an attitude of listening I had never seen before.
+The feathers and stalks in his cap seemed to lean forward like a
+horse's ears; his hair and beard took on a like inclination of
+intentness; even the grim little scarlet head upon his staff seemed to
+listen with its master.  And Marc did as Grűl did.  Then came a sound
+as of a woman weeping, very close at hand.  Grűl motioned us to pass
+him, and creep forward.  We did so, lying down and moving as softly as
+lizards.  But I turned to see what our mysterious guide was doing--and
+lo, he was gone.  He might have faded into a summer exhalation, so
+complete and silent was his exit.
+
+This was too much.  Only my experience as a woods-fighter, my
+instinctive caution, kept me from springing to my feet and calling him.
+But my suspicions were all on fire.  I laid a firm hand of detention on
+Marc's arm, and whispered:--
+
+"He's gone; 'tis a trap."
+
+Marc looked at me in some wonder, and more impatience.
+
+"No trap, Father; that's Grűl's way,"
+
+"Well," I whispered, "we had better go another way, I'm thinking."
+
+As I spoke, the woman's weeping came to us more distinctly.  Something
+in the sound seemed to catch Marc's heart, and his face changed.
+
+"'Tis all right, I tell you, Father!" came from between his teeth.
+"Come!  come! Oh, I know the voice!"  And he crept forward resolutely.
+
+And, of course, I followed.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter X
+
+A Bit of White Petticoat
+
+We had not advanced above a score of paces when, peering stealthily
+between the stems of herbs and underbrush, we saw what Grűl had desired
+us to see.  Two more canoes were drawn up at the water's edge.  Four
+savages were in sight, sprawling in indolent attitudes under the shade
+of a wide water-maple.  In their midst, at the foot of the tree, lay a
+woman bound securely.  She was huddled together in a posture of
+hopeless despair; and a dishevelled glory of gold-red tresses fell over
+her face to hide it.  She lay in a moveless silence.  Yet the sound of
+weeping continued, and Marc, gripping my hand fiercely, set his mouth
+to my ear and gasped:--
+
+"'Tis my own maid!  'Tis Prudence!"
+
+Then I saw where she sat, a little apart, a slender maid with a lily
+face, and hair glowing dark red in the full sun that streamed upon her.
+She was so tied to another tree that she might have no comfort or
+companionship of her sister,--for I needed now no telling to convey it
+to me that the lady with the hidden face and the unweeping anguish was
+Mistress Mizpah Hanford, mother of the child whom I had just seen
+carried away.
+
+I grieved for Marc, whose eyes stared out upon the weeping maid from a
+face that had fallen to the hue of ashes.  But I praised the saints for
+sending to our aid this madman Grűl,--whom, in my heart, I now
+graciously absolved from the charge of madness.  Seeing the Black
+Abbé's hand in the ravishment of these tender victims, I made no doubt
+to cross him yet again, and my heart rose exultantly to the enterprise.
+
+"Cheer up, lad," I whispered to Marc.  "Come away a little till we
+plot."
+
+I showed my confidence in my face, and I could see that he straightway
+took heart thereat.  Falling back softly for a space of several rods,
+we paused in a thicket to take counsel.  As soon as we could speak
+freely, Marc exclaimed, "They may go at any moment, Father.  We must
+haste."
+
+"No," said I, "they'll not go till the cool of the day.  The others
+went because they have plainly been ordered to part the child from his
+mother.  It is a most cunning and most cruel malice that could so order
+it."
+
+"It is my enemy's thrust at me," said Marc.  "How did he know that I
+loved the maid?"
+
+"His eyes are in every corner of Acadie," said I; "but we will foil him
+in this as in other matters.  Marc, my heart is stirred mightily by
+that poor mother's pain.  I tell you, lad,"--and I looked diligently to
+the priming of my pistols as I spoke,--"I tell you I will not rest till
+I give the little one back into her arms."
+
+But Marc, as was not unnatural, thought now rather of his lily maid
+sobbing under the tree.
+
+"Yes, Father," said he, "but what is to be done now, to save Prudence
+and Mizpah?"
+
+"Of course, dear lad," I answered, smilingly, "that is just what we are
+here for.  But let me consider."  And sitting down upon a fallen tree,
+I buried my face in my hands.  Marc, the while, waited with what
+patience he could muster, relying wholly upon my conduct of the
+business, but fretting for instant action.
+
+We were well armed (each with a brace of pistols and a broadsword, the
+forest being no place for rapiers), and I accounted that we were an
+overmatch for the four redskins.  But there was much at stake, with
+always the chance of accident.  And, moreover, these Indians were
+allies of France, wherefore I was most unwilling to attack them from
+the advantage of an ambush.  These various considerations decided me.
+
+"Marc, we'll fight them if needful," said I, lifting up my head.  "But
+I'm going to try first the conclusions of peace.  I will endeavour to
+ransom the prisoners.  These Micmacs are mightily avaricious, and may
+yield.  It goes against me to attack them from an ambush, seeing that
+they are of our party and servants of King Louis."
+
+At this speech Marc looked very ill content.
+
+"But, Father," he objected, "shall we forego the advantage of a
+surprise?  We are but two to their four, and we put the whole issue at
+hazard.  And as for their being of our party, they bring shame upon our
+party, and greatly dishonour the service of King Louis."
+
+"Nevertheless, dear lad," said I, "they have their claim upon us,--not
+lightly to be overlooked, in my view of it.  But hear my plan.  You
+will go back to where we lay a moment ago, and there be ready with your
+pistols.  I will approach openly by the water side and enter into
+parley with them.  If I can buy the captives, well and good.  If they
+deny me, we quarrel.  You will know when to play your part.  I am
+satisfied of that.  I shall feel safe under cover of your pistols, and
+shall depend upon you to account for two of the four.  Only, do not be
+too hasty!"
+
+"Oh, I'm cool as steel now, Father," said Marc.  "But I like not this
+plan.  The danger is all yours.  And the quarrel is mine.  Let us go
+into it side by side!"
+
+"Chut, lad!" said I.  "Your quarrel's my quarrel, and the danger is not
+more for me than for you, as you won't be long away from me when the
+fight begins,--if it comes to a fight.  And further, my plan is both an
+honest one and like to succeed.  Come, let us be doing!"
+
+Marc seized my hand, and gave me a look of pride and love which put a
+glow at my heart.  "You know best, Father," said he.  And turning away,
+he crept toward his post.  For me, I made a circuit, in leisurely
+fashion, and came out upon the shore behind a point some rods below the
+spot where the savages lay.  Then I walked boldly up along the water's
+edge.
+
+The Indians heard me before I came in view, and were on their feet when
+I appeared around the point.  They regarded me with black suspicion,
+but no hostile movement, as I strode straight up to them and greeted,
+fairly enough but coldly, a tall warrior, whom I knew to be one of the
+Black Abbé's lieutenants.  He grunted, and asked me who I was.
+
+"You know well enough who I am," said I, seating myself carelessly upon
+a rock, "seeing that you had a chief hand in the outrages put upon me
+the other day by that rascally priest of yours!"
+
+At this the chief stepped up to me with an air of menace, his
+high-cheeked, coppery face scowling with wrath.  But I eyed him
+steadily, and raised my hand with a little gesture of authority.
+"Wait!" said I; and he paused doubtfully.  "I have no grudge against
+you for that," I went on.  "You but obeyed your master's orders
+faithfully, as you will doubtless obey mine a few weeks hence, when I
+take command of your rabble and try to make you of some real service to
+the King.  I am one of the King's captains."
+
+At this the savage looked puzzled, while his fellows grunted in
+manifest uncertainty.
+
+"What you want?" he asked bluntly.
+
+I looked at him for some moments without replying.  Then I glanced at
+the form of Mizpah Hanford, still unmoving, the face still hidden under
+that pathetic splendour of loosened hair.  Prudence I could not catch
+view of, by reason of another tree which intervened.  But the sound of
+her weeping had ceased.
+
+"I am ready to ransom these prisoners of yours," said I.
+
+The savages glanced furtively at each other, but the coppery masks of
+their features betrayed nothing.
+
+"Not for ransom," said the chief, with a dogged emphasis.
+
+I opened my eyes wide.  "You astonish me!" said I.  "Then how will they
+profit you?  If you wanted their scalps, those you might have taken at
+Annapolis."
+
+At that word, revealing that I knew whence they came, I took note of a
+stir in the silent figure beneath the maple.  I felt that her eyes were
+watching me from behind that sumptuous veil which her bound hands could
+not put aside.  I went on, with a sudden sense of exaltation.
+
+"Give me these prisoners," I urged, half pleading, half commanding.
+"They are useless to you except for ransom.  I will give you more than
+any one else will give you.  Tell me your price."
+
+But the savage was obstinate.
+
+"Not for ransom," he repeated, shaking his head.
+
+"You are afraid of your priest," said I, with slow scorn.  "He has told
+you to bring them to him.  And what will you get?  A pistole or two for
+each!  But I will give you gold, good French crowns, ten times as much
+as you ever got before!"
+
+As I spoke, one of the listening savages got up, his eyes a-sparkle
+with eagerness, and muttered something in Micmac, which I could not
+understand.  But the chief turned upon him so angrily that he slunk
+back, abashed.
+
+"Agree with me now," I said earnestly.  "Then wait here till I fetch
+the gold, and I will deliver it into your hands before you deliver the
+captives."
+
+But the chief merely turned aside with an air of settling the question,
+and repeated angrily:--
+
+"I say white girls not for ransom."
+
+I rose to my feet.
+
+"Fools, you are," said I, "and no men, but sick women, afraid of your
+rascal priest.  I offered to buy when I might have taken!  Now I will
+take, and you will get no ransom!  Unloose their bonds!"
+
+And I pointed with my sword, while my left hand rested upon a pistol in
+my belt.  I am a very pretty shot with my left hand.
+
+Before the words were fairly out of my lips the four sprang at me.
+Stepping lightly aside, I fired the pistol full at the chief's breast,
+and he plunged headlong.  In the next instant came a report from the
+edge of the underbrush, and a second savage staggered, groaned, and
+fell upon his knees, while Marc leaped down and rushed upon a third.
+The remaining one snatched up his musket (the muskets were forgotten at
+the first, when I seemed to be alone), and took a hasty aim at me; but
+before he could pull the trigger my second pistol blazed in his face,
+and he dropped, while his weapon, exploding harmlessly, knocked up some
+mud and grass.  I saw Marc chase his antagonist to the canoes at the
+point of his sword, and prick him lightly for the more speed.  But at
+the same instant, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the savage whom
+Marc's shot had brought down struggle again to his feet and swing his
+hatchet.  With a yell I was upon him, and my sword point (the point is
+swifter than the edge in an emergency) went through his throat with a
+sobbing click.  But I was just too late.  The hatchet had left his
+hand; and the flying blade caught Marc in the shoulder.  The sword
+dropped from his grasp, he reeled, and sat down with a shudder before I
+could get to his side.  I paid no further heed to the remaining Indian,
+but was dimly conscious of him launching a canoe and paddling away in
+wild haste.
+
+I lifted the dear lad into the shade, and anxiously examined the wound.
+
+"'Tis but a flesh wound," said he, faintly; but I found that the blow
+had not only grievously gashed the flesh, but split the shoulder blade.
+
+"Flesh wound!" I muttered.  "You'll do no more fighting in this
+campaign, dear lad, unless they put it off till next spring.  This
+shoulder will be months in mending."
+
+"When it does mend, will my arm be the same as ever?" he asked,
+somewhat tremulously.  "'Tis my sword arm."
+
+"Yes, lad, yes; you need not trouble about that," said I.  "But it is a
+case for care."
+
+In the meantime, I was cleansing the wound with salt water which I had
+brought from the river in my cap.  Now, I cast about in my mind for a
+bandage; and I looked at the prisoner beneath the maple.  Marc first,
+courtesy afterwards, I thought in my heart; for I durst not leave the
+wound exposed with so many flies in the air.
+
+The lady's little feet, bound cruelly, were drawn up in part beneath
+her dark skirt, but so that a strip of linen petticoat shone under
+them.  I hesitated, but only for a second.  Lifting the poor little
+feet softly to one side, with a stammered, "Your pardon, Madame, but
+the need is instant!"  I slit off a breadth of the soft white stuff
+with my sword.  And I was astonished to feel my face flush hotly as I
+did it.  With strangely thrilling fingers, and the help of my sword
+edge, I then set free her feet, and with no more words turned hastily
+back to Marc, abashed as a boy.
+
+In a few moments I had Marc's wound softly dressed, for I had some
+skill in this rough and ready surgery.  I could see by his contracting
+pupils that the hurt was beginning to agonize, but the dear lad never
+winced under my fingers, and I commended him heartily as a brave
+patient.  Then placing a bundle of cool ferns under his head for a
+pillow, I turned to the captives, from whom there had been never a word
+this while.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XI
+
+I Fall a Willing Captive
+
+The lady whose feet I had freed had risen so far as to rest crouching
+against the gnarled trunk of the maple tree.  The glorious abundance of
+her hair she had shaken back, revealing a white face chiselled like a
+Madonna's, a mouth somewhat large, with lips curved passionately, and
+great sea-coloured eyes which gazed upon me from dark circles of pain.
+But the face was drawn now with that wordless and tearless anguish
+which makes all utterance seem futile,--the anguish of a mother whose
+child has been torn from her arms and carried she knows not whither.
+Her hands lay in her lap, tight bound; and I noted their long, white
+slenderness.  I felt as if I should go on my knees to serve her--I who
+had but just now served her with such scant courtesy as it shamed my
+soul to think on.  As I bent low to loose her hands, I sought in my
+mind for phrases of apology that might show at the same time my
+necessity and my contrition.  But lifting my eyes for an instant to
+hers, I was pierced with a sense of the anguish which was rending her
+heart, and straightway I forgot all nice phrases.
+
+What I said--the words coming from my lips abruptly--was this: "I will
+find him!  I will save him!  Be comforted, Madame!  He shall be
+restored to you!"
+
+In great, simple matters, how little explanation seems needed.  She
+asked not who I was, how I knew, whom I would save, how it was to be
+done; and I thrill proudly even now to think how my mere word convinced
+her.  The tense lines of her face yielded suddenly, and she broke into
+a shaking storm of tears, moaning faintly over and over--"Philip!--Oh,
+my Philip!--Oh, my boy!"  I watched her with a great compassion.  Then,
+ere I could prevent, she amazed me by snatching my hand and pressing it
+to her lips.  But she spoke no word of thanks.  Drawing my hand gently
+away, in great embarrassment, I repeated: "Believe me, oh, believe me,
+Madame; I _will_ save the little one."  Then I went to release the
+other captive, whom I had well-nigh forgotten the while.
+
+This lily maid of Marc's, this Prudence, I found in a white tremour of
+amazement and inquiry.  From where she sat in her bonds, made fast to
+her tree, she could see nothing of what went on, but she could hear
+everything, and knew she had been rescued.  It was a fair, frank,
+childlike face she raised to mine as I smiled down upon her, swiftly
+and gently severing her bonds; and I laid a hand softly on that rich
+hair which Marc had praised, being right glad he loved so sweet a maid
+as this.  I forgot that I must have seemed to her in this act a shade
+familiar, my fatherly forty years not showing in my face.  So, indeed,
+it was for an instant, I think; for she coloured maidenly.  But seeing
+the great kindness in my eyes, the thought was gone.  Her own eyes
+filled with tears, and she sprang up and clung to me, sobbing, like a
+child just awakened in the night from a bad dream.
+
+"Oh," she panted, "are they gone? did you kill them? how good you are!
+Oh, God will reward you for being so good to us!"  And she trembled so
+she would certainly have fallen if I had not held her close.
+
+"You are safe now, dear," said I, soothing her, quite forgetting that
+she knew me not as I knew her, and that, if she gave the matter any
+heed at all, my speech must have puzzled her sorely.  "But come with
+me!"  And I led her to where Marc lay in the shade.
+
+The dear lad's face had gone even whiter than when I left him, and I
+saw that he had swooned.
+
+"The pain and shock have overcome him!" I exclaimed, dropping on my
+knees to remove the pillow of ferns from under his head.  As I did so,
+I heard the girl catch her breath sharply, with a sort of moan, and
+glancing up, I saw her face all drawn with misery.  While I looked in
+some surprise, she suddenly threw herself down, and crushed his face in
+her bosom, quite shutting off the air, which he, being in a faint,
+greatly needed.  I was about to protest, when her words stopped me.
+
+"Marc, Marc," she moaned, "why did you betray us?  Oh, why did you
+betray us so cruelly?  But oh, I love you even if you _were_ a traitor.
+Now you are dead" (she had not heard me, evidently, saying he had
+swooned), "now you are dead I may love you, no matter what you did.
+Oh, my love, why did you, why did you?"  And while I listened in
+bewilderment, she sprang to her feet, and her blue eyes blazed upon me
+fiercely.
+
+"You killed him!" she hissed at me across his body.
+
+This I remembered afterwards.  At the moment I only knew that she was
+calling the lad a traitor.  That I was well tired of.
+
+"Madame!" said I, sternly.  "Do not presume so far as to touch him
+again."
+
+It was her turn to look astonished now.  Her eyes faltered from my
+angry face to Marc's, and back again in a kind of helplessness.
+
+"Oh, you do well to accuse him," I went on, bitterly,--perhaps not very
+relevantly.  "You shall not dishonour him by touching him, you, who can
+believe vile lies of the loyal gentleman who loves you, and has, it may
+be, given his life for the girl who now insults him."
+
+The girl's face was now in such a confusion of distress that I almost,
+but not quite, pitied her.  Ere she could find words to reply, however,
+her sister was at her side, catching her hands, murmuring at her ear.
+
+"Why, Prudence, child," she said, "don't you see it all?  Didn't you
+see it all?  How splendidly Marc saved us" (I blessed the tact which
+led her to put the first credit on Marc)--"Marc and this most brave and
+gallant gentleman?  It was one of the savages who struck Marc down,
+before my eyes, as he was fighting to save us.  That dreadful story was
+a lie, Prudence; don't you see?"
+
+The maid saw clearly enough, and with a mighty gladness.  She was for
+throwing herself down again beside the lad to cover his face with
+kisses--and shut off the air which he so needed.  But I thrust her
+aside.  She had believed Marc a traitor.  Marc might forgive her when
+he could think for himself.  I was in no mind to.
+
+She looked at me with unutterable reproach, her eyes filling and
+running over, but she drew back submissively.
+
+"I know," she said, "I don't deserve that you should let me go near
+him.  But--I think--I think he would want me to, sir!  See, he wants
+me!  Oh, let me!"  And I perceived that Marc's eyes had opened.  They
+saw no one but the maid, and his left hand reached out to her.
+
+"Oh, well!" said I, grimly.  And thereafter it seemed to me that the
+lad got on with less air than men are accustomed to need when they
+would make recovery from a swoon.
+
+I turned to Mizpah Hanford; and I wondered what sort of eyes were in
+Marc's head, that he should see Prudence when Mizpah was by.  Before I
+could speak, Mizpah began to make excuses for her sister.  With heroic
+fortitude she choked back her own grief, and controlled her voice with
+a brave simplicity.  Coming from her lips, these broken excuses seemed
+sufficient--though to this day I question whether I ought to have
+relented so readily.  She pleaded, and I listened, and was content to
+listen so long as she would continue to plead.  But there was little I
+clearly remember.  At last, however, these words, with which she
+concluded, aroused me:--
+
+"How could we any longer refuse to believe," she urged, "when the good
+priest confessed to us plainly, after much questioning, that it was
+Monsieur Marc de Mer who had sent the savages to steal us, and had told
+them just the place to find us, and the hour?  The savages had told us
+the same thing at first, taunting us with it when we threatened them
+with Marc's vengeance.  You see, Monsieur, they had plainly been
+informed by some one of our little retreat at the riverside, and of the
+hour at which we were wont to frequent it.  Yet we repudiated the tale
+with horror.  Then yesterday, when the good priest told us the same
+thing, with a reluctance which showed his horror of it, what _could_ we
+do but believe?  Though it did seem to us that if Marc were false there
+could be no one true.  The priest believed it.  He was kind and
+pitiful, and tried to get the savages to set us free.  He talked most
+earnestly, most vehemently to them; but it was in their own barbarous
+language, and of course we could not understand.  He told us at last
+that he could do nothing at the time, but that he would exert himself
+to the utmost to get us out of their hands by and by.  Then he went
+away.  And then--"
+
+"And then, Madame," said I, "your little one was taken from you at his
+orders!"
+
+"Why, what do you mean, Monsieur?" she gasped, her great sea-coloured
+eyes opening wide with fresh terror.  "At his orders?  By the orders of
+that kind priest?"
+
+"Of what appearance was he?" I inquired, in return.
+
+"Oh," she cried breathlessly, "he was square yet spare of figure,
+dark-skinned almost as Marc, with a very wide lower face, thin, thin
+lips, and remarkably light eyes set close together,--a strange, strong
+face that might look very cruel if he were angry.  He looked angry once
+when he was arguing with the Indians."
+
+"You have excellently described our bitterest foe, and yours, Madame,"
+said I, smiling.  "The wicked Abbé La Garne, the pastor and master of
+these poor tools of his whom I would fain have spared, but could not."
+And I pointed to the bodies of the three dead savages, where they lay
+sprawling in various pathetic awkwardnesses of posture.
+
+She looked, seemed to think of them for the first time, shivered, and
+turned away her pitiful eyes.
+
+"Those poor wretches," I continued, "were sent by this kind priest to
+capture you.  He knew when and where to find you, because he had played
+the eavesdropper when Marc and I were talking of you."
+
+"Oh," she cried, clenching her white hands desperately, "can there be a
+priest so vile?"
+
+"Ay, and this which you have heard is but a part of his villany.  We
+have but lately baulked him in a plot whereby he had nearly got Marc
+hanged.  This, Madame, I promise myself the honour of relating to you
+by and by; but now we must get the poor lad removed to some sort of
+house and comfort."
+
+"And, oh," cried this poor mother, in a voice of piercing anguish and
+amazement, as if she could not yet wholly realize it,--"my boy, my boy!
+He is in the power of such a monster!"
+
+"Be of good heart, I beseech you," said I, with a kind of passion in my
+voice.  "I will find him, I swear I will bring him back to you.  I will
+wait only so long as to see my own boy in safe hands!"
+
+Again that look of trust was turned upon me, thrilling me with
+invincible resolve.
+
+"Oh, I trust you, Monsieur!" she cried.  Then pressing both hands to
+her eyes with a pathetic gesture, and thrusting back her hair--"I knew
+you, somehow, for the Seigneur de Briart," she went on, "as soon as I
+heard you demanding our release.  And I immediately felt a great hope
+that you would set us free and save Philip.  I suppose it is from Marc
+that I have learned such confidence, Monsieur!"
+
+I bowed, awkward and glad, and without a pretty word to repay her
+with,--I who have some name in Quebec for well-turned compliment.  But
+before this woman, who was young enough to be my daughter, I was like a
+green boy.
+
+"You are too kind," I stammered.  "It will be my great ambition to
+justify your good opinion of me."
+
+Then I turned away to launch a canoe.
+
+While I busied myself getting the canoe ready, and spreading ferns in
+the bottom of it for Marc to lie on, Mizpah walked up and down in a
+kind of violent speechlessness, as it were, twisting her long white
+hands, but no more giving voice to her grief and her anxiety.  Once she
+sat down abruptly under the maple tree, and buried her face in her
+hands.  Her shoulders shook, but not a sound of sob or moan came to my
+ears.  My heart ached at the sight.  I determined that I would give her
+work to do, such as would compel some attention on her part.
+
+As soon as the canoe was ready I asked:
+
+"Can you paddle, Madame?"
+
+She nodded an affirmative, her voice seeming to have gone from her.
+
+"Very well," said I, "then you will take the bow paddle, will you not?"
+
+"Yes, indeed!" she found voice to cry, with an eagerness which I took
+to signify that she thought by paddling hard to find her child the
+sooner.  But the manner in which she picked up the paddle, and took her
+place, and held the canoe, showed me she was no novice in the art of
+canoeing.  I now went to lift Marc and carry him to the canoe.
+
+"Let me help you," pleaded Prudence, springing up from beside him.  "He
+must be so heavy!"  Whereat I laughed.
+
+"I can walk, I am sure, Father," said Marc, faintly, "if you put me on
+my feet and steady me."
+
+"I doubt it, lad," said I, "and 'tis hardly worth while wasting your
+little strength in the attempt.  Now, Prudence," I went on, turning to
+the girl, "I want you to get in there in front of the middle bar, and
+make a comfortable place for this man's head,--if you don't mind taking
+a live traitor's head in your lap!"
+
+At this the poor girl's face flushed scarlet, as she quickly seated
+herself in the canoe; and her lips trembled so that my heart smote me
+for the jest.
+
+"Forgive me, child.  I meant it not as a taunt, but merely as a poor
+jest," I hastened to explain.  "Your sister has told me all, and you
+were scarce to blame.  Now, take the lad and make him as comfortable as
+a man with a shattered shoulder can hope to be."  And I laid Marc
+gently down so that he could slip his long legs under the bar.  He
+straightway closed his eyes from sheer weakness; but he could feel his
+maid bend her blushing face over his, and his expression was a
+strangely mingled one of suffering and content.
+
+Taking my place in the stern of the canoe, I pushed out.  The tide was
+just beginning to ebb.  There was no wind.  The shores were green and
+fair on either hand.  My dear lad, though sore hurt, was happy in the
+sweet tenderness of his lily maid.  As for me, I looked perhaps
+overmuch at the radiant head of Mizpah, at the lithe vigorous swaying
+of her long arms, the play of her gracious shoulders as she paddled
+strenuously.  I felt that it was good to be in this canoe, all of us
+together, floating softly down to the little village beside the
+Canard's mouth.
+
+
+
+
+Part II
+
+Mizpah
+
+
+
+Chapter XII
+
+In a Strange Fellowship
+
+I took Marc and the ladies to the house of one Giraud, a well-tried and
+trusted retainer, to whom I told the whole affair.  Then I sent a
+speedy messenger to Father Fafard, begging him to come at once.  The
+Curé of Grand Pré was a skilled physician, and I looked to him to treat
+Marc's wound better than I could hope to do.  My purpose, as I unfolded
+it to Marc and to the ladies that same evening, sitting by Marc's
+pallet at the open cottage door, was to start the very next day in
+quest of the stolen child.  I would take but one follower, to help me
+paddle, for I would rely not on force but on cunning in this venture.
+I would warn some good men among my tenants, and certain others who
+were in the counsels of the Forge, to keep an unobtrusive guard about
+the place, till Marc's wound should be so far healed that he might go
+to Grand Pré.  And further, I would put them all in the hands of Father
+Fafard, with whom even the Black Abbé would scarce dare to meddle
+openly.
+
+"The Curé," said I, turning to Mizpah, "you may trust both for his
+wisdom and his goodness.  With him you will all be secure till my
+return."
+
+Mizpah bowed her head in acknowledgment, and looked at me gratefully,
+but could not trust herself to speak.  She sat a little apart, by the
+door, and was making a mighty effort to maintain her outward composure.
+
+Then I turned to where Marc's face, pallid but glad, shone dimly on his
+pillow.  I took his hand, I felt his pulse--for the hundredth time,
+perhaps.  There was no more fever, no more prostration, than was to be
+accounted inevitable from such a wound.  So I said:--
+
+"Does the plan commend itself to you, dear lad?  It troubles me sore to
+leave you in this plight; but Father Fafard is skilful, and I think you
+will not fret for lack of tender nursing.  You will not _need_ me, lad;
+but there is a little lad with yellow hair who needs me now, and I must
+go to him."
+
+The moment I had spoken these last words I wished them back, for Mizpah
+broke down all at once in a terrible passion of tears.  But I was ever
+a bungler where women are concerned, ever saying the wrong thing, ever
+slow to understand their strange, swift shiftings of mood.  This time,
+however, I understood; for with my words a black realization of the
+little one's lonely fear came down upon my own soul, till my heart
+cried out with pity for him; and Prudence fell a-weeping by Marc's
+head.  But she stopped on the instant, fearing to excite Marc
+hurtfully, and Marc said:--
+
+"Indeed, Father, think not a moment more of me.  'Tis the poor little
+lad that needs you.  Oh that I too could go with you on the quest!"
+
+"To-morrow I go," said I, positively, "just as soon as I have seen
+Father Fafard."
+
+As I spoke, Mizpah went out suddenly, and walked with rapid strides
+down the road, passing Giraud on the way as he came from mending the
+little canoe which I was to take.  I had chosen a small and light
+craft, not knowing what streams I might have to ascend, what long
+carries I might have to make.  As Mizpah passed him, going on to lean
+her arms upon the fence and stare out across the water, Giraud turned
+to watch her for a moment.  Then, as he came up to the door where we
+sat, he took off his woollen cap, and said simply, "Poor lady! it goes
+hard with her."
+
+"My friend," said I, "will these, while I am gone, be safe here from
+their enemies,--even should the Black Abbé come in person?"
+
+"Master," he replied, with a certain proud nobility, which had ever
+impressed me in the man, "if any hurt comes to them, it will be not
+over my dead body alone, but over those of a dozen more stout fellows
+who would die to serve you."
+
+"I believe you," said I, reaching out my hand.  He kissed it, and went
+off quickly about his affairs.
+
+Hardly was he gone when Mizpah came back.  She was very pale and calm,
+and her eyes shone with the fire of some intense purpose.  Had I known
+woman's heart as do some of my friends whom I could mention, I should
+have fathomed that purpose at her first words.  But as I have said, I
+am slow to understand a woman's hints and objects, though men I can
+read ere their thoughts find speech.  There was a faint glory of the
+last of sunset on Mizpah's face and hair as she stood facing me, her
+lips parted to speak.  Behind her lay the little garden, with its
+sunflowers and lupines, and its thicket of pole beans in one corner.
+Then, beyond the gray fence, the smooth tide of the expanding river,
+violet-hued, the copper and olive wood, the marshes all greenish amber,
+and the dusky purple of the hills.  It was all stamped upon my memory
+in delectable and imperishable colours, though I know that at the
+moment I saw only Mizpah's tall grace, her red-gold hair, the eyes that
+seemed to bring my spirit to her feet.  I was thinking, "Was there ever
+such another woman's face, or a presence so gracious?" when I realized
+that she was speaking.
+
+"Do I paddle well, Monsieur?" she asked, with the air of one who
+repeats a question.
+
+"Pardon, a thousand pardons, Madame!" I exclaimed.  "Yes, you use your
+paddle excellently well."
+
+"And I can shoot, I can shoot very skilfully," she went on, with strong
+emphasis.  "I can handle both pistol and musket."
+
+"Indeed, Madame!" said I, considerably astonished.
+
+"Ask Marc if I am not a cunning shot," she persisted, while her eyes
+seemed to burn through me in their eager intentness.
+
+"Yes, Father," came Marc's whispered response out of the shadow, where
+I saw only the bended head of the maid Prudence.  "Yes, Father, she is
+a more cunning marksman than I."
+
+I turned again to her, and saw that she expected, that she thirsted
+for, an answer.  But what answer?
+
+"Madame," said I, bowing profoundly, and hoping to cover my
+bewilderment with a courtly speech, "may I hope that you will fire a
+good shot for me some day; I should account it an honour above all
+others if I might be indebted to such a hand for such succour."
+
+She clasped her hands in a great gladness, crying, "Then I _may_ go
+with you?"
+
+"Go with me!" I cried, looking at her in huge amazement.
+
+"She wants to help you find the child," whispered Marc.
+
+The thought of this white girl among the perils which I saw before me
+pierced my heart with a strange pang, and in my haste I cried rudely:--
+
+"Nonsense!  Impossible!  Why, it would be mere madness!"
+
+So bitter was the pain of disappointment which wrung her face that I
+put out both hands towards her in passionate deprecation.
+
+"Forgive me; oh, forgive me, Madame!" I pleaded.  "But how _could_ I
+bring you into such perils?"
+
+But she caught my hands and would have gone on her knees to me if I had
+not stayed her roughly.
+
+"Take me with you," she implored.  "I can paddle, I can serve you as
+well as any man whom you can get.  And I am brave, believe me.  And how
+_can_ I wait here when my boy, my darling, my Philip, is alone among
+those beasts?  I would die every hour."
+
+How could I refuse her?  Yet refuse her I would, I must.  To take her
+would be to lessen my own powers, I thought, and to add tenfold to the
+peril of the venture.  Nevertheless my heart did now so leap at the
+thought of this strange, close fellowship which she demanded, that I
+came near to silencing my better judgment, and saying she might go.
+But I shut my teeth obstinately on the words.
+
+At this moment, while she waited trembling, Marc once more intervened.
+
+"You might do far worse than take her, Father.  No one else will serve
+you more bravely or more skilfully, I think."
+
+So Marc actually approved of this incredible proposal?  Then was it,
+after all, so preposterous?  My wavering must have shown itself in my
+face, for her own began to lighten rarely.
+
+"But--those clothes!" said I.
+
+At this she flushed to her ears.  But she answered bravely.
+
+"I will wear others; did you think I would so hamper you with this
+guise?  No," she added with a little nervous laugh, "I will play the
+man; be sure."
+
+And so, though I could scarce believe it, it was settled that Mizpah
+Hanford should go with me.
+
+That night I found little sleep.  My thoughts were a chaos of
+astonishment and apprehension.  Marc, moreover, kept tossing, for his
+wound fretted him sorely, and I was continually at his side to give him
+drink.  At about two in the morning there came a horseman to the garden
+gate, riding swiftly.  Hurrying out I met him in the path.  It was
+Father Fafard, come straight upon my word.  He turned his horse into
+Giraud's pasture, put saddle and bridle in the porchway, and then
+followed me in to Marc's bedside.
+
+When he had dressed the wound anew, and administered a soothing
+draught, Marc fell into a quiet sleep.
+
+"He will do well, but it is a matter for long patience," said the Curé.
+
+Then we went out of the house and down to the garden corner by the
+thicket of beans, where we might talk freely and jar no slumberers.
+Father Fafard fell in with my plans most heartily, and accepted my
+charges.  To hold the Black Abbé in check at any point, would, he felt,
+be counted unto him for righteousness.
+
+My mind being thus set at ease, I resolved to start as soon as might be
+after daybreak.
+
+Before it was yet full day, I was again astir, and goodwife Giraud was
+getting ready, in bags, our provision of bacon and black bread.  I had
+many small things to do,--gathering ammunition for two muskets and four
+pistols, selecting my paddles with care from Giraud's stock, and
+loading the canoe to the utmost advantage for ease of running and
+economy of space.  Then, as I went in to the goodwife's breakfast, I
+was met at the door by a slim youth in leathern coat and leggins, with
+two pistols and Marc's whinger.  I recognized the carven hilt stuck
+bravely in his belt, and Marc's knitted cap of gray wool on his head,
+well pulled down.  The boy blushed, but met my eye with a sweet
+firmness, and I bowed with great courtesy.  Even in this attire I
+thought she could not look aught but womanly--for it was Mistress
+Mizpah.  Yet I could not but confess that to the stranger she would
+appear but as a singularly handsome stripling.  The glory of her hair
+was hidden within her cap.
+
+"These are the times," said I, seriously, "that breed brave women."
+
+Breakfast done, messages and orders repeated, and farewells all spoken,
+the sun was perhaps an hour high when we paddled away from the little
+landing under Giraud's garden fence.  I waved my cap backwards to
+Prudence and the Curé, where they stood side by side at the landing.
+My comrade in the bow waved her hand once, then fell to paddling
+diligently.  I was still in a maze of wonderment, ready at any time to
+wake and find it a dream.  But the little seas that slapped us as we
+cleared the river mouth, these were plainly real.  I headed for the
+eastern point of the island, intending to land at the mouth of the
+Piziquid and make some inquiries.  The morning air was like wine in my
+veins.  There was a gay dancing of ripples over toward Blomidon, and
+the sky was a clear blue.  A dash of cool drops wet me.  It was no
+dream.
+
+And so in a strange fellowship I set out to find the child.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XIII
+
+My Comrade
+
+I could not sufficiently commend the ease and aptness with which my
+beautiful comrade wielded her paddle.  But in a while the day grew hot,
+and I bade her lie back in her place and rest.  At first she would not,
+till I was compelled to remind her in a tone of railing that I was the
+captain in this enterprise, and that good soldiers must obey.
+Whereupon, though her back was toward me, I saw a flush creep around to
+her little ears, and she laid the paddle down something abruptly.  I
+feared that I had vexed her, and I made haste to attempt an
+explanation, although it seemed to me that she should have understood a
+matter so obvious.
+
+"I beg you to pardon me, Madame, if I seem to insist too much," said I,
+with hesitation.  "But you must know that, if you exhaust yourself at
+the beginning of the journey, before you are hardened to the long
+continuance of such work, you will be unable to do anything to-morrow,
+and our quest will be much hindered."
+
+"Forgive me!" she cried; "you are right, of course.  Oh, I fear I have
+done wrong in hampering you!  But I am strong, truly, and enduring as
+most men, Monsieur."
+
+"Yes," I answered, "but to do one thing strenuously all day long, and
+for days thereafter, that is hard.  I believe you can do it, or I
+should have been mad indeed to bring you.  But you must let me advise
+you at the beginning.  For this first day, rest often and save yourself
+as much as possible.  By this means you will be able to do better
+to-morrow, and better still the day after.  By the other means, you
+will be able to do little to-morrow most likely, and perhaps nothing
+the day after."
+
+"Well," she said, turning her head partly around, so that I could see
+the gracious profile, "tell me, Monsieur, when to work and when to
+rest.  I will obey.  It is a lucky soldier, I know, who has the
+Seigneur de Briart to command him."
+
+[Illustration: Turning her head partly around, so that I could see the
+gracious profile]
+
+"But I fear, Madame," said I, "that discipline would sadly suffer if he
+had often such soldiers to command."
+
+To this she made no reply.  I saw that she leaned back in her place and
+changed her posture, so as to fulfil my wish and rest herself to the
+best advantage.  I thought my words over.  To me they seemed to have
+that savour of compliment which I would now avoid.  I felt that here,
+under these strange circumstances, in an intimacy which might by and by
+be remembered by her with some little confusion, but which now, while
+she had no thought but for the rescue of the little one, contained no
+shadow of awkwardness for her clear and earnest soul,--I felt that here
+I must hold myself under bonds.  The play of graceful compliment, such
+as I would have practised in her drawing-room to show her the
+courtliness of my breeding, must be forsworn.  The admiration, the
+devotion, the worship, that burned in my eyes whensoever they dwelt
+upon her, must be strictly veiled.  I must seem to forget that I am a
+man and my companion the fairest of women.  Yes, I kept telling myself,
+I must regard her as a comrade only, and a follower, and a boy.  I must
+be frank and careless in my manner toward her; kind, but blunt and
+positive.  She will think nothing of it now, and will blush the less
+for it by and by, when the child is in her arms again, and she can once
+more give her mind to little matters.
+
+And so I schooled myself; and as I watched her I began to realize more
+and more, with a delicious warming of my heart, what instant need I had
+of such schooling if I would not have her see how I was not at all her
+captain, but her bondsman.
+
+At the mouth of the Piziquid stream there clustered a few cottages, not
+enough to call a village; and here we stopped about noon.  A meal of
+milk and eggs and freshly baked rye cakes refreshed us, and eager as
+was our haste, I judged it wise to rest an hour stretched out in the
+shade of an apple tree.  To this halt, Mizpah, after one glance of
+eager question at my face, made no demur, and I replied to the glance
+by whispering:--
+
+"That is a good soldier!  We will gain by this pause, now.  We will
+travel late to-night."
+
+The cottagers of whom we had our meal were folk unknown to me; and
+being informed that the Black Abbé had some followers in the
+neighbourhood, I durst give no hint of our purpose.  By and by I asked
+carelessly if two canoes, with Indians of the Shubenacadie, had gone by
+this way.  I thought that the man looked at me with some suspicion.  He
+hesitated.  But before he could reply his goodwife answered for him,
+with the freedom of a clear conscience.
+
+"Yes, M'sieu," she chattered, "two canoes, and four Indians.  They went
+by yesterday, toward sundown, stopping here for water from our
+well,--the finest water hereabouts, if I do say it!"
+
+"They went up the river, I suppose," said I.
+
+"Oh, but no, M'sieu," clattered on the worthy dame.  "They went
+straight up the bay.  Yes, goodman," she continued, changing her tone
+sharply, "whenever I open my mouth you glare at me as if I was talking
+nonsense.  What have I said wrong now, I'd like to know.  Yes, I'd like
+very much to know that, goodman.  Why should not the gentleman know
+that they had--"
+
+But here the man interrupted her roughly.  "Will you never be done your
+prating?" he cried.  "Can't you see that you worry the gentlemen?  How
+should they care to know that the red rascals made a good catch of shad
+off the island?  Now, do go and get some of your fresh buttermilk for
+the gentlemen to drink before they go.  Don't you see they are
+starting?"
+
+And, indeed, Mizpah's impatience to be gone was plainly evident, and we
+had rested long enough.  I durst not look at her face, lest our host
+should perceive that I had heard what I wanted to hear.  I spoke
+casually of the weather, and inquired how his apples and his flax were
+faring, and so filled the minutes safely until the goodwife came with
+the butter-milk.  Having both drunk gratefully of the cool, delicately
+acid, nourishing liquor, we gave the man a piece of silver, and set out
+in good heart.
+
+"We are on the right track, comrade," said I, lightly, steering my
+course along the shore toward Cobequid.
+
+Her only answer was to fall a-paddling with such an eagerness that I
+had to check her.
+
+"Now, now," I said, "more haste, less speed."
+
+"But I feel so strong now, and so rested," she cried passionately.
+"Might we not overtake them to-night?"
+
+"Hardly so soon as that, I fear, Madame," I answered.  "This is a stern
+chase, and it is like to be a long one; you must make up your mind to
+that, if you would not have a fresh disappointment every hour."
+
+"Oh," she broke out, "if it were your child you were trying to find and
+save, you would not be so cool about it."
+
+"Believe me, Madame," said I, in a low voice, "I am not perhaps as cool
+as I appear."
+
+"Oh, what a weak and silly creature I must seem to you!" she cried.
+"But I will not be weak and silly when it comes to trial, Monsieur, I
+promise you.  I _will_ prove worthy of your confidence.  But make
+allowance for me now, and do not judge me harshly.  Every moment I seem
+to hear him crying for me, Monsieur."  And her head drooped forward in
+unspeakable grief.
+
+I could think of nothing, absolutely nothing, to say.  I could only
+mutter hoarsely, "I do not think you either weak or silly, Madame."
+
+This answer, feeble as it appeared to myself, seemed in a sense to
+relieve her.  She put down her paddle, leaned forward upon the front
+bar, with her face in her hands, and sobbed gently for a few minutes.
+Then, while I gazed upon her in rapt commiseration, she all at once
+resumed the paddle briskly.
+
+For my own part, being just lately returned from a long expedition, my
+muscles were like steel; I felt that I should never weary.  Steadily
+onward we pressed, past the mouths of several small streams whose names
+I did not know, past headland after headland of red clay or pallid
+plaster rock.  As the tide fell, we were driven far out into the bay,
+till sometimes there was a mile of oozy red flats parting us from the
+edge of the green.  But as the tide rose again, we accompanied its
+seething vanguard, till at last we were again close in shore.  A breeze
+soon after mid-day springing up behind us, we made excellent progress.
+But soon after sunset a mist arose, which made our journey too perilous
+to be continued.  I turned into a narrow cove between high banks, where
+the brawling of a shallow brook promised us fresh water.  And there, in
+a thicket of young fir trees growing at the foot of a steep bank, I set
+up the canoe on edge, laid some poles and branches against it, and had
+a secluded shelter for my lady.  She looked at it with a gratified
+admiration and could never be done with thanking me.
+
+Being now near the Shubenacadie mouth, I durst not light a fire, but we
+uncomplainingly ate our black bread; and then I said:
+
+"We will start at first gray, comrade.  You will need all the sleep you
+can win.  Good night, and kindly dreams."
+
+"Good night, Monsieur," she said softly, and disappeared.  Then going
+down to the water's side, I threw off my clothes, and took a swift
+plunge which steadied and refreshed me mightily.  Swimming in the misty
+and murmurous darkness, my venture and my strange fellowship seemed
+more like a dream to me than ever, and I could scarce believe myself
+awake.  But I was awake enough to feel it when, in stumbling ashore, I
+scraped my foot painfully on a jagged shell.  However, that hurt was
+soon eased and staunched by holding it for a little under the chill
+gushing of the brook; after which I dressed myself, gathered a handful
+of ferns for a pillow, and laid myself down across the opening which
+led into the thicket.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XIV
+
+My Comrade Shoots Excellently Well
+
+From a medley of dreams, in which I saw Mizpah binding the Black Abbé
+with cords of her own hair--tight, tighter, till they ate into his
+flesh, and I trembled at the look of shaking horror in his face; in
+which then I saw the child chasing butterflies before the door of the
+Forge in the Forest, and heard Babin's hammer beating musically on his
+anvil, till the sound became the chiming of the Angelus over the roofs
+and walls of Quebec, where Mizpah and I walked hand fast together on
+the topmost bastion,--from such a fleeting and blending confusion as
+this, I woke to feel a hand laid softly on my face in the dark.  I
+needed no seeing to tell me whose was the hand, so slim, so cool, so
+softly firm; and I had much ado to keep my lips from reverently kissing
+it.
+
+"Monsieur, Monsieur," came the whisper, "what is that noise, that
+voice?"
+
+"Pardon me, comrade, for sleeping so soundly," I murmured, sitting up,
+and taking her hand in mine with a rough freedom of goodwill, as merely
+to reassure her.  "What is it you hear?"
+
+But before she could reply, I heard it myself, a strange, chanting cry,
+slow and plangent, from far out upon the water.  Presently I caught the
+words, and knew the voice.
+
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the fair," it came solemnly, "for the day of her
+desolation draws nigh!"
+
+"It is Grűl," said I, "passing in his canoe, on some strange errand of
+his."
+
+"Grűl?  Who is Grűl?" she questioned, clinging a little to my hand, and
+then dropping it suddenly.
+
+"A quaint madman of these parts," said I; "and yet I think his madness
+is in some degree a feigning.  He has twice done me inestimable
+service--once warning us of an immediate peril, and again yesterday, in
+leading us to the spot where you were held captive.  For some reason
+unknown to me, he has a marvellous kindness for me and mine.  But the
+Black Abbé he hates in deadly fashion--for some ancient and
+ineffaceable wrong, if the tale tell true."
+
+"And he brought you to us?" she murmured, with a sort of stillness in
+her voice, which caught me strangely.
+
+"Yes, Grűl did!" said I.
+
+And then there was silence between us, and we heard the mysterious and
+solemn voice passing, and dying away in the distance.  My ears at last
+being released from the tension of listening, my eyes began to serve
+me, and through the branches I marked a grayness spreading in the sky.
+
+"We must be stirring, Madame," said I, rising abruptly to my feet.
+"Let us take our bread down to the brook and eat it there."
+
+But she was already gone, snatching up the sack of bread; and in a few
+minutes, having righted the canoe and carried it down to a convenient
+landing-place, I joined her.  She was stretched flat beside a little
+basin of the brook, her cap off, her hair in a tight coil high upon her
+head, her sleeves pulled up, while she splashed her face and arms in
+the running coolness.  Without pulling down her sleeves or resuming her
+cap, she seated herself on a stone and held out to me a piece of bread.
+In the coldly growing dawn her hair and lips were colourless, the
+whiteness of her arms shadowy and spectral.  Then as we slowly made our
+meal, I bringing water for her in my drinking-horn, the rose and fire
+and violet of sunrise began to sift down into our valley and show me
+again the hues of life in Mizpah's face.  I sprang up, handed her the
+woollen cap, and tried hard to keep my eyes from dwelling upon the
+sweet and gracious curves of her arms.
+
+"Aboard!  Aboard!" I cried, and moved off in a bustling fashion to get
+the paddles.  In a few minutes we were under way, thrusting out from
+the shore, and pushing through myriad little curling wisps of vapour,
+which rose in pale hues of violet and pink all over the oil-smooth
+surface of the tide.
+
+For some time we paddled in silence.  Then, when the sun's first rays
+fell fairly upon us, I exclaimed lightly:--
+
+"You must pull down your sleeves, comrade."
+
+"Why?" she asked quickly, turning her head and pausing in her stroke.
+
+"For two excellent reasons besides the captain's orders," said I.  "In
+the first place, your arms will get so sore with sunburn, that you
+won't be able to do your fair share of the work.  In the second place,
+if we should meet any strangers, it would be difficult to persuade them
+that those arms were manly enough for a wood-ranger."
+
+"Oh," she said quickly, and pulled down the sleeves in some confusion.
+
+All that morning we made excellent progress, with the help of a light
+following wind.  When the sun was perhaps two hours high, the mouth of
+the Shubenacadie opened before us; and because this river was the great
+highway of the Black Abbé's red people, I ran the canoe in shore and
+concealed it till I had climbed a bluff near by and scanned the lower
+reaches of the stream.  Finding all clear, we put out again, and with
+the utmost haste paddled past the mouth.  Not till we were behind the
+further point, and running along under the shelter of a high bank, did
+I breathe freely.  Then I praised Mizpah, for in that burst of speed
+her skill and force had amazed me.
+
+But she turned upon me with the question which I had looked for.
+
+"If that is the Black Abbé's river," said she, with great eyes fixing
+mine, "and the Indians have gone that way, why do we pass by?"
+
+"I owe you an explanation, comrade," said I.  "I think in all
+likelihood, that way leads straight to your child; but if we went that
+way, we would be the Abbé's prisoners within the next hour,--and how
+would we help the child then?  Oh, no; I am bound for the Black Abbé's
+back door.  A few leagues beyond this lies the River des Saumons, and
+on its banks is a settlement of our Acadian folk.  Many of them are of
+the Abbé's following, and all fear him; but I have there two faithful
+men who are in the counsels of the Forge.  One of these dwells some two
+miles back from the river, half a league this side of the village.  I
+will go to him secretly, and send him on to the Shubenacadie for
+information.  Then we will act not blindly."
+
+To this of course she acquiesced at once, as being the only wise way;
+but for all that, with each canoe-length that we left the Shubenacadie
+behind, the more did her paddle lag.  The impulse seemed all gone out
+of her.  Soon therefore I bade her lay down the blade and rest.  In a
+little, when she had lain a while with her face upon her arms,--whether
+waking or not I could not tell, for she kept her face turned away from
+me,--she became herself again.
+
+No long while after noon, we ran into the mouth of the des Saumons.  I
+was highly elated with the success that had so far attended us,--the
+speed we had made, our immunity from hindrance and question.  We landed
+to eat our hasty meal, but paused not long to rest, being urged now by
+the keen spur of imagined nearness to our goal.  Some two hours more of
+brisk paddling brought us to a narrow and winding creek, up which I
+turned.  For some furlongs it ran through a wide marsh, but at length
+one bank grew high and copsy.  Here I put the canoe to land, and
+stepped ashore, bidding Mizpah keep her place.
+
+Finding the spot to my liking, I pulled the canoe further up on the
+soft mud, and astonished Mizpah by telling her that I must carry her up
+the bank.
+
+"But why?" she cried.  "I can walk, Monsieur, as well as I could this
+morning--though I _am_ a little stiff," she added naďvely.
+
+"The good soldier asks not why," said I, with affected severity.  "But
+I will tell you.  In case any one _should_ come in my absence, there
+must be but one track visible, and that track mine, leading up and away
+toward the settlement.  You must lie hidden in that thicket, and keep
+guard.  Do you understand, Madame?"
+
+"Yes," said she,--"but how can you?--I am awfully heavy."
+
+I laughed softly, picked her up as I would a child, and carried her to
+the edge of the woods, where I let her down on one end of a fallen tree.
+
+"Now, comrade," said I, "if you will go circumspectly along this log
+you will leave no trace.  Hide yourself in the thicket there close to
+the canoe, keep your pistols primed, and watch till I come back,--and
+the blessed Virgin guard you!" I added, with a sudden fervour.
+
+Then, having lifted the canoe altogether clear of the water, I set
+forth at a swinging trot for Martin's farm.
+
+I found my trusty habitant at home, and ready to do any errand of mine
+ere I could speak it.  But when I told him what I wanted of him he
+started in some excitement.
+
+"Why, Monsieur," he cried, "I have the very tidings you seek.  I myself
+saw a canoe with two Indians pass up the river this morning; and they
+had a little child with them,--a child with long yellow hair."
+
+"Up _this_ river!" I exclaimed.  "Then whither can they be taking him?"
+
+"They did not leave him in the village," answered Martin, positively,
+"for the word goes that they passed on up in great haste.  By the route
+they have taken, they are clearly bound for the Straits--"
+
+"Ay, they'll cross to the head of the Pictook, and descend that
+stream," said I.  "But which way will they turn then?"--For I was
+surprised and confused at the information.
+
+"Well, Monsieur," said Martin, "when they get to the Straits, who
+knows?  They may be going across to Ile St. Jean.  They may turn south
+to Ile Royale; for the English, I hear, have no hold there, save at
+Louisburg and Canseau.  Or they may turn north toward Miramichi.  Who
+knows--save the Black Abbé?"
+
+"I must overtake them," said I, resolutely.  "Good-bye, my friend and
+thank you.  If all goes well, you will get a summons from the Forge ere
+the moon is again at the full;" and I made haste back to the spot where
+Mizpah waited.
+
+As I swung along, I congratulated myself on the good fortune which had
+so held me to the trail.  Then I fell to thinking of my comrade, and
+the wonder of the situation, and the greater wonder of her eyes and
+hair,--which thoughts sped the time so sweetly that ere I could believe
+it I saw before me the overhanging willows, and the thicket by the
+stream.  Then I stopped as if I had been struck in the face, and shook
+with a sudden fear.
+
+At my very feet, fallen across the dead tree which I have already
+mentioned, lay the body of an Indian.  Every line of the loose,
+sprawled body told me that he had met an instant death,--and a bullet
+hole in his back showed me the manner of it.  Only for a second did I
+pause.  Then I sprang into the thicket, with a horror catching at my
+heart.  There was Mizpah lying on her face,--and a hoarse cry broke
+from my lips.  But even as I flung myself down beside her I saw that
+she was not dead.  No, she was shaking with sobs,--and the naturalness
+of it, strange to say, reassured me on the instant.  I made to lift
+her, when she sprang at once to her feet, and looked at me wildly.  I
+took her hand, to comfort her; but she drew it away, and gazed upon it
+with a kind of shrinking horror.
+
+I understood now what had happened.  Nevertheless, knowing not just the
+best thing to say, I asked her what was the matter.
+
+"Oh," she cried, covering her eyes, "I killed him.  He threw up his
+hands, and groaned, and fell like a log.  How could I do it?  How could
+I do it?"
+
+I tried to assure her that she had done well; but finding that she
+would pay me no heed, I went to look at her victim.  I turned him over,
+and muttered a thanksgiving to Heaven as I recognized him for one of
+the worst of the Black Abbé's flock.  I found his tracks all about the
+canoe.  Then I went back to Mizpah.
+
+"Good soldier!  Good comrade!" said I, earnestly.  "You have killed
+Little Fox, the blackest and cruelest rogue on the whole Shubenacadie.
+Oh, I tell you you have done a good deed this day!"
+
+The knowledge of this appeared to ease her somewhat, and in a few
+moments I gathered the details.  The Indian had come suddenly to the
+bank, and seeing a canoe there had examined it curiously,--she, the
+while, waiting in great fear, for she had at once recognized him as one
+of her former captors, and one of whom she stood in special dread.
+While looking at our things in the canoe, he had appeared all at once
+to understand.  He had picked up my coat, and examined it
+carefully,--and the grin that disclosed his long teeth disclosed also
+that he recognized it.  Looking to the priming of his musket, he
+started cautiously up the bank upon my trail.
+
+"As soon as he left the canoe," said Mizpah, still shaken with sobs, "I
+knew that something must be done.  If he went away, it would be just to
+give the alarm, and then we could not escape, and Philip would be lost
+forever.  But I saw that, instead of going away, he was going to track
+you and shoot you down.  I didn't know what to do, or how I could ever
+shoot a man in cold blood,--but something _made_ me do it.  Just as he
+reached the end of the log, I seemed to see him already shooting you,
+away in the woods over there,--and then I fired.  And oh, oh, oh, I
+shall never forget how he groaned and fell over!"  And she stared at
+her right hand.
+
+"Comrade," said I, "I owe my life to you.  He _would_ have shot me
+down; for, as I think of it, I went carelessly, and seldom looked
+behind when I got into the woods.  To be so incautious is not my way,
+believe me.  I know not how it was, unless I so trusted the comrade
+whom I had left behind to guard my trail.  And now, here are news!
+They have brought the child this way, up this very river!  The saints
+have surely led us thus far, for we are hot upon their track!"
+
+And this made her forget to weep for the excellence of her shooting.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XV
+
+Grűl's Hour
+
+Though we were in a hot haste to get away, it was absolutely necessary
+first to bury the dead Indian, lest a hue and cry should be raised that
+might involve and delay us.  With my paddle, therefore, I dug him a
+shallow grave in the soft mud at the edge of the tide, which was then
+on the ebb.  This meagre inhumation completed, I smoothed the surface
+as best I could with my paddle; and then we set off, resting easy in
+the knowledge that the next tide would smooth down all traces of the
+work.
+
+It was by this close upon sunset, and I felt a little hesitation as to
+what we had best do.  I had no wish to run through the settlement till
+after dark, nor was I anxious to push on against the furious ebb of the
+des Saumons, against which the strongest paddlers could make slow
+headway.  But it was necessary to get out of the creek before the water
+should quite forsake us; and, moreover, Mizpah was in a fever of haste
+to be gone.  She kept gazing about as if she expected the savage to
+rise from his muddy grave and point at her.  We ran out of the creek,
+therefore, and were instantly caught in the great current of the river.
+I suffered it to sweep us down for half a mile, having noted on the way
+up a cluster of haystacks in an angle of the dyke.  Coming to these, I
+pushed ashore at once, carried the canoe up, and found that the place
+was one where we might rest secure.  Here we ate our black bread and
+drank new milk, for there were many cattle pasturing on the aftermath,
+and some of the cows had not yet gone home to milking.  Then, hiding
+the canoe behind the dyke, and ourselves between the stacks, in great
+weariness we sought our sleep.
+
+There was no hint of dawn in the sky when I awoke with a start; but the
+constellations had swung so wide an arc that I knew morning was close
+at hand.  There was a hissing clamour in the river-bed which told me
+the tide was coming in.  That, doubtless, was the change which had so
+swiftly aroused me.  I went to the other side of the stack, where
+Mizpah lay with her cheek upon her arm, her hair fallen adorably about
+her neck.  Touching her forehead softly with my hand, I whispered:--
+
+"Come, comrade, the tide has turned!"  Whereupon she sat up quietly, as
+if this were for her the most usual of awakenings, and began to arrange
+her hair.  I went out upon the shadowy marsh and soon accomplished a
+second theft of new milk, driving the tranquil cow which furnished it
+into the corner behind the stacks, that our dairy might be the more
+conveniently at hand.  Our fast broken (and though I hinted nought of
+it to Mizpah, I found black bread growing monotonous), I carried the
+canoe down to the edge of the tide.  But Mistress Mizpah's daintiness
+revolted at the mud, whereupon she took off her moccasins and stockings
+before she came to it, and I caught a gleam of slim white feet at the
+dewy edge of the grass.  When I had carried down the paddles, pole, and
+baggage, I found her standing in a quandary.  She could not get into
+the canoe with that sticky clay clinging to her feet, and there was no
+place where she could sit down to wash them.  Carelessly enough (though
+my heart the while trembled within me), I stretched out my hand to her,
+saying:--
+
+"Lean on me, comrade, and then you can manage it all right."
+
+And so it was that she managed it; and so indifferently did I cast my
+eyes about, now at the breaking dawn, now at the swelling tide, that I
+am sure she must have deemed that I saw not or cared not at all how
+white and slender and shapely were her feet!
+
+In few minutes we were afloat, going swiftly on the tide.  The sky was
+all saffron as we slipped through the settlement, and a fairy glow lay
+upon the white cottages.  The banks on either hand took on the
+ineffable hues of polished nacre.  To the door of one cottage, close by
+the water, came a man yawning, and hailed us.  But I flung back a mere
+"_Bon jour_," and sped on.  Not till the settlement was out of sight
+behind us, not till the cross on the spire of the village was quite cut
+off from view, did I drop to the even pace of our day-long journeying.
+When at length we got beyond the influence of the tide, des Saumons was
+a shallow, sparkling, singing stream, its bed aglow with ruddy-coloured
+rocks.  Here I laid aside my paddle and thrust the canoe onwards by
+means of my long pole of white spruce, while Mizpah had nought to do
+but lean back and watch the shores creep by.
+
+At the head of tide we had stopped to drink and to breathe a little.
+And there, seeing an old man working in front of a solitary cabin, I
+had deemed it safe to approach him and purchase a few eggs.  After this
+we kept on till an hour past noon, when I stopped in a bend of the
+river, at the foot of a perpendicular cliff of red rock some seventy or
+eighty feet in height.  Here was a thicket wherein we might hide both
+the canoe and ourselves if necessary.  The canoe I hid at once,
+that--being a matter of the more time.  Then we both set ourselves to
+gathering dry sticks, for it seemed to me we might here risk the luxury
+of a fire, with a dinner of roasted eggs.
+
+We had gathered but a handful or two, when I heard a crashing in the
+underbrush at the top of the cliff; and in a second, catching Mizpah by
+the hand, I had dragged her into hiding.  Through a screen of dark and
+drooping hemlock boughs we gazed intently at the top of the cliff,--and
+I noted, without thinking worth while to remedy my oversight, that I
+had forgotten to release Mizpah's hand.
+
+The crashing noise, mingled with some sharp outcries of rage and fear,
+continued for several minutes.  Then there was silence; and I saw at
+the brink a pointed cap stuck full of feathers, and the glare of a
+black and yellow cloak.
+
+"Grűl!" I whispered, in astonishment; and I felt an answering surprise
+in the tightened clasp of Mizpah's hand.
+
+A moment more and Grűl peered over the brink, scrutinizing the upper
+and lower reaches of the river.  He held a coil of rope, one end of
+which he had made fast to a stout birch tree which leaned well out over
+the edge.
+
+"What is he going to do?" murmured Mizpah, with wide eyes.
+
+"We'll soon see!" said I, marvelling mightily.
+
+The apparition vanished for some minutes, then suddenly reappeared
+close to the brink.  He carried, as lightly as if it had been a bundle
+of straw, the body of a man, so bound about with many cords as to
+remind me of nothing so much as a fly in the death wrappings of some
+black and yellow spider.  To add to the semblance, the victim was
+dressed in black,--and a closer scrutiny showed that he was a priest.
+
+"It is the Black Abbé, none other," I murmured, in a kind of awe; while
+Mizpah shrank closer to my side with a sense of impending tragedies.
+"Grűl has come to his revenge!" I added.
+
+In a business fashion Grűl knotted the end of his coil of rope about
+the prisoner's body, the feathers and flowers in his cap, meanwhile,
+nodding with a kind of satisfied rhythm.  Then he lowered the swathed
+and helpless but silently writhing figure a little way from the brink,
+governing the rope with ease by means of a half-twist about a jutting
+stump.  There was something indescribably terrifying in the sight of
+the fettered form swinging over the deep, with shudderings and
+twistings, and the safe edge not a yard length above him.  I pitied him
+in spite of myself; and I put a hand over Mizpah's eyes that she might
+not see what was coming.  But she pushed my hand away, and stared in a
+fascination.
+
+For some moments Grűl gazed down in silence upon his victim.
+
+I fancied I caught the soul-piercing flame of his mad eyes; but this
+was doubtless due to my imagination rather than to the excellence of my
+vision.  Suddenly the victim, his fortitude giving way with the sense
+of the deadly gulf beneath him, and with the pitiless inquisition of
+that gaze bent down upon him, broke out into wild pleadings, desperate
+entreaties, screams of anguished fear, till I myself trembled at it,
+and Mizpah covered her ears.
+
+"Oh, stop it! save him!" she whispered to me, with white lips.  But I
+shook my head.  I could not reach the top of the cliff.  And moreover,
+I had small doubt that Grűl's vengeance was just.  Nevertheless, had I
+been at the top of the cliff instead of the bottom, I had certainly put
+a stop to it.
+
+After listening for some moments, with a sort of pleasant attention, to
+the victim's ravings, Grűl lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far
+out over the brink, and reached down a long arm.  I saw the gleam of a
+knife in his darting hand; and I drew a quick breath of relief.
+
+[Illustration: Grűl lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far out
+over the brink, and reached down a long arm.]
+
+"That ends it," said I; and I shifted my position, which I had not
+done, as it seemed to me, for an eternity.  The victim's screaming had
+ceased before the knife touched him.
+
+But I was vastly mistaken in thinking it the end.
+
+"He has not killed him," muttered Mizpah.
+
+And then I saw that Grűl had merely cut the cord which bound his
+captive's hands.  The Abbé was swiftly freeing himself; and Grűl,
+meanwhile, was lowering him down the face of the cliff.  When the
+unhappy captive had descended perhaps twenty feet, his tormentor
+secured the rope, and again lay down with his head and shoulders
+leaning over the brink, his hands playing carelessly with the knife.
+
+The Abbé, with many awkward gestures, presently got his limbs free, and
+the cord which had enwound him fell trailing like a snake to the cliff
+foot.  Then, with clawing hands and sprawling feet, he clutched at the
+smooth, inexorable rock, in the vain hope of getting a foothold.  It
+was pitiful to see his mad struggles, and the quiet of the face above
+looking down upon them with unimpassioned interest; till at last,
+exhausted, the poor wretch ceased to struggle, and looked up at his
+persecutor with the silence of despair.
+
+Presently Grűl spoke,--for the first time, as far as we knew.
+
+"You know me, Monsieur l'Abbé, I suppose," he remarked, in tone of
+placid courtesy.
+
+"I know you, François de Grűl," came the reply, gasped from a dry mouth.
+
+"Then further explanation, I think you will allow, is not needed.  I
+will bid you farewell, and a pleasant journey," went on the same civil
+modulations of Grűl's voice.  At the same moment he reached down with
+his shining blade as if to sever the rope.
+
+"I did not do it!  I did not do it!" screamed the Abbé, once more
+clutching convulsively at the smooth rock.  "I swear to you by all the
+saints!"
+
+Grűl examined the edge of his knife.  He tested it with his thumb.  I
+saw him glance along it critically.  Then he touched it, ever so
+lightly, to the rope, so that a single strand parted.
+
+"Swear to me," he said, in the mildest voice, "swear to me, Monsieur
+l'Abbé, that you had no part in it.  Swear by the Holy Ghost, Monsieur
+l'Abbé!"
+
+But the Abbé was silent.
+
+"Swear me that oath now, good Abbé," repeated the voice, with a kind of
+courteous insistence.
+
+"I will not swear!" came the ghastly whisper in reply.
+
+At this an astonishing change passed over the face that peered down
+from the brink.  Its sane tranquillity became a very paroxysm of rage.
+The grotesque cap was dashed aside, and Grűl sprang to his feet, waving
+his arms, stamping and leaping, his gaudy cloak a-flutter, his long
+white hair and beard twisting as if with a sentient fury of their own.
+He was so close upon the brink that I held my breath, expecting him to
+be plunged headlong.  But all at once the paroxysm died out as suddenly
+as it had begun; and throwing himself down in his former position, Grűl
+once more touched the knife edge to the rope, severing fibre by fibre,
+slowly, slowly.
+
+With the first touch upon the rope rose the Abbé's voice again, but no
+longer in vain entreaty and coward wailings.  I listened with a great
+awe, and a sob broke from Mizpah's lips.  It was the prayer for the
+passing soul.  We heard it poured forth in steady tones but swift,
+against the blank face of the cliff.  And we waited to see the rope
+divided at a stroke.
+
+But to our astonishment, Grűl sprang to his feet again, in another
+fury, and flung aside his knife.  With twitching hands he loosened the
+rope and began lowering his victim rapidly, till, within some twenty
+feet of the bottom, the Abbé found a footing, and stopped.  Then Grűl
+tossed the whole rope down upon him.
+
+"Go!" he cried in his chanting, bell-like tones.  "The cup of your
+iniquity is not yet full.  You shall not die till your soul is so black
+in every part that you will go down straight into hell!"  And turning
+abruptly, he vanished.
+
+The Black Abbé, as if seized with a faintness, leaned against the rock
+for some minutes.  Then, freeing himself from the rope, he climbed down
+to the foot of the cliff, and moved off slowly by the water's edge
+toward Cobequid.  We trembled lest he should see us, or the canoe,--I
+having no stomach for an attack upon one who had just gone through so
+dreadful a torment.  But his face, neck, ears, were like a sweating
+candle; and his contracted eyes seemed scarce to see the ground before
+his feet.
+
+"Seemed," I say.  Yet even in this supreme moment, he tricked me.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XVI
+
+I Cool My Adversaries' Courage
+
+We now, having been so long delayed, gave up our purpose of a fire, and
+contented ourselves with the eggs raw.  I also cut some very thin
+slices of the smoked and salted bacon, to eat with our black bread, for
+I knew that, working as we did, we needed strong food.  But Mizpah
+would not touch the uncooked bacon, though its savour, I assured her,
+was excellent.  We had but well begun our meal, and I was stooping over
+the hard loaf, when a startled exclamation from Mizpah made me look up.
+Close behind us stood Grűl, impatiently twisting his little white rod
+with the scarlet head.  His eyes were somewhat more piercing, more like
+blue flame, than ordinarily, but otherwise he looked as usual.  So
+little mark remained upon him of the scene just enacted.  Both wise and
+mad! I thought.
+
+It struck me that he was pleased with the impression he so plainly made
+on us both, and for a moment he looked upon us in silence.  Then
+swiftly pointing his stick at us, he said sharply:--
+
+"Fools!  Do you wait here?  But the hound is on the trail.  Do you
+dream he did not see you?"
+
+Then he turned to go.  But Mizpah was at his side instantly, catching
+him by the wrist, and imploring him to tell us which way her child had
+been carried.
+
+Grűl stopped and looked down upon her with austere dignity, but without
+replying.  Passionately Mizpah entreated him, not to be denied; and at
+last, lightly but swiftly removing her fingers from his wrist, he
+muttered oracularly:--
+
+"They will take him to the sea that is within the heart of the land!
+But go!" he repeated with energy, "or you will not go far!" and with
+steps so smooth that they seemed not to touch the ground, he went past
+the cliff foot.  His gaudy mantle shone for a moment, and he was gone.
+
+The ominous urgency of his warning rang in our ears, and we were not
+slow in making our own departure.
+
+"What does he mean by 'the sea that is within the heart of the land'?"
+asked Mizpah, as we hurriedly launched the canoe.
+
+"He means the Bras d'Or lakes," I said, "those wonderful reaches of
+land-locked sea that traverse the heart of He Royale.  It is a likely
+enough way for the savages to go.  There are villages both of Acadians
+and of Indians on the island."
+
+As we were to learn afterwards, however, Grűl had told us falsely.  The
+child was not destined for Ile Royale.  Whether the strange being
+really thought he was directing us aright, or, his vanity not
+permitting him to confess that he did not know, trusted to a guess with
+the hope that it might prove a prophecy, I have never been able to
+determine.  As a matter of fact, Fate did presently so take our affairs
+into her own hands, that Grűl's misinformation affected the end not at
+all.  But his warning and his exhortation to speed we had to thank for
+our escape from the perils that soon came upon us.  Had we not been
+thus warned, without doubt we should have been taken unawares and
+perished miserably.
+
+On the incidents of our journey for the rest of that day, and up to
+something past noon of the day following, I need not particularly
+dwell.  Suffice to say that we accomplished prodigious things, and that
+Mizpah showed incredible endurance.  It was as if she saw her child
+ever a little way before her, and hoped to come up with him the next
+minute.  When the stream became hopelessly shallow, we got out and
+waded, dragging the canoe.  The long portage to the head of the Pictook
+waters we made in the night, the trail being a clear one, and not
+overly rough.  At the further end of the carry, when I set down the
+canoe at the stream's edge, I could have dropped for weariness, yet
+from Mizpah I heard no complaint; and her silent heroism stirred my
+soul to a deepening passion of worship.  Over and over I told myself
+that night that I would never rest or count the cost till I had given
+the child back to her arms.
+
+Not till we had gone perhaps a mile down the Pictook did I order a
+halt, thrusting the canoe into a secure hiding-place.  We snatched an
+hour of sleep, lying where we stepped ashore.  Then, rising in the
+redness of daybreak, we hurried on, eating as we journeyed.  And now,
+conceiving that it was necessary to keep up her strength, Mizpah ate of
+the uncooked bacon; though she wore a face of great aversion as she did
+so.
+
+When, after hours of unmitigated toil, we reached the head of tide and
+the spacious open reaches of the lower river, I insisted on an hour of
+rest.  Mizpah vowed that she was not exhausted,--but she slept
+instantly, falling by the side of the canoe as she stepped out.  For
+myself I durst not sleep, but I rested, and watched, and sucked an egg,
+and chewed strips of bacon.  When we pushed off again I felt that we
+must have put a good space between us and our pursuers; and as the ebb
+tide was helping me I made Mizpah go on sleeping, in her place in the
+bow.
+
+"I will need your help more by and by," said I when she protested, "and
+then you must have all your strength to give me!"
+
+The river soon became a wide estuary, with arms and indentations,--a
+harbour fit to hold a hundred fleets.  Straight down mid-channel I
+steered, the shortest course to the mouth.  But by and by there sprang
+up a light head-wind, delaying me.
+
+"Wake up, comrade," I cried.  "I need your good arm now, against this
+breeze!"
+
+She had slept there an hour, and she woke now with a childlike flush in
+her cheeks.
+
+"How good of you to let me sleep so," she exclaimed, turning to give me
+a grateful glance.  But the expression upon her face changed instantly
+to one of fear, and the colour all went out.
+
+"Oh, look behind us!" she gasped.  I had not indeed waited for her
+words.  Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of a large canoe,
+with four savages paddling furiously.  The one glimpse was enough.
+
+"Now, comrade, work!" said I.  "But steady! not too hard!  This is a
+long chase, remember!" and I bent mightily to the paddle.
+
+Our pursuers were a good half-mile behind; and had we not been already
+wearied, I believe we could have held our own with them all day.  Our
+canoe was light and swift, Mizpah paddled rarely, and for myself, I
+have never yet been beaten, by red man or white, in a fair canoe-race.
+But as it was, I felt that we must win by stratagem, if the saints
+should so favour us as to let us win at all.  Half a mile ahead, on our
+right, was a high point.  Behind it, as I knew, was a winding estuary
+of several branches, each the debouchement of a small stream.  It was
+an excellent place in which to evade pursuers.  I steered for the high
+point.
+
+As we darted behind its shelter, a backward glance told me that our
+enemies had not gained upon us.  The moment we were hidden from their
+view I put across to the other side of the channel, ran the canoe
+behind a jutting boulder, and leapt out.  Not till we were concealed,
+canoe and all, behind a safe screen of rocks and underbrush, did Mizpah
+ask my purpose, though she plainly marvelled that I should hide so
+close to the entrance.
+
+"A poor and something public hiding-place is often the most secret,"
+said I.  "The Indians know that up this water there are a score of
+turns, and backwaters, and brook-mouths, wherein we might long evade
+them.  As soon as they saw us turn in here, they doubtless concluded
+that the water was well known to me, and that I would hope to baffle
+them in the inner labyrinths and escape up one of the streams.  They
+will never dream of us stopping here."
+
+"I see!" she exclaimed eagerly.  "When they have passed in to look for
+us, we will slip out, and push on."  It was haste she thought of rather
+than escape.  No moment passed, I think, when her whole will, her whole
+being, were not focussed upon the finding of the child.  And the more I
+realized the intensity of her love and her pain, the more I marvelled
+at the heroic self-control which forbade her to waste her strength in
+tears and wailings.  The conclusion at which she had now arrived, as to
+my plan, was one I had not thought of, and I considered it before
+replying.
+
+"No," said I, presently; "that is not quite my purpose, though I
+confess it is a good one.  But, comrade, this is a safe ambush!  They
+must pass within close gunshot of us!"
+
+"Oh," she cried, paling, and clasping her hands, "_must_ there be more
+blood?  But yes, they bring it on themselves," she went on with a
+sudden fierceness, flushing again, and her mouth growing cruel.  "They
+would keep us from finding him.  Their blood be on their own heads!"
+
+"I am glad you think of that," said I.  "They would have no mercy for
+us if they should take us now.  But indeed, if it will please you to
+have it so, we need not shoot them down.  We can treat them to such a
+medicine as they had before of me, sink their canoe, and leave them
+like drowned rats on the other shore."
+
+"Yes," said Mizpah, quietly; "if that will do as well, it will please
+me much better."
+
+And so it was agreed.  A very few minutes later the canoe appeared,
+rounding into the estuary.  The savages scanned both shores minutely,
+but rather from the habit of caution than from any thought that we
+might have gone to land.  If, however, I had not taken care to make my
+landing behind a boulder, those keen eyes would have marked some
+splashed spots on the shingle, and we would have been discovered.
+
+But no such evil fortune came about.  The four paddles flashed onward
+swiftly.  The four fierce, painted and feathered heads thrust forward
+angrily, expecting to overtake us in one of the inner reaches.  I took
+up Mizpah's musket (which was loaded with slugs, while my own carried a
+bullet, in case I should be called upon for a long and delicate shot),
+and waited until the canoe was just a little more than abreast of us.
+Then, aiming at the waterline, just in front of the bow paddle, I fired.
+
+The effect was instant and complete.  The savage in the bow threw up
+his paddle with a scream and sprang overboard.  He was doubtless
+wounded, and feared a second shot.  We saw him swimming lustily toward
+the opposite shore.  The others paddled desperately in the same
+direction, but before they had gone half-way the canoe was so deep in
+the water that she moved like a log.  Then they, too, seized with the
+fear of a second shot, sprang overboard.  By this time I had the musket
+reloaded.
+
+"If they get the canoe ashore, with their weapons aboard her," said I,
+"they will soon get her patched up, and we will have it all to do over
+again.  Here goes for another try, whatever heads may be in the way!"
+
+Mizpah averted her face, but made no protest, and I fired at the stern
+of the canoe, which was directly toward me.  A swimmer's head, close
+by, went down; and in a minute more the canoe did likewise.  Three
+feathered heads remained in sight; and presently three dark figures
+dragged themselves ashore--one of them limping badly--and plunged into
+the woods.
+
+"Without canoe or guns," said I, "they are fairly harmless for a
+while."  But Mizpah, as we re-embarked and headed again for the sea,
+said nothing.  I think that in her bosom, at this time, womanly
+compassion was striving, and at some disadvantage, with the
+vindictiveness of outraged motherhood.  I think--and I loved her the
+better for it--she was glad I had killed one more of her child's
+enemies; but I think, too, she was filled with shame at her gladness.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XVII
+
+A Night in the Deep
+
+Once fairly out again into the harbour, I saw two things that were but
+little to my satisfaction.  Far away up the river were three more
+canoes.  I understood at once that the savages whom we had just worsted
+were the mere vanguard of the Black Abbé's attack.  The new-comers,
+however, were so far behind that I had excellent hopes of eluding them.
+The second matter that gave me concern was the strong head-wind that
+had suddenly arisen.  The look of the sky seemed to promise, moreover,
+that what was now a mere blow might soon become a gale.  It was already
+kicking up a sea that hindered us.  Most women would have been
+terrified at it, but Mizpah seemed to have no thought of fear.  We
+pressed on doggedly.  There was danger ahead, I knew,--a very serious
+danger, which would tax all my skill to overcome.  But the danger
+behind us was the more menacing.  I felt that there was nothing for it
+but to face the storm and force a passage around the cape.  This
+accomplished,--if we could accomplish it,--I knew our pursuers would
+not dare to follow.
+
+About sundown, though the enemy had drawn perceptibly nearer, I
+concluded that we must rest and gather our strength.  I therefore ran
+in behind a little headland, the last shelter we could hope for until
+we should get around the cape.  There we ate a hearty meal, drank from
+a tiny spring, and lay stretched flat on the shore for a quarter of an
+hour.  Then, after an apprehensive look at the angry sea, and a prayer
+that was earnest enough to make up for some scantness in length, I
+cried:--
+
+"Come now, comrade, and be brave."
+
+"I am not afraid, Monsieur," she answered quietly.  "If anything
+happens, I know it will not be because you have failed in anything that
+the bravest and truest of men could hope to do."
+
+"I think that God will help us," said I.  That some one greater than
+ourselves does sometimes help us in such perils, I know, whatever
+certain hasty men who speak out of a plentiful lack of experience may
+declare to the contrary.  But whether this help be a direct
+intervention of God himself, or the succour of the blessed saints, or
+the watchful care of one's guardian spirit, I have never been able to
+conclude to my own satisfaction.  And very much thought have I given to
+the matter by times, lying out much under the stars night after night,
+and carrying day by day my life in my hands.  However it might be, I
+felt sustained and comforted as we put out that night.  The storm was
+now so wild that it would have been perilous to face in broad daylight
+and with a strong man at the bow paddle.  Yet I believed that we should
+win through.  I felt that my strength, my skill, my sureness of
+judgment, were of a sudden made greater than I could commonly account
+them.
+
+But whatever strength may have been graciously vouchsafed to me that
+night, I found that I needed it all.  The night fell not darkly, but
+with a clear sky, and the light of stars, and a diffused glimmer from
+the white crests of the waves.  The gale blew right on shore, and the
+huge roar of the surf thundering in our ears seemed presently to blunt
+our sense of peril.  The great waves now hung above us, white-crested
+and hissing, till one would have said we were in the very pit of doom.
