NGTH THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK By C. C. HOTCHKISS. Betsy Ross. A Romance of the Flag. J2mo. Cloth, $1.50. The rnmanrt: which the author has woven around the origin of cur ila^ will quicken the pulsi: of every reader by the wealth of striking eha) .Meters and dramatic inci dents, and the. absorbing interest of the plot. History has furnished a motive v> hi' h has been curii usly nejjl fiction, and the ; : ture: :'.: '.. UP - " '!. time, sea-rangers and Ouakers, ;' Icoats. and ( -. and even Washington himself, have to d \vitl: 'Jv- il'-vrlnjjinent of a strange an SI/ * w $ A Romance | vl/ Sl> vl/ v/ vl/ v/ SI/ SI/ M/ p s> SI/ By SI/ vi> SI/ | CHAUNCEY C. HOTCHKISS | vl) vl/ SI/ Author of Betsy Ross SW 1 W/ x^ SI/ /// Defiance of the King, etc. \V vl/ v/ I * to to to * /IS S ^ /S /IS to to I ^^F * t ^ * ^ as ^ /v OS <|S to \ to f\ to to to New York $ ^ D. Appleton and Company ACKE 355 XLIV. I WIN 359 XLV. CONCLUSION 367 via THE STRENGTH OF THE WEAK CHAPTER I THE SWOOP OF THE HAWK Ix front of the house and towards the river there is a sweep of land like an English lawn, with only a sprinkling of timber, which stops entirely before reach ing the boat landing. And it was on this space, fair and level, called the " fighting sod," that we faced each other. I can see the old man now : his tall and wasted figure erect, a scowl contracting his bushy eyebrows, while his upturned, snowy mustache made his face as stern as though he were on a duelling ground and I a veritable opponent. It was no child's play to him nay, nor to me these fencing lessons ; for old Peyrotte was a strict master, or, rather, he hung fast to discipline ; and even to me, whom he loved as his own child, when it came to the foils and he was drilling me, he was a martinet and as severe in points of the etiquette of a swordsman as in points of the " parade." In those hours I was no more than a recruit in the corps de garde, my early awkwardness reminding him of his past days in France, k bon temps qui cst passe, he called them, when he made a soldier of a peasant before he was fairly out of sabots. And I live to thank him for his thorough ness. Peyrotte had always been old to me ; even my early memory giving him his white mustache brushed The Strength of the Weak sharply up at the ends, and mv first recollection of him is of attacking him with his own threat rapier, which 1 was forced to wield with both hands, while he, seated on a low stone to bring himself near mv own height or lack of it parried my thrusts with a light stick. Kven then lie turned to mv father, who was looking on, mightily amused, no doubt, and said: " I will make a fencer of the lad some day, mon camarade. lie will draw a brave sword for France." lint I never drew sword for France. What the relations were betwixt mv father and Pevrotte 1 knew not. It came to me (as some things come to one without a remembrance of the source) that the old man was a native of Xantes, and had been an officer of the guard in the palace of the great Louis of hideous memory, who, for some fault, real or fancied, had exiled him from France. For myself. 1 knew him to be a master-at-arms, and the gentlest, most fiery, and withal as noble a nature (the noblest but one) as ere crossed my path. \ erv little of his past had I ever known, and nothing of his family, the failure of his for tunes, or the reason he had attached himself to our house. 1 had gathered, somehow, that he was related to my father's first wife; but he was not a man to be ques tioned on these matters, and his name cast no light on his pedigree. "Aha, m'sieur! Why do you play your sword with an arm stiff and jointless? " he broke out. " Have I to tell you ten million times that you are no Ilulien'? It is their fashion to fence with a straight elbow, and for that reason they cannot face a skilled Frenchman. (jive thy elbow ease bend it bend it, m'sieur le seigneur; it will be better en ijiiartc, or when von dis engage, or en glissade. Ah, 'tis well! Hut thv elbow should be the 1 hickory wand that springs. Thrust not with thy body and at arm's length. I'lay thy point, The Swoop of the Hawk m'sieur ; play thy so By Saint Joseph, that tierce were well done ; thou hast skinned my shoulder ! Thou will come in time, m'sieur ; thou will come in time. I will make a fencer of thee some day, mon camarade. Thou art awakening fast. En garde! " But we had barely recrossed our steels when a canoe danced from behind the screen of trees at my back and made straight for the landing. I knew naught of it until I saw Peyrotte drop his point and gaze, and so I turned in time to mark the light vessel slide to the shore. In it were two French soldiers and two Indians of a tribe I knew not, and something else so huddled that it took a moment or more for me to find it a human being. And without ado they came ashore, as though the right was all their own, lifting the living bundle to the grass, where it sat bound and helpless, only moving with a swaying motion as though about to fall. But when they uncovered it I saw it was a girl, bound and gagged. It was a pitiful thing to see that small figure in such helpless straits ; but when she was freed from her bonds and the gag removed, she looked about her with great brown eyes, then sent out a shriek with such strength and pity in it that the air was full of her dis tress. And then I saw a light-haired girl a mere child, not more than twelve or fourteen years of age, though it was hard to tell how old she was. A wee thing and unformed, with a face so full of terror and suffering that all her comeliness had left her (if she had ever possessed any), except in her eyes, which were of that soft, appealing kind more often seen in helpless, dumb animals than in man or woman. At the cry, one of the Indians smote her across the mouth with a blow that knocked her backward to the grass on which she was sitting; whereat I, having come up, seemed to lose all sense of consequence, and drove my fist full into the face of the barbarian with a force that 3 The Strength of the Weak sent him staggering against the soldier behind him. The devil in him flashed from his wicked eyes in a trice, and I saw the glint of his knife as he drew it; but Peyrotte stepped between us and raised his foil, but toned as it was, as though to receive him, while [ bent to the small maiden and lifted her from the ground ; and it was an easy thing to do. At that her shrieks turned to sobbing, and she wound her little arms about my neck, clinging tightly, and crying in English : " Don't let them kill me; don't let them take me! () papa! I shall die! 1 shall die!" And then I knew [ was holding an English maiden, a captive the fruit of some raid against the English frontier. And so it was ; for presently, after a deal of talk in a dialect of which I had no understanding, though there were sprinkled throughout some vile oaths on the part of the .Indians, and a tine flow of genuine Erench from Peyrotte, in which were a few royal curses, the trouble was quieted, and