speed here and suffers less hardship than in the forest."

"I am glad that I can take you to Montreal."

"Your hospitality to us, Captain de Galisonnière, is appreciated. I have
found French officers courteous and ready to share with us all they had.
You are not the first whom we have met on this journey. We encountered
far down in our province of New York the Chevalier Raymond de St. Luc."

"St. Luc! St. Luc! The very flower of French chivalry! He is a relative
of the famous La Corne de St. Luc, of whom you have doubtless heard, and
at Quebec he is considered a model of all the qualities that make a
soldier and a gentleman."

"He made a like impression upon me. Farther north we were so fortunate
as to meet more of your countrymen, Colonel de Courcelles and Captain de
Jumonville."

"I know them both! Brave officers!" said de Galisonnière.

But he turned away the conversation from the Frenchmen who had gone down
into territory that Robert considered a portion of the Province of New
York, and the lad surmised that, knowing a good deal about the nature of
their errands, he feared lest he might reveal something through chance
allusions. Instead, he talked of the St. Lawrence, Montreal, and the
glories of Quebec to which he hoped he might return soon. He addressed
most of his talk to Robert, but he spoke at times to Willet and Tayoga,
both of whom responded briefly. The wind meanwhile remained strong, and
it was not necessary to use the oars, the large sail carrying them
swiftly toward Montreal. Robert, while talking with de Galisonnière,