CHAPTER XI
TRAITORS IN THE CAMP
Madame La Tour greatly enjoyed Raoul's relation of his Bostonexperience.
"You see, virtue is not always merely its own reward," she said,smiling proudly upon her nephew. "It is sometimes well rewarded inother ways. Be ever ready to champion the weak and the innocent,Raoul. They are God's children, and you are doing His work when youtake their part against the wicked and cruel people, of which, alas!there seems to be too many in this world."
The summer passed into autumn, and the autumn into winter, withoutbringing anything of special moment into the lives of those at Fort LaTour, save somewhat disquieting rumours of the intentions of Charnace.
It was said that he had gone to France to obtain the revocation of LaTour's commission as Lieutenant-General of Acadia, and authority totake him prisoner, and send him back to be imprisoned in the Bastile.
Now Charnace was known to have great influence at Court, and in thosedays, when the French kings so lightly valued their possessions inAmerica, and did pretty much what those who had most influence overthem advised, there was no telling how far Charnace might succeed inhis hostile plans.
Accordingly La Tour set himself to prepare for the danger thenthreatening him, while his good wife prayed that, in some way, furtherconflict might be averted.
With the coming of spring, the news was confirmed by the appearance ofCharnace in the ship _St. Francis_ and his sending a messenger todemand La Tour's surrender.
To this La Tour defiantly replied that he would not give up eitherhimself or his fort, so long as he had a pound of powder left; andCharnace, not being ready for an attack just then, withdrew to thePenobscot, where he had a fort of his own, to prepare for another siege.
Great was the concern now at Fort La Tour, whose commander bestirredhimself in every way to meet the crisis. Unfortunately, circumstanceswere not in his favour. His trading had not prospered of late, and hehad been compelled to mortgage his fort and all his real and personalproperty to a merchant in Boston as security for a large loan, in orderto meet the demands upon him, and now he required a larger supply ofammunition, and, if possible, some more men. In this emergency hedecided to make a flying trip to Boston in quest of both, trusting toget back ere Charnace reappeared.
Ere he left he called his wife, Raoul, Joe Takouchen, and JeanPitchebat to him, and explained his purpose.
"I know it's a risk," he said, "but there seems no help for it.Without powder we cannot hold the fort, but with a good supply of it wecan beat off this villain Charnace. Constance, I leave you in command.You, Raoul, will be her lieutenant, and you, Joe and Jean, herright-hand men. I know that I can trust you all to the uttermost."And, having thus spoken, he was about to dismiss them, when Madame,whose beautiful countenance had of late worn an anxious expression, forshe fully realized the danger, said softly--
"Charles, let us kneel down and ask for God's protection from theenemy, for without His blessing your best plans will be of no avail."
So they all knelt, while Madame prayed with profound fervour for divinehelp, and, when they rose, her face had regained its wonted serenity.
Raoul felt quite flattered at being joined with his aunt in the chargeof the fort. It seemed, in some sort, a recognition of his being morethan a boy, and he vowed in his heart that he would show himself worthyof the confidence reposed in him.
Followed by his wife's prayers, and the anxious thoughts of thegarrison, La Tour set sail for Boston.
He had not been gone long before a startling discovery was made byRaoul. Although the majority of those connected with the fort wereHuguenots, the remainder were Catholics, and for their benefit La Tourtolerated the presence of two Jesuit priests named Miraband and Oriani.
Towards these men Raoul held feelings of cordial dislike. They haddone their best to change his faith, using in vain the sly and subtlemethods for which their Order has ever been notorious, but, instead ofwinning him over they had only aroused his antagonism.
Now it chanced that Raoul had been out shooting in the afternoon, andwas returning to the fort, when, being weary, he sat down in a snugnook near the Falls to rest, and, before he knew it, was asleep.
Presently he was awakened by the sound of voices engaged in earnesttalk, and, peeping through the thick foliage which hid him completely,he saw Miraband and Oriani.
Suspecting that this secret meeting meant some mischief, he felt noscruples about playing the part of listener.