+A moment more, and the light craft would seem to soar upward as the
+wave slipped under it, a wrenching turn of my wrist would drive her on
+a slant through the curling top of foam, and then we would slide
+swiftly into the pit again, down a steep slope of purplish blackness
+all alive with fleeting eyes of white light.  The strain upon my wrist,
+the mighty effort required at each wave lest we should broach to and be
+rolled over, were something that I had never dreamed to endure.  Yet I
+did endure it.  And as for the brave woman in the bow, she simply
+paddled on, steadily, strongly, without violence, so that I learned to
+depend on her for just so much force at each swift following crisis.
+For there was a new crisis every moment,--with a moment's grace as we
+slipped into each succeeding pit.  At last we found ourselves off the
+cape,--and then well out into the open Strait, yet not engulfed.  A
+little,--just as much as I durst, and that was very little,--I shifted
+our course toward south.  This brought a yet heavier strain upon my
+wrist, but there was no help for it if we would hope to get beyond the
+cape.  How long we were I know not.  I lost the sense of time.  I had
+no faculty left save those that were in service now to battle back
+destruction.  But at last I came to realize that we were well clear of
+the cape, that the sound of the breakers had dwindled, and that the
+time had come to turn.  To turn?  Ay, but could it be done?
+
+It could but be tried.  To go on thus much longer was, I knew,
+impossible.  My strength would certainly fail by and by.
+
+"Comrade," said I,--and my voice sounded strange, as if long
+unused,--"keep paddling steadily as you are, but the moment I say
+'change,' paddle _hard_ on the other side."
+
+"Yes, Monsieur!" she answered as quietly as if we had been walking in a
+garden.
+
+I watched the approach of one of those great waves which would, as I
+knew, have as vast a fellow to follow upon it.  As soon as we were well
+over the crest I began to turn.
+
+"Change!" I shouted.  And Mizpah's paddle flashed to the other side.
+Down we slanted into the pit.  We lay at the bottom for a second,
+broadside on,--then we got the little craft fairly about as she rose.
+A second more, and the wind caught us, and completed the turn,--and the
+next crest was fairly at my back.  I drew a huge breath, praising God
+and St. Joseph; and we ran in toward the hollow of the land before us.
+That part of the coast was strange to me, save as seen when passing by
+ship; but I trusted there would be some estuary or some winding, within
+which we might safely come to land.
+
+The strain was now different, and therefore my nerves and muscles felt
+a temporary relief; but it was still tremendous.  There was still the
+imminent danger of broaching to as each wave-crest seized and twisted
+the frail craft.  But having the wind behind me, I had of course more
+steerage way, and therefore a more instant and effective control.  We
+ran on straight before the wind, but a few points off; and with
+desperate anxiety I peered ahead for some hint of shelter on that wild
+lee shore.  Mizpah, of course, knew the unspeakable strain of wielding
+the stern paddle in such a sea.
+
+"Are you made of steel, Monsieur?" she presently asked.  "I can hardly
+believe it possible that the strength of human sinews should endure so
+long."
+
+"Mine, alas, will not endure much longer, comrade," said I.
+
+"And what then?" she asked, in a steady voice.
+
+"I do not know," said I; "but there is hope.  I think we have not been
+brought through all this for nothing."
+
+The roar of the breakers grew louder and louder again, as we gradually
+neared the high coast which seemed to slip swiftly past on our right
+hand.  It was black and appalling, serried along the crest with tops of
+fir trees, white along the base with the great gnashing of the
+breakers.  As we ran into the head of the bay, with yet no sign of a
+shelter, the seas got more perilous, being crowded together and broken
+so that I could not calculate upon them.  Soon they became a mad
+smother; and I knew my strength for this bout had but little longer to
+last.
+
+"The end!" said I; "but we may win through!  I will catch you when the
+crash comes."  And some blind prayer, I know not what, kept repeating
+and repeating in the inward silence of my soul.  New strength seemed
+then to flow upon nerve and sinew,--and I descried, almost ahead of us,
+a space of smooth and sloping beach up which the seas rushed without
+rock to shatter them.
+
+"This is our chance," I shouted.  A wave came, smoother and more whole
+than most, and paddling desperately I kept awhile upon the crest of it.
+Then like a flash it curled thinly, rolled the canoe over, and hurled
+us far up on the beach.  Half blinded, half stunned, and altogether
+choking, I yet kept my wits; and catching Mizpah by the arm, I dragged
+her violently forward beyond reach of the next wave.  Dropping her
+without a word, I turned back, and was just in time to catch the
+rolling canoe.  It, too, I succeeded in dragging to a place of safety;
+but it was so shattered and crushed as to be useless.  The muskets,
+however, were in it; for I had taken care to lash them under the bars
+before leaving the shelter of the inlet.
+
+The remnants of the canoe I hauled far up on the beach, and then I
+returned to Mizpah, who lay in utter exhaustion just where I had
+dropped her, so close to the water's edge that she was splashed by the
+spray of every wave.
+
+"Come, comrade," I said, lifting her gently.  "The saints have indeed
+been kind to us."  But she made no reply.  Leaning heavily upon me, and
+moving as if in a dream, she let me lead her to the edge of the wood,
+where the herbage began behind a sort of windrow of rocks.  There,
+seeing that the rocks shut off the wind, I released her, and dropping
+on the spot, she went at once to sleep.  Then I felt myself suddenly as
+weak as a baby.  I had no more care for anything save to sleep.  I
+tried to pluck a bunch of herbage to put under Mizpah's head for a
+pillow; but even as I stooped to gather it, I forgot where I was, and
+the tide of dreams flowed over me.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XVIII
+
+The _Osprey_, of Plymouth
+
+It must have been a good two hours that I slept.  I woke with a start,
+with a sense of some duty left undone.  I was in an awkward position,
+half on my side amid stones and underbrush, my arms clasping the bundle
+of herbage which I had meant for Mizpah's pillow.  The daylight was
+fairly established, blue and cold, though the sun was not yet visible.
+The gale hummed shrilly as ever, the huge waves thundered on the
+trembling beach, and all seaward was such a white and purple hell of
+raving waters that I shuddered at the sight of it.  Mizpah was still
+sleeping.  As I looked at her the desire for sleep came over me again
+with deadly strength, but I resisted it, rushing down to the edge of
+the surf, and facing a chill buffet of driven spume.  I took another
+glance at the canoe.  It was past mending.  The two muskets were there,
+but everything else was gone, washed away, or ground upon the rocks.
+After much searching, however, to my delight I found a battered roll of
+bacon wedged into a cleft.  Pouncing upon this, I bore it in triumph to
+Mizpah.
+
+"Wake up, comrade," I cried, shaking her softly.  "We must be getting
+away."
+
+The poor girl roused herself with difficulty, and sat up.  When she
+tried to stand, she toppled over, and would have fallen if I had not
+caught her by the arms.  It was some minutes before she could control
+the stiffness of her limbs.  At last the whipping of the wind somewhat
+revived her, and sitting down upon a rock she looked about with a face
+of hopeless misery.
+
+"Eat a little," said I, gently, "for we must get away from here at
+once, lest our enemies come over the hills to look for us."
+
+But she pushed aside the untempting, sodden food which I held out to
+her.
+
+"Whither shall we go?" she asked heavily.  "The canoe is wrecked.  How
+can we find my boy?  Oh, I wish I could die!"
+
+Poor girl! my heart ached for her.  I knew how her utter and terrible
+exhaustion had at last sapped that marvellous courage of hers; but I
+felt that roughness would be her best tonic, though it was far indeed
+from my heart to speak to her roughly.
+
+"Shame!" said I, in a voice of stern rebuke.  "Have you struggled and
+endured so long, to give up now?  Will you leave Philip to the savages
+because a canoe is broken?  Where is your boasted courage?  Why, we
+will walk, instead of paddling.  Come at once."
+
+Even this rebuke but half aroused her.  "I'm so thirsty," she said,
+looking around with heavy eyes.  By good Providence, there was a
+slender stream trickling in at this point, and I led her to it.  While
+she drank and bathed her face, I grubbed in the long grasses growing
+beside the stream, and found a handful of those tuberous roots which
+the Indians call ground-nuts.  These I made her eat, after which she
+was able to endure a little of the salt bacon.  Presently, she became
+more like herself, and began to grieve at the weakness which she had
+just shown.  Her humiliation was so deep that I had much ado to comfort
+her, telling her again and again that she was not responsible for what
+she had said when she was yet but half awake, and in the bonds of a
+weariness which would have killed most women.  I told her, which was
+nothing less than true, that I held her for the bravest of women, and
+that no man could have supported me better than she had done.
+
+We pushed our way straight over the height of land which runs seaward
+and ends in Cape Merigomish.  Our way lay through a steep but pleasant
+woodland, and by the time the sun was an hour high we had walked off
+much of our fatigue.  The tree tops rocked and creaked high above us,
+but where we walked the wind troubled us not.
+
+"Where are we going?" asked Mizpah, by and by--somewhat tremulously for
+she still had in mind my censure.
+
+"Why, comrade," said I, in a cheerful, careless manner of speech, a
+thousand miles away from the devotion in my heart,--"my purpose is to
+push straight along the coast to Canseau.  There we will find a few of
+your country-folk, fishermen mostly, and from them we will get a boat
+to carry us up the Bras d'Or."
+
+"But what will become of Philip, all this time?" she questioned, with
+haggard eyes.
+
+"As a matter of fact," I answered, "I don't think we will lose much
+time, after all.  If we still had the canoe, we would be storm-bound in
+the bay back there till the wind changes or subsides--and it may be
+days before it does the one or the other.  As it is, the worst that has
+befallen us is the loss of our ammunition and our bread.  But we will
+make shift to live, belike, till we reach Canseau."
+
+"Oh, Monsieur," she cried, in answer, with a great emotion in her
+voice, "you give me hope when my despair is blackest.  You seem to me
+more generous, more brave, more strong, than I had dreamed the greatest
+could be.  What makes you so good to an unhappy mother, so faithfully
+devoted to a poor baby whom you have never seen?"
+
+"Tut, tut!" said I, roughly; "I but do as any proper minded man would
+do that had the right skill and the fitting opportunity.  Thank Marc!"
+But I might have told her more if I had let my heart speak truth.
+
+"I know whom to thank, and all my life long will I pray Heaven to bless
+that one!" said Mizpah.
+
+Thus talking by the way, but most of the way silent, we came at length
+over Merigomish and down to the sea again, fetching the shore at the
+head of a second bay.  This was all in a smother and a roar, like that
+we had just left behind.  As we rounded the head of it, we came upon a
+little sheltered creek, and there, safe out of the gale, lay a small
+New England fishing schooner.  I knew her by the build for a New
+Englander, before I saw the words OSPREY, PLYMOUTH, painted in red
+letters on her stern.
+
+"Here is fortune indeed!" said I, while a cry of gladness sprang to
+Mizpah's lips.  "I'll charter the craft to take us up the Bras d'Or."
+
+The little ship lay in a very pleasant idleness.  The small haven was
+full of sun, the green, wooded hills sloping softly down about it and
+shutting off all winds.  The water heaved and rocked; but smoothly,
+stirred by the yeasty tumult that roared past the narrow entrance.  The
+clamour of the surf outside made the calm within the more excellent.
+
+Several gray figures of the crew lay sprawling about the deck, which we
+could see very well, by reason of the steepness of the shore on which
+we stood.  In the waist was a gaunt, brown-faced man, with a scant,
+reddish beard, a nose astonishingly long and sharp, and a blue woollen
+cap on the back of his head.  He stood leaning upon the rail watching
+us, and spitting contemplatively into the water from time to time.
+
+We climbed down to the beach beside the schooner, and I spoke to the
+man in English.
+
+"Are you the captain?" I asked civilly.
+
+"They do say I be," he answered in a thin, high, sing-song of a voice.
+"Captain Ezra Bean, Schooner _Osprey_, of Plymouth, at your sarvice."
+And he waved his hand with a spacious air.
+
+I bowed with ceremony.  "And I am your very humble servant," said I,
+"the Sieur de Briart, of Canard by Grand Pré.  We were on our way to
+Canseau, but have lost our canoe and stores in the gale.  We are bold
+to hope, Captain, that you will sell us some bread, as also some powder
+and bullets.  We did not lose our little money, Heaven be praised!"
+
+Knowing these New Englanders to be greedy of gain, but highly honest, I
+made no scruple of admitting that we had money about us.
+
+"Come right aboard, good sirs!" said the captain; and in half a minute
+the gig, which floated at the stern, was thrust around to us, and we
+clambered to the deck of the _Osprey_, where crew and captain, five in
+all, gathered about us without ceremony.  The captain, I could see at
+once, was just one of themselves, obeyed when he gave orders, but
+standing in no sort of formal aloofness.  Cold salt beef, and biscuit
+and cheese, and tea, were soon set before us, and as we made a hasty
+meal they all hung about us and talked, as if we had been in one of
+their home kitchens on Massachusetts Bay.  As for Mizpah, who felt
+little at ease in playing her man's part, she spoke only in French, and
+made as if she knew no word of English.  Captain Ezra Bean had some
+French, but no facility in it, and a pronunciation that was beyond
+measure execrable.
+
+But at last, being convinced that they were honest fellows, I spoke of
+chartering the _Osprey_, and in explanation told the main part of our
+story, representing Mizpah as a youth of Canard.  But, alas, I had not
+read my men aright.  Honest they were, and exceeding eager to turn an
+honest penny,--but they had not the stomach for fighting.  When they
+found that a war party of Micmacs was in chase of us, they fell into a
+great consternation, and insisted on our instant departure.
+
+At this I was all taken aback, for I had ever found the men of New
+England as diligent in war as in trade.  But these fellows were in a
+shaking terror for their lives and for their ship.
+
+"Why, gentlemen," I said, in a heat, "here are seven of us, well armed!
+We will make short work of the red rascals, if they are so foolhardy as
+to attack us."
+
+But no!  They would hear none of it.
+
+"It's no quarrel of mine!" cried Captain Ezra Bean, in his high
+sing-song, but in a great hurry.  "My dooty's to my ship.  There's been
+many of our craft fell afoul of these here savages, and come to grief.
+We're fast right here till the wind changes, and we'll just speak the
+redskins fair if they come nigh us, an' there ain't goin' to be no
+trouble.  But you must go your ways, gentlemen, begging your pardon;
+and no ill will, I hope!"  And the boat being hauled around for us,
+they all made haste to bid us farewell.
+
+Mizpah, with a flushed face, stepped in at once; but I hung back a
+little, sick with their cowardly folly.
+
+"At least," said I, angrily, "you must sell me a sack of bread, and
+some powder and ball.  Till I get them I swear I will not go."
+
+"Sartinly!" sing-songed the captain; and in a twinkling the supplies
+were in the boat.  "Now go, and God speed ye!"
+
+I slipped a piece of gold into his hand, and was off.  But frightened
+as he was, he was honest, and in half a minute he called me back.
+
+"Here is your silver," came the queer, high voice over the rail.  "You
+have overpaid me three times," and I saw his long arm reaching out to
+me.
+
+"Keep it," I snapped.  "We are in more haste to be gone than you to get
+rid of us."
+
+In five minutes more the woods enfolded us, and the little _Osprey_ was
+hid from our view.  I walked violently in my wrathful disappointment,
+till at last Mizpah checked me.  "If the good soldier," said she,
+"might advise his captain, which would be, of course, intolerable, I
+would dare to remind you of what you have said to me more than once
+lately.  Is not this pace too hot to last, Monsieur?"  And stopping,
+she leaned heavily on her musket.
+
+"Forgive me," I exclaimed, flinging myself down on the moss.  "And what
+a fool I am to be angry, too, just because those poor bumpkins wouldn't
+take up our quarrel."
+
+The look of gratitude which Mizpah gave me for that little phrase, "our
+quarrel," made my heart on a sudden strong and light.  Presently we
+resumed our journey, going moderately, and keeping enough inland to
+avoid the windings of the coast.  The little _Osprey_ we never saw
+again; but months later, when it came to my ears that a fishing vessel
+of Plymouth had been taken by the Indians that autumn while
+storm-stayed at Merigomish, and her crew all slain, I felt a qualm of
+pity for the poor lads whose selfish fears had so misguided them.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XIX
+
+The Camp by Canseau Strait
+
+It was perhaps to their encounter with the _Osprey_ we owed it that we
+saw no more of our pursuers.  At any rate we were no further
+persecuted.  After two days of marching we felt safe to light fires.
+
+We shot partridges, and a deer; and the fresh meat put new vigour into
+our veins.  We came to the beginning of the narrow strait which severs
+Ile Royale from the main peninsula of Acadie; and with longing eyes
+Mizpah gazed across, as if hoping to discern the child amid the trees
+of the opposite shore.  At last, I could but say to her:--
+
+"We are a long, long way from Philip yet, my comrade; were we across
+this narrow strait, we would be no nearer to him, for the island is so
+cut up with inland waters, many, deep, and winding, that it would take
+us months to traverse its length afoot.  We must push on to Canseau,
+for a boat is needful to us."
+
+And all these days, in the quiet of the great woods, in the stillness
+of the wilderness nights when often I watched her sleeping, in the
+hours while she walked patiently by my side, her brave, sweet face wan
+with grief suppressed, her eyes heavy with longing, my love grew.  It
+took possession of my whole being till this doubtful, perilous journey
+seemed all that I could desire, and the world we had left behind us
+became but a blur with only Marc's white face in the midst to give it
+consequence.  Nevertheless, though my eyes and my spirit waited upon
+all her movements, I suffered no least suggestion of my worship to
+appear, but ever with rough kindliness played the part of
+companion-at-arms.
+
+One morning,--it was our fifth day from the _Osprey_, but since
+reaching the Strait we had become involved in swamps, and made a very
+pitifully small advance,--one morning, I say, when it wanted perhaps an
+hour of noon, we were both startled by a sound of groaning.  Mizpah
+came closer to me, and put her hand upon my arm.  We stood listening
+intently.
+
+"It is some one hurt," said I, in a moment, "and he is in that gully
+yonder."
+
+Cautiously, lest there should be some trap, we followed the sound; and
+we discovered, at the bottom of a narrow cleft, an Indian lad lying
+wedged between sharp rocks, with the carcass of a fat buck fallen
+across his body.  It was plain to me at once that the young savage had
+slipped while staggering under his load of venison.  I hesitated; for
+what more likely than that there should be other Indians in the
+neighbourhood; but Mizpah cried at once:--
+
+"Oh, we must help him!  Quick!  Come, Monsieur!"
+
+And in truth the lad's face appealed to me, for he was but a stripling,
+little younger than Marc.  Very gently we released him from his
+agonizing position; and when we had laid him on a patch of smooth moss,
+his groaning ceased.  His lips were parched, and when I brought him
+water he swallowed it desperately.  Then Mizpah bathed his face.
+Presently his eyes opened, rested upon her with a look of unutterable
+gratitude, and closed again.  Mizpah's own eyes were brimming with
+tears, and she turned to me in a sort of appeal, as if she would say:--
+
+"How can we leave him?"
+
+"Let him be for a half hour now," said I, answering her look.  "Then
+perhaps he will be able to talk to us."
+
+We ate our meal without daring to light a fire.  Then we sat in silence
+by the sleeping lad, till at last he opened his eyes, and murmured in
+the Micmac tongue, "water."  When he had taken a drink, I offered him
+biscuit, of which he ate a morsel.  Then, speaking in French, I asked
+him whence he came; and how he came to be in such a plight.
+
+He answered faintly in the same tongue.  "I go from Malpic," said he,
+"to the Shubenacadie, with messages.  I shot a buck, on the rock there,
+and he fell into the gully.  As I was getting him out I fell in myself,
+and the carcass on top of me.  I know no more till I open my eyes, and
+my mouth is hard, and kind friends are giving me water.  Then I sleep
+again, for I feel all safe," and with a grateful smile his eyes closed
+wearily.  He was fast asleep again, before I could ask any more
+questions.
+
+"Come away," I whispered to Mizpah, "till we talk about this."  She
+came, but first, with a tender thoughtfulness, she leaned her musket
+against a tree, with his own beside it, so that if he should wake while
+we were gone he should at once see the two weapons, and know that he
+was not deserted.
+
+When we were out of earshot, I turned and looked into her eyes.
+
+"What is to be done with him?" I asked.
+
+"We must stay and take care of him," said she, steadily, "till he can
+take care of himself."
+
+"And Philip?" I questioned.
+
+She burst into tears, flung herself down, and buried her face in her
+hands.  After sobbing violently for some minutes she grew calm, dashed
+her tears away, and looked at me in a kind of despair.
+
+"The poor boy cannot be left to die here alone," she said, in a shaken
+voice.  "It is perfectly plain what we must do.  Oh, God, take care of
+my poor lonely little one."  And again she covered her eyes.  I took
+one of her hands in mine, and pressed it firmly.
+
+"If there is justice in Heaven, he will," I cried passionately.  "And
+he will; I know he will.  I think there never was a nobler woman than
+you, my comrade."
+
+"You do not know me," she answered, in a low voice; and rising, she
+returned to the sick boy's side.
+
+Seeing that we were here for some days, or perchance a week, I raised
+two hasty shelters of brush and poles.  That night the patient wandered
+in his mind, but in the morning the fever had left him, and
+thenceforward he mended swiftly.  His gratitude and his docility were
+touching, and his eyes followed Mizpah as would the eyes of a faithful
+dog.  I think his insight penetrated her disguise, so that from the
+first he knew her for a woman; but his native delicacy kept him from
+betraying his knowledge.  As far as I could see, there were no bones
+broken, and I guessed that in a week at furthest he would be able to
+resume his journey without risk.
+
+For three days I troubled him not with further questions, Mizpah having
+so decreed.  She said that questioning would hinder his recovery; but I
+think she feared what questioning might disclose.  At last, as we
+finished supper, of which he had well partaken, he rose feebly but with
+determination, took a few tottering paces, and then came back to his
+couch, where he lay with gleaming eyes of satisfaction.
+
+"I walk now pretty soon," said he.  "Not keep kind friends here much
+longer.  Which way you going when you stopped to take care of Indian
+boy?"
+
+I looked across at Mizpah, then made up my mind to speak plainly.  If I
+knew anything at all of human nature, this boy was to be trusted.
+
+"We are going to Ile Royale," said I, "to look for a little boy whom
+some of your tribe have cruelly carried off."
+
+His face became the very picture of shame and grief.  He looked first
+at one of us, then the other; and presently dropped his head upon his
+breast.
+
+"Why, what is the matter, Xavier?" I asked.  He had said his name was
+Xavier.
+
+"I know," he answered, in a low voice.  "It was some of my own people
+did it."
+
+"_What_ do you know?  Tell us, oh, tell us everything!  Oh, we helped
+you!  You will surely help us find him!" pleaded Mizpah, breathlessly.
+
+"By all the blessed saints," he cried, with an earnestness that I felt
+to be sincere, "I will try to help you.  I will risk anything.  I will
+disobey the Abbé.  I will--"
+
+"Where _is_ the child?  Do you know that?" I interrupted.
+
+"Yes, truly," he replied.  "They have taken him north to Gaspé, and to
+the St. Lawrence.  My uncle, Etienne le Batard, was in canoe that
+brought him to mouth of the Pictook.  Then other canoe took him north,
+where a French family will keep him.  The Abbé says he shall grow up a
+monk.  But he is not starved or beaten, I swear truly."
+
+"How do you know all this?" I asked, looking at him piercingly.  But
+his eye was clear and met mine right honestly.
+
+"My uncle came to Malpic straight," said he, "where the warriors had a
+council.  Then I was sent with word to my father, Big Etienne, who is
+on the Shubenacadie."
+
+"What word?" I asked.
+
+But the boy shook his head.  "It does not touch the little boy.  It
+does not touch my kind friends.  I may not tell it," he said, with a
+brave dignity.  I loved him for this, and trusted him the more.
+
+"This lad's tongue and heart are true," said I, looking at Mizpah.  "We
+may trust him."
+
+"I know it!" said she.  Whereupon he reached out, grasped a hand of
+each, and kissed them with a freedom of emotion which I have seldom
+seen in the full blood Indian.
+
+"You may trust me," he said, in a low voice, being by this something
+wearied.  "You give me my life.  And I will help you find your child."
+
+And the manner of his speech, as if he considered the child _our_
+child, though it was but accident, stirred me sweetly at the
+heart,--and I durst not trust myself to meet Mizpah's eyes.
+
+Thus it came about that, after all, we crossed not the narrow strait,
+nor set foot in Ile Royale.  But when, three days later, I judged our
+patient sufficiently recovered, we set our faces again toward the
+Shubenacadie.
+
+The journey was exceeding slow, but to me very far from tedious, for in
+rain or shine, or dark or bright, the light shone on me of my
+mistress's face.
+
+And at last, after many days of toilsome wandering, we struck the head
+waters of the Shubenacadie.
+
+From this point forward we went with more caution.  When we were come
+within an hour of the Indian village, Xavier parted company with us.
+The river here making a long loop, so to speak, we were to cross behind
+the village at a safe distance, strike the tide again, and hide at a
+certain point covered with willows till Xavier should bring us a canoe.
+
+We reached the point, hid ourselves among the willows, and waited close
+upon two hours.  The shadows were falling long across the river, and
+our anxieties rising with more than proportioned speed, when, at last,
+a canoe shot around a bend of the river, and made swiftly for the
+point.  We saw Xavier in the bow, but there was a tall, powerful
+warrior in the stern.  As the canoe drew near, Mizpah caught me
+anxiously by the arm.
+
+"That man was one of the band that captured us at Annapolis," she
+whispered.  "What does it mean?  _Could_ Xavier mean to--?"
+
+"No," I interrupted; "of course not, comrade.  These Indians are never
+treacherous to those who have earned their gratitude.  Savages though
+they be, they set civilization a shining example in that.  There is
+nothing to fear here."
+
+Landing just below us, the two Indians came straight toward our
+hiding-place.  At the edge of the wood the tall warrior, whom I now
+knew for a certainty to be Big Etienne himself, stopped, and held out
+both his hands, palm upwards.  I at once stepped forth to meet him,
+leaving my musket behind me.  But Mizpah who followed me closely, clung
+to hers,--which might have convinced me, had I needed conviction, that
+hero though she was she was yet all woman.
+
+"You my brother and my sister!" said the tall warrior at once, speaking
+with dignity, but with little of Xavier's fluency.  He knew Mizpah.
+
+"I am glad my brother's heart is turned towards us at last," said I.
+"My brother knows what injury has been done to us, and what we suffer
+at the hands of his people."
+
+"Listen," said he, solemnly.  "You give me back my son, my only son, my
+young brave," and he looked at Xavier with loving pride; "for that I
+can never pay you; but I give you back your son, too, see?  And, now,
+always, I am your brother.  But now, you go home.  I find the child
+away north, by the Great River.  I put him in your arms, safe,
+laughing,--so;" and he made as if to place a little one in Mizpah's
+arms.  "Then you believe I love you, and Xavier love you.  But now,
+come; not good to stay here more."  And, turning abruptly, he led the
+way to the canoe, and himself taking the stern paddle, while Xavier
+took the bow, motioned us to get in.  I hesitated; whereupon he cried:--
+
+"Many of our people out this way.  River not safe for you now.  We take
+you to Grand Pré, Canard, Pereau,--where you want.  Then go north.
+Better so."
+
+Seeing the strong reason in his words, I accepted his offer thankfully,
+but insisted upon taking the bow myself, because Xavier was not yet
+well enough to paddle strongly.
+
+Thus we set out, going swiftly with the tide.  As we journeyed, Big
+Etienne was at great pains to make us understand that it would take him
+many weeks to find Philip and bring him back to us, because the way was
+long and difficult.  He said we must not look to see the lad before the
+snow lay deep; but he bound himself to bring him back in safety,
+barring visitation of God.  I saw that Mizpah now trusted the tall
+warrior even as I did.  I felt that he would make good his pledge at
+any hazard.  I urged, however, that he should take me with him; but on
+this point he was obstinate, saying that my presence would only make
+his task the more difficult, for reasons which occurred to me very
+readily.  It cost me a struggle to give up my purpose of being myself
+the child's rescuer, and so winning the more credit in Mizpah's eyes.
+But this selfish prompting of my heart I speedily crushed (for which I
+thank Heaven) when I saw that Big Etienne's plan was the best that
+could be devised for Philip.
+
+Some miles below the point where the river was already widening, we
+passed a group of Indians with their canoes drawn up on the shore,
+waiting to ascend with the returning tide.  Recognizing Big Etienne in
+the stern, they paid us no attention beyond a friendly hail.  Late in
+the evening we camped, well beyond the river mouth.  Once on the
+following morning, when far out upon the bosom of the bay, we passed a
+canoe that was bound for the Shubenacadie, and again the presence and
+parting hail of our protector saved us from question.  Our halts for
+meals were brief and far apart, but light headwinds baffled us much on
+the journey, so that it was not till toward evening of the second day
+out from the Shubenacadie mouth that we paddled into the Canard, and
+drew up at Giraud's little landing under the bank.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XX
+
+The Fellowship Dissolved
+
+In Giraud's cabin during our absence things had gone tranquilly.  We
+found Marc mending,--pale and weak indeed, but happy; Prudence no
+longer pale, and with a content in her eyes which told us that her time
+had not been all passed in grieving for our absence.  Father Fafard was
+in charge, of course; and of the Black Abbé there had been nothing seen
+or heard since our departure.
+
+Nevertheless there was great news, and a word that deeply concerned me.
+De Ramezay had led his little army against Annapolis.  Just ten days
+before had he passed up the Valley; and for me he had left an urgent
+message, begging me to join him immediately on my return.  This was a
+black disappointment; for just now my soul desired nothing so much as a
+few days of quiet converse with Mizpah, and the chance to show her a
+courtesy something different from the rough comradeship of our
+wilderness travels.  But this was not to be.  It was incumbent upon me
+to go in the morning.
+
+That evening was a busy one; but I snatched leisure to sit by Marc's
+bedside and give the dear lad a hasty outline of our adventure.  The
+tale called a flush to his face, and breathless exclamations from
+Prudence; but Mizpah sat in silence, save for a faint protest once or
+twice when I told of her heroism, and of her noble self-sacrifice on
+behalf of the Indian lad.  She was weighed down with a sadness which
+she could make no pretence to hide,--doubtless feeling the more little
+Philip's absence and loneliness as she contemplated Marc's joy on my
+return.  My hands and lips ached with a longing to comfort her, but I
+firmly forbade myself to intrude upon her sorrow.  By and by, when I
+spoke of my positive determination to set out for Annapolis in the
+early morning, both Marc and Prudence strove hard to dissuade me,
+crying out fervently against my going; but Mizpah said nothing more
+than--
+
+"Why not take _one day_, at least, to rest?"
+
+And I was somewhat hurt at the quiet way she said it.  Said I to myself
+within, "She might spare me a little thought, now that she knows Philip
+is safe, and sure to be brought back to her."
+
+In the morning I saw Big Etienne and Xavier set forth upon their
+quest,--and Mizpah stood beside me to wish them a grateful "God-speed."
+Pale and sad as was the exquisite Madonna face, her lips were
+marvellously red, and wore an unwonted tenderness.  Her eyes evaded
+mine,--which hurt me sorely, but I was comforted a little by her word
+as the canoe slipped silently away.
+
+"I wish we were going with them," said she, in a wistful voice.
+
+It was that "we" that stirred my heart.
+
+"Would to God we were!" said I.
+
+Half an hour later I hung over my dear lad's pallet, pressing his
+hands, and bidding him adieu, and kissing his gaunt cheeks.  When at
+last I turned away, dashing some unexpected drops from my eyes (for I
+had eagerly desired his comradeship in this venture, and had dreamed of
+him fighting at my side), I found that Prudence and the Curé had gone
+down to the landing to see me off, and that Mizpah stood alone just
+outside the door, looking pale and tired.  I think I was aggrieved that
+she should not take the trouble to walk down as far as the
+landing,--and this may have lent my voice a touch of reserve.
+
+"Good-bye, Madame," said I, holding out my hand.  "May God keep you!"
+
+In truth it lay heavily upon my soul that she should not have one
+thought to spare from the child, for me.  Yet I was not prepared for
+the way she took my farewell.
+
+"It was 'comrade' but yesterday," she murmured, flushing, and
+withdrawing her hand ere I could give it an instant's pressure.  But
+growing straightway pale again, she added with the stateliness so
+native to her:--
+
+"Farewell, Monsieur.  May God keep you also!  My gratitude to the most
+gallant of gentlemen, to the bravest and truest succourer of those in
+need, I must ask you to believe in without words; for truly I have no
+words to express it."  And with that she turned away, leaving me most
+sore at heart for something more than gratitude.
+
+A few minutes later, when I had made my adieux to Father Fafard, and
+kissed Marc's lily maid, as was my right and duty, I had a surprise
+which sent me on my way something more happily.  As our canoe (I had
+Giraud with me now) slipped round a little bluff below the settlement,
+I caught the flutter of a gown among the trees; and the next instant
+Mizpah appeared, waving her handkerchief.  She had gone a good
+half-mile to wave me a last God-speed.
+
+For an instant, as I bared my head, I had a vision of her hair all down
+about her, a glory that I can never think of without a trembling in my
+throat.  I saw a speaking tenderness in her Madonna face,--and I seemed
+to hear in my heart a call which assuredly her lips did not utter; then
+my eyes blurred, so hard was it to keep from turning back.  I leaned my
+head forward for a moment on my arms, as if I had been a soft boy, but
+feeling the canoe swerve instantly from its course, I rose at once and
+resumed my paddling.
+
+Nevertheless I turned my head ever and anon toward the shore behind,
+till I could catch no more the flutter of her gown among the trees.
+
+I have wondered many times since, how Mizpah's hair chanced then to be
+down about her in that fashion.  Did some wanton branch undo it as she
+came hastily through the trees?  Or did her own long fingers loosen it
+for me?
+
+
+Of de Ramezay's vain march against Annapolis I need not speak with any
+fulness here.  The September weather was propitious, wherefore the
+expedition was an agreeable jaunt for the troops.  But my good friend
+the Commander found the fort too strong and too well garrisoned for the
+force he had brought against it; and the great fleet from France which
+was to have supported him came never to drop anchor in the basin of
+secure Port Royal.  It is an ill tale for French ears to hear, for
+French lips to relate, that which tells of the thronged and mighty
+ships which sailed from France so proudly to restore the Flag of the
+Lilies to her ancient strongholds.  Oh, my Country, what hadst thou
+done, that the stars in their courses should fight against thee?  For,
+indeed, the hand of fate upon the ships was heavy from the first.
+Great gales scattered them.  By twos and threes they met the English
+foe, and were destroyed; or disease broke out amongst their crews, till
+they were forced to flee back into port with their dying; or they
+struggled on through infinite toil and pain, to be hurled to wreck on
+our iron capes of Acadie.  The few that came in safety fled back again
+when they knew the fate of their fellows.  And our grim-visaged
+adversaries of New England, rejoicing in their great deliverance, set
+themselves to singing psalms of praise with great lustihood through
+their noses.
+
+And for my own part, when I reached de Ramezay's camp, the enterprise
+was already as good as abandoned.  For a week longer, less to annoy the
+enemy, than to spy out the land and commune with the inhabitants, we
+lay before Annapolis.  Then de Ramezay struck camp, and bade his
+grumbling companions march back to Chignecto.
+
+But of me he asked a service.  And, though I had hoped to go at once to
+Canard, I could not, in honour, deny him.  I saw him and his little
+army marching back whither my heart was fain to drag me also; but my
+face was set seaward, whither I had no desire to go.
+
+For the matter was, that de Ramezay had affairs with the Abenaqui
+chiefs of the Penobscot, which affairs he was now unable to tend in
+person, and which he durst hardly entrust to a subordinate, or to one
+unused to dealing with our savage allies.  He knew my credit among the
+Penobscot tribes,--and indeed, he would have been sorely put to it, had
+I denied him in the matter.  The affair carried me from the Penobscot
+country on to the St. Lawrence, and then to Montreal.  The story of it
+is not pertinent to this narrative, and moreover, which is more to the
+purpose, the affair was no less private in its nature than public in
+its import.  Suffice to say of it, therefore, that with my utmost
+despatch it engaged me up to the closing of the year.  It was not till
+January was well advanced that I found myself again in de Ramezay's
+camp at Chignecto, and looked out across the snow-glittering marshes to
+the dear hills of Acadie.
+
+I found that during my absence things had happened.  The English
+governor at Annapolis, conceiving that the Acadians were restless to
+throw off the English yoke, had called upon New England for
+reinforcements.  In answer, Boston had sent five hundred of her gaunt
+and silent soldiery, bitter fighters, drinkers of strong rum, quaintly
+sanctimonious in their cups.  Their leader was one Colonel Noble, a man
+of excellent courage, but small discretion, and with a foolish contempt
+for his enemies.  These men, as de Ramezay told me, were now quartered
+in Grand Pré village, and lying carelessly.  It was his purpose to
+attack them at once.  But being himself weak from a recent sickness, he
+was obliged to place the conduct of the enterprise in the hands of his
+second in command.  This, as I rejoiced to learn, was a very capable
+and experienced officer, Monsieur de Villiers,--the same who, some
+years later, was to capture the young Virginian captain, Mr.
+Washington, at Fort Necessity.  Though our force was less than that of
+the New Englanders, de Ramezay and de Villiers both trusted to the
+advantages of a surprise and a night attack.
+
+For my own part I liked little this plan of a night attack; for I love
+a fair defiance and an open field, and all my years of bush fighting
+have not taught me another sentiment.  But I was well inclined toward
+any action that would take me speedily to Canard.  Moreover, I knew
+that de Ramezay's plan was justified by the smallness of the force
+which he could place at de Villiers' command.  I had further a shrewd
+suspicion that there were enough of the villagers on the English side
+to keep the New Englanders fairly warned of our movements.  In this, as
+I learned afterwards, I suspected rightly, but the blind
+over-confidence of Colonel Noble made the warning of no effect.  The
+preparations for our march went on briskly, and with an eager
+excitement.  The bay being now impassable by reason of the drifting
+ice, the journey was to be made on snow-shoes, by the long, circuitous
+land route, through Beaubassin, Cobequid, Piziquid, and so to the
+Gaspereau mouth.  Every one was in high spirits with the prospect of
+action after a long and inglorious delay.  But for me the days passed
+leadenly.  I was consumed with impatience, and anxiety, and passionate
+desire for a face that was never an hour absent from my thoughts.  My
+first act on arriving at Chignecto had been to ask for Tamin, trusting
+that he might have tidings from Canard.  But de Ramezay told me that he
+had sent the shrewd fisherman-soldier to Grand Pré for information.
+
+In a fever I awaited his return.
+
+At last, but three days before the time set for our departure, he
+arrived.  From him I learned that Marc was so far recovered as to walk
+abroad for a short airing whenever the weather was fine.  He, as well
+as the ladies, was lying very close in Giraud's cottage, and their
+presence was not known to the New Englanders at Grand Pré, at which
+information I was highly gratified.
+
+"And are the ladies in good health?" I asked.
+
+"The little Miss looks rugged, and her eyes are like stars," said
+Tamin; "but Madame--  Ah, she is pale, and her eyes are heavy."
+Tamin's own eyes almost hid themselves in a network of little wrinkles
+as he spoke, scrutinizing my face.  "She weeps for the child.  She said
+perhaps _you_, Monsieur, would find him in your travels, and bring him
+back to her!"
+
+My heart sank at the word.  I could not go to Canard,--I could not face
+Mizpah again, till I could go to her with Philip in my arms.  I had
+hoped that he was restored to her ere this.  What had happened?  Had
+Big Etienne deceived me?  And Xavier, too?  I could not think it.  Yet
+what else could I think?
+
+"Ah, my friend," said I, with bitterness, "she will be grievously
+disappointed in me.  She will say I promise much, and perform little.
+And alas, it seems even so.  I have not seen or heard of the child.
+But has Big Etienne come back?  _Surely_ he has not come back without
+the child?"
+
+Tamin, it was plain, had heard the whole story from Marc, for he asked
+no questions, and showed no surprise.
+
+"No," said he, "they're both away, Big Etienne and Xavier, gone nigh
+onto four months.  Some says to Gaspé; some says to Saguenay.  Who
+knows?  They're Injuns!"  And Tamin shrugged his shoulders, while his
+honest little eyes grew beady with distrust.
+
+But I no more distrusted, and my heart lightened mightily.  They had
+been checked, baffled perhaps, for weeks; but I felt that they were
+faithful and would succeed.  I resolved that the moment this enterprise
+of de Villiers' was accomplished I would go to help them.  But I had
+yet more questions for Tamin.
+
+"And the Black Abbé?" I asked.  "Where is he?"
+
+"At Baie Verte, minding his store, or at Cobequid with his red lambs,"
+replied Tamin, puckering his wide mouth drolly.  "He is little at
+Chignecto since he met you there, Monsieur.  And he has not been seen
+at Canard since Giraud's cabin grew so hospitable.  But Grűl is much in
+the neighbourhood.  I think the Black Abbé fears him."
+
+Remembering the awful scene on the cliffs of the des Saumons, I felt
+that Tamin's surmise was fairly founded; and I blessed the strange
+being who thus kept watch over those whom I loved.  But I said nothing
+to Tamin of what was in my mind, thinking it became me to keep Grűl's
+counsel.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XXI
+
+The Fight at Grand Pré
+
+On the 23d day of January, 1747, we set out from Chignecto, four
+hundred tried bush fighters, white and red,--some three score of our
+men being Indians.  We went on snow-shoes, for the world was buried in
+drifts.  There was much snow that winter, with steady cold and no
+January thaw.  On the marsh the snow lay in mighty windrows; but in the
+woods it was deep, deep, and smotheringly soft.  The branches of fir
+and spruce and hemlock bent to the earth beneath the white burden of
+it, forming solemn aisles and noiseless fanes within.  We marched in
+column.  The leaders, who had the laborious task of tramping the
+unbroken snow, would keep their place for an hour, then fall to the
+rear, and enjoy the grateful ease of marching in the footsteps of their
+fellows.  Sometimes, as our column wound along like a huge dark snake,
+some great branch, awakened by our laughter, would let slip its burden
+upon us in a sudden avalanche.  Sometimes, in crossing a hidden
+watercourse, the leading files would disappear, to be dragged forth
+drenched and cursing and derided.
+
+But there were as yet no enemies to beware of; so we marched merrily,
+and cheered our nights with unstinted blaze of camp fires.
+
+On our fourth evening out from Chignecto, when we had halted about an
+hour, there came visitors to the camp.  My ear was caught by the
+sentry's challenge.  I went indifferently to see what the stir was all
+about.
+
+"Monsieur, we are come!" cried a glad voice which I keenly remembered;
+and Xavier, his face aglow in the firelight, sprang forward to grasp my
+hand.  Behind him, standing in moveless dignity, was Big Etienne, and
+at his feet a light sledge, with a bundle wrapped in furs.
+
+My heart gave a great bound of thankful joy; and I stepped forward to
+seize the tall warrior's hand in both of mine.
+
+"He is well!  He sleeps!" said Big Etienne, gravely.  In dealing with
+men, I pride myself on knowing what to say and how to say it.  But at
+this moment I was filled with so many emotions that words were not at
+my command.  Some sort of thanks I stammered to express,--but the
+Indian understood and interrupted me.
+
+"You thank me moons ago, brother," he said, in an earnest voice.  "You
+give me my boy.  Now I give you yours.  And we will not forget.  That's
+all."
+
+"We will never forget, indeed, my brother," said I, fervently, and
+again I clasped hands with him, thus pledging a comradeship which in
+many a strait since then has stood me in good stead.
+
+During the rest of that long mid-winter march, Philip remained in the
+care of young Xavier, to whom, as well as to Big Etienne, he was
+altogether devoted; and I saw a new side of the red man's character in
+the tenderness of the stern chief toward the child.  For my own part I
+lost no time in bidding for my share in Philip's affections.  My love
+went out to the brave-eyed little fellow as if he had been the child of
+my own flesh.  And moreover I was fain to win an ally who would help me
+to besiege his mother's heart.
+
+Big Etienne had spoken within the mark in saying the child was well.
+His cheeks were dark with smoke and with forgetfulness of soap and
+water; but the red blood tinged them wholesomely.  His long yellow hair
+was tangled, but it had the burnished resilience of health.  His mouth,
+a bow of strength and sweetness,--his mother's mouth,--wore the scarlet
+of clean veins; and the great sea-green eyes with which he stirred my
+soul were unclouded by fear or sickness.  Before our march brought us
+to the hills of Gaspereau, Philip had admitted me to his favour,
+ranking me, I think, almost as he did Xavier and Big Etienne.  More
+than that I could not have dared to hope.
+
+At sundown of the ninth of February, the seventeenth day of our march
+from Chignecto, we halted in a fir wood only three miles from the
+Gaspereau mouth.  We lit no camp fires now, but supped cold, though
+heartily.  We had been met the day before by messengers from Grand Pré,
+who told de Villiers the disposition of the English troops.  With
+incredible carelessness they were scattered throughout the settlement.
+About one hundred and fifty, under Colonel Noble himself, were
+quartered along a narrow lane, which, running at right angles to the
+main street, climbed the hillside at the extreme west of the village.
+For my own part, though de Villiers' senior in military rank, I was but
+a volunteer in this expedition, and served the chief as a kind of
+informal aide-de-camp and counsellor.
+
+Together we formed the plan of attack.  It was resolved that one half
+our company, under de Villiers himself, should fall upon the isolated
+party in the lane and cut them to pieces.  That left us but two hundred
+men with whom to engage the remaining three hundred and fifty of the
+New Englanders,--a daring venture, but I undertook to lead it.  I
+undertook by no means to defeat them, however.  I knew the fine mettle
+of these vinegar-faced New Englanders, but I swore (and kept my oath)
+that I would occupy them pleasantly till de Villiers, making an end of
+the other detachment, should come to my aid and clinch the victory.
+
+The plan of attack thus settled, I turned my attention to Philip.  Nigh
+at hand was a cottage where I was known,--where I believed the folk to
+be very kindly and honest.  I told Big Etienne that we would put the
+child there to sleep, and after the battle take him to his mother at
+Canard.
+
+"And, my brother," said I, laying my hand on his arm, and looking into
+his eyes with meaning, "let Xavier stay with him, for he will be afraid
+among strangers."
+
+"Xavier must fight," replied the tall warrior.  But his eyes shifted
+from mine, and there was indecision in his voice.
+
+"Xavier is but a boy yet, my brother," I insisted.  "And this is a
+night attack.  It is no place for an untried boy.  No glory, but great
+peril, for one who has not experience!  For my sake bid Xavier stay
+with the child."
+
+"You are right, brother.  He shall stay," said the Indian.
+
+And Xavier was not consulted.  He stayed.  But his was a face of sore
+disappointment when we left him with Philip at the cottage,--"to guard
+with your life, if need be!" said I, in going.  And thus gave him a
+sense of responsibility and peril to cheer his bitter inaction.
+
+It had been snowing all day, but lightly.  After nightfall there blew
+up a fitful wind, now fierce, now breathless.  At one moment the air
+would be thick with drift, and the great blasts would buffet us in the
+teeth.  At another, there would seem to be in all the dim-glimmering
+world no movement and no breathing but our own.  It was far past
+midnight when we came upon the hill-slope overlooking Grand Pré
+village; and the village was asleep.  Not a light was visible save in
+one long row of cottages at the extreme east end, close by the water
+side.  Thither, at our orders, the villagers had quietly withdrawn
+before midnight.  The rash New England men lay sleeping, with
+apparently no guards set.  If there were sentries, then the storm had
+driven them indoors.
+
+The great gusts swirled and roared past their windows, piling the drift
+more deeply about their thresholds.  If any woke, they turned perchance
+luxuriously in their beds and listened to the blasts, and praised God
+that the Acadian peasants builded their houses warm.  They had no
+thought of the ruin that drew near through the drifts and the whirling
+darkness.  I have never heard that one of them was kept awake with
+strange terrors, or had any prevision, or made special searching of his
+soul before sleep.
+
+It would seem as if Heaven must have forgotten them for a little.  Or
+perhaps the saints remembered that the English were not a people to
+take advice kindly, or to change their plans for any sort of warning
+that might seem to them irregular.  But among us French, that night,
+there was one at least who was granted some prevision.
+
+Just before the two columns separated, Tamin came to me and wrung my
+hand.  He was with de Villiers' detachment.  There was a certain awe, a
+something of farewell, in his manner, and it moved my heart mightily.
+But I clapped him on the back.  "No forebodings, now, my friend," said
+I; "keep a good heart and your eyes wide open."
+
+"The snow is deep to-night, Monsieur!" said he gravely, as he turned
+away.
+
+"True," I answered; "but the apple trees are at the other end of the
+village; and who ever heard that the Black Abbé was a prophet?"
+
+Even as I spoke my heart smote me, and I would have given much to wring
+the loyal fellow's hand once more.  But I feared to add to his
+depression.
+
+My men all knew their parts before I led them from the camp.  Once in
+the village, only a few whispered orders were necessary.  Squad by
+squad, dim forms like phantoms in the drift, filed off stealthily to
+their places.
+
+I, with two dozen others, Big Etienne at my elbow, took post about the
+centre of the village, where three large houses, joined together,
+seemed to promise a rough bout.  Then we waited.  Saints, how long we
+waited, as it seemed!  The snow invaded us.  But the apple trees were
+many, and we leaned against them, gnawing our fingers, and protecting
+our primings with the long flaps of our coats.  At last there came a
+musket-shot from the far-off lane, and straightway thereupon a crashing
+volley, followed by a dreadful outcry--shouts and screams, and the
+yelling of the Indians.
+
+Our waiting was done.  We sprang forward to dash in the nearest
+windows, to batter down the nearest doors.  Lights gleamed.  Then came
+crashes of musketry from the points where I had placed my several
+parties, and I knew they had found their posts.  The fight once begun,
+there was little room for generalship in that driven and shrieking
+dark.  I could see but what was before me.  In those three houses there
+were brave men, that I knew.  Springing from sleep in their shirts,
+they seemed to wake full armed, and were already firing upon us as we
+tried to force our way in through the windows.  The main door of the
+biggest house we strove to carry with a rush, but that, too, belched
+lead and fire in our faces, and we came upon a barrier of household
+stuff just inside.  By the light of a musket flash, I saw a huge,
+sour-faced fellow in his shirt, standing on the barrier, with his
+gun-stock swung back.  I made at him nimbly with my sword.  I reached
+him, and the uplifted weapon fell somewhere harmless in the dark.  The
+next moment I felt a sword point, thrusting blindly, furrow across my
+temple, tearing as if it were both hot and dull, and at the same
+instant I was dragged out again into the snow.  Three of us, however,
+as I learned afterwards, stayed on the floor within.
+
+It was Big Etienne who had saved me.  I was dizzy for a moment with my
+wound, the blood throbbing down in a flood; but I ordered all to fall
+back under the shelter of the apple trees, and keep up a steady firing
+upon the doors and windows.  The order was passed along, and in a few
+minutes the firing was steady.  Then winding my kerchief tightly about
+my temples, I bade Big Etienne knot it for me, and for the time I
+thought no more of that sword-scratch.
+
+Though my men were heavily outnumbered, the enemy could not guess how
+few we were.  Moreover, we had the shelter of the trees, and our fire
+had their windows to converge upon.  We held them, therefore, with no
+great loss, except for those that fell in the first onslaught, which
+was bloody for both sides.  Presently a tongue of flame shot up, and I
+knew that they had set fire to one of the houses on the lane.  The
+shouting there, and the yelling, died away, but a scattering crackle of
+musketry continued.  Then another building burst into flame.  The night
+grew all one red, wavering glare.  As the smoke clouds blew this way
+and that, the shadows rose and fell.  The squalls of drift blurred
+everything; but in the lulls men stood out suddenly as simple targets,
+and were shot with great precision.  Yet we had shelter enough, too;
+for every house, every barn and shed, cast a block of thick darkness on
+its northern side.  Then men began to gather in upon the centre.  Here
+a squad of my own fellows--yelling and cheering with triumph, if they
+were Indians, quietly exultant if they were veterans--would come from
+the conquest of a cottage.  There a knot of half-clad English, fleeing
+reluctantly and firing over their shoulders as they fled, would arrive,
+beat at the doors before us, and be let in hastily under our fire,
+leaving always some of their number on the threshold.  It was like no
+other fight I had ever fought, for the strange confusion of it; or
+perhaps my wound confused me yet a little.  At length a louder yelling,
+a sharper firing, a wilder and mightier clamour, arose in the direction
+of the lane.  Our own firing slackened.  All eyes turned to watch a
+little band which, fighting furiously, was forcing its way hither
+through a swarm of assailants.  "The vinegar-faces can fight!" I cried,
+"but we must stop them.  Come on, lads!"  And with a score at my back I
+rushed to meet the new-comers.  Rushed, did I say?  But I should have
+said struggled and floundered.  For, the moment we were clear of the
+trampled area, and found ourselves in the open fields, the snow went
+nearly to our middles.  Yet we met the gallant little band, which
+having shaken off its assailants, now fell upon us with a welcome of
+most earnest curses.  Men speak of the bloody ferocity of a duel in a
+dark room.  It is nothing to the blind, blundering, reckless, snarling
+rage of that struggle in the deep snow, and under that swimming
+delusive light.  Having emptied my musket and my pistols, I threw them
+all away, and fell to playing nimbly with my sword.  Big Etienne I saw
+close beside me, swinging his musket by the barrel.  Suddenly its
+deadly sweep missed its object.  The tall warrior fell headforemost,
+carried off his uneasy balance by the force of the blow.  Ere he could
+flounder up again a foeman was upon him with uplifted sword.  But with
+a mighty lunge, hurling myself forward from the drift that held my
+feet, I reached the man's neck with my own point, and fell at his feet.
+He came down in a heap on top of me.  His knee, as I suppose it was,
+struck me violently on the head.  Perhaps I was already weakened by
+that cut upon the temple.  The noise all died suddenly away.  I
+remember thinking how warm the snow felt against my face.  And the rest
+of the fight was no concern of mine.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XXII
+
+The Black Abbé Strikes in the Dark
+
+I was awakened to consciousness by some one gently lifting me.  I
+struggled at once to my feet, leaning upon him.  It was Big Etienne.
+
+"You much hurt?" he queried, in great concern.
+
+"Why, no!" said I, presently.  "Head feels sore.  I think I'll be all
+right in a minute."
+
+It was in the red and saffron of dawn.  The snow had stopped falling.
+The muskets had stopped clattering.  The battle was apparently at an
+end.  All around lay bodies, or rather parts of bodies; for they were
+more or less hidden in the snow.  Close by me just a pair of knees was
+visible, thrust up through a drift into which the man had plunged in
+falling.
+
+The snow was all mottled with blood and powder, a very hideous colour
+to look upon.  I stood erect and stretched myself.
+
+"Why, brother," I exclaimed, in great relief, "I am as good as new.
+Where is the commander?"
+
+Big Etienne pointed in silence to the street before the three houses.
+There I saw our men drawn up in menacing array.  In and behind the
+houses were crowded the dark masses of the New Englanders, punctuated
+here and there with the scarlet of an officer's coat.
+
+De Villiers greeted me as one recovered from the grave.  I asked
+eagerly how he had sped, and how the matter now rested.
+
+"Success, everywhere success, Briart!" he answered, with a sort of
+controlled elation.  "You held these fellows, while we wiped out those
+yonder.  But it was a cruel and bloody affair, and I would the times,
+and the straits of New France, required not such killing in the dark.
+But they set fire to a house and barn that they might fight in the
+light, and so a band of them escaped us and cut their way through
+here,--what was left of them, at least, after they got done with you!
+And now their remnant is hemmed in yonder."
+
+"We've got them, then," said I.
+
+"Surely," he answered.  "But it will cost our best blood to end it.
+They have fought like heroes, though they kept guard like fools.  And
+they will battle it out, I think, while a man of them stands."
+
+"Yes, 'tis the breed of them!" said I, looking across with admiration
+at the silent and dangerous ranks.  "But they have done all that brave
+men could do.  They will accept honourable terms, I think; and such we
+may offer them without any touch of discredit.  What do you say?"
+
+This was, indeed what de Villiers had in his heart.  He withdrew his
+troops some little distance, that negotiations might be the less
+embarrassed; and I myself, feeling a fresh dizziness, retired to a
+cottage where I might have my wound properly tended.  But barely had I
+got the bandage loosened,--a black-eyed Acadian maid standing by, with
+face of deep commiseration and holding a basin of hot water for
+me,--when there broke out a sudden firing.  I clapped the bloody
+bandage to my head, and ran forth; but I saw there was no need of me.
+The English had sallied with a fierce heat, hoping to retrieve their
+fortunes.  But the deep snow was like an army to shut them in.  Before
+they could come at us they were exhausted, and our muskets dropped them
+swiftly in the drifts.  Sullenly they fell back again upon their
+houses.  I turned to my basin and my bandaging.
+
+"That settles that!" said I to the damsel.
+
+"Settles what, Monsieur?" she asked.  But as she spoke I saw a look of
+sudden concern cross her face, a faintness came over me, and I lay
+down, feeling her arm support me as I sank.
+
+Sleep is the best of medicines for me.  I woke late in the afternoon to
+find my head neatly bandaged, and the dizziness all gone.  Men came and
+went softly.  I found that de Villiers was lying in the same house,
+having got a serious wound just after I left him.  La Corne, a brave
+Canadian, was in command.  The English had capitulated toward noon, and
+had pledged themselves to depart for Annapolis within forty-eight
+hours, not to bear arms again in Acadie within six months.  We had
+redeemed at Grand Pré our late failure at Annapolis.
+
+My first act was to send a runner, on snow-shoes, to Canard, with a
+scrawled note to Mizpah.  Explaining nothing, I merely begged that she
+and Prudence, with Marc and Father Fafard, should meet me at the Forge
+about noon of the following day.  In the case of Marc not being yet
+strong enough to journey so far, I prayed Mizpah herself, in any event,
+to come without fail.  My next was to send a messenger for Xavier and
+Philip.  My heart had fallen to aching curiously for the
+child,--insomuch that I marvelled at it, till at length I set it down
+as a mere whimsical counterfeit of my longing for his mother.
+
+Being now refreshed and altogether myself again, I went to visit the
+lane wherein the fight had opened.  The very first house, whose
+shattered door and windows, blood-smeared threshold, and dripping
+window-sills, showed that the fight had there raged long and madly, had
+one great apple tree beside its garden gate.  A chill of foreboding
+smote me as I marked it.  I approached with a curious and painful
+expectancy, the words of the Black Abbé ringing again in my ears.  At
+the foot of the apple tree the snow was drifted deep.  It half covered
+a pitifully huddled body.
+
+I lifted the body.  It was Tamin.
+
+He had been shot through the lungs, and his blood, melting the snow,
+had gathered in a crimson pool beneath him.  Here was one grim prophecy
+fulfilled.  Carrying him into the house, I laid him gently on a bed.
+Then I turned away with a very sorrowful heart; for there was much to
+do, and the dead are not urgent.
+
+Even as I turned, my heart jumped with a new and sickening dread.
+Xavier stood before me--Xavier, with wild eyes, and face darkly clotted
+with blood.  The next instant he threw himself at my feet.
+
+"The child!" he muttered, covering his face.  "They have carried him
+away.  They have carried Philip away!"
+
+"What do you mean?" I cried, in a voice which my fear made harsh, while
+at the same time I dragged him to his feet.  "Who have carried him
+away?  Who?"
+
+But I knew the answer ere he could speak it,--I knew my enemy had
+seized the chances of the battle and the night.
+
+"The Black Abbé," wailed the lad, in a voice of poignant sorrow.  "He
+came in the night, with two Chepody Acadians dressed up like Indians,
+and seized me asleep, and bound me."
+
+"But Philip!" I cried.  "Where have they taken him?"  And even as I
+spoke I was planning swiftly.
+
+"The Abbé started westward with him," answered Xavier.  "From what I
+heard say, he would go to Pereau; but which way after, I could not find
+out."
+
+"Come!" I ordered roughly, "we must follow them!"  But as I spoke I saw
+the lad totter.  I caught him by the arm and held him up, perceiving
+now for the first time how he was both wounded and utterly spent.
+
+"Let us go first to your father," I said more gently, leading him, and
+putting what curb I could upon the fierceness of my haste.
+
+"How did you get here?" I asked him presently.
+
+A gleam came into the lad's faint eyes.
+
+"The Chepody men stayed till morning," said he, "and then set out on
+the road toward Piziquid, taking me with them.  They thought I was
+nothing but a boy.  As we went, I got my hands loose, so,--and waited.
+At noon one man went into a house,--and--so!--I was free, and had the
+other dog by the throat.  He make no noise; but he fight hard, and hurt
+me.  I got away, and left him in the snow, and ran back all the way to
+tell you the Black Abbé--"
+
+But here the poor lad's voice failed, and he hung upon me with all his
+weight.  He had fainted, indeed; and now that I thought of his wound,
+his hunger, his grief, and his prodigious exertions, I wondered not at
+his swooning.  Picking him up in my arms, I carried him to the cottage
+where the kind damsel had so compassionately tended my own bruises.
+
+As I entered the thronged cottage with my burden, men came about me
+with many questions; but I kept my own counsel, not knowing whom I
+could trust, or where the Black Abbé might not have his spies posted.
+Moreover, I was so distracted with anxiety about the child, that I had
+small patience wherewith to take questioning civilly.  Every bed and
+every settle being occupied with our wounded, I laid Xavier on the
+floor, with his head upon a blue petticoat which the kind damsel--who
+came to me as soon as she saw me enter--fetched from a cupboard and
+rolled up deftly for me.  After a careful examination I found no wound
+upon the lad save two shallow flesh cuts, one across his forehead and
+one down his chest.  I thereupon concluded that exhaustion, together
+with the loss of blood, had brought him to this pass, and that with a
+few days' care he would be altogether restored.  Having put some brandy
+between his lips, and seen his eyelids tremble with recovering
+consciousness, I turned to the maiden and said:--
+
+"Take care of him for me, Chérie.  He deserves your best care; and I
+trust him to your good heart.  Give him something to eat now,--soup,
+hot milk, at first.  And I will come back in two days from now, at
+furthest."
+
+"But Monsieur must rest!"
+
+"No rest for me to-night!" I interrupted, in a low voice, as I
+straightened myself up.  "Do you know where I may find the lad's
+father, the chief, Big--"
+
+But there was no need for me to finish the question.  There, close
+behind me, stood the tall Indian, looking down at Xavier, with trouble
+in his eyes.  He had just entered, in his silent fashion.
+
+"There is no danger!  He is worn out!" I whispered.  "He has done all a
+brave man could do; but the child is stolen!  Come outside with me."
+
+Big Etienne stooped quickly and laid his hand upon the lad's breast,
+and then, most gently, upon his lips.  A second later he had followed
+me out into the deepening twilight.
+
+In few words I told him what had happened, and my purpose of going
+instantly in pursuit.  Without a word he strode off toward a small
+cabin about a stone's throw from the cottage which we had just left.
+
+"Where are you going?" I asked, astonished at this abruptness.
+
+"My snow-shoes!" he replied.  "And bread.  I go with you, my brother!"
+
+This, in very truth, was just what I had hoped for.  But, in my haste,
+I had forgotten the need of eating; and, as for my snow-shoes, usually
+strapped at my back, they had been left at the outskirts of the village
+the night before in order that my sword arm might have the freer play.
+It was no time now to go back for them.  I slipped into the cottage,
+borrowed a pair, and was presently forth again to meet Big Etienne.
+The Indian, instead of bread, had brought a goodly lump of dried beef.
+Side by side, and in silence, we set out for the cabin on the Gaspereau
+where Philip and Xavier had been captured.
+
+We found the place deserted.  Either the man of the house had been a
+tool of La Garne, or he feared that I would hold him responsible.
+Which it was, I know not to this day; and, at the time, we gave small
+thought to the question, merely commending the fellow's wisdom in
+removing himself from our indignation.  What engaged our concern was a
+single snow-shoe track making westward, followed by the trail of a
+little sledge.
+
+"Yes," said I; "Xavier is surely right.  The Abbé has gone to cross the
+Habitants and the Canard where they are little, and will then, belike,
+turn down the valley to Pereau!"
+
+"Very like!" grunted my companion; and, at a long lope, we started up
+the trail.
+
+This pace, however, soon told upon me, and brought it into my mind that
+I had, that day, eaten nothing but a bowl of broth.  We halted,
+therefore, and rested half an hour in the warmth of a dense spruce
+coppice, and ate abundantly of that very savoury beef.  Then, much
+revived, we set out again.  Treading one behind the other, we marched,
+in silence, through the glimmering dark; for Big Etienne was no talker,
+while I, for my part, was gnawing my heart with rage, and hope
+frustrated, and the picture of Mizpah's anguish.  We never stayed our
+pace till we came, at the edge of dawn, to the spot where the trail
+went over the dwindled upper current of the Habitants.
+
+Here, to our astonishment, the trail turned eastward, following down
+the course of the river.
+
+I looked at the Indian in wondering consternation.  "What can it mean?"
+I cried.  "Can there be any new plot of his hatching at Canard?"
+
+"Maybe!" said Big Etienne.
+
+At thought of further perils threatening Mizpah and Marc, the weariness
+which had been growing upon me vanished, and I sprang forward as
+briskly as if we had but just set out.  Even Big Etienne, though he had
+no such incentive as mine, seemed to win new vigour with the
+contemplation of this new coil of the enemy's.  If, indeed, he appeared
+somewhat fresher than I throughout the latter half of this hard march,
+it is but justice to myself to say that he bore no wound from the late
+battle.
+
+At last, when it was well past ten of the morning, the trail led us out
+upon the main Canard track, and turned toward the settlement.
+
+"Yes," said I, with bitter conviction; "he has gone to Canard.  He
+would never go there had he not some deep scheme of mischief afoot.
+God grant we be in time!"
+
+In less than half an hour we came within sight of the Forge in the
+Forest.  To my astonishment, the smoke was pouring in furious volume
+from the forge chimney.
+
+"What can Babin be about?  Or can Mizpah and Marc be there already?" I
+wondered aloud; but got no answer from my companion.  A moment later, a
+turn of the track brought us to a post of vantage whence we could see
+straight into the forge.  The sight which met our eyes brought us to an
+instant stop from sheer amazement.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIII
+
+The Rendezvous at the Forge
+
+Beside the forge-fire stood Grűl.  On his left arm was perched Philip,
+half wrapped in the black-and-yellow cloak, and playing with Grűl's
+white wand.  At the back of the forge, fettered to the wall, and with
+his hands bound behind him, stood the black form of our adversary.
+Grűl was heaving upon the bellows, and in the fierce white glow of the
+coal stuck a number of irons heating.  These he turned and twisted with
+fantastic energy, now and then drawing one forth and brandishing it
+with a kind of mad glee, so as best to show the intensity of its
+colour; and whenever he did so little Philip shouted with delight.
+
+The joy that surged through my breast as I took in all this astonishing
+turn of affairs, was something which I have no words to tell of.
+
+"Mary, Mother of Heaven, be praised for this!" I cried fervently.
+
+"What will he do with irons?" queried Big Etienne, with a curiously
+startled note in his voice.
+
+Indeed, what now followed was sufficiently startling.  Grűl had caught
+sight of us.  Immediately he set the child down, heaved twice or thrice
+mightily upon the bellows, and then drew from the fire two white-hot
+rods of iron.  With these, one in each hand, he approached the Black
+Abbé, treading swiftly and sinuously like a panther.  I darted forward,
+chilled with sudden horror.  A short scream of mortal fear came from
+the wretched captive's lips.
+
+"Stop! stop!" I shouted, as those terrible brands went circling hither
+and thither about the cringing form.  The next instant, and ere I could
+reach the scene to interfere, the Abbé gave a huge bound, reached the
+door, and plunged out into the snow, pursued by a peal of wild laughter
+from Grűl's lips.  This most whimsical of madmen had befooled his
+captive, in much the same fashion as once before on the cliff beside
+the des Saumons.  He had used the deadly iron merely to free him from
+his bonds, and again held in reserve his full vengeance.
+
+Fetching a huge breath of relief, I joined in Grűl's mocking laughter;
+while Big Etienne gave a grunt of manifest dissatisfaction.  As for the
+Black Abbé, though the sweat of his terror stood in beads upon his
+forehead, he recovered his composure marvellously.  Having run some
+dozen paces he stopped, turned, and gazed steadily upon Grűl for
+perhaps the space of a full minute.  Then, sweeping a scornful glance
+across the child, the Indian, and myself, he half opened his lips to
+speak.  But if he judged himself not then best ready to speak with
+dignity,--let no one marvel at that.  He changed his purpose, folded
+his arms across his breast, and strode off slowly and in silence along
+the track toward Grand Pré.
+
+I thought his shadow, as it fell long and sinister across the snow, lay
+blacker than was the common wont of shadows.
+
+Big Etienne was already within, and Philip in his arms.  As I entered
+the forge door Grűl cried solemnly, as if to extenuate his act in
+freeing the prisoner:--
+
+"His cup is not yet full."
+
+Seizing both his hands in mine, I tried with stammering lips to thank
+him; but, something to my chagrin, he cut me short most ungraciously.
+Snatching his hands away, he stepped outside the door, and raised his
+thrilling, bell-like chant:--
+
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh."
+
+Beyond all words though my gratitude was, I could not refrain from
+shrugging my shoulders at this fantastic mummery, as I turned to
+embrace little Philip.  My heart was rioting with joy and hope, and I
+could not trouble my wits with these mad whimsies of Grűl's.  When he
+had quit prophesying and come again within the forge, I tried to draw
+from him some account of how he had so achieved the child's rescue and
+the Black Abbé's utter discomfiture.  But he wandered from the matter,
+whether wilfully or not I could by no means decide; and presently,
+catching a ghost of a smile on the face of Big Etienne, I gave up and
+rested thankful for what I had got.  As for Philip, he was amiably
+gracious to both Big Etienne and myself, but it was manifest that all
+his little heart had gone out to Grűl; and the two were presently
+playing together in a corner of the forge, at some game which none but
+themselves could understand.
+
+It wanted yet an hour of noon, when, as I stood in the door consuming
+my heart with impatience, yet unwilling to go and meet Mizpah and so
+mar the climax which I had plotted for, I caught sight of two figures
+approaching.  I needed not eyes to tell me one was Mizpah, for the
+blood shook in all my veins at sight of her.  The other was Father
+Fafard.
+
+"Marc," said I to myself, "is not yet strong enough to venture so far;
+and the maid Prudence has stayed with him.  But Mizpah is here--Mizpah
+is here!"
+
+With eyes of delight I dwelt upon her tall, slim form, in its gown of
+blue woollen cloth which set off so rarely the red-gold enchantment of
+her hair.  But when she was come near enough for me to mark the eager
+welcome in her eyes and on her lips, I waved at her, clumsily enough,
+and turned within to catch at a little self-possession.  Not having my
+snow-shoes on, I could not be expected to go and meet her; and that
+waiting in the doorway was too much for me to endure.
+
+"Keep Philip behind the chimney, out of sight," I whispered eagerly to
+Grűl; and somewhat to my wonder he obeyed.
+
+On the next instant Mizpah stood in the door, smiling upon me, her face
+all aglow with expectation and greeting; and I found myself clasping
+both of her white hands.  But my tongue refused to speak,--deeming,
+perchance, that my eyes were usurping its office.
+
+Finding at length a word of welcome for the good priest, I wrung his
+hand fervently, then turned again to Mizpah.
+
+But my first speech was stupid,--so stupid that I wished most heartily
+that I had held my tongue.
+
+"Comrade," said I, "this is a glad day for me."
+
+Her face fell, and her eyes reproached me.
+
+"Because you have defeated and slain my people?" she asked.
+
+My face grew hot for the flat ineptitude of my words.
+
+"No! no!  Not for that!" I cried passionately, "but for _this_!"
+
+And I turned to snatch Philip from his corner behind the chimney.
+
+But Grűl was too quick for me.  He could play no second part at any
+time, he.  Evading my hands, he slipped past me, and himself placed the
+child in Mizpah's arms.
+
+I cursed inwardly at his abruptness, though in truth he had done just
+what I was intending to do myself.  As Mizpah, with a gasping cry,
+crushed the little one to her bosom, she went white as a ghost and
+tottered against the anvil.  I sprang to support her, but withheld my
+arm ere it touched her waist, for even on the instant she had recovered
+herself.  With wordless mother-cries she kissed Philip's lips and hair,
+and buried her face in his neck, he the while clinging to her as if
+never again for a moment could he let her go.
+
+Presently, while I waited in great hunger for a word, she turned to Big
+Etienne and Grűl.
+
+"My friends!" she cried, in a shaken voice which faithfully uttered her
+heart, "my true and loyal friends!"  Whereupon she wrung their hands,
+and wrung them, and would have spoken further but that her voice failed
+her.
+
+Then, after a moment or two, she turned to me,--yet not wholly.
+
+The paleness had by this well vanished, and her eyes, those great
+sea-coloured eyes, which she would not lift to mine, were running over
+with tears.  Philip took one sturdy little arm from her neck, and
+stretched out his hand to me; but I ignored the invitation.
+
+"And what--what have you got for me, Mizpah?" I asked, in a very low
+voice, indeed--a voice perhaps not just as steady as that of a noted
+bush-fighter is supposed to be at a crisis.
+
+The flush grew, deepening down along the clear whiteness of her neck,
+and she half put out one hand to me.
+
+"Do you want thanks?" she asked softly.
+
+"You _know_ what I want,--what I have wanted above all else in life
+from the moment my eyes fell upon you!" I cried with a great passion,
+grown suddenly forgetful of Grűl and Big Etienne, who doubtless found
+my emotion more or less interesting.
+
+For a second or two Mizpah made no answer.  Then she lifted her face,
+gave me one swift look straight in the eyes,--a look that told me all I
+longed to know,--and suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a
+sob, put Philip into my arms.
+
+[Illustration: Suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a sob, put
+Philip into my arms.]
+
+"There!" she whispered, dropping her eyes.
+
+And by some means it so came about that, as I took the child, my arms
+held Mizpah also.
+
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORGE IN THE FOREST ***
+
+***** This file should be named 33470-8.txt or 33470-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/4/7/33470/
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/33470-8.zip b/33470-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f7831f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-8.zip
diff --git a/33470-h.zip b/33470-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0ff907
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h.zip
diff --git a/33470-h/33470-h.htm b/33470-h/33470-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf2e42d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/33470-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,8399 @@
+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<HTML>
+<HEAD>
+
+<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
+
+<TITLE>
+The Project Gutenberg E-text of The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+</TITLE>
+
+<STYLE TYPE="text/css">
+BODY { color: Black;
+       background: White;
+       margin-right: 10%;
+       margin-left: 10%;
+       font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;
+       text-align: justify }
+
+P {text-indent: 4% }
+
+P.noindent {text-indent: 0% }
+
+P.poem {text-indent: 0%;
+        margin-left: 10%; }
+
+P.letter {text-indent: 0%;
+          margin-left: 10% ;
+          margin-right: 10% }
+
+P.footnote {text-indent: 0% ;
+            font-size: 80%;
+            margin-left: 10% ;
+            margin-right: 10% }
+
+P.finis { font-size: larger ;
+          text-align: center ;
+          text-indent: 0% ;
+          margin-left: 0% ;
+          margin-right: 0% }
+
+H4.h4center { margin-left: 0;
+              margin-right: 0 ;
+              margin-bottom: .5% ;
+              margin-top: 0;
+              float: none ;
+              clear: both ;
+              text-align: center  }
+
+IMG.imgcenter { margin-left: auto;
+                margin-bottom: 0;
+                margin-top: 1%;
+                margin-right: auto; }
+
+</STYLE>
+
+</HEAD>
+
+<BODY>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Forge in the Forest
+
+Author: Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+Release Date: November 23, 2010 [EBook #33470]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORGE IN THE FOREST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="img-front"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="On a block just inside the door sat Marc." BORDER="2" WIDTH="444" HEIGHT="704">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 444px">
+On a block just inside the door sat Marc.
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+The Forge in the Forest
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Being
+<BR><BR>
+<I>The Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean<BR>
+de Mer, Seigneur de Briart; and how<BR>
+he crossed the Black Abbé; and of<BR>
+his Adventures in a Strange<BR>
+Fellowship</I><BR>
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+By
+</H4>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Charles G. D. Roberts
+</H3>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Lamson, Wolffe and Company
+<BR>
+Boston, New York and London
+<BR>
+William Briggs, Toronto
+<BR>
+MDCCCXCVI
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+Copyright, 1896,
+<BR>
+By Lamson, Wolffe and Company.
+<BR><BR>
+<I>All rights reserved</I>
+<BR><BR><BR>
+Norwood Press
+<BR>
+J. S. Cushing &amp; Co.&mdash;Berwick &amp; Smith
+<BR>
+Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
+</H5>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+To
+<BR>
+George E. Fenety, Esq.
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+This Story of a Province<BR>
+among whose Honoured Sons he is<BR>
+not least distinguished<BR>
+is dedicated<BR>
+with esteem and affection<BR>
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="img-006"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-006.jpg" ALT="Map of Peninsula of Acadie (Nova Scotia)" BORDER="2" WIDTH="657" HEIGHT="529">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 657px">
+Map of Peninsula of Acadie (Nova Scotia)
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+Contents
+</H2>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>Part I.&mdash;Marc</I>
+</H3>
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%">
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"><A HREF="#foreword">A Foreword</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">Chapter</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap01">The Capture at the Forge</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap02">The Black Abbé</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap03">Tamin's Little Stratagem</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap04">The Governor's Signature</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap05">In the Run of the Seas</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap06">Grűl</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap07">The Commander is Embarrassed</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap08">The Black Abbé Comes to Dinner</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap09">The Abbé Strikes Again</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap10">A Bit of White Petticoat</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap11">I Fall a Willing Captive</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+</TABLE>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<I>Part II.&mdash;Mizpah</I>
+</H3>
+
+<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%">
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">XII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%">
+<A HREF="#chap12">In a Strange Fellowship</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap13">My Comrade</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap14">My Comrade Shoots Excellently Well</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap15">Grűl's Hour</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap16">I Cool My Adversaries' Courage</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap17">A Night in the Deep</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap18">The <I>Osprey</I>, of Plymouth</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap19">The Camp by Canseau Strait</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap20">The Fellowship Dissolved</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap21">The Fight at Grand Pré</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap22">The Black Abbé Strikes in the Dark</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap23">The Rendezvous at the Forge</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+</TABLE>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="foreword"></A>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+Part I
+</H2>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+Marc
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+The Forge in the Forest
+</H2>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+A Foreword
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+Where the Five Rivers flow down to meet the swinging of the Minas
+tides, and the Great Cape of Blomidon bars out the storm and the fog,
+lies half a county of rich meadow-lands and long-arcaded orchards.  It
+is a deep-bosomed land, a land of fat cattle, of well-filled barns, of
+ample cheeses and strong cider; and a well-conditioned folk inhabit it.
+But behind this countenance of gladness and peace broods the memory of
+a vanished people.  These massive dykes, whereon twice daily the huge
+tide beats in vain, were built by hands not suffered to possess the
+fruits of their labour.  These comfortable fields have been scorched
+with the ruin of burning homes, drenched with the tears of women
+hurried into exile.  These orchard lanes, appropriate to the laughter
+of children or the silences of lovers, have rung with battle and run
+deep with blood.  Though the race whose bane he was has gone, still
+stalks the sinister shadow of the Black Abbé.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The low ridge running between the dykelands of the Habitants and the
+dyke-lands of the Canard still carries patches of forest interspersed
+among its farms, for its soil is sandy and not greatly to be coveted
+for tillage.  These patches are but meagre second growth, with here and
+there a gnarled birch or overpeering pine, lonely survivor of the
+primeval brotherhood.  The undergrowth has long smoothed out all traces
+of what a curious eye might fifty years ago have discerned,&mdash;the
+foundations of the chimney of a blacksmith's forge.  It is a mould well
+steeped in fateful devisings, this which lies forgotten under the
+creeping roots of juniper and ragged-robin, between the diminished
+stream of Canard and the yellow tide of Habitants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The forest then was a wide-spreading solemnity of shade wherein armies
+might have moved unseen.  The forge stood where the trail from Pereau
+ran into the more travelled road from the Canard to Grand Pré.  The
+branches of the ancient wood came down all about its low eaves; and the
+squirrels and blue jays chattered on its roof.  It was a place for the
+gathering of restless spirits, the men of Acadie who hated to accept
+the flag of the English king.  It was the Acadian headquarters of the
+noted ranger, Jean de Mer, who was still called by courtesy, and by the
+grace of such of his people as adhered to his altered fortunes, the
+Seigneur de Briart.  His father had been lord of the whole region
+between Blomidon and Grand Pré; but the English occupation had deprived
+him of all open and formal lordship, for the de Briart sword was
+notably conspicuous on the side of New France.  Nevertheless, many of
+Jean de Mer's habitants maintained to him a chivalrous allegiance, and
+paid him rents for lands which in the English eye were freehold
+properties.  He cherished his hold upon these faithful folk, willing by
+all honest means to keep their hearts to France.  His one son, Marc,
+grew up at Grand Pré, save for the three years of his studying at
+Quebec.  His faithful retainer, Babin, wielding a smith's hammer at the
+Forge, had ears of wisdom and a tongue of discretion for the men who
+came and went.  Once or twice in the year, it was de Mer's custom to
+visit the Grand Pré country, where he would set his hand to the work of
+the forge after Babin's fashion, playing his part to the befooling of
+English eyes, and taking, in truth, a quaint pride in his pretended
+craft.  At the time, however, when this narrative opens, he had been a
+whole three years absent from the Acadian land, and his home-coming was
+yet but three days old.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap01"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter I
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Capture at the Forge
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It was good to be alive that afternoon.  A speckled patch of sunshine,
+having pushed its way through the branches across the road, lay spread
+out on the dusty floor of the forge.  On a block just inside the door
+sat Marc, his lean, dark face,&mdash;the Belleisle face, made more hawklike
+by the blood of his Penobscot grandmother,&mdash;all aglow with eagerness.
