all respects."

After James had returned on shore, he thought the matter over in every
light. He knew that the French had many sentries along the edge of the
river, for boats which, at night, went over towards that side of the
river, were always challenged and fired upon. The chance of landing
undetected, therefore, seemed but slight; nor, even did he land, would
he be likely, at night, to discover the paths, which could be little
more than tracks up the heights.

Had he been able to speak Canadian French, the matter would have been
easy enough, as he could have landed higher up the river and, dressed
as a Canadian farmer, have made his way through the French lines
without suspicion. But he knew nothing of French, and, even had he
spoken the language fluently, there was sufficient difference between
the Canadian French and the language of the old country, for the first
Canadian who spoke to him to have detected the difference.

Nor could he pass as an Indian; for, although he had picked up enough
of the language to converse with the redskin allies of the English on
the lakes, the first Indian who spoke to him would detect the
difference; and, indeed, it needed a far more intimate acquaintance
with the various tribes, than he possessed, for him to be able to paint
and adorn himself so as to deceive the vigilant eyes of the French
Indians.

Had his two followers, Nat and Jonathan, been with him, they could have
painted and dressed him so that he could have passed muster, but, in
their absence, he abandoned the idea as out of the question. The
prospect certainly did not seem hopeful.

After long thought, it seemed to him that the only way which promised
even a chance of success would be for him to be taken prisoner by the
French soldiers. Once fairly within their lines, half the difficulty
was over. He had learned to crawl as noiselessly as an Indian, and he
doubted not that he should be able to succeed in getting away from any
place of confinement in which they might place him. Then he could
follow the top of the heights, and the position of the sentries or of
any body of men encamped there would, in itself, be a guide to him as
to the existence of paths to the strand below.

The first step was the most difficult. How should he manage to get
himself taken prisoner? And this was the more difficult, as it was
absolutely necessary that he should fall into the hands of French
regulars, and not of the Canadians, who wou