The first few words confirmed his suspicions, and as they went on, hisheart grew hot with indignation and wrath, for it became clear to himthat these men, who had been so well treated at Fort La Tour, were inreality Charnace's spies, and had been keeping him informed of all thattook place.
"The villains!" muttered Raoul under his breath. "They deserve to behung, even if they are priests. I must let Aunt Constance know atonce."
He did not stir until the two wicked plotters had finished theirconference and gone off, and then he made all haste to the fort.
Madame La Tour was not entirely taken by surprise at his information.She herself had mistrusted these Jesuits, and had even warned herhusband against them, but he had laughed the matter off, saying she wasmistaken.
Now, she sent for her trusty Joe and Jean, to whom Raoul re-told hisstory.
They were mightily enraged at this treachery, and cried out for thehanging of the spies in the gate of the castle; and had La Tour himselfbeen present, this would undoubtedly have been done, despite theirsacred calling, which they had so dishonoured.
But Madame was too tender of heart to take such extreme measures. Goodreason as she had to hate the whole Jesuit body, apart from thevillainy of these two members of it, she shrank from following theadvice of her counsellors, and to their frankly-expressed disgust didno more than to summon Miraband and Oriani before her, upbraid themwith their treachery, adding some bitter words as to their being wolvesin sheep's clothing, and then ordered them to be set adrift in a lightcanoe.
"Betake yourselves to your employer," she said with withering scorn,presenting a splendid picture of righteous indignation, as she toweredabove the cowering priests. "He is fit company for you. You have noright amongst honest men."
Raoul saw them into the canoe. He heartily agreed with Joe and Jeanthat the punishment was altogether inadequate, but he was too loyal tohis aunt not to carry out her bidding; and as the Jesuits, who hadwisely kept silence through it all, paddled off, he called after them:
"You've got off with your lives this time. But if my uncle evercatches you, it will be different."
CHAPTER XII
A GLORIOUS VICTORY
It was not a wise, even if it were a womanly, step on Madame La Tour'spart to let the Jesuits go, for they, of course, made their waydirectly to Charnace, and acquainted him with the true state of affairsat the fort--La Tour absent in quest of reinforcements, only fifty menin the garrison, and the supply of powder and shot unduly low.
"Ah, ha!" chuckled Charnace, rubbing his hands. "You bring good news.My time has come. I would prefer not having to fight with a woman, butsince La Tour has seen fit to desert his post, he must take theconsequences."
Meantime, Madame La Tour, with her faithful supporters, strained everyeffort to prepare for the assault that could not be long delayed.Everything that could be secured in the way of food was packed into herstorehouses; the scanty stock of ammunition was carefully examined andapportioned, so as to be used to the best advantage, and the littlegarrison was divided up into four watches, of which Madame took commandof one, while Raoul, Joe and Jean captained the others, and then, asMadame said:
"We have done all that we can. We now leave ourselves in the hands ofGod."
Many days of suspense followed, and then the report came from a watcheron the headland, that three large ships were approaching.
Raoul received it first, and hastened to his aunt.
"It is Charnace," she said. "The crisis has come. God grant uss
trength and wisdom according; to our need."
Confident of an easy victory, Charnace sailed right up withincannon-range, and, having anchored, sent one of his captains ashoreunder a flag of truce to demand the surrender of the fort, coupling thedemand with the threat that, if not immediately complied with, he wouldlevel the fort to the ground.
Raoul intently watched his aunt's face as she listened to the message.He devoutly hoped she would not surrender, but he knew better than tovolunteer his opinion.
Madame listened gravely to what the captain had to say, and then, aftera brief pause, replied:
"Be good enough to say to Monsieur Charnace from me that until he haslaid the walls of Fort La Tour level with the ground, it shall not besurrendered."
"I cannot but admire your courage, Madame, although I beg to doubt thewisdom of your decision," responded the captain, bowing low, whileRaoul gave a cheer in which the others joined.
The instant the captain returned to the ship the flag of truce waslowered, and with the crash and roar of the first broadside the battlebegan.
