1FITTE - OF
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 By 
 MARY DEVEREUX 
 
 Author of tf From Kingdom to Colony" *' Up and Down 
 the Sands of Gold," etc. 
 
 Illustrated by 
 HARRY C. EDWARDS 
 
 Boston 
 Little, Brown, and Company 
 
 1902
 
 Copyright, 1902, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Published, June, 1902. 
 
 UNIVERSITY PRESS JOHN WILSON 
 AND SON CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.
 
 PS 
 
 TO 
 
 MY PUBLISHERS 
 
 AS A TOKEN OF MY GRATITUDE 
 
 FOR THEIR 
 CONFIDENCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT 
 
 717018
 
 Preface 
 
 IN that part of the United States where breezes from 
 the Mexican gulf sway lazily the long pendants of 
 Spanish moss festooning the gnarled limbs of ancient 
 oaks, the name of Jean Lafitte lives to-day in an atmos- 
 phere of romance more virile and fascinating than that 
 surrounding the exploits of Columbus, Cortez, or Ponce 
 de Leon. 
 
 History says that, in 1809, Jean and Pierre Lafitte came 
 to New Orleans at a time when, owing to the disturbed 
 conditions resulting from protracted warfare abroad, that 
 city and the territory of Louisiana were receiving immi- 
 grants from almost every portion of the civilized world. 
 
 The authentic story of Jean Lafitte ends six years later, 
 shortly after the battle of New Orleans, a victory said to 
 have been rendered possible only by his loyalty and intel- 
 ligence, supplemented by the skill and bravery of the 
 Baratarians whose leader he was. 
 
 Many are the legends concerning the origin, achieve- 
 ments, and end of this remarkable man ; and these still 
 find numberless believers in that section of Louisiana lying 
 between the Calcasieu and Mermentan rivers. 
 
 One of the most accepted relates to a strange tie be- 
 tween the so-called " Pirate of the Gulf" and Napoleon 
 Bonaparte. 
 
 This is embodied in a number of stories, one of them 
 being to the effect that it was Lafitte who, after the battle
 
 viii Preface 
 
 of New Orleans, when he disappeared from Louisiana, 
 brought the emperor from Elba to France ; and that, 
 after the " Hundred Days," it was he who arranged to 
 bring Napoleon to America. It is claimed that, when the 
 latter's flight was intercepted and he entered upon his 
 compulsory voyage to St. Helena, Lafitte carried to this 
 country a large amount of the emperor's treasure, and 
 buried it somewhere along the Calcasieu River, after which, 
 hoping for a favorable opportunity to release Napoleon, 
 he sailed to meet the fleet which bore the emperor to 
 exile. 
 
 Of Jean Lafitte's career, it may be said, from what is 
 known of it and by reason of the inferences to be drawn 
 from established facts, that it was one of adventure and 
 peril comparing well with those of the men who, in the 
 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, sought wealth and fame 
 in the new world. As to the man himself, he was, by 
 nature and education, infinitely superior to these others. 
 True to his ancestry and to himself, he was actuated by 
 high motives and loyal instincts, and rendered invaluable 
 services to the country in which he passed a short period 
 of his eventful life.
 
 /IS the insect from the rock 
 ^ Takes the color of its wing; 
 As the boulder from the shock 
 Of the oceans rhythmic swing 
 Makes itself a perfect form 
 Learns a calmer front to raise-, 
 As the shell, enamelled, warm 
 With the prism's mystic rays 
 Praises wind and wave that make 
 All its chambers fair and strong; 
 As the mighty poets take 
 Grief and pain to build their song ; 
 Even so for every soul, 
 Whatsoe'er its lot may be, 
 Building, as the heavens roll, 
 Something large and strong and free, 
 Things that hurt and things that mar 
 Shape the man for perfect praise ; 
 Shock and strain and ruin are 
 Friendlier than the smiling days. 
 
 CHADWICK.
 
 Illustrations 
 
 FROM DRAWINGS BY HARRY C. EDWARDS 
 
 '" Is it thee, my beloved Pizarro ?'" Frontispiece 
 
 " ' I will give you this ring of mine ' " Page 79 
 
 " ' Lopez, make haste with the gun ! ' " " 158 
 
 " ' Then, Sire, give me the privilege of serving you ' " . " 246 
 
 " He told ... of all the persons connected with his 
 
 life" " 421
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 * 
 
 CHAPTER ONE 
 
 PARIS, in the year 1790, and the garden oftheTuile- 
 ries bright with the sunshine of an autumnal day. 
 Two boys, seated in the grass near a path not far 
 from one of the ponds, were playing with a turtle they had 
 captured. 
 
 The humble origin of the elder, a lad of thirteen, was 
 evidenced by those physical signs which are usually asso- 
 ciated with people of his class ; but the other, three years 
 younger, bore all the indications of gentle birth. His sire 
 was a baron of the " ancien regime," while Pierre's father 
 had been a peasant, and his widowed mother the faithful 
 nurse of her who had lived but two months after giving birth 
 to the boy Jean, whom Margot loved as her own Pierre. 
 
 They were two ingenuous, fine-spirited boys, but in- 
 directly and slightly affected by the shifting political 
 conditions about them, and finding full pleasure in each 
 passing hour. 
 
 Young Jean's life had been without marked incident 
 until this October day, when fate set the shuttle to weave 
 a fabric in which the golden thread of a love above the 
 love of man for woman began to outline its pattern. 
 
 It was a fabric which the future was to fill in with many 
 strange events, whose design, as it grew, was to be
 
 2 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 clouded by violence and bloodshed, marred by ambition 
 and selfishness, crossed by other loves of men and women. 
 And yet the first golden gleams of the thread that made 
 the beginning kept its brightness to the end, in a strong, 
 ever-deepening love. 
 
 The lads, while occupied and amused with their cap- 
 tive, had noticed a young man, slender, and under the 
 medium height, in the uniform of a sous-lieutenant, who, 
 with hands clasped behind him, was slowly pacing the 
 path. He was apparently busy with his own thoughts, 
 although occasionally, in passing, he glanced at the boys, 
 as if attracted by their conversation and laughter. 
 
 Back and forth he paced ; and once Jean, raising his 
 head, met the full, calm gaze of the officer's gray-blue 
 eyes. It was only a careless glance, but it so affected the 
 boy that his tongue was silent for several moments, while 
 his dark eyes followed the retreating figure. 
 
 Presently there came along the promenade a trio of 
 court gallants, attired in the extreme of the prevailing 
 fashion, beruffled, bejewelled, and perfumed. One of them 
 was a slenderly built young man, whose sharp features, 
 pale-blue eyes set closely together, thin lips, and weak 
 chin, gave ample proof of his nature and disposition. 
 
 A more striking contrast to the younger boy could 
 not well be imagined. Yet the same blood ran in their 
 veins, for the new-comer was fitienne, Jean's half-brother, 
 who had, for some time past, been occupying an unim- 
 portant position at court. 
 
 He espied the two boys before they noticed him, so en- 
 grossed were they in heading-off the turtle, whose instinct 
 seemed to tell it how to find a way to the near-by pond. 
 
 The three courtiers paused in the pathway ; and Etienne, 
 stepping quickly over the grass, gave the turtle a well- 
 directed kick that sent it splashing into the water. 
 
 He and his friends then laughed boisterously, while Jean 
 and Pierre sprang to their feet, the former's eyes blazing 
 angrily as they met those of his half-brother.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 3 
 
 "Sneaking spoil-sport! How dared you?" cried the 
 boy. 
 
 " Dared ! " repeated fitienne jeeringly, while his com- 
 panions again laughed uproariously. " Mais, you im- 
 pudent young cub, I think it were well to cool your 
 temper by sending you after your turtle." With this he 
 seized Jean by the collar, as if to throw him into the 
 pond. 
 
 The lad, mute with passion, struck out fiercely with his 
 fists, until fitienne, his rage making him forget his dandyism 
 and fine raiment, grasped more firmly the jewelled cane 
 he carried, and began to rain blows upon the head and 
 shoulders not so very far below his own not great height, 
 while he held fast to Jean's collar with a grip whose 
 firmness was out of keeping with his frail and puny 
 build. 
 
 Pierre, with sullen face, and a smouldering fire burning 
 in his heavy-lidded eyes, stood by, with clenched fists, 
 not daring to put into force his evident desire to come 
 to his foster-brother's aid, while the two gallants looked on 
 with manifest amusement. 
 
 A clear, icy-toned voice suddenly cut the air like a 
 flash of steel. 
 
 " Pardon, monsieur ; but would you not like assistance? " 
 
 The two courtiers turned quickly to look at the speaker. 
 And Etienne, as if the tone of unmistakable sarcasm 
 had recalled his vanity to the spectacle he was making of 
 himself, loosened his hold upon Jean, who, in no wise 
 impressed by the interruption, exclaimed through his 
 clenched teeth, as he shook himself free from the tormen- 
 tor's grasp, " Etienne, thou brutal coward, when I am a 
 man I will kill thee for this ! " 
 
 fitienne's companions, hearing the familiar manner in 
 which he was addressed, looked at him in surprise ; and 
 he, noting this, turned to the stranger with an insolence 
 which increased as he observed the latter's uniform, in- 
 dicating such an humble military rank.
 
 4 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 It was the sous-lieutenant, whose look had affected Jean 
 so oddly a short time before. 
 
 " I have been an unintentional spectator of your unmanly 
 conduct, monsieur," continued the young officer, in the 
 same low, even tone, as he calmly faced fitienne ; " and 
 what I have heard and seen of its beginning compels 
 me to take the part of this young gentleman you have 
 so needlessly abused and angered." 
 
 " Dame ! Who are you, to dare speak to me in such 
 fashion?" fitienne demanded furiously, his white fingers 
 again gripping the cane in a way suggestive of a desire to 
 use it in a new quarter, while he advanced a few steps 
 toward the sous-lieutenant, who stood with his hands still 
 clasped behind his back, and a fine scorn touching the 
 severe line of his lips. 
 
 " I am an officer, monsieur, as you can see," he replied, 
 his tone in keeping with his disdainful composure ; " and 
 one who, by training as well as by nature, cannot but 
 object to see such a display of cowardice in any man, be 
 he courtier or simple citizen." 
 
 " Mille tonnerres ! " cried fitienne, white with rage. 
 " But you shall answer for such insolence ! " 
 
 " As you please, monsieur, and whenever you shall say," 
 replied the sous-lieutenant, glancing past him at the two 
 boys, who were now close to one another, directly behind 
 fitienne, their faces filled with surprise and satisfaction at 
 seeing him thus brought to bay. 
 
 One of fitienne's companions, seeing a gendarme coming 
 toward them, called attention to the fact; and the former, 
 noticing several promenaders pause, as if curious to know 
 what might be amiss, submitted to his friends' urgings, and 
 moved away. 
 
 " I know you for what you are, you Corsican beggar," he 
 hissed, backing off over the grass ; " and never fear but 
 that I will remember." Then he turned, and the trio 
 departed. 
 
 The officer did not deign to look after them, and an-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 5 
 
 swered carelessly the query of the gendarme. But what 
 he said sent the latter strolling after the young men, as if 
 considering that there might be need for him to keep an 
 eye upon them while within the garden. 
 
 When he was gone, the sous-lieutenant joined the two 
 boys, who were now standing by the edge of the pond, 
 searching for some trace of their late captive. 
 
 As he approached, Jean looked up at him, and, with 
 characteristic impulsiveness, caught one of his hands, 
 while Pierre, with a peasant's dumbness, gazed at him 
 with an admiration his stupid tongue would never have 
 been able to express. 
 
 " I love you for that ! " exclaimed the younger boy, his 
 face aglow with enthusiasm. " Ah, but it was a fine thing 
 to see fitienne balked, for once ! " 
 
 "And who is this Etienne?" inquired the officer, scowl- 
 ing, as he looked down at the water. 
 
 " My half-brother." 
 
 " Your half-brother ! " repeated the questioner, his voice 
 showing surprise. " Sacre ! Your life must be a pleasant 
 one, if what I saw be a fair sample of his usual mood and 
 manners." 
 
 Jean, with all the cause he had for complaint, possessed 
 especially considering his lack of years an unusual 
 sense of pride as to family affairs ; and this made him 
 silent. But it was the silence of angry eyes, and flushed 
 cheeks ; a silence that had no need of words to express 
 his conviction of oppressive injustice, coupled with a deep 
 hatred of him who exercised it. 
 
 This day was followed by many another, which at 
 irregular intervals through the next two years, found the 
 man and boy together ; and a strong, loyal love sprang up 
 between these two, so far apart in age, and still farther in 
 their respective natures. 
 
 The frank, ingenuous lad, with his fresh, pure individual- 
 ity, free from worldly craft as the woods and fields about 
 his loved Languedoc home, talked unrestrainedly with the
 
 6 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 friend whom he idolized as a newly found hero; while the 
 latter forgot oftentimes his already stirring love of power, 
 and his secret hopes for ambitious ends. The forgetting 
 brought a new expression to his pale face, softening it, and 
 touching with a strange tenderness the cold, inscrutable 
 eyes.
 
 CHAPTER TWO 
 
 SEASONS came and passed springs, summers, 
 falls, and winters, to be strung, like beads, upon 
 the rosary of time ; and nearer were drawing those 
 bloody days of France, which are to live forever, with their 
 gory hue undimmed, although the crimson flow that stained 
 them has been dried by the suns of many years. 
 
 In late April of 1792, Monsieur le Baron was still domi- 
 ciled at his Paris house, and early April usually found him 
 in his Languedoc chateau. 
 
 For two years past, fitienne the simpering coxcomb 
 of twenty-seven had retained his position at court ; and 
 the atmosphere thus brought about his father tended to 
 throw the latter more into the company of former friends, 
 many of whom were deep in political intrigues, and sought 
 to claim him, after his dozen years' absence from their 
 circles. 
 
 At the suppers and card parties which made unusual 
 gayety in his father's long-closed house, Jean was admitted 
 with the freedom of an acknowledged favorite. Keen of 
 wit, and somewhat precocious, owing to the intimate com- 
 panionship of Monsieur le Baron, he absorbed the talk 
 going on around him, and assimilated it with an intelli- 
 gence to which his elders gave no thought. 
 
 The boy had theories of his own, vague though they 
 were, in regard to almost everything within his environ- 
 ment; and he was, besides, deeply interested in a dream- 
 world of which those about him with the exception of 
 Pierre knew nothing. Yet he was in close touch with 
 the present; and the history and politics of France were, 
 from his reading, and his attention to the conversation of
 
 8 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 his father's guests, they being of all political parties, -^ 
 as familiar to him as though he had been many years 
 older. 
 
 Still, there was little in his appearance to suggest the 
 student. Unusually tall for his years, he had a slender, 
 sinewy body, and limbs whose muscles had been thoroughly 
 developed under the careful tutelage of old Tatro, the 
 baron's butler, who, until middle life had been a soldier. 
 
 It was he who had taught Jean to ride and shoot; and 
 he had initiated the lad young , as the latter was into 
 the intricacies of foil and rapier practice. 
 
 The strong young throat rose proudly, to support a well- 
 poised head, where the waving hair clustered in picturesque 
 luxuriousness at the back, and fell in shorter, loosely 
 curling rings over the forehead, under whose arched brows 
 swart, like the long silken lashes the frank dark eyes 
 looked out fearlessly upon the world. The smooth olive 
 of his skin was somewhat browned by a healthful out-door 
 life ; but the peachy hue of babyhood still showed in his 
 cheeks. The rather large mouth was shapely, with clean- 
 cut lips, that, in parting, showed strong white teeth, as even 
 as the keys of a spinet. 
 
 The high insteps, the long, slender fingers these be- 
 spoke his patrician blood, no less than did his refinement 
 of manner and speech; and there was about him a mag- 
 netic ingenuousness which drew all hearts. 
 
 Affairs in Paris were becoming more and more unsettled. 
 The lawlessness and brutality of the masses grew in strength 
 and daring, and many of the nobles had fled from France, 
 or buried themselves in the country, away from the violence 
 which they were helpless to prevent, or too loyal to seem- 
 ingly countenance by their presence and neutrality. 
 
 It was early in the summer when, with many misgivings 
 as to the future, Monsieur le Baron finally left Paris and 
 retired to his country place in Languedoc. Jean, together 
 with Margot, her boy Pierre, and a majority of the servants, 
 went with him ; but a few of the latter remained at the
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 9 
 
 Paris house with fitienne, who, detesting the quiet life of 
 Languedoc, refused flatly to go there. 
 
 Another reason for his determination lay in the fact that 
 he was now secretly, of course in Robespierre's em- 
 ploy; a thing Monsieur le Baron suspected, but of which 
 he had no absolute proof; and the servants who stopped 
 with the young man were Revolutionary in sentiment. 
 
 At the beloved old country-house, where everything was 
 more to his taste than in any other spot on earth, Jean 
 forgot much of what had filled the air of Paris with such 
 horror. He and Pierre, rioting in vigorous health, went 
 roaming about, hunting in the park for small game, or, 
 hidden away snugly in a remote part of the wood, devoured 
 a book of travels which told of pirates and soldiers of 
 fortune, who had reaped many a harvest of riches upon 
 the Spanish main. 
 
 This book was the key-note of Jean's dream-world ; and 
 it had long been a pastime of the boys that he should read 
 it aloud, while Pierre listened with absorbed attention. 
 
 Thus it was that the exploits of De Soto, Pizarro, Cortez, 
 and the minor leaders of adventurous bands were, for 
 these two boys, the ideals of what their own careers 
 should be when manhood set them free to achieve their 
 ambitions. 
 
 The gardens about the place were a wilderness of bloom, 
 left very much to nature, and entirely free from the marks 
 of that formal science that showed in the generality of 
 French gardens the style which had come into vogue 
 with Le Notre, in the time of Louis XIV. 
 
 They were, like the whole place, old and irregular, but 
 full of restfulness to a home-loving heart in accord with 
 nature. The trees, filled with birds, the massed flowers, 
 and thickets of blooming shrubs, the butterflies floating on 
 gorgeous wings all these made the place a small world 
 of itself, and one filled with peace and contentment. 
 
 But outside the park, where the boys were not permitted 
 to go, it was easy to realize something of the turmoil that
 
 i o Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 was shaking Paris, miles away, and also the country nearer 
 about, where the peasants were holding meetings, secret 
 at first, but becoming more open as the Jacobins waxed 
 stronger with each successive day. 
 
 The principal leader and speaker among the peasantry 
 was one Tomas Fauchel, who had recently come from 
 Paris, and who appeared, for some reason, to have an es- 
 pecial hatred for Monsieur le Baron. But the latter, whose 
 attention was engrossed by his books and papers, knew 
 nothing of this, as he rarely went abroad, and seemed to 
 grow more reserved and gloomy as the days wore on. 
 
 The 1 4th of July the anniversary of the French nation's 
 independence came and went; and, on the night of 
 August loth, the Assembly having removed from Paris all 
 the regiments suspected of being loyal to the king, there 
 was no armed force to resist the mob that, insane with 
 blood-thirsty passion, broke into the Tuileries, butchered 
 the king's attendants, and took away, as prisoners, the few 
 who were still alive. 
 
