"Ben was the body of the venture! Where was the brain? It was that took
me aboard his ship," M. Radisson afterward confessed to us.
"Come! Come!" pressed Gillam. "I know young Stanhope there"--his mighty
air brought the laugh to my face--"young Stanhope there has a taste for
fine Canary----"
"But, lad," protested Radisson, with a condescension that was vinegar to
Ben's vanity, "we cannot be debtors altogether. Let two of your men stay
here and whiff pipes with my fellows, while I go aboard!"
Ben's teeth ground out an assent that sounded precious like an oath; for
he knew that he was being asked for hostages of safe-conduct while M.
Radisson spied out the ship. He signalled, as we thought, for two
hostages to come down from the fort; but scarce had he dropped his hand
when fort and ship let out such a roar of cannonading as would have
lifted the hair from any other head than Pierre Radisson's.
Godefroy cut a caper. The Indian's eyes bulged with terror, and my own
pulse went a-hop; but M. Radisson never changed countenance.
"Pardieu," says he softly, with a pleased smile as the last shot went
skipping over the water, "you're devilish fond o' fireworks, to waste
good powder so far from home!"
Ben mumbled out that he had plenty of powder, and that some fools didn't
know fireworks from war.
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