ntered the
room with something breezy to say.

"What's up now, if I may ask?" the jolly American demanded. "What's
this I hear about trouble with the French women? Have they begun a
revolution?"

"That elephant, Gaspard Roussillon, came back into town last night,"
said Hamilton sulkily.

"Well, he went out again, didn't he?"

"Yes, but--"

"Stepped on somebody's toe first, eh?"

"The guard tried to capture him, and that girl of his wounded
Lieutenant Barlow in the neck with a sword. Roussillon fought like a
tiger and the men swear that the devil himself appeared on the scene to
help the Frenchman out."

"Moral: Be generous in your dealings with Frenchmen and Frenchwomen and
so get the devil on your side."

"I've got the girl a prisoner, and I swear to you that I'll have her
shot this time if--"

"Why not shoot her yourself? You oughtn't to shirk a dirty job like
that and force it upon your men."

Hamilton laughed and elevated his shoulders as if to shake off an
annoying load. Just then a young officer with a white bandage around
his neck entered and saluted. He was a small, soft-haired, blue-eyed
man of reckless bearing, with marks of dissipation sharply cut into his
face. He saluted, smiling self-consciously.

"Well, Barlow," said Hamilton, "the kitten scratched you, did she?"

"Yes, slightly, and I don't think I've been treated fairly in the
matter, sir."

"How so?"

"I stood the brunt and now Captain Farnsworth gets the prize." He
twisted his mouth in mock expression of maudlin disappointment. "I'm
always cheated out of the sweets. I never get anything for gallant
conduct on the field."

"Poor boy! It is a shame. But I say, Lieutenant, has Roussillon really
escaped, or is he hidden somewhere in town? Have you been careful?"

"Oh, it's the Indians. They all swear by these Frenchmen. You can't get
any help from them against a fellow like Roussillon. In fact they aid
him; he's among them now."

"Moral again," Helm interposed; "keep on the good side of the French!"

"That's sensible talk, sir," assented Barlow.

"Bah!" exclaimed Hamilton. "You might as well talk of keeping on the
good side of the American traitors--a bloody murrain seize the whole
race!"

"That's what I say," chimed in the Lieutenant, with a sly look at Helm.

"They have been telling me a cock-and-bull story concerning the affair
at the Roussillon cabin," Hamilton said, changing his manner. "What is
this about a disguised an