no doubt of the fact!" said Henry earnestly. "He is planning to
make himself Governor General in place of Galvez!"

"Ah, but to prove it! to prove it! You are strangers and foreigners, and
Alvarez is before you here. No, don't blame yourselves, you could not help
it. But he is the commander of the Spanish forces in Northern Louisiana.
He came, summoned urgently on the King's business, and he gained access to
Bernardo Galvez last night. Oh, he's a shrewd man, and a cunning one, and
we know not what plausible tale he may have poured out to the Governor
General. But come, the sentinel here wishes to know our business and I
shall go in with you, if I may."

"Of course," said Henry. "We thank you for your aid."

They saw in a moment how valuable this help could be as Mr. Pollock spoke
rapidly in Spanish to one of the sentinels, who seemed impressed, and who
quickly disappeared within the house. They spent some anxious minutes in
waiting, but the sentinel returned in a few minutes with word that they
would be received.

"That is good," said Mr. Pollock to the five. "It is well to strike before
the blow of Alvarez sinks in too deeply."

They entered an ante-chamber furnished with a splendor that the
Kentuckians had never seen before. There were pictures and the arms of
Spain upon the walls, and rich heavy rugs upon the floor. The sentinel
said something in Spanish to Mr. Pollock and the merchant laughed.

"He makes the polite request," said Mr. Pollock, "that you leave your
rifles here. Ah, you see that the fame of the Kentucky rifle has already
reached New Orleans. They will be perfectly safe, I assure you."

The five leaned their rifles in a row against the wall, long,
slender-barreled weapons, which were destined to make one day an
unparalleled record before this very city of New Orleans.

A wide door was thrown open and an attendant dressed in gorgeous Spanish
livery announced their names as they entered a large room furnished with
as great a degree of state as could be reproduced at that time in New
Orleans. An armed soldier stood on either side of the door, and, at the
far end of the room, sitting in a great chair on a slightly raised
platform, was a handsome, youngish man in the uniform of a Spanish
colonel. He had a strong, open countenance, and the five knew that it was
Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana. The favorable
impression of him that they had received from reports was confirmed by his