"They didn't tell me. Oh, you had a mission to the other nations? But
that can't be,--you were captured."

Menard lay on his side, and watched the flames go roaring upward as
the soldiers piled up the logs.

"I could tell you some things, Du Peron," he said slowly. "I suppose
you didn't know,--for that matter you couldn't know,--but when the
column was marching on the Senecas, and our rear-guard of four hundred
men--"

"Four hundred and forty."

"The same thing. You can't expect the Cayugas to count so sharply as
that. At that time the Cayugas and Onondagas held a council to discuss
the question of sending a thousand warriors to cut off the rear-guard
and the Governor's communications."

The Lieutenant slowly whistled.

"How did they know so much about it, Menard?"

"How could they help it? Our good Governor had posted his plans on
every tree. You can see what would have happened."

"Why, with the Senecas on his front it would have been--" He paused,
and whistled again.

"Well,--you see. But they didn't do it."

"Why not?"

"Because I spoke at that council."

"You spoke--but you were a prisoner, weren't you?"

"Yes."

The Lieutenant sat staring into the fire. Slowly it came to him what
it was that the Captain had accomplished.

"Why, Menard," he said, "New France won't be able to hold you, when
this gets out. How you must have gone at them. You'll be a major in a
week. You're the luckiest man this side of Versailles."

"No, I'm not. And I won't be a major. I'm not on the Governor's pocket
list. But I don't care about that. That isn't the reason I did it."

"Why did you do it then?"

"I--That's the question I've been asking myself for several days, Du
Peron."

The Lieutenant was too thoroughly aroused to note the change in the
Captain's tone.

"You don't see it right now, Menard. Wait till you've reached the
city, and got into some clothes and a good bed, and can shake hands
with d'Orvilliers and Provost and the general staff,--maybe with the
Governor himself. Then you'll feel different. You're down now. I know
how it feels. You're all tired out, and you've got the Onondaga dirt
rubbed on so thick that you're lost in it. You wait a few weeks."

"Did the Governor have much trouble with the Senecas?"

"Oh, he had to fight for it. He was--My God, Menard, what about the
girl? I was so shaken up at meeting you like this that it got away
from me. The column had hardly got to the fort on their wa