we got at the facts. There was nothing novel in them. A war part}' of whites and Indians had descended into the New Hampshire grants, going well- nigh to the colony of Massachusetts before they met with adventure worthy of their purposes. At Dum- merston they had come upon the first organized resist ance, and were forced to retreat ; but, as a souvenir of the raid, had carried off this child of one of the outlying settlers, after killing her father and five or six of the inhabitants, though losing about a third of their own number. The landing had become necessary through a lack of provisions, the party being on its way to Eort Erontenac, at the foot of Ontario ; and there the maiden was to await the coming of a Erench officer, who, some how, held her at his disposal. Xo doubt the red-skins would have gladly been rid of her long since, with a golden scalp to hang at the belt of one of them ; for she had given much trouble, the binding and gagging 4 The Swoop of the Hawk having- been resorted to as the only means of quieting her wild outcries and her struggles. I had heard the like of such raids more than once, but things are never so strong as when they come home to us, and this wrought upon me strangely. Still was 1 without power to ease the child in her captivity or give her a grain of comfort, so I held my tongue to her about her probable future, though I feared I could scent tragedy in the end. And, indeed, tragedy came at last, though not in the way I thought ; and as for the end, it is not yet, thank God. To lift a finger for her escape, or even express great sympathy too openly, would have been to run the whole house into certain danger. But I heartened the poor thing (or tried to) in English, which I trusted would not be understood by the others ; and she was washed and fed at the chateau and quieted by my mother, and then, within the hour of her coming, she was off with her captors. Not a sound did she make at last, only sobbing; but it was heart-rending to see her stretch out her arms to me as the canoe shot away. CHAPTER II THE 1IOUSK OF ClIATSWokTII Xo\v, this incident was barclv out of my constant thoughts ere other matters happened to drive it com- pletelv into the background. And one was. the wav \ve were singled out by tlie (Juel)ec authorities for petty persecution. It mi^ht liave been sini]>lv because we were Knglish, at a time when Knglish blood had an un wholesome flavour to a Frenchman, or because \\-e were not Catholic (although inv father had been), Hut. any how, though seii^neuries all about us were unmolested by that colossal villain, the mtendant, ISi^ot, we were being mulcted through his practice of taking our strain and all else he desired, by force of law, paying therefor a mere ]>ittance ; \\hereas, when \ve came to buy from him (as we were sometimes forced to do from our own neces sities), we were robbed bv the extravagance of his charges. ( )ver all Canada his agents roved, living on the fat of the land and sparing not the poorest of the habitant?, though they could count their store in but a do/en bushels. The sei.tnieuries were passed, as a rule, but, as I have said, for some reason we were pitched upon probably because we had no power at court. It was robbery of both kin^ and people, for some two-thirds of the profits of these transactions stuck to the finders of lli^ot and his familiar, Joseph C'adet. And they waxed rich, and were feared by I)u (Juesne (who was then governor), and were winked at by Yuudreuil, who afterward 6 The House of Chatsworth showed himself to be the weakest-kneed man who ever graced the pseudo throne of New France. It is true that the intendant and his fellows paid the penalty of their misdeeds years after ; but at the time of which I write Bigot was at the height of his power, being: all but chief ruler of the whole of Canada ; and o none would have dared gainsay him had he taken an entire harvest and paid only in promises. I was a youth then, unfledged in the ways of the world ; lacking not the wit, but the opportunity, or, rather, taste for society at large, else I might have known more of the reason that compelled our house the house of Chatsworth into the background ; but I was not to know until the knowledge came like a cloud burst ; and yet, though I made no complaint, had I been fairly dealt with, I would have known as a boy that which was vouchsafed me only when I had become a man, when only by the merest chance I escaped ruin from its having been withheld. Like many a man of tardy maturity, I look back on childhood and even early youth, and events come out like dreams without continuity. But time rolled by until I was shocked into a sort of awakening by the murder of my father, who died at the hands of a man I knew naught of until years after. And old Peyrotte, who was with him, bore back the news and the remains of his master, together with something in the way of a writing that I had never been allowed to see. My father had gone to Quebec on a mission, and was there slain, but whether in a quarrel or in ambush (which latter might well have happened in those days) I was uninformed, being then but little more than a lad in years, and somewhat less in understanding. I knew a foul thing had been done, and felt resent ment in a boyish fashion ; but when I asked old Peyrotte why my father had been killed, and by whom, he only 7 The Strength of the Weak swung" his great hand over his white mustache and said he feared it was because he was an Englishman, and as for his slayer, he was doubtless a Frenchman ; while for the Frenchman's name well, c/iiicn subc, which he said was Spanish and was an answer to many questions. .And that was the first reason I had for hating the French, but it was not the last. [ might have known that an English seigneur in the heart of New France was like a drone in a hive, a thing to be cast forth ; but if my father, in his worldly wisdom, had not seen the danger, why should I ? 1 knew there was a line laid like a bend sinister across mv mother and myself on account of our religion. To the powers at Quebec our lack of fealty to the faith of the estab lished church savoured of treason to the state. I knew that our influence in Quebec was as nothing, and 1 cared little for it. as I hated the place for the way it contra dicted itself in intent, a godly town, in effect, godless. I knew it and loathed it. and yet, through sheer timidity (or bashfulness, perhaps), lived in it for a whole winter and retained my innocence, thank God. I>y the time I was twenty years of age [ had seen enough of the heartless froth and glitter and court fashion, mingled with the deceit and broad crime, that marked the last days of the French regime, and had I not by this time become more than a merely accom plished swordsman, I would probably have been unable to note as much as T did or have had the opportunity to become disgusted. Once, indeed. I was called a panic moiiillcc (or, in good, sound English, a " milksop ") by one of the swashbuckling jciiucssc Jorcc, and