 The royal family had, at the beginning of the attack, 
 fled for protection to the chamber of the Assembly ; and 
 that body passed them on to martyrdom in the Temple. 
 
 Over the chateau in Languedoc, that August night, the 
 same stars that glittered above the carnage of Paris shone 
 upon a scene of peace. But Monsieur le Baron's heart 
 was growing heavier, and his wakeful eyes were fixed upon 
 the stars, as he lay in bed looking out of the window. A 
 foreboding of evil crept chillingly about him, and a note 
 of coming woe seemed to sigh in the wind stirring among 
 the olive and pepper trees that made a small grove outside. 
 
 But in his chamber beyond, Jean, unconscious and happy, 
 slept a sleep such as could never more be known on 
 earth by the king's little son, whom, only a few months 
 since, the two lads Jean and Pierre had looked at 
 with worshipful awe, as a being infinitely above themselves, 
 and one who could by no possibility ever experience the 
 hard brunts of life.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 1 
 
 Viewed in the light of such a change, men seem but little 
 better than the pieces upon a chess-board. Fate and time 
 are invincible powers, moving pawns into the knights' 
 squares, and sweeping kings, queens, and knights into 
 oblivion.
 
 CHAPTER THREE 
 
 THROUGH the weeks of the late summer, old 
 Tatro, the butler, had been attending the meet- 
 ings held by the peasants. But, being a firm 
 believer in the old regime, he had reported faithfully to 
 Monsieur le Baron all that had transpired at these gather- 
 ings, telling him of the vicious speeches made by Fauchel, 
 and of the latter's evident determination to influence the 
 peasants against the people of the chateau. 
 
 His master listened patiently, while a smiling scorn 
 touched his face, now growing haggard with care and 
 anxiety. The once strong shoulders had become stooping, 
 and not a single dark hair was to be seen amid the white 
 ones covering the head held so proudly erect in former 
 years. 
 
 On a certain September morning, after one of these 
 reports from Tatro, the baron said, " Find Margot, and 
 send her to me." 
 
 When the faithful old servant had left the room his 
 master looked out of the window toward the park ; but his 
 darkly circled eyes saw something quite different from the 
 trees silhouetted against the cloudless blue of the sky. 
 
 They saw the pale, angry face of Tomas Fauchel, the 
 young schoolmaster, who, meeting the baron as he came 
 from the magistrate's door with the pretty, sixteen-year- 
 old daughter of the Huguenot minister clinging to his arm, 
 had said, as he barred their way, " To-day, Monsieur le 
 Baron, you have won, and have taken for wife her whom 
 her dead father gave to me when he refused you, a Papist. 
 But I warn you to beware of the day when I shall seek my 
 revenge ! "
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 3 
 
 The baron, in the strength of his vigorous manhood, 
 and in the happy dreams of his passionate love, had 
 laughed at the melodramatic threat of his humble rival. 
 And to-day, white-haired and lonely, he smiled disdainfully 
 as he recalled it. 
 
 But the smile died swiftly in a sigh that was almost a 
 moan, at thought of the narrow mound he had looked upon 
 the spring before, banked with violets and snow-drops, in 
 the old churchyard by the Loire, near the cottage where he 
 had known a brief year's dream of happiness. 
 
 He seemed again to be lifting the girlish form from which 
 the breath had but just fled lifting it from the pillows, 
 to lie upon his broad chest, as he besought his young wife 
 to speak to him, refusing to believe the awful truth told 
 him by the weeping Margot while she took the babe who 
 had been lying upon his mother's arm, and cuddled him 
 against her own neck as she murmured, " Hush thee, little 
 Jean, now my own little Jean; for thy Margot must be 
 the only mother thou canst ever know." 
 
 But he now roused himself as Margot entered, and bade 
 her to be seated. 
 
 She obeyed silently, wondering what he might want of 
 her. 
 
 " Margot, I have sent for thee that I may unburden my 
 mind somewhat as to matters which have been weighing 
 heavily upon me for many months past," he began, lean- 
 ing an elbow on his desk, while he looked at her intently. 
 
 " Yes, Monsieur le Baron," she responded, sitting with 
 clasped hands, and with a look of apprehension in her 
 honest eyes ; for it was long since her master had honored 
 her with an interview. 
 
 " Thou has ever been a faithful caretaker of my little 
 son and his interests ; and as such, I trust thee," he con- 
 tinued, his glance wandering from hers, out through the 
 window back of her, as he saw the mist of tears dimming 
 her eyes. 
 
 " I have ever tried to keep my promise to his dying
 
 14 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 mother, Monsieur le Baron ; and then, too, I love the child 
 as if he were my own." 
 
 " That I know well," the baron said, in a tone of the 
 greatest kindliness; "and, so knowing, I wish to make 
 sure of his future welfare, and thine as well, let what will 
 befall me." 
 
 Margot looked at him in silent wonder mingled with 
 some alarm, as she could see no reason for his words, nor 
 for the mood which seemed to inspire them. 
 
 " These are troublous times," he resumed more calmly, 
 and dropping the familiar manner of speech he had pre- 
 viously used ; " times when but a few hours suffice to turn 
 affairs from apparent security into confusion and danger. 
 We have so far been unmolested ; but, if I may judge 
 from what I hear, this cannot long continue. I wish, 
 therefore, to place a considerable sum of money in your 
 care, for I feel that perhaps it may be safer with you than 
 with me. It is all I have of my own to give Jean ; and it 
 will relieve me to know that, no matter what may come 
 to me, or however fitienne may seek to rob the boy, my 
 Jean will never know actual want." 
 
 The baron was now standing by the side of his desk ; 
 and pressing the edge of a panel in the oaken wainscoting, 
 it flew open, disclosing a small recess, wherein were a small 
 metal box and a number of little canvas bags. 
 
 " Come here," he said, turning to look at Margot over 
 his shoulder. 
 
 She came to his side. 
 
 " See," he explained ; " you do so, and so," showing her 
 how to manipulate the secret spring. Then, after closing 
 the panel, he added, " See now if you can open it." 
 
 She did so, and the panel opened again. 
 
 "Ah, that is well. Now you know where the boy's 
 fortune is hidden, and I trust you to guard it for him. The 
 bags contain gold coin, and the box holds a few jewels, 
 that are his, as they were his mother's ; also some papers, 
 for which the future may show need, should any one seek
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 5 
 
 to deprive him of his rights as my son. I shall leave it to 
 your discretion as to when and where you will take them 
 from their present hiding-place." 
 
 "Why should I wish to do this, Monsieur le Baron?" 
 she ventured to ask. 
 
 " It may be necessary, in order to insure their better 
 safety, should events make it expedient, or you be forced 
 to leave this house with Jean, by reason of anything be- 
 falling me, so that I cannot protect him against Etienne, 
 or otherwise guard his welfare. Remember, Margot, I 
 charge you solemnly, that when I am not here, if if I am 
 taken away, you remove Jean from Iitienne's rule." 
 
 "But what mean you, Monsieur le Baron? is it that 
 you know of any danger threatening?" 
 
 " No no," he answered wearily, resuming his seat, 
 while Margot remained standing before him. " Only it is 
 well to be watchful and foreseeing in such times as the 
 present. It is well for you to know what I have said and 
 shown to you ; for, no matter what may come, no other soul 
 can know of this hiding-place, nor of what is within it. 
 And if I am gone, then I trust you, above all others, to 
 protect my boy's future, and provide for his welfare." 
 
 " That will I do with my life ! " Margot declared fervently. 
 
 The baron rose from his chair, and taking her brown, 
 toil-worn hand, raised it to his lips with the same deference 
 he would have shown a lady of his own rank. 
 
 " That thou hast proved these many years, my faithful 
 Margot ; and I bless thee for it." 
 
 It was toward sunset that same day when Jean came 
 running in to announce that he had seen soldiers riding up 
 the winding roadway that led through the park. 
 
 Bidding the boy keep out of sight until the cause of such 
 a visit could be ascertained, Monsieur le Baron descended 
 to the reception-room, where the officer in command of 
 the soldiers soon presented himself, and delivered a letter 
 from Couthon, in which the baron's hospitality was re- 
 quested for the bearer and his escort.
 
 1 6 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The fact was that fitienne, recently angered by his 
 father's refusal to increase his already liberal allowance, 
 had, with characteristic villany, let fall some insinuations 
 impeaching the latter's loyalty to the Revolutionary cause ; 
 and the officer, who had been ordered upon a mission 
 which would take him several leagues beyond the chateau, 
 was instructed to stop there upon his return, the object 
 being that the Committee might, from the manner in which 
 the baron received his uninvited guests, form a better idea 
 as to his true sentiments. 
 
 The officer himself knew nothing of this nothing more 
 than that he had been given a letter of introduction to the 
 baron, and directed to seek quarters at the chateau, rather 
 than at an inn. 
 
 Monsieur le Baron received him with dignified courtesy, 
 and having read the letter, was not long in suspecting 
 the true import of such an unusual proceeding. But he 
 evinced no sign of this as he said, " One soldier should 
 always be welcome at the house of another, monsieur ; 
 and such hospitality as mine affords is entirely at your 
 command. I will give directions that your men shall 
 be cared for properly ; and you yourself will honor me 
 by becoming my guest." 
 
 "Then you have seen service, Monsieur le Baron?" 
 inquired the officer, looking with increased interest at 
 his host, who had drawn himself up to the full height 
 of his once stalwart form. 
 
 "Yes; but as a much younger man. I was with Mont- 
 calm, in the Netherlands, and also served with him in 
 North America. In fact I was by his side when he died, 
 at Quebec, in '59." 
 
 " Indeed ! He was a gallant soldier, by all accounts." 
 
 "A finer soldier never served the king; and a better 
 man never gave his life for France. But" with a deep 
 sigh " such things are of the past. I am now a recluse, 
 giving but scant attention to outside affairs." 
 
 The officer was about to reply, when the baron added,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 7 
 
 as if not unwilling to end the interview, " I will have you 
 shown to your apartments, in order that you may refresh 
 yourself after your journey. We dine at seven." 
 
 Jean, meanwhile, mindful of his father's command, did 
 not deem it wise to present himself until the dinner hour 
 should arrive, but had passed the time in questioning 
 Margot and Tatro as to the probable meaning of this 
 strange invasion of the chateau's privacy. Then, going 
 into the dining-room with an unusually subdued air, 
 although his heart was fluttering with excitement, the 
 lad's shyness evaporated in a glad shout at sight of the 
 officer standing before the fireplace, where burning logs 
 made cheerful the apartment and warmed the chill even- 
 ing air. 
 
 "Aha!" he cried, precipitating himself upon his 
 father's guest, whose arms went quickly around the boy- 
 ish form. "Is it thou, my beloved Pizarro?" 
 
 " Truly it is, little Monsieur de Soto," answered Lieu- 
 tenant Bonaparte, laughing as he kissed Jean's flushed 
 cheeks, while the baron looked on with amazement, and 
 old Tatro paused in the report he was making as to the 
 soldiers' dinner in the outer hall, to stare with equal sur- 
 prise at these demonstrations of affection between the 
 stranger and his master's son. 
 
 When they were seated the officer explained to Mon- 
 sieur le Baron although in a way not to bring in the 
 name of ]tienne how he had come to know the boy ; 
 and Jean, now quite in his element, and entirely at ease, 
 rattled on after a fashion that relieved his father from 
 any extra effort in entertaining his guest.
 
 CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 IT was nearing ten o'clock. The officer and his host 
 were seated in the drawing-room, having a game of 
 chess, with Jean, very proud and correspondingly 
 sleepy, because of sitting up so long beyond his usual 
 bed-time, watching them from a near-by divan, when 
 Tatro, his face and voice showing the greatest alarm, 
 rushed into the room and exclaimed, " Mon Dieu, Mon- 
 sieur le Baron ! The peasants ! A great crowd of them 
 are coming up the avenue! Hark you can hear their 
 shouts ! " 
 
 The chessmen and board fell to the floor as both players 
 sprang from their chairs; and Jean, all sleepiness banished 
 from his eyes, stood beside them. 
 
 Some of the windows were open ; and the sound of 
 voices, both hoarse and shrill, but all shouting menac- 
 ingly, could be heard, evidently drawing nearer to the 
 house. 
 
 " Call my soldiers at once," ordered Bonaparte, speak^ 
 ing to Tatro. " Monsieur le Baron," he added, turning to 
 him, "we will do all in our power for your protection." 
 
 The baron grasped the young man's extended hand as 
 he called to Tatro, who was hurrying away, "See to it 
 that all the windows and shutters are closed on this floor, 
 and that all the outer doors are barred. And call every 
 servant here to me." 
 
 " Ah, Monsieur le Baron," wailed the old man, pausing 
 on .the threshold, " they have fled the cowards ! " 
 
 " Indeed," said his master, grimly. " Then make your 
 own hands do double duty ; and we ourselves will see to 
 these fastenings."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 9 
 
 Tatro fled to execute his missions, while the baron and 
 his guest, with Jean's assistance, closed and barred the 
 windows and shutters of the drawing-room, and then went 
 out into the great entrance-hall, where ancestral portraits 
 looked down from the dusky oak panels, and the light 
 caught the glint of steel from weapons of war and of the 
 chase. Several suits of armor, looking like knights of old, 
 stood upon pedestals, and, in the uncertain light, seemed 
 as if imbued with mysterious life. 
 
 The dozen soldiers had appeared, and were ordered to 
 post themselves in the hall, where they stood, with ready 
 arms, behind their commander and the baron, who were 
 nearer the stoutly barred door, listening to the wild hub- 
 bub of voices now close to the chateau. 
 
 The defenders had been joined by Pierre, armed, as was 
 Tatro, when Margot appeared, to urge Jean and Pierre to 
 come and share her retreat on the floor above. 
 
 The former stood beside his father, who now as if 
 noticing his presence for the first time commanded him 
 to do as Margot had asked, and bade Pierre accompany him. 
 
 The boys obeyed silently; but as they went up the 
 stairway, preceded by Margot, their steps were reluctant, 
 and their backward glances needed no words to express 
 the disappointment felt by the two at being shut away 
 from the promised excitement. 
 
 " Go you above also, Tatro," said the baron, " and look 
 from an upper window. Then report to us as to how 
 many you make out to be composing this gathering of 
 canaille" 
 
 " Go you with him, Greloire, and report the same, with 
 whatever else you may see," added the lieutenant, ad- 
 dressing a stalwart, bright-faced young soldier in the front 
 rank. 
 
 While he was speaking, heavy blows began to fall upon 
 the oaken door, and insolent voices demanded that it be 
 opened, while shouts, jeers, and execrations made a tumult 
 of sound outside.
 
 2O Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Suddenly there came a sharp crashing, followed by tink- 
 lings of showering glass, as the panes of the one narrow 
 window high up to the left of the door were broken by 
 missiles from outside. 
 
 The opening was too high for the assailants to effect an 
 entrance without using a ladder; and shouts were heard, 
 urging that one be found. 
 
 The lieutenant waited until there was a lull in the noise ; 
 then, raising his voice, he called out, " Have a care what 
 you do, for the baron is not without protectors. I am 
 an officer of the Assembly; and in its name I bid you 
 disperse." 
 
 There was silence, as if those outside were surprised at 
 signs of an unexpected resistance. 
 
 " Again I tell you to disperse," said the lieutenant, in a 
 tone whose ringing notes could be readily heard by the 
 mob. 
 
 " Don't listen to him ; he lies," shouted a voice outside. 
 " 'T is but a trick of that rascally royalist of a baron. Here 
 comes the ladder ; up with it, and into the window. Let 
 there be death to all inside. Vive la Rfyublique f" 
 
 The words ended in a wild yell, taken up and repeated 
 by many other voices, while those within heard the sound 
 as of a ladder clattering against the wall. 
 
 Then the air was profaned by oaths, as some of the 
 rabble shouted, "Tis too short! There was another 
 many others ! Get them, and join them, to make the long 
 one we need! No there was a long fruit-ladder; get 
 it, some of you ! " 
 
 These were some of the ejaculations heard by the 
 besieged, followed by the voice which seemed to belong 
 to the leader of the mob. 
 
 " Peste ! The fiend take them for blundering fools! 
 Why did they not bring the fruit-ladder the longest 
 one? " 
 
 The lieutenant appeared now to have decided upon a 
 plan of action, for he turned from the door, just as Gre-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 21 
 
 loire, followed by Tatro, came from above stairs and re- 
 ported what they had seen from a window in one of the 
 darkened rooms. 
 
 There were more than fifty men outside ; with them were 
 some women ; and Tomas Fauchel was their leader. They 
 had but few firearms, their weapons being, for the most 
 part, clubs and staves, together with pikes and hatchets. 
 Some of them were armed even with shovels and tongs, it 
 being evident that any available instrument had been 
 caught up when the rabble sallied forth to murder the sup- 
 posed defenceless household, thus leaving the chateau free 
 for pillaging. 
 
 " Monsieur le Baron, will you permit me to arrange the 
 defence as I see fit? " inquired the young officer, turning 
 to his host. 
 
 " Most assuredly, sir; for I have full confidence in your 
 ability," was the reply. 
 
 "Then extinguish every light in this hall, and close all 
 the doors leading from it, so that all here will be in dark- 
 ness," said the lieutenant, now speaking authoritatively. 
 " And do you, Greloire," looking toward his soldiers 
 " with Murier and Lebceuf, stand here beside Monsieur 
 le Baron. Watch that broken window, and put a ball into 
 every head that appears there." 
 
 Greloire saluted silently, and the officer continued : " If 
 Tatro will act as guide, to pilot myself and the others out 
 through some unobserved way, we will make a detour, 
 and treat our friends to an attack in the flank." 
 
 He had scarcely finished speaking when one of the suits 
 of armor fell with a resounding clang from its pedestal ; 
 and the lieutenant, supposing the mishap came from the 
 carelessness of one of the soldiers who were closing the 
 doors leading to the lighted apartments, was about to utter 
 a reprimand, when Jean, looking greatly abashed, arose 
 from his hiding-place, betrayed by the untimely falling of 
 his cover. 
 
 The smiles that came to the soldiers' faces passed away
 
 22 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 instantly, as the baron exclaimed sternly, " Jean, what 
 means this? Go above at once, and remain, as I com- 
 manded thee ! " 
 
 The boy started to obey, when the lieutenant, who, at 
 the head of his men, was passing near the foot of the 
 stairway, paused, and said kindly, laying a hand on Jean's 
 shoulder, " Know you not, my De Soto, that the first and 
 bravest act of a soldier is to obey orders? " 
 
 The touch, the tone, no less then the words and the 
 smile which accompanied them, awoke a yearning in the 
 boy's heart to be one of the soldiers fortunate enough to 
 receive orders from the speaker, who now followed Tatro, 
 while Jean sped to the floor above, where Margot had long 
 since extinguished the lights. 
 
 He found Pierre standing by the window from which 
 Tatro and Greloire had made their recent reconnaisance. 
 The room was in complete darkness, while thick ivy upon 
 the walls outside overhung the window, making dense the 
 shadows, and better concealing an observer from the sight 
 of those below. 
 
