no doubt, were as brave as yourself, but I should have
perished in the fans of the mill if I had to depend upon
the succour of any one of them."

"Mademoiselle," he retorted with a fierce light in his
eye, "I am not a half-breed."

"O, pardonnez mois, I thought from your features and the
straightness of your coal-black hair, that you were."
Riel's blood was nigh unto boiling in his veins, but he
had craft enough to preserve a tolerably unruffled
exterior.

"And in return for this great bravery, ma petite demoiselle
has, I suppose, given her heart to her deliverer?"

"I think Monsieur is impertinent; and I shall ask my
father to forbid him to continue to address me in such
a manner."

"A thousand pardons; I did not mean to pain, but only to
chaff, your brave daughter. I think that Monsieur Scott
is most fortunate in having a friend, a beautiful friend,
so loyal to him, and so jealous of his fair fame. But
to pass to other matters. Have you had visits from any
emissaries of the Canadian government during the autumn?"

"Yes, Monsieur Mair came here one day in company with
Monsieur Scott. They were both quail shooting. They
stayed only for a little, and I was quite favourably