Roussillon stood while uttering his great sentence. Mind you, the
present writer does not pretend to know the exact site of old
Saint Xavier church. If it could be fixed beyond doubt the spot
should have an imperishable monument of Indiana stone.
When M, Roussillon ceased speaking the audience again exhausted
its vocal resources; and then Father Gibault called upon each man
to come forward and solemnly pledge his loyalty to the American
cause. Not one of them hesitated.
Meantime a woman was doing her part in the transformation of Post
Vincennes from a French-English picket to a full-fledged American
fort and town. Madame Godere, finding out what was about to
happen, fell to work making a flag in imitation of that under
which George Washington was fighting. Alice chanced to be in the
Godere home at the time and joined enthusiastically in the sewing.
It was an exciting task. Their fingers trembled while they worked,
and the thread, heavily coated with beeswax, squeaked as they drew
it through the cloth.
"We shall not be in time," said Madame Godere; "I know we shall
not. Everything hinders me. My thread breaks or gets tangled and
my needle's so rusty I can hardly stick it through the cloth. O
dear!"
Alice encouraged her with both words and work, and they had almost
finished when Rene came with a staff which he had brought from the
fort.
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