driven forth, and till England's flag waves proudly over this great
land!" cried Charles, with a strange confidence and exultation in
his tones. "England will fight, and I will fight with her. I will
slay and slay, and spare not; and I will tell this tale to all
wherever I go. I will hunt out mine enemy until I compass his
death. They have despoiled me of home, of wife, of children. They
have taken away all the joy of life. The light of my eyes is gone.
Henceforth I have but one thing to live for. I bare my sword
against France. Against her will I fight until the Lord gives us
the victory. The world shall know, and all ears shall tingle at the
tale which I will tell. There shall be no quarter, no pity for
those who use such means as those which have left me what I am
tonight!"

Humphrey could not marvel at the intensity of the ferocity in
Charles's tones. It sounded strange in one of so gentle and
placable a nature; but he had cause--he had cause!

"Think you that the man was other than one of those wild fellows
who run from all law and order in the townships and become denizens
of the wood, and little better than the wild Indians themselves?
We. have heard of these coureurs de bois, as they are called. There
are laws passed against them, severe and restrictive, by their own
people. Perchance it were scarce just to the French to credit them
with all that this man has done."

"Peace, Humphrey," was the stern reply. "We know that the French
are inciting the Indians against our peaceful settlers, and that
what has happened here today is happening in other places along our
scattered frontier. The work is the work of France, and against