de Radisson encourages; for he would have all the
Indians come freely.
"Ha!" says Radisson, "I thought 'twas the men I sent to spy if the
marsh were safe crossing. Give Le Borgne tobacco, La Chesnaye. If
once the fellow gets drunk," he adds to me in an undertone, "that
silent tongue of his may wag on the interlopers. We must be stirring,
stirring, Ramsay! Ten days past! Egad, a man might as well be a
fish-worm burrowing underground as such a snail! We must stir--stir!
See here"--drawing me to the table apart from the others--"here we are
on the lower river," and he marked the letter X on a line indicating
the flow of our river to the bay. "Here is the upper river," and he
drew another river meeting ours at a sharp angle. "Here is Governor
Brigdar of the Hudson's Bay Company," marking another X on the upper
river. "Here is Ben Gillam! We are half-way between them on the
south. I sent two men to see if the marsh between the rivers is fit
crossing."
[Illustration: Radisson's map.]
"Fit crossing?"
"When 'tis safe, we might plan a surprise. The only doubt is how many
of those pirates are there who attacked you in the woods?"
And he sat back whiffing his pipe and gazing in space. By this, La
Chesnaye had distributed so generous a treat that half the sailors were
roaring out hilarious mirth.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139