 " See, Jean ; they are bringing a fruit-ladder. They in- 
 tend to climb through the window they have broken," 
 whispered Pierre, as the other lad came beside him, and 
 the two looked down upon the swaying, yelling crowd dis- 
 tinctly visible by the light of their torches. 
 
 "Jean, Jean, my treasure, if thou wilt but come away 
 from the window ! " Margot's voice whispered. " Pierre, 
 why dost thou not do as I bade thee? If thou wouldst 
 come far back into the room, so would he. Why can 
 either of you care to look down upon such wickedness? " 
 
 Margot's tone was in keeping with her words; but, while 
 speaking, she came still nearer to the window, and leaned 
 over the boys' heads, in order to obtain a better look 
 herself. 
 
 " Hist, Margot! Wait wait a moment, until the first 
 man shall dare climb up and show his head at the broken 
 window, for then we shall see rare sport," whispered Jean,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 23 
 
 impatiently. " I heard him my Pizarro tell his sol- 
 diers to shoot at every head they saw there ; and they 
 have made the hall as dark as it is up here, so that those 
 who mount the ladder cannot see within. And my Pizarro 
 and some of his soldiers have gone out with Tatro to 
 attack the rabble in the ' flank/ as I heard him say." 
 
 "Ah ah, but 'tis all most horrible! " murmured Mar- 
 got, as she withdrew her head from the window. " What 
 has come to the people, that they will think of ill-treating 
 a master who has never shown them aught but kindness? " 
 
 Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Jean, 
 why dost call the young officer by such a wrong name? 
 His proper name is Bonaparte Lieutenant Bonaparte ; 
 for so his soldiers told me." 
 
 Whatever might have been the boy's reply was checked 
 by the report of a musket in the hall below, followed by 
 the sound as of a body falling from the ladder outside. 
 Then came a fresh burst of yells and oaths, as the infuri- 
 ated crowd surged closer to the door, and hurled missiles 
 lighted torches among them through the broken 
 window. 
 
 The soldiers had seen a dark, shaggy head rise above 
 the opening, then a pair of burly shoulders, followed by a 
 hand holding a torch. 
 
 " 'T is my shot, for I am the senior of all," remarked the 
 soldier Murier, as he raised his piece. "Watch, and see 
 how neatly I will bring him down." 
 
 There was a sharp report, a yell, and the intruder dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 " Parbleu ! But this is rare sport," Murier muttered, 
 feeling for another cartridge. " It is an intelligent enemy 
 we have to fight, who, one at a time, mount a ladder, and 
 hold a torch so that we may see them clearly. I wish " 
 
 The words were cut short by another shot, fired through 
 the window, and he fell to the floor. 
 
 " Sacre ! Now 'tis I who am hit. The enemy grows 
 more intelligent."
 
 24 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Some of the hurled-in torches had lit the hall for a mo- 
 ment; but they were quickly extinguished by the baron 
 and Greloire as Leboeuf returned the shot ; without effect, 
 however, for this intruder had carried no light, and the hall 
 was again in darkness. 
 
 "Art badly hurt, Murier?" whispered Greloire, as he 
 felt the wounded man crawling past him. 
 
 " Not but that I can still use my musket, though 't will 
 have to be sitting. But have a care, all of you, and do 
 not step backward too quickly, or you may tread upon 
 me." 
 
 " Sh-h ! " whispered the baron. " It is best to keep 
 silence. I regret, my man, that you are hurt." 
 
 Murier did not reply, for he, as well as the others, was 
 now straining his ears in the attempt to catch the meaning 
 of a silence that had come over the rabble outside. 
 
 They were soon informed ; for, from the loud-toned di- 
 rections being given, they knew that the besiegers were 
 endeavoring to join some of the shorter ladders, to be 
 placed side by side, so that several men might ascend at 
 once. 
 
 "A plague on whatever gardener it was who left so 
 many ladders about ! " muttered the baron. 
 
 A moment later the discharge of musketry outside told 
 that the lieutenant and his men had come upon the 
 scene. Then the air was rent by more yells and impreca- 
 tions, but with a sound in them bespeaking dismay on the 
 part of the surprised marauders. 
 
 A second volley rang out, and the officer's voice was 
 heard. 
 
 " Steady, my men. Load and fire at will, or club your 
 muskets. Teach these people a lesson one in the name 
 of the Assembly." 
 
 Those in the hall now saw a flaming torch thrust 
 through the window. It was held by Tomas Fauchel, 
 who waved it wildly as he shouted, " Show thyself, thou 
 craven baron, for neither man nor devil shall force me
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 25 
 
 from this place until I have kept my oath, and killed 
 thee ! " 
 
 The light of his torch fell upon the uplifted face 
 white and stern of the baron, who said, laying his hand 
 upon the musket with which Leboeuf was taking aim at the 
 half-crazed fanatic, " Do him no harm, but let him live." 
 
 Fauchel, who had heard the words, answered them with 
 a mocking laugh, and quickly extending his other hand, 
 pulled the trigger of a pistol, as he tossed his torch into 
 the hall and yelled, " Die, thou damnable Papist, and 
 take to hell with thee no thanks of mine for sparing my 
 life." 
 
 The baron reeled, for he was struck fairly in the fore- 
 head. But he was caught by Lebceuf, and his dead form 
 was not laid upon the floor before Greloire had planted a 
 musket-ball in Fauchel's head, and tumbled him from the 
 ladder dead as the man he had assassinated. 
 
 His followers, terrified by the lieutenant's unexpected 
 attack, were now flying like scared sheep ; and the fight 
 was ended. 
 
 Old Tatro had a bandage around his head, where a 
 stone had cut the scalp. The officer's coat-sleeve was 
 blood-stained, over the place wounded slightly by a glanc- 
 ing pike-thrust. Besides Murier, another of his soldiers 
 was injured ; and one of them had been killed outright. 
 
 An hour later the silence that wrapped the chateau 
 would have repelled the thought of such an uproar having 
 raged within it so recently. But the odor of burned 
 powder tainted the air, and was stronger within doors, 
 where, upon the floor of the hall, stains of blood were 
 visible, despite the efforts of Tatro to remove them ; and 
 the polished wainscoting was blistered in places from the 
 flames of torches thrown through the window. 
 
 The dead had been laid in upper rooms, and Margot 
 had gone to her own part of the house, leaving Jean in 
 the drawing-room with the lieutenant, who was now 
 walking up and down, and now sitting on the divan,
 
 26 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 beside the passionately grieving boy, to whom he spoke 
 words of tenderest sympathy, stroking the dark hair, or 
 holding the burning hands in a cool clasp that was in- 
 finitely soothing. 
 
 But he left the room several times in order to look after 
 the two wounded men, for whom Tatro and one of the 
 soldiers were caring with patient devotion, while now and 
 again the old man's tears would flow at the thought of his 
 dead master, in whose defence these brave fellows had 
 been wounded. 
 
 Some of the soldiers took turns at mounting guard in 
 the lower hall, for fear of a possible renewal of the attack. 
 But the peasants' outburst was evidently spent, for the 
 present, at least, as nothing happened to disturb the 
 silence of the succeeding hours. 
 
 The lieutenant also was on the alert; and it was not 
 until the first showing of dawn began to light the earth 
 that, with a last compassionate look at Jean, now slumber- 
 ing upon the divan, he turned away, to throw himself down 
 for a few hours' sleep.
 
 CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 THE gray was flushing with rose tints from the 
 coming sun when a loud knocking upon the 
 entrance door aroused the soldier on guard in 
 the hall, who, seated underneath the broken window 
 where the fruit-ladder (brought inside for greater precau- 
 tion) now rested, was nodding drowsily. 
 
 " Open the door ! " a voice shouted peremptorily. 
 
 " Not until I know your name and errand," was the sol- 
 dier's curt response, as he rose slowly, and drew closer to 
 the door. " Who are you, and what is your business here ? " 
 
 There was a muttering outside, followed by a more 
 vigorous pounding; and the visitor called loudly, " Tatro ! 
 Pierre ! A thousand devils ! You fools inside there, open 
 the door, I say ! " 
 
 The disturbance brought Greloire from his improvised 
 couch at the rear of the hall ; and climbing the ladder, he 
 pushed his head through the broken window for a sight of 
 who might be outside. 
 
 "Who are you?" demanded the young man standing 
 before the door, his voice indicating surprise as he looked 
 at the face of the soldier above him. 
 
 " That is what I should like to have you tell me of your- 
 self, m'sieur," answered Greloire, in his usual dry manner, 
 his not over friendly eyes noting the details of the attire 
 worn by the aristocratically clad visitor. 
 
 " Dame ! " now exclaimed the latter, evidently more 
 angry than before. "What business can it be of yours? 
 Who are you, that dare cavil over opening to me the door 
 of my father's house? Do it at once, I say, or it will be 
 the worse for you ! "
 
 28 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Greloire drew in his head and looked down at his com- 
 rade, who was already slipping the bars of the door. 
 
 " He said it was his father's house ; it must then be right 
 to open the door to him," said the soldier below, glanc- 
 ing inquiringly at Greloire, who was now descending the 
 ladder. 
 
 " Right or not, he is but one ; and there are two of us to 
 handle such a cocksparrow as I could easily overcome 
 alone, with one hand," replied Greloire scornfully, as the 
 bars fell, and litienne entered, somewhat paler than usual, 
 and his hair and raiment dishevelled from an all-night's 
 concealment in one of the outbuildings of the chateau. 
 
 Wishing to see the baron, in order to press his demand 
 for more funds, the young man had, unannounced, come 
 down from Paris, and chanced to arrive the evening before, 
 during the wildest part of the melee. 
 
 He was by this time accustomed to such outbreaks; 
 and suspecting quickly the position of affairs, had lost no 
 time in finding a hiding-place in a grove, not far from the 
 house. Here he remained until the mob had dispersed, 
 when, with wonted precaution, he decided to seek conceal- 
 ment in one of the many outbuildings, until daylight should 
 give him courage to face what might be within. 
 
 But it did not suit the young man's purposes to let any 
 of this be known. And he left it to be inferred that this 
 was his first appearance upon the scene, while demanding 
 haughtily from the soldiers an explanation of their presence 
 in his father's house, of the ladder in the hall, and of the 
 broken window. 
 
 The one who had opened the door was now replacing 
 the bar, and made no reply. He was a burly fellow, with 
 stolid face and manner. But Greloire, who was of better 
 birth, and had considerable polish, explained to the inso- 
 lent son of the house what had occurred during the previous 
 night. 
 
 At the tidings of his father's death, a new expression 
 came to I^tienne's face, softening its coldness ; but this
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 29 
 
 quickly changed when, in reply to his query as to who 
 was in command of the escort, Greloire answered, " Lieu- 
 tenant Bonaparte." 
 
 An oath that made both soldiers stare burst from the 
 young man's lips. 
 
 " I will go to my apartments," he added, with a return 
 of all his haughtiness ; " and do both of you see to it that 
 I am not disturbed by your officer." 
 
 With this he stalked through the hall, and up the stair- 
 way, shuddering as he passed the blood-stains upon the 
 floor. 
 
 " Peste the cur ! " muttered the burly soldier, as he 
 and Greloire stood looking at the slim legs now disappear- 
 ing at the top of the stairs. 
 
 Greloire laughed softly. " 'T is but a fair sample of the 
 men and manners that have unchained the fury of France," 
 was his comment ; after which he went to the drawing-room 
 and reported the arrival to his officer. 
 
 Etienne's steps on the upper stairs and along the oaken- 
 floored hall brought Tatro to the door of the room where 
 lay the two wounded soldiers, one of whom was evidently 
 dying, while the other was sleeping quietly. 
 
 "Ah, Monsieur fitienne, is it you, sir?" Then, correct- 
 ing himself with " Pardon Monsieur le Baron," he burst 
 forth in a quavering voice, " It is surely a sad return for 
 you." 
 
 Somewhat softened by the old man's words, and now 
 realizing more fully the horrors of the night before, Etienne 
 replied in an unusually kind fashion. But when he ended 
 by ordering that a repast be brought to his rooms, Tatro's 
 face showed a surprise he dared not voice ; for he won- 
 dered that his new master could think of sustenance for 
 himself, so soon after coming upon the scene of his recent 
 loss. 
 
 fitienne, noticing this, smiled as he said, " One grows 
 hardened in these days, old man ; and had you seen 
 as much blood-spilling as have I during the last three
 
 30 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 months, you would learn how to keep your appetite, 
 especially had you fasted for four and twenty hours." 
 
 " Pardon, Monsieur le Baron," replied Tatro, looking 
 dazed ; " I was only " 
 
 " Send me food and wine at once," interrupted Iitienne, 
 turning to go. 
 
 " Pardon, Monsieur le Baron," repeated Tatro. " It 
 shall be done as speedily as possible ; but there is no 
 servant left in the chateau excepting Margot and my- 
 self. They all fled last night, at the first alarm. But I 
 will tell Margot to bring you what you wish, Monsieur 
 le Baron." 
 
 He hesitated, and seemed to choke, as he applied the 
 title to his new master. 
 
 " Old Margot ! " exclaimed Etienne, whirling about. 
 "Dame no! Do not send that old woman to me, for 
 her very looks would poison the food ! " 
 
 " But, Monsieur le Baron," remonstrated Tatro, " I dare 
 not venture to leave these wounded men for so long a time, 
 as they are in my charge until a soldier shall come to re- 
 lieve me. When I heard your footsteps on the stair I 
 thought the one was coming who should be here. I dare 
 not leave until he comes ; and yet I was wondering if it 
 were not my duty to go down and tell the officer that one 
 of his men is surely dying." 
 
 fitienne swore under his breath. 
 
 "Who is your master here?" he demanded; "thatCorsi- 
 can cur downstairs, or myself? I tell you to prepare the 
 food, and bring it to me, or out of here you go within the 
 half-hour." And he strode away to his own apartments. 
 
 A righteous wrath dried the tears in old Tatro's eyes as 
 he turned again to his charges. One was sleeping ; it was 
 Murier, who had not been disturbed by the recent collo- 
 quy, which, until tienne's final threat, had been conducted 
 in low tones. 
 
 Going to the other bed, Tatro looked at the ghastly face 
 on the pillow, and listened to the strained, irregular breath-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 3 1 
 
 ing, broken now and then by a faint rattle that announced 
 the approach of death. 
 
 "Poor lad poor lad! The Holy Mother bring for- 
 giveness for such sins as you go burdened with ! Ah, 
 't is a dreadful day, this, with people dying, and all the 
 priests fled for their lives, so that none can be found to 
 assoil us." 
 
 He crossed himself as Margot entered the room ; and 
 leaving her to take his place, the old man went below, to 
 acquaint the lieutenant of his soldier's condition, and then 
 to prepare, as best he might, with the help of some of the 
 other soldiers, a morning meal for the household. 
 
 Going up later with the food fitienne had ordered, he 
 noticed that the door was ajar of the room where lay the 
 body of his dead master; and an impulse led him to look 
 within. 
 
 But he drew back hastily, and went noiselessly on his 
 way, while his face lost the hardness which had gathered 
 there with each step that brought him nearer to the new 
 baron. 
 
 The faithful old servant had seen Etienne upon his knees, 
 beside the bed where lay his father. 
 
 " It may be that he is not so hard of heart as it seemed," 
 he muttered, placing the tray of food upon a table in one 
 of the luxuriously furnished rooms always reserved for the 
 elder son's use. 
 
 " Not so hard," he repeated ; " which will be all the 
 better for poor little M'sieur Jean." 
 
 The soldier was now dead, and Jean stood at his bedside, 
 close to the lieutenant, who with saddened eyes, laid a 
 hand upon the man's cold forehead as he said softly, " May 
 you rest in peace, poor Jean ! " 
 
 "Was his name Jean? " whispered the lad, looking with 
 awe at the wide-open eyes and fallen jaw. His veins were 
 freed from the fire and excitement of the night before, and 
 he was only a boy, shrinking with fear in the presence of 
 unfamiliar death.
 
 32 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 "Was his name the same as mine?" he asked again, 
 now raising his eyes, heavy and dark-circled, to the face 
 of him he loved and trusted. 
 
 The lieutenant started, as if aroused from abstraction; 
 and his arm went about the boy. 
 
 " Yes ; his name was Jean ; and he was a brave soldier. 
 He came from Provence ; so he was a neighbor of yours. 
 He has a poor old widowed mother there, who will carry a 
 broken heart; for he was all she had, and he was a good 
 son to her." 
 
 " He leaves more than I have," said Jean, a catching sob 
 breaking his voice ; " for you know my mother died when 
 I was a baby." 
 
 " Yes; so you told me. And you remember nothing of 
 her?" 
 
 The lieutenant spoke as if seeking to divert the channel 
 of grief from the boy's more recent loss. 
 
 " No. Yet I have always seemed to know what she was 
 like, for Margot talked to me often of her ; and so has my 
 father." 
 
 His voice broke and he was silent, with drooping head 
 and heaving breast, trying to subdue another outburst of 
 sorrow. 
 
 The lieutenant drew him still closer. " I, too, have a 
 mother ; and all I can ever be that is good and great I 
 shall owe to her teachings." 
 
 The marked change in his tone aroused Jean into look- 
 ing at him. Then one of his arms stole up around the 
 shoulder against which he laid his head. 
 
 " If she is like thee this mother, I should love her as 
 my own." 
 
 The only reply to this was one of those magnetic smiles 
 which came so rarely to the pale face ; and the young man 
 bent and touched his lips to the boy's brow. 
 
 Murier's eyes were now open, and he was looking in a 
 half-dazed way at the two man and boy standing on 
 the opposite side of the room. Then, as the lieutenant
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 3 3 
 
 moved toward him, he raised his hand and saluted, while 
 his expression became more comprehending. 
 
 " We made a brave stand, Murier," said the lieutenant, 
 who nowstoodby the bed, smiling down at the wounded man. 
 
 A faint wave of color showed in the latter's face, and a 
 gratified light in his eyes. 
 
 "And were you also hurt, mon ojficier?" he inquired, 
 looking at the arm for which Margot had made a sling. 
 
 " Merely a scratch, not worth telling about, although the 
 good dame Margot has made much of it," was the careless 
 answer. " But never mind about such things now," the 
 young man added, with a meaning glance, which Murier 
 understood ; for his eyes wandered pityingly to the grief- 
 stricken face of the boy, who stood near, looking at him 
 intently. 
 
 Here Margot came in ; and the lieutenant, drawing her 
 aside, gave some low-toned directions, to which she listened 
 respectfully, glancing meanwhile at Jean. The lad had 
 gone to the door, as if to leave the room ; but he now stood 
 waiting for his friend, of whom Margot was beginning to 
 feel somewhat jealous. 
 
 She had slept little during the night, but lay thinking of 
 what changes were likely to come, now that the baron was 
 dead. Their last interview, and the secret he had then 
 imparted, together with the injunction he laid upon her 
 respecting Jean's future, moved the good woman very 
 strongly. 
 
 Now that fitienne was the head of the house, she dreaded 
 she knew not exactly what. But an intuition warned 
 her to secure the money and valuables which the baron 
 had intrusted to her care ; to take them from their present 
 hiding-place, and have them at hand, in case some addi- 
 tional disaster should come. And, too, bearing in mind 
 her master's command that she remove Jean from fitienne's 
 rule in case of that befalling which now had come to pass, 
 her perplexed brain had at length evolved a plan which 
 seemed both wise and feasible.
 
