‘“My faith!” says the Marquise. “He will find out, if any one can, whether this canaille of a Washington means to help us to fight England. Genet” (that was my Ambassador in the Embuscade) “has failed and gone off disgraced; Faucher” (he was the new man) “hasn’t done any better, but our Abbe will find out, and he will make his profit out of the news. Such a man does not fall.” ‘“He begins unluckily,” says the Vicomte. “He was set upon today in the street for not hooting your Washington.” They all laughed again, and one remarks, “How does the poor devil keep himself?” ‘He must have slipped in through the washhouse door, for he flits past me and joins ‘em, cold as ice. ‘“One does what one can,” he says. “I sell buttons. And you, Marquise?” ‘“I?”--she waves her poor white hands all burned--“I am a cook--a very bad one--at your service, Abbe. We were just talking about you.” They didn’t treat him like they talked of him. They backed off and stood still. ‘“I have missed something, then,” he says. “But I spent this last hour playing--only for buttons, Marquise--against a noble savage, the veritable Huron himself.” ‘“You had your usual luck, I hope?” she says. ‘“Certainly,” he says. “I cannot afford to lose even buttons in these days.” ‘“Then I suppose the child of nature does not know that your dice are usually loaded, Father Tout-a-tous,” she continues. I don’t know whether she meant to accuse him of cheating. He only bows. ‘“Not yet, Mademoiselle Cunegonde,” he says, and goes on to make himself agreeable to the rest of the company. And that was how I found out our Monsieur Peringuey was Count Charles Maurice Talleyrand de Perigord.’ Pharaoh stopped, but the children said nothing. ‘You’ve heard of him?’ said Pharaoh. Una shook her head. ‘Was Red Jacket the Indian he played dice with?’ Dan asked. ‘He was. Red Jacket told me the next time we met. I asked if the lame man had cheated. Red Jacket said no--he had played quite fair and was a master player. I allow Red Jacket knew. I’ve seen him, on the Reservation, play himself out of everything he had and in again. Then I told Red Jacket all I’d heard at the party concerning Talleyrand. ‘“I was right,” he says. “I saw the man’s war-face when he thought he was alone. That’s why I played him. I played him face to face. He’s a great chief. Do they say why he comes here?” ‘“They say he comes to find out if Big Hand makes war against the English,” I said. ‘Red Jacket grunted. “Yes,” he says. “He asked me that too. If he had been a small chief I should have lied. But he is a great chief. He knew I was a chief, so I told him the truth. I told him what Big Hand said to Cornplanter and me in the clearing--‘There will be no war.’ I could not see what he thought. I could not see behind his face. But he is a great chief. He will believe.” ‘“Will he believe that Big Hand can keep his people back from war?” I said, thinking of the crowds that hooted Big Hand whenever he rode out.