the blow I struck him was followed by a challenge. The youth was disarmed at my first pass, and afterward had the grace to thank me for not killing him. There was no glory in it, for not a man of my acquaintance in the whole province dared cross buttonless steels with me, The House of Chatsworth and so I saw my fill of folly and escaped being broadly insulted again. I had grown to be a comely youth, with a fair figure and the lusty health and strength born of the woods and waters and the crystal air of the winter, and I might have found favour and bettered the condition of our house had I pushed my way and been less of a home body or less willing to ride others down for my o\vn benefit. There were glances aplenty and bold enough they were, too ; but I was callow and well, " se la jeuncsse savait " is an old proverb fitting me at the time. CHAPTER III THE VOYAGEUK \VHF.X my father became possessed of his Canadian estate he had seen enough of the politics of the dav, and with his title to the scigncurv he claimed retirement from the turmoil and intrigue of the French court as a part of the reward lor his services to France. J hcrefore, with a view to a rest, which he never obtained, he built a mansion, but in such, a purely Fng'lish fashion that the authorities at ( hiebec (who were envious, no doubt) found great fault with its stvle, holding that a man who had changed his allegiance had better follow the man ners of the countrv to which he tendered his sword, or lav his honestv of purpose open to suspicion. And so, like the proverbial oven, the house was altered until it reached its present shape that is, it became a pleasant jumble of architecture, full of corners and wandering' halls and rooms, great and small, on the inside, and without, a wealth of chimncvs and gable-ends and dor mer windows cut into queer places, and was of no fashion whatever, or one with which all might be suited in spots. And my father chose the name of De Mantel, and so called the' estate in honour of his first wife's husband, and his kinsman, that brave Chevalier De Man tel who came over with 1 )e Frontenac and did such g'ood work in the wilderness in the early days of Xew F'rance. The Seig-neury De Mantel faced the waters of Lake St. Peter, which is a mere incidental widening- of the St. Lawrence, the basin of the expansion being" some 10 The Voyageur four miles broad by nine or more in length, and broken by wooded islands east and west where the river enters and leaves it. From the landing-place in front of the house the islands to the west are fairly to be seen in clear weather, though even then they seem to float betwixt sky and water, the mirage twisting the distance, if the eye be held on them. And on this day of which I write my eye was being held on them until they blurred in the blinding glare of the sun, for I had seen a strange thing. It was early in June and one of those mornings when the softness of nature, and the prospect, and the air make youth and health fairly drunk in the joy of mere living. For all that grew galloped in a mad ex cess of life ; every tree and leaf and blade w : ere whis pering little messages to one another, with a fair south wind to carry them. The waves lapped against the land with a wonderful smoothness and delicacy as though giving a soft pat, like a lover, and with a voice that said plainly enough, " I am spring ; I have come again and I love you." And out from the islands, which seemed caught up a step towards heaven, I had marked a speck drop, or appear to, on to the bosom of the lake, and then creep in my direction. As it grew in size it turned out to be but a boat, or rather a canoe, and in it were two figures paddling slowly. Now there was nothing out of the common in this had this been all, but when the canoe had floated to within plain sight of me it took a turn sharply towards the shore, just above the point where the woods meet the water to the east of the house, and there, not three rods from dry land, the figures ceased paddling and fell to fighting, and so disappeared behind the tongue of the forest. It took me but a moment to leap into the boat that was moored at my feet and row out that I might get a ii The Strength of the Weak further sight of them ; and well it was that 1 did well for inc. 1 mean. \\hat I saw when I approached was apparent! v a log of wood (though 1 knew it to lie the overturned canoe) with an Indian astride of it. bent double, as though having a hold, of something in the water on the side towards me. I had hardly sighted him when the head of a white man appeared from beneath the surface, onlv to be grasped again bv the Indian, who was plainlv trying to ])ush the' owner under and hold him there. Xow, 1 knew nothing" of the rights of the (juarrel, but ] had always held a smothered hatred for red-skins of anv tribe, and to see a man 01 niv o\\'n colour deliberaielv murdered bv one of them was more than 1 could stand. J Icing unarmed, there was but one tiling for me to do, and that 1 did. Putting mv strength to the oars, 1 rowed ahead with all torce, casting niv eves over niv shoulder that 1 might not miss mv mark", and at full >peed drove with a crash into the frail bark canoe 1 , not onlv over setting the barbarian astride 1 it, but well-nigh cutting in two his light support, l-'or the life of the' man who \\as drowning 1 was none too soon, for as the red-skin lost his hold and disappeared into the lake his opponent came up with a heavv, helpless lurch, and began slowlv to settle. Krc he was a foot below the surface I grasped him by the collar of his shirt, and with might v exertion hauled him into the boat, though it was all f could do. and came dangerously near to capsizing the craft ; then ] turned to the Indian. lie needed no attention of mine 1 , however, for bv the time' 1 sighted him he was scrambling ashore, close to a great oak whose roots went into the water. Once there, lie gave me a villain ous backward look, and, like a shade, disappeared into the forest. Glancing about to see if aught was ailoat that might be saved, I at first saw nothing save the wreck of the 12 The Voyageur canoe and two paddles, one of the latter being split as though from a heavy blow ; but as I sat clown to pull to land with my insensible passenger, I marked something black bobbing on the little waves. It proved to be a small leathern bottle closely corked with a bit of corn cob ; and nothing else to save being in sight, I cast it into the boat and then got to shore at the place the Indian had landed. Here I hauled the unknown body to the grass. At first I rolled him without result, but presently the water gushed from his mouth as though from a spring, and after working for above an hour for I dared not leave him for help I had the satisfaction of seeing him breathe of his own accord, weakly enough, but life was there. Thinking then that the bottle I had recovered might contain liquor, I ran for it, but, upon shaking it, found it was empty of liquid, nothing answering to the shake but a faint sound as