and the château. The resolution seemed to give him new strength, and
he squared his shoulders, took in deep breaths, entered the officers'
mess and dined.

The men about him were for the most part manly men, brave, open-handed,
rough outwardly and soft within. And as they saw him take his seat
quietly, a sparkle of admiration gleamed from every eye. The vicomte
and Victor, both out on parole, took their plates and glasses and
ranged alongside of the Chevalier. In France they would have either
left the room or cheered him; as it was, they all finished the evening
meal as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

So the Chevalier won his first victory.




CHAPTER XVII

WHAT THE SHIP HENRI IV BRINGS TO QUEBEC

The ship Henri IV dropped anchor before Quebec on the seventh day of
August. This being the Company's vessel, hundreds of Canadians flocked
to the wharves. And again flags decked the château and town, and
cannon roared. The Henri IV was part merchantman and part man-of-war.
Her ports bristled with cannon, her marines wore formidable cutlasses,
and the law on board was military in the strictest sense. Stores and
ammunition filled her hull; carpenters' tools, tea-chests, bags of
plaster, uniforms, cannon, small arms, beads and trinkets of no value
save to the Indian, silk and wool and a beautiful window for the