Lawrence. But Robert, Tayoga
and Willet paddled calmly on, as if boats, barges and ships were
everyday matters to them, and were not to be noticed unduly. A tall
young man standing up in the boat hailed them in French and then in
English. Robert, watching out of the corner of his eye, saw that he was
fair, like so many of the northern French, that he was dressed in a
uniform of white with violet facings, and that his hat was black and
three-cornered. He learned afterward that it was the uniform of a
battalion of Languedoc. He saw also that the boat carried sixteen men,
all except the oarsmen being in uniform.
"Who are you?" demanded the officer imperiously.
Robert, to whom the others conceded the position of spokesman, had
decided already that his course should be one of apparent indifference.
"Travelers," he replied briefly, and the three bent to their paddles.
"What travelers are you and where are you going?" demanded the officer,
in the same imperious manner.
The wash of the heavy boat made the frail canoe rock perilously, but its
three occupants appeared not to notice it.
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