though a loose cork had found its way inside, and so I sat down by the man and chafed his hands again. While I was doing this I took notice of his details for the first time. He was a young man that is, not more than thirty years old, and perhaps less. His dress was a cross betwixt that of a barbarian and a habitant, being partly of woven stuff and partly of the dressed skin of the deer, with strips of loose fringe along the legs and sleeves. He wore no queue, but his wavy brown hair, now matted with the wet, hung nearly to his shoulders. It was plain to me that he was but a courcur de bois, or one of those Canadian voyageurs who pass their lives on the waters and in the woods of the wilderness. They are explorers, hunters, and traders in a small fashion ; consorts of the Indians, and their equals, too, in cunning and wood-craft ; knowing their language and their ways, and in many instances their equals if not their superiors in treachery and the love The Strength of the Weak for scalps; men without homes, education, or mam morals ; devils in war, 1 had heard, and drunkards in peace, 1 knew, for 1 had ;.een many a one of them at Three Rivers, where the tick' ceases to rise and fall, and at Quebec. As I looked at him 1 thought 1 had done little for the world In keeping- him in it and burdening the hospitality of the house, only comforting myself bv the knowledge that I had acted as a Christian should. Vet there was something about the face that was not repulsive rather the contrary, in fact, for it differed from the coarse-featured and pimply countenances of the men of his ilk whom 1 had met : and when at last he slowlv opened his eyes to mine, I was puzzled at the look they gave me. for 1 had seen them before, 1 thought. Certainly there was naught but gentleness. a measure- of appeal, and a soft beaut}' in them, and 1 took to their owner at his first glance. lie was not long in coming around after he found his senses. Presently he moaned and shifted his hand in a loose wav to his head, and then I saw the seal]) had been gashed, though not deeplv; but before f could ex amine it closely he turned, raided himself to his elbow, gave a might}- cough, and said in I-'rench, as if to him self: "Mou, Dicit! It is plain [ am born to be hanged. since water will not have me." I was about to reply when he cast his eyes on me and asked quickly : " What became of the red-skin and the At that he stopped. " Miles in the forest by this," [ answered; " and ym but slightly missed going in another direction, m'sieur." Pie looked hard at me, his big brown eves seeming to bore through me, and asked how it had all come about. I told him the story as shortly as I could, he continuing to hold me with his gaze as he sat and lis tened, coughing his lungs clear, shrugging his shoul- 14 The Voyageur ders, and rubbing- his wounded head as he pulled himself together. When I had done, he said : " You are no French dog ! " " I am no dog of any breed," I returned, with some warmth ; at which he smiled feebly, and, holding out his great hand, returned : " I kno\\ that. I know that. I would not be un grateful. 1 mean you are not French by birth." " Xo," I replied. " I am of English birth and breed ing." I knew it by the twist of yer tongue," he answered in English. " Xow. God be thanked that I was saved by one of my own blood, though 'tis a risk I run by saying it." "Then you are not what you seem?" I answered in the same language. " Aye, lad, all I seem and more ; the victim of a treacherous Injun, who has gotten off with the apple o' me eye an' left all the tools o' my trade at the bottom of the lake I mean my firearms an' the like. How deep is the water where ye pulled me out?" " Eight or ten feet not more," I answered ; " and I think I could mark the spot." " Come, then," he said, with some vigour ; " perhaps we can get them, and then I will speak more to yer satisfaction." With this he got to his feet with a spryness that made me marvel at his rapid recovery from a point close to death, though with a man of his litheness and cat-like tenacity of life it was no great wonder after all. He must have been just short of six feet tall as he stood in his moccasins, topping me four inches, while his breadth made me small by comparison, though even I am no pigmy. Five steps brought us to the boat, which I had drawn up on the shore, and as I was pushing- it off the The Strength of the Weak stranger's eye caught sight of the leathern bottle, which I had laid upon the seat. With a shout he jumped for it, gave it a shake, and thrust it into the bosom of his soaked blouse. " Ah, lad. did ye rescue that? " he asked, with a fine smile, which showed a regular set of white teeth, lighting up his face. " .Liquor is liquor in these parts, and so scarce wi' me that ve will pardon me for not sharing \vi' ye." A poor dram you'll get from an empty bottle." said I. "It may be of value as a bottle, but not for the wine that's in it." " How know ye that?" he asked, with something like a scowl. l>v trying it when von were in need of liquor," 1 returned. To this he made in> answer, though his brows re laxed. He let me scull him to where 1 thought his canoe had been overset, for the wreck itself was no mark, the wind having driven it ashore. Here he made no more ado than to lean over the side of the boat and plunge his head and shoulders beneath the surface of the water, holding himself thus for nigh a minute, or until 1 thought he was like to go half-drowned again. Then he pulled back and simply said that he saw his rifle sticking, muzzle down, in the ooze on the bot tom, a trifle away from where we floated, and. with no preparation of any sort, he leaped over the side and disappeared. Presently he came up puffing and blowing. With one hand he swam to the boat, with the other he threw therein the firearm, about which were tangled the slings of his powder-horn and bul let-pouch ; then he drew himself aboard with the greatest ease. Xow, all this interested me mightily, from his mak ing no mention of, or even thanking me for, his nar- 16 The Voyageur row escape from being drowned, to his scanning the bottom of the lake (which is simple enough when one knows how), and the easy recovery of his piece. Who the man was and from whence, I hoped to find out later without asking unmannerly questions, as he had said he would tell me more ; but just then, as he sat himself astern, breathing a little hard from his late exertion, I was taken up by his air of perfect self-possession and the attractive and almost handsome look his face took on when he smiled. And yet, withal, though I cannot describe it, there was a look of uneasiness about him, and I thought I might be getting at the cause when, as he was pouring the water from his gun and untangling the gear about it, he said : " Ye have many parties passing up and down the river here, have ye not? I take it by ycr rig that ye live hard by." " I live just beyond this point," I answered, pulling towards the landing a quarter of a mile away. " As for parties, they