e the lodges of the Hodenosaunee again," said Tayoga, his
eyes glistening.

"Yes, Tayoga, and glad I'll be to be once more among your great people,
the hunters of the hills."

It was about two o'clock in the morning, when Robert went to bed, and he
slept very late. Willet awoke shortly after dawn, dressed himself and
went to the window, where he stood, gazing absently at the deepening
sunlight on the green hills, although he saw the incidents of the heated
night before far more vividly. He was a man who did not favor bloodshed,
though it was a hard and stern age, and the slaying of Boucher, who
would have added another to his victims, did not trouble him even the
morning after. In his mind was the thought, expressed so powerfully,
that the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small.
However, his anxiety to be away from Quebec had grown with the hours.
The dangers were too thick, and they also had a bad habit of increasing
continually.

When Robert awoke he found the hunter and Tayoga awaiting him.

"I've ordered breakfast," said Willet, "and it will be ready for us as
soon as you dress. After that I'll have to comply with some
formalities, owing to last night's affair, and then if the Governor
General arrives this afternoon, we can deliver our letters and depart.
It seems strange, Robert, that we should be here such a little while and
that both you and I should fight duels. Perhaps it will be Tayoga's turn
today, and he too will have to fight."

"Not unless Tandakora seeks me," said the young Onondaga.

"Did you see what became of him last night, Tayoga?" asked Willet.

"I watched him all the time you and the Frenchman were fighting, and I
watched also when we came back to the inn. He would willingly have
thrown a tomahawk in the dark at the head of any one of us, but he knew
I watched and he did not dare."

"And that Ojibway savage is another of our troubles. He's gone clean mad
with his hate of us."

Their late breakfast was served by Monsieur Berryer himself with much
deference and some awe. The large room also held many more guests than
usual at such an hour, but most of them ate little, only an egg or a
roll, perhaps, or they dallied over a cup of coffee, reserving most of
their attention for Willet, whom they regarded covertly, but with
extraordinary interest. The youth with him had shown himself to be a
fine swordsman, as Count Jean de Mezy could testify, but the elder man,
who had appea