hanging torn and one mast broken, and sentinel and cannoneer in the
bastion saw that she was lowering a boat. They called to people in the
fortress, and all voices caught the news:--

"Madame has come at last!"

Life stirred through the entire inclosure with a jar of closing doors
and running feet.

Though not a large fortification, St. John was well and compactly built
of cemented stone. A row of hewed log-barracks stood against the
southern wall, ample for all the troops La Tour had been able to muster
in prosperous times. There was a stone vault for ammunition. A well, a
mill and great stone oven, and a storehouse for beaver and other skins
were between the barracks and the commandant's tower built massively
into the northeast bastion. This structure gave La Tour the advantage of
a high lookout, though it was much smaller than a castle he had formerly
held at La Hève. The interior accommodated itself to such compactness,
the lower floor having only one entrance, and windows looking into the
area of the fort, while the second floor was lighted through deep
loopholes.

A drum began to beat, a tall fellow gave the word of command, and the
garrison of Fort St. John drew up in line facing the gate. A sentinel
unbarred and set wide both inner and outer leaves, and a cheer burst
through the deep-throated gateway, and was thrown back from the opposite
shore, from forest and river windings. Madame La Tour, with two women
attendants, was seen coming up from the water's edge, while two men
pushed off with the boat.