Iroquois. Some of the tribes had a hereditary hatred toward one another
more ferocious than that which they felt against the whites.

The Frenchman smiled again, and swept his hand in a graceful curve
toward the green expanse.

"It is true," he said, "that the forest is yet lord over these lands,
but in the future I think the lilies of France will wave here. You
perhaps have an equal faith that the shadow of the British flag will be
over the wilderness, but it would be most unfitting for you and me to
quarrel about it now. I infer from the canoe and the three paddles that
you did not come here alone."

"Two friends are with me. They have gone into the forest on a brief
expedition. They should return soon. We have food in abundance, a deer
that we killed a few hours ago. Will you share it?"

"Gladly. Courtesy, I see, is not lost in the woods. Permit me to
introduce ourselves. The chief is Tandakora of the Ojibways, from the
region about the great western lake that you call Superior. He is a
mighty warrior, and his fame is great, justly earned in many a battle.
My friend in deerskin is Armand Dubois, born a Canadian of good French
stock, and a most valiant and trustworthy man. As for me, I am Raymond
Louis de St. Luc, Chevalier of France and soldier of fortune in the New
World. And now you know the list of us. It's not so long as Homer's
catalogue of the ships, nor so interesting, but it's complete."

His manner had remained light, almost jesting, and Robert judged that it
was habitual with him like a cloak in winter, and, like the cloak, it
would be laid away when it was not needed. The man's blue eyes, even