"He was to meet me with escort at Petit Cap. We landed on a little
point, secretly, with no people at all, and my father would have
returned in his sailboat, but my husband did not meet us. These
English must have cut him off, father."

"These are not times in which a woman should stir abroad," said the
priest.

"Monsieur the curé, there is no such comfortable doctrine for a man
with a daughter," said a figure at the nearest loophole, turning and
revealing himself by face and presence a gentilhomme. "Especially a
daughter married to a soldier. I am Denys of Bonaventure, galloping
hither out of Acadia at her word of command."

The priest made him a gesture of respect and welcome.

"One of the best men in Acadia should be of advantage to us here. But
I regret madame's exposure. You were not by yourselves attempting to
reach Montcalm's camp?"

"How do I know, monsieur the curé? My daughter commanded this
expedition." Denys of Bonaventure shrugged his shoulders and spread
his palms with a smile.

"We were going to knock at the door of the curé of Petit Cap," said
the lady. "There was nothing else for us to do; but the English
appeared."

Successive shots at the loopholes proved that the English had not yet
disappeared. Denys seized his gun again, and turned to the defense,