"A veritable Age of Gold, monsieur! But war has put an end to it
all--war, and the greed of these English, whom God will confound!
The regulars went their ways, leaving only Sergeant Bedard; who had
retired upon a farm, but was persuaded by the Seigneur to come back
and drill the recruits of the militia."

--"Who take very kindly to garrison life, so far as I can see."

"Fort Amitie has its amenities, monsieur," said Father Joly, catching
John's glance rather than hearing the words. "There are the
allotments, to begin with--the fences between them, you may not have
observed, are made of stakes from the original palisade; the mould is
excellent. The Seigneur, too, offers prizes for vegetable-growing
and poultry-raising; he is an unerring judge of poultry, as one
has need to be at Boisveyrac, where the rents are mostly paid in
fowls. Indeed, yes, the young recruits are well enough content.
The Seigneur feeds them well, and they can usually have a holiday for
the asking and go a-hunting in the woods or a-fishing in the river.
But, for my part, I regret Boisveyrac. A man of my years does not
readily bear transplanting. And here is a curious thing, monsieur;
deaf though I am, I miss the sound of the rapids. I cannot tell you
how; nevertheless it seems to me that something has gone out of my
daily life, and the landscape here is still and empty."

"And how," John managed to make him hear, "did the Seigneur come to
command Fort Amitie?"

Father Joly glanced nervously down the slope and lowered his voice.
"That was M. Armand's doing, monsieur." Then, seeing that John did
not understand, "M. Armand--mademoiselle's brother and the Seigneur's
only son. He went to Quebec, when the Governor had given him a post
in his household; a small post, but with good prospects for a young
man of his birth and address. He had wits, monsieur, and good looks;
everything in short but money; and there is no better blood in the
province than that of the des Noel-Tilly. They have held Boisveyrac
now for five generations, and were Seigneurs of Deuxmanoirs and
Preaux-Sources even before that. Well, as I say, the lad started
with good prospects; but by and by he began to desert the Chateau
Saint-Louis for the Intendant's Palace. Monsieur has heard of the
Intendant Bigot--is perhaps acquainted with him? No? Then I may say
without hurting any one's feelings what I would say to the Intendant
himself were he here--that he is a corrupter