He spoke in French, and he addressed himself chiefly to his own
people. He took them back to the expulsion of the Acadians by the
English in 1755, a tale old and yet ever new. In vivid language he
described the happy condition of the Acadians at Grand Pre, the lands
they had cleared, and the peaceful lives they led. Then came the
English monsters, broke up their domestic hearths, confiscated their
property, and drove them from the country. He described in detail the
privations the expelled Acadians endured, how they wandered from place
to place, and the ills which overtook them.

For some time he spoke, and every word told of the burning rage which
filled his heart. His hatred to the English was intense, and he
declared that the time of vengeance had now arrived. With the aid of
the Indians they would serve the newcomers as their fool of a king had
served the Acadians. He became greatly excited as he talked, dancing
about, waving his arms, and shrieking forth words of defiance and
revenge. He cursed King George and the English in general, and called
upon all present to unite now in a great effort to free the land from
the newcomers, and to hold it for the expelled Acadians and the Indians
who were their brothers and comrades in distress.

All this was hard for Dane to endure, and as he listened his nimble
mind was forming some definite plan of action. That it must be
immediate he was well aware, as no doubt these rebels would not be long
in carrying out their evil and treacherous designs upon the newcomers.
His mind naturally turned to Jean. Suppose that band of men before him
should sweep down unexpectedly upon the little settlement below Oak
Point, how much mercy would they be likely to grant the Loyalists? He
imagined what would be the fate of the women, especially Jean and other
maidens. He shuddered as he thought of Joe Flazeet and his companions
gloating over their victims.

"The English took the lands of the Acadians at Grand Pre because they
wanted them for themselves." It was Rauchad speaking, and he was
appealing to the Indians as Flazeet had done to the half-breeds. "And
as they took those lands, so they will take your hunting grounds and
drive you out. The Acadians had happy homes; what have they now?
Nothing. They had plenty; now they are starving. And who did this?
King George, our mortal enemy. France and England are now at war. But
France will win, and this land will belong to us onc