+The lazy youngster was not shamed at the sight of my diligence, but
+talked right on, with a volubility which would have much displeased his
+Penobscot grandmother.  It was pleasant to be back with the lad again,
+and I was aweary of the war, which of late had kept my feet forever on
+the move from Louisbourg to the Richelieu.  My fire gave a cheerful
+roar as I heaved upon the bellows, and turned my pike-point in the
+glowing charcoal.  As the roar sighed down into silence there was a
+merry whirr of wings, and a covey of young partridges flashed across
+the road.  A contented mind and a full stomach do often make a man a
+fool, or I should have made shift to inquire why the partridges had so
+sharply taken wing.  But I never thought of it.  I turned, and let the
+iron grow cool, and leaned with one foot on the anvil, to hear the
+boy's talk.  My soul was indeed asleep, lulled by content, or I would
+surely have felt the gleam of the beady eyes that watched me through a
+chink in the logs beside the chimney.  But I felt those eyes no more
+than if I had been a log myself.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, Father," said Marc, pausing in rich contemplation of the picture
+in his mind's eye, "you would like her hair!  It is unmistakably
+red,&mdash;a chestnut red.  But her sister's is redder still!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I smiled at his knowledge of my little weakness for hair of that
+colour; but not of a woman's hair was I thinking at that moment, or I
+should surely have made some question about the sister.  My mind ran
+off upon another trail.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And what do the English think they're going to do when de Ramezay
+comes down upon them?" I inquired.  "Do they flatter themselves their
+tumble-down Annapolis is strong enough to hold us off?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The lad flushed resentfully and straightened himself up on his seat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you suppose, Father, that I was in the fort, and hobnobbing with
+the Governor?" he asked coldly.  "I spoke with none of the English save
+Prudence and her sister, and the child."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But why not?" said I, unwilling to acknowledge that I had said
+anything at which he might take offence.  "Every one knows your good
+disposition toward the English, and I should suppose you were in favour
+at Annapolis.  The Governor, I know, makes much of all our people who
+favour the English cause."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc stood up,&mdash;lean, and fine, and a good half head taller than his
+father,&mdash;and looked at me with eyes of puzzled wrath.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And you think that I, knowing all I do of de Ramezay's plans, would
+talk to the English about them!" he exclaimed in a voice of keen
+reproach.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now, I understood his anger well enough, and in my heart rejoiced at
+it; for though I knew his honour would endure no stain, I had
+nevertheless feared lest I should find his sympathies all English.  He
+was a lad with a way of thinking much and thinking for himself, and
+even now, at twenty year, far more of a scholar than I had ever found
+time to be.  Therefore, I say, his indignation pleased me mightily.
+Nevertheless I kept at him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Chut!" said I, "all the world knows by now of de Ramezay's plans.
+There had been no taint of treachery in talking of them!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc sat down again, and the ghost of a smile flickered over his lean
+face.  Though free enough of his speech betimes, he was for the most
+part as unsmiling as an Indian.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I see you are mocking me, Father," he said presently, relighting his
+pipe.  "Indeed, you know very well I am on your side, for weal or ill.
+As long as there was a chance of the English being left in peaceable
+possession of Acadie, I urged that we should accept their rule fully
+and in good faith.  No one can say they haven't ruled us gently and
+generously.  And I feel right sure they will continue to rule us, for
+the odds are on their side in the game they play with France.  But
+seeing that the game has yet to be played out, there is only one side
+for me, and I believe it to be the losing one.  Though as a boy I liked
+them well enough, I have nothing more to do with the English now except
+to fight them.  How could I have another flag than yours?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are my own true lad, whatever our difference of opinion!" said I.
+And if my voice trembled in a manner that might show a softness
+unsuited to a veteran of my training, bear in mind that, till within
+the past three days, I had not seen the lad for three years, and then
+but briefly.  At Grand Pré, and in Quebec at school, Marc had grown up
+outside my roving life, and I was just opening my eyes to find a
+comrade in this tall son of my boyhood's love.  His mother, a daughter
+of old Baron St. Castin by his Penobscot wife, had died while he was
+yet at the breast.  A babe plays but a small part in the life of a
+ranging bush-fighter, though I had ever a great tenderness for the
+little lad.  Now, however, I was looking upon him with new eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having blown the coals again into a heat, I returned to Marc's words,
+certain of which had somewhat stuck in my crop.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you speak with despondence, lad, of the chances of the war, and of
+the hope of Acadie!  By St. Joseph, we'll drive the English all the way
+back of the Penobscot before you're a twelvemonth older.  And Acadie
+will see the Flag of the Lilies flapping once more over the ramparts of
+Port Royal."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc shook his head slowly, and seemed to be following with his eyes
+the vague pattern of the shadows on the floor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It seems to me," said he, with a conviction which caught sharply at my
+heart even though I bore in mind his youth and inexperience, "that
+rather will the Flag of the Lilies be cast down even from the strong
+walls of Quebec.  But may that day be far off!  As for our people here
+in Acadie, during the last twelvemonth it has been made very clear to
+me that evil days are ahead.  The Black Abbé is preparing many sorrows
+for us here in Acadie."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose you mean La Garne!" said I.  "He's a diligent servant to
+France; but I hate a bad priest.  He's a dangerous man to cross, Marc!
+Don't go out of your way to make an enemy of the Black Abbé!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Again that ghost of a smile glimmered on Marc's lips.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I fear you speak too late, Father!" said he, quietly.  "The reverend
+Abbé has already marked me.  He so far honours me as to think that I am
+an obstacle in his path.  There be some whose eyes I have opened to his
+villany, so that he has lost much credit in certain of the parishes.  I
+doubt not that he will contrive some shrewd stroke for vengeance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My face fell somewhat, for I am not ashamed to confess that I fear a
+bad priest, the more so in that I yield to none in my reverence for a
+good one.  I turned my iron sharply in the coals, and then exclaimed:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well, we need not greatly trouble ourselves.  There are others,
+methinks, as strong as the Black Abbé, evil though he be!"  But I
+spoke, as I have often found it expedient to do, with more confidence
+than I felt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even at this moment, shrill and clear from the leafage at one end of
+the forge, came the call of the big yellow-winged woodpecker.  I
+pricked up my ears and stiffened my muscles, expectant of I knew not
+what.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc looked at me with some surprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's only a woodpecker!" said he.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But it's only in the spring," I protested, "that he has a cry like
+that!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He cries untimely, as an omen of the ills to come!" said Marc, half
+meaning it and half in jest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Had it been anywhere on the perilous frontier,&mdash;on the Richelieu or in
+the West, or nigh the bloody Massachusetts line, my suspicions would
+have sprung up wide awake.  But in this quiet land between the
+Habitants and the Canard I was off my guard,&mdash;and what a relief it was,
+indeed, to let myself be careless for a little!  I thought no more of
+the woodpecker, but remembered that sister with the red hair.  I came
+back to her by indirection, however.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And how did you manage, lad, to be seeing Mistress Prudence, and her
+sister, and the child, and yet no others of the English?  A matter of
+dark nights and back windows?  Eh?  But come to think of it, there was
+a clear moon this day four weeks back, when you were at Annapolis."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, Father," answered Marc, "it was all much more simple and less
+adventurous than that.  Some short way out of the town is a little
+river, the Equille, and a pleasant hidden glade set high upon its bank.
+It is a favoured resort of both the ladies; and there I met them as
+often as I was permitted.  Mizpah would sometimes choose to play apart
+with the child, down by the water's edge if the tide were full, so I
+had some gracious opportunity with Prudence.&mdash;  My time being brief, I
+made the most of it!" he added drily.  His quaint directness amused me
+mightily, and I chuckled as I shaped the red iron upon the anvil.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And who," I inquired, "is this kind sister, with the even redder hair,
+who goes away with such a timely discretion?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes," said Marc, "I forgot you knew nothing of her.  She is
+Mistress Mizpah Hanford, the widow of a Captain Hanford who was some
+far connection of the Governor's.  Her property is in and about
+Annapolis, and she lives there to manage it, keeping Prudence with her
+for companionship.  Her child is four or five years old, a
+yellow-haired, rosy boy called Philip.  She's very tall,&mdash;a head taller
+than Prudence, and older, of course, by perhaps eight years; and very
+fair, though not so fair as Prudence; and altogether&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But at this point I interrupted him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's the matter with the Indian?" I exclaimed, staring out across
+Marc's shoulders.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He sprang to his feet and looked around sharply.  An Indian, carrying
+three shad strung upon a sapling, had just appeared on the road before
+the forge door.  As he came in view he was reeling heavily, and
+clutching at his head.  He dropped his fish; and a moment later he
+himself fell headlong, and lay face downward in the middle of the road.
+I remember thinking that his legs sprawled childishly.  Marc strolled
+over to him with slow indifference.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have a care!" I exclaimed.  "There may be some trap in it!  It looks
+not natural!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What trap can there be?" asked Marc, turning the body over.  "It's Red
+Moose, a Shubenacadie Micmac.  I like not the breed; but ever since he
+got a hurt on the head, in a fight at Canseau last year, he has been
+subject to the falling sickness.  Let us carry him to a shady place,
+and he'll come to himself presently!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I was at his side in a moment, and we stooped to lift the seemingly
+lifeless figure.  In an instant its arms were about my neck in a
+strangling embrace.  At the same time my own arms were seized.  I heard
+a fierce cry from Marc, and a groan that was not his.  The next moment,
+though I writhed and struggled with all my strength, I found myself
+bound hand and foot, and seated on the ground with my back against the
+door-post of the forge.  Marc, bound like myself, lay by the roadside;
+and a painted savage sat near him nursing with both hands a broken jaw.
+A dozen Micmacs stood about us.  Leaning against the door-post over
+against me was the black-robed form of La Garne.  He eyed me, for
+perhaps ten seconds, with a smile of fine and penetrating sarcasm.
+Then he told his followers to stand Marc up against a tree.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap02"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter II
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Black Abbé
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+When first I saw that smile on the Black Abbé's face, and realized what
+had befallen us, I came nigh to bursting with rage, and was on the
+point of telling my captor some truths to make his ears tingle.  But
+when I heard the order to stand Marc up against a tree my veins for an
+instant turned to ice.  Many men&mdash;and some women, too, God help me, I
+then being bound and gagged,&mdash;had I seen thus stood up against a tree,
+and never but for one end.  I could not believe that such an end was
+contemplated now, and that by a priest of the Church, however unworthy
+of his office!  But I checked my tongue and spoke the Abbé fair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is quite plain to me, Monsieur," said I, quietly, "that my son and
+I are the victims of some serious mistake, for which you will, I am
+sure, feel constrained to ask our pardon presently.  I await your
+explanations."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+La Garne, still smiling, looked me over slowly.  Never before had I
+seen him face to face, though he had more than once traversed my line
+of vision.  I had known the tireless figure, as tall, almost, as Marc
+himself, stoop-shouldered, but robust, now moving swiftly as if
+propelled by an energy irresistible, now languid with an affectation of
+indolence.  But the face&mdash;I hated the possessor of it with a personal
+hate the moment my eyes fell upon that face.  Strong and inflexible was
+the gaunt, broad, and thin jaw, cruel and cunning the high, pinched
+forehead and narrow-set, palely glinting eyes.  The nose, in
+particular, greatly offended me, being very long, and thick at the end.
+"I'll tweak it for him, one fine day," says I to myself, as I boiled
+under his steady smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is no mistake, Monsieur de Briart, believe me!" he said, still
+smiling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There could be no more fair words, of course, after that avowal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, Sir Priest," said I, coldly, "you are both a madman and a scurvy
+rogue, and you shall yet be on your knees to me for this outrage.  You
+will see then the nature of your mistake, I give you my word."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The priest's smile took on something of the complexion of a snarl.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't be alarmed, Monsieur de Briart," said he.  "You are quite safe,
+because I know you for a good servant to France; and for your late
+disrespect to Holy Church, in my person, while in talk with your
+pestilent son, these bonds may be a wholesome and sufficient lesson to
+you!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You shall have a lesson sufficient rather than wholesome, I promise
+you!" said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But as for this fellow," went on the Abbé, without noticing my
+interruption, "he is a spy.  You understand how spies fare, Monsieur!"
+And a malignant light made his eyes appear like two points of steel
+beneath the ambush of his ragged brows.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I saw Marc's lean face flush thickly under the gross accusation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is a lie, you frocked hound!" he cried, careless of the instant
+peril in which he stood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the Black Abbé never looked at him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wish you joy of your son, a very good Englishman, Monsieur, and now,
+I fear, not long for this world," said he, in a tone of high civility.
+"He has long been fouling with his slanders the names of those whom he
+should reverence, and persuading the people to the English.  But now,
+after patiently waiting, I have proofs.  His treachery shall hang him!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a moment the dear lad's peril froze my senses, so that it was but
+dimly I heard his voice, ringing with indignation as he hurled back the
+charge upon the lying lips that made it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If the home of lies be anywhere out of Hell, it is in your malignant
+mouth, you shame of the Church," he cried in defiance.  "There can be
+no proof that I am a spy, even as there can be no proof that you are
+other than a false-tongued assassin, defiling your sacred office."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was the galling defiance of a savage warrior at the stake, and even
+in my fear my heart felt proud of it.  The priest was not galled,
+however, by these penetrating insults.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As for the proofs," said he, softly, never looking at Marc, but
+keeping his eyes on my face, "Monsieur de Ramezay shall judge whether
+they be proofs or not.  If he say they are not, I am content."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At a sign, a mere turn of his head it seemed to me, the Indians loosed
+Marc's feet to lead him away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Farewell, Father," said he, in a firm voice, and turned upon me a look
+of unshakable courage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Be of good heart, son," I cried to him.  "I will be there, and this
+devil shall be balked!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You, Monsieur," said the priest, still smiling, "will remain here for
+the present.  To-night I will send a villager to loose your bonds.
+Then, by all means, come over and see Monsieur de Ramezay at Chignecto.
+I may not be there then myself, but this business of the spy will have
+been settled, for the commander does not waste time in such small
+matters!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He turned away to follow his painted band, and I, shaking in my
+impotent rage and fear, called after him:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As God lives and is my witness, if the lad comes to any harm, these
+hands will visit it upon you an hundredfold, till you scream for
+death's mercy!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the Black Abbé moved off as if he heard no word, and left me a
+twisted heap upon the turf, gnawing fiercely at the tough deer-hide of
+my bonds.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap03"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter III
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Tamin's Little Stratagem
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+I had been gnawing, gnawing in an anguish at the thongs, for perhaps
+five minutes.  There had been no more than time for the Abbé's
+wolf-pack to vanish by a turn of the road.  Suddenly a keen blade slit
+the thongs that bound my wrists.  Then my feet felt themselves free.  I
+sat up, astonished, and saw stooping over me the droll, broad face of
+Tamin the Fisher,&mdash;or Tamin Violet, as he was rightly, though seldom,
+called.  His mouth was solemn, as always, having never been known to
+wear a smile; but the little wrinkles laughed about his small bright
+eyes.  I sprang up and grasped his hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must not lose a moment, Tamin, my friend!" I panted, dragging him
+into the thick shade of the wood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was thinking you might be in a hurry, M'sieu," said my rescuer.
+"But unless the mouse wants to be back in the same trap I've just let
+it out of, you'd better keep still a half-minute and make up your mind.
+They've a round road to go, and we'll go straight!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You saw it all?" I asked, curbing myself as best I could, for I
+perceived the wisdom of his counsel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, ay, M'sieu, I saw it!" replied the Fisher.  "And I laughed in my
+bones to hear the lad talk up to the good father.  There was more than
+one shot went home, I warrant, for all the Black Abbé seemed so deaf.
+They're festering under his soutane even now, belike!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But come!" said I.  "I've got my wind!"  And we darted noiselessly
+through the cool of the great trees, turning a little east from the
+road.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We ran silently for a space, my companion's short but massive frame
+leaping, bending, gliding even as lightly as my own, which was ever as
+lithe as a weasel's.  Tamin was a rare woodsman, as I marked
+straightway, though I had known him of old rather as a faithful tenant,
+and marvellously patient to sit in his boat all day a-fishing on the
+drift of the Minas tides.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Presently he spoke, under his breath.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very like," said he, drily, "when we come up to them they will all
+fall down.  So, we will take the lad and walk away! eh, what, M'sieu?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Only let us come up to them," said I, "and learn their plans.  Then we
+will make ours!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something of theirs I know," said Tamin.  "Their canoes are on the
+Canard maybe three furlongs to east of the road.  Thence they will
+carry the lad to de Ramezay, for the Black Abbé will have things in due
+form when he can conveniently, and now it is plain he has a scheme well
+ripe.  But if this wind holds, we'll be there before them.  My boat is
+lying hard by."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"God be praised!" I muttered; for in truth I saw some light now for the
+first time.  Presently, drawing near the road again, I heard the voice
+of La Garne.  We at once went softly, and, avoiding again, made direct
+for where lay the canoes.  There we disposed ourselves in a swampy
+thicket, with a little breadth of water lying before and all the forest
+behind.  The canoes lay just across the little water, and so close that
+I might have tossed my cap into them.  The clean smell of the wet salt
+sedge came freshly into the thicket.  The shadows lay long on the
+water.  We had time to grow quiet, till our breathing was no longer
+hasty, our blood no longer thumped in our ears.  A flock of
+sand-pipers, with thin cries, settled to feed on the red clay between
+the canoes and the edge of the tide.  Suddenly they got up, and puffed
+away in a flicker of white breasts and brown wings; and I laid a hand
+on Tamin's shoulder.  The painted band, Marc in their midst, La Garne
+in front, were coming down the slope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The lad's face was stern and scornful.  To my joy I saw that there was
+to be no immediate departure.  The redskins flung themselves down
+indolently.  The Black Abbé saw his prisoner made fast to a tree, and
+then, telling his followers that he had duties at Pereau which would
+keep him till past sunset, strode off swiftly up the trail.  Tamin and
+I, creeping as silently as snakes back into the forest, followed him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For half an hour we followed him, keeping pace for pace through the
+shadow of the wood.  Then said I softly to Tamin:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is my quarrel, my friend!  Do you keep back, and not bring down
+his vengeance on your head."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That for his vengeance!" whispered Tamin, with a derisive gesture.  "I
+will take service with de Ramezay, as a regular soldier of France!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Even there," said I, "his arm might reach and pluck you forth.  Keep
+back now, and let him not see your face!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Priest though he be, M'sieu," urged Tamin, anxiously, "he is a mighty
+man of his hands!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I turned upon him a face of scorn which he found sufficient answer.
+Then, signing to him to hold off, I sped forward silently.  No weapon
+had I but a light stick of green ash, just cut.  There was smooth,
+mossy ground along the trail, and my running feet made no more sound
+than a cat's.  I was within a pace of springing upon his neck, when he
+must have felt my coming.  He turned like a flash, uttered a piercing
+signal cry, and whipped out a dagger.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They'll never hear it," mocked I, and sent the dagger spinning with a
+smart pass of my stick.  The same stroke went nigh to breaking his
+wrist.  He grappled bravely, however, as I took him by the throat, and
+I was astonished at his force and suppleness.  Nevertheless the
+struggle was but brief, and the result a matter to be sworn to
+beforehand; for I, though not of great stature, am stronger than any
+other man, big or little, with whom I have ever come to trial; and more
+than that, when I was a prisoner among the English, I learned their
+shrewd fashion of wrestling.  In a little space the Black Abbé lay
+choked into submission, after which I bound him in a way to endure, and
+seated him against a tree.  Behind him I caught view of Tamin,
+gesturing drolly, whereat I laughed till I marked an amazement growing
+in the priest's malignant eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How like you my lesson, good Father?" I inquired.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But he only glared upon me.  I suppose, having no speech that would
+fitly express his feelings, he conceived that his silence would be most
+eloquent.  But I could see that my next move startled him.  With my
+knife I cut a piece from my shirt, and made therewith a neat gag.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Though you seem so dumb at this present," said I, "I suspect that you
+might find a tongue after my departure.  Therefore I must beseech you
+to wear this ornament, for my sake, for a little."  And very civilly
+prying his teeth open, I adjusted the gag.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do not be afraid!" I continued.  "I will leave you in this discomfort
+no longer than you thought it necessary to leave me so.  You shall be
+free after to-morrow's sunrise, if not before.  Farewell, good Father,
+and may you rest well!  Let me borrow this ring as a pledge for the
+safe return of the fragment of my good shirt which you hold so
+obstinately between your teeth!"  And drawing his ring from his finger
+I turned away and plunged into the forest, where Tamin presently joined
+me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin chuckled, deep in his stomach.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My turn now!" said he.  "Give me the ring, M'sieu, and I'll give you
+the boy!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I see you take me!" said I, highly pleased at his quick discernment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We now made way at leisure back to the canoes, and our plans ripened as
+we went.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Before we came within hearing of the Indians I gave over the ring with
+final directions, to Tamin, and then hastened toward the point of land
+which runs far out beyond the mouth of the Habitants.  Around this
+point, as I knew, lay the little creek-mouth wherein Tamin kept his
+boat.  Beyond the point, perchance a furlong, was a narrow sand-spit
+covered deep at every flood tide.  In a thicket of fir bushes on the
+bluff over against this sand-spit I lay down to wait for what Tamin
+should bring to pass.  I had some little time to wait; and here let me
+unfold, as I learned it after, what Tamin did whilst I waited.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+About sunset, the tide being far out, and the Indians beginning to
+expect their Abbé's return, came Tamin to them running in haste along
+the trail from Pereau, as one who carried orders of importance.  Going
+straight to the chief, he pointed derisively at Marc, whose back was
+towards him, and cried:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The good father commands that you take this dog of a spy straightway
+to the sand-spit that lies off the point yonder.  There you will drive
+a strong stake into the sand, and bind the fellow to it, and leave him
+there, and return here to await the Abbé's coming.  You shall do no
+hurt to the spy, and set no mark upon him.  When the tide next ebbs you
+will go again to the sand-spit and bring his body back; and if the Abbé
+finds any mark upon him, you will get no pay for this venture.  You
+will make your camp here to-night, and if the good father be not
+returned to you by sunrise to-morrow, you will go to meet him along the
+Pereau trail, for he will be in need of you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The tall chief grunted, and eyed him doubtfully.  After a brief
+contemplation he inquired, in broken French:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How know you no lie to me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here is the holy father's ring, in warranty; and you shall give it
+back to him when he comes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is well," said the chief, taking the ring, and turning to give some
+commands in his own guttural tongue.  Tamin repeated his message word
+by word, then strode away; and before he got out of sight he saw two
+canoes put off for the sand-spit.  Then he made all haste to join me on
+the point.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Long before he arrived the canoes had come stealing around the point
+and were drawn up on the treacherous isle of sand.  My heart bled for
+the horror of death which, as I knew, must now be clutching at Marc's
+soul; but I kept telling myself how soon I would make him glad.  It
+wanted yet three hours or more till the tide should cover the
+sand-spit.  I lay very still among the young fir trees, so that a
+wood-mouse ran within an arm's length of my face, till it caught the
+moving of my eyes and scurried off with a frightened squeak.  I heard
+the low change in the note of the tide as the first of the flood began
+to creep in upon the weeds and pebbles.  Then with some farewell
+taunts, to which Marc answered not a word, the savages went again to
+their canoes and paddled off swiftly.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-042"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-042.jpg" ALT="Marc tied to post" BORDER="2" WIDTH="438" HEIGHT="705">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 438px">
+Marc tied to post
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+When they had become but specks on the dim water, I doffed my clothes,
+took my knife between my teeth, and swam across to the sand-spit.
+There was a low moon, obscured by thin and slowly drifting clouds, and
+as I swam through the faint trail of it, Marc must have seen me coming.
+Nevertheless he gave no sign, and I could see that his head drooped
+forward upon his breast.  An awful fear came down upon me, and for a
+second or two I was like to sink, so numb I turned at the thought that
+perchance the savages had put the knife to him before quitting.  I
+recovered, however, as I called to mind the orders which Tamin had
+rehearsed to me ere starting on his venture; for I knew how sorely the
+Black Abbé was feared by his savage flock.  What they deemed him to
+have commanded, that would they do.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Drawing closer now, I felt the ground beneath my feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Marc," I called softly, "I'm coming, lad!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The drooped head was lifted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Father!" he exclaimed.  And there was something like a sob in that cry
+of joy.  It caught my heart strangely, telling me he was still a boy
+for all he had borne himself so manfully in the face of sudden and
+appalling peril.  Now the long tension was loosed.  He was alone with
+me.  As I sprang to him and cut the thongs that held him, one arm went
+about my neck and I was held very close for the space of some few
+heart-beats.  Then he fetched a deep breath, stretched his cramped
+limbs this way and that, and said simply, "I knew you would come,
+Father!  I knew you would find a way!"
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap04"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter IV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Governor's Signature
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The clouds slipped clear of the moon's face, and we three&mdash;Marc, I, and
+the stake&mdash;cast sudden long black shadows which led all the way down to
+the edge of the increeping tide.  I looked at the shadows, and a
+shudder passed through me as if a cold hand had been laid upon my back.
+Marc stood off a little,&mdash;never have I seen such quick control, such
+composure, in one so inexperienced,&mdash;and remarked to me:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What a figure of a man you are, Father, to be sure!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I fell into his pretence of lightness at once, a high relief after the
+long and deadly strain; and I laughed with some pleasure at the praise.
+In very truth, I cherished a secret pride in my body.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis well enough, no doubt, in a dim light," said I, "though by now
+surely somewhat battered!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc was already taking off his clothes.  As he knotted them into a
+convenient bundle, there came from the woods, a little way back of the
+point, the hollow "Too-hoo-hoo-whoo-oo!" of the small gray owl.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's Tamin!" said I, and was on the point of answering in like
+fashion, when the cry was reiterated twice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That means danger, and much need of haste for us," I growled.
+Together we ran down into the tide, striking out with long strokes for
+the fine white line that seethed softly along the dark base of the
+point.  I commended the lad mightily for his swimming, as we scrambled
+upon the beach and slipped swiftly into our clothes.  Though carrying
+his bundle on his head, he had given me all I could do to keep abreast
+of him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We climbed the bluff, and ran through the wet, keen-scented bushes
+toward the creek where lay the boat.  Ere we had gone half-way Tamin
+met us, breathless.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What danger?" I asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think they're coming back to tuck the lad in for the night, and see
+that he's comfortable!" replied Tamin, panting heavily.  "I heard
+paddles when they should have been long out of earshot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Something has put them in doubt!" said Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sure," said I, "and not strange, if one but think of it!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yet I told them a fair tale," panted Tamin, as he went on swiftly
+toward his boat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The boat lay yet some yards above the edge of tide, having been run
+aground near high water.  The three of us were not long in dragging her
+down and getting her afloat.  Then came the question that was uppermost.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Which way?" asked Tamin, laconically, taking the tiller, while Marc
+stood by to hoist the dark and well-patched sail.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I considered the wind for some moments.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For Chignecto!" said I, with emphasis.  "We must see de Ramezay and
+settle this hound La Garne.  Otherwise Marc stands in hourly peril."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the broad sail drew, and the good boat, leaning well over, gathered
+way, and the small waves swished and gurgled merrily under her quarter,
+I could hardly withhold from laughing for sheer gladness.  Marc was
+already smoking with great composure beside the mast, his lean face
+thoughtful, but untroubled.  He looked, I thought, almost as old as his
+war-battered sire who now watched him with so proud an eye.  Presently
+I heard Tamin fetch a succession of mighty breaths, as he emptied and
+filled the ample bellows of his lungs.  He snatched the green and
+yellow cap of knitted wool from his head, and let the wind cool the
+sweating black tangle that coarsely thatched his broad skull.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hein!" he exclaimed, with a droll glance at Marc, "that's better than
+<I>that</I>!"  And he made an expressive gesture as of setting a knife to
+his scalp.  To me this seemed much out of place and time; but Tamin was
+ever privileged in the eyes of a de Mer, so I grumbled not.  As for
+Marc, that phantom of a smile, which I had already learned to watch
+for, just touched his lips, as he remarked calmly:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Vraiment, much better.  That, as you call it, my Tamin, came so near
+to-night that my scalp needs no cooling since!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But whither steering?" I inquired; for the boat was speeding
+south-eastward, straight toward Grand Pré.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin's face told plainly that he had his reasons, and I doubted not
+that they were good.  For some moments that wide, grave mouth opened
+not to make reply, while the little, twinkling, contradictory eyes were
+fixed intently on some far-off landmark, to me invisible.  This point
+being made apparently to his satisfaction, he relaxed and explained.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You see, M'sieu," said he, "we must get under the loom o' the shore,
+so's we'll be out of sight when the canoes come round the point.  If
+they see a sail, at this time o' night, they'll suspicion the whole
+thing and be after us.  Better let 'em amuse themselves for a spell
+hunting for the lad on dry land, so's we won't be rushed.  Been enough
+rush!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes!  Yes!" assented I, scanning eagerly the point behind us.  And
+Marc said:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very great is your sagacity, my Tamin.  The Black Abbé fooled himself
+when he forgot to take you into his reckoning!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this speech the little wrinkles gathered thicker about Tamin's eyes.
+At length, deeming us to have gone far enough to catch the loom of the
+land, as it lay for one watching from the sand-spit, Tamin altered our
+course, and we ran up the basin.  Just then we marked two canoes
+rounding the point.  They were plainly visible to us, and I made sure
+we should be seen at once; but a glance at Tamin's face reassured me.
+The Fisher understood, as few even among old woodsmen understand it,
+the lay of the shadow-belts on a wide water at night.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Noiselessly we lowered our sail and lay drifting, solicitous to mark
+what the savages might do.  The sand-spit was by this so small that
+from where we lay it was not to be discerned; but we observed the
+Indians run their canoes upon it, disembark, and stoop to examine the
+footprints in the sand.  In a moment or two they embarked again, and
+paddled straight to the point.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shrewd enough!" said Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said I, "and now they'll track us straight to Tamin's creek, and
+understand that we've taken the boat.  But they won't know what
+direction we've taken!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, M'sieu," muttered Tamin, "but no use loafing round here till they
+find out!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Which being undoubted wisdom of Tamin's, we again hoisted sail and
+continued our voyage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having run some miles up the Basin, we altered our course and stood
+straight across for the northern shore.  We now felt secure from
+pursuit, holding it highly improbable that the savages would guess our
+purpose and destination.  As we sat contenting our eyes with the great
+bellying of the sail, and the fine flurries of spray that ever and
+again flashed up from our speeding prow, and the silver-blue creaming
+of our wake, Marc gave us a surprise.  Thrusting his hand into the
+bosom of his shirt he drew out a packet and handed it to me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here, perhaps, are the proofs on which the gentle Abbé relied!" said
+he.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Taking the packet mechanically, I stared at the lad in astonishment.
+But there was no information to be gathered from that inscrutable
+countenance, so I presently recollected myself, and unfolded the
+papers.  There were two of them.  The moon was partly clear at the
+moment, and I made out the first to be an order, written in English, on
+one Master Nathaniel Apthorp, merchant, of Boston, directing him to pay
+Master Marc de Mer, of Grand Pré in Nova Scotia, the sum of two hundred
+and fifty pounds.  It was signed "Paul Mascarene, Gov<SUP>r</SUP> of Nova Scotia."
+The other paper was written in finer and more hasty characters, and I
+could not decipher it in the uncertain light.  But the signature was
+the same as that appended to the order on Mr. Apthorp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I cannot decipher this one, in this bad light," said I; "but what does
+it all mean, Marc?  How comes the English Governor to be owing you two
+hundred and fifty pounds?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Does he owe me two hundred and fifty pounds?  That's surely news of
+interest!" said Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I looked at him, amazed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mean to say that you don't know what is in these papers?" I
+inquired, handing them back.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How should I know that?" said Marc, with a calmness which was not a
+little irritating.  "They were placed in my pocket by the good Abbé;
+and since then my opportunities of reading have been but scant!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin ejaculated a huge grunt of indignant comprehension; and I,
+beholding all at once the whole wicked device, threw up my hands and
+fell to whistling an idle air.  It seemed to me a case for which curses
+would seem but tame and pale.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This other, then," said I, presently, "must be a letter that would
+seem to have been written to you by the Governor, and worded in such a
+fashion as to compromise you plainly!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis altogether probable, Father," replied Marc, musingly, as he
+scanned the page.  He was trying to prove his own eyesight better than
+mine, but found the enterprise beyond him,&mdash;as I knew he would.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can make out nothing of this other, save the signature," he
+continued.  "We must even wait for daylight.  And in the meanwhile I
+think you had better keep the packet, Father, for I feel my wits and my
+experience something lacking in this snarl."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I took the papers and hid them in a deep pocket which I wore within the
+bosom of my shirt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The trap was well set, and deadly, lad," said I, highly pleased at his
+confidence in my wisdom to conduct the affair.  "But trust me to spring
+it.  Whatever this other paper may contain, de Ramezay shall see them
+both and understand the whole plot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Twill be hard to explain away," said Marc, doubtfully, "if it be
+forged with any fair degree of skill!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Trust my credit with de Ramezay for that.  It is something the Black
+Abbé has not reckoned upon!" said I, with assurance, stuffing my pipe
+contentedly with the right Virginia leaf.  Marc, being well tired with
+all that he had undergone that day, laid his head on the cuddy and was
+presently sound asleep.  In a low voice, not to disturb the slumberer,
+I talked with Tamin, and learned how he had chanced to come so pat upon
+me in my bonds.  He had been on the way up to the Forge, coming not by
+the trail, but straight through the forest, when he caught a view of
+the Indians, and took alarm at the stealth of their approach.  He had
+tracked them with a cunning beyond their own, and so achieved to outdo
+them with their own weapons.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The moon now swam clear in the naked sky, the clouds lying far below.
+By the broad light I could see very well to read the letter.  It was
+but brief, and ran thus:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+<I>To my good Friend and trusted Helper Monsieur Marc de Mer</I>:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+DEAR SIR,&mdash;As touching the affair which you have so prudently carried
+through, and my gratitude for your so good help, permit the enclosed
+order on Master Apthorp to speak for me.  If I might hope that you
+would find it in your heart and within your convenience to put me under
+yet weightier obligations, I would be so bold as to desire an exact
+account of the forces at Chignecto, and of the enterprize upon which
+Monsieur de Ramezay is purposing to employ them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Believe me to be, my dear Sir, yours with high esteem and consideration,
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+PAUL MASCARENE.
+</P>
+
+<br>
+
+<P>
+With a wonder of indignation I read it through, and then again aloud to
+Tamin, who cursed the author with such ingenious Acadian oaths as made
+me presently smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is right shrewdly devised," said I, "but the deviser knew little of
+the blunt English Governor, or never would he have made him write with
+such courtly circumlocutions.  De Ramezay, very like, will have seen
+communications of Mascarene's before now, and will scarce fail to note
+the disagreement."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The fox has been known to file his tongue too smooth," said Tamin,
+sententiously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By this we were come over against the huge black front of Blomidon, but
+our course lay far outside the shadow of his frown, in the silvery run
+of the seas.  The moon floated high over the great Cape, yellow as
+gold, and the bare sky was like an unruffled lake.  Far behind us
+opened the mouth of the Piziquid stream, a bright gap in the dark but
+vague shore-line.  On our right the waters unrolled without obstruction
+till they mixed pallidly with the sky in the mouth of Cobequid Bay.
+Five miles ahead rose the lofty shore which formed the northern wall of
+Minas Channel,&mdash;grim and forbidding enough by day; but now, in such
+fashion did the moonlight fall along it, wearing a face of fairyland,
+and hinting of fountained palaces in its glens and high hollows.  After
+I had filled my heart with the fairness and the wonder of it, I lay
+down upon a thwart and fell asleep.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap05"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter V
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+In the Run of the Seas
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It seemed as if I had but fairly got my eyes shut, when I was awakened
+by a violent pitching of the boat.  I sat up, grasping the gunwale, and
+saw Marc just catching my knee to rouse me.  The boat, heeling far
+over, and hauled close to the wind, was heading a little up the channel
+and straight for a narrow inlet which I knew to be the joint mouth of
+two small rivers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where are you going?  Why is our course changed?" I asked sharply,
+being nettled by a sudden notion that they had made some change of plan
+without my counsel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Look yonder, Father!" said Marc, pointing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I looked, and my heart shook with mingled wrath and apprehension.
+Behind us followed three canoes, urged on by sail and paddle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They outsail us?" I inquired.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ay, before the wind, they do, M'sieu!" said Tamin.  "On this tack,
+maybe not.  We'll soon see!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what's this but a mere trap we are running our heads into?" I
+urged.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I fear there's nothing else but to quit the boat and make through the
+woods, Father," explained Marc; "that is, if we're so fortunate as to
+keep ahead till we reach land."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In the woods, I suppose, we can outwit them or outfoot them," said I;
+"but those Micmacs are untiring on the trail."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know a good man with a good boat over by Shulie on the Fundy shore,"
+interposed Tamin.  "And I know the way over the hills.  We'll cheat the
+rogue of a priest yet!"  And he shrewdly measured the distance that
+parted us from our pursuers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It galls me to be running from these dogs!" I growled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Our turn will come," said Marc, glowering darkly at the canoes.  "Do
+you guess the Black Abbé is with them?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not he!" grunted Tamin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Things may happen this time," said I, "and the good father may wish to
+keep his soutane clear of them.  It's all plain enough to me now.  The
+Indians, finding themselves tricked, have gone back on the Pereau trail
+and most inopportunely have released the gentle Abbé from his bonds.
+He has seen through our game, and has sent his pack to look to it that
+we never get to de Ramezay.  But <I>he</I> will have no hand in it.  Oh, no!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's plain to me now," interrupted Tamin, with some anxiety in his
+voice, "is that they're gaining on us fast.  They've put down
+leeboards; an' with leeboards down a Micmac canoe's hard to beat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh!" I exclaimed bitterly, "if we had but our muskets!  Fool that I
+was, thus to think to save time and not go back for our weapons!  Trust
+me, lad, it's the first time that Jean de Mer has had that particular
+kind of folly to repent of!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But there was nought else for it, Father," said Marc.  "And if, as
+seems most possible, we come to close quarters presently, we are not so
+naked as we might be.  Here's your two pistols, my good whinger, and
+Tamin's fishy dirk.  And Tamin's gaff here will make a pretty lance.
+It is borne in upon me that some of the good Abbé's lambs will bleat
+for their shepherd before this night's work be done!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was a steady light in his eyes that rejoiced me much, and his
+voice rose and fell as if fain to break into a war song; and I said to
+myself, "The boy is a fighter, and the fire is in his blood, for all
+his scholar's prating of peace!"  Yet he straightway turned his back
+upon the enemy and with great indifference went to filling his pipe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ay, an' there be a right good gun in the cuddy!" grunted Tamin, after
+a second or two of silence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The saints be praised!" said I.  And Marc's long arm reached in to
+capture it.  It was a huge weapon, and my heart beat high at sight of
+it.  Marc caressed it for an instant, then reluctantly passed it to me,
+with the powder-horn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can shoot, a little, myself," said he, "but I would be presumptuous
+to boast when you were by, Father!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ay, vraiment," said Tamin, sharply; "don't think you can shoot with
+the Sieur de Briart yet!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't," replied Marc, simply, as he handed me out a pouch of bullets
+and a pouch of slugs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The pursuing canoes were by this come within fair range.  There came a
+strident hail from the foremost:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lay to, or we shoot!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shoot, dogs!" I shouted, ramming home the good measure of powder which
+I had poured into my hand.  I followed it with a fair charge of slugs,
+and was wadding it loosely, when&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Duck!" cries Tamin, bobbing his head lower than the tiller.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Neither Marc nor I moved a hair.  But we gazed at the canoes.  On the
+instant two red flames blazed out, with a redoubled bang; and one
+bullet went through the sail a little above my head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not bad!" said Marc, glancing tranquilly at the bullet hole.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But for my own part, I was angry.  To be fired upon thus, at a priest's
+orders, by a pack of scurvy savages in the pay of our own party,&mdash;never
+before had Jean de Briart been put to such indignity.  I kneeled, and
+took a very cautious aim,&mdash;not, however, at the savages, but at the bow
+of the nearest canoe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my shoulder very
+vilely.  But the result of the shot was all that we could desire.  As I
+made haste to load again I noticed that the savage in the bow had
+fallen backward in his place, hit by a stray slug.  The bulk of the
+charge, however, had torn a great hole in the bark, close to the
+water-line.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-074"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-074.jpg" ALT="Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my shoulder very vilely." BORDER="2" WIDTH="442" HEIGHT="701">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 442px">
+Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my shoulder very vilely.
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"You've done it, Father!" said Marc, in a tone of quiet exultation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hein!" grunted Tamin.  "They don't like the wet!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The canoe was going down by the bow.  The other two craft ranged
+hurriedly alongside, and took in the gesticulating crew,&mdash;all but one,
+whom they left in the stern to paddle the damaged canoe to land, being
+loth to lose a serviceable craft.  With broken bow high in air the
+canoe spun around, and sped off up the Basin before the wind.  The
+remaining two resumed the chase of us.  We had gained a great space
+during the confusion, yet they came up upon us fast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But now, ere I judged them to be within gunshot, they slackened speed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They think better of it!" said I, raising the gun again to my
+shoulder.  As I did so they sheered off in haste to a safer distance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They are not such fools as I had hoped!" said Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I so far flatter myself as to think," said I, with some complacency,
+"that they won't trust themselves willingly again within range of this
+good barker."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By this we were come well within the wide mouth of the estuary, and a
+steep, wooded point thrust out upon our right.  All at once I muttered
+a curse upon my dulness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What fools we are, to be sure!" I cried.  "No reason that we should
+toil across the mountains to your good man's good boat at Shulie, my
+Tamin.  Put her about, and we'll sail in comfort around to Chignecto;
+and let these fellows come in range again at their peril!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To be sure, indeed!" grunted Tamin; and with a lurch and great
+flapping we went about.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The canoes, indeed, now fled before us with excellent discretion.  Our
+new course carried us under the gloom of the promontory, whence, in a
+few minutes, we shot out again into the moonlight.  It was pleasant to
+see our antagonists making such courteous haste to give us room.  I
+could not forbear to chuckle over it, and wished mightily that the
+Black Abbé were in one of the canoes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I fear me there's to be no work for Tamin's fishy dirk or my good
+whinger," sighed Marc, with a nice air of melancholy; and Tamin, with
+the little wrinkles thicker than ever about his eyes, yelled droll
+taunts after our late pursuers.  In fact, we were all three in immense
+high feather,&mdash;when on a sudden there came a crashing bump that tumbled
+us headlong, the mast went overboard, and there we were stuck fast upon
+a sharp rock.  The boat was crushed in like an egg-shell, and lay over
+on her side.  The short, chopping seas huddled upon us in a smother.
+As I rose up, sputtering, I took note of Tamin's woollen cap washing
+away debonairly, snatched off, belike, by a taut rope as the mast fell.
+Then, clinging all three to the topmost gunwale, the waves jumping and
+sousing us derisively, we stared at each other in speechless dismay.
+But a chorus of triumphant screeches from the canoes, as they noted our
+mishap and made to turn, brought us to our senses.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nothing for it but to swim!" said I, thrusting down the now useless
+musket into the cuddy, where I hoped it might stay in case the wrecked
+boat should drift ashore.  It was drenched, of course, and something
+too heavy to swim with.  I emptied the slugs from my pocket.  Tamin
+ducked his head under water and fumbled in the cuddy till I was on the
+point of plucking him forth, fearing he would drown,&mdash;Marc, meanwhile,
+looking on tranquilly and silently, with that fleeting remembrance of a
+smile.  But now Tamin arose, gasping, with a small sack and a salted
+hake in his hands.  The fish he passed over to me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bread, M'sieu!" said he, holding up the drenched sack in triumph.
+"Now for the woods!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+'Twas but the toss of a biscuit to shore, and we had gained it ere our
+enemies were come within gunshot.  Running swiftly along the strip of
+beach that skirted the steep, we put the shoulder of the cape between,
+and were safe from observation for a few minutes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To the woods, M'sieu!" cried Tamin, in a suppressed voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No!" said I, sternly.  "Straight along the beach, till I give the word
+to turn in!  Follow me!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis the one chance, to get out of sight now!" grumbled Tamin, running
+beside me, and clutching at his wet sack of bread.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't you suppose he knows what he is doing, my Tamin?" interrupted
+Marc.  "'Tis for you and me to obey orders!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin growled, but said no more.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now in with you to cover," I commanded, waving my salt fish as it had
+been a marshal's baton.  At the same moment I turned, ran up the wet
+slope where a spring bubbled out of the wood's edge and spread itself
+over the stones, and sprang behind a thick screen of viburnums.  My
+companions were beside me on the instant,&mdash;but it was not an instant
+too soon.  As we paused to look back, there were the canoes coming
+furiously around the point.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Staying not long to observe them, I led the way straight into the
+darkness of the woods, aiming for the seashore at the other side of the
+point.  But Tamin was not satisfied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Our road lies straight up yon river," said he.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My friend," said I, "we must e'en find another road to Shulie.  Those
+fellows will be sure to agree that we have gone that way.  Knowing that
+I am a cunning woodsman, they will say, 'He will make them to run in
+the water, and so leave no trail.'  And they will give hot chase up the
+river."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But there be two rivers," objected Tamin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bien," said I, "they will divide their party, and give hot chase up
+two rivers!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And in the meanwhile?" inquired Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll find the way to Shulie," said I.  "The stars and the sun are
+guide enough!  I know the main lay of all these coasts."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap06"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter VI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Grűl
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The undergrowth into which we had now come was thick and hindering, so
+there was no further chance of speech.  A few minutes more and we came
+out upon the seaward slope of the point.  We pushed straight down to
+the water, here sheltered from the wind and little troubled.  That our
+footprints might be hidden, at least for a time, we ran, one behind the
+other, along the lip of the tide, where the water was about ankle deep.
+In the stillness our splashing sounded dangerously loud, and Tamin, yet
+in a grumbling humour, spoke of it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you forget, my friend," said I, gently, "that there is noise and
+to spare where our enemies are,&mdash;across there in the wind!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In a moment Tamin spoke again, pointing some little way ahead.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The land drops away yonder, M'sieu, 'twixt the point and the main
+shore!" he growled, with conspicuous anxiety in his voice.  He was no
+trembler; but it fretted him to be taking what he deemed the weaker
+course.  "Nothing," he added, "but a bit of bare beach that the waves
+go over at spring tides when the wind's down the Basin!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I paused in some dismay.  But my mind was made up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must go on," said I.  "But we will stoop low, and lose no time in
+the passage.  They'll scarce be landed yet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And now, as I came to see how low indeed that strip of perilous beach
+was, I somewhat misdoubted of success in getting by unseen.  But we
+went a little deeper in the tide, and bowed our bodies with great
+humbleness, and so passed over with painful effort but not a little
+speed.  Being come again under shelter, we straightened ourselves, well
+pleased, fetched a deep breath or two, and ran on with fresh celerity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But if a redskin should think to step over the beach, there'd be our
+goose cooked!" muttered Tamin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well said!" I answered.  "Therefore let us strike inland at once!"
+And I led the way again into the darkness of the forest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dark as it was, there was yet light enough from the moon to enable me
+to direct my course as I wished.  I struck well west of the course
+which would have taken us most speedily to Shulie, being determined to
+avoid the valley of the stream which I considered our pursuers were
+most likely to ascend.  To satisfy Tamin's doubts I explained my
+purpose, which was to aim straight for Shulie as soon as we were over
+the water-shed.  And I must do him the justice to say he was content,
+beginning now to come more graciously to my view.  We went but slowly,
+climbing, ever climbing.  At times we would be groping through a great
+blackness of hemlocks.  Again the forest would be more open, a mingling
+of fir trees, and birches, and maples.  Coming at last to more level
+ground, we were still much hindered by innumerable rocks, amid which
+the underbrush and wild vines prepared pitfalls for our weary feet.
+But I was not yet willing to call a halt for breath.  On, on we
+stumbled, the wet branches buffeting our faces, but a cool and pleasant
+savour of the wild herbs which we trod upon ever exhaling upwards to
+refresh our senses.  As we crossed a little grassy glade, I observed
+that Marc had come to Tamin's help, and was carrying the sack of bread.
+I observed, also, that Tamin's face was drawn with fatigue, and that he
+went with a kind of dogged heaviness.  I took pity upon him.  We had
+put, I guessed, good miles between ourselves and our pursuers, and I
+felt that we were, in all reason, safe for the time.  At the further
+limit of the glade there chattered a shallow brook, whose sweet noise
+reminded me that I was parched with thirst.  The pallor of first dawn
+was now coming into the sky, and the tree tops began to lift and float
+in an aerial grayness.  I glanced at Marc, and his eyes met mine with a
+keen brightness that told me he was yet unwearied.  Nevertheless I
+cried:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Halt, and fall out for breakfast."  And with the words I flung myself
+down by the brook, thrust my burning face into the babbling chill of
+it, and drank luxuriously.  Tamin was beside me in an instant; but Marc
+slaked his thirst at more leisure, when he had well enjoyed watching
+our satisfaction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We lay for a little, till the sky was touched here and there with
+saffron and flying wisps of pink, and we began to see the colour of
+grass and leaves.  Then we made our meal,&mdash;a morsel each of the salt
+hake which I had clung to through our flight, and some bits of Tamin's
+black bread.  This bread was wholesome, as I well knew, and to our
+hunger it was not unsavoury; but it was of a hardness which the
+sea-water had scarce availed to mitigate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As we ground hastily upon the meagre fare, I felt, rather than heard, a
+presence come behind me.  I turned my head with a start, and at the
+same instant heard a high, plangent voice, close beside us, crying
+slowly:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was an astonishing figure upon which my eyes fell,&mdash;a figure which
+might have been grotesque, but was not.  Instead of laughing, my heart
+thrilled with a kind of awe.  The man was not old,&mdash;his frame was erect
+and strong with manhood; but the long hair hanging about his neck was
+white, the long beard streaming upon his half-naked breast was white.
+He wore leathern breeches, and the upper portion of his body was
+covered only by a cloak of coarse woollen stuff, woven in a staring
+pattern of black and yellow.  On his head was a rimless cap of plaited
+straw, with a high, pointed crown; and this was stuck full of gaudy
+flowers and feathers.  From the point of the crown rose the stump of
+what had been, belike, a spray of goldenrod, broken by a hasty
+journeying through the obstructions of the forest.  The man's eyes, of
+a wild and flaming blue, fixed themselves on mine.  In one hand he
+carried a white stick, with a grotesque carven head, dyed scarlet,
+which he pointed straight at me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you lie down, like cows that chew the cud, when the wolves are on
+the trail?" demanded that plangent voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's Grűl!" cried Tamin, springing to his feet and thrusting a piece
+of black bread into the stranger's hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the offering was thrust aside, while those wide eyes flamed yet
+more wildly upon me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They are on the trail, I tell you!" he repeated.  "I hear their feet
+even now!  Go!  Run!  Fly!" and he stooped, with an ear toward the
+ground.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But which way should we fly?" I asked, half in doubt whether his
+warning should be heeded or derided.  I could see that neither Marc nor
+Tamin had any such doubts.  They were on the strain to be off, and only
+awaited my word.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Go up the brook," said he, in a lower voice.  "The first small stream
+on your left hand, turn up that a little way, and so&mdash;for the wolves
+shall this time be balked.  But the black wolf's teeth bite deep.  They
+shall bite upon the throats of the people!" he continued, his voice
+rising keenly, his white staff, with its grinning scarlet head, waving
+in strange, intricate curves.  We were already off, making at almost
+full speed up the brook.  Glancing back, I saw the fantastic form
+running to and fro over the ground where we had lain; and when the
+trees hid him we heard those ominous words wailed slowly over and over
+with the reiterance of a tolling bell:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Woe, woe for Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He'll throw them off the trail!" said Tamin, confidently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But how did they ever get on it?" queried Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis plain that they have seen or heard us as we passed the strip of
+beach!" said I, in deep vexation, for I hated to be overreached by any
+one in woodcraft.  "If we outwit them now, it's no thanks to my
+tactics, but only to that generous and astonishing madman.  You both
+seemed to know him.  Who, in the name of all the saints, might he be?
+What was it you called him, Tamin?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Grűl!" replied Tamin; and said no more, discreetly husbanding his
+wind.  But Marc spoke for him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have heard him called no other name but Grűl!  Madman he is, at
+times, I think.  But sane for the most part, and with some touches of a
+wisdom beyond the wisdom of men.  The guise of madness he wears always;
+and the Indians, as well as our own people, reverence him mightily.  It
+is nigh upon three years since he first appeared in Acadie.  He hates
+the Black Abbé,&mdash;who, they say, once did him some great mischief in
+some other land than this,&mdash;and his strange ravings, his prodigious
+prophesyings, do something here and there to weaken the Abbé's
+influence with our people."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then how does he evade the good father's wrath?" I questioned, in
+wonder.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," said Marc, "the good father hates him cordially enough.  But the
+Indians could not be persuaded, or bullied, or bribed, to lift a hand
+against him.  They say a Manitou dwells in him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Maybe they're not far wrong!" grunted Tamin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And now I, like Tamin, found it prudent to spare my wind.  But Marc,
+whose lungs seemed untiring, spoke from time to time as he went, and
+told me certain incidents, now of Grűl's acuteness, now of his gift of
+prophecy, now of his fantastic madness.  We came at length, after
+passing two small rivulets on the right, to the stream on the left
+which Grűl had indicated.  It had a firm bed, wherein our footsteps
+left no trace, and we ascended it for perhaps a mile, by many windings.
+Then, with crafty care, we crept up from the stream, in such a fashion
+as to leave no mark of our divergence if, as I thought not likely, our
+pursuers should come that way.  After that we fetched a great circuit,
+crossed the parent brook, and shortly before noon judged that we might
+account ourselves secure.  Where a tiny spring bubbled beneath a
+granite boulder and trickled away north toward the Fundy shore, we
+stopped to munch black bread and the remnant of the fish.  We rested
+for an hour,&mdash;Tamin and I sleeping, while Marc, who protested that he
+felt no motion toward slumber, kept watch.  When he roused us, we set
+off pleasantly refreshed, our faces toward Shulie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Till late that night we journeyed, having a clear moon to guide us.
+Coming at length to the edge of a small lake set with islands, "Here,"
+said I, "is the place where we may sleep secure!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We stripped, took our bundles on our heads, and swam out into the
+shining stillness.  We swam past two islets, and landed upon one which
+caught my fancy.  There we lay down in a bed of sweet-smelling fern,
+and were well content.  As we supped on Tamin's good black bread, two
+loons laughed to each other out on the silver surface.  We saw their
+black, watchful heads, moving slowly.  Then we slept.  It was high day
+when we awoke.  The bread was now scarce, so we husbanded it, and made
+such good speed all day that while it wanted yet some hours of sunset
+we came out upon a bluff's edge and saw below us the wash and roll of
+Fundy.  We were some way west of Shulie, but not far, Tamin said, from
+the house of his good friend with the good boat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To this house we came within the hour.  It was a small, home-like
+cabin, among apple trees, in a slant clearing that overhung a narrow
+creek.  There, by a little jetty, I rejoiced to see the boat.  The man
+of the house, one Beaudry, was in the woods looking for his cow, but
+the goodwife made us welcome.  When Beaudry came in he and Tamin fell
+on each other's necks.  And I found, too, that the name of Jean de
+Briart, with something of his poor exploits, was not all unknown in the
+cabin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How well we supped that night, on fresh shad well broiled, and fresh
+sweet barley bread, and thin brown buckwheat cakes!  It was settled at
+once that Beaudry should put us over to de Ramezay's camp with the
+first of the morrow's tide.  Then, over our pipes, sitting under the
+apple tree by the porch, we told our late adventures.  I say we, but
+Tamin told them, and gave them a droll colouring which delighted me.
+It must have tickled Marc's fancy, too, for I took note that he let his
+pipe out many times during the story.  Beaudry kept crying "Hein!" and
+"Bien!" and "Tiens!" in an ecstasy of admiration.  The goodwife,
+however, was seemingly most touched by the loss of Tamin's knitted cap.
+With a face of great concern, as who should say "Poor soul!" she jumped
+up, ran into the house, was gone a few moments, and returned beaming
+benevolence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"V'la!" she cried; and stuck upon Tamin's wiry black head a bran-new
+cap of red wool.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap07"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter VII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Commander is Embarrassed
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Next day we set out at a good hour, and came without further adventure
+to Chignecto.  Having landed, amid a little swarm of fishing-boats, we
+then went straight to de Ramezay's headquarters, leaving Beaudry at the
+wharf among his cronies.  We crossed a strip of dyked marsh, whereon
+were many sleek Acadian cattle cropping the rich aftermath, and
+ascended the gentle slope of the uplands.  Amid a few scattered cabins
+were ranged the tents of the soldiers.  Camp fires and sheaves of
+stacked muskets gave the bright scene a warlike countenance.  Higher up
+the hill stood a white cottage, larger than the rest, its door painted
+red, with green panels; and from a staff on its gable, blown out
+bravely by the wind which ever sweeps those Fundy marshlands, flapped
+the white banner with the Lilies of France.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The sentry who challenged us at the foot of the slope knew me,&mdash;had
+once fought under me in a border skirmish,&mdash;and, saluting with great
+respect, summoned a guard to conduct us to headquarters.  As we climbed
+the last dusty rise and turned in, past the long well-sweep and two
+gaunt, steeple-like Lombardy poplars, to the yard before the cottage,
+the door opened and the commander himself stood before us.  His face
+lit up gladly as I stepped forward to greet him, and with great warmth
+he sprang to embrace me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear Briart!" he cried.  "I have long expected you!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am but just returned to Acadie, my dear friend," said I, with no
+less warmth than he had evinced, "or you would surely have seen me here
+to greet you on your coming.  But the King's service kept me on the
+Richelieu!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And even your restless activity, my Jean, cannot put you in two places
+at once," said he, as he turned with an air of courteous inquiry to my
+companions.  Perceiving at once by his dress that Tamin was a habitant,
+his eyes rested upon Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My son Marc, Monsieur de Ramezay," said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The two bowed, Marc very respectfully, as became a young man on
+presentation to a distinguished officer, but de Ramezay with a sudden
+and most noticeable coldness.  At this I flushed with anger, but the
+moment was not one for explanations.  I restrained myself; and turning
+to Tamin, I said in an altered tone:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And this, de Ramezay, is my good friend and faithful follower, Tamin
+Violet, of Canard parish, who desires to enlist for service under you.
+More of him, and all to his credit, I will tell you by and by.  I
+merely commend him to you now as brave, capable, and a good shot!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have ever need of such!" said de Ramezay, quickly.  "As you
+recommend him, he shall serve in Monsieur de Ville d'Avray's company,
+which forms my own guard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Summoning an orderly, he gave directions to this effect.  As Tamin
+turned to depart with the orderly, both Marc and I stepped up to him
+and wrung his hands, and thanked him many times for the courage and
+craft which had saved Marc's life as well as the honour of our family.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll see you again to-night or in the morning, my Tamin," said Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And tell you how goes my talk with the commander," added I, quietly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And for the boat we wrecked," continued Marc, "why, of course, we
+won't remain in your debt for a small thing like that; though for the
+great matter, and for your love, we are always your debtors gladly!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And in the King's uniform," said I, cutting short Tamin's attempted
+protestations, "even the Black Abbé will not try to molest you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I turned again to de Ramezay, who was waiting a few paces aside, and
+said, with a courtesy that was something formal after the warmth of our
+first greeting:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your pardon, de Ramezay!  But Tamin has gone through much with us and
+for us.  And now, my son and I would crave an undisturbed conversation
+with you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At once, and without a word, he conducted us into his private room,
+where he invited us to be seated.  As we complied, he himself remained
+standing, with every sign of embarrassment in his frank and fearless
+countenance.  I had ever liked him well.  Good cause to like him,
+indeed, I had in my heart, for I had once stood over his body in a
+frontier skirmish, and saved his scalp from the knives of the
+Onondagas.  But now my anger was hot against him, for it was plain to
+me that he had lent ear to some slanders against Marc.  For a second or
+two there was a silence, then Marc sprang to his feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps if I stand," said he, coldly, "Monsieur de Ramezay will do us
+the honour of sitting."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+De Ramezay's erect figure&mdash;a very soldierly and imposing figure it was
+in its uniform of white and gold&mdash;straightened itself haughtily for an
+instant.  Then he began, but with a stammering tongue:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I bitterly regret&mdash;it grieves me,&mdash;it pains me to even hint it,&mdash;" and
+he kept his eyes upon the floor as he spoke,&mdash;"but your son, my dear
+friend, is accused&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here I broke in upon him, springing to my feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Stop!" said I, sternly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He looked at me with a face of sorrowful inquiry, into which a tinge of
+anger rose slowly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Remember," I continued, "that whatever accusation or imputation you
+make now, I shall require you to prove beyond a peradventure,&mdash;or to
+make good with your sword against mine!  My son is the victim of a vile
+conspiracy.  He is&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then he <I>is</I> loyal, you say, to France?" interrupted de Ramezay,
+eagerly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I say," said I, in a voice of steel, "that he has done nothing that
+his father, a soldier of France, should blush to tell,&mdash;nothing that an
+honest gentleman should not do."  My voice softened a little as I
+noticed the change in his countenance.  "And oh, Ramezay," I continued,
+"had any man an hour ago told me that <I>you</I> would condemn a son of mine
+unheard,&mdash;that you, on the mere word of a false priest or his wretched
+tools, would have believed that a son of Jean de Mer could be a
+traitor, I would have driven the words down his throat for a black lie,
+a slander on my friend!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+De Ramezay was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed upon the floor.
+Then he lifted his head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was wrong.  Forgive me, my friend!" said he, very simply.  "I see
+clearly that I ought to have held the teller of those tales in
+suspicion, knowing of him what I do know.  And now, since you give me
+your word the tales are false, they are false.  Pardon me, I beg of
+you, Monsieur!" he added, turning to Marc and holding out his hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc bowed very low, but appeared not to see the hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you have heard, Monsieur de Ramezay," said he, "that, before it was
+made plain that France would seek to recover Acadie out of English
+hands, I, a mere boy, urged my fellow Acadians to accept the rule in
+good faith;&mdash;if you have heard that I then urged them not to be misled
+to their own undoing by an unscrupulous and merciless intriguer who
+disgraces his priestly office;&mdash;if you have heard that, since then, I
+have cursed bitterly the corruption at Quebec which is threatening New
+France with instant ruin,&mdash;you have heard but truly!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+De Ramezay bit his lips and flushed slightly.  Marc was not making the
+situation easier; but I could scarce blame him.  Our host, however,
+motioned us to our seats, taking his own chair immediately that he saw
+us seated.  For my own part, my anger was quite assuaged.  I hastened
+to clear the atmosphere.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let me tell you the whole story, Ramezay," said I, "and you will
+understand.  But first let me say that my son is wholly devoted to the
+cause of France.  His former friendly intercourse with the English, a
+boyish matter, he brought to an utter end when the war came this way."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And let me say," interrupted de Ramezay, manfully striving to amend
+his error, "that when one whom I need not name was filling my ear with
+matter not creditable to a young man named Marc de Mer, it did not come
+at all to my mind&mdash;and can you wonder?&mdash;that the person so spoken of
+was a son of my Briart, of the man who had so perilled his own life to
+save mine!  I thought your son was but a child.  It was thus that the
+accusations were allowed to stick in my mind,&mdash;which I do most heartily
+repent of!  And for which I again crave pardon!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I beg of you, Monsieur, that you will think no more of it!" said Marc,
+heartily, being by this quite appeased.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then with some particularity I told our story,&mdash;not omitting Marc's
+visit to his little Puritan at Annapolis, whereat de Ramezay smiled,
+and seemed to understand something which had before been dark to him.
+When the Black Abbé came upon the scene (I had none of our host's
+reluctance to mention the Abbé's name!) de Ramezay's brows gathered
+gloomily.  But he heard the tale through with breathless attention up
+to the point of our landing at Chignecto.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And now, right glad am I that you are here," he exclaimed, stretching
+out a hand to each of us.  The frank welcome that illuminated the
+strong lines of his face left no more shadow of anger in our hearts.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And here are the Abbé's precious documents!" said I, fetching forth
+the packet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+De Ramezay examined both letters with the utmost care.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The reward," he said presently, with a dry smile, "is on a scale that
+savours of Quebec rather more than of thrifty New England.  When Boston
+holds the purse-strings, information is bought cheaper than that!  As
+for the signature, it is passable.  But I fear it would scarce satisfy
+Master Apthorp!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought as much," said I, "though I have seen Mascarene's signature
+but once."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+De Ramezay fingered the paper, and held it up to the light.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But a point which will interest you particularly, Monsieur," he
+continued, addressing Marc, "is the fact that this paper was made in
+France!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is gratifying to know that, Monsieur!" replied Marc, with his
+vanishing smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It would be embarrassing to some people," said de Ramezay, "if they
+knew we were aware of it.  But I may say here frankly that they must
+not know it.  You will readily understand that my hands are something
+less than free.  As things go now at Quebec, there are methods used
+which I cannot look upon with favour, and which I must therefore seem
+not to see.  I am forced to use the tools which are placed in my hands.
+This priest of whom you speak is a power in Acadie.  He is thought to
+be indispensable to our cause.  He will do the things that, alas, have
+to be done, but which no one else will do.  And I believe he does love
+France,&mdash;he is surely sincere in that.  But he rests very heavily,
+methinks, on the conscience of his good bishop at Quebec, who, but for
+the powers that interfere, would call him to a sharp account.  I tell
+you all this so that you will see why I must not charge the Abbé with
+this villany of his.  I am compelled to seem ignorant of it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I assured him that I apprehended the straits in which he found himself,
+and would be content if he would merely give the Abbé to understand
+that Marc was not to be meddled with.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," said Marc, at this point, "I wish to enter active service,
+with Father; and I shall therefore be, for the most part, beyond the
+good Abbé's reach.  But we have business at Grand Pré and Canard that
+will hold us there a week or thereabouts; and it is annoying to walk in
+the hourly peril of being tomahawked and scalped for a spy!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll undertake to secure you in this regard," laughed de Ramezay; "and
+in return, perchance I may count on your support when I move against
+Annapolis, as my purpose is to do ere many weeks!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Assuredly!" said Marc, "if my father have made for me no other plans!"
+And he turned to me for my word in the matter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As it chanced, this was exactly as I had purposed, which I made at once
+to appear.  It was presently agreed, therefore, that we should tarry
+some days at Chignecto, returning thereafter to despatch our affairs at
+home and await de Ramezay's summons.  As the Commander's guests we were
+lodged in his own quarters, and Tamin was detailed to act as our
+orderly.  The good Beaudry, with his good boat, was sent home not
+empty-handed to his goodwife near Shulie, with instructions to come
+again for us in five days.  And Tamin, having now no more need of it,
+sent back to Madame Beaudry, with best compliments, her knitted cap of
+red wool.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap08"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter VIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Black Abbé Comes to Dinner
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Of the pleasant but something irrelevant matter of how merrily we
+supped that night with de Ramezay and his officers,&mdash;many of whom I
+knew, all of whom knew me or my adventurous repute,&mdash;I will not linger
+to discourse.  Nor of the costly dainties from France which enriched
+the board, side by side with fair salmon from the Tantramar and
+bursting-fat plover from the Joli-Coeur marshes.  Nor of the good red
+wine of Burgundy which so enhanced the relish of those delectable
+birds,&mdash;and of which I might perhaps have drunk more sparingly had good
+Providence but made me more abstemious.  Let it suffice to say, there
+was wit enough to spice plainer fare, and courtesy that had shone at
+Versailles.  The long bare room, with its low, black-raftered ceiling
+and polished floor, its dark walls patterned with shelves, was lit by
+the smoky flames of two-score tallow candles.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By and by chairs were pushed back, the company sat with less ceremony,
+the air grew clouded with the blue vapours of the Virginia weed, and
+tongues wagged something more loosely than before.  There were
+songs,&mdash;catches from the banks of Rhone, rolling ballads of our own
+voyageurs.  A young captain quite lately from Versailles, the Sieur de
+Ville d'Avray, had an excellent gift of singing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But now, just when the Sieur de Ville d'Avray was rendering, with most
+commendable taste and spirit, the ballade of "Frčre Lubin," there came
+an interruption.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="poem">
+"Il presche en theologien,<BR>
+Mais pour boire de belle eau claire,<BR>
+Faictes la boire a vostre chien,<BR>
+Frčre Lubin ne le peult faire,"&mdash;<BR>
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="noindent">
+sang the gay voice,&mdash;we all nodding our heads in intent approval, or
+even, maybe, seeing that the wine was generous, tapping the measure
+openly with our fingers.  But suddenly, though there was no noise to
+draw them, all eyes turned to the doorway, and the singer paused in his
+song.  I tipped my chair back into the shadow of a shelf, as did Marc,
+who sat a little beyond me.  For the visitor, who thus boldly entered
+unannounced, was none other than the Black Abbé himself.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-100"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-100.jpg" ALT="For the visitor was none other than the Black Abbé himself." BORDER="2" WIDTH="452" HEIGHT="712">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 452px">
+For the visitor was none other than the Black Abbé himself.
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+I flung de Ramezay a swift glance of anticipation, which he caught as
+he arose in his place to greet the new-comer.  On the faces around the
+table I took note of an ill-disguised annoyance.  The Abbé, it was
+plain, found small favour in that company.  But to do him justice, he
+seemed but little careful to court favour.  He stood in the doorway,
+frowning, a piercing and bitter light in his close-set eyes.  He waited
+for de Ramezay to come forward and give him welcome,&mdash;which de Ramezay
+presently did, and would have led him to a seat at the table.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But "No!" said the grim intruder.  "With all thanks for your courtesy,
+Monsieur, I have no time, nor am I in the temper, for revellings.  When
+I have said my word to you I will get me to the house of one of my
+flock, and sup plainly, and take what rest I may, for at dawn I must
+set out for the Shubenacadie.  There is much to be done, and few to do
+it, and the time grows short!" and he swept a look of reprimand about
+the circle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Would you speak with me in private, Father?" asked de Ramezay, with
+great civility.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is not necessary, Monsieur!" replied the Abbé.  "I have but to say
+that I arrested the pestilent young traitor, Marc de Mer, on his
+father's estate at Canard, and left him under guard while I went to
+attend to other business.  I found upon his person clear proofs of his
+treachery, which would have justified his hanging on the instant.  But
+I preferred that you should be the judge!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You did well!" said de Ramezay, gravely.  "I must ask even you,
+Monsieur l'Abbé, to remember on all occasions that I, and I only, am
+the judge, so long as I remain in Acadie!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To this rebuke, courteous though it was, the priest vouchsafed no reply
+but a slight smile, which uncovered his strong yellow teeth on one
+side, like a snarl.  He continued his report as if there had been no
+interruption.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In my brief absence his father, with some disaffected habitants,
+deceived my faithful followers by a trick, and carried off the
+prisoner.  But I have despatched a strong party on the trail of the
+fugitives.  They will certainly be captured, and brought at once&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But at this point his voice failed him.  His face worked violently with
+mingled rage and amazement, and following his gaze I saw Marc standing
+and bowing with elaborate courtesy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They are already here, Sir Abbé," said he, "having made haste that
+they might give you welcome!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A ripple of laughter went around the table, as the company, recovering
+from some moments of astonishment, began to understand the situation.
+I, too, rose to my feet, smiling expectantly.  The priest's narrow eyes
+met mine for a second, with a light that was akin to madness.  Then
+they shifted.  But he found his voice again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I denounce that man as a proved spy and traitor!" he shouted, striding
+forward, and pointing a yellow finger of denunciation across the table
+at Marc, while the revellers over whom he leaned made way for him
+resentfully.  "I demand his instant arrest."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Gently, Monsieur l'Abbé," said de Ramezay.  "These are serious charges
+to bring against French gentlemen, and friends of the Commander; have
+you proofs&mdash;such as will convince me after the closest scrutiny?" he
+added, with unmistakable significance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have myself seen the proofs, I tell you," snarled the Abbé,
+beginning to exert more self-control, but still far unlike the cool,
+inexorable, smiling cynic who had so galled my soul with his
+imperturbability when I lay in his bonds beside the Forge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I would fain see them, too," insisted de Ramezay.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The priest glared at me, and then at Marc, baffled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have them not," said he, in his slow and biting tones; "but if you
+would do your duty as the King's servant, Monsieur de Ramezay, and
+arrest yonder spy, you would doubtless find the proofs upon his person,
+if he has not taken the pains to dispose of them."  Upon this insolent
+speech, de Ramezay took his seat, and left the priest standing alone.
+When, after a pause, he spoke, his voice was stern and masterful, as if
+he were addressing a contumacious servant, though he retained the forms
+of courtesy in his phrases.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Monsieur," said he, "when I wish to learn my duty, it will not be the
+somewhat well-known Abbé la Garne whom I will ask to teach me.  I must
+require you not to presume further upon the sacredness of your office.
+Your soutane saves you from being called to account by the gentleman
+whose honour you have aspersed.  Monsieur Marc de Mer is the son of my
+friend.  He is also one of my aides-de-camp.  I beg that you will
+understand me without more words when I say that I have examined the
+whole matter to which you refer.  For your own credit, press it no
+further.  I trust you catch my meaning!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the contrary," said the Abbé, coolly, being by this time quite
+himself again, and seemingly indifferent to the derisive faces
+confronting him&mdash;"on the contrary, your meaning altogether escapes me,
+Monsieur.  All that I understand of your singular behaviour is what the
+Governor and the Intendant, not I their unworthy instrument, will be
+called to pass judgment upon."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I will trouble you to understand also, Sir Priest," said de Ramezay,
+thoroughly aroused, his tones biting like acid, "that if this young man
+is further troubled by any of your faithful Shubenacadie flock, I will
+hold you responsible; and the fact that you are useful, having fewer
+scruples than trouble a mere layman, shall not save you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Be not disturbed for your spy, Monsieur," sneered the Abbé, now finely
+tranquil.  "I wash my hands of all responsibility in regard to him;
+look you to that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For the space of some seconds there was silence all about that table of
+feasting, while the Abbé swept a smiling, bitter glance around the
+room.  Last, his eyes rested upon mine and leaped with a sudden light
+of triumph, so that one might have thought not he but I had been
+worsted in the present encounter.  Then he turned on his heel and went
+out, scornful of courtesy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A clamour of talk arose upon this most cherished departure; but I heard
+it as in a dream, being wrapped up in wonder as to the meaning of that
+look of triumph.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Has the Black Abbé cast a spell upon you, Father?" I heard Marc
+inquiring presently.  Whereupon I came to myself with a kind of start,
+and made merry with the rest of them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was late when Marc and I went to the little chamber where our
+pallets were stretched.  There we found Tamin awaiting us.  He was in a
+sweat of fear.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is it, my Tamin?" asked Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Black Abbé," he grunted, the drollness all chased out of the
+little wrinkles about his eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said I, impatiently.  "The Black Abbé; and what of him?  He is
+repenting to-night that he ever tried conclusions with me, I'll wager."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I spoke the more confidently because in my heart I was still troubled
+to know the meaning of the Abbé's glance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hein," said Tamin.  "He looked&mdash;his eyes would lift a scalp!  I was
+standing in the light just under the window, when of a sudden the door
+closed; and there he stood beside me, with no sound, and still as a
+heron.  He looked at me with those two narrow eyes, as if he would eat
+my heart out: and I stood there, and shook.  Then, of a sudden, his
+face changed.  It became like a good priest's face when he says the
+prayer for the soul that is passing; and he looked at me with solemn
+eyes.  And I was yet more afraid.  'It is not for me to rebuke you,' he
+said, speaking so that each word seemed an hour long; 'red runs your
+blood on the deep snow beneath the apple tree.'  And before I could
+steady my teeth to ask him what he meant, he was gone.  'Red runs your
+blood beneath the apple tree.'  What did he mean by that?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," said I, speaking lightly to encourage him, though in truth the
+words fell on me with a chill, "he said it to spoil your sleep and
+poison your content.  It was a cunning revenge, seeing that he dare not
+lift a hand to punish you otherwise."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To be sure, my Tamin, that is all of it," added Marc.  "Who has ever
+heard that the Black Abbé was a prophet?  Faith, 'tis as Father says, a
+cunning and a devilish revenge.  But you can balk it finely by paying
+no heed to it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin's face had brightened mightily, but he still looked serious.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think so?" he exclaimed with eagerness.  "'Tis as you say
+indeed,&mdash;the Black Abbé is no prophet.  Had it been Grűl, now, that
+said it, there were something to lie awake for, eh?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, indeed, if Grűl had said it," muttered Marc, contemplating him
+strangely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But for me, I was something impatient now to be asleep.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Think no more of it, my friend," said I, and dismissed him.  Yet
+sleepy as I was, I thought of it, and even I must have begun to dream
+of it.  The white sheet of moonlight that lay across my couch became a
+drift of snow with blood upon it, and the patterned shadow upon the
+wall an apparition leaning over,&mdash;when out of an immense distance, as
+it were, I heard Marc's voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Father," he cried softly, "are you awake?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, dear lad," said I.  "What is it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have been wondering," said he, "why the Black Abbé looked at you,
+not me, in his going.  He had such a countenance as warns me that he
+purposes some cunning stroke.  But I fear his enmity has turned from me
+to you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, lad, it was surely I that balked him.  What would you have?" I
+asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," said he, heavily, "that I should have turned that bloodhound onto
+your trail!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Marc, if it will comfort you to know it, carry this in your memory,"
+said I, with a cheerful lightness, like froth upon the strong emotion
+that flooded my heart.  "When the Black Abbé strikes at me, it will be
+through you.  He knows where I am like to prove most vulnerable!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis all right, then, so as we sink or swim together, Father," said
+Marc, quietly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's the way of it now, dear lad!  Sweet sleep to you, and dreams of
+red hair!" said I.  And I turned my face drowsily to the wall.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap09"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter IX
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Abbé Strikes Again
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The few days of our stay at Chignecto were gay and busy ones; and all
+through them hummed the wind steadily across the pale green marshes,
+and buffeted the golden-rod on our high shoulder of upland.  De Ramezay
+gratified me by making much of Marc.  The three of us rode daily abroad
+among the surrounding settlements.  And I spent many hours planning
+with de Ramezay a fort which should be built on the site of this camp,
+in case the coming campaign should fail to drive the English out of
+Acadie.  De Ramezay, as was ever his wont, was full of confidence in
+the event.  But of the sorry doings at Quebec, of the plundering hands
+upon the public purse, of the shamelessness in high places, he hinted
+to me so broadly that I began to see much ground for Marc's misgivings.
+And my heart cried out for my fair country of New France.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the fifth day of our stay,&mdash;it was a Wednesday, and very early in
+the morning,&mdash;the good Beaudry with his good boat came for us.  The
+tide serving at about two hours after sunrise, we set out then for
+Grand Pré, well content with the jade Fortune whose whims had so far
+favoured us.  De Ramezay and his officers were at the wharf-end to bid
+us God-speed; and as I muse upon it now they may have thought curiously
+of it to see the loving fashion in which both Marc and I made a point
+to embrace our faithful Tamin.  But that is neither here nor there, so
+long as we let him plainly understand how our hearts were towards him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The voyage home was uneventful, save that we met contrary winds,
+whereby it fell that not until evening of the second day did we come
+into the Gaspereau mouth and mark the maids of Grand Pré carrying water
+from the village well.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The good Beaudry we paid to his satisfaction, and left to find lodging
+in one of the small houses by the water side; while Marc and I took our
+way up the long street with its white houses standing amid their apple
+trees.  Having gone perhaps four or five furlongs, returning many a
+respectful salutation from the doorways as we passed, we then turned up
+the hill by a little lane which was bordered stiffly with the poplar
+trees of Lombardy, and in short space we came to a pleasant cottage in
+a garden, under shadow of the tall white church which stood sentinel
+over the Grand Pré roofs.  The cottage had some apple trees behind it,
+and many late roses blooming in the garden.  It was the home of the
+good Curé, Father Fafard, most faithful and most gentle of priests.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With Father Fafard we lodged that night, and for some days thereafter.
+The Curé's round face grew unwontedly stern and anxious as we told him
+our adventures, and rehearsed the doings of the Black Abbé.  He got up
+from time to time and paced the room, muttering once&mdash;"Alas that such a
+man should discredit our holy office!  What wrath may he not bring down
+upon this land!"&mdash;and more to a like purport.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My own house in Grand Pré, where Marc had inhabited of late, and where
+I was wont to pay my flitting visits, I judged well to put off my hands
+for the present, foreseeing that troublous times were nigh.  I
+transferred it in Father Fafard's presence to a trusty villager by name
+Marquette, whom I could count upon to transfer it back to me as soon as
+the skies should clear again.  I knew that if, by any fortune of war,
+English troops should come to be quartered in Grand Pré, they would be
+careful for the property of the villagers; but the house and goods of
+an enemy under arms, such would belike fare ill.  I collected, also,
+certain moneys due me in the village, for I knew that the people were
+prosperous, and I did not know how long their prosperity might
+continue.  This done, Marc and I set out for my own estate beside the
+yellow Canard.  There I had rents to gather in, but no house to put off
+my hands.  At the time when Acadie was ceded to England, a generation
+back, the house of the de Mers had been handed over to one of the most
+prosperous of our habitants, and with that same family it had ever
+since remained, yielding indeed a preposterously scant rental, but
+untroubled by the patient conqueror.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My immediate destination was the Forge, where I expected to find Babin
+awaiting me with news and messages.  At the Forge, too, I would receive
+payment from my tenants, and settle certain points which, as I had
+heard, were at dispute amongst them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As we drew near the Forge, through the pleasant autumn woods, it wanted
+about an hour of noon.  I heard, far off, the muffled thunder of a
+cock-partridge drumming.  But there was no sound of hammer on clanging
+anvil, no smoke rising from the wide Forge chimney; and when we
+entered, the ashes were dead cold.  It was plain there had been no fire
+in the forge that day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where can Babin be?" I muttered in vexation.  "If he got my message,
+there can be no excuse for his absence."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll wager, Father," said Marc, "that if he is not off on some errand
+of yours, then he is sick abed, or dead.  Nought besides would keep
+Babin when you called him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I went to a corner and pulled a square of bark from a seemingly hollow
+log up under the rafters.  In the secret niche thus revealed was a
+scrap of birch bark scrawled with some rude characters of Babin's,
+whence I learned that my trusty smith was sick of a sharp inflammation.
