n called, to the crystal clear lake of St. Clair and the
opposite shore of Canada, with clumps of dense woods that seemed
guarding the place, and irregular openings that gave vistas of the far
away prospect. What was all that great outside world like? After St.
Clair river, Lake Huron and Michilimackinac? There were a great mission
station and some nuns, and a large store place for the fur trade. And
then--Hudson Bay somewhere clear to the end of the world, she thought.

The men uttered a sort of caroling melody with their work. There were
some strange faces she had never seen before, swarthy people with great
gold hoops in their ears.

"Are they Americans?" she asked, her idea of Americans being that they
were a sort of conglomerate.

"No--Spaniards, Portuguese, from the other side of the world. There are
many strange peoples."

Louis Marsac's knowledge was extremely limited, as education had not
made much of an advance among ordinary people. But he was glad he knew
this when he saw the look of awe that for an instant touched the rosy
face.

There were some English uniforms on the scene. For though the boundaries
had been determined the English Commandant made various excuses, and
demanded every point of confirmation. There had been an acrimonious
debate on conditions and much vexatious delay, as if he was individually
loath to surrender his authority. In fact the English, as the French had
before them, cherished dreams of recovering the territory, which would
be in all time to come an important center of trade. No one had dreamed
of railroads then.

The sun began to drop down behind the high hills with their
timber-crowned tops. Pani turned.

"We must go home," she said, and Jeanne made no objections. She was a
little tired and confused with a strange sensation, as if she had
suddenly grown, and the bounds were too small.

Marsac made way for them, up the narrow, wretched street to the gateway.
The streets were all narrow with no pretense at order. In some places
were lanes where carriages could not pass each other. St. Louis street
was better but irregularly built, with frame and hewn log houses. There
was the old block house at either end, and the great, high palisades,
and the citadel, which served for barracks' stores, and housed some of
the troops. Here they passed St. Anne's street with its old church and
the military garden at the upper end; houses of one and two stories with
peaked thatched roofs, an