 34 Lafittc of Louisiana 
 
 But, before attempting to put it into execution, a curious 
 impulse urged her to take the young officer into her con- 
 fidence. His unconcealed love for her nursling, and 
 Jean's reciprocal affection, inspired her to trust him. But, 
 with a peasant's caution, she was still weighing the matter 
 in her mind, almost fearing to follow her impulse, yet feel- 
 ing the need of assurance from a stronger and wiser head 
 than she could assume her own to be. 
 
 These considerations were occupying her thoughts while 
 listening to the lieutenant's directions that the dead soldier 
 be taken from the room by some of his comrades, and 
 removed to the apartment where lay the other one ; and 
 that this be done at once, without letting the wounded 
 man know more of the matter than was necessary. 
 
 Her resolution was now taken ; and looking up into the 
 cold, clean-cut face before her, she asked, " You will not 
 leave here to-day, monsieur?" 
 
 " Perhaps; I cannot decide until later." 
 
 " Before you go, monsieur, I would take it as a great 
 favor should you let me ask of you some advice as to a 
 matter concerning him you seem to love." And she 
 glanced again at Jean, who was still standing in the door- 
 way, with his back to them. 
 
 The officer, if he felt any surprise, showed none, for he 
 answered her with kindly assurance. He then joined Jean, 
 and the two went below, where breakfast awaited them.
 
 CHAPTER SIX 
 
 THE bodies of Fauchel and his followers, left behind 
 by the fleeing mob, had, during the night, been 
 dragged forth by the soldiers, and laid upon one 
 of the lower terraces, some distance from the house ; for it 
 was believed that the friends of the dead would return to 
 seek for them. And the surmise was correct; for when 
 the sun rose, the terrace presented its usual appearance. 
 
 The two dead soldiers were buried early in the after- 
 noon ; but the stars were coming out when the door 
 of the great vault was closed, and the late baron left 
 to sleep with his ancestors. 
 
 fitienne, silent and repelling, stood by, vouchsafing 
 little notice of any one about him. Jean had taken care 
 to keep away from his half-brother ; and the latter replied 
 with scant courtesy to the lieutenant's salutation, when 
 they met for the first time, as the baron's body was borne 
 from the house. 
 
 But the young officer had found an opportunity for 
 a long talk with Margot; and being now fully informed 
 as to the new baron's character, as well as of his probable 
 refusal to permit Margot to carry out his father's com- 
 mands concerning Jean, he was fully determined to defend 
 the interests of the boy, who was now more than ever 
 dear to him, and sustain Margot in performing a duty 
 which would insure her charge being safe from fitienne's 
 tyranny. 
 
 Margot was not of those who had stood about the 
 tomb, fitienne's temporary absence from the house be- 
 ing assured, she had improved the opportunity to open
 
 36 Lafittc of Louisiana 
 
 the secret panel and remove the metal box and bags 
 of coin, which she hid away amongst her own belongings. 
 This done, she made a bowl of nourishing broth, and took 
 it to Murier, who, by another day, would be able to sit 
 his horse and start on his return to Paris. 
 
 Her own course of action was -strengthened by the 
 lieutenant's counsel and aid already arranged. She 
 proposed, with Jean and Pierre, to seek a new home in 
 Toulon, where a large number of Royalists, together 
 with others who had suffered persecution from the Revo- 
 lutionists, had found refuge. 
 
 To that city had fled, some months before, Pere Huot, 
 for many years a member of the baron's household, his 
 adviser and confessor, and Jean's instructor. Religion, 
 like many other good things, was fast being discarded 
 in France; and the monasteries having been broken up, 
 the good priest had, as ordered by his superior, gone 
 to Toulon. 
 
 Margot determined to seek him there, hoping that 
 fitienne, hating as he did his half-brother, would place 
 no obstacle in the way of getting quit of him. And even 
 should he seek to assert his authority, and refuse to 
 let her carry out her plan, she now felt herself in a 
 position to defy him, armed as she was with his father's 
 instructions, and supported, as she knew she would be, 
 by Jean's military friend, whose consideration for his 
 soldiers, and their enthusiastic praise of him, had ban- 
 ished from her mind the last doubt of his wisdom and 
 sincerity. 
 
 He had promised to tarry until after the next morning's 
 meal, when fitienne should have been informed of his 
 father's action in confiding to Margot the future of his 
 younger son, and of her intention to leave immediately 
 for Toulon. 
 
 But, late that evening, something occurred which made 
 all such explanations unnecessary. 
 
 One of the soldiers was keeping guard in the hall,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 37 
 
 although there was little fear of another attack, as the 
 peasants, lacking Fauchel's fanatical haranguing to arouse 
 their sluggish passions, were not likely to rally again, 
 especially after the severe punishment dealt out to them 
 the night before. 
 
 Greloire was shut up in the room with his wounded 
 comrade Murier ; Tatro had gone to seek a much needed 
 rest; and Margot hovered about, upstairs and below, in 
 readiness for any case of need. 
 
 Presently she saw fitienne enter the drawing-room, 
 where Jean had remained, having refused to leave the 
 lieutenant, who was now seated at a table, examining 
 some papers found upon the dead Fauchel ; and consid- 
 ering this an opportune time to make known her plans, 
 she had turned toward the door, when fitienne's voice, full 
 of its old-time arrogance, came to her. 
 
 " Jean, leave the room instantly, and go to your bed ! " 
 
 Margot paused in the doorway and saw Jean's head 
 raised with a belligerent poise. He was seated in front of 
 Iitienne, who stood with his back to Margot; but, while 
 the boy 's eyes blazed with anger, he was silent. 
 
 " Do you not hear me? Go at once, as I have ordered ! " 
 commanded fitienne, as if speaking to one of his dogs. 
 
 The lieutenant had laid aside the paper he was perusing, 
 and a frown gathered over his eyes as he looked at the 
 speaker. 
 
 " I will not go for you, fitienne, when you order me in 
 such a rude fashion," Jean now said, his voice shaking 
 with rage. 
 
 Uttering a vile oath, litienne strode forward, and seizing 
 him by the collar, dragged the boy from the chair and 
 began striking him. 
 
 " Monsieur fitienne, do not you do that ! " cried Margot, 
 rushing toward him. " Ah, mon Dieu ! How can you 
 have the heart, and at such a time as this?" 
 
 Jean was struggling in a wild fury, using feet and hands 
 to defend himself, which he did in a way that brought to
 
 38 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 the lieutenant 's mind the scene of two years before, in 
 the Tuileries garden. 
 
 He had risen at Margot's cry, and was standing close to 
 E~tienne, who had, thus far, paid no attention to him. 
 
 " Hold, Monsieur le Baron," he said, distinctly and 
 calmly. " I have the right to tell you that you cannot 
 thus assert your authority in my presence." 
 
 fitienne, as once before, released Jean, and turned to face 
 the speaker, to whom the boy now rushed, clinging to him 
 with a storm of passionate sobs, coming partly from anger, 
 and partly from a bruised heart. 
 
 The arm which would shield him went quickly around his 
 neck and shaking shoulders, as the lieutenant continued, 
 in the same quiet tone, and looking into fitienne 's blazing 
 eyes as the young man stood with clenched hands, biting 
 his thin under lip, " I have to tell you, monsieur, that your 
 father, the late baron, has intrusted to this good woman 
 the sole care of your brother ; and that I, as her helper 
 and adviser, will champion his rights, no matter from what 
 quarter they may be assailed." 
 
 Margot had drawn nearer to his side ; and, as Jean 's sobs 
 ceased, the three confronted Etienne, who now burst into a 
 loud, derisive laugh. 
 
 " Indeed," he said, with a malicious sneer. " A charm- 
 ing trio of friends, truly devoted to one another's interests ! 
 So be it. But you will admit that this is my estate, and 
 that I have the privilege of its harboring only such guests 
 as it suits me to entertain. I now tell you that it is not my 
 pleasure to entertain such as stand before me ; and I 
 request that you all leave the chateau at once." 
 
 " Monsieur ittienne Monsieur le Baron ! " exclaimed 
 Margot. " Surely you will never do such a cruel thing as 
 to turn us out at this hour, and with affairs in the village 
 as they are, so that we dare not trust ourselves at the inn ! " 
 
 " What can a bastard, and the friends and champions of 
 a bastard, expect better? "he demanded, now speaking 
 deliberately, his pale face distorted by malice.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 39 
 
 Margot started indignantly, an angry flame springing into 
 her eyes; and the lieutenant said in a low tone, whose 
 very calmness was a menace, " It is scarcely the act of a 
 gentleman to insult the defenceless and the dead." 
 
 " Insult ! " cried fitienne, now letting loose all the vials 
 of his hatred and malignity. "Peste / How can he be other 
 than I have called him, when his mother was no wife?" 
 
 At this Jean stood erect, and with flashing eyes stepped 
 closer to his tormentor, who, now facing Margot more 
 directly, went on in the same furious way, " It is to be 
 supposed you never happened to know that when you and 
 your low-born mistress, the daughter of a snivelling sneak 
 of a Huguenot preacher, bedevilled my father into a mar- 
 riage ceremony, he already had a wife living my own 
 mother ! " 
 
 " 'T is false ! " declared Margot, forgetting everything 
 like habitual respect. 
 
 " It is not," fitienne retorted ; " and you are a liar when 
 you say otherwise." 
 
 Jean, with paling face, his burning eyes fastened upon his 
 brother, seemed stunned. The lieutenant stood, calm and 
 cold, to all outward appearance ; but the fingers resting 
 upon the back of a chair took a tight grip of the heavy 
 carving, and in his eyes was a glitter as of an unsheathed 
 steel blade. 
 
 " It is not," Etienne repeated less vehemently, " as Pere 
 Huot could tell you, if you asked him. My mother, the 
 late baronne, died but three years ago, in, I regret to say, 
 a madhouse, at Paris. But mad, or sane, she was the 
 baronne ; and that other woman, the mother of your 
 young whelp there, was no wife of my father's, as you must 
 now admit. The church would never recognize her as his 
 wife, he being a true Catholic, and no priest performing 
 the marriage ceremony between him and that cursed 
 Huguenot " 
 
 fitienne uttered an epithet too vile for repetition an 
 epithet that stung to madness the listening boy, who, with
 
 40 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 aery of rage, such as might come from a new Cain 
 wakened to life, snatched a dagger from the bric-a-brac 
 strewn upon a near-by table, and springing upon fitienne 
 drove the rusted blade into his side. 
 
 The slight form reeled and fell, a crumpled heap, upon 
 the floor, while Margot, with a shriek that brought the 
 soldier flying from his post in the hall, fell upon her knees, 
 and tried, with her apron, to stanch the flowing blood. 
 
 But her thoughts were all for Jean. 
 
 " Mais mats, mon pauvre bebe ! I fear thou hast done 
 for thyself now." 
 
 He had turned to flee ; but an iron grip on his shoulder 
 held him, and, looking up, he fell to trembling and shiver- 
 ing, as he met the stern eyes of his friend, looking as he 
 had never before seen them. 
 
 "Where would you go?" inquired a low voice, whose 
 measured calm matched the look of the eyes. 
 
 The boy stood silent, with drooped head. 
 
 The lieutenant, still holding him fast, moved to where 
 Margot and the soldier were kneeling beside fitienne, and 
 Jean met the wild-eyed regard of the wounded man, from 
 whose white lips now poured a flood of profanity, mingled 
 with threats of vengeance against the boy, whom he 
 ordered to leave the apartment. 
 
 The lieutenant turned away with a scornful laugh, half- 
 suppressed, but which Jean heard; and, taking heart, the 
 lad looked beseechingly upward, as if asking pardon for 
 his mad act. 
 
 " Come away come away, my De Soto," whispered 
 the officer; and bending he kissed the tear-wet cheek. 
 " He has a venomous nature, truly, and one cannot be 
 greatly blamed for treating a dog as he deserves." 
 
 Then, gathering up the papers at which he had been 
 looking, he thrust them into his pocket, and motioned 
 Jean to follow him from the room. 
 
 When out in the dimly lighted hall, the boy, looking up, 
 said wistfully, as he laid a hand upon his friend's arm,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 41 
 
 " You told me of your love for your mother. Would you 
 care that any one spoke of her as mine was named just now? " 
 
 With a strong word the first Jean had ever heard from 
 his lips the lieutenant answered, " If he had, he would 
 have been like to pay for it with his blood." 
 
 Then, checking himself, he added, in a quieter tone, 
 " Nay, Jean, I do not blame thee so much for the act as 
 for the loss of self-control which prompted it. Take my 
 word that a boy who cannot learn to control his own 
 temper can never hope to be a safe controller of other men 
 and matters, to say nothing of his own, when he comes to 
 man's estate." 
 
 Here Margot joined them, on her way to summon Tatro, 
 that he might assist the soldier in getting fitienne to his 
 own apartments ; and pausing a moment by Jean, she 
 passed a caressing hand over his dark locks as she mur- 
 mured, " My jewel my poor, unhappy Jean ! If only 
 thou hadst not done it! " And, before he could reply, 
 she went her way. 
 
 I^tienne was soon removed to his apartments, which 
 were in a far wing of the chateau ; and then the lieuten- 
 ant once more entered the drawing-room, telling Margot 
 that he should stop there again for the night. But he in- 
 sisted upon Jean going to his own chamber, and to bed, as 
 usual. 
 
 Early next morning, the household was astir all save 
 I^tienne, who, although his wound proved to be but slight, 
 kept to his bed, with Tatro in attendance ; and before noon, 
 all but these two had left the chateau and set out upon 
 their various routes, Margot, with Jean and Pierre, for 
 Toulon, in company with the soldier Greloire, sent by the 
 lieutenant to escort them. 
 
 At the fork in the highway, where their roads parted, 
 Jean turned in his saddle to look after the slender figure 
 riding away at the head of his men, and sitting his powerful 
 black horse with the same ease and grace with which he 
 seemed to do everything.
 
 42 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Turning his head, as if he felt the boy's longing eyes, the 
 lieutenant smiled, and waved his hand. Then, putting 
 spurs to his horse, he rode swiftly from sight, followed by 
 his soldiers. 
 
 The clouds of dust from the animals' hoofs rose in the 
 still noonday air, and floated from the road to the green 
 hedge that bordered it, floated, settled down, and 
 disappeared. 
 
 As the dust, so also was gone the secure, peaceful life of 
 the old days at the chateau. The boy-heart had outstripped 
 its years. Bloodshed and violence a first realization of 
 sorrow, that had shattered his idols into the dust had 
 brought a man's depth of bitter pain. 
 
 After a last backward look toward the vacant space that 
 had held the one he loved best on earth, Jean started his 
 horse onward, to overtake the lumbering vehicle, driven 
 by Pierre, and containing Margot and all the travellers' 
 belongings. 
 
 Greloire had, that morning, by Margot's direction, pur- 
 chased the conveyance from a neighbor, Jean's own pony 
 being the only thing she would permit to be taken from her 
 late master's estate.
 
 CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 TOULON, on the Mediterranean, was at this time 
 the great military depot of France. Its inhabi- 
 tants numbered about twenty-five thousand ; and 
 more than fifty frigates and ships of the line rode at anchor 
 in its harbor, while within its spacious magazines was 
 collected an immense quantity of military and naval stores. 
 
 Scarcely a day passed during the fall and early winter of 
 1793 that did not bring to the city families and individuals 
 from all parts of France, seeking protection from the Revo- 
 lutionists' cruelties outrages which the Committee were 
 either unable to control, or to which they were indifferent. 
 
 The last month of that never-to-be-forgotten year was 
 waning, when Louis, the fallen king, was accorded that 
 mockery of justice called a " trial " before the Convention, 
 which, not daring to murder him outright, sought to hide 
 under a cloak of sophistry and hypocrisy the bloody guilt 
 of its own godless ambitions. 
 
 In January, 1793, sentence of death was pronounced, 
 despite letters of remonstrance from England and Spain ; 
 and on the morning of the 2 1st of that month, Louis Capet 
 ascended the scaffold. 
 
 Marie Antoinette, insulted and persecuted by brutal 
 gaolers, who sought to degrade her queenliness to their 
 own infamous depths, dragged out her weary days in the 
 Temple, until, months later, came the morning that saw the 
 tumbrel passing slowly through the surging masses crowd- 
 ing the way to the scaffold, bearing the bent form and 
 whitened hair of her, a pitiful semblance of the beautiful 
 Queen of France. 
 
 When, at Toulon, the friends of the old monarchy knew 
 of all this, they argued among themselves that the violence
 
 44 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 with which their land had been filled was too terrible to be 
 longer endured ; and they began to discuss the idea of sur- 
 rendering the city, its magazines, forts, and ships, to the 
 combined English and Spanish fleets lying outside its har- 
 bor, and thus help to bring about a return of law and 
 reason to insane France. 
 
 Among those in Toulon who heard of the proposed 
 surrender was one who listened with not a little of mis- 
 giving to the talk of it amongst the few neighbors with 
 whom she permitted herself acquaintance. 
 
 This was Margot, who, with Jean and Pierre, safe under 
 the humble roof of their new home, had for these many 
 months enjoyed a security she had never before known. 
 In a measure her own mistress, and removed from the 
 dread of tienne, she found reliance and peace in the 
 kindly guidance of Pere Huot, to whom the boys went 
 each day for instruction, his abode being some distance 
 from Margot's small house, which was in a retired part of 
 the city, near the suburbs. 
 
 A surrender suggested to her the possibility of bringing 
 scenes of bloodshed and violence ; and the very name of 
 " English " was to her as also to most of her compa- 
 triots the synonym of what was utterly detestable. 
 
 Her fears were realized when the surrender was accom- 
 plished, and the English ships sailed triumphantly into 
 port, landing five thousand of their own troops and eight 
 thousand Spaniards. 
 
 This proceeding was regarded with the greatest alarm and 
 indignation by the Revolutionists, who, considering the 
 surrender an act of treachery, resolved to retake Toulon, 
 and drive the allies from the soil of France. 
 
 But this was a thing not easy of accomplishment, with 
 the strong army and navy now holding the city, whose 
 fortresses were almost impregnable, and contained unlim- 
 ited munitions of war. Two armies were, however, marched 
 by the Revolutionists upon Toulon; and a siege was begun 
 which for three months made but little apparent progress.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 45 
 
 Affairs within the city became unsettled, and were soon 
 almost demoralized ; and Pere Huot having fallen seri- 
 ously ill, Margot's heart grew heavy, as Jean, seeming to 
 throw off all restraint, wandered day after day about the 
 streets, associating with soldiers and rough characters, 
 whose words and actions in no wise accorded with the 
 teachings of the good priest. 
 
 Margot had known many an unhappy hour because of 
 the streak of recklessness which had been growing in Jean 
 since a year ago, when occurred that violent scene under 
 the home roof, and fitienne had so ruthlessly soiled the 
 boy's respect for his dead father. But she had not dared 
 to communicate much of her misgivings from the day, now 
 several weeks past, when, after remonstrating warmly as to 
 some offence he had committed, she bade him ask himself 
 if his father would have approved the act, and started back, 
 as from a man's threatened attack, when the boy turned 
 fiercely upon her. 
 