+I passed the scrap over to Marc, and felt again in the hollow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What, in the name of all the saints, is this?" I exclaimed, drawing
+out a short piece of peeled stick.  A portion of the stick was cut down
+to a flat surface, and on this was drawn with charcoal a straight line,
+having another straight line perpendicular to it, and bisecting it.  At
+the top of the perpendicular was a figure of the sun, thus:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<PRE>
+             *
+             |
+         ----+----
+</PRE>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+"It's a message from Grűl," said Marc, the instant that his eyes fell
+upon it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"H'm; and how do you know that?" said I, turning it over curiously in
+my fingers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," replied Marc, "the peeled stick is Grill's sign manual.  What
+does he say?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He seems to say that he is going to build a windmill," said I, with
+great seriousness; "but doubtless you will give this hieroglyphic quite
+a different interpretation."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc laughed,&mdash;yes, laughed audibly.  And it is possible that his
+Penobscot grandmother turned in her grave.  It was good to know that
+the lad <I>could</I> laugh, which I had begun to doubt; but it was puzzling
+to me to hear him laugh at the mere absurdity which I had just uttered,
+when my most polished witticisms, of which I had shot off many of late
+at Chignecto, and in conversation with good Father Fafard, had never
+availed to bring more than a phantom smile to his lips.  However, I
+made no comment, but handed him "Grűl's sign manual," as he chose to
+call it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, Father," said he, "you understand it well enough, I know.  This
+is plainly the sun at high noon.  At high noon, therefore, we may
+surely expect to see Grűl.  He has been here but a short time back; for
+see, the wood is not yet dry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sapristi!" said I, "do you call that the sun, lad?  It is very much
+like a windmill."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How Marc might have retorted upon me, I know not; for at the moment,
+though it yet wanted much of noon, the fantastic figure of the
+madman&mdash;if he were a madman&mdash;sped into the Forge.  He stopped abruptly
+before us and scrutinized us for some few seconds in utter silence, his
+eyes glittering and piercing like sword points.  His long white hair
+and beard were disordered with haste, the flowers and feathers in his
+pointed cap were for the most part broken, even as when we had last
+seen him, and his gaudy mantle was somewhat befouled with river mud.
+Yet such power was there in his look and in his gesture, that when he
+stretched out his little white staff toward me and said "Come," I had
+much ado to keep from obeying him without question.  Yet this I would
+not permit myself, as was natural.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Whither?" I questioned.  "And for what purpose?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By this time he was out at the door, but he stopped.  Giving me a
+glance of scorn he turned to Marc, and stretched out his staff.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come," he said.  And in a breath he was gone, springing with
+incredible swiftness and smoothness through the underbrush.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must follow, Father!" cried Marc; and in the same instant was away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For my own part, it was sorely against me to be led by the nose, and
+thus blindly, by the madman&mdash;whom I now declared certainly to be mad.
+But Marc had gone, so I had no choice, as I conceived it, but to stand
+by the lad.  I went too.  And seeing that I had to do it, I did it
+well, and presently overtook them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is this folly?" I asked angrily, panting a little, I confess.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But Marc signed to me to be silent.  I obeyed, though with ill enough
+grace, and ran on till my mouth was like a board, my tongue like wool.
+Then the grim light of the forest whitened suddenly before us, and our
+guide stopped.  Instinctively we imitated his motions, as he stole
+forward and peered through a screen of leafage.  We were on a bank
+overlooking the Canard.  A little below, and paddling swiftly towards
+the river-mouth, were two canoes manned with the Abbé's Micmacs.  In
+the bottom of one canoe lay a little fair-haired boy, bound.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My God!" cried Marc, under his breath, "'tis the child! 'tis little
+Philip Hanford."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Grűl turned his wild eyes upon us.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The power of the dog!" he muttered, "the power of the dog!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must get a canoe and follow them!" exclaimed Marc, in great
+agitation, turning to go, and looking at me with passionate appeal.
+But before I could speak, to assure him of my aid and support, Grűl
+interfered.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wait!" he said, with meaning emphasis, thrusting his little staff
+almost in the lad's face.  "Come!" and he started up along the river
+bank, going swiftly but with noiseless caution.  I expected Marc to
+demur, but not so.  He evidently had a childlike faith in this
+fantastic being.  He followed without a protest.  Needless to say, I
+followed also.  But all this mystery, and this blind obedience, and
+this lordly lack of explanation, were little to my liking.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We had not gone above half a mile when Grűl stopped, and bent his mad
+head to listen.  Such an attitude of listening I had never seen before.
+The feathers and stalks in his cap seemed to lean forward like a
+horse's ears; his hair and beard took on a like inclination of
+intentness; even the grim little scarlet head upon his staff seemed to
+listen with its master.  And Marc did as Grűl did.  Then came a sound
+as of a woman weeping, very close at hand.  Grűl motioned us to pass
+him, and creep forward.  We did so, lying down and moving as softly as
+lizards.  But I turned to see what our mysterious guide was doing&mdash;and
+lo, he was gone.  He might have faded into a summer exhalation, so
+complete and silent was his exit.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This was too much.  Only my experience as a woods-fighter, my
+instinctive caution, kept me from springing to my feet and calling him.
+But my suspicions were all on fire.  I laid a firm hand of detention on
+Marc's arm, and whispered:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He's gone; 'tis a trap."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc looked at me in some wonder, and more impatience.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No trap, Father; that's Grűl's way,"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," I whispered, "we had better go another way, I'm thinking."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As I spoke, the woman's weeping came to us more distinctly.  Something
+in the sound seemed to catch Marc's heart, and his face changed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis all right, I tell you, Father!" came from between his teeth.
+"Come!  come! Oh, I know the voice!"  And he crept forward resolutely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And, of course, I followed.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap10"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter X
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+A Bit of White Petticoat
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+We had not advanced above a score of paces when, peering stealthily
+between the stems of herbs and underbrush, we saw what Grűl had desired
+us to see.  Two more canoes were drawn up at the water's edge.  Four
+savages were in sight, sprawling in indolent attitudes under the shade
+of a wide water-maple.  In their midst, at the foot of the tree, lay a
+woman bound securely.  She was huddled together in a posture of
+hopeless despair; and a dishevelled glory of gold-red tresses fell over
+her face to hide it.  She lay in a moveless silence.  Yet the sound of
+weeping continued, and Marc, gripping my hand fiercely, set his mouth
+to my ear and gasped:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis my own maid!  'Tis Prudence!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then I saw where she sat, a little apart, a slender maid with a lily
+face, and hair glowing dark red in the full sun that streamed upon her.
+She was so tied to another tree that she might have no comfort or
+companionship of her sister,&mdash;for I needed now no telling to convey it
+to me that the lady with the hidden face and the unweeping anguish was
+Mistress Mizpah Hanford, mother of the child whom I had just seen
+carried away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I grieved for Marc, whose eyes stared out upon the weeping maid from a
+face that had fallen to the hue of ashes.  But I praised the saints for
+sending to our aid this madman Grűl,&mdash;whom, in my heart, I now
+graciously absolved from the charge of madness.  Seeing the Black
+Abbé's hand in the ravishment of these tender victims, I made no doubt
+to cross him yet again, and my heart rose exultantly to the enterprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Cheer up, lad," I whispered to Marc.  "Come away a little till we
+plot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I showed my confidence in my face, and I could see that he straightway
+took heart thereat.  Falling back softly for a space of several rods,
+we paused in a thicket to take counsel.  As soon as we could speak
+freely, Marc exclaimed, "They may go at any moment, Father.  We must
+haste."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said I, "they'll not go till the cool of the day.  The others
+went because they have plainly been ordered to part the child from his
+mother.  It is a most cunning and most cruel malice that could so order
+it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is my enemy's thrust at me," said Marc.  "How did he know that I
+loved the maid?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"His eyes are in every corner of Acadie," said I; "but we will foil him
+in this as in other matters.  Marc, my heart is stirred mightily by
+that poor mother's pain.  I tell you, lad,"&mdash;and I looked diligently to
+the priming of my pistols as I spoke,&mdash;"I tell you I will not rest till
+I give the little one back into her arms."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But Marc, as was not unnatural, thought now rather of his lily maid
+sobbing under the tree.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, Father," said he, "but what is to be done now, to save Prudence
+and Mizpah?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course, dear lad," I answered, smilingly, "that is just what we are
+here for.  But let me consider."  And sitting down upon a fallen tree,
+I buried my face in my hands.  Marc, the while, waited with what
+patience he could muster, relying wholly upon my conduct of the
+business, but fretting for instant action.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We were well armed (each with a brace of pistols and a broadsword, the
+forest being no place for rapiers), and I accounted that we were an
+overmatch for the four redskins.  But there was much at stake, with
+always the chance of accident.  And, moreover, these Indians were
+allies of France, wherefore I was most unwilling to attack them from
+the advantage of an ambush.  These various considerations decided me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Marc, we'll fight them if needful," said I, lifting up my head.  "But
+I'm going to try first the conclusions of peace.  I will endeavour to
+ransom the prisoners.  These Micmacs are mightily avaricious, and may
+yield.  It goes against me to attack them from an ambush, seeing that
+they are of our party and servants of King Louis."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this speech Marc looked very ill content.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But, Father," he objected, "shall we forego the advantage of a
+surprise?  We are but two to their four, and we put the whole issue at
+hazard.  And as for their being of our party, they bring shame upon our
+party, and greatly dishonour the service of King Louis."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nevertheless, dear lad," said I, "they have their claim upon us,&mdash;not
+lightly to be overlooked, in my view of it.  But hear my plan.  You
+will go back to where we lay a moment ago, and there be ready with your
+pistols.  I will approach openly by the water side and enter into
+parley with them.  If I can buy the captives, well and good.  If they
+deny me, we quarrel.  You will know when to play your part.  I am
+satisfied of that.  I shall feel safe under cover of your pistols, and
+shall depend upon you to account for two of the four.  Only, do not be
+too hasty!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, I'm cool as steel now, Father," said Marc.  "But I like not this
+plan.  The danger is all yours.  And the quarrel is mine.  Let us go
+into it side by side!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Chut, lad!" said I.  "Your quarrel's my quarrel, and the danger is not
+more for me than for you, as you won't be long away from me when the
+fight begins,&mdash;if it comes to a fight.  And further, my plan is both an
+honest one and like to succeed.  Come, let us be doing!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Marc seized my hand, and gave me a look of pride and love which put a
+glow at my heart.  "You know best, Father," said he.  And turning away,
+he crept toward his post.  For me, I made a circuit, in leisurely
+fashion, and came out upon the shore behind a point some rods below the
+spot where the savages lay.  Then I walked boldly up along the water's
+edge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Indians heard me before I came in view, and were on their feet when
+I appeared around the point.  They regarded me with black suspicion,
+but no hostile movement, as I strode straight up to them and greeted,
+fairly enough but coldly, a tall warrior, whom I knew to be one of the
+Black Abbé's lieutenants.  He grunted, and asked me who I was.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know well enough who I am," said I, seating myself carelessly upon
+a rock, "seeing that you had a chief hand in the outrages put upon me
+the other day by that rascally priest of yours!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this the chief stepped up to me with an air of menace, his
+high-cheeked, coppery face scowling with wrath.  But I eyed him
+steadily, and raised my hand with a little gesture of authority.
+"Wait!" said I; and he paused doubtfully.  "I have no grudge against
+you for that," I went on.  "You but obeyed your master's orders
+faithfully, as you will doubtless obey mine a few weeks hence, when I
+take command of your rabble and try to make you of some real service to
+the King.  I am one of the King's captains."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this the savage looked puzzled, while his fellows grunted in
+manifest uncertainty.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What you want?" he asked bluntly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I looked at him for some moments without replying.  Then I glanced at
+the form of Mizpah Hanford, still unmoving, the face still hidden under
+that pathetic splendour of loosened hair.  Prudence I could not catch
+view of, by reason of another tree which intervened.  But the sound of
+her weeping had ceased.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am ready to ransom these prisoners of yours," said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The savages glanced furtively at each other, but the coppery masks of
+their features betrayed nothing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not for ransom," said the chief, with a dogged emphasis.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I opened my eyes wide.  "You astonish me!" said I.  "Then how will they
+profit you?  If you wanted their scalps, those you might have taken at
+Annapolis."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At that word, revealing that I knew whence they came, I took note of a
+stir in the silent figure beneath the maple.  I felt that her eyes were
+watching me from behind that sumptuous veil which her bound hands could
+not put aside.  I went on, with a sudden sense of exaltation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Give me these prisoners," I urged, half pleading, half commanding.
+"They are useless to you except for ransom.  I will give you more than
+any one else will give you.  Tell me your price."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the savage was obstinate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not for ransom," he repeated, shaking his head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are afraid of your priest," said I, with slow scorn.  "He has told
+you to bring them to him.  And what will you get?  A pistole or two for
+each!  But I will give you gold, good French crowns, ten times as much
+as you ever got before!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As I spoke, one of the listening savages got up, his eyes a-sparkle
+with eagerness, and muttered something in Micmac, which I could not
+understand.  But the chief turned upon him so angrily that he slunk
+back, abashed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Agree with me now," I said earnestly.  "Then wait here till I fetch
+the gold, and I will deliver it into your hands before you deliver the
+captives."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the chief merely turned aside with an air of settling the question,
+and repeated angrily:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I say white girls not for ransom."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I rose to my feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Fools, you are," said I, "and no men, but sick women, afraid of your
+rascal priest.  I offered to buy when I might have taken!  Now I will
+take, and you will get no ransom!  Unloose their bonds!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And I pointed with my sword, while my left hand rested upon a pistol in
+my belt.  I am a very pretty shot with my left hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Before the words were fairly out of my lips the four sprang at me.
+Stepping lightly aside, I fired the pistol full at the chief's breast,
+and he plunged headlong.  In the next instant came a report from the
+edge of the underbrush, and a second savage staggered, groaned, and
+fell upon his knees, while Marc leaped down and rushed upon a third.
+The remaining one snatched up his musket (the muskets were forgotten at
+the first, when I seemed to be alone), and took a hasty aim at me; but
+before he could pull the trigger my second pistol blazed in his face,
+and he dropped, while his weapon, exploding harmlessly, knocked up some
+mud and grass.  I saw Marc chase his antagonist to the canoes at the
+point of his sword, and prick him lightly for the more speed.  But at
+the same instant, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the savage whom
+Marc's shot had brought down struggle again to his feet and swing his
+hatchet.  With a yell I was upon him, and my sword point (the point is
+swifter than the edge in an emergency) went through his throat with a
+sobbing click.  But I was just too late.  The hatchet had left his
+hand; and the flying blade caught Marc in the shoulder.  The sword
+dropped from his grasp, he reeled, and sat down with a shudder before I
+could get to his side.  I paid no further heed to the remaining Indian,
+but was dimly conscious of him launching a canoe and paddling away in
+wild haste.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I lifted the dear lad into the shade, and anxiously examined the wound.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Tis but a flesh wound," said he, faintly; but I found that the blow
+had not only grievously gashed the flesh, but split the shoulder blade.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Flesh wound!" I muttered.  "You'll do no more fighting in this
+campaign, dear lad, unless they put it off till next spring.  This
+shoulder will be months in mending."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When it does mend, will my arm be the same as ever?" he asked,
+somewhat tremulously.  "'Tis my sword arm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, lad, yes; you need not trouble about that," said I.  "But it is a
+case for care."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime, I was cleansing the wound with salt water which I had
+brought from the river in my cap.  Now, I cast about in my mind for a
+bandage; and I looked at the prisoner beneath the maple.  Marc first,
+courtesy afterwards, I thought in my heart; for I durst not leave the
+wound exposed with so many flies in the air.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The lady's little feet, bound cruelly, were drawn up in part beneath
+her dark skirt, but so that a strip of linen petticoat shone under
+them.  I hesitated, but only for a second.  Lifting the poor little
+feet softly to one side, with a stammered, "Your pardon, Madame, but
+the need is instant!"  I slit off a breadth of the soft white stuff
+with my sword.  And I was astonished to feel my face flush hotly as I
+did it.  With strangely thrilling fingers, and the help of my sword
+edge, I then set free her feet, and with no more words turned hastily
+back to Marc, abashed as a boy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In a few moments I had Marc's wound softly dressed, for I had some
+skill in this rough and ready surgery.  I could see by his contracting
+pupils that the hurt was beginning to agonize, but the dear lad never
+winced under my fingers, and I commended him heartily as a brave
+patient.  Then placing a bundle of cool ferns under his head for a
+pillow, I turned to the captives, from whom there had been never a word
+this while.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap11"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+I Fall a Willing Captive
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+The lady whose feet I had freed had risen so far as to rest crouching
+against the gnarled trunk of the maple tree.  The glorious abundance of
+her hair she had shaken back, revealing a white face chiselled like a
+Madonna's, a mouth somewhat large, with lips curved passionately, and
+great sea-coloured eyes which gazed upon me from dark circles of pain.
+But the face was drawn now with that wordless and tearless anguish
+which makes all utterance seem futile,&mdash;the anguish of a mother whose
+child has been torn from her arms and carried she knows not whither.
+Her hands lay in her lap, tight bound; and I noted their long, white
+slenderness.  I felt as if I should go on my knees to serve her&mdash;I who
+had but just now served her with such scant courtesy as it shamed my
+soul to think on.  As I bent low to loose her hands, I sought in my
+mind for phrases of apology that might show at the same time my
+necessity and my contrition.  But lifting my eyes for an instant to
+hers, I was pierced with a sense of the anguish which was rending her
+heart, and straightway I forgot all nice phrases.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+What I said&mdash;the words coming from my lips abruptly&mdash;was this: "I will
+find him!  I will save him!  Be comforted, Madame!  He shall be
+restored to you!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In great, simple matters, how little explanation seems needed.  She
+asked not who I was, how I knew, whom I would save, how it was to be
+done; and I thrill proudly even now to think how my mere word convinced
+her.  The tense lines of her face yielded suddenly, and she broke into
+a shaking storm of tears, moaning faintly over and over&mdash;"Philip!&mdash;Oh,
+my Philip!&mdash;Oh, my boy!"  I watched her with a great compassion.  Then,
+ere I could prevent, she amazed me by snatching my hand and pressing it
+to her lips.  But she spoke no word of thanks.  Drawing my hand gently
+away, in great embarrassment, I repeated: "Believe me, oh, believe me,
+Madame; I <I>will</I> save the little one."  Then I went to release the
+other captive, whom I had well-nigh forgotten the while.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This lily maid of Marc's, this Prudence, I found in a white tremour of
+amazement and inquiry.  From where she sat in her bonds, made fast to
+her tree, she could see nothing of what went on, but she could hear
+everything, and knew she had been rescued.  It was a fair, frank,
+childlike face she raised to mine as I smiled down upon her, swiftly
+and gently severing her bonds; and I laid a hand softly on that rich
+hair which Marc had praised, being right glad he loved so sweet a maid
+as this.  I forgot that I must have seemed to her in this act a shade
+familiar, my fatherly forty years not showing in my face.  So, indeed,
+it was for an instant, I think; for she coloured maidenly.  But seeing
+the great kindness in my eyes, the thought was gone.  Her own eyes
+filled with tears, and she sprang up and clung to me, sobbing, like a
+child just awakened in the night from a bad dream.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she panted, "are they gone? did you kill them? how good you are!
+Oh, God will reward you for being so good to us!"  And she trembled so
+she would certainly have fallen if I had not held her close.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are safe now, dear," said I, soothing her, quite forgetting that
+she knew me not as I knew her, and that, if she gave the matter any
+heed at all, my speech must have puzzled her sorely.  "But come with
+me!"  And I led her to where Marc lay in the shade.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The dear lad's face had gone even whiter than when I left him, and I
+saw that he had swooned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The pain and shock have overcome him!" I exclaimed, dropping on my
+knees to remove the pillow of ferns from under his head.  As I did so,
+I heard the girl catch her breath sharply, with a sort of moan, and
+glancing up, I saw her face all drawn with misery.  While I looked in
+some surprise, she suddenly threw herself down, and crushed his face in
+her bosom, quite shutting off the air, which he, being in a faint,
+greatly needed.  I was about to protest, when her words stopped me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Marc, Marc," she moaned, "why did you betray us?  Oh, why did you
+betray us so cruelly?  But oh, I love you even if you <I>were</I> a traitor.
+Now you are dead" (she had not heard me, evidently, saying he had
+swooned), "now you are dead I may love you, no matter what you did.
+Oh, my love, why did you, why did you?"  And while I listened in
+bewilderment, she sprang to her feet, and her blue eyes blazed upon me
+fiercely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You killed him!" she hissed at me across his body.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This I remembered afterwards.  At the moment I only knew that she was
+calling the lad a traitor.  That I was well tired of.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Madame!" said I, sternly.  "Do not presume so far as to touch him
+again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was her turn to look astonished now.  Her eyes faltered from my
+angry face to Marc's, and back again in a kind of helplessness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, you do well to accuse him," I went on, bitterly,&mdash;perhaps not very
+relevantly.  "You shall not dishonour him by touching him, you, who can
+believe vile lies of the loyal gentleman who loves you, and has, it may
+be, given his life for the girl who now insults him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The girl's face was now in such a confusion of distress that I almost,
+but not quite, pitied her.  Ere she could find words to reply, however,
+her sister was at her side, catching her hands, murmuring at her ear.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, Prudence, child," she said, "don't you see it all?  Didn't you
+see it all?  How splendidly Marc saved us" (I blessed the tact which
+led her to put the first credit on Marc)&mdash;"Marc and this most brave and
+gallant gentleman?  It was one of the savages who struck Marc down,
+before my eyes, as he was fighting to save us.  That dreadful story was
+a lie, Prudence; don't you see?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The maid saw clearly enough, and with a mighty gladness.  She was for
+throwing herself down again beside the lad to cover his face with
+kisses&mdash;and shut off the air which he so needed.  But I thrust her
+aside.  She had believed Marc a traitor.  Marc might forgive her when
+he could think for himself.  I was in no mind to.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She looked at me with unutterable reproach, her eyes filling and
+running over, but she drew back submissively.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know," she said, "I don't deserve that you should let me go near
+him.  But&mdash;I think&mdash;I think he would want me to, sir!  See, he wants
+me!  Oh, let me!"  And I perceived that Marc's eyes had opened.  They
+saw no one but the maid, and his left hand reached out to her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well!" said I, grimly.  And thereafter it seemed to me that the
+lad got on with less air than men are accustomed to need when they
+would make recovery from a swoon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I turned to Mizpah Hanford; and I wondered what sort of eyes were in
+Marc's head, that he should see Prudence when Mizpah was by.  Before I
+could speak, Mizpah began to make excuses for her sister.  With heroic
+fortitude she choked back her own grief, and controlled her voice with
+a brave simplicity.  Coming from her lips, these broken excuses seemed
+sufficient&mdash;though to this day I question whether I ought to have
+relented so readily.  She pleaded, and I listened, and was content to
+listen so long as she would continue to plead.  But there was little I
+clearly remember.  At last, however, these words, with which she
+concluded, aroused me:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How could we any longer refuse to believe," she urged, "when the good
+priest confessed to us plainly, after much questioning, that it was
+Monsieur Marc de Mer who had sent the savages to steal us, and had told
+them just the place to find us, and the hour?  The savages had told us
+the same thing at first, taunting us with it when we threatened them
+with Marc's vengeance.  You see, Monsieur, they had plainly been
+informed by some one of our little retreat at the riverside, and of the
+hour at which we were wont to frequent it.  Yet we repudiated the tale
+with horror.  Then yesterday, when the good priest told us the same
+thing, with a reluctance which showed his horror of it, what <I>could</I> we
+do but believe?  Though it did seem to us that if Marc were false there
+could be no one true.  The priest believed it.  He was kind and
+pitiful, and tried to get the savages to set us free.  He talked most
+earnestly, most vehemently to them; but it was in their own barbarous
+language, and of course we could not understand.  He told us at last
+that he could do nothing at the time, but that he would exert himself
+to the utmost to get us out of their hands by and by.  Then he went
+away.  And then&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And then, Madame," said I, "your little one was taken from you at his
+orders!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, what do you mean, Monsieur?" she gasped, her great sea-coloured
+eyes opening wide with fresh terror.  "At his orders?  By the orders of
+that kind priest?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of what appearance was he?" I inquired, in return.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she cried breathlessly, "he was square yet spare of figure,
+dark-skinned almost as Marc, with a very wide lower face, thin, thin
+lips, and remarkably light eyes set close together,&mdash;a strange, strong
+face that might look very cruel if he were angry.  He looked angry once
+when he was arguing with the Indians."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have excellently described our bitterest foe, and yours, Madame,"
+said I, smiling.  "The wicked Abbé La Garne, the pastor and master of
+these poor tools of his whom I would fain have spared, but could not."
+And I pointed to the bodies of the three dead savages, where they lay
+sprawling in various pathetic awkwardnesses of posture.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She looked, seemed to think of them for the first time, shivered, and
+turned away her pitiful eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Those poor wretches," I continued, "were sent by this kind priest to
+capture you.  He knew when and where to find you, because he had played
+the eavesdropper when Marc and I were talking of you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she cried, clenching her white hands desperately, "can there be a
+priest so vile?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ay, and this which you have heard is but a part of his villany.  We
+have but lately baulked him in a plot whereby he had nearly got Marc
+hanged.  This, Madame, I promise myself the honour of relating to you
+by and by; but now we must get the poor lad removed to some sort of
+house and comfort."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And, oh," cried this poor mother, in a voice of piercing anguish and
+amazement, as if she could not yet wholly realize it,&mdash;"my boy, my boy!
+He is in the power of such a monster!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Be of good heart, I beseech you," said I, with a kind of passion in my
+voice.  "I will find him, I swear I will bring him back to you.  I will
+wait only so long as to see my own boy in safe hands!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Again that look of trust was turned upon me, thrilling me with
+invincible resolve.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, I trust you, Monsieur!" she cried.  Then pressing both hands to
+her eyes with a pathetic gesture, and thrusting back her hair&mdash;"I knew
+you, somehow, for the Seigneur de Briart," she went on, "as soon as I
+heard you demanding our release.  And I immediately felt a great hope
+that you would set us free and save Philip.  I suppose it is from Marc
+that I have learned such confidence, Monsieur!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I bowed, awkward and glad, and without a pretty word to repay her
+with,&mdash;I who have some name in Quebec for well-turned compliment.  But
+before this woman, who was young enough to be my daughter, I was like a
+green boy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are too kind," I stammered.  "It will be my great ambition to
+justify your good opinion of me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then I turned away to launch a canoe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While I busied myself getting the canoe ready, and spreading ferns in
+the bottom of it for Marc to lie on, Mizpah walked up and down in a
+kind of violent speechlessness, as it were, twisting her long white
+hands, but no more giving voice to her grief and her anxiety.  Once she
+sat down abruptly under the maple tree, and buried her face in her
+hands.  Her shoulders shook, but not a sound of sob or moan came to my
+ears.  My heart ached at the sight.  I determined that I would give her
+work to do, such as would compel some attention on her part.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As soon as the canoe was ready I asked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Can you paddle, Madame?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She nodded an affirmative, her voice seeming to have gone from her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," said I, "then you will take the bow paddle, will you not?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, indeed!" she found voice to cry, with an eagerness which I took
+to signify that she thought by paddling hard to find her child the
+sooner.  But the manner in which she picked up the paddle, and took her
+place, and held the canoe, showed me she was no novice in the art of
+canoeing.  I now went to lift Marc and carry him to the canoe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let me help you," pleaded Prudence, springing up from beside him.  "He
+must be so heavy!"  Whereat I laughed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can walk, I am sure, Father," said Marc, faintly, "if you put me on
+my feet and steady me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I doubt it, lad," said I, "and 'tis hardly worth while wasting your
+little strength in the attempt.  Now, Prudence," I went on, turning to
+the girl, "I want you to get in there in front of the middle bar, and
+make a comfortable place for this man's head,&mdash;if you don't mind taking
+a live traitor's head in your lap!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this the poor girl's face flushed scarlet, as she quickly seated
+herself in the canoe; and her lips trembled so that my heart smote me
+for the jest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Forgive me, child.  I meant it not as a taunt, but merely as a poor
+jest," I hastened to explain.  "Your sister has told me all, and you
+were scarce to blame.  Now, take the lad and make him as comfortable as
+a man with a shattered shoulder can hope to be."  And I laid Marc
+gently down so that he could slip his long legs under the bar.  He
+straightway closed his eyes from sheer weakness; but he could feel his
+maid bend her blushing face over his, and his expression was a
+strangely mingled one of suffering and content.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Taking my place in the stern of the canoe, I pushed out.  The tide was
+just beginning to ebb.  There was no wind.  The shores were green and
+fair on either hand.  My dear lad, though sore hurt, was happy in the
+sweet tenderness of his lily maid.  As for me, I looked perhaps
+overmuch at the radiant head of Mizpah, at the lithe vigorous swaying
+of her long arms, the play of her gracious shoulders as she paddled
+strenuously.  I felt that it was good to be in this canoe, all of us
+together, floating softly down to the little village beside the
+Canard's mouth.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap12"></A>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+Part II
+</H2>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+Mizpah
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+In a Strange Fellowship
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+I took Marc and the ladies to the house of one Giraud, a well-tried and
+trusted retainer, to whom I told the whole affair.  Then I sent a
+speedy messenger to Father Fafard, begging him to come at once.  The
+Curé of Grand Pré was a skilled physician, and I looked to him to treat
+Marc's wound better than I could hope to do.  My purpose, as I unfolded
+it to Marc and to the ladies that same evening, sitting by Marc's
+pallet at the open cottage door, was to start the very next day in
+quest of the stolen child.  I would take but one follower, to help me
+paddle, for I would rely not on force but on cunning in this venture.
+I would warn some good men among my tenants, and certain others who
+were in the counsels of the Forge, to keep an unobtrusive guard about
+the place, till Marc's wound should be so far healed that he might go
+to Grand Pré.  And further, I would put them all in the hands of Father
+Fafard, with whom even the Black Abbé would scarce dare to meddle
+openly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Curé," said I, turning to Mizpah, "you may trust both for his
+wisdom and his goodness.  With him you will all be secure till my
+return."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mizpah bowed her head in acknowledgment, and looked at me gratefully,
+but could not trust herself to speak.  She sat a little apart, by the
+door, and was making a mighty effort to maintain her outward composure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then I turned to where Marc's face, pallid but glad, shone dimly on his
+pillow.  I took his hand, I felt his pulse&mdash;for the hundredth time,
+perhaps.  There was no more fever, no more prostration, than was to be
+accounted inevitable from such a wound.  So I said:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Does the plan commend itself to you, dear lad?  It troubles me sore to
+leave you in this plight; but Father Fafard is skilful, and I think you
+will not fret for lack of tender nursing.  You will not <I>need</I> me, lad;
+but there is a little lad with yellow hair who needs me now, and I must
+go to him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The moment I had spoken these last words I wished them back, for Mizpah
+broke down all at once in a terrible passion of tears.  But I was ever
+a bungler where women are concerned, ever saying the wrong thing, ever
+slow to understand their strange, swift shiftings of mood.  This time,
+however, I understood; for with my words a black realization of the
+little one's lonely fear came down upon my own soul, till my heart
+cried out with pity for him; and Prudence fell a-weeping by Marc's
+head.  But she stopped on the instant, fearing to excite Marc
+hurtfully, and Marc said:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Indeed, Father, think not a moment more of me.  'Tis the poor little
+lad that needs you.  Oh that I too could go with you on the quest!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To-morrow I go," said I, positively, "just as soon as I have seen
+Father Fafard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As I spoke, Mizpah went out suddenly, and walked with rapid strides
+down the road, passing Giraud on the way as he came from mending the
+little canoe which I was to take.  I had chosen a small and light
+craft, not knowing what streams I might have to ascend, what long
+carries I might have to make.  As Mizpah passed him, going on to lean
+her arms upon the fence and stare out across the water, Giraud turned
+to watch her for a moment.  Then, as he came up to the door where we
+sat, he took off his woollen cap, and said simply, "Poor lady! it goes
+hard with her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My friend," said I, "will these, while I am gone, be safe here from
+their enemies,&mdash;even should the Black Abbé come in person?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Master," he replied, with a certain proud nobility, which had ever
+impressed me in the man, "if any hurt comes to them, it will be not
+over my dead body alone, but over those of a dozen more stout fellows
+who would die to serve you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe you," said I, reaching out my hand.  He kissed it, and went
+off quickly about his affairs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Hardly was he gone when Mizpah came back.  She was very pale and calm,
+and her eyes shone with the fire of some intense purpose.  Had I known
+woman's heart as do some of my friends whom I could mention, I should
+have fathomed that purpose at her first words.  But as I have said, I
+am slow to understand a woman's hints and objects, though men I can
+read ere their thoughts find speech.  There was a faint glory of the
+last of sunset on Mizpah's face and hair as she stood facing me, her
+lips parted to speak.  Behind her lay the little garden, with its
+sunflowers and lupines, and its thicket of pole beans in one corner.
+Then, beyond the gray fence, the smooth tide of the expanding river,
+violet-hued, the copper and olive wood, the marshes all greenish amber,
+and the dusky purple of the hills.  It was all stamped upon my memory
+in delectable and imperishable colours, though I know that at the
+moment I saw only Mizpah's tall grace, her red-gold hair, the eyes that
+seemed to bring my spirit to her feet.  I was thinking, "Was there ever
+such another woman's face, or a presence so gracious?" when I realized
+that she was speaking.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do I paddle well, Monsieur?" she asked, with the air of one who
+repeats a question.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Pardon, a thousand pardons, Madame!" I exclaimed.  "Yes, you use your
+paddle excellently well."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And I can shoot, I can shoot very skilfully," she went on, with strong
+emphasis.  "I can handle both pistol and musket."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Indeed, Madame!" said I, considerably astonished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ask Marc if I am not a cunning shot," she persisted, while her eyes
+seemed to burn through me in their eager intentness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, Father," came Marc's whispered response out of the shadow, where
+I saw only the bended head of the maid Prudence.  "Yes, Father, she is
+a more cunning marksman than I."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I turned again to her, and saw that she expected, that she thirsted
+for, an answer.  But what answer?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Madame," said I, bowing profoundly, and hoping to cover my
+bewilderment with a courtly speech, "may I hope that you will fire a
+good shot for me some day; I should account it an honour above all
+others if I might be indebted to such a hand for such succour."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She clasped her hands in a great gladness, crying, "Then I <I>may</I> go
+with you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Go with me!" I cried, looking at her in huge amazement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She wants to help you find the child," whispered Marc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The thought of this white girl among the perils which I saw before me
+pierced my heart with a strange pang, and in my haste I cried rudely:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nonsense!  Impossible!  Why, it would be mere madness!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So bitter was the pain of disappointment which wrung her face that I
+put out both hands towards her in passionate deprecation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Forgive me; oh, forgive me, Madame!" I pleaded.  "But how <I>could</I> I
+bring you into such perils?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But she caught my hands and would have gone on her knees to me if I had
+not stayed her roughly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Take me with you," she implored.  "I can paddle, I can serve you as
+well as any man whom you can get.  And I am brave, believe me.  And how
+<I>can</I> I wait here when my boy, my darling, my Philip, is alone among
+those beasts?  I would die every hour."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How could I refuse her?  Yet refuse her I would, I must.  To take her
+would be to lessen my own powers, I thought, and to add tenfold to the
+peril of the venture.  Nevertheless my heart did now so leap at the
+thought of this strange, close fellowship which she demanded, that I
+came near to silencing my better judgment, and saying she might go.
+But I shut my teeth obstinately on the words.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this moment, while she waited trembling, Marc once more intervened.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You might do far worse than take her, Father.  No one else will serve
+you more bravely or more skilfully, I think."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So Marc actually approved of this incredible proposal?  Then was it,
+after all, so preposterous?  My wavering must have shown itself in my
+face, for her own began to lighten rarely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But&mdash;those clothes!" said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this she flushed to her ears.  But she answered bravely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I will wear others; did you think I would so hamper you with this
+guise?  No," she added with a little nervous laugh, "I will play the
+man; be sure."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And so, though I could scarce believe it, it was settled that Mizpah
+Hanford should go with me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That night I found little sleep.  My thoughts were a chaos of
+astonishment and apprehension.  Marc, moreover, kept tossing, for his
+wound fretted him sorely, and I was continually at his side to give him
+drink.  At about two in the morning there came a horseman to the garden
+gate, riding swiftly.  Hurrying out I met him in the path.  It was
+Father Fafard, come straight upon my word.  He turned his horse into
+Giraud's pasture, put saddle and bridle in the porchway, and then
+followed me in to Marc's bedside.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he had dressed the wound anew, and administered a soothing
+draught, Marc fell into a quiet sleep.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He will do well, but it is a matter for long patience," said the Curé.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then we went out of the house and down to the garden corner by the
+thicket of beans, where we might talk freely and jar no slumberers.
+Father Fafard fell in with my plans most heartily, and accepted my
+charges.  To hold the Black Abbé in check at any point, would, he felt,
+be counted unto him for righteousness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My mind being thus set at ease, I resolved to start as soon as might be
+after daybreak.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Before it was yet full day, I was again astir, and goodwife Giraud was
+getting ready, in bags, our provision of bacon and black bread.  I had
+many small things to do,&mdash;gathering ammunition for two muskets and four
+pistols, selecting my paddles with care from Giraud's stock, and
+loading the canoe to the utmost advantage for ease of running and
+economy of space.  Then, as I went in to the goodwife's breakfast, I
+was met at the door by a slim youth in leathern coat and leggins, with
+two pistols and Marc's whinger.  I recognized the carven hilt stuck
+bravely in his belt, and Marc's knitted cap of gray wool on his head,
+well pulled down.  The boy blushed, but met my eye with a sweet
+firmness, and I bowed with great courtesy.  Even in this attire I
+thought she could not look aught but womanly&mdash;for it was Mistress
+Mizpah.  Yet I could not but confess that to the stranger she would
+appear but as a singularly handsome stripling.  The glory of her hair
+was hidden within her cap.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"These are the times," said I, seriously, "that breed brave women."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Breakfast done, messages and orders repeated, and farewells all spoken,
+the sun was perhaps an hour high when we paddled away from the little
+landing under Giraud's garden fence.  I waved my cap backwards to
+Prudence and the Curé, where they stood side by side at the landing.
+My comrade in the bow waved her hand once, then fell to paddling
+diligently.  I was still in a maze of wonderment, ready at any time to
+wake and find it a dream.  But the little seas that slapped us as we
+cleared the river mouth, these were plainly real.  I headed for the
+eastern point of the island, intending to land at the mouth of the
+Piziquid and make some inquiries.  The morning air was like wine in my
+veins.  There was a gay dancing of ripples over toward Blomidon, and
+the sky was a clear blue.  A dash of cool drops wet me.  It was no
+dream.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And so in a strange fellowship I set out to find the child.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap13"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+My Comrade
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+I could not sufficiently commend the ease and aptness with which my
+beautiful comrade wielded her paddle.  But in a while the day grew hot,
+and I bade her lie back in her place and rest.  At first she would not,
+till I was compelled to remind her in a tone of railing that I was the
+captain in this enterprise, and that good soldiers must obey.
+Whereupon, though her back was toward me, I saw a flush creep around to
+her little ears, and she laid the paddle down something abruptly.  I
+feared that I had vexed her, and I made haste to attempt an
+explanation, although it seemed to me that she should have understood a
+matter so obvious.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I beg you to pardon me, Madame, if I seem to insist too much," said I,
+with hesitation.  "But you must know that, if you exhaust yourself at
+the beginning of the journey, before you are hardened to the long
+continuance of such work, you will be unable to do anything to-morrow,
+and our quest will be much hindered."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Forgive me!" she cried; "you are right, of course.  Oh, I fear I have
+done wrong in hampering you!  But I am strong, truly, and enduring as
+most men, Monsieur."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," I answered, "but to do one thing strenuously all day long, and
+for days thereafter, that is hard.  I believe you can do it, or I
+should have been mad indeed to bring you.  But you must let me advise
+you at the beginning.  For this first day, rest often and save yourself
+as much as possible.  By this means you will be able to do better
+to-morrow, and better still the day after.  By the other means, you
+will be able to do little to-morrow most likely, and perhaps nothing
+the day after."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," she said, turning her head partly around, so that I could see
+the gracious profile, "tell me, Monsieur, when to work and when to
+rest.  I will obey.  It is a lucky soldier, I know, who has the
+Seigneur de Briart to command him."
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-168"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-168.jpg" ALT="Turning her head partly around, so that I could see the gracious profile" BORDER="2" WIDTH="473" HEIGHT="708">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 473px">
+Turning her head partly around, so that I could see the gracious profile
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"But I fear, Madame," said I, "that discipline would sadly suffer if he
+had often such soldiers to command."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To this she made no reply.  I saw that she leaned back in her place and
+changed her posture, so as to fulfil my wish and rest herself to the
+best advantage.  I thought my words over.  To me they seemed to have
+that savour of compliment which I would now avoid.  I felt that here,
+under these strange circumstances, in an intimacy which might by and by
+be remembered by her with some little confusion, but which now, while
+she had no thought but for the rescue of the little one, contained no
+shadow of awkwardness for her clear and earnest soul,&mdash;I felt that here
+I must hold myself under bonds.  The play of graceful compliment, such
+as I would have practised in her drawing-room to show her the
+courtliness of my breeding, must be forsworn.  The admiration, the
+devotion, the worship, that burned in my eyes whensoever they dwelt
+upon her, must be strictly veiled.  I must seem to forget that I am a
+man and my companion the fairest of women.  Yes, I kept telling myself,
+I must regard her as a comrade only, and a follower, and a boy.  I must
+be frank and careless in my manner toward her; kind, but blunt and
+positive.  She will think nothing of it now, and will blush the less
+for it by and by, when the child is in her arms again, and she can once
+more give her mind to little matters.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And so I schooled myself; and as I watched her I began to realize more
+and more, with a delicious warming of my heart, what instant need I had
+of such schooling if I would not have her see how I was not at all her
+captain, but her bondsman.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At the mouth of the Piziquid stream there clustered a few cottages, not
+enough to call a village; and here we stopped about noon.  A meal of
+milk and eggs and freshly baked rye cakes refreshed us, and eager as
+was our haste, I judged it wise to rest an hour stretched out in the
+shade of an apple tree.  To this halt, Mizpah, after one glance of
+eager question at my face, made no demur, and I replied to the glance
+by whispering:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is a good soldier!  We will gain by this pause, now.  We will
+travel late to-night."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The cottagers of whom we had our meal were folk unknown to me; and
+being informed that the Black Abbé had some followers in the
+neighbourhood, I durst give no hint of our purpose.  By and by I asked
+carelessly if two canoes, with Indians of the Shubenacadie, had gone by
+this way.  I thought that the man looked at me with some suspicion.  He
+hesitated.  But before he could reply his goodwife answered for him,
+with the freedom of a clear conscience.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, M'sieu," she chattered, "two canoes, and four Indians.  They went
+by yesterday, toward sundown, stopping here for water from our
+well,&mdash;the finest water hereabouts, if I do say it!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They went up the river, I suppose," said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, but no, M'sieu," clattered on the worthy dame.  "They went
+straight up the bay.  Yes, goodman," she continued, changing her tone
+sharply, "whenever I open my mouth you glare at me as if I was talking
+nonsense.  What have I said wrong now, I'd like to know.  Yes, I'd like
+very much to know that, goodman.  Why should not the gentleman know
+that they had&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But here the man interrupted her roughly.  "Will you never be done your
+prating?" he cried.  "Can't you see that you worry the gentlemen?  How
+should they care to know that the red rascals made a good catch of shad
+off the island?  Now, do go and get some of your fresh buttermilk for
+the gentlemen to drink before they go.  Don't you see they are
+starting?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And, indeed, Mizpah's impatience to be gone was plainly evident, and we
+had rested long enough.  I durst not look at her face, lest our host
+should perceive that I had heard what I wanted to hear.  I spoke
+casually of the weather, and inquired how his apples and his flax were
+faring, and so filled the minutes safely until the goodwife came with
+the butter-milk.  Having both drunk gratefully of the cool, delicately
+acid, nourishing liquor, we gave the man a piece of silver, and set out
+in good heart.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are on the right track, comrade," said I, lightly, steering my
+course along the shore toward Cobequid.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Her only answer was to fall a-paddling with such an eagerness that I
+had to check her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, now," I said, "more haste, less speed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I feel so strong now, and so rested," she cried passionately.
+"Might we not overtake them to-night?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hardly so soon as that, I fear, Madame," I answered.  "This is a stern
+chase, and it is like to be a long one; you must make up your mind to
+that, if you would not have a fresh disappointment every hour."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she broke out, "if it were your child you were trying to find and
+save, you would not be so cool about it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Believe me, Madame," said I, in a low voice, "I am not perhaps as cool
+as I appear."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, what a weak and silly creature I must seem to you!" she cried.
+"But I will not be weak and silly when it comes to trial, Monsieur, I
+promise you.  I <I>will</I> prove worthy of your confidence.  But make
+allowance for me now, and do not judge me harshly.  Every moment I seem
+to hear him crying for me, Monsieur."  And her head drooped forward in
+unspeakable grief.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I could think of nothing, absolutely nothing, to say.  I could only
+mutter hoarsely, "I do not think you either weak or silly, Madame."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This answer, feeble as it appeared to myself, seemed in a sense to
+relieve her.  She put down her paddle, leaned forward upon the front
+bar, with her face in her hands, and sobbed gently for a few minutes.
+Then, while I gazed upon her in rapt commiseration, she all at once
+resumed the paddle briskly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For my own part, being just lately returned from a long expedition, my
+muscles were like steel; I felt that I should never weary.  Steadily
+onward we pressed, past the mouths of several small streams whose names
+I did not know, past headland after headland of red clay or pallid
+plaster rock.  As the tide fell, we were driven far out into the bay,
+till sometimes there was a mile of oozy red flats parting us from the
+edge of the green.  But as the tide rose again, we accompanied its
+seething vanguard, till at last we were again close in shore.  A breeze
+soon after mid-day springing up behind us, we made excellent progress.
+But soon after sunset a mist arose, which made our journey too perilous
+to be continued.  I turned into a narrow cove between high banks, where
+the brawling of a shallow brook promised us fresh water.  And there, in
+a thicket of young fir trees growing at the foot of a steep bank, I set
+up the canoe on edge, laid some poles and branches against it, and had
+a secluded shelter for my lady.  She looked at it with a gratified
+admiration and could never be done with thanking me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Being now near the Shubenacadie mouth, I durst not light a fire, but we
+uncomplainingly ate our black bread; and then I said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We will start at first gray, comrade.  You will need all the sleep you
+can win.  Good night, and kindly dreams."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good night, Monsieur," she said softly, and disappeared.  Then going
+down to the water's side, I threw off my clothes, and took a swift
+plunge which steadied and refreshed me mightily.  Swimming in the misty
+and murmurous darkness, my venture and my strange fellowship seemed
+more like a dream to me than ever, and I could scarce believe myself
+awake.  But I was awake enough to feel it when, in stumbling ashore, I
+scraped my foot painfully on a jagged shell.  However, that hurt was
+soon eased and staunched by holding it for a little under the chill
+gushing of the brook; after which I dressed myself, gathered a handful
+of ferns for a pillow, and laid myself down across the opening which
+led into the thicket.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap14"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XIV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+My Comrade Shoots Excellently Well
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+From a medley of dreams, in which I saw Mizpah binding the Black Abbé
+with cords of her own hair&mdash;tight, tighter, till they ate into his
+flesh, and I trembled at the look of shaking horror in his face; in
+which then I saw the child chasing butterflies before the door of the
+Forge in the Forest, and heard Babin's hammer beating musically on his
+anvil, till the sound became the chiming of the Angelus over the roofs
+and walls of Quebec, where Mizpah and I walked hand fast together on
+the topmost bastion,&mdash;from such a fleeting and blending confusion as
+this, I woke to feel a hand laid softly on my face in the dark.  I
+needed no seeing to tell me whose was the hand, so slim, so cool, so
+softly firm; and I had much ado to keep my lips from reverently kissing
+it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Monsieur, Monsieur," came the whisper, "what is that noise, that
+voice?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Pardon me, comrade, for sleeping so soundly," I murmured, sitting up,
+and taking her hand in mine with a rough freedom of goodwill, as merely
+to reassure her.  "What is it you hear?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But before she could reply, I heard it myself, a strange, chanting cry,
+slow and plangent, from far out upon the water.  Presently I caught the
+words, and knew the voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the fair," it came solemnly, "for the day of her
+desolation draws nigh!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is Grűl," said I, "passing in his canoe, on some strange errand of
+his."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Grűl?  Who is Grűl?" she questioned, clinging a little to my hand, and
+then dropping it suddenly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A quaint madman of these parts," said I; "and yet I think his madness
+is in some degree a feigning.  He has twice done me inestimable
+service&mdash;once warning us of an immediate peril, and again yesterday, in
+leading us to the spot where you were held captive.  For some reason
+unknown to me, he has a marvellous kindness for me and mine.  But the
+Black Abbé he hates in deadly fashion&mdash;for some ancient and
+ineffaceable wrong, if the tale tell true."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And he brought you to us?" she murmured, with a sort of stillness in
+her voice, which caught me strangely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, Grűl did!" said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And then there was silence between us, and we heard the mysterious and
+solemn voice passing, and dying away in the distance.  My ears at last
+being released from the tension of listening, my eyes began to serve
+me, and through the branches I marked a grayness spreading in the sky.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must be stirring, Madame," said I, rising abruptly to my feet.
+"Let us take our bread down to the brook and eat it there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But she was already gone, snatching up the sack of bread; and in a few
+minutes, having righted the canoe and carried it down to a convenient
+landing-place, I joined her.  She was stretched flat beside a little
+basin of the brook, her cap off, her hair in a tight coil high upon her
+head, her sleeves pulled up, while she splashed her face and arms in
+the running coolness.  Without pulling down her sleeves or resuming her
+cap, she seated herself on a stone and held out to me a piece of bread.
+In the coldly growing dawn her hair and lips were colourless, the
+whiteness of her arms shadowy and spectral.  Then as we slowly made our
+meal, I bringing water for her in my drinking-horn, the rose and fire
+and violet of sunrise began to sift down into our valley and show me
+again the hues of life in Mizpah's face.  I sprang up, handed her the
+woollen cap, and tried hard to keep my eyes from dwelling upon the
+sweet and gracious curves of her arms.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Aboard!  Aboard!" I cried, and moved off in a bustling fashion to get
+the paddles.  In a few minutes we were under way, thrusting out from
+the shore, and pushing through myriad little curling wisps of vapour,
+which rose in pale hues of violet and pink all over the oil-smooth
+surface of the tide.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For some time we paddled in silence.  Then, when the sun's first rays
+fell fairly upon us, I exclaimed lightly:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You must pull down your sleeves, comrade."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why?" she asked quickly, turning her head and pausing in her stroke.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For two excellent reasons besides the captain's orders," said I.  "In
+the first place, your arms will get so sore with sunburn, that you
+won't be able to do your fair share of the work.  In the second place,
+if we should meet any strangers, it would be difficult to persuade them
+that those arms were manly enough for a wood-ranger."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she said quickly, and pulled down the sleeves in some confusion.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All that morning we made excellent progress, with the help of a light
+following wind.  When the sun was perhaps two hours high, the mouth of
+the Shubenacadie opened before us; and because this river was the great
+highway of the Black Abbé's red people, I ran the canoe in shore and
+concealed it till I had climbed a bluff near by and scanned the lower
+reaches of the stream.  Finding all clear, we put out again, and with
+the utmost haste paddled past the mouth.  Not till we were behind the
+further point, and running along under the shelter of a high bank, did
+I breathe freely.  Then I praised Mizpah, for in that burst of speed
+her skill and force had amazed me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But she turned upon me with the question which I had looked for.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If that is the Black Abbé's river," said she, with great eyes fixing
+mine, "and the Indians have gone that way, why do we pass by?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I owe you an explanation, comrade," said I.  "I think in all
+likelihood, that way leads straight to your child; but if we went that
+way, we would be the Abbé's prisoners within the next hour,&mdash;and how
+would we help the child then?  Oh, no; I am bound for the Black Abbé's
+back door.  A few leagues beyond this lies the River des Saumons, and
+on its banks is a settlement of our Acadian folk.  Many of them are of
+the Abbé's following, and all fear him; but I have there two faithful
+men who are in the counsels of the Forge.  One of these dwells some two
+miles back from the river, half a league this side of the village.  I
+will go to him secretly, and send him on to the Shubenacadie for
+information.  Then we will act not blindly."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To this of course she acquiesced at once, as being the only wise way;
+but for all that, with each canoe-length that we left the Shubenacadie
+behind, the more did her paddle lag.  The impulse seemed all gone out
+of her.  Soon therefore I bade her lay down the blade and rest.  In a
+little, when she had lain a while with her face upon her arms,&mdash;whether
+waking or not I could not tell, for she kept her face turned away from
+me,&mdash;she became herself again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+No long while after noon, we ran into the mouth of the des Saumons.  I
+was highly elated with the success that had so far attended us,&mdash;the
+speed we had made, our immunity from hindrance and question.  We landed
+to eat our hasty meal, but paused not long to rest, being urged now by
+the keen spur of imagined nearness to our goal.  Some two hours more of
+brisk paddling brought us to a narrow and winding creek, up which I
+turned.  For some furlongs it ran through a wide marsh, but at length
+one bank grew high and copsy.  Here I put the canoe to land, and
+stepped ashore, bidding Mizpah keep her place.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Finding the spot to my liking, I pulled the canoe further up on the
+soft mud, and astonished Mizpah by telling her that I must carry her up
+the bank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But why?" she cried.  "I can walk, Monsieur, as well as I could this
+morning&mdash;though I <I>am</I> a little stiff," she added naďvely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The good soldier asks not why," said I, with affected severity.  "But
+I will tell you.  In case any one <I>should</I> come in my absence, there
+must be but one track visible, and that track mine, leading up and away
+toward the settlement.  You must lie hidden in that thicket, and keep
+guard.  Do you understand, Madame?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said she,&mdash;"but how can you?&mdash;I am awfully heavy."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I laughed softly, picked her up as I would a child, and carried her to
+the edge of the woods, where I let her down on one end of a fallen tree.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, comrade," said I, "if you will go circumspectly along this log
+you will leave no trace.  Hide yourself in the thicket there close to
+the canoe, keep your pistols primed, and watch till I come back,&mdash;and
+the blessed Virgin guard you!" I added, with a sudden fervour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then, having lifted the canoe altogether clear of the water, I set
+forth at a swinging trot for Martin's farm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I found my trusty habitant at home, and ready to do any errand of mine
+ere I could speak it.  But when I told him what I wanted of him he
+started in some excitement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, Monsieur," he cried, "I have the very tidings you seek.  I myself
+saw a canoe with two Indians pass up the river this morning; and they
+had a little child with them,&mdash;a child with long yellow hair."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Up <I>this</I> river!" I exclaimed.  "Then whither can they be taking him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They did not leave him in the village," answered Martin, positively,
+"for the word goes that they passed on up in great haste.  By the route
+they have taken, they are clearly bound for the Straits&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ay, they'll cross to the head of the Pictook, and descend that
+stream," said I.  "But which way will they turn then?"&mdash;For I was
+surprised and confused at the information.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, Monsieur," said Martin, "when they get to the Straits, who
+knows?  They may be going across to Ile St. Jean.  They may turn south
+to Ile Royale; for the English, I hear, have no hold there, save at
+Louisburg and Canseau.  Or they may turn north toward Miramichi.  Who
+knows&mdash;save the Black Abbé?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I must overtake them," said I, resolutely.  "Good-bye, my friend and
+thank you.  If all goes well, you will get a summons from the Forge ere
+the moon is again at the full;" and I made haste back to the spot where
+Mizpah waited.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As I swung along, I congratulated myself on the good fortune which had
+so held me to the trail.  Then I fell to thinking of my comrade, and
+the wonder of the situation, and the greater wonder of her eyes and
+hair,&mdash;which thoughts sped the time so sweetly that ere I could believe
+it I saw before me the overhanging willows, and the thicket by the
+stream.  Then I stopped as if I had been struck in the face, and shook
+with a sudden fear.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At my very feet, fallen across the dead tree which I have already
+mentioned, lay the body of an Indian.  Every line of the loose,
+sprawled body told me that he had met an instant death,&mdash;and a bullet
+hole in his back showed me the manner of it.  Only for a second did I
+pause.  Then I sprang into the thicket, with a horror catching at my
+heart.  There was Mizpah lying on her face,&mdash;and a hoarse cry broke
+from my lips.  But even as I flung myself down beside her I saw that
+she was not dead.  No, she was shaking with sobs,&mdash;and the naturalness
+of it, strange to say, reassured me on the instant.  I made to lift
+her, when she sprang at once to her feet, and looked at me wildly.  I
+took her hand, to comfort her; but she drew it away, and gazed upon it
+with a kind of shrinking horror.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I understood now what had happened.  Nevertheless, knowing not just the
+best thing to say, I asked her what was the matter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she cried, covering her eyes, "I killed him.  He threw up his
+hands, and groaned, and fell like a log.  How could I do it?  How could
+I do it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I tried to assure her that she had done well; but finding that she
+would pay me no heed, I went to look at her victim.  I turned him over,
+and muttered a thanksgiving to Heaven as I recognized him for one of
+the worst of the Black Abbé's flock.  I found his tracks all about the
+canoe.  Then I went back to Mizpah.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good soldier!  Good comrade!" said I, earnestly.  "You have killed
+Little Fox, the blackest and cruelest rogue on the whole Shubenacadie.
+Oh, I tell you you have done a good deed this day!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The knowledge of this appeared to ease her somewhat, and in a few
+moments I gathered the details.  The Indian had come suddenly to the
+bank, and seeing a canoe there had examined it curiously,&mdash;she, the
+while, waiting in great fear, for she had at once recognized him as one
+of her former captors, and one of whom she stood in special dread.
+While looking at our things in the canoe, he had appeared all at once
+to understand.  He had picked up my coat, and examined it
+carefully,&mdash;and the grin that disclosed his long teeth disclosed also
+that he recognized it.  Looking to the priming of his musket, he
+started cautiously up the bank upon my trail.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As soon as he left the canoe," said Mizpah, still shaken with sobs, "I
+knew that something must be done.  If he went away, it would be just to
+give the alarm, and then we could not escape, and Philip would be lost
+forever.  But I saw that, instead of going away, he was going to track
+you and shoot you down.  I didn't know what to do, or how I could ever
+shoot a man in cold blood,&mdash;but something <I>made</I> me do it.  Just as he
+reached the end of the log, I seemed to see him already shooting you,
+away in the woods over there,&mdash;and then I fired.  And oh, oh, oh, I
+shall never forget how he groaned and fell over!"  And she stared at
+her right hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Comrade," said I, "I owe my life to you.  He <I>would</I> have shot me
+down; for, as I think of it, I went carelessly, and seldom looked
+behind when I got into the woods.  To be so incautious is not my way,
+believe me.  I know not how it was, unless I so trusted the comrade
+whom I had left behind to guard my trail.  And now, here are news!
+They have brought the child this way, up this very river!  The saints
+have surely led us thus far, for we are hot upon their track!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And this made her forget to weep for the excellence of her shooting.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap15"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XV
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+Grűl's Hour
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Though we were in a hot haste to get away, it was absolutely necessary
+first to bury the dead Indian, lest a hue and cry should be raised that
+might involve and delay us.  With my paddle, therefore, I dug him a
+shallow grave in the soft mud at the edge of the tide, which was then
+on the ebb.  This meagre inhumation completed, I smoothed the surface
+as best I could with my paddle; and then we set off, resting easy in
+the knowledge that the next tide would smooth down all traces of the
+work.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was by this close upon sunset, and I felt a little hesitation as to
+what we had best do.  I had no wish to run through the settlement till
+after dark, nor was I anxious to push on against the furious ebb of the
+des Saumons, against which the strongest paddlers could make slow
+headway.  But it was necessary to get out of the creek before the water
+should quite forsake us; and, moreover, Mizpah was in a fever of haste
+to be gone.  She kept gazing about as if she expected the savage to
+rise from his muddy grave and point at her.  We ran out of the creek,
+therefore, and were instantly caught in the great current of the river.
+I suffered it to sweep us down for half a mile, having noted on the way
+up a cluster of haystacks in an angle of the dyke.  Coming to these, I
+pushed ashore at once, carried the canoe up, and found that the place
+was one where we might rest secure.  Here we ate our black bread and
+drank new milk, for there were many cattle pasturing on the aftermath,
+and some of the cows had not yet gone home to milking.  Then, hiding
+the canoe behind the dyke, and ourselves between the stacks, in great
+weariness we sought our sleep.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was no hint of dawn in the sky when I awoke with a start; but the
+constellations had swung so wide an arc that I knew morning was close
+at hand.  There was a hissing clamour in the river-bed which told me
+the tide was coming in.  That, doubtless, was the change which had so
+swiftly aroused me.  I went to the other side of the stack, where
+Mizpah lay with her cheek upon her arm, her hair fallen adorably about
+her neck.  Touching her forehead softly with my hand, I whispered:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come, comrade, the tide has turned!"  Whereupon she sat up quietly, as
+if this were for her the most usual of awakenings, and began to arrange
+her hair.  I went out upon the shadowy marsh and soon accomplished a
+second theft of new milk, driving the tranquil cow which furnished it
+into the corner behind the stacks, that our dairy might be the more
+conveniently at hand.  Our fast broken (and though I hinted nought of
+it to Mizpah, I found black bread growing monotonous), I carried the
+canoe down to the edge of the tide.  But Mistress Mizpah's daintiness
+revolted at the mud, whereupon she took off her moccasins and stockings
+before she came to it, and I caught a gleam of slim white feet at the
+dewy edge of the grass.  When I had carried down the paddles, pole, and
+baggage, I found her standing in a quandary.  She could not get into
+the canoe with that sticky clay clinging to her feet, and there was no
+place where she could sit down to wash them.  Carelessly enough (though
+my heart the while trembled within me), I stretched out my hand to her,
+saying:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Lean on me, comrade, and then you can manage it all right."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And so it was that she managed it; and so indifferently did I cast my
+eyes about, now at the breaking dawn, now at the swelling tide, that I
+am sure she must have deemed that I saw not or cared not at all how
+white and slender and shapely were her feet!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In few minutes we were afloat, going swiftly on the tide.  The sky was
+all saffron as we slipped through the settlement, and a fairy glow lay
+upon the white cottages.  The banks on either hand took on the
+ineffable hues of polished nacre.  To the door of one cottage, close by
+the water, came a man yawning, and hailed us.  But I flung back a mere
+"<I>Bon jour</I>," and sped on.  Not till the settlement was out of sight
+behind us, not till the cross on the spire of the village was quite cut
+off from view, did I drop to the even pace of our day-long journeying.
+When at length we got beyond the influence of the tide, des Saumons was
+a shallow, sparkling, singing stream, its bed aglow with ruddy-coloured
+rocks.  Here I laid aside my paddle and thrust the canoe onwards by
+means of my long pole of white spruce, while Mizpah had nought to do
+but lean back and watch the shores creep by.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At the head of tide we had stopped to drink and to breathe a little.
+And there, seeing an old man working in front of a solitary cabin, I
+had deemed it safe to approach him and purchase a few eggs.  After this
+we kept on till an hour past noon, when I stopped in a bend of the
+river, at the foot of a perpendicular cliff of red rock some seventy or
+eighty feet in height.  Here was a thicket wherein we might hide both
+the canoe and ourselves if necessary.  The canoe I hid at once,
+that&mdash;being a matter of the more time.  Then we both set ourselves to
+gathering dry sticks, for it seemed to me we might here risk the luxury
+of a fire, with a dinner of roasted eggs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We had gathered but a handful or two, when I heard a crashing in the
+underbrush at the top of the cliff; and in a second, catching Mizpah by
+the hand, I had dragged her into hiding.  Through a screen of dark and
+drooping hemlock boughs we gazed intently at the top of the cliff,&mdash;and
+I noted, without thinking worth while to remedy my oversight, that I
+had forgotten to release Mizpah's hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The crashing noise, mingled with some sharp outcries of rage and fear,
+continued for several minutes.  Then there was silence; and I saw at
+the brink a pointed cap stuck full of feathers, and the glare of a
+black and yellow cloak.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Grűl!" I whispered, in astonishment; and I felt an answering surprise
+in the tightened clasp of Mizpah's hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A moment more and Grűl peered over the brink, scrutinizing the upper
+and lower reaches of the river.  He held a coil of rope, one end of
+which he had made fast to a stout birch tree which leaned well out over
+the edge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is he going to do?" murmured Mizpah, with wide eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll soon see!" said I, marvelling mightily.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The apparition vanished for some minutes, then suddenly reappeared
+close to the brink.  He carried, as lightly as if it had been a bundle
+of straw, the body of a man, so bound about with many cords as to
+remind me of nothing so much as a fly in the death wrappings of some
+black and yellow spider.  To add to the semblance, the victim was
+dressed in black,&mdash;and a closer scrutiny showed that he was a priest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is the Black Abbé, none other," I murmured, in a kind of awe; while
+Mizpah shrank closer to my side with a sense of impending tragedies.
+"Grűl has come to his revenge!" I added.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In a business fashion Grűl knotted the end of his coil of rope about
+the prisoner's body, the feathers and flowers in his cap, meanwhile,
+nodding with a kind of satisfied rhythm.  Then he lowered the swathed
+and helpless but silently writhing figure a little way from the brink,
+governing the rope with ease by means of a half-twist about a jutting
+stump.  There was something indescribably terrifying in the sight of
+the fettered form swinging over the deep, with shudderings and
+twistings, and the safe edge not a yard length above him.  I pitied him
+in spite of myself; and I put a hand over Mizpah's eyes that she might
+not see what was coming.  But she pushed my hand away, and stared in a
+fascination.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For some moments Grűl gazed down in silence upon his victim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I fancied I caught the soul-piercing flame of his mad eyes; but this
+was doubtless due to my imagination rather than to the excellence of my
+vision.  Suddenly the victim, his fortitude giving way with the sense
+of the deadly gulf beneath him, and with the pitiless inquisition of
+that gaze bent down upon him, broke out into wild pleadings, desperate
+entreaties, screams of anguished fear, till I myself trembled at it,
+and Mizpah covered her ears.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, stop it! save him!" she whispered to me, with white lips.  But I
+shook my head.  I could not reach the top of the cliff.  And moreover,
+I had small doubt that Grűl's vengeance was just.  Nevertheless, had I
+been at the top of the cliff instead of the bottom, I had certainly put
+a stop to it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After listening for some moments, with a sort of pleasant attention, to
+the victim's ravings, Grűl lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far
+out over the brink, and reached down a long arm.  I saw the gleam of a
+knife in his darting hand; and I drew a quick breath of relief.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-200"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-200.jpg" ALT="Grűl lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far out over the brink, and reached down a long arm." BORDER="2" WIDTH="450" HEIGHT="705">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 450px">
+Grűl lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far out over the brink, and reached down a long arm.
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"That ends it," said I; and I shifted my position, which I had not
+done, as it seemed to me, for an eternity.  The victim's screaming had
+ceased before the knife touched him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But I was vastly mistaken in thinking it the end.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He has not killed him," muttered Mizpah.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And then I saw that Grűl had merely cut the cord which bound his
+captive's hands.  The Abbé was swiftly freeing himself; and Grűl,
+meanwhile, was lowering him down the face of the cliff.  When the
+unhappy captive had descended perhaps twenty feet, his tormentor
+secured the rope, and again lay down with his head and shoulders
+leaning over the brink, his hands playing carelessly with the knife.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Abbé, with many awkward gestures, presently got his limbs free, and
+the cord which had enwound him fell trailing like a snake to the cliff
+foot.  Then, with clawing hands and sprawling feet, he clutched at the
+smooth, inexorable rock, in the vain hope of getting a foothold.  It
+was pitiful to see his mad struggles, and the quiet of the face above
+looking down upon them with unimpassioned interest; till at last,
+exhausted, the poor wretch ceased to struggle, and looked up at his
+persecutor with the silence of despair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Presently Grűl spoke,&mdash;for the first time, as far as we knew.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You know me, Monsieur l'Abbé, I suppose," he remarked, in tone of
+placid courtesy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know you, François de Grűl," came the reply, gasped from a dry mouth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then further explanation, I think you will allow, is not needed.  I
+will bid you farewell, and a pleasant journey," went on the same civil
+modulations of Grűl's voice.  At the same moment he reached down with
+his shining blade as if to sever the rope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not do it!  I did not do it!" screamed the Abbé, once more
+clutching convulsively at the smooth rock.  "I swear to you by all the
+saints!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Grűl examined the edge of his knife.  He tested it with his thumb.  I
+saw him glance along it critically.  Then he touched it, ever so
+lightly, to the rope, so that a single strand parted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Swear to me," he said, in the mildest voice, "swear to me, Monsieur
+l'Abbé, that you had no part in it.  Swear by the Holy Ghost, Monsieur
+l'Abbé!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the Abbé was silent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Swear me that oath now, good Abbé," repeated the voice, with a kind of
+courteous insistence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I will not swear!" came the ghastly whisper in reply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this an astonishing change passed over the face that peered down
+from the brink.  Its sane tranquillity became a very paroxysm of rage.
+The grotesque cap was dashed aside, and Grűl sprang to his feet, waving
+his arms, stamping and leaping, his gaudy cloak a-flutter, his long
+white hair and beard twisting as if with a sentient fury of their own.
+He was so close upon the brink that I held my breath, expecting him to
+be plunged headlong.  But all at once the paroxysm died out as suddenly
+as it had begun; and throwing himself down in his former position, Grűl
+once more touched the knife edge to the rope, severing fibre by fibre,
+slowly, slowly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With the first touch upon the rope rose the Abbé's voice again, but no
+longer in vain entreaty and coward wailings.  I listened with a great
+awe, and a sob broke from Mizpah's lips.  It was the prayer for the
+passing soul.  We heard it poured forth in steady tones but swift,
+against the blank face of the cliff.  And we waited to see the rope
+divided at a stroke.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But to our astonishment, Grűl sprang to his feet again, in another
+fury, and flung aside his knife.  With twitching hands he loosened the
+rope and began lowering his victim rapidly, till, within some twenty
+feet of the bottom, the Abbé found a footing, and stopped.  Then Grűl
+tossed the whole rope down upon him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Go!" he cried in his chanting, bell-like tones.  "The cup of your
+iniquity is not yet full.  You shall not die till your soul is so black
+in every part that you will go down straight into hell!"  And turning
+abruptly, he vanished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Black Abbé, as if seized with a faintness, leaned against the rock
+for some minutes.  Then, freeing himself from the rope, he climbed down
+to the foot of the cliff, and moved off slowly by the water's edge
+toward Cobequid.  We trembled lest he should see us, or the canoe,&mdash;I
+having no stomach for an attack upon one who had just gone through so
+dreadful a torment.  But his face, neck, ears, were like a sweating
+candle; and his contracted eyes seemed scarce to see the ground before
+his feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Seemed," I say.  Yet even in this supreme moment, he tricked me.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap16"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XVI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+I Cool My Adversaries' Courage
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+We now, having been so long delayed, gave up our purpose of a fire, and
+contented ourselves with the eggs raw.  I also cut some very thin
+slices of the smoked and salted bacon, to eat with our black bread, for
+I knew that, working as we did, we needed strong food.  But Mizpah
+would not touch the uncooked bacon, though its savour, I assured her,
+was excellent.  We had but well begun our meal, and I was stooping over
+the hard loaf, when a startled exclamation from Mizpah made me look up.
+Close behind us stood Grűl, impatiently twisting his little white rod
+with the scarlet head.  His eyes were somewhat more piercing, more like
+blue flame, than ordinarily, but otherwise he looked as usual.  So
+little mark remained upon him of the scene just enacted.  Both wise and
+mad! I thought.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It struck me that he was pleased with the impression he so plainly made
+on us both, and for a moment he looked upon us in silence.  Then
+swiftly pointing his stick at us, he said sharply:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Fools!  Do you wait here?  But the hound is on the trail.  Do you
+dream he did not see you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then he turned to go.  But Mizpah was at his side instantly, catching
+him by the wrist, and imploring him to tell us which way her child had
+been carried.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Grűl stopped and looked down upon her with austere dignity, but without
+replying.  Passionately Mizpah entreated him, not to be denied; and at
+last, lightly but swiftly removing her fingers from his wrist, he
+muttered oracularly:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They will take him to the sea that is within the heart of the land!
+But go!" he repeated with energy, "or you will not go far!" and with
+steps so smooth that they seemed not to touch the ground, he went past
+the cliff foot.  His gaudy mantle shone for a moment, and he was gone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The ominous urgency of his warning rang in our ears, and we were not
+slow in making our own departure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What does he mean by 'the sea that is within the heart of the land'?"
+asked Mizpah, as we hurriedly launched the canoe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He means the Bras d'Or lakes," I said, "those wonderful reaches of
+land-locked sea that traverse the heart of He Royale.  It is a likely
+enough way for the savages to go.  There are villages both of Acadians
+and of Indians on the island."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As we were to learn afterwards, however, Grűl had told us falsely.  The
+child was not destined for Ile Royale.  Whether the strange being
+really thought he was directing us aright, or, his vanity not
+permitting him to confess that he did not know, trusted to a guess with
+the hope that it might prove a prophecy, I have never been able to
+determine.  As a matter of fact, Fate did presently so take our affairs
+into her own hands, that Grűl's misinformation affected the end not at
+all.  But his warning and his exhortation to speed we had to thank for
+our escape from the perils that soon came upon us.  Had we not been
+thus warned, without doubt we should have been taken unawares and
+perished miserably.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the incidents of our journey for the rest of that day, and up to
+something past noon of the day following, I need not particularly
+dwell.  Suffice to say that we accomplished prodigious things, and that
+Mizpah showed incredible endurance.  It was as if she saw her child
+ever a little way before her, and hoped to come up with him the next
+minute.  When the stream became hopelessly shallow, we got out and
+waded, dragging the canoe.  The long portage to the head of the Pictook
+waters we made in the night, the trail being a clear one, and not
+overly rough.  At the further end of the carry, when I set down the
+canoe at the stream's edge, I could have dropped for weariness, yet
+from Mizpah I heard no complaint; and her silent heroism stirred my
+soul to a deepening passion of worship.  Over and over I told myself
+that night that I would never rest or count the cost till I had given
+the child back to her arms.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Not till we had gone perhaps a mile down the Pictook did I order a
+halt, thrusting the canoe into a secure hiding-place.  We snatched an
+hour of sleep, lying where we stepped ashore.  Then, rising in the
+redness of daybreak, we hurried on, eating as we journeyed.  And now,
+conceiving that it was necessary to keep up her strength, Mizpah ate of
+the uncooked bacon; though she wore a face of great aversion as she did
+so.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When, after hours of unmitigated toil, we reached the head of tide and
+the spacious open reaches of the lower river, I insisted on an hour of
+rest.  Mizpah vowed that she was not exhausted,&mdash;but she slept
+instantly, falling by the side of the canoe as she stepped out.  For
+myself I durst not sleep, but I rested, and watched, and sucked an egg,
+and chewed strips of bacon.  When we pushed off again I felt that we
+must have put a good space between us and our pursuers; and as the ebb
+tide was helping me I made Mizpah go on sleeping, in her place in the
+bow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I will need your help more by and by," said I when she protested, "and
+then you must have all your strength to give me!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The river soon became a wide estuary, with arms and indentations,&mdash;a
+harbour fit to hold a hundred fleets.  Straight down mid-channel I
+steered, the shortest course to the mouth.  But by and by there sprang
+up a light head-wind, delaying me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wake up, comrade," I cried.  "I need your good arm now, against this
+breeze!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She had slept there an hour, and she woke now with a childlike flush in
+her cheeks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How good of you to let me sleep so," she exclaimed, turning to give me
+a grateful glance.  But the expression upon her face changed instantly
+to one of fear, and the colour all went out.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, look behind us!" she gasped.  I had not indeed waited for her
+words.  Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of a large canoe,
+with four savages paddling furiously.  The one glimpse was enough.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, comrade, work!" said I.  "But steady! not too hard!  This is a
+long chase, remember!" and I bent mightily to the paddle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Our pursuers were a good half-mile behind; and had we not been already
+wearied, I believe we could have held our own with them all day.  Our
+canoe was light and swift, Mizpah paddled rarely, and for myself, I
+have never yet been beaten, by red man or white, in a fair canoe-race.
+But as it was, I felt that we must win by stratagem, if the saints
+should so favour us as to let us win at all.  Half a mile ahead, on our
+right, was a high point.  Behind it, as I knew, was a winding estuary
+of several branches, each the debouchement of a small stream.  It was
+an excellent place in which to evade pursuers.  I steered for the high
+point.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As we darted behind its shelter, a backward glance told me that our
+enemies had not gained upon us.  The moment we were hidden from their
+view I put across to the other side of the channel, ran the canoe
+behind a jutting boulder, and leapt out.  Not till we were concealed,
+canoe and all, behind a safe screen of rocks and underbrush, did Mizpah
+ask my purpose, though she plainly marvelled that I should hide so
+close to the entrance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A poor and something public hiding-place is often the most secret,"
+said I.  "The Indians know that up this water there are a score of
+turns, and backwaters, and brook-mouths, wherein we might long evade
+them.  As soon as they saw us turn in here, they doubtless concluded
+that the water was well known to me, and that I would hope to baffle
+them in the inner labyrinths and escape up one of the streams.  They
+will never dream of us stopping here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I see!" she exclaimed eagerly.  "When they have passed in to look for
+us, we will slip out, and push on."  It was haste she thought of rather
+than escape.  No moment passed, I think, when her whole will, her whole
+being, were not focussed upon the finding of the child.  And the more I
+realized the intensity of her love and her pain, the more I marvelled
+at the heroic self-control which forbade her to waste her strength in
+tears and wailings.  The conclusion at which she had now arrived, as to
+my plan, was one I had not thought of, and I considered it before
+replying.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said I, presently; "that is not quite my purpose, though I
+confess it is a good one.  But, comrade, this is a safe ambush!  They
+must pass within close gunshot of us!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh," she cried, paling, and clasping her hands, "<I>must</I> there be more
+blood?  But yes, they bring it on themselves," she went on with a
+sudden fierceness, flushing again, and her mouth growing cruel.  "They
+would keep us from finding him.  Their blood be on their own heads!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am glad you think of that," said I.  "They would have no mercy for
+us if they should take us now.  But indeed, if it will please you to
+have it so, we need not shoot them down.  We can treat them to such a
+medicine as they had before of me, sink their canoe, and leave them
+like drowned rats on the other shore."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Mizpah, quietly; "if that will do as well, it will please
+me much better."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And so it was agreed.  A very few minutes later the canoe appeared,
+rounding into the estuary.  The savages scanned both shores minutely,
+but rather from the habit of caution than from any thought that we
+might have gone to land.  If, however, I had not taken care to make my
+landing behind a boulder, those keen eyes would have marked some
+splashed spots on the shingle, and we would have been discovered.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But no such evil fortune came about.  The four paddles flashed onward
+swiftly.  The four fierce, painted and feathered heads thrust forward
+angrily, expecting to overtake us in one of the inner reaches.  I took
+up Mizpah's musket (which was loaded with slugs, while my own carried a
+bullet, in case I should be called upon for a long and delicate shot),
+and waited until the canoe was just a little more than abreast of us.
+Then, aiming at the waterline, just in front of the bow paddle, I fired.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The effect was instant and complete.  The savage in the bow threw up
+his paddle with a scream and sprang overboard.  He was doubtless
+wounded, and feared a second shot.  We saw him swimming lustily toward
+the opposite shore.  The others paddled desperately in the same
+direction, but before they had gone half-way the canoe was so deep in
+the water that she moved like a log.  Then they, too, seized with the
+fear of a second shot, sprang overboard.  By this time I had the musket
+reloaded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If they get the canoe ashore, with their weapons aboard her," said I,
+"they will soon get her patched up, and we will have it all to do over
+again.  Here goes for another try, whatever heads may be in the way!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mizpah averted her face, but made no protest, and I fired at the stern
+of the canoe, which was directly toward me.  A swimmer's head, close
+by, went down; and in a minute more the canoe did likewise.  Three
+feathered heads remained in sight; and presently three dark figures
+dragged themselves ashore&mdash;one of them limping badly&mdash;and plunged into
+the woods.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Without canoe or guns," said I, "they are fairly harmless for a
+while."  But Mizpah, as we re-embarked and headed again for the sea,
+said nothing.  I think that in her bosom, at this time, womanly
+compassion was striving, and at some disadvantage, with the
+vindictiveness of outraged motherhood.  I think&mdash;and I loved her the
+better for it&mdash;she was glad I had killed one more of her child's
+enemies; but I think, too, she was filled with shame at her gladness.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap17"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XVII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+A Night in the Deep
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Once fairly out again into the harbour, I saw two things that were but
+little to my satisfaction.  Far away up the river were three more
+canoes.  I understood at once that the savages whom we had just worsted
+were the mere vanguard of the Black Abbé's attack.  The new-comers,
+however, were so far behind that I had excellent hopes of eluding them.
