"Did you ever hear of this Flat Nose?" asked Dave of the frontiersman who
had brought in the information.

"Not I, but Jadwin has," said the hunter. "He says he is as treacherous as
they make 'em, and so are all the Wanderers under him. They move from place
to place, taking whatever they can lay their hands on."

"Then they will just suit a fellow like Jean Bevoir."

"I don't doubt but that you are right, lad, and they'll suit Jacques
Valette, too."

"What has become of Hector Bergerac, do you know?"

"I think he has cut company with Bevoir and Valette. He was too honest for
them, I reckon."

In the meantime, matters between the English and the Indians all over the
Colonies were going from bad to worse. Those in authority would not listen
to such a man as Sir William Johnson, who knew the red men thoroughly, and
such a wise statesman as Benjamin Franklin, who believed in giving the
Indian his just due. The war had cost a great deal, and now it was decided
to cut down expenses, which meant that in the future the Indians would get
but few of the presents which, in the past, had been presented to them.
More than this, English traders of all sorts were allowed to go among the
red men and barter as they pleased, and some of these literally robbed
those who were too ignorant or simple of heart to trade intelligently.

The coming of so many English traders made the French traders furious, and
as they saw their business slipping away from them they did all they could