had been
burned, the cattle killed, the crops laid waste. No doubt they were now
pillaging Tadoussac.

Champlain began to prepare for defense with all the force available.
Muskets were loaded, cannon trained down the river, the fort manned.
Friendly Indians offered their services. All was wild alarm, the blow
was so unexpected.

Miladi, hearing the noise and confusion, explained it her way.

"It is always so when the horde of traders come in," she said. She had
been looking over old finery, and getting ready for a return to France.

The little convent on the St. Charles was prepared to repel any
surprise. But at mid-afternoon a boat hovered about in the river, and it
was learned presently that it conveyed some captives taken by the
English, who were sent with a letter from the commander of the fleet,
that now appeared quite formidable, with its six well-manned vessels.

The Governor at once called together the leading men of the place and
laid before them the summons of surrender, and the first news of the war
between France and England. It was couched in polite terms, but
contained a well-laid plan. In all, eighteen ships had been despatched
by His Majesty, the King of Britain. Several small stations had been
captured, also a boat with supplies from France, and all resources were
to be cut off. By surrendering they would save their homes and property,
and be treated with the utmost courtesy, but it was the intention of the
English to take the town, although they preferred to do it without
bloodshed.

It was quite a lengthy document, and Champlain read it slowly, that each
sentence might be well considered. The hard winter, the late spring, the
supplies at Cape Tourmente and Tadoussac being cut off, rendered them in
no situation for a prolonged struggle. But they would not yield so
easily to the demand of the English. They had the courage of men who had
undergone many hardships, and the pride of their nation. Quebec had been
the child of the Sieur de Champlain's work and love. With one voice they
resolved to refuse, and the word was sent to Captain David Kirke.

He meanwhile turned his fleet down the river, fancying the town an easy
prey, when he espied the relief stores sent from France, a dozen or so
vessels, bringing colonists, workmen, priests, women, and children, and
farming implements, as well as stores, convoyed by a man-of-war. It was
a rich prize for the Englishman, and an order for surrender was sent,