+The second matter that gave me concern was the strong head-wind that
+had suddenly arisen.  The look of the sky seemed to promise, moreover,
+that what was now a mere blow might soon become a gale.  It was already
+kicking up a sea that hindered us.  Most women would have been
+terrified at it, but Mizpah seemed to have no thought of fear.  We
+pressed on doggedly.  There was danger ahead, I knew,&mdash;a very serious
+danger, which would tax all my skill to overcome.  But the danger
+behind us was the more menacing.  I felt that there was nothing for it
+but to face the storm and force a passage around the cape.  This
+accomplished,&mdash;if we could accomplish it,&mdash;I knew our pursuers would
+not dare to follow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+About sundown, though the enemy had drawn perceptibly nearer, I
+concluded that we must rest and gather our strength.  I therefore ran
+in behind a little headland, the last shelter we could hope for until
+we should get around the cape.  There we ate a hearty meal, drank from
+a tiny spring, and lay stretched flat on the shore for a quarter of an
+hour.  Then, after an apprehensive look at the angry sea, and a prayer
+that was earnest enough to make up for some scantness in length, I
+cried:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come now, comrade, and be brave."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am not afraid, Monsieur," she answered quietly.  "If anything
+happens, I know it will not be because you have failed in anything that
+the bravest and truest of men could hope to do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think that God will help us," said I.  That some one greater than
+ourselves does sometimes help us in such perils, I know, whatever
+certain hasty men who speak out of a plentiful lack of experience may
+declare to the contrary.  But whether this help be a direct
+intervention of God himself, or the succour of the blessed saints, or
+the watchful care of one's guardian spirit, I have never been able to
+conclude to my own satisfaction.  And very much thought have I given to
+the matter by times, lying out much under the stars night after night,
+and carrying day by day my life in my hands.  However it might be, I
+felt sustained and comforted as we put out that night.  The storm was
+now so wild that it would have been perilous to face in broad daylight
+and with a strong man at the bow paddle.  Yet I believed that we should
+win through.  I felt that my strength, my skill, my sureness of
+judgment, were of a sudden made greater than I could commonly account
+them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But whatever strength may have been graciously vouchsafed to me that
+night, I found that I needed it all.  The night fell not darkly, but
+with a clear sky, and the light of stars, and a diffused glimmer from
+the white crests of the waves.  The gale blew right on shore, and the
+huge roar of the surf thundering in our ears seemed presently to blunt
+our sense of peril.  The great waves now hung above us, white-crested
+and hissing, till one would have said we were in the very pit of doom.
+A moment more, and the light craft would seem to soar upward as the
+wave slipped under it, a wrenching turn of my wrist would drive her on
+a slant through the curling top of foam, and then we would slide
+swiftly into the pit again, down a steep slope of purplish blackness
+all alive with fleeting eyes of white light.  The strain upon my wrist,
+the mighty effort required at each wave lest we should broach to and be
+rolled over, were something that I had never dreamed to endure.  Yet I
+did endure it.  And as for the brave woman in the bow, she simply
+paddled on, steadily, strongly, without violence, so that I learned to
+depend on her for just so much force at each swift following crisis.
+For there was a new crisis every moment,&mdash;with a moment's grace as we
+slipped into each succeeding pit.  At last we found ourselves off the
+cape,&mdash;and then well out into the open Strait, yet not engulfed.  A
+little,&mdash;just as much as I durst, and that was very little,&mdash;I shifted
+our course toward south.  This brought a yet heavier strain upon my
+wrist, but there was no help for it if we would hope to get beyond the
+cape.  How long we were I know not.  I lost the sense of time.  I had
+no faculty left save those that were in service now to battle back
+destruction.  But at last I came to realize that we were well clear of
+the cape, that the sound of the breakers had dwindled, and that the
+time had come to turn.  To turn?  Ay, but could it be done?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It could but be tried.  To go on thus much longer was, I knew,
+impossible.  My strength would certainly fail by and by.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Comrade," said I,&mdash;and my voice sounded strange, as if long
+unused,&mdash;"keep paddling steadily as you are, but the moment I say
+'change,' paddle <I>hard</I> on the other side."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, Monsieur!" she answered as quietly as if we had been walking in a
+garden.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I watched the approach of one of those great waves which would, as I
+knew, have as vast a fellow to follow upon it.  As soon as we were well
+over the crest I began to turn.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Change!" I shouted.  And Mizpah's paddle flashed to the other side.
+Down we slanted into the pit.  We lay at the bottom for a second,
+broadside on,&mdash;then we got the little craft fairly about as she rose.
+A second more, and the wind caught us, and completed the turn,&mdash;and the
+next crest was fairly at my back.  I drew a huge breath, praising God
+and St. Joseph; and we ran in toward the hollow of the land before us.
+That part of the coast was strange to me, save as seen when passing by
+ship; but I trusted there would be some estuary or some winding, within
+which we might safely come to land.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The strain was now different, and therefore my nerves and muscles felt
+a temporary relief; but it was still tremendous.  There was still the
+imminent danger of broaching to as each wave-crest seized and twisted
+the frail craft.  But having the wind behind me, I had of course more
+steerage way, and therefore a more instant and effective control.  We
+ran on straight before the wind, but a few points off; and with
+desperate anxiety I peered ahead for some hint of shelter on that wild
+lee shore.  Mizpah, of course, knew the unspeakable strain of wielding
+the stern paddle in such a sea.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you made of steel, Monsieur?" she presently asked.  "I can hardly
+believe it possible that the strength of human sinews should endure so
+long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mine, alas, will not endure much longer, comrade," said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And what then?" she asked, in a steady voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do not know," said I; "but there is hope.  I think we have not been
+brought through all this for nothing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The roar of the breakers grew louder and louder again, as we gradually
+neared the high coast which seemed to slip swiftly past on our right
+hand.  It was black and appalling, serried along the crest with tops of
+fir trees, white along the base with the great gnashing of the
+breakers.  As we ran into the head of the bay, with yet no sign of a
+shelter, the seas got more perilous, being crowded together and broken
+so that I could not calculate upon them.  Soon they became a mad
+smother; and I knew my strength for this bout had but little longer to
+last.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The end!" said I; "but we may win through!  I will catch you when the
+crash comes."  And some blind prayer, I know not what, kept repeating
+and repeating in the inward silence of my soul.  New strength seemed
+then to flow upon nerve and sinew,&mdash;and I descried, almost ahead of us,
+a space of smooth and sloping beach up which the seas rushed without
+rock to shatter them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is our chance," I shouted.  A wave came, smoother and more whole
+than most, and paddling desperately I kept awhile upon the crest of it.
+Then like a flash it curled thinly, rolled the canoe over, and hurled
+us far up on the beach.  Half blinded, half stunned, and altogether
+choking, I yet kept my wits; and catching Mizpah by the arm, I dragged
+her violently forward beyond reach of the next wave.  Dropping her
+without a word, I turned back, and was just in time to catch the
+rolling canoe.  It, too, I succeeded in dragging to a place of safety;
+but it was so shattered and crushed as to be useless.  The muskets,
+however, were in it; for I had taken care to lash them under the bars
+before leaving the shelter of the inlet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The remnants of the canoe I hauled far up on the beach, and then I
+returned to Mizpah, who lay in utter exhaustion just where I had
+dropped her, so close to the water's edge that she was splashed by the
+spray of every wave.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come, comrade," I said, lifting her gently.  "The saints have indeed
+been kind to us."  But she made no reply.  Leaning heavily upon me, and
+moving as if in a dream, she let me lead her to the edge of the wood,
+where the herbage began behind a sort of windrow of rocks.  There,
+seeing that the rocks shut off the wind, I released her, and dropping
+on the spot, she went at once to sleep.  Then I felt myself suddenly as
+weak as a baby.  I had no more care for anything save to sleep.  I
+tried to pluck a bunch of herbage to put under Mizpah's head for a
+pillow; but even as I stooped to gather it, I forgot where I was, and
+the tide of dreams flowed over me.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap18"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XVIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The <I>Osprey</I>, of Plymouth
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It must have been a good two hours that I slept.  I woke with a start,
+with a sense of some duty left undone.  I was in an awkward position,
+half on my side amid stones and underbrush, my arms clasping the bundle
+of herbage which I had meant for Mizpah's pillow.  The daylight was
+fairly established, blue and cold, though the sun was not yet visible.
+The gale hummed shrilly as ever, the huge waves thundered on the
+trembling beach, and all seaward was such a white and purple hell of
+raving waters that I shuddered at the sight of it.  Mizpah was still
+sleeping.  As I looked at her the desire for sleep came over me again
+with deadly strength, but I resisted it, rushing down to the edge of
+the surf, and facing a chill buffet of driven spume.  I took another
+glance at the canoe.  It was past mending.  The two muskets were there,
+but everything else was gone, washed away, or ground upon the rocks.
+After much searching, however, to my delight I found a battered roll of
+bacon wedged into a cleft.  Pouncing upon this, I bore it in triumph to
+Mizpah.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wake up, comrade," I cried, shaking her softly.  "We must be getting
+away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The poor girl roused herself with difficulty, and sat up.  When she
+tried to stand, she toppled over, and would have fallen if I had not
+caught her by the arms.  It was some minutes before she could control
+the stiffness of her limbs.  At last the whipping of the wind somewhat
+revived her, and sitting down upon a rock she looked about with a face
+of hopeless misery.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Eat a little," said I, gently, "for we must get away from here at
+once, lest our enemies come over the hills to look for us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But she pushed aside the untempting, sodden food which I held out to
+her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Whither shall we go?" she asked heavily.  "The canoe is wrecked.  How
+can we find my boy?  Oh, I wish I could die!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Poor girl! my heart ached for her.  I knew how her utter and terrible
+exhaustion had at last sapped that marvellous courage of hers; but I
+felt that roughness would be her best tonic, though it was far indeed
+from my heart to speak to her roughly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shame!" said I, in a voice of stern rebuke.  "Have you struggled and
+endured so long, to give up now?  Will you leave Philip to the savages
+because a canoe is broken?  Where is your boasted courage?  Why, we
+will walk, instead of paddling.  Come at once."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even this rebuke but half aroused her.  "I'm so thirsty," she said,
+looking around with heavy eyes.  By good Providence, there was a
+slender stream trickling in at this point, and I led her to it.  While
+she drank and bathed her face, I grubbed in the long grasses growing
+beside the stream, and found a handful of those tuberous roots which
+the Indians call ground-nuts.  These I made her eat, after which she
+was able to endure a little of the salt bacon.  Presently, she became
+more like herself, and began to grieve at the weakness which she had
+just shown.  Her humiliation was so deep that I had much ado to comfort
+her, telling her again and again that she was not responsible for what
+she had said when she was yet but half awake, and in the bonds of a
+weariness which would have killed most women.  I told her, which was
+nothing less than true, that I held her for the bravest of women, and
+that no man could have supported me better than she had done.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We pushed our way straight over the height of land which runs seaward
+and ends in Cape Merigomish.  Our way lay through a steep but pleasant
+woodland, and by the time the sun was an hour high we had walked off
+much of our fatigue.  The tree tops rocked and creaked high above us,
+but where we walked the wind troubled us not.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where are we going?" asked Mizpah, by and by&mdash;somewhat tremulously for
+she still had in mind my censure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, comrade," said I, in a cheerful, careless manner of speech, a
+thousand miles away from the devotion in my heart,&mdash;"my purpose is to
+push straight along the coast to Canseau.  There we will find a few of
+your country-folk, fishermen mostly, and from them we will get a boat
+to carry us up the Bras d'Or."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what will become of Philip, all this time?" she questioned, with
+haggard eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As a matter of fact," I answered, "I don't think we will lose much
+time, after all.  If we still had the canoe, we would be storm-bound in
+the bay back there till the wind changes or subsides&mdash;and it may be
+days before it does the one or the other.  As it is, the worst that has
+befallen us is the loss of our ammunition and our bread.  But we will
+make shift to live, belike, till we reach Canseau."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, Monsieur," she cried, in answer, with a great emotion in her
+voice, "you give me hope when my despair is blackest.  You seem to me
+more generous, more brave, more strong, than I had dreamed the greatest
+could be.  What makes you so good to an unhappy mother, so faithfully
+devoted to a poor baby whom you have never seen?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tut, tut!" said I, roughly; "I but do as any proper minded man would
+do that had the right skill and the fitting opportunity.  Thank Marc!"
+But I might have told her more if I had let my heart speak truth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know whom to thank, and all my life long will I pray Heaven to bless
+that one!" said Mizpah.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus talking by the way, but most of the way silent, we came at length
+over Merigomish and down to the sea again, fetching the shore at the
+head of a second bay.  This was all in a smother and a roar, like that
+we had just left behind.  As we rounded the head of it, we came upon a
+little sheltered creek, and there, safe out of the gale, lay a small
+New England fishing schooner.  I knew her by the build for a New
+Englander, before I saw the words OSPREY, PLYMOUTH, painted in red
+letters on her stern.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here is fortune indeed!" said I, while a cry of gladness sprang to
+Mizpah's lips.  "I'll charter the craft to take us up the Bras d'Or."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The little ship lay in a very pleasant idleness.  The small haven was
+full of sun, the green, wooded hills sloping softly down about it and
+shutting off all winds.  The water heaved and rocked; but smoothly,
+stirred by the yeasty tumult that roared past the narrow entrance.  The
+clamour of the surf outside made the calm within the more excellent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Several gray figures of the crew lay sprawling about the deck, which we
+could see very well, by reason of the steepness of the shore on which
+we stood.  In the waist was a gaunt, brown-faced man, with a scant,
+reddish beard, a nose astonishingly long and sharp, and a blue woollen
+cap on the back of his head.  He stood leaning upon the rail watching
+us, and spitting contemplatively into the water from time to time.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We climbed down to the beach beside the schooner, and I spoke to the
+man in English.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are you the captain?" I asked civilly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They do say I be," he answered in a thin, high, sing-song of a voice.
+"Captain Ezra Bean, Schooner <I>Osprey</I>, of Plymouth, at your sarvice."
+And he waved his hand with a spacious air.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I bowed with ceremony.  "And I am your very humble servant," said I,
+"the Sieur de Briart, of Canard by Grand Pré.  We were on our way to
+Canseau, but have lost our canoe and stores in the gale.  We are bold
+to hope, Captain, that you will sell us some bread, as also some powder
+and bullets.  We did not lose our little money, Heaven be praised!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Knowing these New Englanders to be greedy of gain, but highly honest, I
+made no scruple of admitting that we had money about us.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come right aboard, good sirs!" said the captain; and in half a minute
+the gig, which floated at the stern, was thrust around to us, and we
+clambered to the deck of the <I>Osprey</I>, where crew and captain, five in
+all, gathered about us without ceremony.  The captain, I could see at
+once, was just one of themselves, obeyed when he gave orders, but
+standing in no sort of formal aloofness.  Cold salt beef, and biscuit
+and cheese, and tea, were soon set before us, and as we made a hasty
+meal they all hung about us and talked, as if we had been in one of
+their home kitchens on Massachusetts Bay.  As for Mizpah, who felt
+little at ease in playing her man's part, she spoke only in French, and
+made as if she knew no word of English.  Captain Ezra Bean had some
+French, but no facility in it, and a pronunciation that was beyond
+measure execrable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But at last, being convinced that they were honest fellows, I spoke of
+chartering the <I>Osprey</I>, and in explanation told the main part of our
+story, representing Mizpah as a youth of Canard.  But, alas, I had not
+read my men aright.  Honest they were, and exceeding eager to turn an
+honest penny,&mdash;but they had not the stomach for fighting.  When they
+found that a war party of Micmacs was in chase of us, they fell into a
+great consternation, and insisted on our instant departure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this I was all taken aback, for I had ever found the men of New
+England as diligent in war as in trade.  But these fellows were in a
+shaking terror for their lives and for their ship.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, gentlemen," I said, in a heat, "here are seven of us, well armed!
+We will make short work of the red rascals, if they are so foolhardy as
+to attack us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But no!  They would hear none of it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's no quarrel of mine!" cried Captain Ezra Bean, in his high
+sing-song, but in a great hurry.  "My dooty's to my ship.  There's been
+many of our craft fell afoul of these here savages, and come to grief.
+We're fast right here till the wind changes, and we'll just speak the
+redskins fair if they come nigh us, an' there ain't goin' to be no
+trouble.  But you must go your ways, gentlemen, begging your pardon;
+and no ill will, I hope!"  And the boat being hauled around for us,
+they all made haste to bid us farewell.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mizpah, with a flushed face, stepped in at once; but I hung back a
+little, sick with their cowardly folly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"At least," said I, angrily, "you must sell me a sack of bread, and
+some powder and ball.  Till I get them I swear I will not go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sartinly!" sing-songed the captain; and in a twinkling the supplies
+were in the boat.  "Now go, and God speed ye!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I slipped a piece of gold into his hand, and was off.  But frightened
+as he was, he was honest, and in half a minute he called me back.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here is your silver," came the queer, high voice over the rail.  "You
+have overpaid me three times," and I saw his long arm reaching out to
+me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Keep it," I snapped.  "We are in more haste to be gone than you to get
+rid of us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In five minutes more the woods enfolded us, and the little <I>Osprey</I> was
+hid from our view.  I walked violently in my wrathful disappointment,
+till at last Mizpah checked me.  "If the good soldier," said she,
+"might advise his captain, which would be, of course, intolerable, I
+would dare to remind you of what you have said to me more than once
+lately.  Is not this pace too hot to last, Monsieur?"  And stopping,
+she leaned heavily on her musket.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Forgive me," I exclaimed, flinging myself down on the moss.  "And what
+a fool I am to be angry, too, just because those poor bumpkins wouldn't
+take up our quarrel."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The look of gratitude which Mizpah gave me for that little phrase, "our
+quarrel," made my heart on a sudden strong and light.  Presently we
+resumed our journey, going moderately, and keeping enough inland to
+avoid the windings of the coast.  The little <I>Osprey</I> we never saw
+again; but months later, when it came to my ears that a fishing vessel
+of Plymouth had been taken by the Indians that autumn while
+storm-stayed at Merigomish, and her crew all slain, I felt a qualm of
+pity for the poor lads whose selfish fears had so misguided them.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap19"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XIX
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Camp by Canseau Strait
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+It was perhaps to their encounter with the <I>Osprey</I> we owed it that we
+saw no more of our pursuers.  At any rate we were no further
+persecuted.  After two days of marching we felt safe to light fires.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We shot partridges, and a deer; and the fresh meat put new vigour into
+our veins.  We came to the beginning of the narrow strait which severs
+Ile Royale from the main peninsula of Acadie; and with longing eyes
+Mizpah gazed across, as if hoping to discern the child amid the trees
+of the opposite shore.  At last, I could but say to her:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are a long, long way from Philip yet, my comrade; were we across
+this narrow strait, we would be no nearer to him, for the island is so
+cut up with inland waters, many, deep, and winding, that it would take
+us months to traverse its length afoot.  We must push on to Canseau,
+for a boat is needful to us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And all these days, in the quiet of the great woods, in the stillness
+of the wilderness nights when often I watched her sleeping, in the
+hours while she walked patiently by my side, her brave, sweet face wan
+with grief suppressed, her eyes heavy with longing, my love grew.  It
+took possession of my whole being till this doubtful, perilous journey
+seemed all that I could desire, and the world we had left behind us
+became but a blur with only Marc's white face in the midst to give it
+consequence.  Nevertheless, though my eyes and my spirit waited upon
+all her movements, I suffered no least suggestion of my worship to
+appear, but ever with rough kindliness played the part of
+companion-at-arms.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+One morning,&mdash;it was our fifth day from the <I>Osprey</I>, but since
+reaching the Strait we had become involved in swamps, and made a very
+pitifully small advance,&mdash;one morning, I say, when it wanted perhaps an
+hour of noon, we were both startled by a sound of groaning.  Mizpah
+came closer to me, and put her hand upon my arm.  We stood listening
+intently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is some one hurt," said I, in a moment, "and he is in that gully
+yonder."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cautiously, lest there should be some trap, we followed the sound; and
+we discovered, at the bottom of a narrow cleft, an Indian lad lying
+wedged between sharp rocks, with the carcass of a fat buck fallen
+across his body.  It was plain to me at once that the young savage had
+slipped while staggering under his load of venison.  I hesitated; for
+what more likely than that there should be other Indians in the
+neighbourhood; but Mizpah cried at once:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, we must help him!  Quick!  Come, Monsieur!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And in truth the lad's face appealed to me, for he was but a stripling,
+little younger than Marc.  Very gently we released him from his
+agonizing position; and when we had laid him on a patch of smooth moss,
+his groaning ceased.  His lips were parched, and when I brought him
+water he swallowed it desperately.  Then Mizpah bathed his face.
+Presently his eyes opened, rested upon her with a look of unutterable
+gratitude, and closed again.  Mizpah's own eyes were brimming with
+tears, and she turned to me in a sort of appeal, as if she would say:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How can we leave him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let him be for a half hour now," said I, answering her look.  "Then
+perhaps he will be able to talk to us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We ate our meal without daring to light a fire.  Then we sat in silence
+by the sleeping lad, till at last he opened his eyes, and murmured in
+the Micmac tongue, "water."  When he had taken a drink, I offered him
+biscuit, of which he ate a morsel.  Then, speaking in French, I asked
+him whence he came; and how he came to be in such a plight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He answered faintly in the same tongue.  "I go from Malpic," said he,
+"to the Shubenacadie, with messages.  I shot a buck, on the rock there,
+and he fell into the gully.  As I was getting him out I fell in myself,
+and the carcass on top of me.  I know no more till I open my eyes, and
+my mouth is hard, and kind friends are giving me water.  Then I sleep
+again, for I feel all safe," and with a grateful smile his eyes closed
+wearily.  He was fast asleep again, before I could ask any more
+questions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come away," I whispered to Mizpah, "till we talk about this."  She
+came, but first, with a tender thoughtfulness, she leaned her musket
+against a tree, with his own beside it, so that if he should wake while
+we were gone he should at once see the two weapons, and know that he
+was not deserted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When we were out of earshot, I turned and looked into her eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is to be done with him?" I asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We must stay and take care of him," said she, steadily, "till he can
+take care of himself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And Philip?" I questioned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She burst into tears, flung herself down, and buried her face in her
+hands.  After sobbing violently for some minutes she grew calm, dashed
+her tears away, and looked at me in a kind of despair.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The poor boy cannot be left to die here alone," she said, in a shaken
+voice.  "It is perfectly plain what we must do.  Oh, God, take care of
+my poor lonely little one."  And again she covered her eyes.  I took
+one of her hands in mine, and pressed it firmly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If there is justice in Heaven, he will," I cried passionately.  "And
+he will; I know he will.  I think there never was a nobler woman than
+you, my comrade."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You do not know me," she answered, in a low voice; and rising, she
+returned to the sick boy's side.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Seeing that we were here for some days, or perchance a week, I raised
+two hasty shelters of brush and poles.  That night the patient wandered
+in his mind, but in the morning the fever had left him, and
+thenceforward he mended swiftly.  His gratitude and his docility were
+touching, and his eyes followed Mizpah as would the eyes of a faithful
+dog.  I think his insight penetrated her disguise, so that from the
+first he knew her for a woman; but his native delicacy kept him from
+betraying his knowledge.  As far as I could see, there were no bones
+broken, and I guessed that in a week at furthest he would be able to
+resume his journey without risk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For three days I troubled him not with further questions, Mizpah having
+so decreed.  She said that questioning would hinder his recovery; but I
+think she feared what questioning might disclose.  At last, as we
+finished supper, of which he had well partaken, he rose feebly but with
+determination, took a few tottering paces, and then came back to his
+couch, where he lay with gleaming eyes of satisfaction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I walk now pretty soon," said he.  "Not keep kind friends here much
+longer.  Which way you going when you stopped to take care of Indian
+boy?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I looked across at Mizpah, then made up my mind to speak plainly.  If I
+knew anything at all of human nature, this boy was to be trusted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are going to Ile Royale," said I, "to look for a little boy whom
+some of your tribe have cruelly carried off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+His face became the very picture of shame and grief.  He looked first
+at one of us, then the other; and presently dropped his head upon his
+breast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, what is the matter, Xavier?" I asked.  He had said his name was
+Xavier.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know," he answered, in a low voice.  "It was some of my own people
+did it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"<I>What</I> do you know?  Tell us, oh, tell us everything!  Oh, we helped
+you!  You will surely help us find him!" pleaded Mizpah, breathlessly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By all the blessed saints," he cried, with an earnestness that I felt
+to be sincere, "I will try to help you.  I will risk anything.  I will
+disobey the Abbé.  I will&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where <I>is</I> the child?  Do you know that?" I interrupted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, truly," he replied.  "They have taken him north to Gaspé, and to
+the St. Lawrence.  My uncle, Etienne le Batard, was in canoe that
+brought him to mouth of the Pictook.  Then other canoe took him north,
+where a French family will keep him.  The Abbé says he shall grow up a
+monk.  But he is not starved or beaten, I swear truly."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How do you know all this?" I asked, looking at him piercingly.  But
+his eye was clear and met mine right honestly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My uncle came to Malpic straight," said he, "where the warriors had a
+council.  Then I was sent with word to my father, Big Etienne, who is
+on the Shubenacadie."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What word?" I asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the boy shook his head.  "It does not touch the little boy.  It
+does not touch my kind friends.  I may not tell it," he said, with a
+brave dignity.  I loved him for this, and trusted him the more.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This lad's tongue and heart are true," said I, looking at Mizpah.  "We
+may trust him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know it!" said she.  Whereupon he reached out, grasped a hand of
+each, and kissed them with a freedom of emotion which I have seldom
+seen in the full blood Indian.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You may trust me," he said, in a low voice, being by this something
+wearied.  "You give me my life.  And I will help you find your child."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And the manner of his speech, as if he considered the child <I>our</I>
+child, though it was but accident, stirred me sweetly at the
+heart,&mdash;and I durst not trust myself to meet Mizpah's eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus it came about that, after all, we crossed not the narrow strait,
+nor set foot in Ile Royale.  But when, three days later, I judged our
+patient sufficiently recovered, we set our faces again toward the
+Shubenacadie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The journey was exceeding slow, but to me very far from tedious, for in
+rain or shine, or dark or bright, the light shone on me of my
+mistress's face.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And at last, after many days of toilsome wandering, we struck the head
+waters of the Shubenacadie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From this point forward we went with more caution.  When we were come
+within an hour of the Indian village, Xavier parted company with us.
+The river here making a long loop, so to speak, we were to cross behind
+the village at a safe distance, strike the tide again, and hide at a
+certain point covered with willows till Xavier should bring us a canoe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We reached the point, hid ourselves among the willows, and waited close
+upon two hours.  The shadows were falling long across the river, and
+our anxieties rising with more than proportioned speed, when, at last,
+a canoe shot around a bend of the river, and made swiftly for the
+point.  We saw Xavier in the bow, but there was a tall, powerful
+warrior in the stern.  As the canoe drew near, Mizpah caught me
+anxiously by the arm.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That man was one of the band that captured us at Annapolis," she
+whispered.  "What does it mean?  <I>Could</I> Xavier mean to&mdash;?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," I interrupted; "of course not, comrade.  These Indians are never
+treacherous to those who have earned their gratitude.  Savages though
+they be, they set civilization a shining example in that.  There is
+nothing to fear here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Landing just below us, the two Indians came straight toward our
+hiding-place.  At the edge of the wood the tall warrior, whom I now
+knew for a certainty to be Big Etienne himself, stopped, and held out
+both his hands, palm upwards.  I at once stepped forth to meet him,
+leaving my musket behind me.  But Mizpah who followed me closely, clung
+to hers,&mdash;which might have convinced me, had I needed conviction, that
+hero though she was she was yet all woman.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You my brother and my sister!" said the tall warrior at once, speaking
+with dignity, but with little of Xavier's fluency.  He knew Mizpah.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am glad my brother's heart is turned towards us at last," said I.
+"My brother knows what injury has been done to us, and what we suffer
+at the hands of his people."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Listen," said he, solemnly.  "You give me back my son, my only son, my
+young brave," and he looked at Xavier with loving pride; "for that I
+can never pay you; but I give you back your son, too, see?  And, now,
+always, I am your brother.  But now, you go home.  I find the child
+away north, by the Great River.  I put him in your arms, safe,
+laughing,&mdash;so;" and he made as if to place a little one in Mizpah's
+arms.  "Then you believe I love you, and Xavier love you.  But now,
+come; not good to stay here more."  And, turning abruptly, he led the
+way to the canoe, and himself taking the stern paddle, while Xavier
+took the bow, motioned us to get in.  I hesitated; whereupon he cried:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Many of our people out this way.  River not safe for you now.  We take
+you to Grand Pré, Canard, Pereau,&mdash;where you want.  Then go north.
+Better so."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Seeing the strong reason in his words, I accepted his offer thankfully,
+but insisted upon taking the bow myself, because Xavier was not yet
+well enough to paddle strongly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus we set out, going swiftly with the tide.  As we journeyed, Big
+Etienne was at great pains to make us understand that it would take him
+many weeks to find Philip and bring him back to us, because the way was
+long and difficult.  He said we must not look to see the lad before the
+snow lay deep; but he bound himself to bring him back in safety,
+barring visitation of God.  I saw that Mizpah now trusted the tall
+warrior even as I did.  I felt that he would make good his pledge at
+any hazard.  I urged, however, that he should take me with him; but on
+this point he was obstinate, saying that my presence would only make
+his task the more difficult, for reasons which occurred to me very
+readily.  It cost me a struggle to give up my purpose of being myself
+the child's rescuer, and so winning the more credit in Mizpah's eyes.
+But this selfish prompting of my heart I speedily crushed (for which I
+thank Heaven) when I saw that Big Etienne's plan was the best that
+could be devised for Philip.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Some miles below the point where the river was already widening, we
+passed a group of Indians with their canoes drawn up on the shore,
+waiting to ascend with the returning tide.  Recognizing Big Etienne in
+the stern, they paid us no attention beyond a friendly hail.  Late in
+the evening we camped, well beyond the river mouth.  Once on the
+following morning, when far out upon the bosom of the bay, we passed a
+canoe that was bound for the Shubenacadie, and again the presence and
+parting hail of our protector saved us from question.  Our halts for
+meals were brief and far apart, but light headwinds baffled us much on
+the journey, so that it was not till toward evening of the second day
+out from the Shubenacadie mouth that we paddled into the Canard, and
+drew up at Giraud's little landing under the bank.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap20"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XX
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Fellowship Dissolved
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+In Giraud's cabin during our absence things had gone tranquilly.  We
+found Marc mending,&mdash;pale and weak indeed, but happy; Prudence no
+longer pale, and with a content in her eyes which told us that her time
+had not been all passed in grieving for our absence.  Father Fafard was
+in charge, of course; and of the Black Abbé there had been nothing seen
+or heard since our departure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nevertheless there was great news, and a word that deeply concerned me.
+De Ramezay had led his little army against Annapolis.  Just ten days
+before had he passed up the Valley; and for me he had left an urgent
+message, begging me to join him immediately on my return.  This was a
+black disappointment; for just now my soul desired nothing so much as a
+few days of quiet converse with Mizpah, and the chance to show her a
+courtesy something different from the rough comradeship of our
+wilderness travels.  But this was not to be.  It was incumbent upon me
+to go in the morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That evening was a busy one; but I snatched leisure to sit by Marc's
+bedside and give the dear lad a hasty outline of our adventure.  The
+tale called a flush to his face, and breathless exclamations from
+Prudence; but Mizpah sat in silence, save for a faint protest once or
+twice when I told of her heroism, and of her noble self-sacrifice on
+behalf of the Indian lad.  She was weighed down with a sadness which
+she could make no pretence to hide,&mdash;doubtless feeling the more little
+Philip's absence and loneliness as she contemplated Marc's joy on my
+return.  My hands and lips ached with a longing to comfort her, but I
+firmly forbade myself to intrude upon her sorrow.  By and by, when I
+spoke of my positive determination to set out for Annapolis in the
+early morning, both Marc and Prudence strove hard to dissuade me,
+crying out fervently against my going; but Mizpah said nothing more
+than&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why not take <I>one day</I>, at least, to rest?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And I was somewhat hurt at the quiet way she said it.  Said I to myself
+within, "She might spare me a little thought, now that she knows Philip
+is safe, and sure to be brought back to her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the morning I saw Big Etienne and Xavier set forth upon their
+quest,&mdash;and Mizpah stood beside me to wish them a grateful "God-speed."
+Pale and sad as was the exquisite Madonna face, her lips were
+marvellously red, and wore an unwonted tenderness.  Her eyes evaded
+mine,&mdash;which hurt me sorely, but I was comforted a little by her word
+as the canoe slipped silently away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wish we were going with them," said she, in a wistful voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was that "we" that stirred my heart.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Would to God we were!" said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Half an hour later I hung over my dear lad's pallet, pressing his
+hands, and bidding him adieu, and kissing his gaunt cheeks.  When at
+last I turned away, dashing some unexpected drops from my eyes (for I
+had eagerly desired his comradeship in this venture, and had dreamed of
+him fighting at my side), I found that Prudence and the Curé had gone
+down to the landing to see me off, and that Mizpah stood alone just
+outside the door, looking pale and tired.  I think I was aggrieved that
+she should not take the trouble to walk down as far as the
+landing,&mdash;and this may have lent my voice a touch of reserve.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good-bye, Madame," said I, holding out my hand.  "May God keep you!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In truth it lay heavily upon my soul that she should not have one
+thought to spare from the child, for me.  Yet I was not prepared for
+the way she took my farewell.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was 'comrade' but yesterday," she murmured, flushing, and
+withdrawing her hand ere I could give it an instant's pressure.  But
+growing straightway pale again, she added with the stateliness so
+native to her:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Farewell, Monsieur.  May God keep you also!  My gratitude to the most
+gallant of gentlemen, to the bravest and truest succourer of those in
+need, I must ask you to believe in without words; for truly I have no
+words to express it."  And with that she turned away, leaving me most
+sore at heart for something more than gratitude.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few minutes later, when I had made my adieux to Father Fafard, and
+kissed Marc's lily maid, as was my right and duty, I had a surprise
+which sent me on my way something more happily.  As our canoe (I had
+Giraud with me now) slipped round a little bluff below the settlement,
+I caught the flutter of a gown among the trees; and the next instant
+Mizpah appeared, waving her handkerchief.  She had gone a good
+half-mile to wave me a last God-speed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For an instant, as I bared my head, I had a vision of her hair all down
+about her, a glory that I can never think of without a trembling in my
+throat.  I saw a speaking tenderness in her Madonna face,&mdash;and I seemed
+to hear in my heart a call which assuredly her lips did not utter; then
+my eyes blurred, so hard was it to keep from turning back.  I leaned my
+head forward for a moment on my arms, as if I had been a soft boy, but
+feeling the canoe swerve instantly from its course, I rose at once and
+resumed my paddling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nevertheless I turned my head ever and anon toward the shore behind,
+till I could catch no more the flutter of her gown among the trees.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have wondered many times since, how Mizpah's hair chanced then to be
+down about her in that fashion.  Did some wanton branch undo it as she
+came hastily through the trees?  Or did her own long fingers loosen it
+for me?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Of de Ramezay's vain march against Annapolis I need not speak with any
+fulness here.  The September weather was propitious, wherefore the
+expedition was an agreeable jaunt for the troops.  But my good friend
+the Commander found the fort too strong and too well garrisoned for the
+force he had brought against it; and the great fleet from France which
+was to have supported him came never to drop anchor in the basin of
+secure Port Royal.  It is an ill tale for French ears to hear, for
+French lips to relate, that which tells of the thronged and mighty
+ships which sailed from France so proudly to restore the Flag of the
+Lilies to her ancient strongholds.  Oh, my Country, what hadst thou
+done, that the stars in their courses should fight against thee?  For,
+indeed, the hand of fate upon the ships was heavy from the first.
+Great gales scattered them.  By twos and threes they met the English
+foe, and were destroyed; or disease broke out amongst their crews, till
+they were forced to flee back into port with their dying; or they
+struggled on through infinite toil and pain, to be hurled to wreck on
+our iron capes of Acadie.  The few that came in safety fled back again
+when they knew the fate of their fellows.  And our grim-visaged
+adversaries of New England, rejoicing in their great deliverance, set
+themselves to singing psalms of praise with great lustihood through
+their noses.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And for my own part, when I reached de Ramezay's camp, the enterprise
+was already as good as abandoned.  For a week longer, less to annoy the
+enemy, than to spy out the land and commune with the inhabitants, we
+lay before Annapolis.  Then de Ramezay struck camp, and bade his
+grumbling companions march back to Chignecto.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But of me he asked a service.  And, though I had hoped to go at once to
+Canard, I could not, in honour, deny him.  I saw him and his little
+army marching back whither my heart was fain to drag me also; but my
+face was set seaward, whither I had no desire to go.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For the matter was, that de Ramezay had affairs with the Abenaqui
+chiefs of the Penobscot, which affairs he was now unable to tend in
+person, and which he durst hardly entrust to a subordinate, or to one
+unused to dealing with our savage allies.  He knew my credit among the
+Penobscot tribes,&mdash;and indeed, he would have been sorely put to it, had
+I denied him in the matter.  The affair carried me from the Penobscot
+country on to the St. Lawrence, and then to Montreal.  The story of it
+is not pertinent to this narrative, and moreover, which is more to the
+purpose, the affair was no less private in its nature than public in
+its import.  Suffice to say of it, therefore, that with my utmost
+despatch it engaged me up to the closing of the year.  It was not till
+January was well advanced that I found myself again in de Ramezay's
+camp at Chignecto, and looked out across the snow-glittering marshes to
+the dear hills of Acadie.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I found that during my absence things had happened.  The English
+governor at Annapolis, conceiving that the Acadians were restless to
+throw off the English yoke, had called upon New England for
+reinforcements.  In answer, Boston had sent five hundred of her gaunt
+and silent soldiery, bitter fighters, drinkers of strong rum, quaintly
+sanctimonious in their cups.  Their leader was one Colonel Noble, a man
+of excellent courage, but small discretion, and with a foolish contempt
+for his enemies.  These men, as de Ramezay told me, were now quartered
+in Grand Pré village, and lying carelessly.  It was his purpose to
+attack them at once.  But being himself weak from a recent sickness, he
+was obliged to place the conduct of the enterprise in the hands of his
+second in command.  This, as I rejoiced to learn, was a very capable
+and experienced officer, Monsieur de Villiers,&mdash;the same who, some
+years later, was to capture the young Virginian captain, Mr.
+Washington, at Fort Necessity.  Though our force was less than that of
+the New Englanders, de Ramezay and de Villiers both trusted to the
+advantages of a surprise and a night attack.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For my own part I liked little this plan of a night attack; for I love
+a fair defiance and an open field, and all my years of bush fighting
+have not taught me another sentiment.  But I was well inclined toward
+any action that would take me speedily to Canard.  Moreover, I knew
+that de Ramezay's plan was justified by the smallness of the force
+which he could place at de Villiers' command.  I had further a shrewd
+suspicion that there were enough of the villagers on the English side
+to keep the New Englanders fairly warned of our movements.  In this, as
+I learned afterwards, I suspected rightly, but the blind
+over-confidence of Colonel Noble made the warning of no effect.  The
+preparations for our march went on briskly, and with an eager
+excitement.  The bay being now impassable by reason of the drifting
+ice, the journey was to be made on snow-shoes, by the long, circuitous
+land route, through Beaubassin, Cobequid, Piziquid, and so to the
+Gaspereau mouth.  Every one was in high spirits with the prospect of
+action after a long and inglorious delay.  But for me the days passed
+leadenly.  I was consumed with impatience, and anxiety, and passionate
+desire for a face that was never an hour absent from my thoughts.  My
+first act on arriving at Chignecto had been to ask for Tamin, trusting
+that he might have tidings from Canard.  But de Ramezay told me that he
+had sent the shrewd fisherman-soldier to Grand Pré for information.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In a fever I awaited his return.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At last, but three days before the time set for our departure, he
+arrived.  From him I learned that Marc was so far recovered as to walk
+abroad for a short airing whenever the weather was fine.  He, as well
+as the ladies, was lying very close in Giraud's cottage, and their
+presence was not known to the New Englanders at Grand Pré, at which
+information I was highly gratified.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And are the ladies in good health?" I asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The little Miss looks rugged, and her eyes are like stars," said
+Tamin; "but Madame&mdash;  Ah, she is pale, and her eyes are heavy."
+Tamin's own eyes almost hid themselves in a network of little wrinkles
+as he spoke, scrutinizing my face.  "She weeps for the child.  She said
+perhaps <I>you</I>, Monsieur, would find him in your travels, and bring him
+back to her!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My heart sank at the word.  I could not go to Canard,&mdash;I could not face
+Mizpah again, till I could go to her with Philip in my arms.  I had
+hoped that he was restored to her ere this.  What had happened?  Had
+Big Etienne deceived me?  And Xavier, too?  I could not think it.  Yet
+what else could I think?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah, my friend," said I, with bitterness, "she will be grievously
+disappointed in me.  She will say I promise much, and perform little.
+And alas, it seems even so.  I have not seen or heard of the child.
+But has Big Etienne come back?  <I>Surely</I> he has not come back without
+the child?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tamin, it was plain, had heard the whole story from Marc, for he asked
+no questions, and showed no surprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," said he, "they're both away, Big Etienne and Xavier, gone nigh
+onto four months.  Some says to Gaspé; some says to Saguenay.  Who
+knows?  They're Injuns!"  And Tamin shrugged his shoulders, while his
+honest little eyes grew beady with distrust.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But I no more distrusted, and my heart lightened mightily.  They had
+been checked, baffled perhaps, for weeks; but I felt that they were
+faithful and would succeed.  I resolved that the moment this enterprise
+of de Villiers' was accomplished I would go to help them.  But I had
+yet more questions for Tamin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And the Black Abbé?" I asked.  "Where is he?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"At Baie Verte, minding his store, or at Cobequid with his red lambs,"
+replied Tamin, puckering his wide mouth drolly.  "He is little at
+Chignecto since he met you there, Monsieur.  And he has not been seen
+at Canard since Giraud's cabin grew so hospitable.  But Grűl is much in
+the neighbourhood.  I think the Black Abbé fears him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Remembering the awful scene on the cliffs of the des Saumons, I felt
+that Tamin's surmise was fairly founded; and I blessed the strange
+being who thus kept watch over those whom I loved.  But I said nothing
+to Tamin of what was in my mind, thinking it became me to keep Grűl's
+counsel.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap21"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XXI
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Fight at Grand Pré
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+On the 23d day of January, 1747, we set out from Chignecto, four
+hundred tried bush fighters, white and red,&mdash;some three score of our
+men being Indians.  We went on snow-shoes, for the world was buried in
+drifts.  There was much snow that winter, with steady cold and no
+January thaw.  On the marsh the snow lay in mighty windrows; but in the
+woods it was deep, deep, and smotheringly soft.  The branches of fir
+and spruce and hemlock bent to the earth beneath the white burden of
+it, forming solemn aisles and noiseless fanes within.  We marched in
+column.  The leaders, who had the laborious task of tramping the
+unbroken snow, would keep their place for an hour, then fall to the
+rear, and enjoy the grateful ease of marching in the footsteps of their
+fellows.  Sometimes, as our column wound along like a huge dark snake,
+some great branch, awakened by our laughter, would let slip its burden
+upon us in a sudden avalanche.  Sometimes, in crossing a hidden
+watercourse, the leading files would disappear, to be dragged forth
+drenched and cursing and derided.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But there were as yet no enemies to beware of; so we marched merrily,
+and cheered our nights with unstinted blaze of camp fires.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On our fourth evening out from Chignecto, when we had halted about an
+hour, there came visitors to the camp.  My ear was caught by the
+sentry's challenge.  I went indifferently to see what the stir was all
+about.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Monsieur, we are come!" cried a glad voice which I keenly remembered;
+and Xavier, his face aglow in the firelight, sprang forward to grasp my
+hand.  Behind him, standing in moveless dignity, was Big Etienne, and
+at his feet a light sledge, with a bundle wrapped in furs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My heart gave a great bound of thankful joy; and I stepped forward to
+seize the tall warrior's hand in both of mine.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He is well!  He sleeps!" said Big Etienne, gravely.  In dealing with
+men, I pride myself on knowing what to say and how to say it.  But at
+this moment I was filled with so many emotions that words were not at
+my command.  Some sort of thanks I stammered to express,&mdash;but the
+Indian understood and interrupted me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You thank me moons ago, brother," he said, in an earnest voice.  "You
+give me my boy.  Now I give you yours.  And we will not forget.  That's
+all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We will never forget, indeed, my brother," said I, fervently, and
+again I clasped hands with him, thus pledging a comradeship which in
+many a strait since then has stood me in good stead.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the rest of that long mid-winter march, Philip remained in the
+care of young Xavier, to whom, as well as to Big Etienne, he was
+altogether devoted; and I saw a new side of the red man's character in
+the tenderness of the stern chief toward the child.  For my own part I
+lost no time in bidding for my share in Philip's affections.  My love
+went out to the brave-eyed little fellow as if he had been the child of
+my own flesh.  And moreover I was fain to win an ally who would help me
+to besiege his mother's heart.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Big Etienne had spoken within the mark in saying the child was well.
+His cheeks were dark with smoke and with forgetfulness of soap and
+water; but the red blood tinged them wholesomely.  His long yellow hair
+was tangled, but it had the burnished resilience of health.  His mouth,
+a bow of strength and sweetness,&mdash;his mother's mouth,&mdash;wore the scarlet
+of clean veins; and the great sea-green eyes with which he stirred my
+soul were unclouded by fear or sickness.  Before our march brought us
+to the hills of Gaspereau, Philip had admitted me to his favour,
+ranking me, I think, almost as he did Xavier and Big Etienne.  More
+than that I could not have dared to hope.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At sundown of the ninth of February, the seventeenth day of our march
+from Chignecto, we halted in a fir wood only three miles from the
+Gaspereau mouth.  We lit no camp fires now, but supped cold, though
+heartily.  We had been met the day before by messengers from Grand Pré,
+who told de Villiers the disposition of the English troops.  With
+incredible carelessness they were scattered throughout the settlement.
+About one hundred and fifty, under Colonel Noble himself, were
+quartered along a narrow lane, which, running at right angles to the
+main street, climbed the hillside at the extreme west of the village.
+For my own part, though de Villiers' senior in military rank, I was but
+a volunteer in this expedition, and served the chief as a kind of
+informal aide-de-camp and counsellor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Together we formed the plan of attack.  It was resolved that one half
+our company, under de Villiers himself, should fall upon the isolated
+party in the lane and cut them to pieces.  That left us but two hundred
+men with whom to engage the remaining three hundred and fifty of the
+New Englanders,&mdash;a daring venture, but I undertook to lead it.  I
+undertook by no means to defeat them, however.  I knew the fine mettle
+of these vinegar-faced New Englanders, but I swore (and kept my oath)
+that I would occupy them pleasantly till de Villiers, making an end of
+the other detachment, should come to my aid and clinch the victory.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The plan of attack thus settled, I turned my attention to Philip.  Nigh
+at hand was a cottage where I was known,&mdash;where I believed the folk to
+be very kindly and honest.  I told Big Etienne that we would put the
+child there to sleep, and after the battle take him to his mother at
+Canard.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And, my brother," said I, laying my hand on his arm, and looking into
+his eyes with meaning, "let Xavier stay with him, for he will be afraid
+among strangers."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Xavier must fight," replied the tall warrior.  But his eyes shifted
+from mine, and there was indecision in his voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Xavier is but a boy yet, my brother," I insisted.  "And this is a
+night attack.  It is no place for an untried boy.  No glory, but great
+peril, for one who has not experience!  For my sake bid Xavier stay
+with the child."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are right, brother.  He shall stay," said the Indian.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And Xavier was not consulted.  He stayed.  But his was a face of sore
+disappointment when we left him with Philip at the cottage,&mdash;"to guard
+with your life, if need be!" said I, in going.  And thus gave him a
+sense of responsibility and peril to cheer his bitter inaction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It had been snowing all day, but lightly.  After nightfall there blew
+up a fitful wind, now fierce, now breathless.  At one moment the air
+would be thick with drift, and the great blasts would buffet us in the
+teeth.  At another, there would seem to be in all the dim-glimmering
+world no movement and no breathing but our own.  It was far past
+midnight when we came upon the hill-slope overlooking Grand Pré
+village; and the village was asleep.  Not a light was visible save in
+one long row of cottages at the extreme east end, close by the water
+side.  Thither, at our orders, the villagers had quietly withdrawn
+before midnight.  The rash New England men lay sleeping, with
+apparently no guards set.  If there were sentries, then the storm had
+driven them indoors.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The great gusts swirled and roared past their windows, piling the drift
+more deeply about their thresholds.  If any woke, they turned perchance
+luxuriously in their beds and listened to the blasts, and praised God
+that the Acadian peasants builded their houses warm.  They had no
+thought of the ruin that drew near through the drifts and the whirling
+darkness.  I have never heard that one of them was kept awake with
+strange terrors, or had any prevision, or made special searching of his
+soul before sleep.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It would seem as if Heaven must have forgotten them for a little.  Or
+perhaps the saints remembered that the English were not a people to
+take advice kindly, or to change their plans for any sort of warning
+that might seem to them irregular.  But among us French, that night,
+there was one at least who was granted some prevision.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Just before the two columns separated, Tamin came to me and wrung my
+hand.  He was with de Villiers' detachment.  There was a certain awe, a
+something of farewell, in his manner, and it moved my heart mightily.
+But I clapped him on the back.  "No forebodings, now, my friend," said
+I; "keep a good heart and your eyes wide open."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The snow is deep to-night, Monsieur!" said he gravely, as he turned
+away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"True," I answered; "but the apple trees are at the other end of the
+village; and who ever heard that the Black Abbé was a prophet?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even as I spoke my heart smote me, and I would have given much to wring
+the loyal fellow's hand once more.  But I feared to add to his
+depression.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My men all knew their parts before I led them from the camp.  Once in
+the village, only a few whispered orders were necessary.  Squad by
+squad, dim forms like phantoms in the drift, filed off stealthily to
+their places.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I, with two dozen others, Big Etienne at my elbow, took post about the
+centre of the village, where three large houses, joined together,
+seemed to promise a rough bout.  Then we waited.  Saints, how long we
+waited, as it seemed!  The snow invaded us.  But the apple trees were
+many, and we leaned against them, gnawing our fingers, and protecting
+our primings with the long flaps of our coats.  At last there came a
+musket-shot from the far-off lane, and straightway thereupon a crashing
+volley, followed by a dreadful outcry&mdash;shouts and screams, and the
+yelling of the Indians.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Our waiting was done.  We sprang forward to dash in the nearest
+windows, to batter down the nearest doors.  Lights gleamed.  Then came
+crashes of musketry from the points where I had placed my several
+parties, and I knew they had found their posts.  The fight once begun,
+there was little room for generalship in that driven and shrieking
+dark.  I could see but what was before me.  In those three houses there
+were brave men, that I knew.  Springing from sleep in their shirts,
+they seemed to wake full armed, and were already firing upon us as we
+tried to force our way in through the windows.  The main door of the
+biggest house we strove to carry with a rush, but that, too, belched
+lead and fire in our faces, and we came upon a barrier of household
+stuff just inside.  By the light of a musket flash, I saw a huge,
+sour-faced fellow in his shirt, standing on the barrier, with his
+gun-stock swung back.  I made at him nimbly with my sword.  I reached
+him, and the uplifted weapon fell somewhere harmless in the dark.  The
+next moment I felt a sword point, thrusting blindly, furrow across my
+temple, tearing as if it were both hot and dull, and at the same
+instant I was dragged out again into the snow.  Three of us, however,
+as I learned afterwards, stayed on the floor within.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was Big Etienne who had saved me.  I was dizzy for a moment with my
+wound, the blood throbbing down in a flood; but I ordered all to fall
+back under the shelter of the apple trees, and keep up a steady firing
+upon the doors and windows.  The order was passed along, and in a few
+minutes the firing was steady.  Then winding my kerchief tightly about
+my temples, I bade Big Etienne knot it for me, and for the time I
+thought no more of that sword-scratch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Though my men were heavily outnumbered, the enemy could not guess how
+few we were.  Moreover, we had the shelter of the trees, and our fire
+had their windows to converge upon.  We held them, therefore, with no
+great loss, except for those that fell in the first onslaught, which
+was bloody for both sides.  Presently a tongue of flame shot up, and I
+knew that they had set fire to one of the houses on the lane.  The
+shouting there, and the yelling, died away, but a scattering crackle of
+musketry continued.  Then another building burst into flame.  The night
+grew all one red, wavering glare.  As the smoke clouds blew this way
+and that, the shadows rose and fell.  The squalls of drift blurred
+everything; but in the lulls men stood out suddenly as simple targets,
+and were shot with great precision.  Yet we had shelter enough, too;
+for every house, every barn and shed, cast a block of thick darkness on
+its northern side.  Then men began to gather in upon the centre.  Here
+a squad of my own fellows&mdash;yelling and cheering with triumph, if they
+were Indians, quietly exultant if they were veterans&mdash;would come from
+the conquest of a cottage.  There a knot of half-clad English, fleeing
+reluctantly and firing over their shoulders as they fled, would arrive,
+beat at the doors before us, and be let in hastily under our fire,
+leaving always some of their number on the threshold.  It was like no
+other fight I had ever fought, for the strange confusion of it; or
+perhaps my wound confused me yet a little.  At length a louder yelling,
+a sharper firing, a wilder and mightier clamour, arose in the direction
+of the lane.  Our own firing slackened.  All eyes turned to watch a
+little band which, fighting furiously, was forcing its way hither
+through a swarm of assailants.  "The vinegar-faces can fight!" I cried,
+"but we must stop them.  Come on, lads!"  And with a score at my back I
+rushed to meet the new-comers.  Rushed, did I say?  But I should have
+said struggled and floundered.  For, the moment we were clear of the
+trampled area, and found ourselves in the open fields, the snow went
+nearly to our middles.  Yet we met the gallant little band, which
+having shaken off its assailants, now fell upon us with a welcome of
+most earnest curses.  Men speak of the bloody ferocity of a duel in a
+dark room.  It is nothing to the blind, blundering, reckless, snarling
+rage of that struggle in the deep snow, and under that swimming
+delusive light.  Having emptied my musket and my pistols, I threw them
+all away, and fell to playing nimbly with my sword.  Big Etienne I saw
+close beside me, swinging his musket by the barrel.  Suddenly its
+deadly sweep missed its object.  The tall warrior fell headforemost,
+carried off his uneasy balance by the force of the blow.  Ere he could
+flounder up again a foeman was upon him with uplifted sword.  But with
+a mighty lunge, hurling myself forward from the drift that held my
+feet, I reached the man's neck with my own point, and fell at his feet.
+He came down in a heap on top of me.  His knee, as I suppose it was,
+struck me violently on the head.  Perhaps I was already weakened by
+that cut upon the temple.  The noise all died suddenly away.  I
+remember thinking how warm the snow felt against my face.  And the rest
+of the fight was no concern of mine.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap22"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XXII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Black Abbé Strikes in the Dark
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+I was awakened to consciousness by some one gently lifting me.  I
+struggled at once to my feet, leaning upon him.  It was Big Etienne.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You much hurt?" he queried, in great concern.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, no!" said I, presently.  "Head feels sore.  I think I'll be all
+right in a minute."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was in the red and saffron of dawn.  The snow had stopped falling.
+The muskets had stopped clattering.  The battle was apparently at an
+end.  All around lay bodies, or rather parts of bodies; for they were
+more or less hidden in the snow.  Close by me just a pair of knees was
+visible, thrust up through a drift into which the man had plunged in
+falling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The snow was all mottled with blood and powder, a very hideous colour
+to look upon.  I stood erect and stretched myself.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, brother," I exclaimed, in great relief, "I am as good as new.
+Where is the commander?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Big Etienne pointed in silence to the street before the three houses.
+There I saw our men drawn up in menacing array.  In and behind the
+houses were crowded the dark masses of the New Englanders, punctuated
+here and there with the scarlet of an officer's coat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+De Villiers greeted me as one recovered from the grave.  I asked
+eagerly how he had sped, and how the matter now rested.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Success, everywhere success, Briart!" he answered, with a sort of
+controlled elation.  "You held these fellows, while we wiped out those
+yonder.  But it was a cruel and bloody affair, and I would the times,
+and the straits of New France, required not such killing in the dark.
+But they set fire to a house and barn that they might fight in the
+light, and so a band of them escaped us and cut their way through
+here,&mdash;what was left of them, at least, after they got done with you!
+And now their remnant is hemmed in yonder."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We've got them, then," said I.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Surely," he answered.  "But it will cost our best blood to end it.
+They have fought like heroes, though they kept guard like fools.  And
+they will battle it out, I think, while a man of them stands."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, 'tis the breed of them!" said I, looking across with admiration
+at the silent and dangerous ranks.  "But they have done all that brave
+men could do.  They will accept honourable terms, I think; and such we
+may offer them without any touch of discredit.  What do you say?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This was, indeed what de Villiers had in his heart.  He withdrew his
+troops some little distance, that negotiations might be the less
+embarrassed; and I myself, feeling a fresh dizziness, retired to a
+cottage where I might have my wound properly tended.  But barely had I
+got the bandage loosened,&mdash;a black-eyed Acadian maid standing by, with
+face of deep commiseration and holding a basin of hot water for
+me,&mdash;when there broke out a sudden firing.  I clapped the bloody
+bandage to my head, and ran forth; but I saw there was no need of me.
+The English had sallied with a fierce heat, hoping to retrieve their
+fortunes.  But the deep snow was like an army to shut them in.  Before
+they could come at us they were exhausted, and our muskets dropped them
+swiftly in the drifts.  Sullenly they fell back again upon their
+houses.  I turned to my basin and my bandaging.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That settles that!" said I to the damsel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Settles what, Monsieur?" she asked.  But as she spoke I saw a look of
+sudden concern cross her face, a faintness came over me, and I lay
+down, feeling her arm support me as I sank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Sleep is the best of medicines for me.  I woke late in the afternoon to
+find my head neatly bandaged, and the dizziness all gone.  Men came and
+went softly.  I found that de Villiers was lying in the same house,
+having got a serious wound just after I left him.  La Corne, a brave
+Canadian, was in command.  The English had capitulated toward noon, and
+had pledged themselves to depart for Annapolis within forty-eight
+hours, not to bear arms again in Acadie within six months.  We had
+redeemed at Grand Pré our late failure at Annapolis.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My first act was to send a runner, on snow-shoes, to Canard, with a
+scrawled note to Mizpah.  Explaining nothing, I merely begged that she
+and Prudence, with Marc and Father Fafard, should meet me at the Forge
+about noon of the following day.  In the case of Marc not being yet
+strong enough to journey so far, I prayed Mizpah herself, in any event,
+to come without fail.  My next was to send a messenger for Xavier and
+Philip.  My heart had fallen to aching curiously for the
+child,&mdash;insomuch that I marvelled at it, till at length I set it down
+as a mere whimsical counterfeit of my longing for his mother.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Being now refreshed and altogether myself again, I went to visit the
+lane wherein the fight had opened.  The very first house, whose
+shattered door and windows, blood-smeared threshold, and dripping
+window-sills, showed that the fight had there raged long and madly, had
+one great apple tree beside its garden gate.  A chill of foreboding
+smote me as I marked it.  I approached with a curious and painful
+expectancy, the words of the Black Abbé ringing again in my ears.  At
+the foot of the apple tree the snow was drifted deep.  It half covered
+a pitifully huddled body.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I lifted the body.  It was Tamin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He had been shot through the lungs, and his blood, melting the snow,
+had gathered in a crimson pool beneath him.  Here was one grim prophecy
+fulfilled.  Carrying him into the house, I laid him gently on a bed.
+Then I turned away with a very sorrowful heart; for there was much to
+do, and the dead are not urgent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even as I turned, my heart jumped with a new and sickening dread.
+Xavier stood before me&mdash;Xavier, with wild eyes, and face darkly clotted
+with blood.  The next instant he threw himself at my feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The child!" he muttered, covering his face.  "They have carried him
+away.  They have carried Philip away!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What do you mean?" I cried, in a voice which my fear made harsh, while
+at the same time I dragged him to his feet.  "Who have carried him
+away?  Who?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But I knew the answer ere he could speak it,&mdash;I knew my enemy had
+seized the chances of the battle and the night.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Black Abbé," wailed the lad, in a voice of poignant sorrow.  "He
+came in the night, with two Chepody Acadians dressed up like Indians,
+and seized me asleep, and bound me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But Philip!" I cried.  "Where have they taken him?"  And even as I
+spoke I was planning swiftly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Abbé started westward with him," answered Xavier.  "From what I
+heard say, he would go to Pereau; but which way after, I could not find
+out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come!" I ordered roughly, "we must follow them!"  But as I spoke I saw
+the lad totter.  I caught him by the arm and held him up, perceiving
+now for the first time how he was both wounded and utterly spent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let us go first to your father," I said more gently, leading him, and
+putting what curb I could upon the fierceness of my haste.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How did you get here?" I asked him presently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A gleam came into the lad's faint eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Chepody men stayed till morning," said he, "and then set out on
+the road toward Piziquid, taking me with them.  They thought I was
+nothing but a boy.  As we went, I got my hands loose, so,&mdash;and waited.
+At noon one man went into a house,&mdash;and&mdash;so!&mdash;I was free, and had the
+other dog by the throat.  He make no noise; but he fight hard, and hurt
+me.  I got away, and left him in the snow, and ran back all the way to
+tell you the Black Abbé&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But here the poor lad's voice failed, and he hung upon me with all his
+weight.  He had fainted, indeed; and now that I thought of his wound,
+his hunger, his grief, and his prodigious exertions, I wondered not at
+his swooning.  Picking him up in my arms, I carried him to the cottage
+where the kind damsel had so compassionately tended my own bruises.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As I entered the thronged cottage with my burden, men came about me
+with many questions; but I kept my own counsel, not knowing whom I
+could trust, or where the Black Abbé might not have his spies posted.
+Moreover, I was so distracted with anxiety about the child, that I had
+small patience wherewith to take questioning civilly.  Every bed and
+every settle being occupied with our wounded, I laid Xavier on the
+floor, with his head upon a blue petticoat which the kind damsel&mdash;who
+came to me as soon as she saw me enter&mdash;fetched from a cupboard and
+rolled up deftly for me.  After a careful examination I found no wound
+upon the lad save two shallow flesh cuts, one across his forehead and
+one down his chest.  I thereupon concluded that exhaustion, together
+with the loss of blood, had brought him to this pass, and that with a
+few days' care he would be altogether restored.  Having put some brandy
+between his lips, and seen his eyelids tremble with recovering
+consciousness, I turned to the maiden and said:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Take care of him for me, Chérie.  He deserves your best care; and I
+trust him to your good heart.  Give him something to eat now,&mdash;soup,
+hot milk, at first.  And I will come back in two days from now, at
+furthest."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But Monsieur must rest!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No rest for me to-night!" I interrupted, in a low voice, as I
+straightened myself up.  "Do you know where I may find the lad's
+father, the chief, Big&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But there was no need for me to finish the question.  There, close
+behind me, stood the tall Indian, looking down at Xavier, with trouble
+in his eyes.  He had just entered, in his silent fashion.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is no danger!  He is worn out!" I whispered.  "He has done all a
+brave man could do; but the child is stolen!  Come outside with me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Big Etienne stooped quickly and laid his hand upon the lad's breast,
+and then, most gently, upon his lips.  A second later he had followed
+me out into the deepening twilight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In few words I told him what had happened, and my purpose of going
+instantly in pursuit.  Without a word he strode off toward a small
+cabin about a stone's throw from the cottage which we had just left.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where are you going?" I asked, astonished at this abruptness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My snow-shoes!" he replied.  "And bread.  I go with you, my brother!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This, in very truth, was just what I had hoped for.  But, in my haste,
+I had forgotten the need of eating; and, as for my snow-shoes, usually
+strapped at my back, they had been left at the outskirts of the village
+the night before in order that my sword arm might have the freer play.
+It was no time now to go back for them.  I slipped into the cottage,
+borrowed a pair, and was presently forth again to meet Big Etienne.
+The Indian, instead of bread, had brought a goodly lump of dried beef.
+Side by side, and in silence, we set out for the cabin on the Gaspereau
+where Philip and Xavier had been captured.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We found the place deserted.  Either the man of the house had been a
+tool of La Garne, or he feared that I would hold him responsible.
+Which it was, I know not to this day; and, at the time, we gave small
+thought to the question, merely commending the fellow's wisdom in
+removing himself from our indignation.  What engaged our concern was a
+single snow-shoe track making westward, followed by the trail of a
+little sledge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said I; "Xavier is surely right.  The Abbé has gone to cross the
+Habitants and the Canard where they are little, and will then, belike,
+turn down the valley to Pereau!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very like!" grunted my companion; and, at a long lope, we started up
+the trail.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This pace, however, soon told upon me, and brought it into my mind that
+I had, that day, eaten nothing but a bowl of broth.  We halted,
+therefore, and rested half an hour in the warmth of a dense spruce
+coppice, and ate abundantly of that very savoury beef.  Then, much
+revived, we set out again.  Treading one behind the other, we marched,
+in silence, through the glimmering dark; for Big Etienne was no talker,
+while I, for my part, was gnawing my heart with rage, and hope
+frustrated, and the picture of Mizpah's anguish.  We never stayed our
+pace till we came, at the edge of dawn, to the spot where the trail
+went over the dwindled upper current of the Habitants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here, to our astonishment, the trail turned eastward, following down
+the course of the river.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I looked at the Indian in wondering consternation.  "What can it mean?"
+I cried.  "Can there be any new plot of his hatching at Canard?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Maybe!" said Big Etienne.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At thought of further perils threatening Mizpah and Marc, the weariness
+which had been growing upon me vanished, and I sprang forward as
+briskly as if we had but just set out.  Even Big Etienne, though he had
+no such incentive as mine, seemed to win new vigour with the
+contemplation of this new coil of the enemy's.  If, indeed, he appeared
+somewhat fresher than I throughout the latter half of this hard march,
+it is but justice to myself to say that he bore no wound from the late
+battle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At last, when it was well past ten of the morning, the trail led us out
+upon the main Canard track, and turned toward the settlement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said I, with bitter conviction; "he has gone to Canard.  He
+would never go there had he not some deep scheme of mischief afoot.
+God grant we be in time!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In less than half an hour we came within sight of the Forge in the
+Forest.  To my astonishment, the smoke was pouring in furious volume
+from the forge chimney.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What can Babin be about?  Or can Mizpah and Marc be there already?" I
+wondered aloud; but got no answer from my companion.  A moment later, a
+turn of the track brought us to a post of vantage whence we could see
+straight into the forge.  The sight which met our eyes brought us to an
+instant stop from sheer amazement.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap23"></A>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+Chapter XXIII
+</H3>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+The Rendezvous at the Forge
+</H4>
+
+<P>
+Beside the forge-fire stood Grűl.  On his left arm was perched Philip,
+half wrapped in the black-and-yellow cloak, and playing with Grűl's
+white wand.  At the back of the forge, fettered to the wall, and with
+his hands bound behind him, stood the black form of our adversary.
+Grűl was heaving upon the bellows, and in the fierce white glow of the
+coal stuck a number of irons heating.  These he turned and twisted with
+fantastic energy, now and then drawing one forth and brandishing it
+with a kind of mad glee, so as best to show the intensity of its
+colour; and whenever he did so little Philip shouted with delight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The joy that surged through my breast as I took in all this astonishing
+turn of affairs, was something which I have no words to tell of.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mary, Mother of Heaven, be praised for this!" I cried fervently.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What will he do with irons?" queried Big Etienne, with a curiously
+startled note in his voice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Indeed, what now followed was sufficiently startling.  Grűl had caught
+sight of us.  Immediately he set the child down, heaved twice or thrice
+mightily upon the bellows, and then drew from the fire two white-hot
+rods of iron.  With these, one in each hand, he approached the Black
+Abbé, treading swiftly and sinuously like a panther.  I darted forward,
+chilled with sudden horror.  A short scream of mortal fear came from
+the wretched captive's lips.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Stop! stop!" I shouted, as those terrible brands went circling hither
+and thither about the cringing form.  The next instant, and ere I could
+reach the scene to interfere, the Abbé gave a huge bound, reached the
+door, and plunged out into the snow, pursued by a peal of wild laughter
+from Grűl's lips.  This most whimsical of madmen had befooled his
+captive, in much the same fashion as once before on the cliff beside
+the des Saumons.  He had used the deadly iron merely to free him from
+his bonds, and again held in reserve his full vengeance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Fetching a huge breath of relief, I joined in Grűl's mocking laughter;
+while Big Etienne gave a grunt of manifest dissatisfaction.  As for the
+Black Abbé, though the sweat of his terror stood in beads upon his
+forehead, he recovered his composure marvellously.  Having run some
+dozen paces he stopped, turned, and gazed steadily upon Grűl for
+perhaps the space of a full minute.  Then, sweeping a scornful glance
+across the child, the Indian, and myself, he half opened his lips to
+speak.  But if he judged himself not then best ready to speak with
+dignity,&mdash;let no one marvel at that.  He changed his purpose, folded
+his arms across his breast, and strode off slowly and in silence along
+the track toward Grand Pré.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I thought his shadow, as it fell long and sinister across the snow, lay
+blacker than was the common wont of shadows.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Big Etienne was already within, and Philip in his arms.  As I entered
+the forge door Grűl cried solemnly, as if to extenuate his act in
+freeing the prisoner:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"His cup is not yet full."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Seizing both his hands in mine, I tried with stammering lips to thank
+him; but, something to my chagrin, he cut me short most ungraciously.
+Snatching his hands away, he stepped outside the door, and raised his
+thrilling, bell-like chant:&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Beyond all words though my gratitude was, I could not refrain from
+shrugging my shoulders at this fantastic mummery, as I turned to
+embrace little Philip.  My heart was rioting with joy and hope, and I
+could not trouble my wits with these mad whimsies of Grűl's.  When he
+had quit prophesying and come again within the forge, I tried to draw
+from him some account of how he had so achieved the child's rescue and
+the Black Abbé's utter discomfiture.  But he wandered from the matter,
+whether wilfully or not I could by no means decide; and presently,
+catching a ghost of a smile on the face of Big Etienne, I gave up and
+rested thankful for what I had got.  As for Philip, he was amiably
+gracious to both Big Etienne and myself, but it was manifest that all
+his little heart had gone out to Grűl; and the two were presently
+playing together in a corner of the forge, at some game which none but
+themselves could understand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It wanted yet an hour of noon, when, as I stood in the door consuming
+my heart with impatience, yet unwilling to go and meet Mizpah and so
+mar the climax which I had plotted for, I caught sight of two figures
+approaching.  I needed not eyes to tell me one was Mizpah, for the
+blood shook in all my veins at sight of her.  The other was Father
+Fafard.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Marc," said I to myself, "is not yet strong enough to venture so far;
+and the maid Prudence has stayed with him.  But Mizpah is here&mdash;Mizpah
+is here!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With eyes of delight I dwelt upon her tall, slim form, in its gown of
+blue woollen cloth which set off so rarely the red-gold enchantment of
+her hair.  But when she was come near enough for me to mark the eager
+welcome in her eyes and on her lips, I waved at her, clumsily enough,
+and turned within to catch at a little self-possession.  Not having my
+snow-shoes on, I could not be expected to go and meet her; and that
+waiting in the doorway was too much for me to endure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Keep Philip behind the chimney, out of sight," I whispered eagerly to
+Grűl; and somewhat to my wonder he obeyed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the next instant Mizpah stood in the door, smiling upon me, her face
+all aglow with expectation and greeting; and I found myself clasping
+both of her white hands.  But my tongue refused to speak,&mdash;deeming,
+perchance, that my eyes were usurping its office.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Finding at length a word of welcome for the good priest, I wrung his
+hand fervently, then turned again to Mizpah.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But my first speech was stupid,&mdash;so stupid that I wished most heartily
+that I had held my tongue.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Comrade," said I, "this is a glad day for me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Her face fell, and her eyes reproached me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Because you have defeated and slain my people?" she asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My face grew hot for the flat ineptitude of my words.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No! no!  Not for that!" I cried passionately, "but for <I>this</I>!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And I turned to snatch Philip from his corner behind the chimney.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But Grűl was too quick for me.  He could play no second part at any
+time, he.  Evading my hands, he slipped past me, and himself placed the
+child in Mizpah's arms.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I cursed inwardly at his abruptness, though in truth he had done just
+what I was intending to do myself.  As Mizpah, with a gasping cry,
+crushed the little one to her bosom, she went white as a ghost and
+tottered against the anvil.  I sprang to support her, but withheld my
+arm ere it touched her waist, for even on the instant she had recovered
+herself.  With wordless mother-cries she kissed Philip's lips and hair,
+and buried her face in his neck, he the while clinging to her as if
+never again for a moment could he let her go.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Presently, while I waited in great hunger for a word, she turned to Big
+Etienne and Grűl.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My friends!" she cried, in a shaken voice which faithfully uttered her
+heart, "my true and loyal friends!"  Whereupon she wrung their hands,
+and wrung them, and would have spoken further but that her voice failed
+her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then, after a moment or two, she turned to me,&mdash;yet not wholly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The paleness had by this well vanished, and her eyes, those great
+sea-coloured eyes, which she would not lift to mine, were running over
+with tears.  Philip took one sturdy little arm from her neck, and
+stretched out his hand to me; but I ignored the invitation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And what&mdash;what have you got for me, Mizpah?" I asked, in a very low
+voice, indeed&mdash;a voice perhaps not just as steady as that of a noted
+bush-fighter is supposed to be at a crisis.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The flush grew, deepening down along the clear whiteness of her neck,
+and she half put out one hand to me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you want thanks?" she asked softly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You <I>know</I> what I want,&mdash;what I have wanted above all else in life
+from the moment my eyes fell upon you!" I cried with a great passion,
+grown suddenly forgetful of Grűl and Big Etienne, who doubtless found
+my emotion more or less interesting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a second or two Mizpah made no answer.  Then she lifted her face,
+gave me one swift look straight in the eyes,&mdash;a look that told me all I
+longed to know,&mdash;and suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a
+sob, put Philip into my arms.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-310"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-310.jpg" ALT="Suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a sob, put Philip into my arms." BORDER="2" WIDTH="459" HEIGHT="703">
+<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 459px">
+Suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a sob, put Philip into my arms.
+</H4>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"There!" she whispered, dropping her eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And by some means it so came about that, as I took the child, my arms
+held Mizpah also.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<P CLASS="finis">
+THE END
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR><BR>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORGE IN THE FOREST ***
+
+***** This file should be named 33470-h.htm or 33470-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/4/7/33470/
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</BODY>
+
+</HTML>
+
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-006.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-006.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..257ffdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-006.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-042.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-042.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d9c299
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-042.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-074.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-074.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00a8f58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-074.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-100.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-100.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9d7a79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-100.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-168.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-168.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed812d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-168.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-200.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-200.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9710e5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-200.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-310.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-310.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..645699b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-310.jpg
diff --git a/33470-h/images/img-front.jpg b/33470-h/images/img-front.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae58d2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470-h/images/img-front.jpg
diff --git a/33470.txt b/33470.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd18bd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6039 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Forge in the Forest
+
+Author: Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+Release Date: November 23, 2010 [EBook #33470]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORGE IN THE FOREST ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: On a block just inside the door sat Marc.]
+
+
+
+
+
+The Forge in the Forest
+
+
+Being
+
+  _The Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean
+  de Mer, Seigneur de Briart; and how
+  he crossed the Black Abbe; and of
+  his Adventures in a Strange
+  Fellowship_
+
+
+
+By
+
+Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+
+
+
+Lamson, Wolffe and Company
+
+Boston, New York and London
+
+William Briggs, Toronto
+
+MDCCCXCVI
+
+
+
+
+Copyright, 1896,
+
+By Lamson, Wolffe and Company.
+
+
+_All rights reserved_
+
+
+
+Norwood Press
+
+J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith
+
+Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+To
+
+George E. Fenety, Esq.
+
+
+  This Story of a Province
+  among whose Honoured Sons he is
+  not least distinguished
+  is dedicated
+  with esteem and affection
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of Peninsula of Acadie (Nova Scotia)]
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+_Part I.--Marc_
+
+
+A Foreword
+
+Chapter
+
+     I.  The Capture at the Forge
+    II.  The Black Abbe
+   III.  Tamin's Little Stratagem
+    IV.  The Governor's Signature
+     V.  In the Run of the Seas
+    VI.  Grul
+   VII.  The Commander is Embarrassed
+  VIII.  The Black Abbe Comes to Dinner
+    IX.  The Abbe Strikes Again
+     X.  A Bit of White Petticoat
+    XI.  I Fall a Willing Captive
+
+
+_Part II.--Mizpah_
+
+   XII.  In a Strange Fellowship
+  XIII.  My Comrade
+   XIV.  My Comrade Shoots Excellently Well
+    XV.  Grul's Hour
+   XVI.  I Cool My Adversaries' Courage
+  XVII.  A Night in the Deep
+ XVIII.  The _Osprey_, of Plymouth
+   XIX.  The Camp by Canseau Strait
+    XX.  The Fellowship Dissolved
+   XXI.  The Fight at Grand Pre
+  XXII.  The Black Abbe Strikes in the Dark
+ XXIII.  The Rendezvous at the Forge
+
+
+
+
+Part I
+
+Marc
+
+
+
+The Forge in the Forest
+
+A Foreword
+
+Where the Five Rivers flow down to meet the swinging of the Minas
+tides, and the Great Cape of Blomidon bars out the storm and the fog,
+lies half a county of rich meadow-lands and long-arcaded orchards.  It
+is a deep-bosomed land, a land of fat cattle, of well-filled barns, of
+ample cheeses and strong cider; and a well-conditioned folk inhabit it.
+But behind this countenance of gladness and peace broods the memory of
+a vanished people.  These massive dykes, whereon twice daily the huge
+tide beats in vain, were built by hands not suffered to possess the
+fruits of their labour.  These comfortable fields have been scorched
+with the ruin of burning homes, drenched with the tears of women
+hurried into exile.  These orchard lanes, appropriate to the laughter
+of children or the silences of lovers, have rung with battle and run
+deep with blood.  Though the race whose bane he was has gone, still
+stalks the sinister shadow of the Black Abbe.
+
+The low ridge running between the dykelands of the Habitants and the
+dyke-lands of the Canard still carries patches of forest interspersed
+among its farms, for its soil is sandy and not greatly to be coveted
+for tillage.  These patches are but meagre second growth, with here and
+there a gnarled birch or overpeering pine, lonely survivor of the
+primeval brotherhood.  The undergrowth has long smoothed out all traces
+of what a curious eye might fifty years ago have discerned,--the
+foundations of the chimney of a blacksmith's forge.  It is a mould well
+steeped in fateful devisings, this which lies forgotten under the
+creeping roots of juniper and ragged-robin, between the diminished
+stream of Canard and the yellow tide of Habitants.
+
+The forest then was a wide-spreading solemnity of shade wherein armies
+might have moved unseen.  The forge stood where the trail from Pereau
+ran into the more travelled road from the Canard to Grand Pre.  The
+branches of the ancient wood came down all about its low eaves; and the
+squirrels and blue jays chattered on its roof.  It was a place for the
+gathering of restless spirits, the men of Acadie who hated to accept
+the flag of the English king.  It was the Acadian headquarters of the
+noted ranger, Jean de Mer, who was still called by courtesy, and by the
+grace of such of his people as adhered to his altered fortunes, the
+Seigneur de Briart.  His father had been lord of the whole region
+between Blomidon and Grand Pre; but the English occupation had deprived
+him of all open and formal lordship, for the de Briart sword was
+notably conspicuous on the side of New France.  Nevertheless, many of
+Jean de Mer's habitants maintained to him a chivalrous allegiance, and
+paid him rents for lands which in the English eye were freehold
+properties.  He cherished his hold upon these faithful folk, willing by
+all honest means to keep their hearts to France.  His one son, Marc,
+grew up at Grand Pre, save for the three years of his studying at
+Quebec.  His faithful retainer, Babin, wielding a smith's hammer at the
+Forge, had ears of wisdom and a tongue of discretion for the men who
+came and went.  Once or twice in the year, it was de Mer's custom to
+visit the Grand Pre country, where he would set his hand to the work of
+the forge after Babin's fashion, playing his part to the befooling of
+English eyes, and taking, in truth, a quaint pride in his pretended
+craft.  At the time, however, when this narrative opens, he had been a
+whole three years absent from the Acadian land, and his home-coming was
+yet but three days old.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter I
+
+The Capture at the Forge
+
+It was good to be alive that afternoon.  A speckled patch of sunshine,
+having pushed its way through the branches across the road, lay spread
+out on the dusty floor of the forge.  On a block just inside the door
+sat Marc, his lean, dark face,--the Belleisle face, made more hawklike
+by the blood of his Penobscot grandmother,--all aglow with eagerness.
+The lazy youngster was not shamed at the sight of my diligence, but
+talked right on, with a volubility which would have much displeased his
+Penobscot grandmother.  It was pleasant to be back with the lad again,
+and I was aweary of the war, which of late had kept my feet forever on
+the move from Louisbourg to the Richelieu.  My fire gave a cheerful
+roar as I heaved upon the bellows, and turned my pike-point in the
+glowing charcoal.  As the roar sighed down into silence there was a
+merry whirr of wings, and a covey of young partridges flashed across
+the road.  A contented mind and a full stomach do often make a man a
+fool, or I should have made shift to inquire why the partridges had so
+sharply taken wing.  But I never thought of it.  I turned, and let the
+iron grow cool, and leaned with one foot on the anvil, to hear the
+boy's talk.  My soul was indeed asleep, lulled by content, or I would
+surely have felt the gleam of the beady eyes that watched me through a
+chink in the logs beside the chimney.  But I felt those eyes no more
+than if I had been a log myself.
