round the Captain's neck so wildly that the
two went down and rolled on the sand. Before Menard could struggle to
his feet, three soldiers had followed, and stood laughing, forgetting
all discipline, and one was saying over and over to the other:--

"It is Captain Menard! Don't you know him? It is Captain Menard!"

"You don't know me, Menard, I can see that. I wish I could take the
beard off, but I can't. What have you done with my men?"

Now Menard knew; it was Du Peron.

"I left them at La Gallette," he said.

"I haven't seen them--oh, killed?"

Menard nodded.

"Come down the beach and tell me about it. What condition are you in?
Have you anybody with you?" Before Menard could answer, he said to one
of the soldiers:--

"Go back and tell the sergeant to bring up the canoes."

They walked down the beach, and the other soldiers set about building
a new fire.

"Perhaps I'd better begin on you," Menard said. "What are you doing
here? And what in the devil do you mean by coming up through the woods
like a Mohawk on the war-path?"

The Lieutenant laughed.

"My story isn't a long one. I'm cleaning up our base of supplies at La
Famine. We've got a small guard there. The main part of the rear-guard
is back at Frontenac."

"Where is the column?"

"Gone to Niagara, Denonville and all, to build a fort. They'll give it
to De Troyes, I imagine. It's a sort of triumphal procession through
the enemy's country, after rooting up the Seneca villages and fields
and stockades until you can't find an able-bodied redskin this side of
the Cayugas. Oh, I didn't answer your other question. What do you
think of these?" He held out a foot, shod in a moccasin. "You'd never
know the King's troops now, Menard. We're wearing anything we can pick
up. I've got a dozen canoes a quarter of a league down the lake. I saw
your fire, and thought it best to reconnoitre before bringing the
canoes past." He read the question in Menard's glance. "We are not
taking out much time for sleep, I can tell you. It's all day and all
night until we get La Famine cleared up. There is only a handful of
men there, and we're expecting every day that the Cayugas and
Onondagas will sweep down on them."

"They won't bother you," said Menard.

"Maybe not, but we must be careful. For my part, I look for trouble.
The nations stand pretty closely by each other, you know."

"They won't bother you now."

"How do you know?"

"What did I come down here for?"