She put her finger on her lip. Then she said, almost breathlessly, "We
are not to talk to the French demoiselle."
"But tell me, am I to stay here?"
She gave a negative shake of the head.
"Am I to go--farther north?"
An affirmative nod this time.
"Wanee! Wanee!" was called sharply from without.
Jeanne sank on her knees.
"O Holy Mother of Christ, have pity on me and save me!" she cried. For
the vague suspicion that had haunted her since waking, crystallized into
a certainty. Part of a rosary came to her:--
"Heart of Jesus, refuge of sinners;
Heart of Jesus, fortitude of the just;
Heart of Jesus, comfort the afflicted."
Then she rose and made a brief toilet. She shook out her long hair,
passing her damp hands over it, and it fell in curls again. She
straightened her dress, but she still felt chill in the cool morning
air. There was a cape of gull's feathers, hanging by the flap of the
wigwam, and she reached it down making a sign to the woman asking
permission.
She nodded assentingly.
It felt good and warm. Jeanne's breakfast was spread on a board resting
on two stones. The squaw had made coffee out of some parched and ground
grains, and it had a comforting flavor. The plate of fish was set before
her and cakes of honey bread, and her coffee poured in a gourd bowl. The
birds were singing overhead, and she could hear the lap of the tide in
the lake, a soft tone of monotony. The beauty of it all penetrated her
very soul. Even the group around the great kettle, dipping in their
wooden spoons and gravely chatting, the younger woman smiling and one
might almost imagine teasing them, had a picturesque aspect, and
softened the thought of what might happen to-morrow.
They lolled on the turf and smoked pipes afterward. Jeanne paced up and
down within sight of their glances that she knew were fixed upon her in
spite of the half-closed lids. It was so good to be free in the fragrant
air, to stretch her cramped limbs and feel the soft short grass under
her feet. Dozens of wild plans flashed through her brain. But she knew
escape was impossible, and she wondered what was to be the next move.
Were they awaiting the trader, Louis Marsac?
Plainly they were not. When they were rested and had eaten again and had
drunk a thick liquid made of roots and barks and honey, they rose and
went toward the canoe, as if discussing some matter. They parleyed with
the elder woman, who brought out two blankets and a pine needle cushion,
which they threw in the boat, then a bottle of water from the spring, a
gourd cup and some provisions.
"Come," the leader said, not unkindly. "Thou hast had a rest. We must be
on our journey."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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