 " Never name him to me again ! " he cried, with heaving 
 breast and flashing eyes. " I have no father. Do you 
 know my name here in Toulon? It is the same as Pierre's. 
 He is Pierre Lafitte, and I am his brother, Jean Lafitte. 
 And, be I saint or devil, to the end of my life I am Jean 
 Lafitte ! " 
 
 He looked so big and terrible in his rage that Margot, 
 silent and frightened, felt that he was almost a stranger 
 to her this boy she had carried in her arms, and whom 
 she had loved and watched over for so many years. 
 
 The tears had gathered in her eyes as she went about 
 her household duties, saying to herself, as if for consolation 
 to her injured feelings, "Poor infant poor baby mine ! 
 The anger is, after all, not for me. What fitienne said 
 rankles now, because he is young. Man's years will soften 
 that ; and if he chooses to call himself by my name, surely 
 'tis a name of which he has never known aught that was 
 false or bad. But I would that the man he loves might be 
 with us, for he seemed to have the power to do what he
 
 46 Lafittc of Louisiana 
 
 pleased with the boy. Tiens ! He was one to love and 
 trust; but who can say when we shall meet him again." 
 
 This was to befall sooner than she thought; for Bona- 
 parte, now promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of artillery, 
 had laid before the Convention his views as to the lack of 
 science shown in conducting the siege of Toulon ; and that 
 body, after adopting his suggestions, had invested him with 
 the command of the artillery, with instructions to put his 
 own ideas into effect. He was, even now, near the scene 
 of action. 
 
 It was the last night of November, when darkness fell 
 early over the city, and Margot was preparing her lonely 
 evening meal. Where Jean and Pierre were, she knew not, 
 but presumed that, as was often their habit, they would 
 sup with some of their soldier acquaintances. 
 
 Pierre, now a broad-shouldered, muscular fellow of six- 
 teen, was not wholly lacking in devotion to his mothei. 
 But his movements were in a large degree dictated by 
 Jean's wishes or whims, as had ever been the case, despite 
 the former's seniority in years. 
 
 Although the evening was cold, the usual number of 
 pedestrians were abroad, these being mostly soldiers, who 
 were not too tired (although a skirmish had called many 
 of them into action during the forenoon) to be seeking ex- 
 citement and gossip at the various eating and drinking 
 places frequented by them. 
 
 One of these was called " Le Chien Heureux," a two- 
 story house situated down near one of the quays, and built 
 close against the granite cliff that rose on one side, above 
 its roof, thus protecting it from any shots which might 
 come from the ships in the harbor. 
 
 Lights were blinking brightly from its small windows, 
 and inside several stoves were burning, where Thiel, the 
 landlord, and his one assistant, were preparing supper for 
 several civilians and soldiers who sat about, talking and 
 drinking, at the various small tables. 
 
 The room was low-ceiled and bare-floored ; but it was
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 47 
 
 made cheery by the blazing fire of logs in a wide stone 
 fireplace near the end opposite to where the host and his 
 servant were busy with their cooking. 
 
 Sitting near the fire, two soldiers and a citizen, together 
 with Jean and Pierre, were listening to a man in their 
 midst, who, from his talk and appearance, seemed to have 
 been an extensive traveller. He was heavily built, with a 
 Spanish type of face, whose naturally dark skin was bronzed 
 to an extent that suggested contact with the air of warmer 
 climes. His intensely black hair had the metallic sheen of 
 the Indian's, and a heavy mustache, jetty-hued as his hair, 
 hid the mouth completely, except when he laughed, which 
 was rarely; and then there was a gleam of white teeth 
 which accentuated the sinister expression of his whole 
 face. 
 
 This was Laro, an habitue of Le Chien Heureux when 
 on shore from the " Aigle," a rakish-looking brigantine, of 
 which he was owner and captain. 
 
 He was known to all as a trader ; and, to an initiated 
 few, it was known also how, through him, the finest tobacco, 
 Jamaica spirits, and other choice products of the West 
 Indies, could be procured at a low price, because of their 
 freedom from duty. 
 
 Many were the bales and kegs landed on the quay-head 
 within the past few years for Thiel and his patrons, taken 
 ashore under the very nose of the lookout man, who might 
 well have been suspected of a friendly disposition, and of 
 not caring to see anything which might arouse cause for 
 closer inspection. 
 
 The fact was that some of these guards had little scores 
 running with Thiel ; and the latter took care to keep these 
 accounts well before their eyes, although never pressing too 
 keenly for payment. 
 
 It was in those times somewhat of a struggle for them 
 to live, for the coast-guards, like the soldiers, received but a 
 pittance by way of wages. Yet, although pinched more or 
 less, Thiel's customers could appreciate the merits of fine
 
 48 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 tobacco and liquor, sold at moderate prices ; and thus it 
 was that their own interests prompted them to avoid seeing 
 or knowing more than might be forced upon them. 
 
 Laro had for many months been the cause of strong dis- 
 approval and anxiety for Margot, who had heard more of 
 him through Pierre than from Jean; and a spark of anger 
 had set fire to her long worrying over the intimacy she saw 
 no way of breaking up, when one day Laro had come to 
 the cottage in search of Jean. Then later, when she re- 
 monstrated with the boy, it was her strong expression of 
 opinion as to his new acquaintance, and her question as to 
 what his father would have said of his keeping company 
 with such a " rough swaggerer," that had caused Jean to 
 turn upon her so angrily. 
 
 And as she now looked through the window, out into the 
 growing darkness, Margot suspected truly where the boy 
 was, and with whom, this night. 
 
 In the course of his talk of the West Indies and Louisiana, 
 and tales of adventure there, which were the source of 
 Laro's fascination for Jean, and Pierre as well, the captain 
 was now telling of one Lemaire, a pirate of Martinique, who 
 had recently been executed there, having been betrayed by 
 a confederate, and convicted by means of papers found in 
 his possession ; and Laro told of the enormous quantity of 
 booty discovered at Lemaire's different plantations, which 
 had been seized by the government. 
 
 Jean listened with an attention which, for some reason, 
 appeared to amuse Laro, who, now and then, with a 
 quizzical smile lighting his black eyes, glanced askance 
 at the boy's enraptured face. 
 
 The spirit and daring of the handsome lad had made a 
 strong impression upon the man's not very susceptible 
 heart ; and this, together with the freedom both of them 
 enjoyed from any ties of kinship with others, had, after a 
 short time, greatly lessened the disparity between their 
 ages. 
 
 Laro's story had been listened to by others seated around
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 49 
 
 the tables, who occasionally reminded Thiel to hurry their 
 suppers ; and the air was becoming redolent with an appe- 
 tizing odor of browning capons, when a rattling at the door 
 announced a new arrival. 
 
 The next minute a soldierly-looking man came in, the 
 uniform of a petty officer showing as he unclasped and 
 threw off the heavy cloak that had enveloped him. 
 
 Jean's back was to the door, and he was too much absorbed 
 with his own thoughts, or with the tale he had just been 
 hearing, to even look around. Laro, however, glanced at 
 the new-comer, as did the others about ; but evidently see- 
 ing nothing amiss in his appearance, they paid no further 
 attention to him. 
 
 He took as little notice of them, and, after demanding 
 supper as speedily as possible, seated himself some distance 
 away from the group at the fire. 
 
 But Pierre had been staring open-mouthed at him ; and 
 now the sound of his voice caused Jean to start, and turn 
 his head quickly in the direction of the shadowy corner 
 where the soldier was seated. 
 
 The latter had noticed Pierre, and addressing him, de- 
 manded in rather a menacing tone, " What are you staring 
 at, boy? Surely a soldier is no strange thing in Toulon, 
 for the sight of one to make your eyes pop out of your 
 head." 
 
 Pierre, cautious by nature, had learned the art of being 
 still more so ; and there was no lack of quick wit in the 
 fellow, for all his stolid quiet, which often passed for 
 stupidity. 
 
 He made no reply to the soldier's inquiry, and turned 
 his eyes to the fire. But Jean, springing to his feet, ex- 
 claimed, " If your looks match your speech and manners, 
 you must be cause for any decent man's " 
 
 His voice died away as his eyes rested on the soldier's 
 face. 
 
 " Greloire ! " he breathed, surprise chasing all the anger 
 from his voice. 
 
 A
 
 50 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Any decent man's Greloire ! " repeated the other 
 with a laugh. "What is that, my cocksparrow? Toulon 
 harbors many a stranger tongue, to be sure, but I speak 
 only my own." 
 
 " Which does not seem to be a very civil one," inter- 
 posed Laro, scowling, and ready to take the part of his 
 favorite. 
 
 But this comment in no wise affected the laughing man- 
 ner of the stranger, who, still looking at Jean, vouchsafed 
 the captain no notice whatever. 
 
 " Come, gentlemen, all," said Thiel, now bustling amongst 
 them with a huge platter. " Your suppers are ready ; and 
 't is surely wiser to eat than to quarrel. With all the fight- 
 ing that fills the time hereabouts, and is likely to for many 
 a day to come, 't is a pity if our nights cannot be free from 
 discord." 
 
 The steaming viands, now filling the tables, and the 
 replenished drinking-jugs helped to bring about, in ap- 
 pearance at least, the peace stipulated for by the host; 
 and neither Laro nor the others paid any further heed to 
 the soldier, who, seated apart from them, ate his supper 
 with an appetite that bore witness to previous fasting. 
 But at odd moments, when unnoticed, his eyes, with a 
 smiling warning in them, met those of the two boys ; and 
 once, while Jean was staring at him, he laid a finger upon 
 his lips with a swift cautioning gesture of silence.
 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 HIS supper finished, Jean strolled back to the fire, 
 before which Greloire had seated himself, while 
 the others remained at the tables, some still eat- 
 ing, and all of them discussing matters pertaining to the 
 siege. 
 
 Leaning carelessly against the fireplace, after a quick 
 glance about, to make sure he was not observed, the boy 
 looked at the soldier with a world of inquiry in his dark 
 eyes. Greloire replied with a comprehending smile, but 
 again laid his finger against his lips, as if impressing 
 silence, and then turned to the fire. 
 
 Presently he stretched himself lazily, and remarked to 
 Thiel, who was passing, " A cosey retreat, this of yours, 
 landlord. Yet it will be rather of a wonder if a cannon- 
 ball does not spoil its cover when our friends outside get 
 into the city so far as to draw the fire from the ships just 
 over the cliffs there, in the harbor." 
 
 "'Twill be time enough to think about that when the 
 Revolutionists get into the city," retorted Thiel, with 
 marked sarcasm, while several of those about the tables 
 paused in their talk, and turned to look at the soldier, 
 whose back was toward them. 
 
 " Monsieur seems to speak as if he thought the enemy 
 were to be victorious." 
 
 Laro said this, and his tone was not pleasant. 
 
 " Ma foi, not I," responded Greloire, lazily turning 
 his handsome, indolent face to meet the eyes of those 
 seated behind him. 
 
 " It is money in my purse just now," he added, " so long 
 as our Revolutionary friends are kept howling outside."
 
 52 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 With this he arose, turned his back to the fire, and 
 squarely faced the others, looking down upon them from 
 his six feet of stalwart manhood, while his blue eyes, like 
 his clean-shaven, well-cut lips, seemed to smile mockingly. 
 
 For a second Laro stared at him. Then, as if having 
 decided upon what action to take, he laughed good- 
 naturedly and said, " Draw up, brother, and join us in 
 drinking confusion to those outside our walls. This will 
 wash away all former lack of hospitality." 
 
 " I have no complaint to make as to lack of hospitality," 
 Greloire answered carelessly, a smile dulling the point of 
 what might have been construed as a rude refusal. " A 
 soldier has to take matters as they come, and soon gets 
 accustomed to plain manners. But I must be excused 
 from joining you, comrades, as I have already had enough 
 to drink, and it is nearing the time when I must report for 
 duty." 
 
 He had picked up his long cloak, and was putting it on, 
 while Laro had risen and was returning to his former seat 
 before the fire. And neither the latter nor the others 
 noticed the suggestive motion of the speaker's head and 
 hand, as, with slightly arched eyebrows, he looked once 
 more toward Jean, who was still standing beside the fire- 
 place. But the boy was quick to see these, and understood 
 that he might expect to find Greloire outside. 
 
 Allowing what he felt to be a proper amount of time to 
 pass after the latter had closed the door behind him, Jean 
 put on his cap, and having motioned to Pierre, they both 
 followed, regardless of Laro's declaration that it was earlier 
 than usual, and not yet time for them to start for home. 
 
 " Wild as a sea gull is my young mate," said the captain 
 laughingly, as the door closed after them, and he was fill- 
 ing his pipe; "one who will ever have his own mighty 
 way. Madre de Dios ! But he has the making of a fine 
 one for the business." 
 
 " What business ? " inquired one of the civilians ; whereat 
 several of the others laughed.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 5 3 
 
 " Sea-faring business," was Laro's imperturbable reply, 
 while the flame with which he was lighting his pipe made 
 a dancing gleam over his face, and glinted for an instant 
 in his cruel eyes. " Sea-faring, of course ; he is just the 
 one for my first mate, granting he has a few more years, 
 and the knowledge to handle a ship. But time will bring 
 ihese ; and as for his nature, time cannot improve upon it." 
 
 He ended meditatively, as he beat out the flame of the 
 taper. 
 
 "The lad must be a young hell-cat to call forth such 
 words from you," asserted a soldier at one of the tables ; 
 but to this Laro made no reply. 
 
 The wind was rising outside, and its fitful gusts came 
 and died away sobbingly, as if spirit voices might be 
 lamenting over the woeful passions of men, which had 
 filled the city with suffering bodies and torn hearts. To- 
 morrow was sure to bring again, as for so many days past 
 the wild attack and fierce defence, the mangled forms of 
 brave men, the wounded, on stretchers, borne from the 
 line of fire to the shelter of the hospitals, or to where 
 heavy-hearted ones, waiting in tears, received the reali- 
 zation of their forebodings. 
 
 When Jean and Pierre reached the street, the former 
 looked around him, and then laid a hand on his com- 
 panion's arm as he whispered, " We must walk slowly, 
 and keep a sharp lookout. Greloire is about, and wishes 
 to see the way we take, for he has something to tell us." 
 
 "How dost know that?" asked Pierre, in a low tone. 
 "Hark," he added quickly, crossing himself; "hear that 
 dog howling." 
 
 " Mais ! " replied Jean contemptuously, " what is a 
 dog's howling? If there were any sense in what you 
 think, all the dogs in Toulon have good cause to howl 
 day and night." 
 
 " Why should he not wish to have it known that we had 
 met him before ? " asked Pierre, as they walked slowly 
 along.
 
 54 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 "I know not; but I am glad of the chance to see 
 Greloire, for he may tell me of him" answered Jean. 
 
 Pierre, knowing who was meant, said nothing more; 
 and the two boys, with occasional sharp glances around, 
 passed along the almost deserted street, the sullen roar- 
 ing of the sea, as it dashed against the cliffs, dying away 
 behind them as they moved farther from the neighborhood 
 of Le Chien Heureux. 
 
 Presently Pierre, after a quick look over his shoulder, 
 gripped Jean's arm. 
 
 "There is a man who looks like Greloire coming on 
 just behind us." 
 
 " No doubt it is he," said Jean, without turning his head. 
 " Whatever ails thine eyes, that thou didst not see him 
 standing in the shadow of that doorway we passed a 
 moment since ? " 
 
 " Then why not have stopped and spoken, if you saw 
 him?" 
 
 " Peste ! " was Jean's impatient rejoinder. " Thou hadst 
 better sharpen thy wits, else thou art likely to come to 
 grief. Greloire would not have acted as he did unless 
 there be something afloat. What it is, he knows, and we 
 do not; and by letting him speak first we shall be all the 
 more certain not to run his head, nor our own, into danger." 
 
 He had scarcely spoken when a swift but cautious foot- 
 fall came close behind him, and a hand caught his shoul- 
 der, while Greloire said in a carefully lowered voice, 
 '' Tiens! My quick-witted comrade, how are you ? " 
 
 " As you see, or might, were it not so dark," replied 
 Jean, grasping the soldier's hand. "And you?" 
 
 " Much better for the fine supper I have been eating," 
 said Greloire, a note of laughter in his voice. 
 
 Pierre now fell behind, and the three stepped more 
 briskly. 
 
 " What have you to tell me? " inquired Jean, after they 
 had gone a few paces, and Greloire remained silent. 
 
 " Much or little, as you happen to take it. I have been
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 55 
 
 here in this cursed place, and about it, for almost a month; 
 but it was only a week ago that I had a chance to go to 
 the inn where I left all of you last year, and where now I 
 found only strangers, who were able, however, to direct 
 me to Pere Huot's house. But the good father was ill, 
 so that I could not see him ; and all the information I 
 could obtain was that you were living somewhere in the 
 city." 
 
 " Did your lieutenant send you, was he wishing to 
 know of me?" asked Jean eagerly. But there was no 
 answer. 
 
 " Did he send you to find out about me?" The ques- 
 tion came now with manifest impatience. 
 
 " Well, yes, and no," replied Greloire, speaking slowly, 
 as if considering his words, and- adding, as he looked down 
 into the boy's upraised face, which even the dim light of 
 the stars showed to be filled with keen disappointment, 
 " Surely you have every reason to know his love for you ; 
 and he is one who never forgets. But his days are now 
 filled with that which leaves little time for him to think of 
 anything but this siege." 
 
 " What mean you? " asked Jean, surprise showing in his 
 tone. "What has he to do with the siege?" 
 
 Greloire laughed softly. " I mean that he is now a 
 lieutenant-colonel, and in charge of the artillery which is 
 knocking to pieces this little city of yours." 
 
 " But," said Jean, with increasing astonishment, " I 
 heard that General Dugommier was in command of the 
 troops outside." 
 
 "So he is in name. But it is our little colonel who 
 says what is to be done, and Dugommier does it; for such 
 are the orders of the Convention." 
 
 " Then he is here ! " said the boy, who had listened with 
 fast-growing wonder. 
 
 " He is outside the city, with the Revolutionary forces," 
 answered Greloire, in a tone still lower than he had been 
 using.
 
 56 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " He without, and you within, fighting against him ! " 
 burst from Jean's lips, as he drew himself away. 
 
 " Sh-h ! " whispered the soldier. " These streets may 
 seem deserted ; but 't is as well not to speak loud words 
 for the winds to carry where the wrong ears may hear 
 them." 
 
 Jean laughed softly, and came closer to Greloire. 
 
 "Aha I see how it is." 
 
 " Be all the more careful, then, my young master," 
 warned the soldier. "Can I trust you?" 
 
 " As yourself," replied the lad soberly. " And " with 
 a movement of his hand toward Pierre, who was behind 
 them " what I am, so is he." 
 
 " I will believe you ; for you have the body of a boy, 
 with the spirit and wit of a man grown." 
 
 But Jean, not heeding the compliment, asked, " You 
 have ways of going back and forth between him and the 
 city?" 
 
 " Yes ; but they are difficult and dangerous ones." 
 