+
+"Yes, Father," said Marc, pausing in rich contemplation of the picture
+in his mind's eye, "you would like her hair!  It is unmistakably
+red,--a chestnut red.  But her sister's is redder still!"
+
+I smiled at his knowledge of my little weakness for hair of that
+colour; but not of a woman's hair was I thinking at that moment, or I
+should surely have made some question about the sister.  My mind ran
+off upon another trail.
+
+"And what do the English think they're going to do when de Ramezay
+comes down upon them?" I inquired.  "Do they flatter themselves their
+tumble-down Annapolis is strong enough to hold us off?"
+
+The lad flushed resentfully and straightened himself up on his seat.
+
+"Do you suppose, Father, that I was in the fort, and hobnobbing with
+the Governor?" he asked coldly.  "I spoke with none of the English save
+Prudence and her sister, and the child."
+
+"But why not?" said I, unwilling to acknowledge that I had said
+anything at which he might take offence.  "Every one knows your good
+disposition toward the English, and I should suppose you were in favour
+at Annapolis.  The Governor, I know, makes much of all our people who
+favour the English cause."
+
+Marc stood up,--lean, and fine, and a good half head taller than his
+father,--and looked at me with eyes of puzzled wrath.
+
+"And you think that I, knowing all I do of de Ramezay's plans, would
+talk to the English about them!" he exclaimed in a voice of keen
+reproach.
+
+Now, I understood his anger well enough, and in my heart rejoiced at
+it; for though I knew his honour would endure no stain, I had
+nevertheless feared lest I should find his sympathies all English.  He
+was a lad with a way of thinking much and thinking for himself, and
+even now, at twenty year, far more of a scholar than I had ever found
+time to be.  Therefore, I say, his indignation pleased me mightily.
+Nevertheless I kept at him.
+
+"Chut!" said I, "all the world knows by now of de Ramezay's plans.
+There had been no taint of treachery in talking of them!"
+
+Marc sat down again, and the ghost of a smile flickered over his lean
+face.  Though free enough of his speech betimes, he was for the most
+part as unsmiling as an Indian.
+
+"I see you are mocking me, Father," he said presently, relighting his
+pipe.  "Indeed, you know very well I am on your side, for weal or ill.
+As long as there was a chance of the English being left in peaceable
+possession of Acadie, I urged that we should accept their rule fully
+and in good faith.  No one can say they haven't ruled us gently and
+generously.  And I feel right sure they will continue to rule us, for
+the odds are on their side in the game they play with France.  But
+seeing that the game has yet to be played out, there is only one side
+for me, and I believe it to be the losing one.  Though as a boy I liked
+them well enough, I have nothing more to do with the English now except
+to fight them.  How could I have another flag than yours?"
+
+"You are my own true lad, whatever our difference of opinion!" said I.
+And if my voice trembled in a manner that might show a softness
+unsuited to a veteran of my training, bear in mind that, till within
+the past three days, I had not seen the lad for three years, and then
+but briefly.  At Grand Pre, and in Quebec at school, Marc had grown up
+outside my roving life, and I was just opening my eyes to find a
+comrade in this tall son of my boyhood's love.  His mother, a daughter
+of old Baron St. Castin by his Penobscot wife, had died while he was
+yet at the breast.  A babe plays but a small part in the life of a
+ranging bush-fighter, though I had ever a great tenderness for the
+little lad.  Now, however, I was looking upon him with new eyes.
+
+Having blown the coals again into a heat, I returned to Marc's words,
+certain of which had somewhat stuck in my crop.
+
+"But you speak with despondence, lad, of the chances of the war, and of
+the hope of Acadie!  By St. Joseph, we'll drive the English all the way
+back of the Penobscot before you're a twelvemonth older.  And Acadie
+will see the Flag of the Lilies flapping once more over the ramparts of
+Port Royal."
+
+Marc shook his head slowly, and seemed to be following with his eyes
+the vague pattern of the shadows on the floor.
+
+"It seems to me," said he, with a conviction which caught sharply at my
+heart even though I bore in mind his youth and inexperience, "that
+rather will the Flag of the Lilies be cast down even from the strong
+walls of Quebec.  But may that day be far off!  As for our people here
+in Acadie, during the last twelvemonth it has been made very clear to
+me that evil days are ahead.  The Black Abbe is preparing many sorrows
+for us here in Acadie."
+
+"I suppose you mean La Garne!" said I.  "He's a diligent servant to
+France; but I hate a bad priest.  He's a dangerous man to cross, Marc!
+Don't go out of your way to make an enemy of the Black Abbe!"
+
+Again that ghost of a smile glimmered on Marc's lips.
+
+"I fear you speak too late, Father!" said he, quietly.  "The reverend
+Abbe has already marked me.  He so far honours me as to think that I am
+an obstacle in his path.  There be some whose eyes I have opened to his
+villany, so that he has lost much credit in certain of the parishes.  I
+doubt not that he will contrive some shrewd stroke for vengeance."
+
+My face fell somewhat, for I am not ashamed to confess that I fear a
+bad priest, the more so in that I yield to none in my reverence for a
+good one.  I turned my iron sharply in the coals, and then exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, well, we need not greatly trouble ourselves.  There are others,
+methinks, as strong as the Black Abbe, evil though he be!"  But I
+spoke, as I have often found it expedient to do, with more confidence
+than I felt.
+
+Even at this moment, shrill and clear from the leafage at one end of
+the forge, came the call of the big yellow-winged woodpecker.  I
+pricked up my ears and stiffened my muscles, expectant of I knew not
+what.
+
+Marc looked at me with some surprise.
+
+"It's only a woodpecker!" said he.
+
+"But it's only in the spring," I protested, "that he has a cry like
+that!"
+
+"He cries untimely, as an omen of the ills to come!" said Marc, half
+meaning it and half in jest.
+
+Had it been anywhere on the perilous frontier,--on the Richelieu or in
+the West, or nigh the bloody Massachusetts line, my suspicions would
+have sprung up wide awake.  But in this quiet land between the
+Habitants and the Canard I was off my guard,--and what a relief it was,
+indeed, to let myself be careless for a little!  I thought no more of
+the woodpecker, but remembered that sister with the red hair.  I came
+back to her by indirection, however.
+
+"And how did you manage, lad, to be seeing Mistress Prudence, and her
+sister, and the child, and yet no others of the English?  A matter of
+dark nights and back windows?  Eh?  But come to think of it, there was
+a clear moon this day four weeks back, when you were at Annapolis."
+
+"No, Father," answered Marc, "it was all much more simple and less
+adventurous than that.  Some short way out of the town is a little
+river, the Equille, and a pleasant hidden glade set high upon its bank.
+It is a favoured resort of both the ladies; and there I met them as
+often as I was permitted.  Mizpah would sometimes choose to play apart
+with the child, down by the water's edge if the tide were full, so I
+had some gracious opportunity with Prudence.--  My time being brief, I
+made the most of it!" he added drily.  His quaint directness amused me
+mightily, and I chuckled as I shaped the red iron upon the anvil.
+
+"And who," I inquired, "is this kind sister, with the even redder hair,
+who goes away with such a timely discretion?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Marc, "I forgot you knew nothing of her.  She is
+Mistress Mizpah Hanford, the widow of a Captain Hanford who was some
+far connection of the Governor's.  Her property is in and about
+Annapolis, and she lives there to manage it, keeping Prudence with her
+for companionship.  Her child is four or five years old, a
+yellow-haired, rosy boy called Philip.  She's very tall,--a head taller
+than Prudence, and older, of course, by perhaps eight years; and very
+fair, though not so fair as Prudence; and altogether--"
+
+But at this point I interrupted him.
+
+"What's the matter with the Indian?" I exclaimed, staring out across
+Marc's shoulders.
+
+He sprang to his feet and looked around sharply.  An Indian, carrying
+three shad strung upon a sapling, had just appeared on the road before
+the forge door.  As he came in view he was reeling heavily, and
+clutching at his head.  He dropped his fish; and a moment later he
+himself fell headlong, and lay face downward in the middle of the road.
+I remember thinking that his legs sprawled childishly.  Marc strolled
+over to him with slow indifference.
+
+"Have a care!" I exclaimed.  "There may be some trap in it!  It looks
+not natural!"
+
+"What trap can there be?" asked Marc, turning the body over.  "It's Red
+Moose, a Shubenacadie Micmac.  I like not the breed; but ever since he
+got a hurt on the head, in a fight at Canseau last year, he has been
+subject to the falling sickness.  Let us carry him to a shady place,
+and he'll come to himself presently!"
+
+I was at his side in a moment, and we stooped to lift the seemingly
+lifeless figure.  In an instant its arms were about my neck in a
+strangling embrace.  At the same time my own arms were seized.  I heard
+a fierce cry from Marc, and a groan that was not his.  The next moment,
+though I writhed and struggled with all my strength, I found myself
+bound hand and foot, and seated on the ground with my back against the
+door-post of the forge.  Marc, bound like myself, lay by the roadside;
+and a painted savage sat near him nursing with both hands a broken jaw.
+A dozen Micmacs stood about us.  Leaning against the door-post over
+against me was the black-robed form of La Garne.  He eyed me, for
+perhaps ten seconds, with a smile of fine and penetrating sarcasm.
+Then he told his followers to stand Marc up against a tree.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter II
+
+The Black Abbe
+
+When first I saw that smile on the Black Abbe's face, and realized what
+had befallen us, I came nigh to bursting with rage, and was on the
+point of telling my captor some truths to make his ears tingle.  But
+when I heard the order to stand Marc up against a tree my veins for an
+instant turned to ice.  Many men--and some women, too, God help me, I
+then being bound and gagged,--had I seen thus stood up against a tree,
+and never but for one end.  I could not believe that such an end was
+contemplated now, and that by a priest of the Church, however unworthy
+of his office!  But I checked my tongue and spoke the Abbe fair.
+
+"It is quite plain to me, Monsieur," said I, quietly, "that my son and
+I are the victims of some serious mistake, for which you will, I am
+sure, feel constrained to ask our pardon presently.  I await your
+explanations."
+
+La Garne, still smiling, looked me over slowly.  Never before had I
+seen him face to face, though he had more than once traversed my line
+of vision.  I had known the tireless figure, as tall, almost, as Marc
+himself, stoop-shouldered, but robust, now moving swiftly as if
+propelled by an energy irresistible, now languid with an affectation of
+indolence.  But the face--I hated the possessor of it with a personal
+hate the moment my eyes fell upon that face.  Strong and inflexible was
+the gaunt, broad, and thin jaw, cruel and cunning the high, pinched
+forehead and narrow-set, palely glinting eyes.  The nose, in
+particular, greatly offended me, being very long, and thick at the end.
+"I'll tweak it for him, one fine day," says I to myself, as I boiled
+under his steady smile.
+
+"There is no mistake, Monsieur de Briart, believe me!" he said, still
+smiling.
+
+There could be no more fair words, of course, after that avowal.
+
+"Then, Sir Priest," said I, coldly, "you are both a madman and a scurvy
+rogue, and you shall yet be on your knees to me for this outrage.  You
+will see then the nature of your mistake, I give you my word."
+
+The priest's smile took on something of the complexion of a snarl.
+
+"Don't be alarmed, Monsieur de Briart," said he.  "You are quite safe,
+because I know you for a good servant to France; and for your late
+disrespect to Holy Church, in my person, while in talk with your
+pestilent son, these bonds may be a wholesome and sufficient lesson to
+you!"
+
+"You shall have a lesson sufficient rather than wholesome, I promise
+you!" said I.
+
+"But as for this fellow," went on the Abbe, without noticing my
+interruption, "he is a spy.  You understand how spies fare, Monsieur!"
+And a malignant light made his eyes appear like two points of steel
+beneath the ambush of his ragged brows.
+
+I saw Marc's lean face flush thickly under the gross accusation.
+
+"It is a lie, you frocked hound!" he cried, careless of the instant
+peril in which he stood.
+
+But the Black Abbe never looked at him.
+
+"I wish you joy of your son, a very good Englishman, Monsieur, and now,
+I fear, not long for this world," said he, in a tone of high civility.
+"He has long been fouling with his slanders the names of those whom he
+should reverence, and persuading the people to the English.  But now,
+after patiently waiting, I have proofs.  His treachery shall hang him!"
+
+For a moment the dear lad's peril froze my senses, so that it was but
+dimly I heard his voice, ringing with indignation as he hurled back the
+charge upon the lying lips that made it.
+
+"If the home of lies be anywhere out of Hell, it is in your malignant
+mouth, you shame of the Church," he cried in defiance.  "There can be
+no proof that I am a spy, even as there can be no proof that you are
+other than a false-tongued assassin, defiling your sacred office."
+
+It was the galling defiance of a savage warrior at the stake, and even
+in my fear my heart felt proud of it.  The priest was not galled,
+however, by these penetrating insults.
+
+"As for the proofs," said he, softly, never looking at Marc, but
+keeping his eyes on my face, "Monsieur de Ramezay shall judge whether
+they be proofs or not.  If he say they are not, I am content."
+
+At a sign, a mere turn of his head it seemed to me, the Indians loosed
+Marc's feet to lead him away.
+
+"Farewell, Father," said he, in a firm voice, and turned upon me a look
+of unshakable courage.
+
+"Be of good heart, son," I cried to him.  "I will be there, and this
+devil shall be balked!"
+
+"You, Monsieur," said the priest, still smiling, "will remain here for
+the present.  To-night I will send a villager to loose your bonds.
+Then, by all means, come over and see Monsieur de Ramezay at Chignecto.
+I may not be there then myself, but this business of the spy will have
+been settled, for the commander does not waste time in such small
+matters!"
+
+He turned away to follow his painted band, and I, shaking in my
+impotent rage and fear, called after him:--
+
+"As God lives and is my witness, if the lad comes to any harm, these
+hands will visit it upon you an hundredfold, till you scream for
+death's mercy!"
+
+But the Black Abbe moved off as if he heard no word, and left me a
+twisted heap upon the turf, gnawing fiercely at the tough deer-hide of
+my bonds.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter III
+
+Tamin's Little Stratagem
+
+I had been gnawing, gnawing in an anguish at the thongs, for perhaps
+five minutes.  There had been no more than time for the Abbe's
+wolf-pack to vanish by a turn of the road.  Suddenly a keen blade slit
+the thongs that bound my wrists.  Then my feet felt themselves free.  I
+sat up, astonished, and saw stooping over me the droll, broad face of
+Tamin the Fisher,--or Tamin Violet, as he was rightly, though seldom,
+called.  His mouth was solemn, as always, having never been known to
+wear a smile; but the little wrinkles laughed about his small bright
+eyes.  I sprang up and grasped his hand.
+
+"We must not lose a moment, Tamin, my friend!" I panted, dragging him
+into the thick shade of the wood.
+
+"I was thinking you might be in a hurry, M'sieu," said my rescuer.
+"But unless the mouse wants to be back in the same trap I've just let
+it out of, you'd better keep still a half-minute and make up your mind.
+They've a round road to go, and we'll go straight!"
+
+"You saw it all?" I asked, curbing myself as best I could, for I
+perceived the wisdom of his counsel.
+
+"Oh, ay, M'sieu, I saw it!" replied the Fisher.  "And I laughed in my
+bones to hear the lad talk up to the good father.  There was more than
+one shot went home, I warrant, for all the Black Abbe seemed so deaf.
+They're festering under his soutane even now, belike!"
+
+"But come!" said I.  "I've got my wind!"  And we darted noiselessly
+through the cool of the great trees, turning a little east from the
+road.
+
+We ran silently for a space, my companion's short but massive frame
+leaping, bending, gliding even as lightly as my own, which was ever as
+lithe as a weasel's.  Tamin was a rare woodsman, as I marked
+straightway, though I had known him of old rather as a faithful tenant,
+and marvellously patient to sit in his boat all day a-fishing on the
+drift of the Minas tides.
+
+Presently he spoke, under his breath.
+
+"Very like," said he, drily, "when we come up to them they will all
+fall down.  So, we will take the lad and walk away! eh, what, M'sieu?"
+
+"Only let us come up to them," said I, "and learn their plans.  Then we
+will make ours!"
+
+"Something of theirs I know," said Tamin.  "Their canoes are on the
+Canard maybe three furlongs to east of the road.  Thence they will
+carry the lad to de Ramezay, for the Black Abbe will have things in due
+form when he can conveniently, and now it is plain he has a scheme well
+ripe.  But if this wind holds, we'll be there before them.  My boat is
+lying hard by."
+
+"God be praised!" I muttered; for in truth I saw some light now for the
+first time.  Presently, drawing near the road again, I heard the voice
+of La Garne.  We at once went softly, and, avoiding again, made direct
+for where lay the canoes.  There we disposed ourselves in a swampy
+thicket, with a little breadth of water lying before and all the forest
+behind.  The canoes lay just across the little water, and so close that
+I might have tossed my cap into them.  The clean smell of the wet salt
+sedge came freshly into the thicket.  The shadows lay long on the
+water.  We had time to grow quiet, till our breathing was no longer
+hasty, our blood no longer thumped in our ears.  A flock of
+sand-pipers, with thin cries, settled to feed on the red clay between
+the canoes and the edge of the tide.  Suddenly they got up, and puffed
+away in a flicker of white breasts and brown wings; and I laid a hand
+on Tamin's shoulder.  The painted band, Marc in their midst, La Garne
+in front, were coming down the slope.
+
+The lad's face was stern and scornful.  To my joy I saw that there was
+to be no immediate departure.  The redskins flung themselves down
+indolently.  The Black Abbe saw his prisoner made fast to a tree, and
+then, telling his followers that he had duties at Pereau which would
+keep him till past sunset, strode off swiftly up the trail.  Tamin and
+I, creeping as silently as snakes back into the forest, followed him.
+
+For half an hour we followed him, keeping pace for pace through the
+shadow of the wood.  Then said I softly to Tamin:--
+
+"This is my quarrel, my friend!  Do you keep back, and not bring down
+his vengeance on your head."
+
+"That for his vengeance!" whispered Tamin, with a derisive gesture.  "I
+will take service with de Ramezay, as a regular soldier of France!"
+
+"Even there," said I, "his arm might reach and pluck you forth.  Keep
+back now, and let him not see your face!"
+
+"Priest though he be, M'sieu," urged Tamin, anxiously, "he is a mighty
+man of his hands!"
+
+I turned upon him a face of scorn which he found sufficient answer.
+Then, signing to him to hold off, I sped forward silently.  No weapon
+had I but a light stick of green ash, just cut.  There was smooth,
+mossy ground along the trail, and my running feet made no more sound
+than a cat's.  I was within a pace of springing upon his neck, when he
+must have felt my coming.  He turned like a flash, uttered a piercing
+signal cry, and whipped out a dagger.
+
+"They'll never hear it," mocked I, and sent the dagger spinning with a
+smart pass of my stick.  The same stroke went nigh to breaking his
+wrist.  He grappled bravely, however, as I took him by the throat, and
+I was astonished at his force and suppleness.  Nevertheless the
+struggle was but brief, and the result a matter to be sworn to
+beforehand; for I, though not of great stature, am stronger than any
+other man, big or little, with whom I have ever come to trial; and more
+than that, when I was a prisoner among the English, I learned their
+shrewd fashion of wrestling.  In a little space the Black Abbe lay
+choked into submission, after which I bound him in a way to endure, and
+seated him against a tree.  Behind him I caught view of Tamin,
+gesturing drolly, whereat I laughed till I marked an amazement growing
+in the priest's malignant eyes.
+
+"How like you my lesson, good Father?" I inquired.
+
+But he only glared upon me.  I suppose, having no speech that would
+fitly express his feelings, he conceived that his silence would be most
+eloquent.  But I could see that my next move startled him.  With my
+knife I cut a piece from my shirt, and made therewith a neat gag.
+
+"Though you seem so dumb at this present," said I, "I suspect that you
+might find a tongue after my departure.  Therefore I must beseech you
+to wear this ornament, for my sake, for a little."  And very civilly
+prying his teeth open, I adjusted the gag.
+
+"Do not be afraid!" I continued.  "I will leave you in this discomfort
+no longer than you thought it necessary to leave me so.  You shall be
+free after to-morrow's sunrise, if not before.  Farewell, good Father,
+and may you rest well!  Let me borrow this ring as a pledge for the
+safe return of the fragment of my good shirt which you hold so
+obstinately between your teeth!"  And drawing his ring from his finger
+I turned away and plunged into the forest, where Tamin presently joined
+me.
+
+Tamin chuckled, deep in his stomach.
+
+"My turn now!" said he.  "Give me the ring, M'sieu, and I'll give you
+the boy!"
+
+"I see you take me!" said I, highly pleased at his quick discernment.
+
+We now made way at leisure back to the canoes, and our plans ripened as
+we went.
+
+Before we came within hearing of the Indians I gave over the ring with
+final directions, to Tamin, and then hastened toward the point of land
+which runs far out beyond the mouth of the Habitants.  Around this
+point, as I knew, lay the little creek-mouth wherein Tamin kept his
+boat.  Beyond the point, perchance a furlong, was a narrow sand-spit
+covered deep at every flood tide.  In a thicket of fir bushes on the
+bluff over against this sand-spit I lay down to wait for what Tamin
+should bring to pass.  I had some little time to wait; and here let me
+unfold, as I learned it after, what Tamin did whilst I waited.
+
+About sunset, the tide being far out, and the Indians beginning to
+expect their Abbe's return, came Tamin to them running in haste along
+the trail from Pereau, as one who carried orders of importance.  Going
+straight to the chief, he pointed derisively at Marc, whose back was
+towards him, and cried:--
+
+"The good father commands that you take this dog of a spy straightway
+to the sand-spit that lies off the point yonder.  There you will drive
+a strong stake into the sand, and bind the fellow to it, and leave him
+there, and return here to await the Abbe's coming.  You shall do no
+hurt to the spy, and set no mark upon him.  When the tide next ebbs you
+will go again to the sand-spit and bring his body back; and if the Abbe
+finds any mark upon him, you will get no pay for this venture.  You
+will make your camp here to-night, and if the good father be not
+returned to you by sunrise to-morrow, you will go to meet him along the
+Pereau trail, for he will be in need of you."
+
+The tall chief grunted, and eyed him doubtfully.  After a brief
+contemplation he inquired, in broken French:--
+
+"How know you no lie to me?"
+
+"Here is the holy father's ring, in warranty; and you shall give it
+back to him when he comes."
+
+"It is well," said the chief, taking the ring, and turning to give some
+commands in his own guttural tongue.  Tamin repeated his message word
+by word, then strode away; and before he got out of sight he saw two
+canoes put off for the sand-spit.  Then he made all haste to join me on
+the point.
+
+Long before he arrived the canoes had come stealing around the point
+and were drawn up on the treacherous isle of sand.  My heart bled for
+the horror of death which, as I knew, must now be clutching at Marc's
+soul; but I kept telling myself how soon I would make him glad.  It
+wanted yet three hours or more till the tide should cover the
+sand-spit.  I lay very still among the young fir trees, so that a
+wood-mouse ran within an arm's length of my face, till it caught the
+moving of my eyes and scurried off with a frightened squeak.  I heard
+the low change in the note of the tide as the first of the flood began
+to creep in upon the weeds and pebbles.  Then with some farewell
+taunts, to which Marc answered not a word, the savages went again to
+their canoes and paddled off swiftly.
+
+[Illustration: Marc tied to post]
+
+When they had become but specks on the dim water, I doffed my clothes,
+took my knife between my teeth, and swam across to the sand-spit.
+There was a low moon, obscured by thin and slowly drifting clouds, and
+as I swam through the faint trail of it, Marc must have seen me coming.
+Nevertheless he gave no sign, and I could see that his head drooped
+forward upon his breast.  An awful fear came down upon me, and for a
+second or two I was like to sink, so numb I turned at the thought that
+perchance the savages had put the knife to him before quitting.  I
+recovered, however, as I called to mind the orders which Tamin had
+rehearsed to me ere starting on his venture; for I knew how sorely the
+Black Abbe was feared by his savage flock.  What they deemed him to
+have commanded, that would they do.
+
+Drawing closer now, I felt the ground beneath my feet.
+
+"Marc," I called softly, "I'm coming, lad!"
+
+The drooped head was lifted.
+
+"Father!" he exclaimed.  And there was something like a sob in that cry
+of joy.  It caught my heart strangely, telling me he was still a boy
+for all he had borne himself so manfully in the face of sudden and
+appalling peril.  Now the long tension was loosed.  He was alone with
+me.  As I sprang to him and cut the thongs that held him, one arm went
+about my neck and I was held very close for the space of some few
+heart-beats.  Then he fetched a deep breath, stretched his cramped
+limbs this way and that, and said simply, "I knew you would come,
+Father!  I knew you would find a way!"
+
+
+
+
+Chapter IV
+
+The Governor's Signature
+
+The clouds slipped clear of the moon's face, and we three--Marc, I, and
+the stake--cast sudden long black shadows which led all the way down to
+the edge of the increeping tide.  I looked at the shadows, and a
+shudder passed through me as if a cold hand had been laid upon my back.
+Marc stood off a little,--never have I seen such quick control, such
+composure, in one so inexperienced,--and remarked to me:--
+
+"What a figure of a man you are, Father, to be sure!"
+
+I fell into his pretence of lightness at once, a high relief after the
+long and deadly strain; and I laughed with some pleasure at the praise.
+In very truth, I cherished a secret pride in my body.
+
+"'Tis well enough, no doubt, in a dim light," said I, "though by now
+surely somewhat battered!"
+
+Marc was already taking off his clothes.  As he knotted them into a
+convenient bundle, there came from the woods, a little way back of the
+point, the hollow "Too-hoo-hoo-whoo-oo!" of the small gray owl.
+
+"There's Tamin!" said I, and was on the point of answering in like
+fashion, when the cry was reiterated twice.
+
+"That means danger, and much need of haste for us," I growled.
+Together we ran down into the tide, striking out with long strokes for
+the fine white line that seethed softly along the dark base of the
+point.  I commended the lad mightily for his swimming, as we scrambled
+upon the beach and slipped swiftly into our clothes.  Though carrying
+his bundle on his head, he had given me all I could do to keep abreast
+of him.
+
+We climbed the bluff, and ran through the wet, keen-scented bushes
+toward the creek where lay the boat.  Ere we had gone half-way Tamin
+met us, breathless.
+
+"What danger?" I asked.
+
+"I think they're coming back to tuck the lad in for the night, and see
+that he's comfortable!" replied Tamin, panting heavily.  "I heard
+paddles when they should have been long out of earshot."
+
+"Something has put them in doubt!" said Marc.
+
+"Sure," said I, "and not strange, if one but think of it!"
+
+"Yet I told them a fair tale," panted Tamin, as he went on swiftly
+toward his boat.
+
+The boat lay yet some yards above the edge of tide, having been run
+aground near high water.  The three of us were not long in dragging her
+down and getting her afloat.  Then came the question that was uppermost.
+
+"Which way?" asked Tamin, laconically, taking the tiller, while Marc
+stood by to hoist the dark and well-patched sail.
+
+I considered the wind for some moments.
+
+"For Chignecto!" said I, with emphasis.  "We must see de Ramezay and
+settle this hound La Garne.  Otherwise Marc stands in hourly peril."
+
+As the broad sail drew, and the good boat, leaning well over, gathered
+way, and the small waves swished and gurgled merrily under her quarter,
+I could hardly withhold from laughing for sheer gladness.  Marc was
+already smoking with great composure beside the mast, his lean face
+thoughtful, but untroubled.  He looked, I thought, almost as old as his
+war-battered sire who now watched him with so proud an eye.  Presently
+I heard Tamin fetch a succession of mighty breaths, as he emptied and
+filled the ample bellows of his lungs.  He snatched the green and
+yellow cap of knitted wool from his head, and let the wind cool the
+sweating black tangle that coarsely thatched his broad skull.
+
+"Hein!" he exclaimed, with a droll glance at Marc, "that's better than
+_that_!"  And he made an expressive gesture as of setting a knife to
+his scalp.  To me this seemed much out of place and time; but Tamin was
+ever privileged in the eyes of a de Mer, so I grumbled not.  As for
+Marc, that phantom of a smile, which I had already learned to watch
+for, just touched his lips, as he remarked calmly:
+
+"Vraiment, much better.  That, as you call it, my Tamin, came so near
+to-night that my scalp needs no cooling since!"
+
+"But whither steering?" I inquired; for the boat was speeding
+south-eastward, straight toward Grand Pre.
+
+Tamin's face told plainly that he had his reasons, and I doubted not
+that they were good.  For some moments that wide, grave mouth opened
+not to make reply, while the little, twinkling, contradictory eyes were
+fixed intently on some far-off landmark, to me invisible.  This point
+being made apparently to his satisfaction, he relaxed and explained.
+
+"You see, M'sieu," said he, "we must get under the loom o' the shore,
+so's we'll be out of sight when the canoes come round the point.  If
+they see a sail, at this time o' night, they'll suspicion the whole
+thing and be after us.  Better let 'em amuse themselves for a spell
+hunting for the lad on dry land, so's we won't be rushed.  Been enough
+rush!"
+
+"Yes!  Yes!" assented I, scanning eagerly the point behind us.  And
+Marc said:--
+
+"Very great is your sagacity, my Tamin.  The Black Abbe fooled himself
+when he forgot to take you into his reckoning!"
+
+At this speech the little wrinkles gathered thicker about Tamin's eyes.
+At length, deeming us to have gone far enough to catch the loom of the
+land, as it lay for one watching from the sand-spit, Tamin altered our
+course, and we ran up the basin.  Just then we marked two canoes
+rounding the point.  They were plainly visible to us, and I made sure
+we should be seen at once; but a glance at Tamin's face reassured me.
+The Fisher understood, as few even among old woodsmen understand it,
+the lay of the shadow-belts on a wide water at night.
+
+Noiselessly we lowered our sail and lay drifting, solicitous to mark
+what the savages might do.  The sand-spit was by this so small that
+from where we lay it was not to be discerned; but we observed the
+Indians run their canoes upon it, disembark, and stoop to examine the
+footprints in the sand.  In a moment or two they embarked again, and
+paddled straight to the point.
+
+"Shrewd enough!" said Marc.
+
+"Yes," said I, "and now they'll track us straight to Tamin's creek, and
+understand that we've taken the boat.  But they won't know what
+direction we've taken!"
+
+"No, M'sieu," muttered Tamin, "but no use loafing round here till they
+find out!"
+
+Which being undoubted wisdom of Tamin's, we again hoisted sail and
+continued our voyage.
+
+Having run some miles up the Basin, we altered our course and stood
+straight across for the northern shore.  We now felt secure from
+pursuit, holding it highly improbable that the savages would guess our
+purpose and destination.  As we sat contenting our eyes with the great
+bellying of the sail, and the fine flurries of spray that ever and
+again flashed up from our speeding prow, and the silver-blue creaming
+of our wake, Marc gave us a surprise.  Thrusting his hand into the
+bosom of his shirt he drew out a packet and handed it to me.
+
+"Here, perhaps, are the proofs on which the gentle Abbe relied!" said
+he.
+
+Taking the packet mechanically, I stared at the lad in astonishment.
+But there was no information to be gathered from that inscrutable
+countenance, so I presently recollected myself, and unfolded the
+papers.  There were two of them.  The moon was partly clear at the
+moment, and I made out the first to be an order, written in English, on
+one Master Nathaniel Apthorp, merchant, of Boston, directing him to pay
+Master Marc de Mer, of Grand Pre in Nova Scotia, the sum of two hundred
+and fifty pounds.  It was signed "Paul Mascarene, Gov^r of Nova
+Scotia."  The other paper was written in finer and more hasty
+characters, and I could not decipher it in the uncertain light.  But
+the signature was the same as that appended to the order on Mr. Apthorp.
+
+"I cannot decipher this one, in this bad light," said I; "but what does
+it all mean, Marc?  How comes the English Governor to be owing you two
+hundred and fifty pounds?"
+
+"Does he owe me two hundred and fifty pounds?  That's surely news of
+interest!" said Marc.
+
+I looked at him, amazed.
+
+"Do you mean to say that you don't know what is in these papers?" I
+inquired, handing them back.
+
+"How should I know that?" said Marc, with a calmness which was not a
+little irritating.  "They were placed in my pocket by the good Abbe;
+and since then my opportunities of reading have been but scant!"
+
+Tamin ejaculated a huge grunt of indignant comprehension; and I,
+beholding all at once the whole wicked device, threw up my hands and
+fell to whistling an idle air.  It seemed to me a case for which curses
+would seem but tame and pale.
+
+"This other, then," said I, presently, "must be a letter that would
+seem to have been written to you by the Governor, and worded in such a
+fashion as to compromise you plainly!"
+
+"'Tis altogether probable, Father," replied Marc, musingly, as he
+scanned the page.  He was trying to prove his own eyesight better than
+mine, but found the enterprise beyond him,--as I knew he would.
+
+"I can make out nothing of this other, save the signature," he
+continued.  "We must even wait for daylight.  And in the meanwhile I
+think you had better keep the packet, Father, for I feel my wits and my
+experience something lacking in this snarl."
+
+I took the papers and hid them in a deep pocket which I wore within the
+bosom of my shirt.
+
+"The trap was well set, and deadly, lad," said I, highly pleased at his
+confidence in my wisdom to conduct the affair.  "But trust me to spring
+it.  Whatever this other paper may contain, de Ramezay shall see them
+both and understand the whole plot."
+
+"'Twill be hard to explain away," said Marc, doubtfully, "if it be
+forged with any fair degree of skill!"
+
+"Trust my credit with de Ramezay for that.  It is something the Black
+Abbe has not reckoned upon!" said I, with assurance, stuffing my pipe
+contentedly with the right Virginia leaf.  Marc, being well tired with
+all that he had undergone that day, laid his head on the cuddy and was
+presently sound asleep.  In a low voice, not to disturb the slumberer,
+I talked with Tamin, and learned how he had chanced to come so pat upon
+me in my bonds.  He had been on the way up to the Forge, coming not by
+the trail, but straight through the forest, when he caught a view of
+the Indians, and took alarm at the stealth of their approach.  He had
+tracked them with a cunning beyond their own, and so achieved to outdo
+them with their own weapons.
+
+The moon now swam clear in the naked sky, the clouds lying far below.
+By the broad light I could see very well to read the letter.  It was
+but brief, and ran thus:--
+
+
+_To my good Friend and trusted Helper Monsieur Marc de Mer_:--
+
+DEAR SIR,--As touching the affair which you have so prudently carried
+through, and my gratitude for your so good help, permit the enclosed
+order on Master Apthorp to speak for me.  If I might hope that you
+would find it in your heart and within your convenience to put me under
+yet weightier obligations, I would be so bold as to desire an exact
+account of the forces at Chignecto, and of the enterprize upon which
+Monsieur de Ramezay is purposing to employ them.
+
+Believe me to be, my dear Sir, yours with high esteem and consideration,
+
+PAUL MASCARENE.
+
+
+With a wonder of indignation I read it through, and then again aloud to
+Tamin, who cursed the author with such ingenious Acadian oaths as made
+me presently smile.
+
+"It is right shrewdly devised," said I, "but the deviser knew little of
+the blunt English Governor, or never would he have made him write with
+such courtly circumlocutions.  De Ramezay, very like, will have seen
+communications of Mascarene's before now, and will scarce fail to note
+the disagreement."
+
+"The fox has been known to file his tongue too smooth," said Tamin,
+sententiously.
+
+By this we were come over against the huge black front of Blomidon, but
+our course lay far outside the shadow of his frown, in the silvery run
+of the seas.  The moon floated high over the great Cape, yellow as
+gold, and the bare sky was like an unruffled lake.  Far behind us
+opened the mouth of the Piziquid stream, a bright gap in the dark but
+vague shore-line.  On our right the waters unrolled without obstruction
+till they mixed pallidly with the sky in the mouth of Cobequid Bay.
+Five miles ahead rose the lofty shore which formed the northern wall of
+Minas Channel,--grim and forbidding enough by day; but now, in such
+fashion did the moonlight fall along it, wearing a face of fairyland,
+and hinting of fountained palaces in its glens and high hollows.  After
+I had filled my heart with the fairness and the wonder of it, I lay
+down upon a thwart and fell asleep.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter V
+
+In the Run of the Seas
+
+It seemed as if I had but fairly got my eyes shut, when I was awakened
+by a violent pitching of the boat.  I sat up, grasping the gunwale, and
+saw Marc just catching my knee to rouse me.  The boat, heeling far
+over, and hauled close to the wind, was heading a little up the channel
+and straight for a narrow inlet which I knew to be the joint mouth of
+two small rivers.
+
+"Where are you going?  Why is our course changed?" I asked sharply,
+being nettled by a sudden notion that they had made some change of plan
+without my counsel.
+
+"Look yonder, Father!" said Marc, pointing.
+
+I looked, and my heart shook with mingled wrath and apprehension.
+Behind us followed three canoes, urged on by sail and paddle.
+
+"They outsail us?" I inquired.
+
+"Ay, before the wind, they do, M'sieu!" said Tamin.  "On this tack,
+maybe not.  We'll soon see!"
+
+"But what's this but a mere trap we are running our heads into?" I
+urged.
+
+"I fear there's nothing else but to quit the boat and make through the
+woods, Father," explained Marc; "that is, if we're so fortunate as to
+keep ahead till we reach land."
+
+"In the woods, I suppose, we can outwit them or outfoot them," said I;
+"but those Micmacs are untiring on the trail."
+
+"I know a good man with a good boat over by Shulie on the Fundy shore,"
+interposed Tamin.  "And I know the way over the hills.  We'll cheat the
+rogue of a priest yet!"  And he shrewdly measured the distance that
+parted us from our pursuers.
+
+"It galls me to be running from these dogs!" I growled.
+
+"Our turn will come," said Marc, glowering darkly at the canoes.  "Do
+you guess the Black Abbe is with them?"
+
+"Not he!" grunted Tamin.
+
+"Things may happen this time," said I, "and the good father may wish to
+keep his soutane clear of them.  It's all plain enough to me now.  The
+Indians, finding themselves tricked, have gone back on the Pereau trail
+and most inopportunely have released the gentle Abbe from his bonds.
+He has seen through our game, and has sent his pack to look to it that
+we never get to de Ramezay.  But _he_ will have no hand in it.  Oh, no!"
+
+"What's plain to me now," interrupted Tamin, with some anxiety in his
+voice, "is that they're gaining on us fast.  They've put down
+leeboards; an' with leeboards down a Micmac canoe's hard to beat."
+
+"Oh!" I exclaimed bitterly, "if we had but our muskets!  Fool that I
+was, thus to think to save time and not go back for our weapons!  Trust
+me, lad, it's the first time that Jean de Mer has had that particular
+kind of folly to repent of!"
+
+"But there was nought else for it, Father," said Marc.  "And if, as
+seems most possible, we come to close quarters presently, we are not so
+naked as we might be.  Here's your two pistols, my good whinger, and
+Tamin's fishy dirk.  And Tamin's gaff here will make a pretty lance.
+It is borne in upon me that some of the good Abbe's lambs will bleat
+for their shepherd before this night's work be done!"
+
+There was a steady light in his eyes that rejoiced me much, and his
+voice rose and fell as if fain to break into a war song; and I said to
+myself, "The boy is a fighter, and the fire is in his blood, for all
+his scholar's prating of peace!"  Yet he straightway turned his back
+upon the enemy and with great indifference went to filling his pipe.
+
+"Ay, an' there be a right good gun in the cuddy!" grunted Tamin, after
+a second or two of silence.
+
+"The saints be praised!" said I.  And Marc's long arm reached in to
+capture it.  It was a huge weapon, and my heart beat high at sight of
+it.  Marc caressed it for an instant, then reluctantly passed it to me,
+with the powder-horn.
+
+"I can shoot, a little, myself," said he, "but I would be presumptuous
+to boast when you were by, Father!"
+
+"Ay, vraiment," said Tamin, sharply; "don't think you can shoot with
+the Sieur de Briart yet!"
+
+"I don't," replied Marc, simply, as he handed me out a pouch of bullets
+and a pouch of slugs.
+
+The pursuing canoes were by this come within fair range.  There came a
+strident hail from the foremost:--
+
+"Lay to, or we shoot!"
+
+"Shoot, dogs!" I shouted, ramming home the good measure of powder which
+I had poured into my hand.  I followed it with a fair charge of slugs,
+and was wadding it loosely, when--
+
+"Duck!" cries Tamin, bobbing his head lower than the tiller.
+
+Neither Marc nor I moved a hair.  But we gazed at the canoes.  On the
+instant two red flames blazed out, with a redoubled bang; and one
+bullet went through the sail a little above my head.
+
+"Not bad!" said Marc, glancing tranquilly at the bullet hole.
+
+But for my own part, I was angry.  To be fired upon thus, at a priest's
+orders, by a pack of scurvy savages in the pay of our own party,--never
+before had Jean de Briart been put to such indignity.  I kneeled, and
+took a very cautious aim,--not, however, at the savages, but at the bow
+of the nearest canoe.
+
+Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my shoulder very
+vilely.  But the result of the shot was all that we could desire.  As I
+made haste to load again I noticed that the savage in the bow had
+fallen backward in his place, hit by a stray slug.  The bulk of the
+charge, however, had torn a great hole in the bark, close to the
+water-line.
+
+[Illustration: Tamin's big gun clapped like a cannon, and kicked my
+shoulder very vilely.]
+
+"You've done it, Father!" said Marc, in a tone of quiet exultation.
+
+"Hein!" grunted Tamin.  "They don't like the wet!"
+
+The canoe was going down by the bow.  The other two craft ranged
+hurriedly alongside, and took in the gesticulating crew,--all but one,
+whom they left in the stern to paddle the damaged canoe to land, being
+loth to lose a serviceable craft.  With broken bow high in air the
+canoe spun around, and sped off up the Basin before the wind.  The
+remaining two resumed the chase of us.  We had gained a great space
+during the confusion, yet they came up upon us fast.
+
+But now, ere I judged them to be within gunshot, they slackened speed.
+
+"They think better of it!" said I, raising the gun again to my
+shoulder.  As I did so they sheered off in haste to a safer distance.
+
+"They are not such fools as I had hoped!" said Marc.
+
+"I so far flatter myself as to think," said I, with some complacency,
+"that they won't trust themselves willingly again within range of this
+good barker."
+
+By this we were come well within the wide mouth of the estuary, and a
+steep, wooded point thrust out upon our right.  All at once I muttered
+a curse upon my dulness.
+
+"What fools we are, to be sure!" I cried.  "No reason that we should
+toil across the mountains to your good man's good boat at Shulie, my
+Tamin.  Put her about, and we'll sail in comfort around to Chignecto;
+and let these fellows come in range again at their peril!"
+
+"To be sure, indeed!" grunted Tamin; and with a lurch and great
+flapping we went about.
+
+The canoes, indeed, now fled before us with excellent discretion.  Our
+new course carried us under the gloom of the promontory, whence, in a
+few minutes, we shot out again into the moonlight.  It was pleasant to
+see our antagonists making such courteous haste to give us room.  I
+could not forbear to chuckle over it, and wished mightily that the
+Black Abbe were in one of the canoes.
+
+"I fear me there's to be no work for Tamin's fishy dirk or my good
+whinger," sighed Marc, with a nice air of melancholy; and Tamin, with
+the little wrinkles thicker than ever about his eyes, yelled droll
+taunts after our late pursuers.  In fact, we were all three in immense
+high feather,--when on a sudden there came a crashing bump that tumbled
+us headlong, the mast went overboard, and there we were stuck fast upon
+a sharp rock.  The boat was crushed in like an egg-shell, and lay over
+on her side.  The short, chopping seas huddled upon us in a smother.
+As I rose up, sputtering, I took note of Tamin's woollen cap washing
+away debonairly, snatched off, belike, by a taut rope as the mast fell.
+Then, clinging all three to the topmost gunwale, the waves jumping and
+sousing us derisively, we stared at each other in speechless dismay.
+But a chorus of triumphant screeches from the canoes, as they noted our
+mishap and made to turn, brought us to our senses.
+
+"Nothing for it but to swim!" said I, thrusting down the now useless
+musket into the cuddy, where I hoped it might stay in case the wrecked
+boat should drift ashore.  It was drenched, of course, and something
+too heavy to swim with.  I emptied the slugs from my pocket.  Tamin
+ducked his head under water and fumbled in the cuddy till I was on the
+point of plucking him forth, fearing he would drown,--Marc, meanwhile,
+looking on tranquilly and silently, with that fleeting remembrance of a
+smile.  But now Tamin arose, gasping, with a small sack and a salted
+hake in his hands.  The fish he passed over to me.
+
+"Bread, M'sieu!" said he, holding up the drenched sack in triumph.
+"Now for the woods!"
+
+'Twas but the toss of a biscuit to shore, and we had gained it ere our
+enemies were come within gunshot.  Running swiftly along the strip of
+beach that skirted the steep, we put the shoulder of the cape between,
+and were safe from observation for a few minutes.
+
+"To the woods, M'sieu!" cried Tamin, in a suppressed voice.
+
+"No!" said I, sternly.  "Straight along the beach, till I give the word
+to turn in!  Follow me!"
+
+"'Tis the one chance, to get out of sight now!" grumbled Tamin, running
+beside me, and clutching at his wet sack of bread.
+
+"Don't you suppose he knows what he is doing, my Tamin?" interrupted
+Marc.  "'Tis for you and me to obey orders!"
+
+Tamin growled, but said no more.
+
+"Now in with you to cover," I commanded, waving my salt fish as it had
+been a marshal's baton.  At the same moment I turned, ran up the wet
+slope where a spring bubbled out of the wood's edge and spread itself
+over the stones, and sprang behind a thick screen of viburnums.  My
+companions were beside me on the instant,--but it was not an instant
+too soon.  As we paused to look back, there were the canoes coming
+furiously around the point.
+
+Staying not long to observe them, I led the way straight into the
+darkness of the woods, aiming for the seashore at the other side of the
+point.  But Tamin was not satisfied.
+
+"Our road lies straight up yon river," said he.
+
+"My friend," said I, "we must e'en find another road to Shulie.  Those
+fellows will be sure to agree that we have gone that way.  Knowing that
+I am a cunning woodsman, they will say, 'He will make them to run in
+the water, and so leave no trail.'  And they will give hot chase up the
+river."
+
+"But there be two rivers," objected Tamin.
+
+"Bien," said I, "they will divide their party, and give hot chase up
+two rivers!"
+
+"And in the meanwhile?" inquired Marc.
+
+"I'll find the way to Shulie," said I.  "The stars and the sun are
+guide enough!  I know the main lay of all these coasts."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter VI
+
+Grul
+
+The undergrowth into which we had now come was thick and hindering, so
+there was no further chance of speech.  A few minutes more and we came
+out upon the seaward slope of the point.  We pushed straight down to
+the water, here sheltered from the wind and little troubled.  That our
+footprints might be hidden, at least for a time, we ran, one behind the
+other, along the lip of the tide, where the water was about ankle deep.
+In the stillness our splashing sounded dangerously loud, and Tamin, yet
+in a grumbling humour, spoke of it.
+
+"But you forget, my friend," said I, gently, "that there is noise and
+to spare where our enemies are,--across there in the wind!"
+
+In a moment Tamin spoke again, pointing some little way ahead.
+
+"The land drops away yonder, M'sieu, 'twixt the point and the main
+shore!" he growled, with conspicuous anxiety in his voice.  He was no
+trembler; but it fretted him to be taking what he deemed the weaker
+course.  "Nothing," he added, "but a bit of bare beach that the waves
+go over at spring tides when the wind's down the Basin!"
+
+I paused in some dismay.  But my mind was made up.
+
+"We must go on," said I.  "But we will stoop low, and lose no time in
+the passage.  They'll scarce be landed yet."
+
+And now, as I came to see how low indeed that strip of perilous beach
+was, I somewhat misdoubted of success in getting by unseen.  But we
+went a little deeper in the tide, and bowed our bodies with great
+humbleness, and so passed over with painful effort but not a little
+speed.  Being come again under shelter, we straightened ourselves, well
+pleased, fetched a deep breath or two, and ran on with fresh celerity.
+
+"But if a redskin should think to step over the beach, there'd be our
+goose cooked!" muttered Tamin.
+
+"Well said!" I answered.  "Therefore let us strike inland at once!"
+And I led the way again into the darkness of the forest.
+
+Dark as it was, there was yet light enough from the moon to enable me
+to direct my course as I wished.  I struck well west of the course
+which would have taken us most speedily to Shulie, being determined to
+avoid the valley of the stream which I considered our pursuers were
+most likely to ascend.  To satisfy Tamin's doubts I explained my
+purpose, which was to aim straight for Shulie as soon as we were over
+the water-shed.  And I must do him the justice to say he was content,
+beginning now to come more graciously to my view.  We went but slowly,
+climbing, ever climbing.  At times we would be groping through a great
+blackness of hemlocks.  Again the forest would be more open, a mingling
+of fir trees, and birches, and maples.  Coming at last to more level
+ground, we were still much hindered by innumerable rocks, amid which
+the underbrush and wild vines prepared pitfalls for our weary feet.
+But I was not yet willing to call a halt for breath.  On, on we
+stumbled, the wet branches buffeting our faces, but a cool and pleasant
+savour of the wild herbs which we trod upon ever exhaling upwards to
+refresh our senses.  As we crossed a little grassy glade, I observed
+that Marc had come to Tamin's help, and was carrying the sack of bread.
+I observed, also, that Tamin's face was drawn with fatigue, and that he
+went with a kind of dogged heaviness.  I took pity upon him.  We had
+put, I guessed, good miles between ourselves and our pursuers, and I
+felt that we were, in all reason, safe for the time.  At the further
+limit of the glade there chattered a shallow brook, whose sweet noise
+reminded me that I was parched with thirst.  The pallor of first dawn
+was now coming into the sky, and the tree tops began to lift and float
+in an aerial grayness.  I glanced at Marc, and his eyes met mine with a
+keen brightness that told me he was yet unwearied.  Nevertheless I
+cried:--
+
+"Halt, and fall out for breakfast."  And with the words I flung myself
+down by the brook, thrust my burning face into the babbling chill of
+it, and drank luxuriously.  Tamin was beside me in an instant; but Marc
+slaked his thirst at more leisure, when he had well enjoyed watching
+our satisfaction.
+
+We lay for a little, till the sky was touched here and there with
+saffron and flying wisps of pink, and we began to see the colour of
+grass and leaves.  Then we made our meal,--a morsel each of the salt
+hake which I had clung to through our flight, and some bits of Tamin's
+black bread.  This bread was wholesome, as I well knew, and to our
+hunger it was not unsavoury; but it was of a hardness which the
+sea-water had scarce availed to mitigate.
+
+As we ground hastily upon the meagre fare, I felt, rather than heard, a
+presence come behind me.  I turned my head with a start, and at the
+same instant heard a high, plangent voice, close beside us, crying
+slowly:--
+
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh."
+
+It was an astonishing figure upon which my eyes fell,--a figure which
+might have been grotesque, but was not.  Instead of laughing, my heart
+thrilled with a kind of awe.  The man was not old,--his frame was erect
+and strong with manhood; but the long hair hanging about his neck was
+white, the long beard streaming upon his half-naked breast was white.
+He wore leathern breeches, and the upper portion of his body was
+covered only by a cloak of coarse woollen stuff, woven in a staring
+pattern of black and yellow.  On his head was a rimless cap of plaited
+straw, with a high, pointed crown; and this was stuck full of gaudy
+flowers and feathers.  From the point of the crown rose the stump of
+what had been, belike, a spray of goldenrod, broken by a hasty
+journeying through the obstructions of the forest.  The man's eyes, of
+a wild and flaming blue, fixed themselves on mine.  In one hand he
+carried a white stick, with a grotesque carven head, dyed scarlet,
+which he pointed straight at me.
+
+"Do you lie down, like cows that chew the cud, when the wolves are on
+the trail?" demanded that plangent voice.
+
+"It's Grul!" cried Tamin, springing to his feet and thrusting a piece
+of black bread into the stranger's hand.
+
+But the offering was thrust aside, while those wide eyes flamed yet
+more wildly upon me.
+
+"They are on the trail, I tell you!" he repeated.  "I hear their feet
+even now!  Go!  Run!  Fly!" and he stooped, with an ear toward the
+ground.
+
+"But which way should we fly?" I asked, half in doubt whether his
+warning should be heeded or derided.  I could see that neither Marc nor
+Tamin had any such doubts.  They were on the strain to be off, and only
+awaited my word.
+
+"Go up the brook," said he, in a lower voice.  "The first small stream
+on your left hand, turn up that a little way, and so--for the wolves
+shall this time be balked.  But the black wolf's teeth bite deep.  They
+shall bite upon the throats of the people!" he continued, his voice
+rising keenly, his white staff, with its grinning scarlet head, waving
+in strange, intricate curves.  We were already off, making at almost
+full speed up the brook.  Glancing back, I saw the fantastic form
+running to and fro over the ground where we had lain; and when the
+trees hid him we heard those ominous words wailed slowly over and over
+with the reiterance of a tolling bell:--
+
+"Woe, woe for Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh!"
+
+"He'll throw them off the trail!" said Tamin, confidently.
+
+"But how did they ever get on it?" queried Marc.
+
+"'Tis plain that they have seen or heard us as we passed the strip of
+beach!" said I, in deep vexation, for I hated to be overreached by any
+one in woodcraft.  "If we outwit them now, it's no thanks to my
+tactics, but only to that generous and astonishing madman.  You both
+seemed to know him.  Who, in the name of all the saints, might he be?
+What was it you called him, Tamin?"
+
+"Grul!" replied Tamin; and said no more, discreetly husbanding his
+wind.  But Marc spoke for him.
+
+"I have heard him called no other name but Grul!  Madman he is, at
+times, I think.  But sane for the most part, and with some touches of a
+wisdom beyond the wisdom of men.  The guise of madness he wears always;
+and the Indians, as well as our own people, reverence him mightily.  It
+is nigh upon three years since he first appeared in Acadie.  He hates
+the Black Abbe,--who, they say, once did him some great mischief in
+some other land than this,--and his strange ravings, his prodigious
+prophesyings, do something here and there to weaken the Abbe's
+influence with our people."
+
+"Then how does he evade the good father's wrath?" I questioned, in
+wonder.
+
+"Oh," said Marc, "the good father hates him cordially enough.  But the
+Indians could not be persuaded, or bullied, or bribed, to lift a hand
+against him.  They say a Manitou dwells in him."
+
+"Maybe they're not far wrong!" grunted Tamin.
+
+And now I, like Tamin, found it prudent to spare my wind.  But Marc,
+whose lungs seemed untiring, spoke from time to time as he went, and
+told me certain incidents, now of Grul's acuteness, now of his gift of
+prophecy, now of his fantastic madness.  We came at length, after
+passing two small rivulets on the right, to the stream on the left
+which Grul had indicated.  It had a firm bed, wherein our footsteps
+left no trace, and we ascended it for perhaps a mile, by many windings.
+Then, with crafty care, we crept up from the stream, in such a fashion
+as to leave no mark of our divergence if, as I thought not likely, our
+pursuers should come that way.  After that we fetched a great circuit,
+crossed the parent brook, and shortly before noon judged that we might
+account ourselves secure.  Where a tiny spring bubbled beneath a
+granite boulder and trickled away north toward the Fundy shore, we
+stopped to munch black bread and the remnant of the fish.  We rested
+for an hour,--Tamin and I sleeping, while Marc, who protested that he
+felt no motion toward slumber, kept watch.  When he roused us, we set
+off pleasantly refreshed, our faces toward Shulie.
+
+Till late that night we journeyed, having a clear moon to guide us.
+Coming at length to the edge of a small lake set with islands, "Here,"
+said I, "is the place where we may sleep secure!"
+
+We stripped, took our bundles on our heads, and swam out into the
+shining stillness.  We swam past two islets, and landed upon one which
+caught my fancy.  There we lay down in a bed of sweet-smelling fern,
+and were well content.  As we supped on Tamin's good black bread, two
+loons laughed to each other out on the silver surface.  We saw their
+black, watchful heads, moving slowly.  Then we slept.  It was high day
+when we awoke.  The bread was now scarce, so we husbanded it, and made
+such good speed all day that while it wanted yet some hours of sunset
+we came out upon a bluff's edge and saw below us the wash and roll of
+Fundy.  We were some way west of Shulie, but not far, Tamin said, from
+the house of his good friend with the good boat.
+
+To this house we came within the hour.  It was a small, home-like
+cabin, among apple trees, in a slant clearing that overhung a narrow
+creek.  There, by a little jetty, I rejoiced to see the boat.  The man
+of the house, one Beaudry, was in the woods looking for his cow, but
+the goodwife made us welcome.  When Beaudry came in he and Tamin fell
+on each other's necks.  And I found, too, that the name of Jean de
+Briart, with something of his poor exploits, was not all unknown in the
+cabin.
+
+How well we supped that night, on fresh shad well broiled, and fresh
+sweet barley bread, and thin brown buckwheat cakes!  It was settled at
+once that Beaudry should put us over to de Ramezay's camp with the
+first of the morrow's tide.  Then, over our pipes, sitting under the
+apple tree by the porch, we told our late adventures.  I say we, but
+Tamin told them, and gave them a droll colouring which delighted me.
+It must have tickled Marc's fancy, too, for I took note that he let his
+pipe out many times during the story.  Beaudry kept crying "Hein!" and
+"Bien!" and "Tiens!" in an ecstasy of admiration.  The goodwife,
+however, was seemingly most touched by the loss of Tamin's knitted cap.
+With a face of great concern, as who should say "Poor soul!" she jumped
+up, ran into the house, was gone a few moments, and returned beaming
+benevolence.
+
+"V'la!" she cried; and stuck upon Tamin's wiry black head a bran-new
+cap of red wool.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter VII
+
+The Commander is Embarrassed
+
+Next day we set out at a good hour, and came without further adventure
+to Chignecto.  Having landed, amid a little swarm of fishing-boats, we
+then went straight to de Ramezay's headquarters, leaving Beaudry at the
+wharf among his cronies.  We crossed a strip of dyked marsh, whereon
+were many sleek Acadian cattle cropping the rich aftermath, and
+ascended the gentle slope of the uplands.  Amid a few scattered cabins
+were ranged the tents of the soldiers.  Camp fires and sheaves of
+stacked muskets gave the bright scene a warlike countenance.  Higher up
+the hill stood a white cottage, larger than the rest, its door painted
+red, with green panels; and from a staff on its gable, blown out
+bravely by the wind which ever sweeps those Fundy marshlands, flapped
+the white banner with the Lilies of France.
+
+The sentry who challenged us at the foot of the slope knew me,--had
+once fought under me in a border skirmish,--and, saluting with great
+respect, summoned a guard to conduct us to headquarters.  As we climbed
+the last dusty rise and turned in, past the long well-sweep and two
+gaunt, steeple-like Lombardy poplars, to the yard before the cottage,
+the door opened and the commander himself stood before us.  His face
+lit up gladly as I stepped forward to greet him, and with great warmth
+he sprang to embrace me.
+
+"My dear Briart!" he cried.  "I have long expected you!"
+
+"I am but just returned to Acadie, my dear friend," said I, with no
+less warmth than he had evinced, "or you would surely have seen me here
+to greet you on your coming.  But the King's service kept me on the
+Richelieu!"
+
+"And even your restless activity, my Jean, cannot put you in two places
+at once," said he, as he turned with an air of courteous inquiry to my
+companions.  Perceiving at once by his dress that Tamin was a habitant,
+his eyes rested upon Marc.
+
+"My son Marc, Monsieur de Ramezay," said I.
+
+The two bowed, Marc very respectfully, as became a young man on
+presentation to a distinguished officer, but de Ramezay with a sudden
+and most noticeable coldness.  At this I flushed with anger, but the
+moment was not one for explanations.  I restrained myself; and turning
+to Tamin, I said in an altered tone:--
+
+"And this, de Ramezay, is my good friend and faithful follower, Tamin
+Violet, of Canard parish, who desires to enlist for service under you.
+More of him, and all to his credit, I will tell you by and by.  I
+merely commend him to you now as brave, capable, and a good shot!"
+
+"I have ever need of such!" said de Ramezay, quickly.  "As you
+recommend him, he shall serve in Monsieur de Ville d'Avray's company,
+which forms my own guard."
+
+Summoning an orderly, he gave directions to this effect.  As Tamin
+turned to depart with the orderly, both Marc and I stepped up to him
+and wrung his hands, and thanked him many times for the courage and
+craft which had saved Marc's life as well as the honour of our family.
+
+"We'll see you again to-night or in the morning, my Tamin," said Marc.
+
+"And tell you how goes my talk with the commander," added I, quietly.
+
+"And for the boat we wrecked," continued Marc, "why, of course, we
+won't remain in your debt for a small thing like that; though for the
+great matter, and for your love, we are always your debtors gladly!"
+
+"And in the King's uniform," said I, cutting short Tamin's attempted
+protestations, "even the Black Abbe will not try to molest you."
+
+I turned again to de Ramezay, who was waiting a few paces aside, and
+said, with a courtesy that was something formal after the warmth of our
+first greeting:--
+
+"Your pardon, de Ramezay!  But Tamin has gone through much with us and
+for us.  And now, my son and I would crave an undisturbed conversation
+with you."
+
+At once, and without a word, he conducted us into his private room,
+where he invited us to be seated.  As we complied, he himself remained
+standing, with every sign of embarrassment in his frank and fearless
+countenance.  I had ever liked him well.  Good cause to like him,
+indeed, I had in my heart, for I had once stood over his body in a
+frontier skirmish, and saved his scalp from the knives of the
+Onondagas.  But now my anger was hot against him, for it was plain to
+me that he had lent ear to some slanders against Marc.  For a second or
+two there was a silence, then Marc sprang to his feet.
+
+"Perhaps if I stand," said he, coldly, "Monsieur de Ramezay will do us
+the honour of sitting."
+
+De Ramezay's erect figure--a very soldierly and imposing figure it was
+in its uniform of white and gold--straightened itself haughtily for an
+instant.  Then he began, but with a stammering tongue:--
+
+"I bitterly regret--it grieves me,--it pains me to even hint it,--" and
+he kept his eyes upon the floor as he spoke,--"but your son, my dear
+friend, is accused--"
+
+Here I broke in upon him, springing to my feet.
+
+"Stop!" said I, sternly.
+
+He looked at me with a face of sorrowful inquiry, into which a tinge of
+anger rose slowly.
+
+"Remember," I continued, "that whatever accusation or imputation you
+make now, I shall require you to prove beyond a peradventure,--or to
+make good with your sword against mine!  My son is the victim of a vile
+conspiracy.  He is--"
+
+"Then he _is_ loyal, you say, to France?" interrupted de Ramezay,
+eagerly.
+
+"I say," said I, in a voice of steel, "that he has done nothing that
+his father, a soldier of France, should blush to tell,--nothing that an
+honest gentleman should not do."  My voice softened a little as I
+noticed the change in his countenance.  "And oh, Ramezay," I continued,
+"had any man an hour ago told me that _you_ would condemn a son of mine
+unheard,--that you, on the mere word of a false priest or his wretched
+tools, would have believed that a son of Jean de Mer could be a
+traitor, I would have driven the words down his throat for a black lie,
+a slander on my friend!"
+
+De Ramezay was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed upon the floor.
+Then he lifted his head.
+
+"I was wrong.  Forgive me, my friend!" said he, very simply.  "I see
+clearly that I ought to have held the teller of those tales in
+suspicion, knowing of him what I do know.  And now, since you give me
+your word the tales are false, they are false.  Pardon me, I beg of
+you, Monsieur!" he added, turning to Marc and holding out his hand.
+
+Marc bowed very low, but appeared not to see the hand.
+
+"If you have heard, Monsieur de Ramezay," said he, "that, before it was
+made plain that France would seek to recover Acadie out of English
+hands, I, a mere boy, urged my fellow Acadians to accept the rule in
+good faith;--if you have heard that I then urged them not to be misled
+to their own undoing by an unscrupulous and merciless intriguer who
+disgraces his priestly office;--if you have heard that, since then, I
+have cursed bitterly the corruption at Quebec which is threatening New
+France with instant ruin,--you have heard but truly!"
+
+De Ramezay bit his lips and flushed slightly.  Marc was not making the
+situation easier; but I could scarce blame him.  Our host, however,
+motioned us to our seats, taking his own chair immediately that he saw
+us seated.  For my own part, my anger was quite assuaged.  I hastened
+to clear the atmosphere.
+
+"Let me tell you the whole story, Ramezay," said I, "and you will
+understand.  But first let me say that my son is wholly devoted to the
+cause of France.  His former friendly intercourse with the English, a
+boyish matter, he brought to an utter end when the war came this way."
+
+"And let me say," interrupted de Ramezay, manfully striving to amend
+his error, "that when one whom I need not name was filling my ear with
+matter not creditable to a young man named Marc de Mer, it did not come
+at all to my mind--and can you wonder?--that the person so spoken of
+was a son of my Briart, of the man who had so perilled his own life to
+save mine!  I thought your son was but a child.  It was thus that the
+accusations were allowed to stick in my mind,--which I do most heartily
+repent of!  And for which I again crave pardon!"
+
+"I beg of you, Monsieur, that you will think no more of it!" said Marc,
+heartily, being by this quite appeased.
+
+Then with some particularity I told our story,--not omitting Marc's
+visit to his little Puritan at Annapolis, whereat de Ramezay smiled,
+and seemed to understand something which had before been dark to him.
+When the Black Abbe came upon the scene (I had none of our host's
+reluctance to mention the Abbe's name!) de Ramezay's brows gathered
+gloomily.  But he heard the tale through with breathless attention up
+to the point of our landing at Chignecto.
+
+"And now, right glad am I that you are here," he exclaimed, stretching
+out a hand to each of us.  The frank welcome that illuminated the
+strong lines of his face left no more shadow of anger in our hearts.
+
+"And here are the Abbe's precious documents!" said I, fetching forth
+the packet.
+
+De Ramezay examined both letters with the utmost care.
+
+"The reward," he said presently, with a dry smile, "is on a scale that
+savours of Quebec rather more than of thrifty New England.  When Boston
+holds the purse-strings, information is bought cheaper than that!  As
+for the signature, it is passable.  But I fear it would scarce satisfy
+Master Apthorp!"
+
+"I thought as much," said I, "though I have seen Mascarene's signature
+but once."
+
+De Ramezay fingered the paper, and held it up to the light.
+
+"But a point which will interest you particularly, Monsieur," he
+continued, addressing Marc, "is the fact that this paper was made in
+France!"
+
+"It is gratifying to know that, Monsieur!" replied Marc, with his
+vanishing smile.
+
+"It would be embarrassing to some people," said de Ramezay, "if they
+knew we were aware of it.  But I may say here frankly that they must
+not know it.  You will readily understand that my hands are something
+less than free.  As things go now at Quebec, there are methods used
+which I cannot look upon with favour, and which I must therefore seem
+not to see.  I am forced to use the tools which are placed in my hands.
+This priest of whom you speak is a power in Acadie.  He is thought to
+be indispensable to our cause.  He will do the things that, alas, have
+to be done, but which no one else will do.  And I believe he does love
+France,--he is surely sincere in that.  But he rests very heavily,
+methinks, on the conscience of his good bishop at Quebec, who, but for
+the powers that interfere, would call him to a sharp account.  I tell
+you all this so that you will see why I must not charge the Abbe with
+this villany of his.  I am compelled to seem ignorant of it."
+
+I assured him that I apprehended the straits in which he found himself,
+and would be content if he would merely give the Abbe to understand
+that Marc was not to be meddled with.
+
+"Of course," said Marc, at this point, "I wish to enter active service,
+with Father; and I shall therefore be, for the most part, beyond the
+good Abbe's reach.  But we have business at Grand Pre and Canard that
+will hold us there a week or thereabouts; and it is annoying to walk in
+the hourly peril of being tomahawked and scalped for a spy!"
+
+"I'll undertake to secure you in this regard," laughed de Ramezay; "and
+in return, perchance I may count on your support when I move against
+Annapolis, as my purpose is to do ere many weeks!"
+
+"Assuredly!" said Marc, "if my father have made for me no other plans!"
+And he turned to me for my word in the matter.
+
+As it chanced, this was exactly as I had purposed, which I made at once
+to appear.  It was presently agreed, therefore, that we should tarry
+some days at Chignecto, returning thereafter to despatch our affairs at
+home and await de Ramezay's summons.  As the Commander's guests we were
+lodged in his own quarters, and Tamin was detailed to act as our
+orderly.  The good Beaudry, with his good boat, was sent home not
+empty-handed to his goodwife near Shulie, with instructions to come
+again for us in five days.  And Tamin, having now no more need of it,
+sent back to Madame Beaudry, with best compliments, her knitted cap of
+red wool.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter VIII
+
+The Black Abbe Comes to Dinner
+
+Of the pleasant but something irrelevant matter of how merrily we
+supped that night with de Ramezay and his officers,--many of whom I
+knew, all of whom knew me or my adventurous repute,--I will not linger
+to discourse.  Nor of the costly dainties from France which enriched
+the board, side by side with fair salmon from the Tantramar and
+bursting-fat plover from the Joli-Coeur marshes.  Nor of the good red
+wine of Burgundy which so enhanced the relish of those delectable
+birds,--and of which I might perhaps have drunk more sparingly had good
+Providence but made me more abstemious.  Let it suffice to say, there
+was wit enough to spice plainer fare, and courtesy that had shone at
+Versailles.  The long bare room, with its low, black-raftered ceiling
+and polished floor, its dark walls patterned with shelves, was lit by
+the smoky flames of two-score tallow candles.
+
+By and by chairs were pushed back, the company sat with less ceremony,
+the air grew clouded with the blue vapours of the Virginia weed, and
+tongues wagged something more loosely than before.  There were
+songs,--catches from the banks of Rhone, rolling ballads of our own
+voyageurs.  A young captain quite lately from Versailles, the Sieur de
+Ville d'Avray, had an excellent gift of singing.
+
+But now, just when the Sieur de Ville d'Avray was rendering, with most
+commendable taste and spirit, the ballade of "Frere Lubin," there came
+an interruption.
+
+  "Il presche en theologien,
+  Mais pour boire de belle eau claire,
+  Faictes la boire a vostre chien,
+  Frere Lubin ne le peult faire,"--
+
+sang the gay voice,--we all nodding our heads in intent approval, or
+even, maybe, seeing that the wine was generous, tapping the measure
+openly with our fingers.  But suddenly, though there was no noise to
+draw them, all eyes turned to the doorway, and the singer paused in his
+song.  I tipped my chair back into the shadow of a shelf, as did Marc,
+who sat a little beyond me.  For the visitor, who thus boldly entered
+unannounced, was none other than the Black Abbe himself.
+
+[Illustration: For the visitor was none other than the Black Abbe
+himself.]
+
+I flung de Ramezay a swift glance of anticipation, which he caught as
+he arose in his place to greet the new-comer.  On the faces around the
+table I took note of an ill-disguised annoyance.  The Abbe, it was
+plain, found small favour in that company.  But to do him justice, he
+seemed but little careful to court favour.  He stood in the doorway,
+frowning, a piercing and bitter light in his close-set eyes.  He waited
+for de Ramezay to come forward and give him welcome,--which de Ramezay
+presently did, and would have led him to a seat at the table.
+
+But "No!" said the grim intruder.  "With all thanks for your courtesy,
+Monsieur, I have no time, nor am I in the temper, for revellings.  When
+I have said my word to you I will get me to the house of one of my
+flock, and sup plainly, and take what rest I may, for at dawn I must
+set out for the Shubenacadie.  There is much to be done, and few to do
+it, and the time grows short!" and he swept a look of reprimand about
+the circle.
+
+"Would you speak with me in private, Father?" asked de Ramezay, with
+great civility.
+
+"It is not necessary, Monsieur!" replied the Abbe.  "I have but to say
+that I arrested the pestilent young traitor, Marc de Mer, on his
+father's estate at Canard, and left him under guard while I went to
+attend to other business.  I found upon his person clear proofs of his
+treachery, which would have justified his hanging on the instant.  But
+I preferred that you should be the judge!"
+
+"You did well!" said de Ramezay, gravely.  "I must ask even you,
+Monsieur l'Abbe, to remember on all occasions that I, and I only, am
+the judge, so long as I remain in Acadie!"
+
+To this rebuke, courteous though it was, the priest vouchsafed no reply
+but a slight smile, which uncovered his strong yellow teeth on one
+side, like a snarl.  He continued his report as if there had been no
+interruption.
+
+"In my brief absence his father, with some disaffected habitants,
+deceived my faithful followers by a trick, and carried off the
+prisoner.  But I have despatched a strong party on the trail of the
+fugitives.  They will certainly be captured, and brought at once--"
+
+But at this point his voice failed him.  His face worked violently with
+mingled rage and amazement, and following his gaze I saw Marc standing
+and bowing with elaborate courtesy.
+
+"They are already here, Sir Abbe," said he, "having made haste that
+they might give you welcome!"
+
+A ripple of laughter went around the table, as the company, recovering
+from some moments of astonishment, began to understand the situation.
+I, too, rose to my feet, smiling expectantly.  The priest's narrow eyes
+met mine for a second, with a light that was akin to madness.  Then
+they shifted.  But he found his voice again.
+
+"I denounce that man as a proved spy and traitor!" he shouted, striding
+forward, and pointing a yellow finger of denunciation across the table
+at Marc, while the revellers over whom he leaned made way for him
+resentfully.  "I demand his instant arrest."
+
+"Gently, Monsieur l'Abbe," said de Ramezay.  "These are serious charges
+to bring against French gentlemen, and friends of the Commander; have
+you proofs--such as will convince me after the closest scrutiny?" he
+added, with unmistakable significance.
+
+"I have myself seen the proofs, I tell you," snarled the Abbe,
+beginning to exert more self-control, but still far unlike the cool,
+inexorable, smiling cynic who had so galled my soul with his
+imperturbability when I lay in his bonds beside the Forge.
+
+"I would fain see them, too," insisted de Ramezay.
+
+The priest glared at me, and then at Marc, baffled.
+
+"I have them not," said he, in his slow and biting tones; "but if you
+would do your duty as the King's servant, Monsieur de Ramezay, and
+arrest yonder spy, you would doubtless find the proofs upon his person,
+if he has not taken the pains to dispose of them."  Upon this insolent
+speech, de Ramezay took his seat, and left the priest standing alone.
+When, after a pause, he spoke, his voice was stern and masterful, as if
+he were addressing a contumacious servant, though he retained the forms
+of courtesy in his phrases.
+
+"Monsieur," said he, "when I wish to learn my duty, it will not be the
+somewhat well-known Abbe la Garne whom I will ask to teach me.  I must
+require you not to presume further upon the sacredness of your office.
+Your soutane saves you from being called to account by the gentleman
+whose honour you have aspersed.  Monsieur Marc de Mer is the son of my
+friend.  He is also one of my aides-de-camp.  I beg that you will
+understand me without more words when I say that I have examined the
+whole matter to which you refer.  For your own credit, press it no
+further.  I trust you catch my meaning!"
+
+"On the contrary," said the Abbe, coolly, being by this time quite
+himself again, and seemingly indifferent to the derisive faces
+confronting him--"on the contrary, your meaning altogether escapes me,
+Monsieur.  All that I understand of your singular behaviour is what the
+Governor and the Intendant, not I their unworthy instrument, will be
+called to pass judgment upon."
+
+"I will trouble you to understand also, Sir Priest," said de Ramezay,
+thoroughly aroused, his tones biting like acid, "that if this young man
+is further troubled by any of your faithful Shubenacadie flock, I will
+hold you responsible; and the fact that you are useful, having fewer
+scruples than trouble a mere layman, shall not save you."
+
+"Be not disturbed for your spy, Monsieur," sneered the Abbe, now finely
+tranquil.  "I wash my hands of all responsibility in regard to him;
+look you to that."
+
+For the space of some seconds there was silence all about that table of
+feasting, while the Abbe swept a smiling, bitter glance around the
+room.  Last, his eyes rested upon mine and leaped with a sudden light
+of triumph, so that one might have thought not he but I had been
+worsted in the present encounter.  Then he turned on his heel and went
+out, scornful of courtesy.
+
+A clamour of talk arose upon this most cherished departure; but I heard
+it as in a dream, being wrapped up in wonder as to the meaning of that
+look of triumph.
+
+"Has the Black Abbe cast a spell upon you, Father?" I heard Marc
+inquiring presently.  Whereupon I came to myself with a kind of start,
+and made merry with the rest of them.
+
+It was late when Marc and I went to the little chamber where our
+pallets were stretched.  There we found Tamin awaiting us.  He was in a
+sweat of fear.
+
+"What is it, my Tamin?" asked Marc.
+
+"The Black Abbe," he grunted, the drollness all chased out of the
+little wrinkles about his eyes.
+
+"Well," said I, impatiently.  "The Black Abbe; and what of him?  He is
+repenting to-night that he ever tried conclusions with me, I'll wager."
+
+I spoke the more confidently because in my heart I was still troubled
+to know the meaning of the Abbe's glance.
+
+"Hein," said Tamin.  "He looked--his eyes would lift a scalp!  I was
+standing in the light just under the window, when of a sudden the door
+closed; and there he stood beside me, with no sound, and still as a
+heron.  He looked at me with those two narrow eyes, as if he would eat
+my heart out: and I stood there, and shook.  Then, of a sudden, his
+face changed.  It became like a good priest's face when he says the
+prayer for the soul that is passing; and he looked at me with solemn
+eyes.  And I was yet more afraid.  'It is not for me to rebuke you,' he
+said, speaking so that each word seemed an hour long; 'red runs your
+blood on the deep snow beneath the apple tree.'  And before I could
+steady my teeth to ask him what he meant, he was gone.  'Red runs your
+blood beneath the apple tree.'  What did he mean by that?"
+
+"Oh," said I, speaking lightly to encourage him, though in truth the
+words fell on me with a chill, "he said it to spoil your sleep and
+poison your content.  It was a cunning revenge, seeing that he dare not
+lift a hand to punish you otherwise."
+
+"To be sure, my Tamin, that is all of it," added Marc.  "Who has ever
+heard that the Black Abbe was a prophet?  Faith, 'tis as Father says, a
+cunning and a devilish revenge.  But you can balk it finely by paying
+no heed to it."
+
+Tamin's face had brightened mightily, but he still looked serious.
+
+"Do you think so?" he exclaimed with eagerness.  "'Tis as you say
+indeed,--the Black Abbe is no prophet.  Had it been Grul, now, that
+said it, there were something to lie awake for, eh?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, if Grul had said it," muttered Marc, contemplating him
+strangely.
+
+But for me, I was something impatient now to be asleep.
+
+"Think no more of it, my friend," said I, and dismissed him.  Yet
+sleepy as I was, I thought of it, and even I must have begun to dream
+of it.  The white sheet of moonlight that lay across my couch became a
+drift of snow with blood upon it, and the patterned shadow upon the
+wall an apparition leaning over,--when out of an immense distance, as
+it were, I heard Marc's voice.
+
+"Father," he cried softly, "are you awake?"
+
+"Yes, dear lad," said I.  "What is it?"
+
+"I have been wondering," said he, "why the Black Abbe looked at you,
+not me, in his going.  He had such a countenance as warns me that he
+purposes some cunning stroke.  But I fear his enmity has turned from me
+to you."
+
+"Well, lad, it was surely I that balked him.  What would you have?" I
+asked.
+
+"Oh," said he, heavily, "that I should have turned that bloodhound onto
+your trail!"
+
+"Marc, if it will comfort you to know it, carry this in your memory,"
+said I, with a cheerful lightness, like froth upon the strong emotion
+that flooded my heart.  "When the Black Abbe strikes at me, it will be
+through you.  He knows where I am like to prove most vulnerable!"
+
+"'Tis all right, then, so as we sink or swim together, Father," said
+Marc, quietly.
+
+"That's the way of it now, dear lad!  Sweet sleep to you, and dreams of
+red hair!" said I.  And I turned my face drowsily to the wall.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter IX
+
+The Abbe Strikes Again
+
+The few days of our stay at Chignecto were gay and busy ones; and all
+through them hummed the wind steadily across the pale green marshes,
+and buffeted the golden-rod on our high shoulder of upland.  De Ramezay
+gratified me by making much of Marc.  The three of us rode daily abroad
+among the surrounding settlements.  And I spent many hours planning
+with de Ramezay a fort which should be built on the site of this camp,
+in case the coming campaign should fail to drive the English out of
+Acadie.  De Ramezay, as was ever his wont, was full of confidence in
+the event.  But of the sorry doings at Quebec, of the plundering hands
+upon the public purse, of the shamelessness in high places, he hinted
+to me so broadly that I began to see much ground for Marc's misgivings.
+And my heart cried out for my fair country of New France.
+
+On the fifth day of our stay,--it was a Wednesday, and very early in
+the morning,--the good Beaudry with his good boat came for us.  The
+tide serving at about two hours after sunrise, we set out then for
+Grand Pre, well content with the jade Fortune whose whims had so far
+favoured us.  De Ramezay and his officers were at the wharf-end to bid
+us God-speed; and as I muse upon it now they may have thought curiously
+of it to see the loving fashion in which both Marc and I made a point
+to embrace our faithful Tamin.  But that is neither here nor there, so
+long as we let him plainly understand how our hearts were towards him.
+
+The voyage home was uneventful, save that we met contrary winds,
+whereby it fell that not until evening of the second day did we come
+into the Gaspereau mouth and mark the maids of Grand Pre carrying water
+from the village well.