Now among Madame La Tour's many accomplishments, was skill in thefiring of big guns. This she had acquired when a mere girl at LaRochelle, and she had kept her hand and eye in by occasional practiceafter coming to Acadia.
It was therefore but natural that she should direct the firing from thefort, and so, posting herself in one of the bastions, with Raoul as her_aide-de-camp_ to fly to and fro with orders, she pointed the firstcannon with her own hands.
"SHE POINTED THE FIRST CANNON WITH HER OWN HANDS."]
Charnace's own ship was her target, and the well-aimed shot wentstraight to its mark, killing three men upon the crowded deck. Asecond shot was equally effective, and then the whole fort broke forthinto flame, the iron missiles hurtling across the eddying waters, andsmashing into the bulwarks of the ships, or carrying away their mastsand rigging.
Right gallantly did Charnace return broadside for broadside, but hiscannon balls had little more effect upon the massive stone walls ofFort La Tour than they would have had upon the rocky cliffs near by,and Raoul laughed triumphantly as the round shot rolled harmlessly backinto the moat.
"Charnace can keep that up as long as he likes," he cried. "It won'tdo us any harm, and it's wasting his powder."
The boy was in the highest spirits. Not a whit dismayed by the roar ofthe cannon or the crashing of the balls against the ramparts, he stoodbeside his aunt in the bastion, where she directed the firing as calmlyas though it were only some household task, or sped away to the otherparts of the fort to see how Joe and Jean were getting on and toencourage them with cheering messages.
The heroic spirit which animated Madame La Tour had communicated itselfto the whole garrison, and there was not a man who did not feelprepared to fight to the last gasp rather than surrender to the hatedCharnace.
As the cannonading went on, the damage done to the fort was trifling,while the ships were suffering severely. The number of killed andwounded grew rapidly, and the vessels themselves were becoming soriddled with shot as to be in danger of sinking.
At last Charnace's situation became intolerable, and, consumed withfutile rage, he gave the order to retreat.
But this was not so easily carried out. The wind had shifted duringthe fight, and now blew strongly from the east, so that the ships couldnot get out of range without warping, and while this slow method ofmovement was being resorted to, the fort guns continued theirbombardment, inflicting further damage.
At last, with great difficulty, and the loss of many men, the threevessels were got around Bruyeres Point, and there run aground toprevent them from sinking.
Raoul, accompanied by Joe, set off from the fort to follow the ships assoon as they withdrew, and shouted gleefully after them:
"Ho, ho! Monsieur Charnace. Your spies did not do you much good, didthey? Surely you've learned a lesson this time, and will mind your ownbusiness in future."
When he saw the ships run aground, he hurried back to the fort, andactually had the hardihood to suggest to his aunt that a party, whichhe offered to lead, should be sent out at midnight to try and set theships on fire ere they were floated again.
But Madame wisely refused to sanction any such rash enterprise.
"Charnace will not trouble us any more for the present," she said."Let him alone; as soon as his ships are repaired he will depart."
And so it proved. The holes having been hastily caulked, Charnace,profoundly chagrined, yet grimly determined to try again, returned tohis stronghold at the Penobscot, and a few days after he disappeared,Charles La Tour returned from Boston with an abundant supply ofmunitions of war, and a strong party of men.
His joy at the successful defence of the fort, and his pride in hisheroic wife, was somewhat clouded by his disappointment at being toolate to complete Charnace's rout by capturing or burning his ships, butMadame did not hesitate to reprove him for this.
"God has been very good to us all," she said, "and we cannot besufficiently grateful. Let us unite in thanking Him for His greatmercy."
And so a thanksgiving service was held in which all joined heartily,and then followed a feast, the like of which Fort La Tour had neverseen before.
A month later, La Tour, having set everything in order, and put SimonImbert in charge in his place, took ship for France, his wife and Raoulgoing with him. His purpose was to plead his own cause before theFrench king, and to have Charnace enjoined from further hostility. Inthis he was not altogether successful, and there were dark days instore for both him and Constance.
But in these Raoul did not share, because he remained in France, wherea career unexpectedly opened for him. What befell him in the future,his successes and failures, his joys and sorrows, his trials and histriumphs, cannot be related here; but this must be told, that throughthem he never was false to his Huguenot faith, and that he won forhimself a place of honour in the history of his country.