come both by road and river." " Any large ones that is, with ladies and and say officers? " " Not lately none within ten days," I answered, at which he fetched a long breath and fell into sober thought. We drew slowly along only a few strokes from the lovely shore through the woods of which the sun went flashing here and there, and out from which came naught but the merry rustle of leaves and piping of the birds that had lately returned to us. As we fetched past this long tongue of woodland I noticed my companion's eyes grow wide, and instantly he said, though very quietly : " Have ye aught against me, lad I mean for being English ? " 17 The Strength of the Weak " Nay ! " said 1. lie-anil}- ; bin ere I could add a word, lie said in French : "And so ( iod bless King Louis; 'tis a bee in a wasp's nest. I hope." Then in Fnglish again : " Ye have done me one favour to-day, for which I yet have sonic- thing to say. I )o me another and stop rowing there; now back the water that the boat mav stand." I was surprised at his sudden request until 1 noticed how fixed was his ga/,e on something ahead, so I turned mvself about. \Ye had just come to a point where the landing" lay clear before me, and there I marked a large boat, newly arrived, with a party .step ping therefrom. 1 hev were in plain sight, though not near enough to permit me to mark features ; but one was a French officer, as I knew from his white coat with its violet facings; three were soldiers, from their blue uni forms which bespoke 1 the militia; two were civilians, and c>ne was a woman. I sav three were soldiers, though, bv his dress, one of the three was but a half soldier, for he was onlv militarv in coat and chapcau. The crew of the batteau. in apparel something after the stvle of mv companion, remained behind until the passengers had walked some distance towards the manor house, and then, with a deal of luggage. 1 thought, the}' followed. 1 was not astonished at the sight. Ours being by all odds the most comfortable and commodious house between Three Rivers and Montreal, we had otten been called upon to entertain parties, entirely unknown to us, for a da}' and even overnight, though it sadly upset the household. Hut policy alone compelled this, as it would have been dangerous to have done otherwise than welcome the traveller by road or river in this land where the door is never shut on a stranger. As 1 returned my attention to the voyageur, I marked that he was trembling like the water about tis, though his eyes were as fixed as those of a hound pointing his i .-> The Voyageur prey. Until the new arrivals had disappeared from sight he sat thus, and then he seemed to come to himself. " 'Tis the chill o' the river, lad; take no notice of it ! " he said, drawing his hand across his eyes as though to clear his vision. " I wish mightily to thank ye for what ye have done this day, but I am not a man o' many words in either French or English. What house is yonder? " " The manor-house of the Seigneury De Mantel," I answered. " Aye! An' what calibre of a man is the seigneur? A dancer to Bigot an' Vaudreuil, doubtless." " M'sieur, I am the seigneur, but I know not that I dance to any one," I returned, \vith some dignity. " My name is Chatsworth, and, having saved your life, I will show you my calibre by offering you the hospi tality of my house." His manner instantly changed from half good-will to plain coolness. ' 'Fore God, but I have had more than one escape ! " he muttered, and then he spoke aloud. " M'sieur, you are an Englishman, perhaps, but you speak the language of our gracious king. Let us use that tongue. I am under a million obligations to you this day, but must add to them by accepting your offer. I have a broken head, am wet and hungry, and have been half-drowned. You will do me an ad ditional favour to forget that I am English." This was expressed in French, but in a manner and with an accent so different from that of men of his class that instantly there shot through me the suspicion that here was an English renegade against whom I should be upon guard. His question about passing parties containing ladies and officers and almost on the instant the arrival of one tallying with his description, \vas a matter of which I then thought nothing, but it had a mighty significance. CHAPTER IV As \vc approached the house after landing 1 . 1 marked Peyrotte coming rapidlv around tin* east wing. To my companion there \vas probablv nothing remarkable about the old soldier, but to me his actions and appear ance showed he was disturbed, for his eyebrows were drawn together and his erstwhile straightened back and shoulders drooped as though he suddenly felt the weight of his vears. As he came to us, he drew himseli up and looked askant at the still dripping man who walked a pace or two behind me; then he bent and whispered: " Al'sieur, Cadet and his crew are within. The madame wishes you at once.'' The information of the advent of Cadet was enough to depress me, though only in a vague way did 1 under stand the possibilities that might ensue. Hut much more depressing was the fact that my mother had sent for me, evidently in connection with the event. She had never done so before. She and Peyrotte had hitherto borne in silence the brunt of the family mis fortunes, shielding me as though I were a weakling ; and T had allowed it, carelessly or selfishly, as it might have been. "\Yhat is to be done, Peyrotte?" I returned, with an inward sinking. " If there is not more than the usual robbery to fol low, God be thanked," he rejoined, without directly answering my almost tremulous question. " \Yho is 20 A Legal Thief yonder fellow? One of the train a dog of a voy- ageur ? " " Xay, Pcyrotte ! Have him looked to. I saved him from the lake two hours ago ; see to his needs, and let him go or stay. I take him to be an Englishman, though he is read}- enough with his French. 1 think it were well to beware of him." I left the two, and going at once to my mother's apartment (for an expressed desire from her was a com mand to me), I knocked at the door and entered. My mother was walking up and down the large room with distress plainly written on her handsome features. As I came up to her and saluted she dropped into a chair. Maurice, my son," she began in English for of French she had but half-mastery, never conversing therein with me " make yourself as brave as possible to meet these people. Cadet is here. Has not Peyrotte told you ? We arc undone if we cannot conciliate that robber. What is about to happen? He usually sends to us in the fall. What brings him in person and at this time ? And what mean the soldiers ? O Maurice, I am but a woman and discouraged and helpless ! " " Be not in a panic, mother," I returned, sick at heart to see her so dispirited, for, as a rule, she was sedately calm. " It may be but a passing visit and with out business, the soldiers acting as guards only. The crops cannot be his aim thus early. Who is the lady with him ? " " The daughter of the officer, a Captain