strong.
Henry's intuition at once put him on guard at all points.

"I have heard," he said, "that Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor
General at New Orleans, is no friend of the British power. But why do you
discuss these things with me or tell me of them?"

"It is because I have considered you and recognize your worth," replied
Alvarez slowly. "Why rush on to destruction with the foolish rebels? No,
do not speak! Pay good heed to what I say. There is more passing on this
continent than you think. Great events are about to occur. I do not speak
merely of the war between the rebels--or, if you prefer it, the
Americans--and the English, but of another change.

"Spain is seated at New Orleans near the mouth of the Mississippi, which
flows through a larger area of fertile and temperate country than any
other river in the world. The waters of hundreds of navigable streams
converge there, and it must become the rival of London and Paris. What can
Quebec, Boston, New York, or Charleston be to New Orleans? Can Spain give
up such a site and such a vast and fertile territory as Louisiana? Never!
And here is the greatest opportunity in the world for strong men! Come
with me! Bring your friends with you! We need such as you! I offer you a
career that could not even enter your dreams in the woods of Kaintock!"

A deep, red flush overspread Henry's face.

"Do you think that we could fight against our own people," he exclaimed.
"Do you think that we are made of such stuff as that miserable renegade,
Braxton Wyatt?"

Alvarez did not flinch. His words had been delivered with extraordinary
emphasis, and they carried the ring of his own conviction. His great plan
possessed him, and he saw before him an instrument of which he could make
good use.

"I do not ask you to go against your own people," he replied. "Remain in
Louisiana. Great work can be found here for you and your friends. And
where Kaintock is concerned another way could be made. It is far from the
Eastern colonies, divided by mountains, the forest, and Indians. Where
could they find a better friend to whom to turn than the King of Spain?
And they will surely need a powerful friend!"

Henry gazed at him in amazement, and yet he felt a certain respect for the
scope and largeness of the man's plan, repellent though the plan was to
him. He saw that Alvarez was not an ordinary man, that he was one with
whom the people for whom he cared would have to reckon. But he was not