"Well," she remarked, with one of her infectious trills of
laughter, "so far the French have the best of it, anyway! Papa
Roussillon knocked the Governor's cheek nearly off, then Rene
cracked the Irish Corporal's head, and now Father Beret has taught
Captain Farnsworth a lesson in fisticuffs that he'll not soon
forget! If the good work can only go on a little longer we shall
see every English soldier in Vincennes wearing the mark of a
Frenchman's blow." Then her mood suddenly changed from smiling
lightness to almost fierce gravity, and she added:
"Adrienne Bourcier, if Captain Farnsworth ever offers to treat me
as he did you, mark my words, I'll kill him--kill him, indeed I
will! You ought to see me!"
"But he won't dare touch you," said Adrienne, looking at her
friend with round, admiring eyes. "He knows very well that you are
not little and timid like me. He'd be afraid of you."
"I wish he would try it. How I would love to shoot him into
pieces, the hateful wretch! I wish he would."
The French inhabitants all, or nearly all, felt as Alice did; but
at present they were helpless and dared not say or do anything
against the English. Nor was this feeling confined to the Creoles
of Vincennes; it had spread to most of the points where trading
posts existed. Hamilton found this out too late to mend some of
his mistakes; but he set himself on the alert and organized
scouting bodies of Indians under white officers to keep him
informed as to the American movements in Kentucky and along the
Ohio.
Pages:
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218