 " Then," added the boy, hardly waiting for Greloire to 
 finish, " if you can go to him, why may not I do the 
 same? " 
 
 The soldier appeared surprised, and a strong word came 
 from his lips. But it was succeeded by a laugh as he 
 said, " No no ; not now, not yet. Perhaps, a little later ; 
 but" now soberly " it might be your death were you 
 to attempt such a thing now." 
 
 " Peste!" exclaimed Jean scornfully. "I am no girl, to 
 be afraid of bullets. Pierre and I have already done some 
 fighting, along with the soldiers, up in one of the forts. 
 But" laughingly "do not tell Margot of this, should 
 you see her." 
 
 " Poor dame Margot," said Greloire. " She must surely 
 have a handful to manage you. And so you have been 
 fighting ! How is this, when you were ready to fly at my 
 throat a minute ago, because you thought I was doing the 
 same thing."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 57 
 
 " That was before I knew how it was with you," Jean 
 explained. " But now that I know he is outside the city, 
 I would sooner shoot myself than send a bullet flying 
 where it might hurt him." 
 
 " So would I, or any of his men. As you love him, so 
 do we all. Myself, this night, I would lie down and die, 
 if it should be his wish, or if I thought I could better serve 
 him dead than living." 
 
 There was silence for a time, while the three walked 
 slowly along until they reached a street where the houses 
 were far apart; and the last one of all, from whose windows 
 came a faint gleam of light, Jean pointed out to Greloire 
 as his present abode. 
 
 " And so that is where you are living," said the soldier, 
 as they stood looking toward it. " I tell you, lad, that had 
 I the chance to possess so quiet a home, I should stop 
 within it, and not be wandering into such shambles of 
 carnage and blood as is the city now." 
 
 Jean paid no attention to what might have been taken 
 as a criticism upon his having been where Greloire found 
 him a short while before, but asked longingly, " If I may 
 not see him now, Greloire, when think you it will be 
 safer? " 
 
 "I will get word to him that I have found you, and of 
 your wish to see him," was the reply, as the speaker laid a 
 hand on the boy's arm. " Then, when a certain time 
 comes, some one has to go to him with reports. Do you 
 understand? " 
 
 His lips were now almost against Jean's ear, and he em- 
 phasized his words by a tighter hold upon the lad's arm. 
 
 Jean nodded, and Greloire continued, " If I can arrange 
 it, and he will permit, I will send you to him with the 
 reports." 
 
 " Yes," said the boy, as the other paused. " What 
 else?" 
 
 "This," replied Greloire, with an earnestness made 
 more impressive by his lowered voice : " Take my advice,
 
 58 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 and keep away from Le Chien Heureux. I can now come 
 to your house ; and that will be the best place for me to 
 see you. But, if you are to undertake the mission of 
 which I spoke, the less you see of that scoundrel Laro, 
 the better will it be." 
 
 " Laro is my friend," declared Jean, his quick temper 
 rising like a flash of fire. " He is my friend, and even you 
 must not name him in such fashion to me." 
 
 "So?" said Greloire calmly, taking his hand from the 
 boy's arm. " Then I doubt if you are to be trusted, and 
 regret telling you as much as I have." 
 
 "Why do you?" demanded Jean, still more angrily. 
 "Why is Laro concerned in the matter?" 
 
 " Because," replied Greloire, in no wise disturbed, " he is, 
 as I suspect, a Spaniard, and would naturally side with his 
 countrymen. And, too, I well know his reputation, which 
 is one our colonel would not approve." 
 
 " I should tell Laro nothing," said Jean. " How dare 
 you think I would be guilty of such false dealing?" 
 
 " Nay, nay," the soldier answered, replacing his hand 
 upon Jean's arm. " I do not mean to imply that you would 
 be treacherous ; for I know you too well. I mean that 
 Laro is not to be trusted. He is almost old enough to be 
 your father; and, his suspicions once aroused, he has suffi- 
 cient craftiness to surprise your secret, and use it for our 
 harm." 
 
 Jean was silent, and Greloire went on in a milder tone, 
 " You would surely wish to be a man such as our little 
 colonel would have you, and to whom he would give his 
 friendship?" 
 
 "How can you ask?" All anger was gone from the 
 boy's voice, and he pressed the hand resting upon his 
 arm. 
 
 " He has himself told me that a man's character was 
 to be known by those of the men he chooses for com- 
 rades. Laro is one with whom I know he would have no 
 intimacy. I saw you eating and drinking with Laro this
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 59 
 
 night, and could not but observe the pleasure you found 
 in his company. Now tell me, were you in my place 
 would you not think twice before risking secrets with such 
 a keeper one who cares so much for Laro as to have tem- 
 per with an older friend, who, knowing the man's reputa- 
 tion, warns you against him?" 
 
 " I am not angry, Greloire," declared Jean penitently, 
 " and regret that I was so. Pardon me." 
 
 "All right all right, man ami," was Greloire's hearty 
 reply. Then, again lowering his voice, he asked in a half 
 quizzical tone, " And do you still wish to see our little 
 colonel?" 
 
 " Yes indeed yes ! You know that I would not give 
 one of his fingers in exchange for a dozen Laros." 
 
 " Even such an exchange would be unjust to him we 
 both love," was the soldier's terse comment. "Then you 
 will keep away from Laro as much as possible, until I can 
 see you again? " 
 
 " Yes. And will you come soon? " 
 
 " As soon as may be ; but just how soon I cannot say. 
 Remember that I have left a grave secret in your keeping, 
 and trust you to guard it sacredly." 
 
 " That will I do, you may depend," answered Jean with 
 intense earnestness. 
 
 " Bien" said Greloire. " Now I must be going. So 
 adieu, and my compliments to the good dame Margot." 
 
 With this he turned about, and whistling softly, went 
 back the way they had come, while the two boys, after 
 watching him a few moments, bent their steps toward the 
 cottage.
 
 CHAPTER NINE 
 
 DURING the next three or four days Margot was 
 made happy, and troubled as well, by the unusual 
 domesticity of the two boys, more especially 
 Jean. Pierre took occasional brief trips from home, but 
 Jean went not at all, although his impatience and restless- 
 ness drove Margot almost into wishing that he might go 
 abroad ; for by the beginning of the fourth day she was 
 at her wit's end to decide what new mood had taken 
 possession of him. 
 
 After she had overheard him telling Pierre to say 
 that he was sick, when the older boy had reported that 
 Laro was asking for him, the good woman made a huge 
 dose of tisane, and with tears in her eyes begged Jean to 
 drink it; for tisane she knew was excellent for a cold, 
 which she supposed was what must be ailing him. Great, 
 therefore, was her astonishment, when his sober face broke 
 into a mirth well according with his laughing declaration 
 that nothing whatever was the matter with him. 
 
 Then, a new mood softening his heart, and knowing that 
 she was to be trusted, he took her into his confidence, and 
 told of his talk with Greloire. But he regretted having 
 done this, and grew angry with her, when she began ex- 
 postulating at his taking such a risk as to venture into the 
 enemy's camp, outside the city. 
 
 " But our lieutenant will never permit it," she at last 
 consoled herself by thinking ; and so held her peace. 
 
 It was the afternoon of the fourth day when Jean, fearing 
 lest Laro might come to seek him, and thinking that per- 
 haps Greloire also would be coming, decided to go to Le 
 Chien Heureux, Pierre having already gone out to see 
 some of his military friends.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 6 1 
 
 The air was crisp, and Jean, walking rapidly, was turning 
 the corner of the street leading down to the inn, when he 
 saw Laro approaching. 
 
 " Ha, runaway ! " the latter called out, a smile lighting 
 his dark face. " I was but just coming to see you." 
 
 Jean now congratulated himself upon having acted so 
 wisely. But he determined to cut the interview as short as 
 possible, lest by any chance Greloire should visit the cot- 
 tage during his absence, or, worse than all, come to the 
 inn, and find him again in Laro's company. 
 
 " Let us go to my room," the captain continued in a 
 lower tone, when he reached the boy and grasped his hand. 
 " I have something to tell you, and a proposition to make." 
 
 Jean demurred ; but Laro insisted so strenuously as to 
 make the lad decide that acquiescence promised the readiest 
 means of escape. 
 
 There was no one about the inn save Thiel, who nodded 
 good-naturedly to the boy as the latter followed Laro across 
 the lower floor and up a narrow, dark stairway, to find 
 himself in a small room, tidy as any ship's cabin, and tucked 
 away like a swallow's nest under the eaves of Le Chien 
 Heureux. 
 
 Its one window looked out to the cliff, whose granite 
 wall was near enough to be touched by an outstretched 
 hand. But the window was now closed, and a faint tracery 
 of frost-work showed upon its narrow panes. Near it, and 
 serving as a window-seat, was Laro's sea-chest, of blackest 
 mahogany, elaborately brass-bound and trimmed. 
 
 " Br-r-r," shivered the captain, as they entered, and he 
 closed the door after them ; " 't is scarcely Bermuda air 
 here. But what I have to tell you is soon said ; and 't is 
 best to say it here, where no one will interrupt or overhear." 
 And motioning Jean to a big stuffed chair facing the 
 window, he seated himself upon the sea-chest. 
 
 Then, leaning an elbow on his knee, and supporting his 
 chin in his palm, he inquired, while scrutinizing keenly the 
 boy's face, " Lad, what has been ailing you these few days
 
 62 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 past? Pierre could tell me nothing more than that you 
 were not well." 
 
 The long-lashed lids dropped over Jean's eyes as he 
 clasped his hands around his crossed-over knee and rocked 
 himself back and forth, until looking up, with his face hold- 
 ing the dare-devil light which always appealed so strongly 
 to Laro, he asked mockingly, " Have you cooped me up 
 here to find out about my health?" 
 
 " Not altogether, lad," was the smilingly spoken reply, 
 made while the speaker was filling a pipe he had taken 
 from his pocket. " There is something else." 
 
 "What is it?" demanded Jean, now rather impatiently. 
 " Tell me quickly, for I must go." 
 
 At this, Laro looked surprised, and assumed a grieved 
 air as he said, " What has come to you? 'T is not like you 
 to be so short in manner with your mate. But perhaps 
 you will relent a bit when I tell you that I put to sea this 
 night." 
 
 Jean started and stared. 
 
 " Aye ; this very night will the ' Aigle ' set sail for Louisi- 
 ana," continued Laro ; and leaning forward, he laid a hand 
 on the boy's knee, as he added quickly, " Would you not 
 like to go with me you and Pierre? I will take both, if 
 you but say the word." 
 
 Jean's cheeks were filled with sudden color, and his eyes 
 sparkled with excitement. But this all passed away as he 
 said sighingly, "Aye, I would like to go; but 
 
 " Then it is but for you to come," urged the tempter, 
 without waiting to hear the reason. 
 
 This Jean did not attempt to give, but remained silent, 
 while Laro watched the evidences of the struggle he knew 
 was going on in the boy's mind. 
 
 " Come you '11 say ' Yes,' and be here by eight o'clock," 
 he said presently, as if assured of success. " We must be 
 under way before nine ; and morning will find us well out 
 of this cursed place, where one does everything to the 
 music of cannonading by day, and cannot sleep for it at
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 6 3 
 
 night. I will tell Thiel to look out for you at eight and to 
 bring you to me." 
 
 Jean paid no heed to these confident words, but inquired, 
 "Why are you going in such haste?" And rising from 
 his chair, he began to walk about the room. 
 
 " Well," replied Laro, lowering his tone, " I trust you 
 sufficiently to tell you, if you will come back and sit here 
 quietly. It is not prudent for my voice to be following 
 you up and down the room." 
 
 Jean resumed his seat ; and Laro said, speaking in the 
 same cautious manner, " You must know that if the Revo- 
 lutionists are to capture Toulon, it were best that the 
 Royalists get away." 
 
 The boy nodded. 
 
 " There is in the city a certain wealthy Royalist who has 
 fled from Paris with his daughter Roselle, a most beauti- 
 ful demoiselle of eighteen." 
 
 " Yes," assented Jean. 
 
 " He and a few others have made it worth my while to 
 carry them to Louisiana, where they will seek new homes, 
 away from all the disturbances in France; and I myself 
 am nothing loath to get away for a time at least from 
 such a place. We have, these many days, been making 
 arrangements; but our plans are now settled, and we sail 
 to-night. You and Pierre " 
 
 "This wealthy Royalist how is he named?" in- 
 terrupted Jean, before Laro could renew his insidious 
 arguments. 
 
 " The Count de Cazeneau. Did you never hear of him ? " 
 
 "Me no. How should I?" the boy said, speaking 
 rather shortly. 
 
 " Because you are one of his own class better born 
 than you admit," answered Laro, with a sharp look into 
 Jean's face. " Poor rigging can never hide the fine lines 
 of a ship's hull, nor can a common name change a grey- 
 hound into a lumbering bull-dog. I should never think 
 to say such a thing of Pierre, but I '11 be sworn that the
 
 64 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 blood rushing through your young veins is as noble as that 
 in those of the Count de Cazeneau." 
 
 Jean, who had again risen and was walking restlessly 
 about, came and stood in front of Laro, and with anger in 
 his face demanded to know what was meant. 
 
 "There there," replied the captain, with a pacifying 
 air. " I meant naught, and beg you to let my words pass. 
 But we are wasting time, and must come back to business. 
 You will go with me to-night?" 
 
 Question though it was, Laro uttered it with an assurance 
 implying that there could be but the one answer. 
 
 " No ! " was the emphatic response ; and Jean walked 
 toward the door. Laro sprang up, and hurried after the boy. 
 
 " Why not, my mate ? " he asked, laying a hand upon 
 Jean 's arm, as if to detain him. 
 
 "It is impossible. I cannot I must not," said Jean, 
 speaking hastily, and like one fearing to trust his resolution. 
 " I will not go without Pierre ; and for Pierre and me to 
 desert poor Margot would be dastardly." 
 
 " Margot," repeated Laro, stroking his chin. " Is that the 
 good dame I saw when I went to seek you at the cottage ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Jean, who was fumbling with the clumsy 
 brass latch, as if annoyed at being detained. 
 
 " She is Pierre 's mother? " 
 
 " Yes," once more. Then, lifting his eyes to meet Laro 's 
 intent look, Jean exclaimed, " Let me go ! I will see you 
 later on ! " 
 
 " Pierre 's mother, and not your own," persisted I aro, 
 ignoring the boy 's impatience. 
 
 The latter now turned to him angrily. 
 
 "What has come to you, Laro? Why need my private 
 matters stir your curiosity so deeply at this late day?" 
 
 " It is not exactly curiosity, my lad ; " and the speaker 
 once more laid a hand on the boy 's arm. " But I have 
 learned to love you as my own brother or son, and would 
 fain satisfy myself of what I Ve reason to suspect, that, 
 like me, you owe no duty to kindred. I want you to cast
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 65 
 
 your lot with me ; and you '11 ne'er regret doing it. A lad 
 of your spirits should be free as the ocean's waves, and not 
 tied to an old woman's apron-strings." 
 
 " That is what I am not, nor ever was," declared Jean, 
 his anger rising again; and he shook Laro's hand from 
 his arm. 
 
 The captain laughed. " Nay, not you, I '11 ever swear 
 at least not in spirit. But in acts you needs must be, 
 so long as you live as now. Come, lad," he added coax- 
 ingly ; " make a run of it, and come with me over seas, 
 where you '11 soon learn to be the man that 's in you some- 
 thing you never can do in this beleaguered place. Come 
 with me, I say, and you '11 reap more gold in shorter time 
 than did ever an aristocrat of France." 
 
 " Not on this trip, Laro," replied Jean, now calmly, but 
 with unmistakable firmness ; for the thought had come of 
 who might be expecting to see him, and was likely to trust 
 him with such a weighty matter as might be given only to 
 a man grown. "Not now not to-night," he went on, 
 having his wayward impulses well in hand, and thinking 
 only of Greloire's inclination to give him the coveted 
 chance of seeing the man his reckless boy-heart loved 
 above all else on earth. " You have said you would be 
 coming and going; so some day I will turn my back upon 
 France and go with you." 
 
 " Well, well ; be it so, then," said Laro, although with 
 evident reluctance. " But you '11 not speak to any one of 
 our sailing to-night?" 
 
 "Nay not I. Why should I?" asked Jean, as he 
 opened the door. 
 
 " Of course I know you can curb your tongue with all 
 the discretion of a man grown," whispered Laro, his hand 
 on the latch. " But there 's need for extra caution just 
 now, on account of my passengers." 
 
 "I know I'll remember," was the boy's cautiously 
 uttered assurance. " I '11 see you again before sailing-time." 
 
 He hurried down the stairway, and was gone. 
 S
 
 66 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 It was now well along in the afternoon, with the west 
 wind already touched by the coming night's keener cold, 
 as the bright sun, after shining all day in a cloudless sky, 
 sank lower. The occasional booming of cannon from the 
 ships farther along the harbor to the east came less dis- 
 tinctly than at other times, as the wind blew away from 
 the city. 
 
 Few soldiers, and still fewer civilians, were to be seen in 
 the streets, although this day there had been no actual 
 righting, beyond desultory shot and shell from the English 
 and Spanish ships into the Revolutionists' camp opposite 
 them, and the latter's irregular response. Besieged and 
 besiegers were becoming weary and worn with the almost 
 daily skirmishes and sallies, as, week after week, the tide 
 of conflict ebbed and flowed before Toulon. 
 
 His mind busy with new schemes because of his recent 
 talk with Laro, schemes which seemed to have awakened 
 into new life all the old day-dreams woven into the bosky 
 woodland ways about the old Languedoc home, when he 
 read and re-read the worn volume telling of the Spanish 
 Main and its heroes, Jean walked slowly along the streets, 
 seeing nothing for a time. He was going toward home, 
 and had almost reached the narrow street upon which stood 
 Margot's cottage, when he saw approaching that which 
 sent his dreams flying, and with them all thoughts of 
 Laro and Louisiana. 
 
 It was Greloire, who appeared to have seen him at the 
 same moment ; for he paused, as if waiting for the boy to 
 come near. 
 
 The latter's fleet steps soon covered the intervening 
 space, and he came up, panting slightly, his red lips apart, 
 and a joyous smile illumining his face. 
 
 " Are you come to tell me that I can go?" he cried, with 
 all his characteristic impulsiveness. 
 
 " Softly, softly, boy," remonstrated the other, a troubled 
 look sobering his usually laughing face as he turned around, 
 and the two walked along side by side.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 67 
 
 " But tell me have you seen him ? What said he ? 
 May I go to him? When may I go?" Jean demanded, 
 before they had gone half a dozen steps. 
 
 " Tiens!" now exclaimed Greloire, seeming disinclined to 
 answer. " What a bombardment of questions ! " 
 
 " But I want to know if you have seen him, and what he 
 said." 
 
 " Ah, now there is a more even pace to your inquiries," 
 said the soldier; but although his tone was light, his face 
 still wore an air of seriousness. 
 
 " Then answer me," said Jean, speaking peremptorily. 
 
 " Never mind whether or not I have seen him," replied 
 Greloire, rather slowly. " Let it suffice that he knows of 
 my having met with you, and of your anxiety to see him. 
 But he bids you, with his love, to stop at home for the 
 present." 
 
