Montlivet | Page 9

my attention.
"Wait, monsieur!" he cried.
"Monsieur, you waste my time."
"I shall waste no more. I have made up my mind. Listen. I promised

you my story." He had regained all his quiet arrogance. "It is soon told.
I am an Englishman,--or a colonist, if you like the term better. I was in
a village on the Connecticut frontier, when your savages came down
upon us. No, I am wrong. They did nothing so manly as to come down
upon us boldly. They slid among us like foul vermin afraid of the light.
They achieved a notable victory, monsieur. I see that you recognize
their prowess, and that the feast you have prepared for them is lavish. It
was a noble battle. I regret you could not have seen it. There were some
hundreds of the Indians, and a scattering handful of us. A quiet farming
community, monsieur, that worked hard, supped early, and slept the
deep sleep of quiet living and sober minds. We waked to find the
scalping knives at our throats, and the death scream of children in our
ears. Look over the bags of scalps, and see the number of women and
old men that your braves had to overcome. You will be proud of them,
monsieur."
I clenched my hand, and wished myself elsewhere. "But our Hurons
say they were neutral," I defended.
He lifted his brows. "You prefer to give all the praise to the
Algonquins?" he asked smoothly. "I understand. Yes, I have heard that
the Algonquins stand even closer to you than your Hurons here. They
are more than brothers. Indeed, it is said that your Count Frontenac
calls them his children. Well, they did you credit. It took ten of them to
silence Goodman Ellwood's musket, but they butchered him in the end.
If you find a scalp with long silky white hair, monsieur, it belongs to
John Ellwood. Value it, and nail it among your trophies, for it cost you
the lives of a full half-dozen Algonquin braves."
I kept my eyes down. I had come here to unearth a certain fact, and I
would pursue it. "But were the Hurons neutral?" I persisted.
I could not even guess at what raw nerve I touched, but he suddenly
threw his arms wide as men do when a shot is mortal. His cool
insolence dropped from him, and he was all fire and helpless defiance.
He stamped his foot, till, slender as he was, the boards rang. "Were the
Hurons neutral?" he mocked, in a voice so like my own I could have
sworn it was an echo. "What manner of man are you? Are you made of

chalk? If you had seen a child's brains dashed out against a tree, would
you stop to ask the Indian who held the dripping corpse what dialect he
spoke? Oh, a man should be ashamed to live who has seen such things,
and who keeps his sword sheathed while one of your Indian
family--brothers or children--remains alive! If you had blood in your
veins, you would be man enough not to put even an enemy upon the
rack, in this way, and force him to live that time over to glut your
curiosity. Here is my answer, which you may take to your commandant.
I am an Englishman, I am your prisoner, and you are to remember that I
am, first, last, and at all times, your foe. Now go to your commandant,
and tell him to keep himself and his schoolboy orations out of my
way."
He was shaking, and his face was dead white. I did not answer, but I
took him by the arm, and led him to a chair. He tried to resist, but I am
strong. Then I brought him a cup of water from a pail that stood near
by.
"Drink it," I said, "and when food is sent you, eat what you can. Your
race is not over, and if you wish to trick and outwit us,--as you were
planning when I found you lying here,--you will need more strength
than you are showing now. I have but one more question. You must tell
me your name."
For a moment he did not reply. He was still shaking painfully, and
water from the cup in his hand splashed over him. "My name," he said
slowly, "my name is--is Benjamin Starling."
I took the cup away. "I am waiting," I said after a pause.
"Waiting for what, monsieur?" When he willed, he could speak
winningly, and he did it now.
I took paper from my pocket. "For your real name," I answered. "I shall
write it here, and you must swear that it is true. Don't squander lies.
Plain dealing will be best for us both."
He was