nds, manned by white men, red
men, yellow men, and brown men. They heard strange cries in foreign
tongues, and now and then the sound of a trumpet blown at one of the forts
in the palisaded wall. Officers in brilliant uniforms appeared on the
levee.

The eyes of Long Jim Hart opened wider and wider.

"It shorely is a big town," he said. "Sol, I'd been thinkin' that you an'
Paul wuz tellin' a good deal that ain't, but I reckon it's the truth. The
world has a lot more people than I thought it had. I'm pow'ful glad I
came."

They turned "The Galleon" toward the levee, and an officer in a boat
pulled by four uniformed oarsmen hailed them in Spanish, which none of
them understood.

"Must be a harbor master or something of that kind," said Henry.

They brought "The Galleon" to a stop, and the other boat came alongside.
The officer in the bow was a Catalan, richly dressed, and small, but with
a thin, alert face. He looked at the five with as much curiosity as they
looked at him. Secretly he admired their splendid shoulders and chests,
and their obvious strength. He was acute enough, too, to guess whence
they came. Lieutenant Diego Bernal had not been two years in New Orleans
for nothing.

"You come from Kaintock?" he said in fair and not unfriendly English.

"Yes," replied Henry, "we are all the way from Kentucky, and we have an
important message for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez. Can you tell
us how to reach him?"

Lieutenant Diego Bernal glanced at "The Galleon," which was obviously of
Spanish build, but he was a shrewd officer who would make his way in the
world and he knew that many strange things passed inspection in this great
Franco-Spanish metropolis of New Orleans.

"His Excellency, the Governor General," he replied, "is now at his house
at the corner of Toulouse street and Rue de la Levee, but it is too late
for you to see him to-day. To-morrow morning you may secure audience with
him if you have the important message that you say."

The five disregarded the ironical tone in his voice. They were good enough
judges of character to surmise that Lieutenant Diego Bernal, whose name
and career were unknown to them, did not care a particle how they had come
into possession of the boat which was so obviously of Spanish build. There
was no advantage to him in asking too many questions, and he calmly waved
them to a landing.

They pulled in and tied their boat to the levee, while men and women,
white, ye