 All the glad eagerness left the boy's face, and it dark- 
 ened with a scowl. 
 
 " Be not angry with him. He is sure to know best ; and 
 he is but just recovering from a bayonet wound in his 
 thigh, that was like to have cost him a leg. " 
 
 There was distinct reproof in the soldier's voice, as well 
 as in the words ; and Jean exclaimed pityingly. 
 
 " Aye," continued the former, " it was very bad for a time ; 
 but 't is better now, and the danger is past. Wait quietly 
 here, as he asks of you, and you will be sure to see him in 
 a short time." 
 
 " See him here ! " exclaimed the boy. " How can that 
 be?" 
 
 The soldier's only answer was to nod. 
 
 "How?" Jean repeated, with all his former impatience. 
 
 " I cannot tell you that ; only wait, and you shall see. 
 He bade me tell you that he would see you here, perhaps, 
 in a few days ; and he always does as he promises. He 
 was not pleased that I ever thought to encourage your 
 leaving the city ; and so you must promise not to attempt 
 it."
 
 68 Lafittc of Louisiana 
 
 Jean made no response ; and Greloire said, as he touched 
 the boy's arm, " You will promise to do as he asks? " 
 
 A rebellious light shone for a moment in the dark eyes 
 turned to meet the soldier's stern look. Then it was gone, 
 and Jean answered with a deep sigh, " Yes ; I will do as he 
 wishes."
 
 CHAPTER TEN 
 
 THE night was less chilly than usual, and a heavy 
 vapor rolling overhead now and again darkened 
 the stars, that seemed to be struggling out from 
 the smothering draperies seeking to hide them as they 
 looked down upon the city, whose silence might at any 
 moment be broken by the uproar of battle. 
 
 It lacked but a few minutes of eight o'clock, and the 
 neighborhood of Le Chien Heureux was unwontedly quiet. 
 Inside, however, there was the usual gathering of soldiers 
 and citizens ; but they were more subdued than was their 
 ordinary manner of conducting themselves. One and all 
 felt that the siege was drawing to an end ; and what this 
 might mean, should the Revolutionists make their way into 
 the city, was direful to contemplate. 
 
 Laro was not in the room with the other customers ; and 
 Jean, upon inquiring for him, was told in a low tone by 
 Thiel that the captain was in his own apartment. 
 
 "I will seek him there," said the boy; and bidding 
 Pierre wait, he started for the stairs. But Thiel, following 
 him from the room, closed the door; and when they were 
 in the passage, near the foot of the stairway, he whis- 
 pered, catching Jean's arm, " Laro expects you, young 
 master." 
 
 " Yes ; I promised I would come to " 
 
 " Sh-h ! " again whispered Thiel, now warningly, and as 
 if knowing what was to follow. " T is not well to say it 
 aloud." 
 
 Jean drew himself up, angry that his discretion should 
 seem to be questioned.
 
 70 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Keep your cautioning for those who need it or will 
 take it," he said. " I am not one of them ; neither am I a 
 fool." 
 
 " But you are like to make one of yourself, if you were 
 not so born, with that so-easy-to-take-fire temper," retorted 
 the landlord. 
 
 The sharp reply upon the boy's ready lips was stayed by 
 the voices of some of the guests, calling boisterously for 
 Thiel. 
 
 " Wait here but a moment, while I see what is wanted," 
 the latter whispered, now with perfect good-nature. " Laro 
 is not where you think to find him ; but wait, and I will 
 take you to him." 
 
 Jean seated himself upon the stairs, and soon heard one 
 of the soldiers exclaim petulantly, " Dame ! Thiel, what is 
 the matter with you this night, that every time we want 
 anything we have to sing out so loud ? What takes you 
 so often from the room ? " 
 
 " I've a sick gentleman to wait upon," was the menda- 
 cious but calmly uttered reply; " and I have but one pair 
 of arms and another of legs, like the rest of you." 
 
 " Where is that tallow-faced helper of yours ? He is 
 just the one, from his looks, to wait upon ailing gentry." 
 
 " Gil ? I let him go for the night, to see his mother, 
 who is ill and sent for him." 
 
 Here another voice asked, " A sick gentleman, say you, 
 Thiel? Was it he I saw come in here, wrapped up so 
 that one could not say whether he were white or black, 
 the one who had two women with him?" 
 
 " I think I had better give you no more drink this night, 
 Ansiel," said Thiel. 
 
 " Aye what do you mean ? " demanded the one called 
 Ansiel. 
 
 " I mean that you must already have too much drink 
 in your eyes, if they saw a woman come into Le Chien 
 Heureux this night." 
 
 The other man replied angrily. But what threatened
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 7 1 
 
 to be a quarrel was diverted by the sound of firearms, 
 followed by shouts from outside, as the door was flung 
 open and an officer rushed in. 
 
 " Out with you, every man ! " he ordered imperatively, 
 addressing the soldiers, all of whom had sprung to their 
 feet at the first sound of alarm. " Out with you, I say ! 
 The enemy have tried to surprise us. To your posts, 
 every one of you ! " 
 
 There came, even as he spoke, a retaliating fire from 
 Little Gibraltar ; and then the night became filled with the 
 uproar that always attended these frequent attacks. 
 
 Every soldier was quickly out, and the civilians soon 
 followed. Only Pierre and Thiel were left; and the former 
 had sprung to his feet, where he stood as if hesitating 
 whether to remain, or rush forth after the others. 
 
 Jean, who had re-entered the room, was, to judge from 
 his expression, of the latter impulse. 
 
 "What are you thinking about, young master?" in- 
 quired Thiel, as he hastened to close and bolt the door. 
 Then, without waiting for a reply, he added, turning to 
 face the two boys, but addressing Jean, " You are for- 
 getting that Laro is waiting for you." 
 
 " True, I forgot," said the lad, sighing deeply, and 
 looking significantly at Pierre. " There can be no fight- 
 ing for us." 
 
 Pierre silently resumed his seat; but Thiel, with a natu- 
 ral misunderstanding of what had prompted Jean's words, 
 replied, "Truly not, if you are to see the captain. And 
 't is just as well for the plan afoot that there should be 
 a little fighting to-night; for it will lessen the chance 
 for unwelcome notice." 
 
 He then invited Jean to follow him, and, after bidding 
 Pierre wait where he was, and to open the door to no 
 one, he led the way out to the passage. 
 
 Here he stopped at the foot of the stairway, and twist- 
 ing a brass knob, which was to all appearance nothing 
 more than a peg to hold the garments now hanging from
 
 7 2 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 it, the oaken panel rolled back, showing a narrow passage, 
 lit faintly by a dimly burning lantern standing on the floor. 
 
 Motioning Jean to precede him, Thiel followed through 
 the opening, and closed the panel. He then said to the 
 boy, " Laro trusts you, my young master, and therefore 
 I must do the same. But I warn you that if ever our 
 secrets are betrayed, you had better look to your hand- 
 some throat, for there are those who would not spare its 
 cutting." 
 
 Although somewhat startled at this evidence of doings 
 at Le Chien Heureux of which he, like others, had heard 
 scarcely credited hints, Jean concealed his surprise as he 
 answered carelessly, " When you know of my betraying 
 you, then you are welcome to cut my throat." 
 
 " Well said," was the approving comment. " Now come 
 with me." And Thiel, picking up the lantern, started 
 down a short flight of steps leading apparently to a 
 cellar. 
 
 "Why did you not bring Pierre with us?" asked Jean, 
 as he carefully felt his way. " He is to be trusted every 
 whit as much as myself." 
 
 "No doubt no doubt," admitted the landlord. "But 
 't is as well to first get Laro's mind as to that. And, too, 
 it were best to leave some one above, to keep the inn until 
 I return." 
 
 "What ails Gil's mother?" inquired the boy, recalling 
 what he had overheard. 
 
 Thiel chuckled. " If anything ails her we will have 
 to get some one to tell us who knows better than I how 
 to talk with the dead; for such she has been these five 
 years past." 
 
 " You are the prince of liars," declared Jean, as they 
 now reached what seemed to be a not very capacious 
 cellar. 
 
 Thiel's only notice of the accusation was a scornful 
 laugh, and he paused to brighten the light he was carry- 
 ing. This done, he raised it above his head, so that there
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 73 
 
 was shown more distinctly the reserve stock of goods 
 appertaining to Le Chien Heureux. Bales, kegs, and 
 sacks were crowded about, and in some places piled to 
 the rocky ceiling. 
 
 " Here hold this," said the landlord, thrusting the 
 lantern into Jean's hand. He then seized several casks, 
 which proved to be empty, standing against the wall 
 opposite the foot of the stairway, and whirling them aside, 
 brought to sight an iron ring, so near the floor as to have 
 escaped the notice of one not looking for it. 
 
 Dropping on his knees, he grasped this ring, and, look- 
 ing over his shoulder at his companion, who was watching 
 him interestedly, he asked, " Where do you suppose we 
 are, and where going?" 
 
 "Down in the rock, under your inn, of course; and 
 we are going to wherever Laro is," was the curt reply. 
 
 " Ugh ! " grunted Thiel, giving a pull at the ring. 
 " You have as clear and cool a head as Laro himself, you 
 fearless young devil." 
 
 A square of the apparently solid wall now rolled up 
 with a grating noise until it was level with his head, as 
 he still knelt; and a rush of damp air, as if from out 
 of doors, stirred the short locks on Jean's forehead, as 
 he stared with wonder-filled eyes into the dark opening 
 that gaped before them. 
 
 Thiel had risen to his feet, and now took the lantern, 
 saying, as he stooped to pass through the rude door- 
 way, " Keep close to me, and have a care. We Ve two 
 steps to go down, and then clear sailing along a bit of 
 path." 
 
 " Peste ! But 't is cold and damp," the boy muttered, 
 as he followed cautiously, with a hand on the wall, which 
 he felt to be the granite of the cliff, as was also the path 
 beneath his feet. He could see nothing, save here and 
 there a jagged bit of the rock above him, hanging like 
 a stony icicle, lower than the rest of the ceiling, and 
 which caught the fitful light from the lantern.
 
 74 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " T will be warmer in a minute, with plenty of light," 
 Thiel said presently. " We are going down into the heart 
 of the cliff." 
 
 Jean soon heard the murmur of voices, although a seem- 
 ingly solid wall barred his progress. But Thiel pushed 
 aside some coarse sacking that hung against this wall, dis- 
 closing a rough wooden door, through whose chinks a glow 
 of light showed from the other side. 
 
 A minute later the boy's eyes were nearly blinded, as he 
 followed his companion into a cave-like room, with a floor 
 of rock, which was also the material of its ceiling and 
 walls. It was furnished but scantily; and around a table 
 at the farther side were several men, while somewhat apart 
 from them sat two women. 
 
 As Thiel entered, with Jean close behind him, the men 
 ceased talking, and stared with evident displeasure at the 
 boy, all except Laro, who called out, "Aha, my young 
 mate, is it thyself? Welcome, my sea-gull ! " 
 
 He put out an inviting hand ; then, as the lad came to 
 his side, he said, turning to a slenderly built man of middle 
 age seated next him, with an elbow on the table and a 
 hand supporting his cheek, " Count de Cazeneau, permit 
 me to present to you my young friend, Jean Lafitte, who 
 is some day to be my mate, and who is as dear to me as an 
 own son." 
 
 The count did not change his position, but stared 
 moodily at the handsome boy while murmuring a courte- 
 ous acknowledgment of his presence. As for Jean, he 
 scarcely heard the words, so engrossed had his senses 
 become with the beautiful face confronting him from the 
 other corner of the room. 
 
 It was a dainty face, pink and white; and clustering 
 curls of sunny hair gleamed like gold from out the dark 
 hood of the cloak whose folds partially hid the girlish form. 
 
 The young lady was looking at him ; and from her clear 
 blue eyes there flashed a smile that opened the red lips to 
 show two rows of little pearl-like teeth, as she said in a
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 75 
 
 voice whose sweetness held yet a note of command, " Come 
 over here, pretty boy, and talk to me." 
 
 She spoke as one accustomed to being indulged and 
 obeyed, and had another so addressed him, Jean would 
 have been quick to resent the words and manner. But 
 now his only feeling was that of delight, as he left Laro 
 and went toward her. 
 
 " Bring that stool," she continued, in the same charm- 
 ingly imperious way, " and sit here by me. I was feeling 
 lonesome in this dreadful place, and if the sight of you is 
 so pleasant, what may not your words do to cheer me ? " 
 And she smiled again. 
 
 He knew her to be the count's daughter, of whom Laro 
 had spoken ; and he felt a still more poignant regret that 
 he was not to sail in the " Aigle " that night. 
 
 He brought the stool, and seated himself at her feet. 
 And while she leaned forward, as if to inspect him more 
 closely, and he looked up into her beautiful face, an odor 
 of violets came to him, bringing back, with a rush that was 
 almost painful, memories of the gardens about Languedoc. 
 
 They were soon upon the best of terms, although Jean 
 experienced a hitherto unknown shyness as he talked to 
 her, this girl of eighteen, answering her questions, and 
 asking a few in return. 
 
 The other woman the maid, elderly and dark-haired, 
 with a slight scar upon her left cheek, evidently the result 
 of a wound from some sharp instrument, forming an in- 
 dentation like a perpetual dimple sat staring past them, 
 paying no apparent heed to their chatter, but absorbed in 
 listening to the account of the fighting which Thiel was 
 giving to Laro, Count de Cazeneau, and the latter's com- 
 panions in flight. 
 
 " Venire Sf. Gris ! " exclaimed one of these. " But I 
 shall be glad when I can draw a long breath, free from all 
 this ! " 
 
 " And I," said another of the three. " T is surely hell 
 come to earth."
 
 j6 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 , " Aye," sighed the count, as he rose and began walking 
 up and down. " I wish we were leagues over the sea 
 toward Louisiana. What time must it be ? " he asked 
 impatiently, drawing out a richly jewelled watch. 
 
 " It is now past the hour of eight," he continued, paus- 
 ing to face Laro, who with seeming unconcern was drain- 
 ing a pewter tankard. " Surely 't is time some one was on 
 the lookout for the boat." 
 
 " There, count, is our lookout," replied Laro, pointing 
 to a small bell hanging from the ceiling, and from which a 
 stout cord running through wooden pulleys led along, 
 and down, to disappear in the wall toward the sea. " We 
 have but to wait patiently until Gil, below with the boat, 
 shall make it speak. I " and setting down the empty 
 tankard, he started to his feet " will go back with Thiel, 
 as I have a final something to do above-decks." 
 
 He departed with the landlord ; and a smile wrinkled 
 about the corners of his eyes as he noted how completely 
 Jean's attention was absorbed by the fair woman into whose 
 girlish face he was looking. 
 
 " It is all very dreadful," she was now saying, " the 
 fighting day and night, and the sound of cannon shaking 
 the ground. Ah, I shall be so happy to leave it behind ; 
 and yet I am sick at heart that I must leave France." 
 
 She sighed, and Jean saw the glitter of tears in her eyes. 
 
 " But, mademoiselle, you may return when all is at peace 
 again," he suggested, desiring to say something, and with 
 a boy's dread of the tears becoming a flood, as he saw her 
 lips beginning to quiver. 
 
 " Ah, no ; I fear not, as my father wishes never to re- 
 turn," she replied in almost a whisper, as if not caring that 
 the count should hear her words. 
 
 But there was little fear of this ; for he was still pacing 
 the stone floor, some distance from them, his head down- 
 cast, and paying little attention to the talk going on around 
 him. 
 
 " I do not think that Paris could ever be the same to me
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 77 
 
 again," she went on in the same carefully lowered voice. 
 " It was so terrible that last night we were there, when the 
 mob burned our house, and we barely escaped being 
 murdered. Many of our servants joined the Revolution- 
 ists ; and it seemed cruel to have those to whom we had 
 shown kindness turn upon us so treacherously." 
 
 " Have you been long in Toulon? " Jean inquired, some- 
 what at a loss what to say, and yet longing to manifest his 
 sympathy for so lovely a being. 
 
 " Since last summer," she answered ; and as she wiped 
 her eyes with a dainty lace handkerchief, Jean saw the 
 flash of jewels upon her little snowy fingers. 
 
 " Have you always lived in Toulon?" she asked in turn, 
 a smile now chasing away the inclination to tears, like the 
 gleam of summer sunshine through a shower. 
 
 " Oh, no," he replied quickly, adding, while a look of 
 embarrassment crept over his face, and his frank eyes 
 wandered 1 from hers, " I came here with my people, for 
 refuge, the same as yourself." 
 
 "From Paris?" she asked eagerly. "Did you, too, live 
 in Paris? " 
 
 "I have lived there," was his evasive reply; and she, 
 divining his disinclination to be questioned concerning him- 
 self, bent toward him as from a sudden impulse while she 
 said, " Did you ever meet people who were strangers to 
 you, and yet who from the moment you looked into their 
 faces seemed otherwise?" 
 
 She had laid a hand upon his shoulder, and a puzzled ex- 
 pression showed in his face as he looked into her earnest eyes. 
 But this gave way to a half-mischievous but wholly winning 
 smile as he replied, with a gallantry hardly to have been ex- 
 pected in a lad of his age, " Never until this moment." 
 
 She laughed, and drew her hand away, the wild-rose 
 color deepening in her cheeks as she said playfully, " I 
 think you are a very precocious infant." 
 
 " But I will soon be a man," he declared, in a tone which 
 betrayed considerable pique.
 
 78 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " What shall you do what be, when that time comes 
 when you are a man? " she asked, a touch of wistfulness 
 coming to her eyes. 
 
 " I shall be an explorer," he replied, sitting more erect. 
 
 "An explorer?" she repeated questioningly, lifting her 
 arched eyebrows. 
 
 "Aye, ma'm'selle; as were De Soto, and Cortez, and 
 Pizarro." 
 
 " Ah ! " she said softly and with a smile. 
 
 " Laro is a great explorer and sailor, and says I am to 
 go with him. Perhaps I shall do so _at least until I have 
 a ship of my own." 
 
 The smile was gone as she said, speaking in so low a 
 tone that he scarcely caught her words, " Is he related to 
 you this Laro ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, ma'm'selle," he whispered ; " I have known 
 him only a few weeks." 
 
 "And do you like him? " 
 
 She perhaps unconsciously raised her voice a little ; 
 and the gravity of its tone, coupled with that which showed 
 in her face, caused Jean to stare at her with surprise. He 
 was reminded and not pleasantly of what Greloire and 
 Margot had said, and found himself unable to frame a fit- 
 ting answer to her question. 
 
 She leaned forward until her face was close to his own. 
 
 " Jean that is your name, is it not? " 
 
 " Yes, ma'm'selle Jean Lafitte." 
 
 " Jean Lafitte," she said slowly and distinctly, " you and 
 I have never heard of one another until this night, and we 
 may never meet again after to-night. I never had a 
 brother ; but if I could have one, I would wish him to be 
 like you." 
 
 The boy's face flushed with pleasure, yet he was puzzled 
 to find a reply to the compliment. 
 
