res had the advance with the Montreal troops. He
threw out La Durantaye, with Tonty and Du Luth,--the _coureurs de
bois_, you know,--to feel the way. La Durantaye had the mission
Indians, from Sault St. Louis and the Montreal Mountain, on his left,
and the Ottawas and Mackinac tribes on his right."

"How did the Ottawas behave?"

"Wretchedly. They ran at the first fire. I'll come to that. The others
weren't so bad, but there was no holding them. They spread through the
forest, away out of reach. Perrot had the command, but he could only
follow after and knock one down now and then."

"The Governor took command of the main force?"

"Yes. And he carried his bale like the worst of us; I'll say that for
him. It was hot, and we all drooped a bit before night. And he made a
good fight, too, if you can forgive him that bungling march. When we
bivouacked, some of Du Luth's boys scouted ahead. They got in by
sunrise. They'd been to the main village of the Senecas on the hill
beyond the marsh,--you know it, don't you?"

"Yes."

"And they saw nothing but a few women and a pack of dogs. The Governor
was up early,--he's not used to sleeping out doors in the mosquito
country,--sitting on a log at the side of the trail, talking with
Granville and Berthier. I wasn't five yards behind them, trying to
scrape the mud off my boots--you know how that mud sticks, Menard.
Well, when the scouts came in with their story, the Governor stood up.
'Take my order to La Durantaye,' he said, 'that he is to move on with
all caution, that the surprise may be complete. He will push forward,
following the trail. You,' he said, to a few aides who stood by, 'will
see that the command is aroused as silently as possible.' Well, I
didn't know whether to laugh at the Governor or pity myself and the
boys. Any man but the crowd of seigniors that he had about him would
have foreseen what was coming. I knew that the devils were waiting for
us, probably at one of the ravines where the trail runs through that
group of hills just this side of the marsh. You know the place,--every
one of us knows it. But what could we say? I'd have given a month's
pay to have been within ear-shot of La Durantaye when he got the
order. La Valterie told me about it afterward. 'What's this?' he says,
'follow the trail? I'll go to the devil first. There's a better place
for my bones than this pest-ridden country.' He calls to Du Luth:
'Hear this, Du Luth. We're to "push forward, fol