+
+The good Beaudry we paid to his satisfaction, and left to find lodging
+in one of the small houses by the water side; while Marc and I took our
+way up the long street with its white houses standing amid their apple
+trees.  Having gone perhaps four or five furlongs, returning many a
+respectful salutation from the doorways as we passed, we then turned up
+the hill by a little lane which was bordered stiffly with the poplar
+trees of Lombardy, and in short space we came to a pleasant cottage in
+a garden, under shadow of the tall white church which stood sentinel
+over the Grand Pre roofs.  The cottage had some apple trees behind it,
+and many late roses blooming in the garden.  It was the home of the
+good Cure, Father Fafard, most faithful and most gentle of priests.
+
+With Father Fafard we lodged that night, and for some days thereafter.
+The Cure's round face grew unwontedly stern and anxious as we told him
+our adventures, and rehearsed the doings of the Black Abbe.  He got up
+from time to time and paced the room, muttering once--"Alas that such a
+man should discredit our holy office!  What wrath may he not bring down
+upon this land!"--and more to a like purport.
+
+My own house in Grand Pre, where Marc had inhabited of late, and where
+I was wont to pay my flitting visits, I judged well to put off my hands
+for the present, foreseeing that troublous times were nigh.  I
+transferred it in Father Fafard's presence to a trusty villager by name
+Marquette, whom I could count upon to transfer it back to me as soon as
+the skies should clear again.  I knew that if, by any fortune of war,
+English troops should come to be quartered in Grand Pre, they would be
+careful for the property of the villagers; but the house and goods of
+an enemy under arms, such would belike fare ill.  I collected, also,
+certain moneys due me in the village, for I knew that the people were
+prosperous, and I did not know how long their prosperity might
+continue.  This done, Marc and I set out for my own estate beside the
+yellow Canard.  There I had rents to gather in, but no house to put off
+my hands.  At the time when Acadie was ceded to England, a generation
+back, the house of the de Mers had been handed over to one of the most
+prosperous of our habitants, and with that same family it had ever
+since remained, yielding indeed a preposterously scant rental, but
+untroubled by the patient conqueror.
+
+My immediate destination was the Forge, where I expected to find Babin
+awaiting me with news and messages.  At the Forge, too, I would receive
+payment from my tenants, and settle certain points which, as I had
+heard, were at dispute amongst them.
+
+As we drew near the Forge, through the pleasant autumn woods, it wanted
+about an hour of noon.  I heard, far off, the muffled thunder of a
+cock-partridge drumming.  But there was no sound of hammer on clanging
+anvil, no smoke rising from the wide Forge chimney; and when we
+entered, the ashes were dead cold.  It was plain there had been no fire
+in the forge that day.
+
+"Where can Babin be?" I muttered in vexation.  "If he got my message,
+there can be no excuse for his absence."
+
+"I'll wager, Father," said Marc, "that if he is not off on some errand
+of yours, then he is sick abed, or dead.  Nought besides would keep
+Babin when you called him."
+
+I went to a corner and pulled a square of bark from a seemingly hollow
+log up under the rafters.  In the secret niche thus revealed was a
+scrap of birch bark scrawled with some rude characters of Babin's,
+whence I learned that my trusty smith was sick of a sharp inflammation.
+I passed the scrap over to Marc, and felt again in the hollow.
+
+"What, in the name of all the saints, is this?" I exclaimed, drawing
+out a short piece of peeled stick.  A portion of the stick was cut down
+to a flat surface, and on this was drawn with charcoal a straight line,
+having another straight line perpendicular to it, and bisecting it.  At
+the top of the perpendicular was a figure of the sun, thus:--
+
+             *
+             |
+         ----+----
+
+
+"It's a message from Grul," said Marc, the instant that his eyes fell
+upon it.
+
+"H'm; and how do you know that?" said I, turning it over curiously in
+my fingers.
+
+"Well," replied Marc, "the peeled stick is Grill's sign manual.  What
+does he say?"
+
+"He seems to say that he is going to build a windmill," said I, with
+great seriousness; "but doubtless you will give this hieroglyphic quite
+a different interpretation."
+
+Marc laughed,--yes, laughed audibly.  And it is possible that his
+Penobscot grandmother turned in her grave.  It was good to know that
+the lad _could_ laugh, which I had begun to doubt; but it was puzzling
+to me to hear him laugh at the mere absurdity which I had just uttered,
+when my most polished witticisms, of which I had shot off many of late
+at Chignecto, and in conversation with good Father Fafard, had never
+availed to bring more than a phantom smile to his lips.  However, I
+made no comment, but handed him "Grul's sign manual," as he chose to
+call it.
+
+"Why, Father," said he, "you understand it well enough, I know.  This
+is plainly the sun at high noon.  At high noon, therefore, we may
+surely expect to see Grul.  He has been here but a short time back; for
+see, the wood is not yet dry."
+
+"Sapristi!" said I, "do you call that the sun, lad?  It is very much
+like a windmill."
+
+How Marc might have retorted upon me, I know not; for at the moment,
+though it yet wanted much of noon, the fantastic figure of the
+madman--if he were a madman--sped into the Forge.  He stopped abruptly
+before us and scrutinized us for some few seconds in utter silence, his
+eyes glittering and piercing like sword points.  His long white hair
+and beard were disordered with haste, the flowers and feathers in his
+pointed cap were for the most part broken, even as when we had last
+seen him, and his gaudy mantle was somewhat befouled with river mud.
+Yet such power was there in his look and in his gesture, that when he
+stretched out his little white staff toward me and said "Come," I had
+much ado to keep from obeying him without question.  Yet this I would
+not permit myself, as was natural.
+
+"Whither?" I questioned.  "And for what purpose?"
+
+By this time he was out at the door, but he stopped.  Giving me a
+glance of scorn he turned to Marc, and stretched out his staff.
+
+"Come," he said.  And in a breath he was gone, springing with
+incredible swiftness and smoothness through the underbrush.
+
+"We must follow, Father!" cried Marc; and in the same instant was away.
+
+For my own part, it was sorely against me to be led by the nose, and
+thus blindly, by the madman--whom I now declared certainly to be mad.
+But Marc had gone, so I had no choice, as I conceived it, but to stand
+by the lad.  I went too.  And seeing that I had to do it, I did it
+well, and presently overtook them.
+
+"What is this folly?" I asked angrily, panting a little, I confess.
+
+But Marc signed to me to be silent.  I obeyed, though with ill enough
+grace, and ran on till my mouth was like a board, my tongue like wool.
+Then the grim light of the forest whitened suddenly before us, and our
+guide stopped.  Instinctively we imitated his motions, as he stole
+forward and peered through a screen of leafage.  We were on a bank
+overlooking the Canard.  A little below, and paddling swiftly towards
+the river-mouth, were two canoes manned with the Abbe's Micmacs.  In
+the bottom of one canoe lay a little fair-haired boy, bound.
+
+"My God!" cried Marc, under his breath, "'tis the child! 'tis little
+Philip Hanford."
+
+Grul turned his wild eyes upon us.
+
+"The power of the dog!" he muttered, "the power of the dog!"
+
+"We must get a canoe and follow them!" exclaimed Marc, in great
+agitation, turning to go, and looking at me with passionate appeal.
+But before I could speak, to assure him of my aid and support, Grul
+interfered.
+
+"Wait!" he said, with meaning emphasis, thrusting his little staff
+almost in the lad's face.  "Come!" and he started up along the river
+bank, going swiftly but with noiseless caution.  I expected Marc to
+demur, but not so.  He evidently had a childlike faith in this
+fantastic being.  He followed without a protest.  Needless to say, I
+followed also.  But all this mystery, and this blind obedience, and
+this lordly lack of explanation, were little to my liking.
+
+We had not gone above half a mile when Grul stopped, and bent his mad
+head to listen.  Such an attitude of listening I had never seen before.
+The feathers and stalks in his cap seemed to lean forward like a
+horse's ears; his hair and beard took on a like inclination of
+intentness; even the grim little scarlet head upon his staff seemed to
+listen with its master.  And Marc did as Grul did.  Then came a sound
+as of a woman weeping, very close at hand.  Grul motioned us to pass
+him, and creep forward.  We did so, lying down and moving as softly as
+lizards.  But I turned to see what our mysterious guide was doing--and
+lo, he was gone.  He might have faded into a summer exhalation, so
+complete and silent was his exit.
+
+This was too much.  Only my experience as a woods-fighter, my
+instinctive caution, kept me from springing to my feet and calling him.
+But my suspicions were all on fire.  I laid a firm hand of detention on
+Marc's arm, and whispered:--
+
+"He's gone; 'tis a trap."
+
+Marc looked at me in some wonder, and more impatience.
+
+"No trap, Father; that's Grul's way,"
+
+"Well," I whispered, "we had better go another way, I'm thinking."
+
+As I spoke, the woman's weeping came to us more distinctly.  Something
+in the sound seemed to catch Marc's heart, and his face changed.
+
+"'Tis all right, I tell you, Father!" came from between his teeth.
+"Come!  come! Oh, I know the voice!"  And he crept forward resolutely.
+
+And, of course, I followed.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter X
+
+A Bit of White Petticoat
+
+We had not advanced above a score of paces when, peering stealthily
+between the stems of herbs and underbrush, we saw what Grul had desired
+us to see.  Two more canoes were drawn up at the water's edge.  Four
+savages were in sight, sprawling in indolent attitudes under the shade
+of a wide water-maple.  In their midst, at the foot of the tree, lay a
+woman bound securely.  She was huddled together in a posture of
+hopeless despair; and a dishevelled glory of gold-red tresses fell over
+her face to hide it.  She lay in a moveless silence.  Yet the sound of
+weeping continued, and Marc, gripping my hand fiercely, set his mouth
+to my ear and gasped:--
+
+"'Tis my own maid!  'Tis Prudence!"
+
+Then I saw where she sat, a little apart, a slender maid with a lily
+face, and hair glowing dark red in the full sun that streamed upon her.
+She was so tied to another tree that she might have no comfort or
+companionship of her sister,--for I needed now no telling to convey it
+to me that the lady with the hidden face and the unweeping anguish was
+Mistress Mizpah Hanford, mother of the child whom I had just seen
+carried away.
+
+I grieved for Marc, whose eyes stared out upon the weeping maid from a
+face that had fallen to the hue of ashes.  But I praised the saints for
+sending to our aid this madman Grul,--whom, in my heart, I now
+graciously absolved from the charge of madness.  Seeing the Black
+Abbe's hand in the ravishment of these tender victims, I made no doubt
+to cross him yet again, and my heart rose exultantly to the enterprise.
+
+"Cheer up, lad," I whispered to Marc.  "Come away a little till we
+plot."
+
+I showed my confidence in my face, and I could see that he straightway
+took heart thereat.  Falling back softly for a space of several rods,
+we paused in a thicket to take counsel.  As soon as we could speak
+freely, Marc exclaimed, "They may go at any moment, Father.  We must
+haste."
+
+"No," said I, "they'll not go till the cool of the day.  The others
+went because they have plainly been ordered to part the child from his
+mother.  It is a most cunning and most cruel malice that could so order
+it."
+
+"It is my enemy's thrust at me," said Marc.  "How did he know that I
+loved the maid?"
+
+"His eyes are in every corner of Acadie," said I; "but we will foil him
+in this as in other matters.  Marc, my heart is stirred mightily by
+that poor mother's pain.  I tell you, lad,"--and I looked diligently to
+the priming of my pistols as I spoke,--"I tell you I will not rest till
+I give the little one back into her arms."
+
+But Marc, as was not unnatural, thought now rather of his lily maid
+sobbing under the tree.
+
+"Yes, Father," said he, "but what is to be done now, to save Prudence
+and Mizpah?"
+
+"Of course, dear lad," I answered, smilingly, "that is just what we are
+here for.  But let me consider."  And sitting down upon a fallen tree,
+I buried my face in my hands.  Marc, the while, waited with what
+patience he could muster, relying wholly upon my conduct of the
+business, but fretting for instant action.
+
+We were well armed (each with a brace of pistols and a broadsword, the
+forest being no place for rapiers), and I accounted that we were an
+overmatch for the four redskins.  But there was much at stake, with
+always the chance of accident.  And, moreover, these Indians were
+allies of France, wherefore I was most unwilling to attack them from
+the advantage of an ambush.  These various considerations decided me.
+
+"Marc, we'll fight them if needful," said I, lifting up my head.  "But
+I'm going to try first the conclusions of peace.  I will endeavour to
+ransom the prisoners.  These Micmacs are mightily avaricious, and may
+yield.  It goes against me to attack them from an ambush, seeing that
+they are of our party and servants of King Louis."
+
+At this speech Marc looked very ill content.
+
+"But, Father," he objected, "shall we forego the advantage of a
+surprise?  We are but two to their four, and we put the whole issue at
+hazard.  And as for their being of our party, they bring shame upon our
+party, and greatly dishonour the service of King Louis."
+
+"Nevertheless, dear lad," said I, "they have their claim upon us,--not
+lightly to be overlooked, in my view of it.  But hear my plan.  You
+will go back to where we lay a moment ago, and there be ready with your
+pistols.  I will approach openly by the water side and enter into
+parley with them.  If I can buy the captives, well and good.  If they
+deny me, we quarrel.  You will know when to play your part.  I am
+satisfied of that.  I shall feel safe under cover of your pistols, and
+shall depend upon you to account for two of the four.  Only, do not be
+too hasty!"
+
+"Oh, I'm cool as steel now, Father," said Marc.  "But I like not this
+plan.  The danger is all yours.  And the quarrel is mine.  Let us go
+into it side by side!"
+
+"Chut, lad!" said I.  "Your quarrel's my quarrel, and the danger is not
+more for me than for you, as you won't be long away from me when the
+fight begins,--if it comes to a fight.  And further, my plan is both an
+honest one and like to succeed.  Come, let us be doing!"
+
+Marc seized my hand, and gave me a look of pride and love which put a
+glow at my heart.  "You know best, Father," said he.  And turning away,
+he crept toward his post.  For me, I made a circuit, in leisurely
+fashion, and came out upon the shore behind a point some rods below the
+spot where the savages lay.  Then I walked boldly up along the water's
+edge.
+
+The Indians heard me before I came in view, and were on their feet when
+I appeared around the point.  They regarded me with black suspicion,
+but no hostile movement, as I strode straight up to them and greeted,
+fairly enough but coldly, a tall warrior, whom I knew to be one of the
+Black Abbe's lieutenants.  He grunted, and asked me who I was.
+
+"You know well enough who I am," said I, seating myself carelessly upon
+a rock, "seeing that you had a chief hand in the outrages put upon me
+the other day by that rascally priest of yours!"
+
+At this the chief stepped up to me with an air of menace, his
+high-cheeked, coppery face scowling with wrath.  But I eyed him
+steadily, and raised my hand with a little gesture of authority.
+"Wait!" said I; and he paused doubtfully.  "I have no grudge against
+you for that," I went on.  "You but obeyed your master's orders
+faithfully, as you will doubtless obey mine a few weeks hence, when I
+take command of your rabble and try to make you of some real service to
+the King.  I am one of the King's captains."
+
+At this the savage looked puzzled, while his fellows grunted in
+manifest uncertainty.
+
+"What you want?" he asked bluntly.
+
+I looked at him for some moments without replying.  Then I glanced at
+the form of Mizpah Hanford, still unmoving, the face still hidden under
+that pathetic splendour of loosened hair.  Prudence I could not catch
+view of, by reason of another tree which intervened.  But the sound of
+her weeping had ceased.
+
+"I am ready to ransom these prisoners of yours," said I.
+
+The savages glanced furtively at each other, but the coppery masks of
+their features betrayed nothing.
+
+"Not for ransom," said the chief, with a dogged emphasis.
+
+I opened my eyes wide.  "You astonish me!" said I.  "Then how will they
+profit you?  If you wanted their scalps, those you might have taken at
+Annapolis."
+
+At that word, revealing that I knew whence they came, I took note of a
+stir in the silent figure beneath the maple.  I felt that her eyes were
+watching me from behind that sumptuous veil which her bound hands could
+not put aside.  I went on, with a sudden sense of exaltation.
+
+"Give me these prisoners," I urged, half pleading, half commanding.
+"They are useless to you except for ransom.  I will give you more than
+any one else will give you.  Tell me your price."
+
+But the savage was obstinate.
+
+"Not for ransom," he repeated, shaking his head.
+
+"You are afraid of your priest," said I, with slow scorn.  "He has told
+you to bring them to him.  And what will you get?  A pistole or two for
+each!  But I will give you gold, good French crowns, ten times as much
+as you ever got before!"
+
+As I spoke, one of the listening savages got up, his eyes a-sparkle
+with eagerness, and muttered something in Micmac, which I could not
+understand.  But the chief turned upon him so angrily that he slunk
+back, abashed.
+
+"Agree with me now," I said earnestly.  "Then wait here till I fetch
+the gold, and I will deliver it into your hands before you deliver the
+captives."
+
+But the chief merely turned aside with an air of settling the question,
+and repeated angrily:--
+
+"I say white girls not for ransom."
+
+I rose to my feet.
+
+"Fools, you are," said I, "and no men, but sick women, afraid of your
+rascal priest.  I offered to buy when I might have taken!  Now I will
+take, and you will get no ransom!  Unloose their bonds!"
+
+And I pointed with my sword, while my left hand rested upon a pistol in
+my belt.  I am a very pretty shot with my left hand.
+
+Before the words were fairly out of my lips the four sprang at me.
+Stepping lightly aside, I fired the pistol full at the chief's breast,
+and he plunged headlong.  In the next instant came a report from the
+edge of the underbrush, and a second savage staggered, groaned, and
+fell upon his knees, while Marc leaped down and rushed upon a third.
+The remaining one snatched up his musket (the muskets were forgotten at
+the first, when I seemed to be alone), and took a hasty aim at me; but
+before he could pull the trigger my second pistol blazed in his face,
+and he dropped, while his weapon, exploding harmlessly, knocked up some
+mud and grass.  I saw Marc chase his antagonist to the canoes at the
+point of his sword, and prick him lightly for the more speed.  But at
+the same instant, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the savage whom
+Marc's shot had brought down struggle again to his feet and swing his
+hatchet.  With a yell I was upon him, and my sword point (the point is
+swifter than the edge in an emergency) went through his throat with a
+sobbing click.  But I was just too late.  The hatchet had left his
+hand; and the flying blade caught Marc in the shoulder.  The sword
+dropped from his grasp, he reeled, and sat down with a shudder before I
+could get to his side.  I paid no further heed to the remaining Indian,
+but was dimly conscious of him launching a canoe and paddling away in
+wild haste.
+
+I lifted the dear lad into the shade, and anxiously examined the wound.
+
+"'Tis but a flesh wound," said he, faintly; but I found that the blow
+had not only grievously gashed the flesh, but split the shoulder blade.
+
+"Flesh wound!" I muttered.  "You'll do no more fighting in this
+campaign, dear lad, unless they put it off till next spring.  This
+shoulder will be months in mending."
+
+"When it does mend, will my arm be the same as ever?" he asked,
+somewhat tremulously.  "'Tis my sword arm."
+
+"Yes, lad, yes; you need not trouble about that," said I.  "But it is a
+case for care."
+
+In the meantime, I was cleansing the wound with salt water which I had
+brought from the river in my cap.  Now, I cast about in my mind for a
+bandage; and I looked at the prisoner beneath the maple.  Marc first,
+courtesy afterwards, I thought in my heart; for I durst not leave the
+wound exposed with so many flies in the air.
+
+The lady's little feet, bound cruelly, were drawn up in part beneath
+her dark skirt, but so that a strip of linen petticoat shone under
+them.  I hesitated, but only for a second.  Lifting the poor little
+feet softly to one side, with a stammered, "Your pardon, Madame, but
+the need is instant!"  I slit off a breadth of the soft white stuff
+with my sword.  And I was astonished to feel my face flush hotly as I
+did it.  With strangely thrilling fingers, and the help of my sword
+edge, I then set free her feet, and with no more words turned hastily
+back to Marc, abashed as a boy.
+
+In a few moments I had Marc's wound softly dressed, for I had some
+skill in this rough and ready surgery.  I could see by his contracting
+pupils that the hurt was beginning to agonize, but the dear lad never
+winced under my fingers, and I commended him heartily as a brave
+patient.  Then placing a bundle of cool ferns under his head for a
+pillow, I turned to the captives, from whom there had been never a word
+this while.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XI
+
+I Fall a Willing Captive
+
+The lady whose feet I had freed had risen so far as to rest crouching
+against the gnarled trunk of the maple tree.  The glorious abundance of
+her hair she had shaken back, revealing a white face chiselled like a
+Madonna's, a mouth somewhat large, with lips curved passionately, and
+great sea-coloured eyes which gazed upon me from dark circles of pain.
+But the face was drawn now with that wordless and tearless anguish
+which makes all utterance seem futile,--the anguish of a mother whose
+child has been torn from her arms and carried she knows not whither.
+Her hands lay in her lap, tight bound; and I noted their long, white
+slenderness.  I felt as if I should go on my knees to serve her--I who
+had but just now served her with such scant courtesy as it shamed my
+soul to think on.  As I bent low to loose her hands, I sought in my
+mind for phrases of apology that might show at the same time my
+necessity and my contrition.  But lifting my eyes for an instant to
+hers, I was pierced with a sense of the anguish which was rending her
+heart, and straightway I forgot all nice phrases.
+
+What I said--the words coming from my lips abruptly--was this: "I will
+find him!  I will save him!  Be comforted, Madame!  He shall be
+restored to you!"
+
+In great, simple matters, how little explanation seems needed.  She
+asked not who I was, how I knew, whom I would save, how it was to be
+done; and I thrill proudly even now to think how my mere word convinced
+her.  The tense lines of her face yielded suddenly, and she broke into
+a shaking storm of tears, moaning faintly over and over--"Philip!--Oh,
+my Philip!--Oh, my boy!"  I watched her with a great compassion.  Then,
+ere I could prevent, she amazed me by snatching my hand and pressing it
+to her lips.  But she spoke no word of thanks.  Drawing my hand gently
+away, in great embarrassment, I repeated: "Believe me, oh, believe me,
+Madame; I _will_ save the little one."  Then I went to release the
+other captive, whom I had well-nigh forgotten the while.
+
+This lily maid of Marc's, this Prudence, I found in a white tremour of
+amazement and inquiry.  From where she sat in her bonds, made fast to
+her tree, she could see nothing of what went on, but she could hear
+everything, and knew she had been rescued.  It was a fair, frank,
+childlike face she raised to mine as I smiled down upon her, swiftly
+and gently severing her bonds; and I laid a hand softly on that rich
+hair which Marc had praised, being right glad he loved so sweet a maid
+as this.  I forgot that I must have seemed to her in this act a shade
+familiar, my fatherly forty years not showing in my face.  So, indeed,
+it was for an instant, I think; for she coloured maidenly.  But seeing
+the great kindness in my eyes, the thought was gone.  Her own eyes
+filled with tears, and she sprang up and clung to me, sobbing, like a
+child just awakened in the night from a bad dream.
+
+"Oh," she panted, "are they gone? did you kill them? how good you are!
+Oh, God will reward you for being so good to us!"  And she trembled so
+she would certainly have fallen if I had not held her close.
+
+"You are safe now, dear," said I, soothing her, quite forgetting that
+she knew me not as I knew her, and that, if she gave the matter any
+heed at all, my speech must have puzzled her sorely.  "But come with
+me!"  And I led her to where Marc lay in the shade.
+
+The dear lad's face had gone even whiter than when I left him, and I
+saw that he had swooned.
+
+"The pain and shock have overcome him!" I exclaimed, dropping on my
+knees to remove the pillow of ferns from under his head.  As I did so,
+I heard the girl catch her breath sharply, with a sort of moan, and
+glancing up, I saw her face all drawn with misery.  While I looked in
+some surprise, she suddenly threw herself down, and crushed his face in
+her bosom, quite shutting off the air, which he, being in a faint,
+greatly needed.  I was about to protest, when her words stopped me.
+
+"Marc, Marc," she moaned, "why did you betray us?  Oh, why did you
+betray us so cruelly?  But oh, I love you even if you _were_ a traitor.
+Now you are dead" (she had not heard me, evidently, saying he had
+swooned), "now you are dead I may love you, no matter what you did.
+Oh, my love, why did you, why did you?"  And while I listened in
+bewilderment, she sprang to her feet, and her blue eyes blazed upon me
+fiercely.
+
+"You killed him!" she hissed at me across his body.
+
+This I remembered afterwards.  At the moment I only knew that she was
+calling the lad a traitor.  That I was well tired of.
+
+"Madame!" said I, sternly.  "Do not presume so far as to touch him
+again."
+
+It was her turn to look astonished now.  Her eyes faltered from my
+angry face to Marc's, and back again in a kind of helplessness.
+
+"Oh, you do well to accuse him," I went on, bitterly,--perhaps not very
+relevantly.  "You shall not dishonour him by touching him, you, who can
+believe vile lies of the loyal gentleman who loves you, and has, it may
+be, given his life for the girl who now insults him."
+
+The girl's face was now in such a confusion of distress that I almost,
+but not quite, pitied her.  Ere she could find words to reply, however,
+her sister was at her side, catching her hands, murmuring at her ear.
+
+"Why, Prudence, child," she said, "don't you see it all?  Didn't you
+see it all?  How splendidly Marc saved us" (I blessed the tact which
+led her to put the first credit on Marc)--"Marc and this most brave and
+gallant gentleman?  It was one of the savages who struck Marc down,
+before my eyes, as he was fighting to save us.  That dreadful story was
+a lie, Prudence; don't you see?"
+
+The maid saw clearly enough, and with a mighty gladness.  She was for
+throwing herself down again beside the lad to cover his face with
+kisses--and shut off the air which he so needed.  But I thrust her
+aside.  She had believed Marc a traitor.  Marc might forgive her when
+he could think for himself.  I was in no mind to.
+
+She looked at me with unutterable reproach, her eyes filling and
+running over, but she drew back submissively.
+
+"I know," she said, "I don't deserve that you should let me go near
+him.  But--I think--I think he would want me to, sir!  See, he wants
+me!  Oh, let me!"  And I perceived that Marc's eyes had opened.  They
+saw no one but the maid, and his left hand reached out to her.
+
+"Oh, well!" said I, grimly.  And thereafter it seemed to me that the
+lad got on with less air than men are accustomed to need when they
+would make recovery from a swoon.
+
+I turned to Mizpah Hanford; and I wondered what sort of eyes were in
+Marc's head, that he should see Prudence when Mizpah was by.  Before I
+could speak, Mizpah began to make excuses for her sister.  With heroic
+fortitude she choked back her own grief, and controlled her voice with
+a brave simplicity.  Coming from her lips, these broken excuses seemed
+sufficient--though to this day I question whether I ought to have
+relented so readily.  She pleaded, and I listened, and was content to
+listen so long as she would continue to plead.  But there was little I
+clearly remember.  At last, however, these words, with which she
+concluded, aroused me:--
+
+"How could we any longer refuse to believe," she urged, "when the good
+priest confessed to us plainly, after much questioning, that it was
+Monsieur Marc de Mer who had sent the savages to steal us, and had told
+them just the place to find us, and the hour?  The savages had told us
+the same thing at first, taunting us with it when we threatened them
+with Marc's vengeance.  You see, Monsieur, they had plainly been
+informed by some one of our little retreat at the riverside, and of the
+hour at which we were wont to frequent it.  Yet we repudiated the tale
+with horror.  Then yesterday, when the good priest told us the same
+thing, with a reluctance which showed his horror of it, what _could_ we
+do but believe?  Though it did seem to us that if Marc were false there
+could be no one true.  The priest believed it.  He was kind and
+pitiful, and tried to get the savages to set us free.  He talked most
+earnestly, most vehemently to them; but it was in their own barbarous
+language, and of course we could not understand.  He told us at last
+that he could do nothing at the time, but that he would exert himself
+to the utmost to get us out of their hands by and by.  Then he went
+away.  And then--"
+
+"And then, Madame," said I, "your little one was taken from you at his
+orders!"
+
+"Why, what do you mean, Monsieur?" she gasped, her great sea-coloured
+eyes opening wide with fresh terror.  "At his orders?  By the orders of
+that kind priest?"
+
+"Of what appearance was he?" I inquired, in return.
+
+"Oh," she cried breathlessly, "he was square yet spare of figure,
+dark-skinned almost as Marc, with a very wide lower face, thin, thin
+lips, and remarkably light eyes set close together,--a strange, strong
+face that might look very cruel if he were angry.  He looked angry once
+when he was arguing with the Indians."
+
+"You have excellently described our bitterest foe, and yours, Madame,"
+said I, smiling.  "The wicked Abbe La Garne, the pastor and master of
+these poor tools of his whom I would fain have spared, but could not."
+And I pointed to the bodies of the three dead savages, where they lay
+sprawling in various pathetic awkwardnesses of posture.
+
+She looked, seemed to think of them for the first time, shivered, and
+turned away her pitiful eyes.
+
+"Those poor wretches," I continued, "were sent by this kind priest to
+capture you.  He knew when and where to find you, because he had played
+the eavesdropper when Marc and I were talking of you."
+
+"Oh," she cried, clenching her white hands desperately, "can there be a
+priest so vile?"
+
+"Ay, and this which you have heard is but a part of his villany.  We
+have but lately baulked him in a plot whereby he had nearly got Marc
+hanged.  This, Madame, I promise myself the honour of relating to you
+by and by; but now we must get the poor lad removed to some sort of
+house and comfort."
+
+"And, oh," cried this poor mother, in a voice of piercing anguish and
+amazement, as if she could not yet wholly realize it,--"my boy, my boy!
+He is in the power of such a monster!"
+
+"Be of good heart, I beseech you," said I, with a kind of passion in my
+voice.  "I will find him, I swear I will bring him back to you.  I will
+wait only so long as to see my own boy in safe hands!"
+
+Again that look of trust was turned upon me, thrilling me with
+invincible resolve.
+
+"Oh, I trust you, Monsieur!" she cried.  Then pressing both hands to
+her eyes with a pathetic gesture, and thrusting back her hair--"I knew
+you, somehow, for the Seigneur de Briart," she went on, "as soon as I
+heard you demanding our release.  And I immediately felt a great hope
+that you would set us free and save Philip.  I suppose it is from Marc
+that I have learned such confidence, Monsieur!"
+
+I bowed, awkward and glad, and without a pretty word to repay her
+with,--I who have some name in Quebec for well-turned compliment.  But
+before this woman, who was young enough to be my daughter, I was like a
+green boy.
+
+"You are too kind," I stammered.  "It will be my great ambition to
+justify your good opinion of me."
+
+Then I turned away to launch a canoe.
+
+While I busied myself getting the canoe ready, and spreading ferns in
+the bottom of it for Marc to lie on, Mizpah walked up and down in a
+kind of violent speechlessness, as it were, twisting her long white
+hands, but no more giving voice to her grief and her anxiety.  Once she
+sat down abruptly under the maple tree, and buried her face in her
+hands.  Her shoulders shook, but not a sound of sob or moan came to my
+ears.  My heart ached at the sight.  I determined that I would give her
+work to do, such as would compel some attention on her part.
+
+As soon as the canoe was ready I asked:
+
+"Can you paddle, Madame?"
+
+She nodded an affirmative, her voice seeming to have gone from her.
+
+"Very well," said I, "then you will take the bow paddle, will you not?"
+
+"Yes, indeed!" she found voice to cry, with an eagerness which I took
+to signify that she thought by paddling hard to find her child the
+sooner.  But the manner in which she picked up the paddle, and took her
+place, and held the canoe, showed me she was no novice in the art of
+canoeing.  I now went to lift Marc and carry him to the canoe.
+
+"Let me help you," pleaded Prudence, springing up from beside him.  "He
+must be so heavy!"  Whereat I laughed.
+
+"I can walk, I am sure, Father," said Marc, faintly, "if you put me on
+my feet and steady me."
+
+"I doubt it, lad," said I, "and 'tis hardly worth while wasting your
+little strength in the attempt.  Now, Prudence," I went on, turning to
+the girl, "I want you to get in there in front of the middle bar, and
+make a comfortable place for this man's head,--if you don't mind taking
+a live traitor's head in your lap!"
+
+At this the poor girl's face flushed scarlet, as she quickly seated
+herself in the canoe; and her lips trembled so that my heart smote me
+for the jest.
+
+"Forgive me, child.  I meant it not as a taunt, but merely as a poor
+jest," I hastened to explain.  "Your sister has told me all, and you
+were scarce to blame.  Now, take the lad and make him as comfortable as
+a man with a shattered shoulder can hope to be."  And I laid Marc
+gently down so that he could slip his long legs under the bar.  He
+straightway closed his eyes from sheer weakness; but he could feel his
+maid bend her blushing face over his, and his expression was a
+strangely mingled one of suffering and content.
+
+Taking my place in the stern of the canoe, I pushed out.  The tide was
+just beginning to ebb.  There was no wind.  The shores were green and
+fair on either hand.  My dear lad, though sore hurt, was happy in the
+sweet tenderness of his lily maid.  As for me, I looked perhaps
+overmuch at the radiant head of Mizpah, at the lithe vigorous swaying
+of her long arms, the play of her gracious shoulders as she paddled
+strenuously.  I felt that it was good to be in this canoe, all of us
+together, floating softly down to the little village beside the
+Canard's mouth.
+
+
+
+
+Part II
+
+Mizpah
+
+
+
+Chapter XII
+
+In a Strange Fellowship
+
+I took Marc and the ladies to the house of one Giraud, a well-tried and
+trusted retainer, to whom I told the whole affair.  Then I sent a
+speedy messenger to Father Fafard, begging him to come at once.  The
+Cure of Grand Pre was a skilled physician, and I looked to him to treat
+Marc's wound better than I could hope to do.  My purpose, as I unfolded
+it to Marc and to the ladies that same evening, sitting by Marc's
+pallet at the open cottage door, was to start the very next day in
+quest of the stolen child.  I would take but one follower, to help me
+paddle, for I would rely not on force but on cunning in this venture.
+I would warn some good men among my tenants, and certain others who
+were in the counsels of the Forge, to keep an unobtrusive guard about
+the place, till Marc's wound should be so far healed that he might go
+to Grand Pre.  And further, I would put them all in the hands of Father
+Fafard, with whom even the Black Abbe would scarce dare to meddle
+openly.
+
+"The Cure," said I, turning to Mizpah, "you may trust both for his
+wisdom and his goodness.  With him you will all be secure till my
+return."
+
+Mizpah bowed her head in acknowledgment, and looked at me gratefully,
+but could not trust herself to speak.  She sat a little apart, by the
+door, and was making a mighty effort to maintain her outward composure.
+
+Then I turned to where Marc's face, pallid but glad, shone dimly on his
+pillow.  I took his hand, I felt his pulse--for the hundredth time,
+perhaps.  There was no more fever, no more prostration, than was to be
+accounted inevitable from such a wound.  So I said:--
+
+"Does the plan commend itself to you, dear lad?  It troubles me sore to
+leave you in this plight; but Father Fafard is skilful, and I think you
+will not fret for lack of tender nursing.  You will not _need_ me, lad;
+but there is a little lad with yellow hair who needs me now, and I must
+go to him."
+
+The moment I had spoken these last words I wished them back, for Mizpah
+broke down all at once in a terrible passion of tears.  But I was ever
+a bungler where women are concerned, ever saying the wrong thing, ever
+slow to understand their strange, swift shiftings of mood.  This time,
+however, I understood; for with my words a black realization of the
+little one's lonely fear came down upon my own soul, till my heart
+cried out with pity for him; and Prudence fell a-weeping by Marc's
+head.  But she stopped on the instant, fearing to excite Marc
+hurtfully, and Marc said:--
+
+"Indeed, Father, think not a moment more of me.  'Tis the poor little
+lad that needs you.  Oh that I too could go with you on the quest!"
+
+"To-morrow I go," said I, positively, "just as soon as I have seen
+Father Fafard."
+
+As I spoke, Mizpah went out suddenly, and walked with rapid strides
+down the road, passing Giraud on the way as he came from mending the
+little canoe which I was to take.  I had chosen a small and light
+craft, not knowing what streams I might have to ascend, what long
+carries I might have to make.  As Mizpah passed him, going on to lean
+her arms upon the fence and stare out across the water, Giraud turned
+to watch her for a moment.  Then, as he came up to the door where we
+sat, he took off his woollen cap, and said simply, "Poor lady! it goes
+hard with her."
+
+"My friend," said I, "will these, while I am gone, be safe here from
+their enemies,--even should the Black Abbe come in person?"
+
+"Master," he replied, with a certain proud nobility, which had ever
+impressed me in the man, "if any hurt comes to them, it will be not
+over my dead body alone, but over those of a dozen more stout fellows
+who would die to serve you."
+
+"I believe you," said I, reaching out my hand.  He kissed it, and went
+off quickly about his affairs.
+
+Hardly was he gone when Mizpah came back.  She was very pale and calm,
+and her eyes shone with the fire of some intense purpose.  Had I known
+woman's heart as do some of my friends whom I could mention, I should
+have fathomed that purpose at her first words.  But as I have said, I
+am slow to understand a woman's hints and objects, though men I can
+read ere their thoughts find speech.  There was a faint glory of the
+last of sunset on Mizpah's face and hair as she stood facing me, her
+lips parted to speak.  Behind her lay the little garden, with its
+sunflowers and lupines, and its thicket of pole beans in one corner.
+Then, beyond the gray fence, the smooth tide of the expanding river,
+violet-hued, the copper and olive wood, the marshes all greenish amber,
+and the dusky purple of the hills.  It was all stamped upon my memory
+in delectable and imperishable colours, though I know that at the
+moment I saw only Mizpah's tall grace, her red-gold hair, the eyes that
+seemed to bring my spirit to her feet.  I was thinking, "Was there ever
+such another woman's face, or a presence so gracious?" when I realized
+that she was speaking.
+
+"Do I paddle well, Monsieur?" she asked, with the air of one who
+repeats a question.
+
+"Pardon, a thousand pardons, Madame!" I exclaimed.  "Yes, you use your
+paddle excellently well."
+
+"And I can shoot, I can shoot very skilfully," she went on, with strong
+emphasis.  "I can handle both pistol and musket."
+
+"Indeed, Madame!" said I, considerably astonished.
+
+"Ask Marc if I am not a cunning shot," she persisted, while her eyes
+seemed to burn through me in their eager intentness.
+
+"Yes, Father," came Marc's whispered response out of the shadow, where
+I saw only the bended head of the maid Prudence.  "Yes, Father, she is
+a more cunning marksman than I."
+
+I turned again to her, and saw that she expected, that she thirsted
+for, an answer.  But what answer?
+
+"Madame," said I, bowing profoundly, and hoping to cover my
+bewilderment with a courtly speech, "may I hope that you will fire a
+good shot for me some day; I should account it an honour above all
+others if I might be indebted to such a hand for such succour."
+
+She clasped her hands in a great gladness, crying, "Then I _may_ go
+with you?"
+
+"Go with me!" I cried, looking at her in huge amazement.
+
+"She wants to help you find the child," whispered Marc.
+
+The thought of this white girl among the perils which I saw before me
+pierced my heart with a strange pang, and in my haste I cried rudely:--
+
+"Nonsense!  Impossible!  Why, it would be mere madness!"
+
+So bitter was the pain of disappointment which wrung her face that I
+put out both hands towards her in passionate deprecation.
+
+"Forgive me; oh, forgive me, Madame!" I pleaded.  "But how _could_ I
+bring you into such perils?"
+
+But she caught my hands and would have gone on her knees to me if I had
+not stayed her roughly.
+
+"Take me with you," she implored.  "I can paddle, I can serve you as
+well as any man whom you can get.  And I am brave, believe me.  And how
+_can_ I wait here when my boy, my darling, my Philip, is alone among
+those beasts?  I would die every hour."
+
+How could I refuse her?  Yet refuse her I would, I must.  To take her
+would be to lessen my own powers, I thought, and to add tenfold to the
+peril of the venture.  Nevertheless my heart did now so leap at the
+thought of this strange, close fellowship which she demanded, that I
+came near to silencing my better judgment, and saying she might go.
+But I shut my teeth obstinately on the words.
+
+At this moment, while she waited trembling, Marc once more intervened.
+
+"You might do far worse than take her, Father.  No one else will serve
+you more bravely or more skilfully, I think."
+
+So Marc actually approved of this incredible proposal?  Then was it,
+after all, so preposterous?  My wavering must have shown itself in my
+face, for her own began to lighten rarely.
+
+"But--those clothes!" said I.
+
+At this she flushed to her ears.  But she answered bravely.
+
+"I will wear others; did you think I would so hamper you with this
+guise?  No," she added with a little nervous laugh, "I will play the
+man; be sure."
+
+And so, though I could scarce believe it, it was settled that Mizpah
+Hanford should go with me.
+
+That night I found little sleep.  My thoughts were a chaos of
+astonishment and apprehension.  Marc, moreover, kept tossing, for his
+wound fretted him sorely, and I was continually at his side to give him
+drink.  At about two in the morning there came a horseman to the garden
+gate, riding swiftly.  Hurrying out I met him in the path.  It was
+Father Fafard, come straight upon my word.  He turned his horse into
+Giraud's pasture, put saddle and bridle in the porchway, and then
+followed me in to Marc's bedside.
+
+When he had dressed the wound anew, and administered a soothing
+draught, Marc fell into a quiet sleep.
+
+"He will do well, but it is a matter for long patience," said the Cure.
+
+Then we went out of the house and down to the garden corner by the
+thicket of beans, where we might talk freely and jar no slumberers.
+Father Fafard fell in with my plans most heartily, and accepted my
+charges.  To hold the Black Abbe in check at any point, would, he felt,
+be counted unto him for righteousness.
+
+My mind being thus set at ease, I resolved to start as soon as might be
+after daybreak.
+
+Before it was yet full day, I was again astir, and goodwife Giraud was
+getting ready, in bags, our provision of bacon and black bread.  I had
+many small things to do,--gathering ammunition for two muskets and four
+pistols, selecting my paddles with care from Giraud's stock, and
+loading the canoe to the utmost advantage for ease of running and
+economy of space.  Then, as I went in to the goodwife's breakfast, I
+was met at the door by a slim youth in leathern coat and leggins, with
+two pistols and Marc's whinger.  I recognized the carven hilt stuck
+bravely in his belt, and Marc's knitted cap of gray wool on his head,
+well pulled down.  The boy blushed, but met my eye with a sweet
+firmness, and I bowed with great courtesy.  Even in this attire I
+thought she could not look aught but womanly--for it was Mistress
+Mizpah.  Yet I could not but confess that to the stranger she would
+appear but as a singularly handsome stripling.  The glory of her hair
+was hidden within her cap.
+
+"These are the times," said I, seriously, "that breed brave women."
+
+Breakfast done, messages and orders repeated, and farewells all spoken,
+the sun was perhaps an hour high when we paddled away from the little
+landing under Giraud's garden fence.  I waved my cap backwards to
+Prudence and the Cure, where they stood side by side at the landing.
+My comrade in the bow waved her hand once, then fell to paddling
+diligently.  I was still in a maze of wonderment, ready at any time to
+wake and find it a dream.  But the little seas that slapped us as we
+cleared the river mouth, these were plainly real.  I headed for the
+eastern point of the island, intending to land at the mouth of the
+Piziquid and make some inquiries.  The morning air was like wine in my
+veins.  There was a gay dancing of ripples over toward Blomidon, and
+the sky was a clear blue.  A dash of cool drops wet me.  It was no
+dream.
+
+And so in a strange fellowship I set out to find the child.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XIII
+
+My Comrade
+
+I could not sufficiently commend the ease and aptness with which my
+beautiful comrade wielded her paddle.  But in a while the day grew hot,
+and I bade her lie back in her place and rest.  At first she would not,
+till I was compelled to remind her in a tone of railing that I was the
+captain in this enterprise, and that good soldiers must obey.
+Whereupon, though her back was toward me, I saw a flush creep around to
+her little ears, and she laid the paddle down something abruptly.  I
+feared that I had vexed her, and I made haste to attempt an
+explanation, although it seemed to me that she should have understood a
+matter so obvious.
+
+"I beg you to pardon me, Madame, if I seem to insist too much," said I,
+with hesitation.  "But you must know that, if you exhaust yourself at
+the beginning of the journey, before you are hardened to the long
+continuance of such work, you will be unable to do anything to-morrow,
+and our quest will be much hindered."
+
+"Forgive me!" she cried; "you are right, of course.  Oh, I fear I have
+done wrong in hampering you!  But I am strong, truly, and enduring as
+most men, Monsieur."
+
+"Yes," I answered, "but to do one thing strenuously all day long, and
+for days thereafter, that is hard.  I believe you can do it, or I
+should have been mad indeed to bring you.  But you must let me advise
+you at the beginning.  For this first day, rest often and save yourself
+as much as possible.  By this means you will be able to do better
+to-morrow, and better still the day after.  By the other means, you
+will be able to do little to-morrow most likely, and perhaps nothing
+the day after."
+
+"Well," she said, turning her head partly around, so that I could see
+the gracious profile, "tell me, Monsieur, when to work and when to
+rest.  I will obey.  It is a lucky soldier, I know, who has the
+Seigneur de Briart to command him."
+
+[Illustration: Turning her head partly around, so that I could see the
+gracious profile]
+
+"But I fear, Madame," said I, "that discipline would sadly suffer if he
+had often such soldiers to command."
+
+To this she made no reply.  I saw that she leaned back in her place and
+changed her posture, so as to fulfil my wish and rest herself to the
+best advantage.  I thought my words over.  To me they seemed to have
+that savour of compliment which I would now avoid.  I felt that here,
+under these strange circumstances, in an intimacy which might by and by
+be remembered by her with some little confusion, but which now, while
+she had no thought but for the rescue of the little one, contained no
+shadow of awkwardness for her clear and earnest soul,--I felt that here
+I must hold myself under bonds.  The play of graceful compliment, such
+as I would have practised in her drawing-room to show her the
+courtliness of my breeding, must be forsworn.  The admiration, the
+devotion, the worship, that burned in my eyes whensoever they dwelt
+upon her, must be strictly veiled.  I must seem to forget that I am a
+man and my companion the fairest of women.  Yes, I kept telling myself,
+I must regard her as a comrade only, and a follower, and a boy.  I must
+be frank and careless in my manner toward her; kind, but blunt and
+positive.  She will think nothing of it now, and will blush the less
+for it by and by, when the child is in her arms again, and she can once
+more give her mind to little matters.
+
+And so I schooled myself; and as I watched her I began to realize more
+and more, with a delicious warming of my heart, what instant need I had
+of such schooling if I would not have her see how I was not at all her
+captain, but her bondsman.
+
+At the mouth of the Piziquid stream there clustered a few cottages, not
+enough to call a village; and here we stopped about noon.  A meal of
+milk and eggs and freshly baked rye cakes refreshed us, and eager as
+was our haste, I judged it wise to rest an hour stretched out in the
+shade of an apple tree.  To this halt, Mizpah, after one glance of
+eager question at my face, made no demur, and I replied to the glance
+by whispering:--
+
+"That is a good soldier!  We will gain by this pause, now.  We will
+travel late to-night."
+
+The cottagers of whom we had our meal were folk unknown to me; and
+being informed that the Black Abbe had some followers in the
+neighbourhood, I durst give no hint of our purpose.  By and by I asked
+carelessly if two canoes, with Indians of the Shubenacadie, had gone by
+this way.  I thought that the man looked at me with some suspicion.  He
+hesitated.  But before he could reply his goodwife answered for him,
+with the freedom of a clear conscience.
+
+"Yes, M'sieu," she chattered, "two canoes, and four Indians.  They went
+by yesterday, toward sundown, stopping here for water from our
+well,--the finest water hereabouts, if I do say it!"
+
+"They went up the river, I suppose," said I.
+
+"Oh, but no, M'sieu," clattered on the worthy dame.  "They went
+straight up the bay.  Yes, goodman," she continued, changing her tone
+sharply, "whenever I open my mouth you glare at me as if I was talking
+nonsense.  What have I said wrong now, I'd like to know.  Yes, I'd like
+very much to know that, goodman.  Why should not the gentleman know
+that they had--"
+
+But here the man interrupted her roughly.  "Will you never be done your
+prating?" he cried.  "Can't you see that you worry the gentlemen?  How
+should they care to know that the red rascals made a good catch of shad
+off the island?  Now, do go and get some of your fresh buttermilk for
+the gentlemen to drink before they go.  Don't you see they are
+starting?"
+
+And, indeed, Mizpah's impatience to be gone was plainly evident, and we
+had rested long enough.  I durst not look at her face, lest our host
+should perceive that I had heard what I wanted to hear.  I spoke
+casually of the weather, and inquired how his apples and his flax were
+faring, and so filled the minutes safely until the goodwife came with
+the butter-milk.  Having both drunk gratefully of the cool, delicately
+acid, nourishing liquor, we gave the man a piece of silver, and set out
+in good heart.
+
+"We are on the right track, comrade," said I, lightly, steering my
+course along the shore toward Cobequid.
+
+Her only answer was to fall a-paddling with such an eagerness that I
+had to check her.
+
+"Now, now," I said, "more haste, less speed."
+
+"But I feel so strong now, and so rested," she cried passionately.
+"Might we not overtake them to-night?"
+
+"Hardly so soon as that, I fear, Madame," I answered.  "This is a stern
+chase, and it is like to be a long one; you must make up your mind to
+that, if you would not have a fresh disappointment every hour."
+
+"Oh," she broke out, "if it were your child you were trying to find and
+save, you would not be so cool about it."
+
+"Believe me, Madame," said I, in a low voice, "I am not perhaps as cool
+as I appear."
+
+"Oh, what a weak and silly creature I must seem to you!" she cried.
+"But I will not be weak and silly when it comes to trial, Monsieur, I
+promise you.  I _will_ prove worthy of your confidence.  But make
+allowance for me now, and do not judge me harshly.  Every moment I seem
+to hear him crying for me, Monsieur."  And her head drooped forward in
+unspeakable grief.
+
+I could think of nothing, absolutely nothing, to say.  I could only
+mutter hoarsely, "I do not think you either weak or silly, Madame."
+
+This answer, feeble as it appeared to myself, seemed in a sense to
+relieve her.  She put down her paddle, leaned forward upon the front
+bar, with her face in her hands, and sobbed gently for a few minutes.
+Then, while I gazed upon her in rapt commiseration, she all at once
+resumed the paddle briskly.
+
+For my own part, being just lately returned from a long expedition, my
+muscles were like steel; I felt that I should never weary.  Steadily
+onward we pressed, past the mouths of several small streams whose names
+I did not know, past headland after headland of red clay or pallid
+plaster rock.  As the tide fell, we were driven far out into the bay,
+till sometimes there was a mile of oozy red flats parting us from the
+edge of the green.  But as the tide rose again, we accompanied its
+seething vanguard, till at last we were again close in shore.  A breeze
+soon after mid-day springing up behind us, we made excellent progress.
+But soon after sunset a mist arose, which made our journey too perilous
+to be continued.  I turned into a narrow cove between high banks, where
+the brawling of a shallow brook promised us fresh water.  And there, in
+a thicket of young fir trees growing at the foot of a steep bank, I set
+up the canoe on edge, laid some poles and branches against it, and had
+a secluded shelter for my lady.  She looked at it with a gratified
+admiration and could never be done with thanking me.
+
+Being now near the Shubenacadie mouth, I durst not light a fire, but we
+uncomplainingly ate our black bread; and then I said:
+
+"We will start at first gray, comrade.  You will need all the sleep you
+can win.  Good night, and kindly dreams."
+
+"Good night, Monsieur," she said softly, and disappeared.  Then going
+down to the water's side, I threw off my clothes, and took a swift
+plunge which steadied and refreshed me mightily.  Swimming in the misty
+and murmurous darkness, my venture and my strange fellowship seemed
+more like a dream to me than ever, and I could scarce believe myself
+awake.  But I was awake enough to feel it when, in stumbling ashore, I
+scraped my foot painfully on a jagged shell.  However, that hurt was
+soon eased and staunched by holding it for a little under the chill
+gushing of the brook; after which I dressed myself, gathered a handful
+of ferns for a pillow, and laid myself down across the opening which
+led into the thicket.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XIV
+
+My Comrade Shoots Excellently Well
+
+From a medley of dreams, in which I saw Mizpah binding the Black Abbe
+with cords of her own hair--tight, tighter, till they ate into his
+flesh, and I trembled at the look of shaking horror in his face; in
+which then I saw the child chasing butterflies before the door of the
+Forge in the Forest, and heard Babin's hammer beating musically on his
+anvil, till the sound became the chiming of the Angelus over the roofs
+and walls of Quebec, where Mizpah and I walked hand fast together on
+the topmost bastion,--from such a fleeting and blending confusion as
+this, I woke to feel a hand laid softly on my face in the dark.  I
+needed no seeing to tell me whose was the hand, so slim, so cool, so
+softly firm; and I had much ado to keep my lips from reverently kissing
+it.
+
+"Monsieur, Monsieur," came the whisper, "what is that noise, that
+voice?"
+
+"Pardon me, comrade, for sleeping so soundly," I murmured, sitting up,
+and taking her hand in mine with a rough freedom of goodwill, as merely
+to reassure her.  "What is it you hear?"
+
+But before she could reply, I heard it myself, a strange, chanting cry,
+slow and plangent, from far out upon the water.  Presently I caught the
+words, and knew the voice.
+
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the fair," it came solemnly, "for the day of her
+desolation draws nigh!"
+
+"It is Grul," said I, "passing in his canoe, on some strange errand of
+his."
+
+"Grul?  Who is Grul?" she questioned, clinging a little to my hand, and
+then dropping it suddenly.
+
+"A quaint madman of these parts," said I; "and yet I think his madness
+is in some degree a feigning.  He has twice done me inestimable
+service--once warning us of an immediate peril, and again yesterday, in
+leading us to the spot where you were held captive.  For some reason
+unknown to me, he has a marvellous kindness for me and mine.  But the
+Black Abbe he hates in deadly fashion--for some ancient and
+ineffaceable wrong, if the tale tell true."
+
+"And he brought you to us?" she murmured, with a sort of stillness in
+her voice, which caught me strangely.
+
+"Yes, Grul did!" said I.
+
+And then there was silence between us, and we heard the mysterious and
+solemn voice passing, and dying away in the distance.  My ears at last
+being released from the tension of listening, my eyes began to serve
+me, and through the branches I marked a grayness spreading in the sky.
+
+"We must be stirring, Madame," said I, rising abruptly to my feet.
+"Let us take our bread down to the brook and eat it there."
+
+But she was already gone, snatching up the sack of bread; and in a few
+minutes, having righted the canoe and carried it down to a convenient
+landing-place, I joined her.  She was stretched flat beside a little
+basin of the brook, her cap off, her hair in a tight coil high upon her
+head, her sleeves pulled up, while she splashed her face and arms in
+the running coolness.  Without pulling down her sleeves or resuming her
+cap, she seated herself on a stone and held out to me a piece of bread.
+In the coldly growing dawn her hair and lips were colourless, the
+whiteness of her arms shadowy and spectral.  Then as we slowly made our
+meal, I bringing water for her in my drinking-horn, the rose and fire
+and violet of sunrise began to sift down into our valley and show me
+again the hues of life in Mizpah's face.  I sprang up, handed her the
+woollen cap, and tried hard to keep my eyes from dwelling upon the
+sweet and gracious curves of her arms.
+
+"Aboard!  Aboard!" I cried, and moved off in a bustling fashion to get
+the paddles.  In a few minutes we were under way, thrusting out from
+the shore, and pushing through myriad little curling wisps of vapour,
+which rose in pale hues of violet and pink all over the oil-smooth
+surface of the tide.
+
+For some time we paddled in silence.  Then, when the sun's first rays
+fell fairly upon us, I exclaimed lightly:--
+
+"You must pull down your sleeves, comrade."
+
+"Why?" she asked quickly, turning her head and pausing in her stroke.
+
+"For two excellent reasons besides the captain's orders," said I.  "In
+the first place, your arms will get so sore with sunburn, that you
+won't be able to do your fair share of the work.  In the second place,
+if we should meet any strangers, it would be difficult to persuade them
+that those arms were manly enough for a wood-ranger."
+
+"Oh," she said quickly, and pulled down the sleeves in some confusion.
+
+All that morning we made excellent progress, with the help of a light
+following wind.  When the sun was perhaps two hours high, the mouth of
+the Shubenacadie opened before us; and because this river was the great
+highway of the Black Abbe's red people, I ran the canoe in shore and
+concealed it till I had climbed a bluff near by and scanned the lower
+reaches of the stream.  Finding all clear, we put out again, and with
+the utmost haste paddled past the mouth.  Not till we were behind the
+further point, and running along under the shelter of a high bank, did
+I breathe freely.  Then I praised Mizpah, for in that burst of speed
+her skill and force had amazed me.
+
+But she turned upon me with the question which I had looked for.
+
+"If that is the Black Abbe's river," said she, with great eyes fixing
+mine, "and the Indians have gone that way, why do we pass by?"
+
+"I owe you an explanation, comrade," said I.  "I think in all
+likelihood, that way leads straight to your child; but if we went that
+way, we would be the Abbe's prisoners within the next hour,--and how
+would we help the child then?  Oh, no; I am bound for the Black Abbe's
+back door.  A few leagues beyond this lies the River des Saumons, and
+on its banks is a settlement of our Acadian folk.  Many of them are of
+the Abbe's following, and all fear him; but I have there two faithful
+men who are in the counsels of the Forge.  One of these dwells some two
+miles back from the river, half a league this side of the village.  I
+will go to him secretly, and send him on to the Shubenacadie for
+information.  Then we will act not blindly."
+
+To this of course she acquiesced at once, as being the only wise way;
+but for all that, with each canoe-length that we left the Shubenacadie
+behind, the more did her paddle lag.  The impulse seemed all gone out
+of her.  Soon therefore I bade her lay down the blade and rest.  In a
+little, when she had lain a while with her face upon her arms,--whether
+waking or not I could not tell, for she kept her face turned away from
+me,--she became herself again.
+
+No long while after noon, we ran into the mouth of the des Saumons.  I
+was highly elated with the success that had so far attended us,--the
+speed we had made, our immunity from hindrance and question.  We landed
+to eat our hasty meal, but paused not long to rest, being urged now by
+the keen spur of imagined nearness to our goal.  Some two hours more of
+brisk paddling brought us to a narrow and winding creek, up which I
+turned.  For some furlongs it ran through a wide marsh, but at length
+one bank grew high and copsy.  Here I put the canoe to land, and
+stepped ashore, bidding Mizpah keep her place.
+
+Finding the spot to my liking, I pulled the canoe further up on the
+soft mud, and astonished Mizpah by telling her that I must carry her up
+the bank.
+
+"But why?" she cried.  "I can walk, Monsieur, as well as I could this
+morning--though I _am_ a little stiff," she added naively.
+
+"The good soldier asks not why," said I, with affected severity.  "But
+I will tell you.  In case any one _should_ come in my absence, there
+must be but one track visible, and that track mine, leading up and away
+toward the settlement.  You must lie hidden in that thicket, and keep
+guard.  Do you understand, Madame?"
+
+"Yes," said she,--"but how can you?--I am awfully heavy."
+
+I laughed softly, picked her up as I would a child, and carried her to
+the edge of the woods, where I let her down on one end of a fallen tree.
+
+"Now, comrade," said I, "if you will go circumspectly along this log
+you will leave no trace.  Hide yourself in the thicket there close to
+the canoe, keep your pistols primed, and watch till I come back,--and
+the blessed Virgin guard you!" I added, with a sudden fervour.
+
+Then, having lifted the canoe altogether clear of the water, I set
+forth at a swinging trot for Martin's farm.
+
+I found my trusty habitant at home, and ready to do any errand of mine
+ere I could speak it.  But when I told him what I wanted of him he
+started in some excitement.
+
+"Why, Monsieur," he cried, "I have the very tidings you seek.  I myself
+saw a canoe with two Indians pass up the river this morning; and they
+had a little child with them,--a child with long yellow hair."
+
+"Up _this_ river!" I exclaimed.  "Then whither can they be taking him?"
+
+"They did not leave him in the village," answered Martin, positively,
+"for the word goes that they passed on up in great haste.  By the route
+they have taken, they are clearly bound for the Straits--"
+
+"Ay, they'll cross to the head of the Pictook, and descend that
+stream," said I.  "But which way will they turn then?"--For I was
+surprised and confused at the information.
+
+"Well, Monsieur," said Martin, "when they get to the Straits, who
+knows?  They may be going across to Ile St. Jean.  They may turn south
+to Ile Royale; for the English, I hear, have no hold there, save at
+Louisburg and Canseau.  Or they may turn north toward Miramichi.  Who
+knows--save the Black Abbe?"
+
+"I must overtake them," said I, resolutely.  "Good-bye, my friend and
+thank you.  If all goes well, you will get a summons from the Forge ere
+the moon is again at the full;" and I made haste back to the spot where
+Mizpah waited.
+
+As I swung along, I congratulated myself on the good fortune which had
+so held me to the trail.  Then I fell to thinking of my comrade, and
+the wonder of the situation, and the greater wonder of her eyes and
+hair,--which thoughts sped the time so sweetly that ere I could believe
+it I saw before me the overhanging willows, and the thicket by the
+stream.  Then I stopped as if I had been struck in the face, and shook
+with a sudden fear.
+
+At my very feet, fallen across the dead tree which I have already
+mentioned, lay the body of an Indian.  Every line of the loose,
+sprawled body told me that he had met an instant death,--and a bullet
+hole in his back showed me the manner of it.  Only for a second did I
+pause.  Then I sprang into the thicket, with a horror catching at my
+heart.  There was Mizpah lying on her face,--and a hoarse cry broke
+from my lips.  But even as I flung myself down beside her I saw that
+she was not dead.  No, she was shaking with sobs,--and the naturalness
+of it, strange to say, reassured me on the instant.  I made to lift
+her, when she sprang at once to her feet, and looked at me wildly.  I
+took her hand, to comfort her; but she drew it away, and gazed upon it
+with a kind of shrinking horror.
+
+I understood now what had happened.  Nevertheless, knowing not just the
+best thing to say, I asked her what was the matter.
+
+"Oh," she cried, covering her eyes, "I killed him.  He threw up his
+hands, and groaned, and fell like a log.  How could I do it?  How could
+I do it?"
+
+I tried to assure her that she had done well; but finding that she
+would pay me no heed, I went to look at her victim.  I turned him over,
+and muttered a thanksgiving to Heaven as I recognized him for one of
+the worst of the Black Abbe's flock.  I found his tracks all about the
+canoe.  Then I went back to Mizpah.
+
+"Good soldier!  Good comrade!" said I, earnestly.  "You have killed
+Little Fox, the blackest and cruelest rogue on the whole Shubenacadie.
+Oh, I tell you you have done a good deed this day!"
+
+The knowledge of this appeared to ease her somewhat, and in a few
+moments I gathered the details.  The Indian had come suddenly to the
+bank, and seeing a canoe there had examined it curiously,--she, the
+while, waiting in great fear, for she had at once recognized him as one
+of her former captors, and one of whom she stood in special dread.
+While looking at our things in the canoe, he had appeared all at once
+to understand.  He had picked up my coat, and examined it
+carefully,--and the grin that disclosed his long teeth disclosed also
+that he recognized it.  Looking to the priming of his musket, he
+started cautiously up the bank upon my trail.
+
+"As soon as he left the canoe," said Mizpah, still shaken with sobs, "I
+knew that something must be done.  If he went away, it would be just to
+give the alarm, and then we could not escape, and Philip would be lost
+forever.  But I saw that, instead of going away, he was going to track
+you and shoot you down.  I didn't know what to do, or how I could ever
+shoot a man in cold blood,--but something _made_ me do it.  Just as he
+reached the end of the log, I seemed to see him already shooting you,
+away in the woods over there,--and then I fired.  And oh, oh, oh, I
+shall never forget how he groaned and fell over!"  And she stared at
+her right hand.
+
+"Comrade," said I, "I owe my life to you.  He _would_ have shot me
+down; for, as I think of it, I went carelessly, and seldom looked
+behind when I got into the woods.  To be so incautious is not my way,
+believe me.  I know not how it was, unless I so trusted the comrade
+whom I had left behind to guard my trail.  And now, here are news!
+They have brought the child this way, up this very river!  The saints
+have surely led us thus far, for we are hot upon their track!"
+
+And this made her forget to weep for the excellence of her shooting.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XV
+
+Grul's Hour
+
+Though we were in a hot haste to get away, it was absolutely necessary
+first to bury the dead Indian, lest a hue and cry should be raised that
+might involve and delay us.  With my paddle, therefore, I dug him a
+shallow grave in the soft mud at the edge of the tide, which was then
+on the ebb.  This meagre inhumation completed, I smoothed the surface
+as best I could with my paddle; and then we set off, resting easy in
+the knowledge that the next tide would smooth down all traces of the
+work.
+
+It was by this close upon sunset, and I felt a little hesitation as to
+what we had best do.  I had no wish to run through the settlement till
+after dark, nor was I anxious to push on against the furious ebb of the
+des Saumons, against which the strongest paddlers could make slow
+headway.  But it was necessary to get out of the creek before the water
+should quite forsake us; and, moreover, Mizpah was in a fever of haste
+to be gone.  She kept gazing about as if she expected the savage to
+rise from his muddy grave and point at her.  We ran out of the creek,
+therefore, and were instantly caught in the great current of the river.
+I suffered it to sweep us down for half a mile, having noted on the way
+up a cluster of haystacks in an angle of the dyke.  Coming to these, I
+pushed ashore at once, carried the canoe up, and found that the place
+was one where we might rest secure.  Here we ate our black bread and
+drank new milk, for there were many cattle pasturing on the aftermath,
+and some of the cows had not yet gone home to milking.  Then, hiding
+the canoe behind the dyke, and ourselves between the stacks, in great
+weariness we sought our sleep.
+
+There was no hint of dawn in the sky when I awoke with a start; but the
+constellations had swung so wide an arc that I knew morning was close
+at hand.  There was a hissing clamour in the river-bed which told me
+the tide was coming in.  That, doubtless, was the change which had so
+swiftly aroused me.  I went to the other side of the stack, where
+Mizpah lay with her cheek upon her arm, her hair fallen adorably about
+her neck.  Touching her forehead softly with my hand, I whispered:--
+
+"Come, comrade, the tide has turned!"  Whereupon she sat up quietly, as
+if this were for her the most usual of awakenings, and began to arrange
+her hair.  I went out upon the shadowy marsh and soon accomplished a
+second theft of new milk, driving the tranquil cow which furnished it
+into the corner behind the stacks, that our dairy might be the more
+conveniently at hand.  Our fast broken (and though I hinted nought of
+it to Mizpah, I found black bread growing monotonous), I carried the
+canoe down to the edge of the tide.  But Mistress Mizpah's daintiness
+revolted at the mud, whereupon she took off her moccasins and stockings
+before she came to it, and I caught a gleam of slim white feet at the
+dewy edge of the grass.  When I had carried down the paddles, pole, and
+baggage, I found her standing in a quandary.  She could not get into
+the canoe with that sticky clay clinging to her feet, and there was no
+place where she could sit down to wash them.  Carelessly enough (though
+my heart the while trembled within me), I stretched out my hand to her,
+saying:--
+
+"Lean on me, comrade, and then you can manage it all right."
+
+And so it was that she managed it; and so indifferently did I cast my
+eyes about, now at the breaking dawn, now at the swelling tide, that I
+am sure she must have deemed that I saw not or cared not at all how
+white and slender and shapely were her feet!
+
+In few minutes we were afloat, going swiftly on the tide.  The sky was
+all saffron as we slipped through the settlement, and a fairy glow lay
+upon the white cottages.  The banks on either hand took on the
+ineffable hues of polished nacre.  To the door of one cottage, close by
+the water, came a man yawning, and hailed us.  But I flung back a mere
+"_Bon jour_," and sped on.  Not till the settlement was out of sight
+behind us, not till the cross on the spire of the village was quite cut
+off from view, did I drop to the even pace of our day-long journeying.
+When at length we got beyond the influence of the tide, des Saumons was
+a shallow, sparkling, singing stream, its bed aglow with ruddy-coloured
+rocks.  Here I laid aside my paddle and thrust the canoe onwards by
+means of my long pole of white spruce, while Mizpah had nought to do
+but lean back and watch the shores creep by.
+
+At the head of tide we had stopped to drink and to breathe a little.
+And there, seeing an old man working in front of a solitary cabin, I
+had deemed it safe to approach him and purchase a few eggs.  After this
+we kept on till an hour past noon, when I stopped in a bend of the
+river, at the foot of a perpendicular cliff of red rock some seventy or
+eighty feet in height.  Here was a thicket wherein we might hide both
+the canoe and ourselves if necessary.  The canoe I hid at once,
+that--being a matter of the more time.  Then we both set ourselves to
+gathering dry sticks, for it seemed to me we might here risk the luxury
+of a fire, with a dinner of roasted eggs.
+
+We had gathered but a handful or two, when I heard a crashing in the
+underbrush at the top of the cliff; and in a second, catching Mizpah by
+the hand, I had dragged her into hiding.  Through a screen of dark and
+drooping hemlock boughs we gazed intently at the top of the cliff,--and
+I noted, without thinking worth while to remedy my oversight, that I
+had forgotten to release Mizpah's hand.
+
+The crashing noise, mingled with some sharp outcries of rage and fear,
+continued for several minutes.  Then there was silence; and I saw at
+the brink a pointed cap stuck full of feathers, and the glare of a
+black and yellow cloak.
+
+"Grul!" I whispered, in astonishment; and I felt an answering surprise
+in the tightened clasp of Mizpah's hand.
+
+A moment more and Grul peered over the brink, scrutinizing the upper
+and lower reaches of the river.  He held a coil of rope, one end of
+which he had made fast to a stout birch tree which leaned well out over
+the edge.
+
+"What is he going to do?" murmured Mizpah, with wide eyes.
+
+"We'll soon see!" said I, marvelling mightily.
+
+The apparition vanished for some minutes, then suddenly reappeared
+close to the brink.  He carried, as lightly as if it had been a bundle
+of straw, the body of a man, so bound about with many cords as to
+remind me of nothing so much as a fly in the death wrappings of some
+black and yellow spider.  To add to the semblance, the victim was
+dressed in black,--and a closer scrutiny showed that he was a priest.
+
+"It is the Black Abbe, none other," I murmured, in a kind of awe; while
+Mizpah shrank closer to my side with a sense of impending tragedies.
+"Grul has come to his revenge!" I added.
+
+In a business fashion Grul knotted the end of his coil of rope about
+the prisoner's body, the feathers and flowers in his cap, meanwhile,
+nodding with a kind of satisfied rhythm.  Then he lowered the swathed
+and helpless but silently writhing figure a little way from the brink,
+governing the rope with ease by means of a half-twist about a jutting
+stump.  There was something indescribably terrifying in the sight of
+the fettered form swinging over the deep, with shudderings and
+twistings, and the safe edge not a yard length above him.  I pitied him
+in spite of myself; and I put a hand over Mizpah's eyes that she might
+not see what was coming.  But she pushed my hand away, and stared in a
+fascination.
+
+For some moments Grul gazed down in silence upon his victim.
+
+I fancied I caught the soul-piercing flame of his mad eyes; but this
+was doubtless due to my imagination rather than to the excellence of my
+vision.  Suddenly the victim, his fortitude giving way with the sense
+of the deadly gulf beneath him, and with the pitiless inquisition of
+that gaze bent down upon him, broke out into wild pleadings, desperate
+entreaties, screams of anguished fear, till I myself trembled at it,
+and Mizpah covered her ears.
+
+"Oh, stop it! save him!" she whispered to me, with white lips.  But I
+shook my head.  I could not reach the top of the cliff.  And moreover,
+I had small doubt that Grul's vengeance was just.  Nevertheless, had I
+been at the top of the cliff instead of the bottom, I had certainly put
+a stop to it.
+
+After listening for some moments, with a sort of pleasant attention, to
+the victim's ravings, Grul lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far
+out over the brink, and reached down a long arm.  I saw the gleam of a
+knife in his darting hand; and I drew a quick breath of relief.
+
+[Illustration: Grul lay flat, thrust his head and shoulders far out
+over the brink, and reached down a long arm.]
+
+"That ends it," said I; and I shifted my position, which I had not
+done, as it seemed to me, for an eternity.  The victim's screaming had
+ceased before the knife touched him.
+
+But I was vastly mistaken in thinking it the end.
+
+"He has not killed him," muttered Mizpah.
+
+And then I saw that Grul had merely cut the cord which bound his
+captive's hands.  The Abbe was swiftly freeing himself; and Grul,
+meanwhile, was lowering him down the face of the cliff.  When the
+unhappy captive had descended perhaps twenty feet, his tormentor
+secured the rope, and again lay down with his head and shoulders
+leaning over the brink, his hands playing carelessly with the knife.
+
+The Abbe, with many awkward gestures, presently got his limbs free, and
+the cord which had enwound him fell trailing like a snake to the cliff
+foot.  Then, with clawing hands and sprawling feet, he clutched at the
+smooth, inexorable rock, in the vain hope of getting a foothold.  It
+was pitiful to see his mad struggles, and the quiet of the face above
+looking down upon them with unimpassioned interest; till at last,
+exhausted, the poor wretch ceased to struggle, and looked up at his
+persecutor with the silence of despair.
+
+Presently Grul spoke,--for the first time, as far as we knew.
+
+"You know me, Monsieur l'Abbe, I suppose," he remarked, in tone of
+placid courtesy.
+
+"I know you, Francois de Grul," came the reply, gasped from a dry mouth.
+
+"Then further explanation, I think you will allow, is not needed.  I
+will bid you farewell, and a pleasant journey," went on the same civil
+modulations of Grul's voice.  At the same moment he reached down with
+his shining blade as if to sever the rope.
+
+"I did not do it!  I did not do it!" screamed the Abbe, once more
+clutching convulsively at the smooth rock.  "I swear to you by all the
+saints!"
+
+Grul examined the edge of his knife.  He tested it with his thumb.  I
+saw him glance along it critically.  Then he touched it, ever so
+lightly, to the rope, so that a single strand parted.
+
+"Swear to me," he said, in the mildest voice, "swear to me, Monsieur
+l'Abbe, that you had no part in it.  Swear by the Holy Ghost, Monsieur
+l'Abbe!"
+
+But the Abbe was silent.
+
+"Swear me that oath now, good Abbe," repeated the voice, with a kind of
+courteous insistence.
+
+"I will not swear!" came the ghastly whisper in reply.
+
+At this an astonishing change passed over the face that peered down
+from the brink.  Its sane tranquillity became a very paroxysm of rage.
+The grotesque cap was dashed aside, and Grul sprang to his feet, waving
+his arms, stamping and leaping, his gaudy cloak a-flutter, his long
+white hair and beard twisting as if with a sentient fury of their own.
+He was so close upon the brink that I held my breath, expecting him to
+be plunged headlong.  But all at once the paroxysm died out as suddenly
+as it had begun; and throwing himself down in his former position, Grul
+once more touched the knife edge to the rope, severing fibre by fibre,
+slowly, slowly.
+
+With the first touch upon the rope rose the Abbe's voice again, but no
+longer in vain entreaty and coward wailings.  I listened with a great
+awe, and a sob broke from Mizpah's lips.  It was the prayer for the
+passing soul.  We heard it poured forth in steady tones but swift,
+against the blank face of the cliff.  And we waited to see the rope
+divided at a stroke.
+
+But to our astonishment, Grul sprang to his feet again, in another
+fury, and flung aside his knife.  With twitching hands he loosened the
+rope and began lowering his victim rapidly, till, within some twenty
+feet of the bottom, the Abbe found a footing, and stopped.  Then Grul
+tossed the whole rope down upon him.
+
+"Go!" he cried in his chanting, bell-like tones.  "The cup of your
+iniquity is not yet full.  You shall not die till your soul is so black
+in every part that you will go down straight into hell!"  And turning
+abruptly, he vanished.
+
+The Black Abbe, as if seized with a faintness, leaned against the rock
+for some minutes.  Then, freeing himself from the rope, he climbed down
+to the foot of the cliff, and moved off slowly by the water's edge
+toward Cobequid.  We trembled lest he should see us, or the canoe,--I
+having no stomach for an attack upon one who had just gone through so
+dreadful a torment.  But his face, neck, ears, were like a sweating
+candle; and his contracted eyes seemed scarce to see the ground before
+his feet.
+
+"Seemed," I say.  Yet even in this supreme moment, he tricked me.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XVI
+
+I Cool My Adversaries' Courage
+
+We now, having been so long delayed, gave up our purpose of a fire, and
+contented ourselves with the eggs raw.  I also cut some very thin
+slices of the smoked and salted bacon, to eat with our black bread, for
+I knew that, working as we did, we needed strong food.  But Mizpah
+would not touch the uncooked bacon, though its savour, I assured her,
+was excellent.  We had but well begun our meal, and I was stooping over
+the hard loaf, when a startled exclamation from Mizpah made me look up.
+Close behind us stood Grul, impatiently twisting his little white rod
+with the scarlet head.  His eyes were somewhat more piercing, more like
+blue flame, than ordinarily, but otherwise he looked as usual.  So
+little mark remained upon him of the scene just enacted.  Both wise and
+mad! I thought.
+
+It struck me that he was pleased with the impression he so plainly made
+on us both, and for a moment he looked upon us in silence.  Then
+swiftly pointing his stick at us, he said sharply:--
+
+"Fools!  Do you wait here?  But the hound is on the trail.  Do you
+dream he did not see you?"
+
+Then he turned to go.  But Mizpah was at his side instantly, catching
+him by the wrist, and imploring him to tell us which way her child had
+been carried.
+
+Grul stopped and looked down upon her with austere dignity, but without
+replying.  Passionately Mizpah entreated him, not to be denied; and at
+last, lightly but swiftly removing her fingers from his wrist, he
+muttered oracularly:--
+
+"They will take him to the sea that is within the heart of the land!
+But go!" he repeated with energy, "or you will not go far!" and with
+steps so smooth that they seemed not to touch the ground, he went past
+the cliff foot.  His gaudy mantle shone for a moment, and he was gone.
+
+The ominous urgency of his warning rang in our ears, and we were not
+slow in making our own departure.
+
+"What does he mean by 'the sea that is within the heart of the land'?"
+asked Mizpah, as we hurriedly launched the canoe.
+
+"He means the Bras d'Or lakes," I said, "those wonderful reaches of
+land-locked sea that traverse the heart of He Royale.  It is a likely
+enough way for the savages to go.  There are villages both of Acadians
+and of Indians on the island."
+
+As we were to learn afterwards, however, Grul had told us falsely.  The
+child was not destined for Ile Royale.  Whether the strange being
+really thought he was directing us aright, or, his vanity not
+permitting him to confess that he did not know, trusted to a guess with
+the hope that it might prove a prophecy, I have never been able to
+determine.  As a matter of fact, Fate did presently so take our affairs
+into her own hands, that Grul's misinformation affected the end not at
+all.  But his warning and his exhortation to speed we had to thank for
+our escape from the perils that soon came upon us.  Had we not been
+thus warned, without doubt we should have been taken unawares and
+perished miserably.
+
+On the incidents of our journey for the rest of that day, and up to
+something past noon of the day following, I need not particularly
+dwell.  Suffice to say that we accomplished prodigious things, and that
+Mizpah showed incredible endurance.  It was as if she saw her child
+ever a little way before her, and hoped to come up with him the next
+minute.  When the stream became hopelessly shallow, we got out and
+waded, dragging the canoe.  The long portage to the head of the Pictook
+waters we made in the night, the trail being a clear one, and not
+overly rough.  At the further end of the carry, when I set down the
+canoe at the stream's edge, I could have dropped for weariness, yet
+from Mizpah I heard no complaint; and her silent heroism stirred my
+soul to a deepening passion of worship.  Over and over I told myself
+that night that I would never rest or count the cost till I had given
+the child back to her arms.
+
+Not till we had gone perhaps a mile down the Pictook did I order a
+halt, thrusting the canoe into a secure hiding-place.  We snatched an
+hour of sleep, lying where we stepped ashore.  Then, rising in the
+redness of daybreak, we hurried on, eating as we journeyed.  And now,
+conceiving that it was necessary to keep up her strength, Mizpah ate of
+the uncooked bacon; though she wore a face of great aversion as she did
+so.
+
+When, after hours of unmitigated toil, we reached the head of tide and
+the spacious open reaches of the lower river, I insisted on an hour of
+rest.  Mizpah vowed that she was not exhausted,--but she slept
+instantly, falling by the side of the canoe as she stepped out.  For
+myself I durst not sleep, but I rested, and watched, and sucked an egg,
+and chewed strips of bacon.  When we pushed off again I felt that we
+must have put a good space between us and our pursuers; and as the ebb
+tide was helping me I made Mizpah go on sleeping, in her place in the
+bow.
+
+"I will need your help more by and by," said I when she protested, "and
+then you must have all your strength to give me!"
+
+The river soon became a wide estuary, with arms and indentations,--a
+harbour fit to hold a hundred fleets.  Straight down mid-channel I
+steered, the shortest course to the mouth.  But by and by there sprang
+up a light head-wind, delaying me.
+
+"Wake up, comrade," I cried.  "I need your good arm now, against this
+breeze!"
+
+She had slept there an hour, and she woke now with a childlike flush in
+her cheeks.
+
+"How good of you to let me sleep so," she exclaimed, turning to give me
+a grateful glance.  But the expression upon her face changed instantly
+to one of fear, and the colour all went out.
+
+"Oh, look behind us!" she gasped.  I had not indeed waited for her
+words.  Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of a large canoe,
+with four savages paddling furiously.  The one glimpse was enough.
+
+"Now, comrade, work!" said I.  "But steady! not too hard!  This is a
+long chase, remember!" and I bent mightily to the paddle.