* * * * *
BEFRIENDED BY BRUIN
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
One of the noble families of Lorraine has a curious crest. Itrepresents a big black bear in an iron cage, and recalls the legend asto the founding of the fortunes of the house, which runs somewhat inthis way.
Several centuries ago there lived in the city of Nancy a littleSavoyard named Michel, whose lot was certainly about as hard as aten-year-old boy could endure without giving up life altogether. Hewas a homeless orphan, dependent entirely upon the alms of thecharitable, for which he begged through the stony streets. A morepitiable appearance than he presented could scarcely be imagined.Privation and hunger had blanched his cheeks and shrunken his form.With his haggard face, half hidden by long disordered locks of aslightly reddish tinge, his bones showing through the thin raggedgarments from which the sun and rain had taken all colour, he wearilydragged himself barefoot from door to door, meeting with many a harshrepulse, and but few kindly responses to his appeals.
His eyes alone showed any sign of spirit. They were of a deep bluetint, and in spite of his sufferings, held a strange sparkle thatsometimes startled those who caught it.
At night, in company with some other street arabs of his own age, hefound shelter in a wretched cellar kept by a villainous old hag, whomade her lodgers pay nearly all they had, with such difficulty, beggedduring the day, for the privilege of sleeping upon mouldy strawpallets. The miserable place was draughty, damp and pestilential, butit was the only lodging the poor boys could afford, and offered atleast some protection from the merciless cold of winter.
In that cellar there would only too often be heard through the hours ofdarkness heart-breaking sobs that refused to be suppressed, or thepiteous moan, "I am so hungry, oh, I am so hungry!"
And sometimes in the morning, when the old hag would seek to clear hercellar of its occupants, screaming at them and striking them with herbroom, there would be one who paid no heed to either screams or blows,but remained motionless on his pallet, for he had passed
into the sleepthat knows no waking.
Each day Michel grew paler, thinner, feebler, a cruel cough racking hisslender frame as he shivered in his rags and tatters. Every limbached, and sometimes it seemed to him as if he must lie down on thesnow to die.
Late one afternoon, crouched in the corner of the doorway of the Duke'spalace, and waiting for some one to pass by of whom he might beg alms,he wept bitterly. He was starving and freezing, but nothing came hisway; yet to return to the cellar he did not dare. The old hag had aflinty heart which nothing save money could soften, and he was withouta sou.
Overcome with despair at his condition, and horror at the thought ofspending the night in the street, he fell on his knees and, lifting histear-filled eyes to the darkening sky, put forth this pathetic prayer:
"O God in Heaven, take me to my mother!"
Just then a deep growl came from somewhere behind him and interruptedhis prayer. He sprang up and looked about him.
The street was silent and deserted. The snow fell softly. A gratingnear the ground attracted his attention, and without stopping toconsider, he said to himself that possibly if he passed through it hemight find a good place to sleep.
He was exceedingly thin, and the bars of the grating widely placed, sothat he had no difficulty in squeezing through. But imagine hisconsternation on finding himself face to face with an enormous blackbear, into whose cage he had thus ventured to intrude.
"Oh, oh, what's the meaning of this!" demanded the astonished bruin inhis own language.
He had just disposed of a good supper, and was feeling in particularlygood trim, when poor Michel so unexpectedly tumbled into his presence.Angered at being disturbed, he made ready to demolish the impertinentintruder with his mighty paw. The little Savoyard, pale and tearful,kept perfectly still while he continued his prayer:
"O God in Heaven, take me to my mother, who went to you to beg forbread for her boy----"
A hot breath played upon his cheek.
"O Lord..." he moaned.
He thought he was as good as dead, and yet it seemed to him thatsomething licked his face gently.
When, a few moments later, he realized that he was not beingdevoured--that he was still unharmed--he opened his eyes wide and theyencountered those of the bear full of kindness and good humour.
This gave him courage. He got up. He patted the black muzzle of thebig creature, which received the caress with a murmur of pleasure.
