tire, standing by the wall, his eyes calm and fathomless. It occurred
all at once to Captain de Galisonniere that he was in the presence of an
extraordinary three, each remarkable in his own way, and, liking the
unusual, his interest in them deepened. It did not matter that they were
his official enemies, because on the other hand they were his personal
friends.

"Now, Robert," said Willet, "watch my eye, because I'm going to put you
to a severe test. Ready?"

"Aye, ready, sir!" replied Robert, speaking like a pupil to his master.
Then the two advanced toward the center of the room and faced each
other, raising their slim swords which flashed in the flame of the
candles like thin lines of light. Then Willet thrust like lightning, but
his blade slipped off Robert's, and young Lennox thrust back only to
have his own weapon caught on the other.

"Ah," exclaimed the gallant Frenchman. "Well done! Well done for both!"

Then he held his breath as the play of the swords became so fast that
the eye could scarcely follow. They made vivid lines, and steel flashed
upon steel with such speed that at times the ringing sound seemed
continuous. Willet's agility was amazing. Despite his size and weight
he was as swift and graceful as a dancing master, and the power of his
wrist was wonderful. The amazement of young de Galisonniere increased.
He had seen the best swordsmanship in Quebec, and he had seen the best
swordsmanship in Paris, but he had never seen better swordsmanship than
that shown in a room of the Inn of the Eagle by a man whom he had taken
to be a mere hunter in the American wilderness.

De Galisonniere was an artist with the sword himself, and he knew
swordsmanship when he saw it. He knew, too, that Lennox was but little
inferior to Willet. He saw that the older man was not sparing the youth,
that he was incessantly beating against the strongest parts of his
defense, and that he was continually seeking out his weakest. Robert was
driven around and around the room, and yet Willet did not once break
through his guard.

"Ah, beautiful! beautiful!" exclaimed the Frenchman. "I did not know
that such swordsmen could come out of the woods!"

His eyes met those of the Onondaga and for the first time he saw a gleam
in their dark depths.

"Their swords are alive," said Tayoga. "They are living streaks of
flame."

"That describes it, my friend," said de Galisonniere. "I shall be proud
to be one of the seconds of Mr. Lenno