+
+Our pursuers were a good half-mile behind; and had we not been already
+wearied, I believe we could have held our own with them all day.  Our
+canoe was light and swift, Mizpah paddled rarely, and for myself, I
+have never yet been beaten, by red man or white, in a fair canoe-race.
+But as it was, I felt that we must win by stratagem, if the saints
+should so favour us as to let us win at all.  Half a mile ahead, on our
+right, was a high point.  Behind it, as I knew, was a winding estuary
+of several branches, each the debouchement of a small stream.  It was
+an excellent place in which to evade pursuers.  I steered for the high
+point.
+
+As we darted behind its shelter, a backward glance told me that our
+enemies had not gained upon us.  The moment we were hidden from their
+view I put across to the other side of the channel, ran the canoe
+behind a jutting boulder, and leapt out.  Not till we were concealed,
+canoe and all, behind a safe screen of rocks and underbrush, did Mizpah
+ask my purpose, though she plainly marvelled that I should hide so
+close to the entrance.
+
+"A poor and something public hiding-place is often the most secret,"
+said I.  "The Indians know that up this water there are a score of
+turns, and backwaters, and brook-mouths, wherein we might long evade
+them.  As soon as they saw us turn in here, they doubtless concluded
+that the water was well known to me, and that I would hope to baffle
+them in the inner labyrinths and escape up one of the streams.  They
+will never dream of us stopping here."
+
+"I see!" she exclaimed eagerly.  "When they have passed in to look for
+us, we will slip out, and push on."  It was haste she thought of rather
+than escape.  No moment passed, I think, when her whole will, her whole
+being, were not focussed upon the finding of the child.  And the more I
+realized the intensity of her love and her pain, the more I marvelled
+at the heroic self-control which forbade her to waste her strength in
+tears and wailings.  The conclusion at which she had now arrived, as to
+my plan, was one I had not thought of, and I considered it before
+replying.
+
+"No," said I, presently; "that is not quite my purpose, though I
+confess it is a good one.  But, comrade, this is a safe ambush!  They
+must pass within close gunshot of us!"
+
+"Oh," she cried, paling, and clasping her hands, "_must_ there be more
+blood?  But yes, they bring it on themselves," she went on with a
+sudden fierceness, flushing again, and her mouth growing cruel.  "They
+would keep us from finding him.  Their blood be on their own heads!"
+
+"I am glad you think of that," said I.  "They would have no mercy for
+us if they should take us now.  But indeed, if it will please you to
+have it so, we need not shoot them down.  We can treat them to such a
+medicine as they had before of me, sink their canoe, and leave them
+like drowned rats on the other shore."
+
+"Yes," said Mizpah, quietly; "if that will do as well, it will please
+me much better."
+
+And so it was agreed.  A very few minutes later the canoe appeared,
+rounding into the estuary.  The savages scanned both shores minutely,
+but rather from the habit of caution than from any thought that we
+might have gone to land.  If, however, I had not taken care to make my
+landing behind a boulder, those keen eyes would have marked some
+splashed spots on the shingle, and we would have been discovered.
+
+But no such evil fortune came about.  The four paddles flashed onward
+swiftly.  The four fierce, painted and feathered heads thrust forward
+angrily, expecting to overtake us in one of the inner reaches.  I took
+up Mizpah's musket (which was loaded with slugs, while my own carried a
+bullet, in case I should be called upon for a long and delicate shot),
+and waited until the canoe was just a little more than abreast of us.
+Then, aiming at the waterline, just in front of the bow paddle, I fired.
+
+The effect was instant and complete.  The savage in the bow threw up
+his paddle with a scream and sprang overboard.  He was doubtless
+wounded, and feared a second shot.  We saw him swimming lustily toward
+the opposite shore.  The others paddled desperately in the same
+direction, but before they had gone half-way the canoe was so deep in
+the water that she moved like a log.  Then they, too, seized with the
+fear of a second shot, sprang overboard.  By this time I had the musket
+reloaded.
+
+"If they get the canoe ashore, with their weapons aboard her," said I,
+"they will soon get her patched up, and we will have it all to do over
+again.  Here goes for another try, whatever heads may be in the way!"
+
+Mizpah averted her face, but made no protest, and I fired at the stern
+of the canoe, which was directly toward me.  A swimmer's head, close
+by, went down; and in a minute more the canoe did likewise.  Three
+feathered heads remained in sight; and presently three dark figures
+dragged themselves ashore--one of them limping badly--and plunged into
+the woods.
+
+"Without canoe or guns," said I, "they are fairly harmless for a
+while."  But Mizpah, as we re-embarked and headed again for the sea,
+said nothing.  I think that in her bosom, at this time, womanly
+compassion was striving, and at some disadvantage, with the
+vindictiveness of outraged motherhood.  I think--and I loved her the
+better for it--she was glad I had killed one more of her child's
+enemies; but I think, too, she was filled with shame at her gladness.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XVII
+
+A Night in the Deep
+
+Once fairly out again into the harbour, I saw two things that were but
+little to my satisfaction.  Far away up the river were three more
+canoes.  I understood at once that the savages whom we had just worsted
+were the mere vanguard of the Black Abbe's attack.  The new-comers,
+however, were so far behind that I had excellent hopes of eluding them.
+The second matter that gave me concern was the strong head-wind that
+had suddenly arisen.  The look of the sky seemed to promise, moreover,
+that what was now a mere blow might soon become a gale.  It was already
+kicking up a sea that hindered us.  Most women would have been
+terrified at it, but Mizpah seemed to have no thought of fear.  We
+pressed on doggedly.  There was danger ahead, I knew,--a very serious
+danger, which would tax all my skill to overcome.  But the danger
+behind us was the more menacing.  I felt that there was nothing for it
+but to face the storm and force a passage around the cape.  This
+accomplished,--if we could accomplish it,--I knew our pursuers would
+not dare to follow.
+
+About sundown, though the enemy had drawn perceptibly nearer, I
+concluded that we must rest and gather our strength.  I therefore ran
+in behind a little headland, the last shelter we could hope for until
+we should get around the cape.  There we ate a hearty meal, drank from
+a tiny spring, and lay stretched flat on the shore for a quarter of an
+hour.  Then, after an apprehensive look at the angry sea, and a prayer
+that was earnest enough to make up for some scantness in length, I
+cried:--
+
+"Come now, comrade, and be brave."
+
+"I am not afraid, Monsieur," she answered quietly.  "If anything
+happens, I know it will not be because you have failed in anything that
+the bravest and truest of men could hope to do."
+
+"I think that God will help us," said I.  That some one greater than
+ourselves does sometimes help us in such perils, I know, whatever
+certain hasty men who speak out of a plentiful lack of experience may
+declare to the contrary.  But whether this help be a direct
+intervention of God himself, or the succour of the blessed saints, or
+the watchful care of one's guardian spirit, I have never been able to
+conclude to my own satisfaction.  And very much thought have I given to
+the matter by times, lying out much under the stars night after night,
+and carrying day by day my life in my hands.  However it might be, I
+felt sustained and comforted as we put out that night.  The storm was
+now so wild that it would have been perilous to face in broad daylight
+and with a strong man at the bow paddle.  Yet I believed that we should
+win through.  I felt that my strength, my skill, my sureness of
+judgment, were of a sudden made greater than I could commonly account
+them.
+
+But whatever strength may have been graciously vouchsafed to me that
+night, I found that I needed it all.  The night fell not darkly, but
+with a clear sky, and the light of stars, and a diffused glimmer from
+the white crests of the waves.  The gale blew right on shore, and the
+huge roar of the surf thundering in our ears seemed presently to blunt
+our sense of peril.  The great waves now hung above us, white-crested
+and hissing, till one would have said we were in the very pit of doom.
+A moment more, and the light craft would seem to soar upward as the
+wave slipped under it, a wrenching turn of my wrist would drive her on
+a slant through the curling top of foam, and then we would slide
+swiftly into the pit again, down a steep slope of purplish blackness
+all alive with fleeting eyes of white light.  The strain upon my wrist,
+the mighty effort required at each wave lest we should broach to and be
+rolled over, were something that I had never dreamed to endure.  Yet I
+did endure it.  And as for the brave woman in the bow, she simply
+paddled on, steadily, strongly, without violence, so that I learned to
+depend on her for just so much force at each swift following crisis.
+For there was a new crisis every moment,--with a moment's grace as we
+slipped into each succeeding pit.  At last we found ourselves off the
+cape,--and then well out into the open Strait, yet not engulfed.  A
+little,--just as much as I durst, and that was very little,--I shifted
+our course toward south.  This brought a yet heavier strain upon my
+wrist, but there was no help for it if we would hope to get beyond the
+cape.  How long we were I know not.  I lost the sense of time.  I had
+no faculty left save those that were in service now to battle back
+destruction.  But at last I came to realize that we were well clear of
+the cape, that the sound of the breakers had dwindled, and that the
+time had come to turn.  To turn?  Ay, but could it be done?
+
+It could but be tried.  To go on thus much longer was, I knew,
+impossible.  My strength would certainly fail by and by.
+
+"Comrade," said I,--and my voice sounded strange, as if long
+unused,--"keep paddling steadily as you are, but the moment I say
+'change,' paddle _hard_ on the other side."
+
+"Yes, Monsieur!" she answered as quietly as if we had been walking in a
+garden.
+
+I watched the approach of one of those great waves which would, as I
+knew, have as vast a fellow to follow upon it.  As soon as we were well
+over the crest I began to turn.
+
+"Change!" I shouted.  And Mizpah's paddle flashed to the other side.
+Down we slanted into the pit.  We lay at the bottom for a second,
+broadside on,--then we got the little craft fairly about as she rose.
+A second more, and the wind caught us, and completed the turn,--and the
+next crest was fairly at my back.  I drew a huge breath, praising God
+and St. Joseph; and we ran in toward the hollow of the land before us.
+That part of the coast was strange to me, save as seen when passing by
+ship; but I trusted there would be some estuary or some winding, within
+which we might safely come to land.
+
+The strain was now different, and therefore my nerves and muscles felt
+a temporary relief; but it was still tremendous.  There was still the
+imminent danger of broaching to as each wave-crest seized and twisted
+the frail craft.  But having the wind behind me, I had of course more
+steerage way, and therefore a more instant and effective control.  We
+ran on straight before the wind, but a few points off; and with
+desperate anxiety I peered ahead for some hint of shelter on that wild
+lee shore.  Mizpah, of course, knew the unspeakable strain of wielding
+the stern paddle in such a sea.
+
+"Are you made of steel, Monsieur?" she presently asked.  "I can hardly
+believe it possible that the strength of human sinews should endure so
+long."
+
+"Mine, alas, will not endure much longer, comrade," said I.
+
+"And what then?" she asked, in a steady voice.
+
+"I do not know," said I; "but there is hope.  I think we have not been
+brought through all this for nothing."
+
+The roar of the breakers grew louder and louder again, as we gradually
+neared the high coast which seemed to slip swiftly past on our right
+hand.  It was black and appalling, serried along the crest with tops of
+fir trees, white along the base with the great gnashing of the
+breakers.  As we ran into the head of the bay, with yet no sign of a
+shelter, the seas got more perilous, being crowded together and broken
+so that I could not calculate upon them.  Soon they became a mad
+smother; and I knew my strength for this bout had but little longer to
+last.
+
+"The end!" said I; "but we may win through!  I will catch you when the
+crash comes."  And some blind prayer, I know not what, kept repeating
+and repeating in the inward silence of my soul.  New strength seemed
+then to flow upon nerve and sinew,--and I descried, almost ahead of us,
+a space of smooth and sloping beach up which the seas rushed without
+rock to shatter them.
+
+"This is our chance," I shouted.  A wave came, smoother and more whole
+than most, and paddling desperately I kept awhile upon the crest of it.
+Then like a flash it curled thinly, rolled the canoe over, and hurled
+us far up on the beach.  Half blinded, half stunned, and altogether
+choking, I yet kept my wits; and catching Mizpah by the arm, I dragged
+her violently forward beyond reach of the next wave.  Dropping her
+without a word, I turned back, and was just in time to catch the
+rolling canoe.  It, too, I succeeded in dragging to a place of safety;
+but it was so shattered and crushed as to be useless.  The muskets,
+however, were in it; for I had taken care to lash them under the bars
+before leaving the shelter of the inlet.
+
+The remnants of the canoe I hauled far up on the beach, and then I
+returned to Mizpah, who lay in utter exhaustion just where I had
+dropped her, so close to the water's edge that she was splashed by the
+spray of every wave.
+
+"Come, comrade," I said, lifting her gently.  "The saints have indeed
+been kind to us."  But she made no reply.  Leaning heavily upon me, and
+moving as if in a dream, she let me lead her to the edge of the wood,
+where the herbage began behind a sort of windrow of rocks.  There,
+seeing that the rocks shut off the wind, I released her, and dropping
+on the spot, she went at once to sleep.  Then I felt myself suddenly as
+weak as a baby.  I had no more care for anything save to sleep.  I
+tried to pluck a bunch of herbage to put under Mizpah's head for a
+pillow; but even as I stooped to gather it, I forgot where I was, and
+the tide of dreams flowed over me.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XVIII
+
+The _Osprey_, of Plymouth
+
+It must have been a good two hours that I slept.  I woke with a start,
+with a sense of some duty left undone.  I was in an awkward position,
+half on my side amid stones and underbrush, my arms clasping the bundle
+of herbage which I had meant for Mizpah's pillow.  The daylight was
+fairly established, blue and cold, though the sun was not yet visible.
+The gale hummed shrilly as ever, the huge waves thundered on the
+trembling beach, and all seaward was such a white and purple hell of
+raving waters that I shuddered at the sight of it.  Mizpah was still
+sleeping.  As I looked at her the desire for sleep came over me again
+with deadly strength, but I resisted it, rushing down to the edge of
+the surf, and facing a chill buffet of driven spume.  I took another
+glance at the canoe.  It was past mending.  The two muskets were there,
+but everything else was gone, washed away, or ground upon the rocks.
+After much searching, however, to my delight I found a battered roll of
+bacon wedged into a cleft.  Pouncing upon this, I bore it in triumph to
+Mizpah.
+
+"Wake up, comrade," I cried, shaking her softly.  "We must be getting
+away."
+
+The poor girl roused herself with difficulty, and sat up.  When she
+tried to stand, she toppled over, and would have fallen if I had not
+caught her by the arms.  It was some minutes before she could control
+the stiffness of her limbs.  At last the whipping of the wind somewhat
+revived her, and sitting down upon a rock she looked about with a face
+of hopeless misery.
+
+"Eat a little," said I, gently, "for we must get away from here at
+once, lest our enemies come over the hills to look for us."
+
+But she pushed aside the untempting, sodden food which I held out to
+her.
+
+"Whither shall we go?" she asked heavily.  "The canoe is wrecked.  How
+can we find my boy?  Oh, I wish I could die!"
+
+Poor girl! my heart ached for her.  I knew how her utter and terrible
+exhaustion had at last sapped that marvellous courage of hers; but I
+felt that roughness would be her best tonic, though it was far indeed
+from my heart to speak to her roughly.
+
+"Shame!" said I, in a voice of stern rebuke.  "Have you struggled and
+endured so long, to give up now?  Will you leave Philip to the savages
+because a canoe is broken?  Where is your boasted courage?  Why, we
+will walk, instead of paddling.  Come at once."
+
+Even this rebuke but half aroused her.  "I'm so thirsty," she said,
+looking around with heavy eyes.  By good Providence, there was a
+slender stream trickling in at this point, and I led her to it.  While
+she drank and bathed her face, I grubbed in the long grasses growing
+beside the stream, and found a handful of those tuberous roots which
+the Indians call ground-nuts.  These I made her eat, after which she
+was able to endure a little of the salt bacon.  Presently, she became
+more like herself, and began to grieve at the weakness which she had
+just shown.  Her humiliation was so deep that I had much ado to comfort
+her, telling her again and again that she was not responsible for what
+she had said when she was yet but half awake, and in the bonds of a
+weariness which would have killed most women.  I told her, which was
+nothing less than true, that I held her for the bravest of women, and
+that no man could have supported me better than she had done.
+
+We pushed our way straight over the height of land which runs seaward
+and ends in Cape Merigomish.  Our way lay through a steep but pleasant
+woodland, and by the time the sun was an hour high we had walked off
+much of our fatigue.  The tree tops rocked and creaked high above us,
+but where we walked the wind troubled us not.
+
+"Where are we going?" asked Mizpah, by and by--somewhat tremulously for
+she still had in mind my censure.
+
+"Why, comrade," said I, in a cheerful, careless manner of speech, a
+thousand miles away from the devotion in my heart,--"my purpose is to
+push straight along the coast to Canseau.  There we will find a few of
+your country-folk, fishermen mostly, and from them we will get a boat
+to carry us up the Bras d'Or."
+
+"But what will become of Philip, all this time?" she questioned, with
+haggard eyes.
+
+"As a matter of fact," I answered, "I don't think we will lose much
+time, after all.  If we still had the canoe, we would be storm-bound in
+the bay back there till the wind changes or subsides--and it may be
+days before it does the one or the other.  As it is, the worst that has
+befallen us is the loss of our ammunition and our bread.  But we will
+make shift to live, belike, till we reach Canseau."
+
+"Oh, Monsieur," she cried, in answer, with a great emotion in her
+voice, "you give me hope when my despair is blackest.  You seem to me
+more generous, more brave, more strong, than I had dreamed the greatest
+could be.  What makes you so good to an unhappy mother, so faithfully
+devoted to a poor baby whom you have never seen?"
+
+"Tut, tut!" said I, roughly; "I but do as any proper minded man would
+do that had the right skill and the fitting opportunity.  Thank Marc!"
+But I might have told her more if I had let my heart speak truth.
+
+"I know whom to thank, and all my life long will I pray Heaven to bless
+that one!" said Mizpah.
+
+Thus talking by the way, but most of the way silent, we came at length
+over Merigomish and down to the sea again, fetching the shore at the
+head of a second bay.  This was all in a smother and a roar, like that
+we had just left behind.  As we rounded the head of it, we came upon a
+little sheltered creek, and there, safe out of the gale, lay a small
+New England fishing schooner.  I knew her by the build for a New
+Englander, before I saw the words OSPREY, PLYMOUTH, painted in red
+letters on her stern.
+
+"Here is fortune indeed!" said I, while a cry of gladness sprang to
+Mizpah's lips.  "I'll charter the craft to take us up the Bras d'Or."
+
+The little ship lay in a very pleasant idleness.  The small haven was
+full of sun, the green, wooded hills sloping softly down about it and
+shutting off all winds.  The water heaved and rocked; but smoothly,
+stirred by the yeasty tumult that roared past the narrow entrance.  The
+clamour of the surf outside made the calm within the more excellent.
+
+Several gray figures of the crew lay sprawling about the deck, which we
+could see very well, by reason of the steepness of the shore on which
+we stood.  In the waist was a gaunt, brown-faced man, with a scant,
+reddish beard, a nose astonishingly long and sharp, and a blue woollen
+cap on the back of his head.  He stood leaning upon the rail watching
+us, and spitting contemplatively into the water from time to time.
+
+We climbed down to the beach beside the schooner, and I spoke to the
+man in English.
+
+"Are you the captain?" I asked civilly.
+
+"They do say I be," he answered in a thin, high, sing-song of a voice.
+"Captain Ezra Bean, Schooner _Osprey_, of Plymouth, at your sarvice."
+And he waved his hand with a spacious air.
+
+I bowed with ceremony.  "And I am your very humble servant," said I,
+"the Sieur de Briart, of Canard by Grand Pre.  We were on our way to
+Canseau, but have lost our canoe and stores in the gale.  We are bold
+to hope, Captain, that you will sell us some bread, as also some powder
+and bullets.  We did not lose our little money, Heaven be praised!"
+
+Knowing these New Englanders to be greedy of gain, but highly honest, I
+made no scruple of admitting that we had money about us.
+
+"Come right aboard, good sirs!" said the captain; and in half a minute
+the gig, which floated at the stern, was thrust around to us, and we
+clambered to the deck of the _Osprey_, where crew and captain, five in
+all, gathered about us without ceremony.  The captain, I could see at
+once, was just one of themselves, obeyed when he gave orders, but
+standing in no sort of formal aloofness.  Cold salt beef, and biscuit
+and cheese, and tea, were soon set before us, and as we made a hasty
+meal they all hung about us and talked, as if we had been in one of
+their home kitchens on Massachusetts Bay.  As for Mizpah, who felt
+little at ease in playing her man's part, she spoke only in French, and
+made as if she knew no word of English.  Captain Ezra Bean had some
+French, but no facility in it, and a pronunciation that was beyond
+measure execrable.
+
+But at last, being convinced that they were honest fellows, I spoke of
+chartering the _Osprey_, and in explanation told the main part of our
+story, representing Mizpah as a youth of Canard.  But, alas, I had not
+read my men aright.  Honest they were, and exceeding eager to turn an
+honest penny,--but they had not the stomach for fighting.  When they
+found that a war party of Micmacs was in chase of us, they fell into a
+great consternation, and insisted on our instant departure.
+
+At this I was all taken aback, for I had ever found the men of New
+England as diligent in war as in trade.  But these fellows were in a
+shaking terror for their lives and for their ship.
+
+"Why, gentlemen," I said, in a heat, "here are seven of us, well armed!
+We will make short work of the red rascals, if they are so foolhardy as
+to attack us."
+
+But no!  They would hear none of it.
+
+"It's no quarrel of mine!" cried Captain Ezra Bean, in his high
+sing-song, but in a great hurry.  "My dooty's to my ship.  There's been
+many of our craft fell afoul of these here savages, and come to grief.
+We're fast right here till the wind changes, and we'll just speak the
+redskins fair if they come nigh us, an' there ain't goin' to be no
+trouble.  But you must go your ways, gentlemen, begging your pardon;
+and no ill will, I hope!"  And the boat being hauled around for us,
+they all made haste to bid us farewell.
+
+Mizpah, with a flushed face, stepped in at once; but I hung back a
+little, sick with their cowardly folly.
+
+"At least," said I, angrily, "you must sell me a sack of bread, and
+some powder and ball.  Till I get them I swear I will not go."
+
+"Sartinly!" sing-songed the captain; and in a twinkling the supplies
+were in the boat.  "Now go, and God speed ye!"
+
+I slipped a piece of gold into his hand, and was off.  But frightened
+as he was, he was honest, and in half a minute he called me back.
+
+"Here is your silver," came the queer, high voice over the rail.  "You
+have overpaid me three times," and I saw his long arm reaching out to
+me.
+
+"Keep it," I snapped.  "We are in more haste to be gone than you to get
+rid of us."
+
+In five minutes more the woods enfolded us, and the little _Osprey_ was
+hid from our view.  I walked violently in my wrathful disappointment,
+till at last Mizpah checked me.  "If the good soldier," said she,
+"might advise his captain, which would be, of course, intolerable, I
+would dare to remind you of what you have said to me more than once
+lately.  Is not this pace too hot to last, Monsieur?"  And stopping,
+she leaned heavily on her musket.
+
+"Forgive me," I exclaimed, flinging myself down on the moss.  "And what
+a fool I am to be angry, too, just because those poor bumpkins wouldn't
+take up our quarrel."
+
+The look of gratitude which Mizpah gave me for that little phrase, "our
+quarrel," made my heart on a sudden strong and light.  Presently we
+resumed our journey, going moderately, and keeping enough inland to
+avoid the windings of the coast.  The little _Osprey_ we never saw
+again; but months later, when it came to my ears that a fishing vessel
+of Plymouth had been taken by the Indians that autumn while
+storm-stayed at Merigomish, and her crew all slain, I felt a qualm of
+pity for the poor lads whose selfish fears had so misguided them.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XIX
+
+The Camp by Canseau Strait
+
+It was perhaps to their encounter with the _Osprey_ we owed it that we
+saw no more of our pursuers.  At any rate we were no further
+persecuted.  After two days of marching we felt safe to light fires.
+
+We shot partridges, and a deer; and the fresh meat put new vigour into
+our veins.  We came to the beginning of the narrow strait which severs
+Ile Royale from the main peninsula of Acadie; and with longing eyes
+Mizpah gazed across, as if hoping to discern the child amid the trees
+of the opposite shore.  At last, I could but say to her:--
+
+"We are a long, long way from Philip yet, my comrade; were we across
+this narrow strait, we would be no nearer to him, for the island is so
+cut up with inland waters, many, deep, and winding, that it would take
+us months to traverse its length afoot.  We must push on to Canseau,
+for a boat is needful to us."
+
+And all these days, in the quiet of the great woods, in the stillness
+of the wilderness nights when often I watched her sleeping, in the
+hours while she walked patiently by my side, her brave, sweet face wan
+with grief suppressed, her eyes heavy with longing, my love grew.  It
+took possession of my whole being till this doubtful, perilous journey
+seemed all that I could desire, and the world we had left behind us
+became but a blur with only Marc's white face in the midst to give it
+consequence.  Nevertheless, though my eyes and my spirit waited upon
+all her movements, I suffered no least suggestion of my worship to
+appear, but ever with rough kindliness played the part of
+companion-at-arms.
+
+One morning,--it was our fifth day from the _Osprey_, but since
+reaching the Strait we had become involved in swamps, and made a very
+pitifully small advance,--one morning, I say, when it wanted perhaps an
+hour of noon, we were both startled by a sound of groaning.  Mizpah
+came closer to me, and put her hand upon my arm.  We stood listening
+intently.
+
+"It is some one hurt," said I, in a moment, "and he is in that gully
+yonder."
+
+Cautiously, lest there should be some trap, we followed the sound; and
+we discovered, at the bottom of a narrow cleft, an Indian lad lying
+wedged between sharp rocks, with the carcass of a fat buck fallen
+across his body.  It was plain to me at once that the young savage had
+slipped while staggering under his load of venison.  I hesitated; for
+what more likely than that there should be other Indians in the
+neighbourhood; but Mizpah cried at once:--
+
+"Oh, we must help him!  Quick!  Come, Monsieur!"
+
+And in truth the lad's face appealed to me, for he was but a stripling,
+little younger than Marc.  Very gently we released him from his
+agonizing position; and when we had laid him on a patch of smooth moss,
+his groaning ceased.  His lips were parched, and when I brought him
+water he swallowed it desperately.  Then Mizpah bathed his face.
+Presently his eyes opened, rested upon her with a look of unutterable
+gratitude, and closed again.  Mizpah's own eyes were brimming with
+tears, and she turned to me in a sort of appeal, as if she would say:--
+
+"How can we leave him?"
+
+"Let him be for a half hour now," said I, answering her look.  "Then
+perhaps he will be able to talk to us."
+
+We ate our meal without daring to light a fire.  Then we sat in silence
+by the sleeping lad, till at last he opened his eyes, and murmured in
+the Micmac tongue, "water."  When he had taken a drink, I offered him
+biscuit, of which he ate a morsel.  Then, speaking in French, I asked
+him whence he came; and how he came to be in such a plight.
+
+He answered faintly in the same tongue.  "I go from Malpic," said he,
+"to the Shubenacadie, with messages.  I shot a buck, on the rock there,
+and he fell into the gully.  As I was getting him out I fell in myself,
+and the carcass on top of me.  I know no more till I open my eyes, and
+my mouth is hard, and kind friends are giving me water.  Then I sleep
+again, for I feel all safe," and with a grateful smile his eyes closed
+wearily.  He was fast asleep again, before I could ask any more
+questions.
+
+"Come away," I whispered to Mizpah, "till we talk about this."  She
+came, but first, with a tender thoughtfulness, she leaned her musket
+against a tree, with his own beside it, so that if he should wake while
+we were gone he should at once see the two weapons, and know that he
+was not deserted.
+
+When we were out of earshot, I turned and looked into her eyes.
+
+"What is to be done with him?" I asked.
+
+"We must stay and take care of him," said she, steadily, "till he can
+take care of himself."
+
+"And Philip?" I questioned.
+
+She burst into tears, flung herself down, and buried her face in her
+hands.  After sobbing violently for some minutes she grew calm, dashed
+her tears away, and looked at me in a kind of despair.
+
+"The poor boy cannot be left to die here alone," she said, in a shaken
+voice.  "It is perfectly plain what we must do.  Oh, God, take care of
+my poor lonely little one."  And again she covered her eyes.  I took
+one of her hands in mine, and pressed it firmly.
+
+"If there is justice in Heaven, he will," I cried passionately.  "And
+he will; I know he will.  I think there never was a nobler woman than
+you, my comrade."
+
+"You do not know me," she answered, in a low voice; and rising, she
+returned to the sick boy's side.
+
+Seeing that we were here for some days, or perchance a week, I raised
+two hasty shelters of brush and poles.  That night the patient wandered
+in his mind, but in the morning the fever had left him, and
+thenceforward he mended swiftly.  His gratitude and his docility were
+touching, and his eyes followed Mizpah as would the eyes of a faithful
+dog.  I think his insight penetrated her disguise, so that from the
+first he knew her for a woman; but his native delicacy kept him from
+betraying his knowledge.  As far as I could see, there were no bones
+broken, and I guessed that in a week at furthest he would be able to
+resume his journey without risk.
+
+For three days I troubled him not with further questions, Mizpah having
+so decreed.  She said that questioning would hinder his recovery; but I
+think she feared what questioning might disclose.  At last, as we
+finished supper, of which he had well partaken, he rose feebly but with
+determination, took a few tottering paces, and then came back to his
+couch, where he lay with gleaming eyes of satisfaction.
+
+"I walk now pretty soon," said he.  "Not keep kind friends here much
+longer.  Which way you going when you stopped to take care of Indian
+boy?"
+
+I looked across at Mizpah, then made up my mind to speak plainly.  If I
+knew anything at all of human nature, this boy was to be trusted.
+
+"We are going to Ile Royale," said I, "to look for a little boy whom
+some of your tribe have cruelly carried off."
+
+His face became the very picture of shame and grief.  He looked first
+at one of us, then the other; and presently dropped his head upon his
+breast.
+
+"Why, what is the matter, Xavier?" I asked.  He had said his name was
+Xavier.
+
+"I know," he answered, in a low voice.  "It was some of my own people
+did it."
+
+"_What_ do you know?  Tell us, oh, tell us everything!  Oh, we helped
+you!  You will surely help us find him!" pleaded Mizpah, breathlessly.
+
+"By all the blessed saints," he cried, with an earnestness that I felt
+to be sincere, "I will try to help you.  I will risk anything.  I will
+disobey the Abbe.  I will--"
+
+"Where _is_ the child?  Do you know that?" I interrupted.
+
+"Yes, truly," he replied.  "They have taken him north to Gaspe, and to
+the St. Lawrence.  My uncle, Etienne le Batard, was in canoe that
+brought him to mouth of the Pictook.  Then other canoe took him north,
+where a French family will keep him.  The Abbe says he shall grow up a
+monk.  But he is not starved or beaten, I swear truly."
+
+"How do you know all this?" I asked, looking at him piercingly.  But
+his eye was clear and met mine right honestly.
+
+"My uncle came to Malpic straight," said he, "where the warriors had a
+council.  Then I was sent with word to my father, Big Etienne, who is
+on the Shubenacadie."
+
+"What word?" I asked.
+
+But the boy shook his head.  "It does not touch the little boy.  It
+does not touch my kind friends.  I may not tell it," he said, with a
+brave dignity.  I loved him for this, and trusted him the more.
+
+"This lad's tongue and heart are true," said I, looking at Mizpah.  "We
+may trust him."
+
+"I know it!" said she.  Whereupon he reached out, grasped a hand of
+each, and kissed them with a freedom of emotion which I have seldom
+seen in the full blood Indian.
+
+"You may trust me," he said, in a low voice, being by this something
+wearied.  "You give me my life.  And I will help you find your child."
+
+And the manner of his speech, as if he considered the child _our_
+child, though it was but accident, stirred me sweetly at the
+heart,--and I durst not trust myself to meet Mizpah's eyes.
+
+Thus it came about that, after all, we crossed not the narrow strait,
+nor set foot in Ile Royale.  But when, three days later, I judged our
+patient sufficiently recovered, we set our faces again toward the
+Shubenacadie.
+
+The journey was exceeding slow, but to me very far from tedious, for in
+rain or shine, or dark or bright, the light shone on me of my
+mistress's face.
+
+And at last, after many days of toilsome wandering, we struck the head
+waters of the Shubenacadie.
+
+From this point forward we went with more caution.  When we were come
+within an hour of the Indian village, Xavier parted company with us.
+The river here making a long loop, so to speak, we were to cross behind
+the village at a safe distance, strike the tide again, and hide at a
+certain point covered with willows till Xavier should bring us a canoe.
+
+We reached the point, hid ourselves among the willows, and waited close
+upon two hours.  The shadows were falling long across the river, and
+our anxieties rising with more than proportioned speed, when, at last,
+a canoe shot around a bend of the river, and made swiftly for the
+point.  We saw Xavier in the bow, but there was a tall, powerful
+warrior in the stern.  As the canoe drew near, Mizpah caught me
+anxiously by the arm.
+
+"That man was one of the band that captured us at Annapolis," she
+whispered.  "What does it mean?  _Could_ Xavier mean to--?"
+
+"No," I interrupted; "of course not, comrade.  These Indians are never
+treacherous to those who have earned their gratitude.  Savages though
+they be, they set civilization a shining example in that.  There is
+nothing to fear here."
+
+Landing just below us, the two Indians came straight toward our
+hiding-place.  At the edge of the wood the tall warrior, whom I now
+knew for a certainty to be Big Etienne himself, stopped, and held out
+both his hands, palm upwards.  I at once stepped forth to meet him,
+leaving my musket behind me.  But Mizpah who followed me closely, clung
+to hers,--which might have convinced me, had I needed conviction, that
+hero though she was she was yet all woman.
+
+"You my brother and my sister!" said the tall warrior at once, speaking
+with dignity, but with little of Xavier's fluency.  He knew Mizpah.
+
+"I am glad my brother's heart is turned towards us at last," said I.
+"My brother knows what injury has been done to us, and what we suffer
+at the hands of his people."
+
+"Listen," said he, solemnly.  "You give me back my son, my only son, my
+young brave," and he looked at Xavier with loving pride; "for that I
+can never pay you; but I give you back your son, too, see?  And, now,
+always, I am your brother.  But now, you go home.  I find the child
+away north, by the Great River.  I put him in your arms, safe,
+laughing,--so;" and he made as if to place a little one in Mizpah's
+arms.  "Then you believe I love you, and Xavier love you.  But now,
+come; not good to stay here more."  And, turning abruptly, he led the
+way to the canoe, and himself taking the stern paddle, while Xavier
+took the bow, motioned us to get in.  I hesitated; whereupon he cried:--
+
+"Many of our people out this way.  River not safe for you now.  We take
+you to Grand Pre, Canard, Pereau,--where you want.  Then go north.
+Better so."
+
+Seeing the strong reason in his words, I accepted his offer thankfully,
+but insisted upon taking the bow myself, because Xavier was not yet
+well enough to paddle strongly.
+
+Thus we set out, going swiftly with the tide.  As we journeyed, Big
+Etienne was at great pains to make us understand that it would take him
+many weeks to find Philip and bring him back to us, because the way was
+long and difficult.  He said we must not look to see the lad before the
+snow lay deep; but he bound himself to bring him back in safety,
+barring visitation of God.  I saw that Mizpah now trusted the tall
+warrior even as I did.  I felt that he would make good his pledge at
+any hazard.  I urged, however, that he should take me with him; but on
+this point he was obstinate, saying that my presence would only make
+his task the more difficult, for reasons which occurred to me very
+readily.  It cost me a struggle to give up my purpose of being myself
+the child's rescuer, and so winning the more credit in Mizpah's eyes.
+But this selfish prompting of my heart I speedily crushed (for which I
+thank Heaven) when I saw that Big Etienne's plan was the best that
+could be devised for Philip.
+
+Some miles below the point where the river was already widening, we
+passed a group of Indians with their canoes drawn up on the shore,
+waiting to ascend with the returning tide.  Recognizing Big Etienne in
+the stern, they paid us no attention beyond a friendly hail.  Late in
+the evening we camped, well beyond the river mouth.  Once on the
+following morning, when far out upon the bosom of the bay, we passed a
+canoe that was bound for the Shubenacadie, and again the presence and
+parting hail of our protector saved us from question.  Our halts for
+meals were brief and far apart, but light headwinds baffled us much on
+the journey, so that it was not till toward evening of the second day
+out from the Shubenacadie mouth that we paddled into the Canard, and
+drew up at Giraud's little landing under the bank.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XX
+
+The Fellowship Dissolved
+
+In Giraud's cabin during our absence things had gone tranquilly.  We
+found Marc mending,--pale and weak indeed, but happy; Prudence no
+longer pale, and with a content in her eyes which told us that her time
+had not been all passed in grieving for our absence.  Father Fafard was
+in charge, of course; and of the Black Abbe there had been nothing seen
+or heard since our departure.
+
+Nevertheless there was great news, and a word that deeply concerned me.
+De Ramezay had led his little army against Annapolis.  Just ten days
+before had he passed up the Valley; and for me he had left an urgent
+message, begging me to join him immediately on my return.  This was a
+black disappointment; for just now my soul desired nothing so much as a
+few days of quiet converse with Mizpah, and the chance to show her a
+courtesy something different from the rough comradeship of our
+wilderness travels.  But this was not to be.  It was incumbent upon me
+to go in the morning.
+
+That evening was a busy one; but I snatched leisure to sit by Marc's
+bedside and give the dear lad a hasty outline of our adventure.  The
+tale called a flush to his face, and breathless exclamations from
+Prudence; but Mizpah sat in silence, save for a faint protest once or
+twice when I told of her heroism, and of her noble self-sacrifice on
+behalf of the Indian lad.  She was weighed down with a sadness which
+she could make no pretence to hide,--doubtless feeling the more little
+Philip's absence and loneliness as she contemplated Marc's joy on my
+return.  My hands and lips ached with a longing to comfort her, but I
+firmly forbade myself to intrude upon her sorrow.  By and by, when I
+spoke of my positive determination to set out for Annapolis in the
+early morning, both Marc and Prudence strove hard to dissuade me,
+crying out fervently against my going; but Mizpah said nothing more
+than--
+
+"Why not take _one day_, at least, to rest?"
+
+And I was somewhat hurt at the quiet way she said it.  Said I to myself
+within, "She might spare me a little thought, now that she knows Philip
+is safe, and sure to be brought back to her."
+
+In the morning I saw Big Etienne and Xavier set forth upon their
+quest,--and Mizpah stood beside me to wish them a grateful "God-speed."
+Pale and sad as was the exquisite Madonna face, her lips were
+marvellously red, and wore an unwonted tenderness.  Her eyes evaded
+mine,--which hurt me sorely, but I was comforted a little by her word
+as the canoe slipped silently away.
+
+"I wish we were going with them," said she, in a wistful voice.
+
+It was that "we" that stirred my heart.
+
+"Would to God we were!" said I.
+
+Half an hour later I hung over my dear lad's pallet, pressing his
+hands, and bidding him adieu, and kissing his gaunt cheeks.  When at
+last I turned away, dashing some unexpected drops from my eyes (for I
+had eagerly desired his comradeship in this venture, and had dreamed of
+him fighting at my side), I found that Prudence and the Cure had gone
+down to the landing to see me off, and that Mizpah stood alone just
+outside the door, looking pale and tired.  I think I was aggrieved that
+she should not take the trouble to walk down as far as the
+landing,--and this may have lent my voice a touch of reserve.
+
+"Good-bye, Madame," said I, holding out my hand.  "May God keep you!"
+
+In truth it lay heavily upon my soul that she should not have one
+thought to spare from the child, for me.  Yet I was not prepared for
+the way she took my farewell.
+
+"It was 'comrade' but yesterday," she murmured, flushing, and
+withdrawing her hand ere I could give it an instant's pressure.  But
+growing straightway pale again, she added with the stateliness so
+native to her:--
+
+"Farewell, Monsieur.  May God keep you also!  My gratitude to the most
+gallant of gentlemen, to the bravest and truest succourer of those in
+need, I must ask you to believe in without words; for truly I have no
+words to express it."  And with that she turned away, leaving me most
+sore at heart for something more than gratitude.
+
+A few minutes later, when I had made my adieux to Father Fafard, and
+kissed Marc's lily maid, as was my right and duty, I had a surprise
+which sent me on my way something more happily.  As our canoe (I had
+Giraud with me now) slipped round a little bluff below the settlement,
+I caught the flutter of a gown among the trees; and the next instant
+Mizpah appeared, waving her handkerchief.  She had gone a good
+half-mile to wave me a last God-speed.
+
+For an instant, as I bared my head, I had a vision of her hair all down
+about her, a glory that I can never think of without a trembling in my
+throat.  I saw a speaking tenderness in her Madonna face,--and I seemed
+to hear in my heart a call which assuredly her lips did not utter; then
+my eyes blurred, so hard was it to keep from turning back.  I leaned my
+head forward for a moment on my arms, as if I had been a soft boy, but
+feeling the canoe swerve instantly from its course, I rose at once and
+resumed my paddling.
+
+Nevertheless I turned my head ever and anon toward the shore behind,
+till I could catch no more the flutter of her gown among the trees.
+
+I have wondered many times since, how Mizpah's hair chanced then to be
+down about her in that fashion.  Did some wanton branch undo it as she
+came hastily through the trees?  Or did her own long fingers loosen it
+for me?
+
+
+Of de Ramezay's vain march against Annapolis I need not speak with any
+fulness here.  The September weather was propitious, wherefore the
+expedition was an agreeable jaunt for the troops.  But my good friend
+the Commander found the fort too strong and too well garrisoned for the
+force he had brought against it; and the great fleet from France which
+was to have supported him came never to drop anchor in the basin of
+secure Port Royal.  It is an ill tale for French ears to hear, for
+French lips to relate, that which tells of the thronged and mighty
+ships which sailed from France so proudly to restore the Flag of the
+Lilies to her ancient strongholds.  Oh, my Country, what hadst thou
+done, that the stars in their courses should fight against thee?  For,
+indeed, the hand of fate upon the ships was heavy from the first.
+Great gales scattered them.  By twos and threes they met the English
+foe, and were destroyed; or disease broke out amongst their crews, till
+they were forced to flee back into port with their dying; or they
+struggled on through infinite toil and pain, to be hurled to wreck on
+our iron capes of Acadie.  The few that came in safety fled back again
+when they knew the fate of their fellows.  And our grim-visaged
+adversaries of New England, rejoicing in their great deliverance, set
+themselves to singing psalms of praise with great lustihood through
+their noses.
+
+And for my own part, when I reached de Ramezay's camp, the enterprise
+was already as good as abandoned.  For a week longer, less to annoy the
+enemy, than to spy out the land and commune with the inhabitants, we
+lay before Annapolis.  Then de Ramezay struck camp, and bade his
+grumbling companions march back to Chignecto.
+
+But of me he asked a service.  And, though I had hoped to go at once to
+Canard, I could not, in honour, deny him.  I saw him and his little
+army marching back whither my heart was fain to drag me also; but my
+face was set seaward, whither I had no desire to go.
+
+For the matter was, that de Ramezay had affairs with the Abenaqui
+chiefs of the Penobscot, which affairs he was now unable to tend in
+person, and which he durst hardly entrust to a subordinate, or to one
+unused to dealing with our savage allies.  He knew my credit among the
+Penobscot tribes,--and indeed, he would have been sorely put to it, had
+I denied him in the matter.  The affair carried me from the Penobscot
+country on to the St. Lawrence, and then to Montreal.  The story of it
+is not pertinent to this narrative, and moreover, which is more to the
+purpose, the affair was no less private in its nature than public in
+its import.  Suffice to say of it, therefore, that with my utmost
+despatch it engaged me up to the closing of the year.  It was not till
+January was well advanced that I found myself again in de Ramezay's
+camp at Chignecto, and looked out across the snow-glittering marshes to
+the dear hills of Acadie.
+
+I found that during my absence things had happened.  The English
+governor at Annapolis, conceiving that the Acadians were restless to
+throw off the English yoke, had called upon New England for
+reinforcements.  In answer, Boston had sent five hundred of her gaunt
+and silent soldiery, bitter fighters, drinkers of strong rum, quaintly
+sanctimonious in their cups.  Their leader was one Colonel Noble, a man
+of excellent courage, but small discretion, and with a foolish contempt
+for his enemies.  These men, as de Ramezay told me, were now quartered
+in Grand Pre village, and lying carelessly.  It was his purpose to
+attack them at once.  But being himself weak from a recent sickness, he
+was obliged to place the conduct of the enterprise in the hands of his
+second in command.  This, as I rejoiced to learn, was a very capable
+and experienced officer, Monsieur de Villiers,--the same who, some
+years later, was to capture the young Virginian captain, Mr.
+Washington, at Fort Necessity.  Though our force was less than that of
+the New Englanders, de Ramezay and de Villiers both trusted to the
+advantages of a surprise and a night attack.
+
+For my own part I liked little this plan of a night attack; for I love
+a fair defiance and an open field, and all my years of bush fighting
+have not taught me another sentiment.  But I was well inclined toward
+any action that would take me speedily to Canard.  Moreover, I knew
+that de Ramezay's plan was justified by the smallness of the force
+which he could place at de Villiers' command.  I had further a shrewd
+suspicion that there were enough of the villagers on the English side
+to keep the New Englanders fairly warned of our movements.  In this, as
+I learned afterwards, I suspected rightly, but the blind
+over-confidence of Colonel Noble made the warning of no effect.  The
+preparations for our march went on briskly, and with an eager
+excitement.  The bay being now impassable by reason of the drifting
+ice, the journey was to be made on snow-shoes, by the long, circuitous
+land route, through Beaubassin, Cobequid, Piziquid, and so to the
+Gaspereau mouth.  Every one was in high spirits with the prospect of
+action after a long and inglorious delay.  But for me the days passed
+leadenly.  I was consumed with impatience, and anxiety, and passionate
+desire for a face that was never an hour absent from my thoughts.  My
+first act on arriving at Chignecto had been to ask for Tamin, trusting
+that he might have tidings from Canard.  But de Ramezay told me that he
+had sent the shrewd fisherman-soldier to Grand Pre for information.
+
+In a fever I awaited his return.
+
+At last, but three days before the time set for our departure, he
+arrived.  From him I learned that Marc was so far recovered as to walk
+abroad for a short airing whenever the weather was fine.  He, as well
+as the ladies, was lying very close in Giraud's cottage, and their
+presence was not known to the New Englanders at Grand Pre, at which
+information I was highly gratified.
+
+"And are the ladies in good health?" I asked.
+
+"The little Miss looks rugged, and her eyes are like stars," said
+Tamin; "but Madame--  Ah, she is pale, and her eyes are heavy."
+Tamin's own eyes almost hid themselves in a network of little wrinkles
+as he spoke, scrutinizing my face.  "She weeps for the child.  She said
+perhaps _you_, Monsieur, would find him in your travels, and bring him
+back to her!"
+
+My heart sank at the word.  I could not go to Canard,--I could not face
+Mizpah again, till I could go to her with Philip in my arms.  I had
+hoped that he was restored to her ere this.  What had happened?  Had
+Big Etienne deceived me?  And Xavier, too?  I could not think it.  Yet
+what else could I think?
+
+"Ah, my friend," said I, with bitterness, "she will be grievously
+disappointed in me.  She will say I promise much, and perform little.
+And alas, it seems even so.  I have not seen or heard of the child.
+But has Big Etienne come back?  _Surely_ he has not come back without
+the child?"
+
+Tamin, it was plain, had heard the whole story from Marc, for he asked
+no questions, and showed no surprise.
+
+"No," said he, "they're both away, Big Etienne and Xavier, gone nigh
+onto four months.  Some says to Gaspe; some says to Saguenay.  Who
+knows?  They're Injuns!"  And Tamin shrugged his shoulders, while his
+honest little eyes grew beady with distrust.
+
+But I no more distrusted, and my heart lightened mightily.  They had
+been checked, baffled perhaps, for weeks; but I felt that they were
+faithful and would succeed.  I resolved that the moment this enterprise
+of de Villiers' was accomplished I would go to help them.  But I had
+yet more questions for Tamin.
+
+"And the Black Abbe?" I asked.  "Where is he?"
+
+"At Baie Verte, minding his store, or at Cobequid with his red lambs,"
+replied Tamin, puckering his wide mouth drolly.  "He is little at
+Chignecto since he met you there, Monsieur.  And he has not been seen
+at Canard since Giraud's cabin grew so hospitable.  But Grul is much in
+the neighbourhood.  I think the Black Abbe fears him."
+
+Remembering the awful scene on the cliffs of the des Saumons, I felt
+that Tamin's surmise was fairly founded; and I blessed the strange
+being who thus kept watch over those whom I loved.  But I said nothing
+to Tamin of what was in my mind, thinking it became me to keep Grul's
+counsel.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XXI
+
+The Fight at Grand Pre
+
+On the 23d day of January, 1747, we set out from Chignecto, four
+hundred tried bush fighters, white and red,--some three score of our
+men being Indians.  We went on snow-shoes, for the world was buried in
+drifts.  There was much snow that winter, with steady cold and no
+January thaw.  On the marsh the snow lay in mighty windrows; but in the
+woods it was deep, deep, and smotheringly soft.  The branches of fir
+and spruce and hemlock bent to the earth beneath the white burden of
+it, forming solemn aisles and noiseless fanes within.  We marched in
+column.  The leaders, who had the laborious task of tramping the
+unbroken snow, would keep their place for an hour, then fall to the
+rear, and enjoy the grateful ease of marching in the footsteps of their
+fellows.  Sometimes, as our column wound along like a huge dark snake,
+some great branch, awakened by our laughter, would let slip its burden
+upon us in a sudden avalanche.  Sometimes, in crossing a hidden
+watercourse, the leading files would disappear, to be dragged forth
+drenched and cursing and derided.
+
+But there were as yet no enemies to beware of; so we marched merrily,
+and cheered our nights with unstinted blaze of camp fires.
+
+On our fourth evening out from Chignecto, when we had halted about an
+hour, there came visitors to the camp.  My ear was caught by the
+sentry's challenge.  I went indifferently to see what the stir was all
+about.
+
+"Monsieur, we are come!" cried a glad voice which I keenly remembered;
+and Xavier, his face aglow in the firelight, sprang forward to grasp my
+hand.  Behind him, standing in moveless dignity, was Big Etienne, and
+at his feet a light sledge, with a bundle wrapped in furs.
+
+My heart gave a great bound of thankful joy; and I stepped forward to
+seize the tall warrior's hand in both of mine.
+
+"He is well!  He sleeps!" said Big Etienne, gravely.  In dealing with
+men, I pride myself on knowing what to say and how to say it.  But at
+this moment I was filled with so many emotions that words were not at
+my command.  Some sort of thanks I stammered to express,--but the
+Indian understood and interrupted me.
+
+"You thank me moons ago, brother," he said, in an earnest voice.  "You
+give me my boy.  Now I give you yours.  And we will not forget.  That's
+all."
+
+"We will never forget, indeed, my brother," said I, fervently, and
+again I clasped hands with him, thus pledging a comradeship which in
+many a strait since then has stood me in good stead.
+
+During the rest of that long mid-winter march, Philip remained in the
+care of young Xavier, to whom, as well as to Big Etienne, he was
+altogether devoted; and I saw a new side of the red man's character in
+the tenderness of the stern chief toward the child.  For my own part I
+lost no time in bidding for my share in Philip's affections.  My love
+went out to the brave-eyed little fellow as if he had been the child of
+my own flesh.  And moreover I was fain to win an ally who would help me
+to besiege his mother's heart.
+
+Big Etienne had spoken within the mark in saying the child was well.
+His cheeks were dark with smoke and with forgetfulness of soap and
+water; but the red blood tinged them wholesomely.  His long yellow hair
+was tangled, but it had the burnished resilience of health.  His mouth,
+a bow of strength and sweetness,--his mother's mouth,--wore the scarlet
+of clean veins; and the great sea-green eyes with which he stirred my
+soul were unclouded by fear or sickness.  Before our march brought us
+to the hills of Gaspereau, Philip had admitted me to his favour,
+ranking me, I think, almost as he did Xavier and Big Etienne.  More
+than that I could not have dared to hope.
+
+At sundown of the ninth of February, the seventeenth day of our march
+from Chignecto, we halted in a fir wood only three miles from the
+Gaspereau mouth.  We lit no camp fires now, but supped cold, though
+heartily.  We had been met the day before by messengers from Grand Pre,
+who told de Villiers the disposition of the English troops.  With
+incredible carelessness they were scattered throughout the settlement.
+About one hundred and fifty, under Colonel Noble himself, were
+quartered along a narrow lane, which, running at right angles to the
+main street, climbed the hillside at the extreme west of the village.
+For my own part, though de Villiers' senior in military rank, I was but
+a volunteer in this expedition, and served the chief as a kind of
+informal aide-de-camp and counsellor.
+
+Together we formed the plan of attack.  It was resolved that one half
+our company, under de Villiers himself, should fall upon the isolated
+party in the lane and cut them to pieces.  That left us but two hundred
+men with whom to engage the remaining three hundred and fifty of the
+New Englanders,--a daring venture, but I undertook to lead it.  I
+undertook by no means to defeat them, however.  I knew the fine mettle
+of these vinegar-faced New Englanders, but I swore (and kept my oath)
+that I would occupy them pleasantly till de Villiers, making an end of
+the other detachment, should come to my aid and clinch the victory.
+
+The plan of attack thus settled, I turned my attention to Philip.  Nigh
+at hand was a cottage where I was known,--where I believed the folk to
+be very kindly and honest.  I told Big Etienne that we would put the
+child there to sleep, and after the battle take him to his mother at
+Canard.
+
+"And, my brother," said I, laying my hand on his arm, and looking into
+his eyes with meaning, "let Xavier stay with him, for he will be afraid
+among strangers."
+
+"Xavier must fight," replied the tall warrior.  But his eyes shifted
+from mine, and there was indecision in his voice.
+
+"Xavier is but a boy yet, my brother," I insisted.  "And this is a
+night attack.  It is no place for an untried boy.  No glory, but great
+peril, for one who has not experience!  For my sake bid Xavier stay
+with the child."
+
+"You are right, brother.  He shall stay," said the Indian.
+
+And Xavier was not consulted.  He stayed.  But his was a face of sore
+disappointment when we left him with Philip at the cottage,--"to guard
+with your life, if need be!" said I, in going.  And thus gave him a
+sense of responsibility and peril to cheer his bitter inaction.
+
+It had been snowing all day, but lightly.  After nightfall there blew
+up a fitful wind, now fierce, now breathless.  At one moment the air
+would be thick with drift, and the great blasts would buffet us in the
+teeth.  At another, there would seem to be in all the dim-glimmering
+world no movement and no breathing but our own.  It was far past
+midnight when we came upon the hill-slope overlooking Grand Pre
+village; and the village was asleep.  Not a light was visible save in
+one long row of cottages at the extreme east end, close by the water
+side.  Thither, at our orders, the villagers had quietly withdrawn
+before midnight.  The rash New England men lay sleeping, with
+apparently no guards set.  If there were sentries, then the storm had
+driven them indoors.
+
+The great gusts swirled and roared past their windows, piling the drift
+more deeply about their thresholds.  If any woke, they turned perchance
+luxuriously in their beds and listened to the blasts, and praised God
+that the Acadian peasants builded their houses warm.  They had no
+thought of the ruin that drew near through the drifts and the whirling
+darkness.  I have never heard that one of them was kept awake with
+strange terrors, or had any prevision, or made special searching of his
+soul before sleep.
+
+It would seem as if Heaven must have forgotten them for a little.  Or
+perhaps the saints remembered that the English were not a people to
+take advice kindly, or to change their plans for any sort of warning
+that might seem to them irregular.  But among us French, that night,
+there was one at least who was granted some prevision.
+
+Just before the two columns separated, Tamin came to me and wrung my
+hand.  He was with de Villiers' detachment.  There was a certain awe, a
+something of farewell, in his manner, and it moved my heart mightily.
+But I clapped him on the back.  "No forebodings, now, my friend," said
+I; "keep a good heart and your eyes wide open."
+
+"The snow is deep to-night, Monsieur!" said he gravely, as he turned
+away.
+
+"True," I answered; "but the apple trees are at the other end of the
+village; and who ever heard that the Black Abbe was a prophet?"
+
+Even as I spoke my heart smote me, and I would have given much to wring
+the loyal fellow's hand once more.  But I feared to add to his
+depression.
+
+My men all knew their parts before I led them from the camp.  Once in
+the village, only a few whispered orders were necessary.  Squad by
+squad, dim forms like phantoms in the drift, filed off stealthily to
+their places.
+
+I, with two dozen others, Big Etienne at my elbow, took post about the
+centre of the village, where three large houses, joined together,
+seemed to promise a rough bout.  Then we waited.  Saints, how long we
+waited, as it seemed!  The snow invaded us.  But the apple trees were
+many, and we leaned against them, gnawing our fingers, and protecting
+our primings with the long flaps of our coats.  At last there came a
+musket-shot from the far-off lane, and straightway thereupon a crashing
+volley, followed by a dreadful outcry--shouts and screams, and the
+yelling of the Indians.
+
+Our waiting was done.  We sprang forward to dash in the nearest
+windows, to batter down the nearest doors.  Lights gleamed.  Then came
+crashes of musketry from the points where I had placed my several
+parties, and I knew they had found their posts.  The fight once begun,
+there was little room for generalship in that driven and shrieking
+dark.  I could see but what was before me.  In those three houses there
+were brave men, that I knew.  Springing from sleep in their shirts,
+they seemed to wake full armed, and were already firing upon us as we
+tried to force our way in through the windows.  The main door of the
+biggest house we strove to carry with a rush, but that, too, belched
+lead and fire in our faces, and we came upon a barrier of household
+stuff just inside.  By the light of a musket flash, I saw a huge,
+sour-faced fellow in his shirt, standing on the barrier, with his
+gun-stock swung back.  I made at him nimbly with my sword.  I reached
+him, and the uplifted weapon fell somewhere harmless in the dark.  The
+next moment I felt a sword point, thrusting blindly, furrow across my
+temple, tearing as if it were both hot and dull, and at the same
+instant I was dragged out again into the snow.  Three of us, however,
+as I learned afterwards, stayed on the floor within.
+
+It was Big Etienne who had saved me.  I was dizzy for a moment with my
+wound, the blood throbbing down in a flood; but I ordered all to fall
+back under the shelter of the apple trees, and keep up a steady firing
+upon the doors and windows.  The order was passed along, and in a few
+minutes the firing was steady.  Then winding my kerchief tightly about
+my temples, I bade Big Etienne knot it for me, and for the time I
+thought no more of that sword-scratch.
+
+Though my men were heavily outnumbered, the enemy could not guess how
+few we were.  Moreover, we had the shelter of the trees, and our fire
+had their windows to converge upon.  We held them, therefore, with no
+great loss, except for those that fell in the first onslaught, which
+was bloody for both sides.  Presently a tongue of flame shot up, and I
+knew that they had set fire to one of the houses on the lane.  The
+shouting there, and the yelling, died away, but a scattering crackle of
+musketry continued.  Then another building burst into flame.  The night
+grew all one red, wavering glare.  As the smoke clouds blew this way
+and that, the shadows rose and fell.  The squalls of drift blurred
+everything; but in the lulls men stood out suddenly as simple targets,
+and were shot with great precision.  Yet we had shelter enough, too;
+for every house, every barn and shed, cast a block of thick darkness on
+its northern side.  Then men began to gather in upon the centre.  Here
+a squad of my own fellows--yelling and cheering with triumph, if they
+were Indians, quietly exultant if they were veterans--would come from
+the conquest of a cottage.  There a knot of half-clad English, fleeing
+reluctantly and firing over their shoulders as they fled, would arrive,
+beat at the doors before us, and be let in hastily under our fire,
+leaving always some of their number on the threshold.  It was like no
+other fight I had ever fought, for the strange confusion of it; or
+perhaps my wound confused me yet a little.  At length a louder yelling,
+a sharper firing, a wilder and mightier clamour, arose in the direction
+of the lane.  Our own firing slackened.  All eyes turned to watch a
+little band which, fighting furiously, was forcing its way hither
+through a swarm of assailants.  "The vinegar-faces can fight!" I cried,
+"but we must stop them.  Come on, lads!"  And with a score at my back I
+rushed to meet the new-comers.  Rushed, did I say?  But I should have
+said struggled and floundered.  For, the moment we were clear of the
+trampled area, and found ourselves in the open fields, the snow went
+nearly to our middles.  Yet we met the gallant little band, which
+having shaken off its assailants, now fell upon us with a welcome of
+most earnest curses.  Men speak of the bloody ferocity of a duel in a
+dark room.  It is nothing to the blind, blundering, reckless, snarling
+rage of that struggle in the deep snow, and under that swimming
+delusive light.  Having emptied my musket and my pistols, I threw them
+all away, and fell to playing nimbly with my sword.  Big Etienne I saw
+close beside me, swinging his musket by the barrel.  Suddenly its
+deadly sweep missed its object.  The tall warrior fell headforemost,
+carried off his uneasy balance by the force of the blow.  Ere he could
+flounder up again a foeman was upon him with uplifted sword.  But with
+a mighty lunge, hurling myself forward from the drift that held my
+feet, I reached the man's neck with my own point, and fell at his feet.
+He came down in a heap on top of me.  His knee, as I suppose it was,
+struck me violently on the head.  Perhaps I was already weakened by
+that cut upon the temple.  The noise all died suddenly away.  I
+remember thinking how warm the snow felt against my face.  And the rest
+of the fight was no concern of mine.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XXII
+
+The Black Abbe Strikes in the Dark
+
+I was awakened to consciousness by some one gently lifting me.  I
+struggled at once to my feet, leaning upon him.  It was Big Etienne.
+
+"You much hurt?" he queried, in great concern.
+
+"Why, no!" said I, presently.  "Head feels sore.  I think I'll be all
+right in a minute."
+
+It was in the red and saffron of dawn.  The snow had stopped falling.
+The muskets had stopped clattering.  The battle was apparently at an
+end.  All around lay bodies, or rather parts of bodies; for they were
+more or less hidden in the snow.  Close by me just a pair of knees was
+visible, thrust up through a drift into which the man had plunged in
+falling.
+
+The snow was all mottled with blood and powder, a very hideous colour
+to look upon.  I stood erect and stretched myself.
+
+"Why, brother," I exclaimed, in great relief, "I am as good as new.
+Where is the commander?"
+
+Big Etienne pointed in silence to the street before the three houses.
+There I saw our men drawn up in menacing array.  In and behind the
+houses were crowded the dark masses of the New Englanders, punctuated
+here and there with the scarlet of an officer's coat.
+
+De Villiers greeted me as one recovered from the grave.  I asked
+eagerly how he had sped, and how the matter now rested.
+
+"Success, everywhere success, Briart!" he answered, with a sort of
+controlled elation.  "You held these fellows, while we wiped out those
+yonder.  But it was a cruel and bloody affair, and I would the times,
+and the straits of New France, required not such killing in the dark.
+But they set fire to a house and barn that they might fight in the
+light, and so a band of them escaped us and cut their way through
+here,--what was left of them, at least, after they got done with you!
+And now their remnant is hemmed in yonder."
+
+"We've got them, then," said I.
+
+"Surely," he answered.  "But it will cost our best blood to end it.
+They have fought like heroes, though they kept guard like fools.  And
+they will battle it out, I think, while a man of them stands."
+
+"Yes, 'tis the breed of them!" said I, looking across with admiration
+at the silent and dangerous ranks.  "But they have done all that brave
+men could do.  They will accept honourable terms, I think; and such we
+may offer them without any touch of discredit.  What do you say?"
+
+This was, indeed what de Villiers had in his heart.  He withdrew his
+troops some little distance, that negotiations might be the less
+embarrassed; and I myself, feeling a fresh dizziness, retired to a
+cottage where I might have my wound properly tended.  But barely had I
+got the bandage loosened,--a black-eyed Acadian maid standing by, with
+face of deep commiseration and holding a basin of hot water for
+me,--when there broke out a sudden firing.  I clapped the bloody
+bandage to my head, and ran forth; but I saw there was no need of me.
+The English had sallied with a fierce heat, hoping to retrieve their
+fortunes.  But the deep snow was like an army to shut them in.  Before
+they could come at us they were exhausted, and our muskets dropped them
+swiftly in the drifts.  Sullenly they fell back again upon their
+houses.  I turned to my basin and my bandaging.
+
+"That settles that!" said I to the damsel.
+
+"Settles what, Monsieur?" she asked.  But as she spoke I saw a look of
+sudden concern cross her face, a faintness came over me, and I lay
+down, feeling her arm support me as I sank.
+
+Sleep is the best of medicines for me.  I woke late in the afternoon to
+find my head neatly bandaged, and the dizziness all gone.  Men came and
+went softly.  I found that de Villiers was lying in the same house,
+having got a serious wound just after I left him.  La Corne, a brave
+Canadian, was in command.  The English had capitulated toward noon, and
+had pledged themselves to depart for Annapolis within forty-eight
+hours, not to bear arms again in Acadie within six months.  We had
+redeemed at Grand Pre our late failure at Annapolis.
+
+My first act was to send a runner, on snow-shoes, to Canard, with a
+scrawled note to Mizpah.  Explaining nothing, I merely begged that she
+and Prudence, with Marc and Father Fafard, should meet me at the Forge
+about noon of the following day.  In the case of Marc not being yet
+strong enough to journey so far, I prayed Mizpah herself, in any event,
+to come without fail.  My next was to send a messenger for Xavier and
+Philip.  My heart had fallen to aching curiously for the
+child,--insomuch that I marvelled at it, till at length I set it down
+as a mere whimsical counterfeit of my longing for his mother.
+
+Being now refreshed and altogether myself again, I went to visit the
+lane wherein the fight had opened.  The very first house, whose
+shattered door and windows, blood-smeared threshold, and dripping
+window-sills, showed that the fight had there raged long and madly, had
+one great apple tree beside its garden gate.  A chill of foreboding
+smote me as I marked it.  I approached with a curious and painful
+expectancy, the words of the Black Abbe ringing again in my ears.  At
+the foot of the apple tree the snow was drifted deep.  It half covered
+a pitifully huddled body.
+
+I lifted the body.  It was Tamin.
+
+He had been shot through the lungs, and his blood, melting the snow,
+had gathered in a crimson pool beneath him.  Here was one grim prophecy
+fulfilled.  Carrying him into the house, I laid him gently on a bed.
+Then I turned away with a very sorrowful heart; for there was much to
+do, and the dead are not urgent.
+
+Even as I turned, my heart jumped with a new and sickening dread.
+Xavier stood before me--Xavier, with wild eyes, and face darkly clotted
+with blood.  The next instant he threw himself at my feet.
+
+"The child!" he muttered, covering his face.  "They have carried him
+away.  They have carried Philip away!"
+
+"What do you mean?" I cried, in a voice which my fear made harsh, while
+at the same time I dragged him to his feet.  "Who have carried him
+away?  Who?"
+
+But I knew the answer ere he could speak it,--I knew my enemy had
+seized the chances of the battle and the night.
+
+"The Black Abbe," wailed the lad, in a voice of poignant sorrow.  "He
+came in the night, with two Chepody Acadians dressed up like Indians,
+and seized me asleep, and bound me."
+
+"But Philip!" I cried.  "Where have they taken him?"  And even as I
+spoke I was planning swiftly.
+
+"The Abbe started westward with him," answered Xavier.  "From what I
+heard say, he would go to Pereau; but which way after, I could not find
+out."
+
+"Come!" I ordered roughly, "we must follow them!"  But as I spoke I saw
+the lad totter.  I caught him by the arm and held him up, perceiving
+now for the first time how he was both wounded and utterly spent.
+
+"Let us go first to your father," I said more gently, leading him, and
+putting what curb I could upon the fierceness of my haste.
+
+"How did you get here?" I asked him presently.
+
+A gleam came into the lad's faint eyes.
+
+"The Chepody men stayed till morning," said he, "and then set out on
+the road toward Piziquid, taking me with them.  They thought I was
+nothing but a boy.  As we went, I got my hands loose, so,--and waited.
+At noon one man went into a house,--and--so!--I was free, and had the
+other dog by the throat.  He make no noise; but he fight hard, and hurt
+me.  I got away, and left him in the snow, and ran back all the way to
+tell you the Black Abbe--"
+
+But here the poor lad's voice failed, and he hung upon me with all his
+weight.  He had fainted, indeed; and now that I thought of his wound,
+his hunger, his grief, and his prodigious exertions, I wondered not at
+his swooning.  Picking him up in my arms, I carried him to the cottage
+where the kind damsel had so compassionately tended my own bruises.
+
+As I entered the thronged cottage with my burden, men came about me
+with many questions; but I kept my own counsel, not knowing whom I
+could trust, or where the Black Abbe might not have his spies posted.
+Moreover, I was so distracted with anxiety about the child, that I had
+small patience wherewith to take questioning civilly.  Every bed and
+every settle being occupied with our wounded, I laid Xavier on the
+floor, with his head upon a blue petticoat which the kind damsel--who
+came to me as soon as she saw me enter--fetched from a cupboard and
+rolled up deftly for me.  After a careful examination I found no wound
+upon the lad save two shallow flesh cuts, one across his forehead and
+one down his chest.  I thereupon concluded that exhaustion, together
+with the loss of blood, had brought him to this pass, and that with a
+few days' care he would be altogether restored.  Having put some brandy
+between his lips, and seen his eyelids tremble with recovering
+consciousness, I turned to the maiden and said:--
+
+"Take care of him for me, Cherie.  He deserves your best care; and I
+trust him to your good heart.  Give him something to eat now,--soup,
+hot milk, at first.  And I will come back in two days from now, at
+furthest."
+
+"But Monsieur must rest!"
+
+"No rest for me to-night!" I interrupted, in a low voice, as I
+straightened myself up.  "Do you know where I may find the lad's
+father, the chief, Big--"
+
+But there was no need for me to finish the question.  There, close
+behind me, stood the tall Indian, looking down at Xavier, with trouble
+in his eyes.  He had just entered, in his silent fashion.
+
+"There is no danger!  He is worn out!" I whispered.  "He has done all a
+brave man could do; but the child is stolen!  Come outside with me."
+
+Big Etienne stooped quickly and laid his hand upon the lad's breast,
+and then, most gently, upon his lips.  A second later he had followed
+me out into the deepening twilight.
+
+In few words I told him what had happened, and my purpose of going
+instantly in pursuit.  Without a word he strode off toward a small
+cabin about a stone's throw from the cottage which we had just left.
+
+"Where are you going?" I asked, astonished at this abruptness.
+
+"My snow-shoes!" he replied.  "And bread.  I go with you, my brother!"
+
+This, in very truth, was just what I had hoped for.  But, in my haste,
+I had forgotten the need of eating; and, as for my snow-shoes, usually
+strapped at my back, they had been left at the outskirts of the village
+the night before in order that my sword arm might have the freer play.
+It was no time now to go back for them.  I slipped into the cottage,
+borrowed a pair, and was presently forth again to meet Big Etienne.
+The Indian, instead of bread, had brought a goodly lump of dried beef.
+Side by side, and in silence, we set out for the cabin on the Gaspereau
+where Philip and Xavier had been captured.
+
+We found the place deserted.  Either the man of the house had been a
+tool of La Garne, or he feared that I would hold him responsible.
+Which it was, I know not to this day; and, at the time, we gave small
+thought to the question, merely commending the fellow's wisdom in
+removing himself from our indignation.  What engaged our concern was a
+single snow-shoe track making westward, followed by the trail of a
+little sledge.
+
+"Yes," said I; "Xavier is surely right.  The Abbe has gone to cross the
+Habitants and the Canard where they are little, and will then, belike,
+turn down the valley to Pereau!"
+
+"Very like!" grunted my companion; and, at a long lope, we started up
+the trail.
+
+This pace, however, soon told upon me, and brought it into my mind that
+I had, that day, eaten nothing but a bowl of broth.  We halted,
+therefore, and rested half an hour in the warmth of a dense spruce
+coppice, and ate abundantly of that very savoury beef.  Then, much
+revived, we set out again.  Treading one behind the other, we marched,
+in silence, through the glimmering dark; for Big Etienne was no talker,
+while I, for my part, was gnawing my heart with rage, and hope
+frustrated, and the picture of Mizpah's anguish.  We never stayed our
+pace till we came, at the edge of dawn, to the spot where the trail
+went over the dwindled upper current of the Habitants.
+
+Here, to our astonishment, the trail turned eastward, following down
+the course of the river.
+
+I looked at the Indian in wondering consternation.  "What can it mean?"
+I cried.  "Can there be any new plot of his hatching at Canard?"
+
+"Maybe!" said Big Etienne.
+
+At thought of further perils threatening Mizpah and Marc, the weariness
+which had been growing upon me vanished, and I sprang forward as
+briskly as if we had but just set out.  Even Big Etienne, though he had
+no such incentive as mine, seemed to win new vigour with the
+contemplation of this new coil of the enemy's.  If, indeed, he appeared
+somewhat fresher than I throughout the latter half of this hard march,
+it is but justice to myself to say that he bore no wound from the late
+battle.
+
+At last, when it was well past ten of the morning, the trail led us out
+upon the main Canard track, and turned toward the settlement.
+
+"Yes," said I, with bitter conviction; "he has gone to Canard.  He
+would never go there had he not some deep scheme of mischief afoot.
+God grant we be in time!"
+
+In less than half an hour we came within sight of the Forge in the
+Forest.  To my astonishment, the smoke was pouring in furious volume
+from the forge chimney.
+
+"What can Babin be about?  Or can Mizpah and Marc be there already?" I
+wondered aloud; but got no answer from my companion.  A moment later, a
+turn of the track brought us to a post of vantage whence we could see
+straight into the forge.  The sight which met our eyes brought us to an
+instant stop from sheer amazement.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter XXIII
+
+The Rendezvous at the Forge
+
+Beside the forge-fire stood Grul.  On his left arm was perched Philip,
+half wrapped in the black-and-yellow cloak, and playing with Grul's
+white wand.  At the back of the forge, fettered to the wall, and with
+his hands bound behind him, stood the black form of our adversary.
+Grul was heaving upon the bellows, and in the fierce white glow of the
+coal stuck a number of irons heating.  These he turned and twisted with
+fantastic energy, now and then drawing one forth and brandishing it
+with a kind of mad glee, so as best to show the intensity of its
+colour; and whenever he did so little Philip shouted with delight.
+
+The joy that surged through my breast as I took in all this astonishing
+turn of affairs, was something which I have no words to tell of.
+
+"Mary, Mother of Heaven, be praised for this!" I cried fervently.
+
+"What will he do with irons?" queried Big Etienne, with a curiously
+startled note in his voice.
+
+Indeed, what now followed was sufficiently startling.  Grul had caught
+sight of us.  Immediately he set the child down, heaved twice or thrice
+mightily upon the bellows, and then drew from the fire two white-hot
+rods of iron.  With these, one in each hand, he approached the Black
+Abbe, treading swiftly and sinuously like a panther.  I darted forward,
+chilled with sudden horror.  A short scream of mortal fear came from
+the wretched captive's lips.
+
+"Stop! stop!" I shouted, as those terrible brands went circling hither
+and thither about the cringing form.  The next instant, and ere I could
+reach the scene to interfere, the Abbe gave a huge bound, reached the
+door, and plunged out into the snow, pursued by a peal of wild laughter
+from Grul's lips.  This most whimsical of madmen had befooled his
+captive, in much the same fashion as once before on the cliff beside
+the des Saumons.  He had used the deadly iron merely to free him from
+his bonds, and again held in reserve his full vengeance.
+
+Fetching a huge breath of relief, I joined in Grul's mocking laughter;
+while Big Etienne gave a grunt of manifest dissatisfaction.  As for the
+Black Abbe, though the sweat of his terror stood in beads upon his
+forehead, he recovered his composure marvellously.  Having run some
+dozen paces he stopped, turned, and gazed steadily upon Grul for
+perhaps the space of a full minute.  Then, sweeping a scornful glance
+across the child, the Indian, and myself, he half opened his lips to
+speak.  But if he judged himself not then best ready to speak with
+dignity,--let no one marvel at that.  He changed his purpose, folded
+his arms across his breast, and strode off slowly and in silence along
+the track toward Grand Pre.
+
+I thought his shadow, as it fell long and sinister across the snow, lay
+blacker than was the common wont of shadows.
+
+Big Etienne was already within, and Philip in his arms.  As I entered
+the forge door Grul cried solemnly, as if to extenuate his act in
+freeing the prisoner:--
+
+"His cup is not yet full."
+
+Seizing both his hands in mine, I tried with stammering lips to thank
+him; but, something to my chagrin, he cut me short most ungraciously.
+Snatching his hands away, he stepped outside the door, and raised his
+thrilling, bell-like chant:--
+
+"Woe, woe to Acadie the Fair, for the day of her desolation cometh."
+
+Beyond all words though my gratitude was, I could not refrain from
+shrugging my shoulders at this fantastic mummery, as I turned to
+embrace little Philip.  My heart was rioting with joy and hope, and I
+could not trouble my wits with these mad whimsies of Grul's.  When he
+had quit prophesying and come again within the forge, I tried to draw
+from him some account of how he had so achieved the child's rescue and
+the Black Abbe's utter discomfiture.  But he wandered from the matter,
+whether wilfully or not I could by no means decide; and presently,
+catching a ghost of a smile on the face of Big Etienne, I gave up and
+rested thankful for what I had got.  As for Philip, he was amiably
+gracious to both Big Etienne and myself, but it was manifest that all
+his little heart had gone out to Grul; and the two were presently
+playing together in a corner of the forge, at some game which none but
+themselves could understand.
+
+It wanted yet an hour of noon, when, as I stood in the door consuming
+my heart with impatience, yet unwilling to go and meet Mizpah and so
+mar the climax which I had plotted for, I caught sight of two figures
+approaching.  I needed not eyes to tell me one was Mizpah, for the
+blood shook in all my veins at sight of her.  The other was Father
+Fafard.
+
+"Marc," said I to myself, "is not yet strong enough to venture so far;
+and the maid Prudence has stayed with him.  But Mizpah is here--Mizpah
+is here!"
+
+With eyes of delight I dwelt upon her tall, slim form, in its gown of
+blue woollen cloth which set off so rarely the red-gold enchantment of
+her hair.  But when she was come near enough for me to mark the eager
+welcome in her eyes and on her lips, I waved at her, clumsily enough,
+and turned within to catch at a little self-possession.  Not having my
+snow-shoes on, I could not be expected to go and meet her; and that
+waiting in the doorway was too much for me to endure.
+
+"Keep Philip behind the chimney, out of sight," I whispered eagerly to
+Grul; and somewhat to my wonder he obeyed.
+
+On the next instant Mizpah stood in the door, smiling upon me, her face
+all aglow with expectation and greeting; and I found myself clasping
+both of her white hands.  But my tongue refused to speak,--deeming,
+perchance, that my eyes were usurping its office.
+
+Finding at length a word of welcome for the good priest, I wrung his
+hand fervently, then turned again to Mizpah.
+
+But my first speech was stupid,--so stupid that I wished most heartily
+that I had held my tongue.
+
+"Comrade," said I, "this is a glad day for me."
+
+Her face fell, and her eyes reproached me.
+
+"Because you have defeated and slain my people?" she asked.
+
+My face grew hot for the flat ineptitude of my words.
+
+"No! no!  Not for that!" I cried passionately, "but for _this_!"
+
+And I turned to snatch Philip from his corner behind the chimney.
+
+But Grul was too quick for me.  He could play no second part at any
+time, he.  Evading my hands, he slipped past me, and himself placed the
+child in Mizpah's arms.
+
+I cursed inwardly at his abruptness, though in truth he had done just
+what I was intending to do myself.  As Mizpah, with a gasping cry,
+crushed the little one to her bosom, she went white as a ghost and
+tottered against the anvil.  I sprang to support her, but withheld my
+arm ere it touched her waist, for even on the instant she had recovered
+herself.  With wordless mother-cries she kissed Philip's lips and hair,
+and buried her face in his neck, he the while clinging to her as if
+never again for a moment could he let her go.
+
+Presently, while I waited in great hunger for a word, she turned to Big
+Etienne and Grul.
+
+"My friends!" she cried, in a shaken voice which faithfully uttered her
+heart, "my true and loyal friends!"  Whereupon she wrung their hands,
+and wrung them, and would have spoken further but that her voice failed
+her.
+
+Then, after a moment or two, she turned to me,--yet not wholly.
+
+The paleness had by this well vanished, and her eyes, those great
+sea-coloured eyes, which she would not lift to mine, were running over
+with tears.  Philip took one sturdy little arm from her neck, and
+stretched out his hand to me; but I ignored the invitation.
+
+"And what--what have you got for me, Mizpah?" I asked, in a very low
+voice, indeed--a voice perhaps not just as steady as that of a noted
+bush-fighter is supposed to be at a crisis.
+
+The flush grew, deepening down along the clear whiteness of her neck,
+and she half put out one hand to me.
+
+"Do you want thanks?" she asked softly.
+
+"You _know_ what I want,--what I have wanted above all else in life
+from the moment my eyes fell upon you!" I cried with a great passion,
+grown suddenly forgetful of Grul and Big Etienne, who doubtless found
+my emotion more or less interesting.
+
+For a second or two Mizpah made no answer.  Then she lifted her face,
+gave me one swift look straight in the eyes,--a look that told me all I
+longed to know,--and suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a
+sob, put Philip into my arms.
+
+[Illustration: Suddenly, with a little laugh that was mostly a sob, put
+Philip into my arms.]
+
+"There!" she whispered, dropping her eyes.
+
+And by some means it so came about that, as I took the child, my arms
+held Mizpah also.
+
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Forge in the Forest, by Charles G. D. Roberts
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORGE IN THE FOREST ***
+
+***** This file should be named 33470.txt or 33470.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/4/7/33470/
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/33470.zip b/33470.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07b9b23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33470.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65afacb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #33470 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33470)