The stress of the day had so exhausted Michel that the moment histerror left him, he, with surprising unconcern, threw himself down tosleep.
The bear, as if flattered by the confidence thus shown in him, regardedhim in a friendly fashion, then lay down beside him, almost completelyenveloping him with his warm fur, and so fell asleep in his turn.
Now this bear was no other than the famous "Mascot," who was maintainedat the palace as a representative of the Canton of Berne, inrecognition of the valuable services rendered by the Swiss to thepeople of Lorraine in their struggle with the Duke of Burgogne.
Mascot was an important figure at the Court of Duke Leopold.Everything possible was done for his comfort. He had his ownattendant, whose sole duty was to care for his person and to ministerto his every want. In his spacious cage he could move about freely andswing at ease his heavy head.
Every afternoon he was visited by the courtiers, and sometimes even bythe Duke; but he troubled himself very little concerning the one or theother. Indifferent to everything, even the ducal smile, he gazedstolidly upon the folk, who did not interest him in the least. Hissuperb fur was greatly admired, but not his unsociable disposition.And so he passed the days, promenading up and down his cage, swinginghis head to and fro for hours at a time, eating, drinking, and sleepingin seemingly perfect content, and regarded with profound respect by hisnumerous visitors.
On the morning after Michel made his way into the cage he awoke atdaybreak. Bewildered at his strange situation, yet delighted becauseof the comfortable night he had passed snuggled up in the bear's thickwarm fur, he made haste to get out in the same manner that he hadentered, not forgetting, however, to give his kind host a hearty hugexpressive of his gratitude. He had no idea of losing so excellent asleeping-place by remaining in it too long and being discovered by thebear's attendant. That day fortune favoured him in his begging, and hewas able to obtain the food he so sadly needed. As it was still verycold he impatiently awaited the return of night in order to regain hissnug refuge.
On re-entering the cage the bear gave him a kinder welcome than thefirst time, and henceforward the two were great friends. Every morningthe little Savoyard slipped away unseen, and every night returned tohis shaggy benefactor. Thanks to the comfort he then enjoyed, hisappearance began to improve. His shrunken limbs rounded out again andthe colour came back to his cheeks. But this could not go onindefinitely. One fine day the bear's attendant was filled withastonishment at finding a small boy sleeping beside Mascot, who waslicking him softly. He thought he must have lost his senses, when hebeheld the little fellow wake up and caress the fierce brute in histurn without showing the slightest sign of fear.
His outcries attracted the attention of a groom, and he told thestrange news to a footman, who passed it on to the pages, and theyspread it about the palace so thoroughly that presently everybody,including Duke Leopold himself, was hurrying towards the cage.
There they found poor Michel, weeping piteously and evidently in terrorof being harshly dealt with. Having soothed him with a few kind words,the Duke ordered him to come out of the cage and explain himself. Theboy promptly obeyed, and, as best he could, told his story.
Touched by the recital of his sufferings, and animated by a worthydetermination not to be outdone in generosity by a bear, the Dukeoffered Michel a place in his household.
The little Savoyard did not hesitate to accept, and presently foundhimself in what seemed like paradise, after the miseries he had beenenduring.
Clothed in fine raiment and faring sumptuously every day, he soondeveloped into a handsome lad. His spirit grew with his body. He tookan ardent interest in the sports and martial exercises of hiscompanions, and in due time he became the most expert of them all inthe use of bow and sword and lance.
Withal, remaining modest in manner, respectful to his superiors, anddevoted to the Duke, he rapidly rose in the latter's service throughthe grades of squire, knight and count, until he came to be the secondperson in the realm, and the founder of a family enjoying largepossessions and great influence.
Nor was he ungrateful to the animal which had befriended him in hisextremity. So long as Mascot lived he visited him constantly. Theirfriendship never cooled, and when the one-time beggar was entitled tochoose a crest for himself, he gave orders that it should be a bigblack bear in an iron cage.
LORIMER AND CHALMERS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
In Paths of Peril: A Boy's Adventures in Nova Scotia Page 11