Dessonier," she answered, speaking rapidly. " They all carry a high hand higher than ever ; and the captain would have his daughter bestowed in the east tower room, with a soldier at her door for orders or for guard, I know not which. What motive has he for guarding his daughter in this house? Can it be " she suddenly exclaimed, changing her tone " can it be that Brad- The Strength of the Weak dock has already taken Fort Dnquesnc, and they fear us and would watch us. we being Fuglish?" " Mother, we are under the protection of the French flag," I relurned. " I know little of state' inaturs, but there is no war declared betwixt France and England ; of that I am certain, \\hat is the colon}' of Virginia to u^~? And the fight is between it and France'." "It is sufficient pretext. They hate u>, Maurice; lhev hate us and are mining us. If it were but possi ble to get from here! Your father was murdered bv them by one of them. ( )h. mv son, were you more of a man of the world older, experienced, and more self-reliant that I might tell She was interrupted by a knock, and a servant en tered. " Madame, monsieur le capitaine would have imme diate quarters for his men," she said. " lie says, 'Tell madame that I shall occupv the east tower, beneath the room of my daughter. MY men will occupv the west tower.' Monsieur Cadet savs that madame is to serve dinner at five o'clock. Madame, is it so? " My mother looked at me aghast, while for the mo ment I could do nothing but stare in return, thunder struck at the impudence of the message. Then some thing within me seemed to break and a strange feeling beset me. For the first time I realized my useless posi tion in my own house, and saw, too, how pampered I had been how irresponsible and boyish 1 appeared. 1, a man grown, careless without being weak, busy only in the pleasure of hying. It was no time to hesi tate, and I saw that at this juncture I must take the matter before us on my own shoulders, for niv mother, evidently stunned by the high-handed demand, remained silent. " Let it be so, Joan." I replied. " It has been thus arranged. I had forgotten to attend to it." And I faced 22 A Legal Thief the young 1 woman, hoping the lie would not appear on my features. The girl gave a courtesy and withdrew, while I turned to my mother. " Self-reliant, madame ! I have never had a chance to be. You have been too tender of me ; and withal, we have been strangers in nearly everything save love. You have never burdened me ; you have never confided in me. 1 know no thought of yours, no wish, save that your son should be happy and the estate prosper. I have been poorly prepared. The fault is not all mine that I am unable to meet this situation ; but the facts, as 1 see them, do not make our future hopeless. These French hate us, I know. If they ruin us, there is Xew York or Massachusetts peopled by those of our own blood, and where a career is possible and wealth not im possible. Can we not leave this place for a time leave until this brawl blows over? " My mother's face did not brighten. " Maurice, you have been but half taught," she answered. " You do not know, as I do, that every avenue of escape is closed against us ; at least against you. And if it were possible to get away, what then? This is no brawl. War, formal or not, exists. The estate would be con fiscated and you published as a traitor, for you are a French subject. Your title proves it. On English soil we would both be beggars, dependent on the charity of my uncle, for not a rood of land could you acquire." The last statement fell on me like a bludgeon, first, because of the mere fact (for that it was a fact I nowise doubted, my mother being sponsor), and, second, be cause there must be some sinister reason for it a reason the nature of which I could not conceive. I faltered a moment, but finally said : " Madame, I inherit this seigneury through the fact that my father, though an Englishman, owed his alle giance to France ; but my father is dead. I was born 23 The Strength of the Weak on Fjiglish soil and am of Fnglish blood. Moreover, i am not a Catholic. \Yhv, then, do von say- Yon have given the reasons, my son," mv mother interrupted. "That is whv thev hate ns here : that is whv Cadet is in this house. What von sav is trne. Inn vonr sword belongs to France : yonr name, votir existence', von owe to France, (iod help me. but vonr Fnglish name is stained, Maurice; vonr father was killed before he conld clear it I Yon must still be for France: do yon not see the end if yon prove faithless? " "The name of Chatsworth stained!" 1 exclaimed, feeling all the blood in mv bodv surging to my face. 15 v no act of dishonour, mv son. Yonr father was a martvr to Ins political opinions. In the davs of the first (Jeorge he was opposed to the German succession. lie tle\v to France to save his life, and served the voting Louis XV, under the regency of Philippe d'( Jrleans. God forgive me for allowing von to be kept in such ignorance, mv son. You know votir father's first wife was a French woman the widow I )e Mantel childless save for a profligate son by her first husband. It was through her that your father obtained his title to this seigneury ; and yet, Maurice, vonr father was a stout Englishman at heart : that is why he would have' none but an English wife when he married again, and at the time of his death he was seeking to make peace with the English authorities; but a Stuart hater sat and still sits on the throne. Do yon yet think that a warm welcome would await you a Chatsworth in the colonies? My uncle. Sir Peter Warren, owns vast estates along the Mohawk, and only bv his charity might we be allowed a few acres in the wilderness. We have no other re source. Do you not see the end, my son." " That my father had been an Englishman 1 knew, but, to my shame be it said, 1 had known so little of him. had felt his death so slightly, that I had never inquired how 24 A Legal Thief lie had come in possession of a French seigneury, and the information had never been volunteered. I knew I was the child of his second marriage ; that his first wife had been a French woman ; but I did not know of the existence of a profligate stepson. There was nothing shocking in this information, for I had expected disclosures more material. I felt, however, all my honoured mother wished to convey that circumstances bound us to the soil of Canada, and as an English youth with English instincts, I felt the gall of the chain. As for the name of Chatsworth, I felt equal .to clearing it, did chance but offer, and as far as I in my youthful short sightedness could penetrate, we had only the present situation to combat the presence of Bigot's agent and that was sufficient. I was conscious of the intensity of my mother's gaze as she sat awaiting an answer to her last question, and putting aside a vague something which seemed to over shadow me, I said : " Perhaps your fears as to Cadet are not well founded. I am not schooled in politics or policy, but it is plain that we must smooth our faces to that man and see what comes of it ; it may not be so black as you think. There is no present need to speak of swords or fighting. When the time demands I trust I will not be found wanting ; I will do my share." "Under which king, Maurice?" she asked, anx iously. " Ah, we have drifted from the point ! Come to me to-night. I will tell you something you know nothing of I should have told you long ago." I was about to ask her to what she referred, when again there came a knock on the door, and the same servant reappeared. " Madame, m'sieur wishes to see madame in the saloon M'sieur Cadet, madame," she said, with the stolid indifference of her class. 