"I must have had a premonition that you two were coming," he said, "and
so I stocked the larder. I remembered of old your appetites, a hunger
that could be satisfied only with great effort, and then could come back
again an hour later, as fresh and keen as ever. You are strong and
healthy boys, for which you should be grateful."

"We are," said Robert, with great emphasis.

"And you do not know whether Montcalm iss advancing with his army?"

"We don't, sir, but is Albany alarmed?"

"It iss! It iss alarmed very greatly. It wass not dreamed by any of us
that our army could be defeated, that magnificent army which I saw go
away to what I thought was certain victory. Ah, how could it have
happened? How could it have happened, Robert?"

"We simply threw away our chances, sir. I saw it all. We underrated the
French. If we had brought up our big guns it would have been easy. There
was no lack of courage on the part of our men. I don't believe that
people of British blood ever showed greater bravery, and that means
bravery equal to anybody's."

Mynheer Jacobus Huysman sighed heavily.

"What a waste! What a waste!" he said. "Now the army hass retreated and
the whole border iss uncovered. The tomahawk and scalping knife are at
work. Tales of slaughter come in efery day, and it iss said that
Montcalm iss advancing on Albany itself."