ardly be here for the pleasure of your
chastisement."

He laughed lightly, his eyes wandering carelessly over the throng of
figures in front of us.

"Saint Guise! I thought not about your predicament, but rather of the
happiness which came to me in the society of Mademoiselle. In faith,
she was most gracious with her favor. 'T is thus you did me a great
kindness, friend, and have won my gratitude."

The words were as stinging as he meant them to be, for I marked his
quick glance into my face. So I held my resentment well in check, and
smiled back at him, apparently unconcerned.

"Then we are again even, Monsieur," I returned quietly, "and can start
anew upon our score. But why should I remain here to discuss matters
of such small import, with all this work unfinished which fronts strong
men to-night? I will break my long fast, and turn to beside these
others."

He seemed to have further words to say; but I minded him not, and
pushed past, leaving him to saunter where he willed, accompanied by his
black satellite. If I could not win Mademoiselle, as I now felt
assured from his boastful speech I could not, I might at least work for
her greater safety and comfort; and there was much I could do to help
in burying my own disappointment.

For all that, it was a night to live long in the memory,--that last
night we spent at Dearborn. It remains a rare jumble in my mind,--its
varied incidents crowding so fast upon each other as to leave small
room for thought regarding any one of them. Without, the dim black
plain stretched away in unbroken solemnity and silence; nor did the
sentinels posted along the walls catch glimpse of so much as a skulking
Indian form amid the grass and sand. A half-moon was in the sky, with
patches of cloud now and then shadowing it, and in the intervals
casting its faint silver over the lonely expanse and tipping the crest
of the waves as they crept in upon the beach. The great Indian village
to the westward was fairly ablaze with fires; while the unending
procession of black dots that flitted past them, together with the echo
of constant uproar, showed that the savages were likewise astir in
eager preparation for the morrow. We could hear the pounding of wooden
drums, mingled with shrill yells that split the night-air like so many
war-missiles. Only those above, upon the platform, could mind these
things; for the bustle within the enclosure below continued unabated
until long after