3 25 " You have delivered vour message," 1 answered, promptly, and the woman retired. " i will sec the man at once, I said, turning towards the door; but mv mother laid a detaining hand on mv arm. Xo, my son; it were policy i should meet him as he requested; he will hardly (hire offer me an affront to my face, (lo to I'evrotte. tell him what 1 have told yon, and remember the altered hour for dinner. Above all, Maurice, be gracious when you meet these strangers, and lorgct not. lor your own sake, that we are m the hands and at the mercy of a legal thief." And so 1 left her. To say I was perplexed and troubled would be to say little of my feelings. I was becoming atraid besides. Xot in fear of personal vio lence, for there seemed no need of that. It had come to me that the weight of the matter rested and >hotild rest on mv own shoulders, and neither could mv mother nor L'cyrotto lighten the burden. 1 knew not what blow was about to fall, hut a presentiment of something sinister was m the atmosphere. It was shown bv the air of authority used bv Cadet and his officer, and this foreboding (filed me with a fear of the unknown. Mv mother had told me nothing I should not have known long before-, but her words had come to me with the suddenness of a frigid blast in summer, and with them had come an awakening a sense of self and a Iceling of defiance which springs from the- nncrnshed spirit of early manhood. I low to meet the iuture was bevond me. \ only knew that we mnsi attempt to placate the bloodsucker ihen in the house and let time and con sequences shape themselves thereafter. \\ hat we did not possess he could not take from us. and we might easily live lower than we were doing, though we had steadily fallen in style since my father's death. It was with no light heart that I started to find Pey- rotte. 1 was told lie had gone to the granary, and so 26 A Legal Thief followed, that I might get comfort from him, a wish which showed that the weakness of youth still had an abiding place within me. But he was not at the granary, and I returned to the house by way of the orchard. How mightily the day had changed. The sky was as clear, the breeze as warm, and the birds as full of riot as before, but it was all masked and seen afar, as though the joy of them belonged to another. As I arrived at the path leading by the barns I was sur prised to come across the voyageur whom I had res cued and the man formerly described as the half-soldier. They were seated together on the grass talking rather more closely than newly met men are apt to do ; but they saluted me as I went my way, too full of my own troubles to give them more than a passing thought and gesture. 27 CHAPTER V Til !: F. X 1' LOS I () X I HAD decked mvself in all but court finery when T went to my mother's apartment to conduct her to our unwelcome guests. So far they had held aloof. My mother had regained her composure, and was the patrician from to]) to toe from her powdered hair (white enough without powder) to the lowest hem of her stiff silken robe, i asked her the purport of Cadet's interview, and she ansuered that it was only on the mat ter of the bestowal of his valet, but that he had infonned her his partv expected to stop with us for a day or two, and that he did not care to be disturbed by other visitors in the interval. " Courteously enough expressed." she declared, " but brutal in the tone of authoritv. With all his ill-fitting politeness 1 can see behind him. 1 fear him and his errand whatever it mav be. The man i.s a beast," she concluded. I had never seen Cadet, for hitherto his business had been done by a subagent. but both he and the officer were in the great saloon as we entered. It was a noble room, designed for gaiety that had never taken place, and barren enough now in our failing fortune's. Cadet turned to us as we advanced: a broad-faced man, red and bloated; broad-bodied, and with thick", meaty hands, the fingers of which were covered with rings. He wore a black wig, an elegant silk coat and waistcoat, with small-clothes to match, and silk stock ings; while the buckles of his shoes, for gorgeousness, 28 The Explosion would have put to shame those of the king. Such was Cadet, the future Commissary-General of Canada, fel low of Bigot, the intendant, and companion of Yau- dreuil, the Governor. God wot, what a trio ! For all his finery, his former trade of butcher shot from his pig-like eyes, and his figure flavoured of the meat-shop. His companion, Captain Dessonier, in dress seemed tame beside him. He wore what was apparently the same uniform in which he had arrived. In appearance he was every way the superior of Cadet, being fairly tall, well formed, and naturally well featured. But the beauty of a pair of fine violet eyes was destroyed by his furtive way of shifting his gaze, and his whole counte nance was marred by a surly contraction of the brows, which looked to be habitual. In defiance of the fashion of those days, he wore beard and mustache, both soft, short, and untrained, while his hair was simply gathered behind and tied with a black ribbon. A close inspection showed a countenance marked by dissipation and that something which stamps the man of low morals. If I had been looking for softness of character I should have turned to his grosser companion rather than to this man who carried his hardness of heart and tenacity of pur pose on his face. He was about forty years of age. Under the conditions besetting me I studied both these men closely. In one I saw a man powerful in wealth and position, but with a weak side weak from vanity, perhaps, which might be got at. A brute incapable of feeling except for himself, but good- natured enough, as the world goes, if fairly flattered. The other I quailed from. A man of thwarted ambi tion, bitter with mankind, wrapped in self-love and self-interest, without even the saving grace of passing smoothness. A man who would grind those in his power and be servile to those above him in wealth or station. 