Lazarre | Page 9

obeisance I
ever saw, she said--
"Sire!"

Neither in Iroquois nor in Iroquois-French had such a name been given
to me before. I had a long title signifying Tree-Cutter, which belonged
to every chief of our family. But that word---"Sire!"--and her deep
reverence seemed to atone in some way for what I had lost. I sat up,
quieting myself, still moved as water heaves. She put the missal on the
lap of my single garment, and drew back a step, formally standing. My
scarred ankles, at which the Indian children used to point, were exposed
to her gaze, for I never would sit on them after the manner of the tribe.
There was no restraining the tears that ran down my face. She might
have mocked me, but she remained white and quiet; while I sat as
dumb as a dog, and as full of unuttered speech. Looking back now I can
see what passionate necessity shook me with throbs to be the equal of
her who had received me as a superior.
De Chaumont's manor house, facing a winding avenue, could be seen
from where we were. It was of stone, built to enclose a court on three
sides, in the form that I afterwards recognized as that of French palaces.
There were a great many flowers in the court, and vines covered the
ends of the wings. All those misty half remembered hunting seasons
that I had spent on Lake George were not without some knowledge.
The chimneys and roofs of Le Ray de Chaumont's manor often looked
at me through trees as I steered my boat among the islands. He was a
great land owner, having more than three hundred thousand acres of
wilderness. And he was friendly with both Indians and Americans. His
figure did not mean much to me when I saw it, being merely a type of
wealth, and wealth extends little power into the wilderness.
The poppet of a child climbed up and held to the girl's dress. She
stooped over and kissed it, saying, "Sit down, Paul." The toy human
being seemed full of intelligence, and after the first protest examined
me fearlessly, with enchanting smiles about the mouth and eyes. I
noticed even then an upward curling of the mouth corners and a kind of
magic in the liquid blue gaze, of which Paul might never be conscious,
but which would work on every beholder.
That a child should be the appendage of such a very young creature as
the girl, surprised me no more than if it had been a fawn or a dog. In the

vivid moments of my first rousing to life I had seen her with Paul in her
arms; and he remained part of her.
We heard a rush of horses up the avenue, and out of the woods came Le
Ray de Chaumont and his groom, the wealthy land owner equipped in
gentleman's riding dress from his spurs to his hat. He made a fine show,
whip hand on his hip and back erect as a pine tree. He was a man in
middle life, but he reined up and dismounted with the swift agility of a
youth, and sent his horse away with the groom, as soon as he saw the
girl run across the grass to meet him. Taking her hand he bowed over it
and kissed it with pleasing ceremony, of which I approved. An Iroquois
chief in full council had not better manners than Le Ray de Chaumont.
Paul and I waited to see what was going to happen, for the two came
toward us, the girl talking rapidly to the man. I saw my father and
Skenedonk and the doctor also coming from the house, and they readily
spied me sitting tame as a rabbit near the baby.
You never can perceive yourself what figure you are making in the
world: for when you think you are the admired of all eyes you may be
displaying a fool; and when life seems prostrated in you it may be that
you show as a monument on the heights. But I could not be mistaken in
De Chaumont's opinion of me. He pointed his whip handle at me,
exclaiming--
"What!--that scarecrow, madame?"

II
"But look at him," she urged.
"I recognize first," said De Chaumont as he sauntered, "an old robe of
my own."
"His mother was reduced to coarse serge, I have been told."
"You speak of an august lady, my dear Eagle. But this is Chief

Williams' boy. He has been at the hunting lodges every summer since I
came into the wilderness. There you see his father, the half-breed
Mohawk."
"I saw the dauphin in London, count. I was a little child, but his scarred
ankles and wrists and forehead are