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Gillam put out his hand. "It's a treaty," said he. There and then he would have been glad to see the last of us; but M. Radisson was not the man to miss the chance of seeing a rival's ship. "How about that Canary taken from the foreign ship? A galleon, did you say, tall and slim? Did you sink her or sell her? Send down your men to my fellows! Let us go aboard for the story."
He wandered casually down to the water side. One can guess that the half-closed eyelids of his guards opened a trifle: was the mouse trying to get away from the cat? To the Indians' amusement, instead of trying to escape, Radisson picked up a spear and practised tossing it, till a Mohawk became so interested that he jumped up and taught the young Frenchman the proper throws.
This was Pierre Esprit Radisson, from St. Malo, the town of the famous Cartier. Young Radisson had only come to New France the year before, and therefore could not realize the dangers of Indian warfare. Like boys the world over, the three went along, boasting how they would fight if the Indians came.
The day grew steadily darker and in the tops of the trees there was the low moaning of a storm. Darkness and the coming of the storm did not drive Pierre Radisson into camp. "We must reach the river," he said to himself over and over again. "We must reach the river we must reach the river " And he steadily urged Kazan on to greater effort, while his own strength at the end of the traces grew less.
This time we headed straight down-stream, Ben nodding and dozing from his place in the middle, M. Radisson, La Chesnaye, and I poling hard to keep the drift-ice off. We avoided the New Englander's fort by going on the other side of the island, and when we shot past Governor Brigdar's stockades with the lights of the Prince Rupert blinking through the dark, Ben was fast asleep.
North of Newfoundland we were blanketed in a dirty fog. That gave our fine gentlemen a chance to right end up. "Every man of them a good seaman in calm weather," Sieur Radisson observed; and he put them through marine drill all that week.
For the space of a second M. Radisson's eyes swept the cannon pointing from the bastion embrasures. We were safe enough. The full hull of their own ship was between the guns and us. "Young man," said M. Radisson, addressing Ben, "you may speak less haughtily, as I come in friendship." "Friendship!" flouted Ben, twirling his mustache and showing both rows of teeth. "Pooh, pooh, M. Radisson!
That's a pair of gallant young sprigs, but the choice is your Frenchman, Radisson." "I'll pink his breast-bone full of holes if the other doesn't curse him." A sweet laugh trickled from Bucklaw's lips like oil. "That's neither here nor there. I'd like to have him down Acapulco way, dear lad. . . And now, here's my plan all changed.
A shadow darkened the companion-way, and Radisson came quickly down. His face was sinister, and his jaws worked like an animal's. Coming to the table he stood between Gering and Bucklaw, and looked from one to the other. Bucklaw was cool, Gering very quiet, and he misinterpreted. "You are great friends, eh, all together?" he said viciously. "All together you will get the gold.
For six years M. Radisson had not seen Mistress Mary Kirke as his wife styled herself after he broke from the English and I had not heard one word of Hortense for nigh as many months.
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