29 The Strength of the Weak It may well be supposed that I was taking much to myself to pretend, with my inexperience, to judge, at a glance, of two such men of the world. I did not sav to myself that I was reading them fairlv, but it was thus they struck me, and perhaps intuition was mv strongest point (it is with women and children), for I was hardlv fledged as a man. Anvway, the sequel will show how far J went astray. Cadet saluted with the air of one out of his element, who, wishing to conceal his shortcomings, overdoes his part, for his bow was as low and profound as though he played at mock servility: and mavhap he did. II is companion barely inclined his head, muttering some worn compliment with a movement of his lips alone, for his teeth were closed as though it were an effort for him to part his jaws and speak clearly. His con tempt for us, or his plain lack of breeding, was dis played in his turning his back after the exertion of greet ing his host and hostess, and walking to the open window. It was evident that common politeness was a burden to him, and mv fear of him gave wav to a lively dislike. " M'sieur le Seigneur C natsworth," said the agent, after the first formal compliments, " it may please you to know that 1 am not upon the king's service on this occasion that is, not entirely oh, no! eh, captain:''"' Here he gave a smile that sent the fat wrinkles to his neck, and he softly rubbed his beefy hands together. " I that is, 7.r have business in this quarter," he con tinued, glancing towards the man at the window, " as you will soon be informed bv m'sieur le capitaine. to whom 1 would advise you l>ut he was cut short by the officer, who had seemingly been lost in admiration of the prospect without ; for. wheeling about on his heel, he spoke almost fiercely, though with hardly a move ment of his lips : The Explosion '' M'sieur Cadet, you will oblige me by neglecting to refer to me or my affairs. Have you no sense? M'sieur and madamc will be enlightened at my dis cretion at the proper time." Cadet appeared to be slightly embarrassed in being thus nipped short, but he passed it off with an awkward wave of his hand and made no reply. The mighty relief which came over me on hearing that the visit of the purveyor of La Friponne was not directed against us made me think lightly of the remark of the officer, and caused a sharp rally of my spirits. Even so did it affect my mother, for the worry fell from her face as though she had removed a mask. I think that in our simplicity and gratitude we both might have made the mistake of thanking him, and thus have be trayed that which we most wished to conceal ; but just then the door opened, and a servant announced that dinner was waiting. " 1 do not see Mademoiselle Dcssonier. Shall we not tarry for your daughter, m'sieur le eapitaine ? " asked my mother, as she placed her hand in the pudgy arm of Cadet, who had advanced with a flourish. " My daughter will remain in her room, madame," came the reply, without change of voice or manner. " She has withdrawn from intercourse with society, being destined for a convent. She is journeying to Quebec for the purpose of retiring from the world." " Ah ! I had expected the pleasure of meeting her," said my mother, and turned away with her escort. I offered my arm to the captain, but he pretended not to notice it, and so, simply walking side by side, we fol lowed the others to the dining-room. This apartment \vas originally intended for a banquet- hall, but, like the saloon, it had never yet fulfilled its pur pose. To my eyes it was an immense room, with a desert of unoccupied space about the table; though it The Strength of the Weak had not the barren look of its companion across the hall, for the casements were hung with heavy curtain,-., and there was a wealth of both rugs and fur robes scat tered over the polished floor and on the carved benches against the wainscot. A huge fireplace half-filled one end of the room, and even now, though the window- stood open, a small lire was burning brisklv therein, like a torch in a cavern. Over the broad, carved chimne\ piece the glitter of rapier?, gun-barrels, pis tols, and powder-horns, as well as masks and foils. showed lhai here was the armorv of the household. The panelled walls and dark, thick rafters overhead gave the sallc-a-Jiiangct' a look of richness which was mighty satisfying to me, and it doubtless had some effect on the reticent officer b\ mv side, for 1 marked his violet eye sweep over everv detail of the apartment ere we had advanced half-way to the table. This had been laid for six people, lYvrottc ak.vavs dining with ns, though he had not yet appeared; but. as Captain Dessonier's daughter had failed ns, I placed Cadet at my right hand, in honour of his governmental position, and assigned the captain to a seat next my mother, thus leaving a vacant space on the right of either guest. \\'e had barely settled into place when the door opened and two men entered the room. ( )nc was he whom I had marked talking to the voyageur the half- soldier, lie marched in and stationed himself behind the chair of the officer, glancing neither to the right nor left, and holding himself as stifilv as though on parade. his military bearing being helped out by the sword belted to his waist. The other was the second civilian Cadet's valet of whom T had heard and seen nothing since leaving the boat. He was a short, fishv-evcd man, a small pattern of Cadet himself, dressed in a .snuff- coloured suit throughout, unmilitarv in bearing, un- The Explosion savoury and cringing in appearance. As silently as his fellow he took his place behind the chair of the agent, and remained immovable. It was doubtless a prearranged act, as neither of the guests looked up, apologized for the intrusion, or seemed to notice the unusual proceeding. I confess that I knew not how to take this matter. It struck me that I might have fallen behind in the manners of the day, and to protest the uselessness of an extra and pri vate servant might be to expose my ignorance of a pos sible new feature in court etiquette. It was evident that my mother was equally at a loss, for her eyes roved from the men to their masters and to me, half in ques tion and half in indignation, while I could do nothing in return but appear as unconcerned as though it were a matter of every-day occurrence. But if this incident gave me surprise, another fol lowed hard upon it and cast it into the shade. It caused me to widen my eyes, though I allowed no other sign to escape me. Barely had the new arrivals taken their stations and the first shock of their appearance passed, when the door of the pantry opened, and Pey- rotte, whom I had not seen since early morning, strode into the room. To me he was an astonishing sight. Clad in the full uniform of an officer or a soldier (I knew not which) of the Royal Guard or Musketeers of the old Court of Louis XV, he advanced across the saloon, his side-arms and spurs clinking to his step, as handsome a specimen of the military arm as could be imagined. Without a word, a gesture, or a look, he placed himself behind my mother's chair, as though it were a regular duty. His face was a study, but I dared not study it. I looked at my mother, and her counte nance showed how completely she had been taken aback, though to all but myself she still held a calm exterior. Cadet glanced at the tall and martial figure in open 33