 " Yes," she added, " to look and be what you seem to- 
 night." " But," after a moment's pause, " I should not like 
 it that you grew to be a man such as I feel this Laro must be."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 79 
 
 Again Jean was slow in thinking what to say; and all 
 he did was to look into her lovely face, into the lustrous 
 eyes fixed so intently upon him. 
 
 The other warning had roused his ire. This one, coming 
 from her, gave him but little more than a sense of uneasi- 
 ness, although with it was a feeling of boyish resentment at 
 her disapproval of one whom he regarded as a friend. 
 
 " You may forget me, Jean," she resumed, as he did not 
 speak ; " but I shall hope not. Yet, for fear I may slip 
 from your memory, I will give you this ring of mine ; " 
 and she drew one from her finger. " I wish you to wear 
 it, and to think it says always, ' Roselle de Cazeneau gave 
 me to you ; and she will always pray for you that you 
 maybe a gallant gentleman, loyal to what is true and right.' 
 Will you have the ring say this to you ? " 
 
 Her words touched deeply the boy's chivalric, impulsive 
 nature ; and bending over the hand that proffered the ring, 
 he pressed his lips to the jewelled fingers. 
 
 " Thank you," he said, as, now with a smile, she slipped 
 the little circlet upon the fourth finger of his left hand ; 
 and the touch of her own, warm and gentle, sent a thrill of 
 delight through his young veins. 
 
 " I shall never forget you," he declared, looking up into 
 her face ; " and no matter what or where I may be, you 
 and yours will always have my love and service." 
 
 " It is now my turn to thank you," she said ; " for " 
 and a far-seeing look chased the smile from her eyes 
 " who shall say but that I or mine may call upon you to 
 make good your promise?" 
 
 Before he could reply, they were interrupted by the 
 entrance of Laro, with Thiel close behind him ; and follow- 
 ing the two was Pierre, who with open eyes and mouth 
 stared about him wonderingly. 
 
 " The fighting still seems to be going on, my masters," 
 announced Thiel, as he closed the door, and then placed 
 his lantern upon the table. 
 
 "Which is all the better for our plans," added Laro,
 
 8o Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " as we can sail away on one side of the harbor, with but 
 little danger of being overhauled, while the fighting draws 
 attention to the opposite side." 
 
 " Oh, father," asked the girl, who had risen and come 
 close to the count, "shall there be any fighting for us?" 
 And she slipped an arm around his neck. 
 
 Jean, who had followed her, stood near Laro, at the end 
 of the table. 
 
 " Never fear, m'm'selle," answered the captain, before 
 her father could reply, " but that we will get away safe and 
 sound. We know every inch of this harbor, my men and 
 I, just where the open spaces lie, here and there, for us 
 to skim through. We may possibly draw a bit of their 
 fire, but nothing to hurt ; for it is quite dark, with a storm 
 coming up, and the wind blows a fine gale from the right 
 quarter to help us on our way. So do not be alarmed, 
 m'm'selle ; for no craft in the harbor can catch my ' Aigle,' 
 once she picks up her heels for a run. And " 
 
 Laro's flow of words, to which Roselle had seemed to 
 pay but careless attention, was cut short by the sharp jangle 
 of the bell over his head, causing Pierre to start as if he 
 had been struck, and to stare upwards as if suspecting the 
 bell to be connected with some supernatural agency. 
 
 Those who were seated sprang up and began gathering 
 their bundles and packages, as Thiel said, " There speaks 
 Gil, who warns us that the boat is below. Can all be 
 managed without a light?" he added, turning to Laro. 
 " 'T would scarcely do to show the faintest spark from the 
 opening." 
 
 " It can, Thiel. Here, let me go first and show the way, 
 while the rest follow in single file. You had best let the 
 count come after me ; then his young lady, and then her 
 maid. You and the lads will lower the luggage into the 
 boat." 
 
 Laro gave his orders hastily, but clearly, after which he 
 turned to Pierre, who stood near him. 
 
 " Good-night, my boy ; I am sorry you are not to go
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 8 1 
 
 with me, for I would like greatly to have your stout heart 
 and strong arm aboard the ' Aigle.' But you will come next 
 time, no doubt, and learn how to make your fortune." 
 
 Then he grasped Thiel's hand. " Good-night, old com- 
 rade. You had best think twice of my advice while I am 
 away, and make up your mind to close this place for the 
 present, and cross the sea, to a land where you can do a 
 better business, and have no howling Revolutionary mobs 
 and English swine to keep you awake nights." 
 
 His eyes had wandered from Thiel to Jean, who stood not 
 far away ; and as he now stepped quickly to the boy's side 
 and put an arm around him, the dark face underwent a 
 marvellous softening. 
 
 " Jean, my heart of hearts, good-night ! May all the 
 saints keep thee, and all the devils fight on thy side ! The 
 sorest spot in my heart this night is because of leaving thee 
 behind ! " 
 
 Jean glanced at Roselle, and found her looking at him in 
 a way that made him draw back from Laro's encircling arm. 
 
 "You will come with me next time? " the latter asked, 
 laying his hand on the boy's shoulder. 
 
 Jean remained silent, standing with lowered eyes, while 
 the bell jangled a second time. 
 
 " I '11 be in this port again within two years," added Laro, 
 " and then I am sure you will be ready to come with me. 
 Until then, dear lad, good-night." And he moved away, 
 motioning for the others to follow. 
 
 " Good-night, Jean, and adieu," said Roselle, as she was 
 about to pass him. But instead of going on, she paused 
 long enough to kiss him lightly on the cheek. 
 
 " Do not forget me," she whispered, " nor what I have 
 said to you." 
 
 She was gone, leaving the boy standing mute, sensible 
 of the odor of violets, and regretting ruefully his inability 
 to have acknowledged her gracious farewell. But the 
 sound of Thiel's voice soon aroused him from his self- 
 reproachings.
 
 82 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Come," the landlord said sharply, " come with 
 me." 
 
 He took the way the others had gone around an ab- 
 rupt turn that led into a passage, narrow at first, but widen- 
 ing after they had taken a few steps, so that two persons 
 (or three, if they kept close to each other) could walk 
 abreast. 
 
 There was evidently an outlet near by; for the fresh air 
 blew about them, and they heard the waves beating at the 
 foot of the cliff. 
 
 At the end of the passage was a rectangular opening 
 hidden in summer by the vines that draped the rocks 
 outside. But these were now a mass of bare tendrils, which 
 Laro pushed away, letting in a square of the night-sky, 
 where black clouds were drifting across the stars. 
 
 They all gathered about him, as he whispered hoarsely, 
 " Thiel, where is the ladder ? " 
 
 "Here I have it" And Thiel, wedging his way 
 through the others, took his place by Laro's side. 
 
 The hooks of the rope ladder were soon fastened into two 
 iron rings bolted to the rock. A coil of rope was then put 
 through the opening, and lowered carefully, until Laro, 
 who kept a hand upon it, felt it grow taut with a pull from 
 below. This he answered by a quick jerk, which informed 
 those in the boat that he and his party were about to 
 descend. 
 
 " Good-night again, boy ; my heart is sorry to leave thee 
 behind," he said to Jean, who was close to him. " Mind 
 what I tell thee keep thy precious body well away from 
 those fighting devils, so that I may find it when I return, 
 and in it a heart that loves the sea. Good-by, again, and 
 good luck ! " 
 
 He had, while speaking, stepped through the opening, 
 and, as the farewell came from his lips, disappeared down 
 the ladder. 
 
 "Child, dost think 'tis possible to climb down to the 
 boat? "asked the count, touching his daughter's arm to
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 83 
 
 attract her attention, and the anxiety he felt showing in 
 his voice. 
 
 " Is it the only way we can reach the ship ? " she inquired, 
 speaking in a way that denoted her own apprehensions. 
 
 "Aye, so Laro has told us, " he answered gloomily, glanc- 
 ing toward the opening. 
 
 Here Thiel struck in : 
 
 " You said, count, that your daughter had a steady hand 
 and brave nature ; if so, then there 's naught to fear. But 
 there's many a coil of rope lying about here; and, for safe- 
 ty, we will, if so you say, fasten a bit of it under her arms, as 
 well as the other lady's. Some one of us can hold the rope, 
 to guard against accident, while she climbs down the lad- 
 der, which, after all, is as steady against the rocks as a pair 
 of stairs, though somewhat narrow as to the steps. Let 
 one of the gentlemen go down first, to make sure your 
 daughter steps carefully, and to encourage her if need be." 
 
 All this was done. Ropes were fastened under the arms 
 of the young girl and of her maid. One of the count's 
 friends followed Laro ; then the maid after him ; next the 
 count himself, and then his daughter, the two remaining 
 gentlemen going last of all. 
 
 When they were below, Jean and Pierre helped Thiel to 
 lower the luggage by means of a hook made fast to a rope, 
 this being the device that had served many a time to lift 
 smuggled goods from boats lying beneath the cliff. 
 
 The last bundle was lowered, and those above were pull- 
 ing up the rope, when a soft, clear whistle came from be- 
 low ; and Thiel lost no time in putting his head through 
 the opening. 
 
 "Aye," he muttered, peering down through the dim light, 
 " they are off to a finer country than this ; and may luck go 
 with them." 
 
 There was no sign of fighting when Jean and Pierre left 
 Le Chien Heureux that night; and the sough of the rising 
 wind was all that broke the silence. 
 
 Not a word was exchanged between the boys, each be-
 
 84 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 ing busy with his own thoughts. But both of them felt 
 sore regret at not being with Laro and his party ; and this, 
 in Jean's mind, was deepened by the thought of that lovely 
 face and sweet voice, to him enshrined in an incense of 
 violets, and which he was wondering if he were ever to see 
 or hear again. 
 
 " Next time I will surely go," he said to himself, as he 
 and Pierre, after putting out the light which Margot had 
 left for them, took off their shoes, and crept softly upstairs 
 to their respective bedrooms. "Laro said he would re- 
 turn within two years ; and in two years I shall be larger, 
 and she will not call me a boy. I will go, and I will find 
 her."
 
 CHAPTER ELEVEN 
 
 IT was the night of December 19, 1793, with a cold 
 storm of wind and rain making still cosier the living- 
 room of the cottage, where, not far from the flames 
 of the wood fire that made more ruddy the neatly kept red 
 of the brick hearth, Margot sat spinning, while Jean, curled 
 up in a big chair opposite, watched idly as many times 
 before her deft fingers smooth and twist the flax. 
 
 The sight of this, and the sound of the wheel, together 
 with the thought of the violet fragrance which seemed a 
 part of Roselle de Cazeneau, of whom he was then think- 
 ing, these sent his memory straying to the park and 
 gardens of Languedoc. 
 
 A sudden longing possessed him, a feeling of homesick- 
 ness, such as had, quite unknown to Margot, come at rare 
 intervals during the past year, but which he had never yet 
 permitted himself to express in words. 
 
 " Margot, dost ever wish thyself back in Languedoc? " 
 
 The question, no less than its suddenness, evidently 
 startled her, for the wheel stopped so abruptly as to break 
 the thread. And Pierre, who was reading at a near-by 
 table, raised his eyes from the page he was conning 
 laboriously. 
 
 " Back in Languedoc," Margot repeated, as she picked 
 up the broken ends of the thread. " Nay, not I, if but we 
 could have the quiet and peace about us that we first found 
 here in Toulon." 
 
 " But that will be once the siege is ended," said Jean, 
 now watching the flames, whose reflection struck glintings 
 from his eyes, like the sunlight dancing on dark pools. 
 
 Margot shook her head ; and the resumed whirring of 
 her wheel drowned the sigh that issued from her lips.
 
 86 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Aye," she said, " when it is ended. But who can say 
 what will then befall? No doubt worse than has already, 
 if the Revolutionists are victorious." 
 
 " 'T is said they came near getting into the fort this 
 morning." 
 
 This information was imparted by Pierre, who was still 
 looking at Jean. 
 
 "What of that? " demanded the latter. " It is not the 
 first time they have all but taken Little Gibraltar." 
 
 " No ; and I '11 be sworn they '11 soon get in and take 
 it," said Pierre, with an emphasis which left no doubt as to 
 the bent of his sympathies. 
 
 " Better have care about voicing such an opinion," his 
 mother declared sharply. And, with a quick ducking of 
 his head, as if the words were the prelude to a box on the 
 ear, Pierre plunged his big hands into his shock of hair, 
 and lowered his face over the book. 
 
 Presently Jean spoke again. 
 
 " Hast thou heard aught from Languedoc since we 
 left?" he inquired, looking over at Margot, who, appar- 
 ently lost in thought, sat with her eyes fixed on the 
 fire. 
 
 Wondering what new mood had taken hold of the boy, 
 that he should bring up matters of which she had never 
 ventured to speak, but relieved as well to feel that she 
 might now impart to him information she had received 
 some time before, Margot replied, " Yes. The chateau 
 has been closed since the month after we left, with only 
 Tatro there as keeper; for Monsieur fitienne has re- 
 turned to Paris, where he is in high favor with the Great 
 Committee." 
 
 " Peste ! " The word, half sigh and half hiss, was 
 full of vindictiveness. " Then the dagger did but slight 
 injury, after all, for all the rust on its blade, that would 
 surely have poisoned better blood, even if the thrust had 
 not let out life." 
 
 " Jean, Jeati, do not speak so ! " cried Margot, looking
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 87 
 
 aghast " Surely thou couldst never really wish to kill thy 
 brother ! I always claimed that the act was only because 
 of thy maddened brain ; and with good cause, as any one 
 with heart and feeling must admit." 
 
 " He is no brother of mine ! " declared the boy, his face 
 kindling into a fury of rage. " Never you say such a 
 thing again, Margot. My name is not his, nor is he any 
 kin of Jean Lafitte." 
 
 She made no attempt to calm him; but her face was 
 troubled as she resumed her work. 
 
 "How got you all that news?" Jean inquired, a few 
 minutes later, the anger gone from his voice and face. 
 
 " Pere Huot had a letter from Tatro, brought by Louis 
 Suer and his wife. They fled from Languedoc, because 
 the neighbors took offence at their showing lack of heart 
 for the Revolution. Ah, 't is sad enough here, Jean, and 
 very dreadful; but the days are as bad in Languedoc. 
 They burned Louis Suer's house, shot his son, and robbed 
 him of all he had." 
 
 " I had thought Suer was one of them," said Jean, 
 recalling the stout, thrifty peasant, whom he had heard 
 railing against the king and his Austrian consort. 
 
 " So he was, as to politics, and is still. But he held 
 not with them when it came to trying to burn his master's 
 house, and " 
 
 She stopped ; and Jean knew that she was thinking of 
 the attack upon the chateau. 
 
 " Hark to the wind how it pipes ! Sacre ! What a 
 storm ! " exclaimed Pierre, rousing again from his book, 
 as there came a dash of rain upon the windows, while a 
 blast roared over the cottage and sent a brisk puff down 
 the chimney. 
 
 The flames blew out so fiercely as to make the cat, who 
 had been lying on the hearth blinking drowsily in the 
 warmth, spring to its feet, spitting viciously at the shower 
 of sparks that flew into its face. 
 
 " 'T is indeed a dreadful storm," Margot agreed, as she
 
 88 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 now drew her wheel farther away from the fireplace. 
 " But there is one good thing to it." 
 
 " What good can there be in such a storm as this ? " 
 queried Jean, who was hoping it had not reached far 
 enough westward to affect the comfort of her whose beau- 
 tiful face was so often in his thoughts. 
 
 " It will put a stop to the bloodshed for a time at 
 least. The best and bravest soldiers would scarce think to 
 fight in such weather as this," replied Margot, showing 
 rare ignorance of facts. 
 
 "Little would they heed, so that it did not wet their 
 powder," asserted Jean, assuming an air of superior wisdom. 
 
 She looked at him thoughtfully a moment before she 
 said, in a voice whose yearning seemed tinged with hope, 
 " If thou 'It grow up to be a good man, Jean, thou 'It 
 some day make a brave soldier." 
 
 " One can be brave without being good," answered the 
 boy, his natural waywardness asserting itself, although he 
 met her earnest eyes smilingly. 
 
 " Perhaps so," she said doubtingly. " But surely 't is 
 the best and truest bravery that goes with goodness." 
 
 " I doubt if it is in me to be good in the way you 
 mean," confessed Jean, now speaking quite impatiently, as 
 if the subject were not to his liking. 
 
 " Your little colonel, whom we all love he has the 
 bravery I mean. Surely thou must own 't is well to be 
 such a man," she insisted. 
 
 " Aye," the boy said with a defiant smile ; " but I will 
 be more like Laro." 
 
 " Laro ! " Margot repeated, her patience now giving 
 place to anger. " The saints keep us from living to see 
 thee grow to be such a villain as Laro ! Dost know, Jean, 
 these days it seems to me thou'rt like a soul between 
 Heaven and Hell. The man we all love is thy good 
 angel, Laro is thy bad one; and betwixt the two art 
 thou this night. I feel ! t is for thee to say which of them 
 shall lead thee to thy future."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 89 
 
 She now spoke with a seriousness Jean had never before 
 seen her show, and which, despite his self-confidence, 
 disturbed him strangely. 
 
 The howling of the storm seemed to emphasize the 
 warning conveyed by her words; but the boy laughed 
 scornfully as he replied, "Mats do not preach tome, 
 Margot, for 't will do no good. What I am, I am, and I 
 cannot be other than I am." 
 
 Then, in order to tease her, he began a song of which 
 she had more than once expressed decided disapproval. 
 Laro had taught it to him ; and the captain delighted to 
 have the boy sing it for his entertainment, and that of the 
 crowd gathered at Le Chien Heureux, when the rich young 
 voice would make the air vibrate, and stir the slowest pulse, 
 with the rollicking recklessness of melody and words, 
 
 SONG OF THE BUCCANEERS 
 As tides that flow and winds that blow, 
 So is the life we rovers know. 
 No priest nor king his laws can bring 
 To set the course we choose to wing. 
 Across the sea, as wild and free 
 
 As lightning from the storm-cloud's breast, 
 We sweep before the tempest's roar, 
 
 Or rock upon the waves at rest. 
 
 Between our lips the red wine slips 
 When on our deck the red blood drips. 
 Its ruby heart will quench the smart 
 If pity for a foeman start. 
 Like kings are we, who rule the sea, 
 
 Our crowns and sceptres flashing steel. 
 Rich stores of gold our coffers hold. 
 
 No laws can make us quail or kneel. 
 
 As tides that flow and winds that blow 
 So is the life we rovers know. 
 No priest nor king his laws can bring 
 To set the course we choose to wing. 
 So up with sails, to catch the gales 
 
 That blow us far across the sea. 
 Blow high, blow low, away we go, 
 
 To live the life of rovers free.
 
 90 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Margot, with compressed lips and stony eyes silently 
 bespeaking disapprobation, had risen, and after putting 
 away her wheel, began to shovel the ashes over the fire, 
 preparatory to retiring for the night. 
 
 Jean noted her expression, and exchanged a laughing 
 look with Pierre, who had turned from his book with a 
 sparkle of unusual animation lighting his dull face. But 
 he sang the song to the end ; and Pierre, taking a hint 
 from his mother's movements, rose slowly from his chair, 
 and began to bar the shutters. 
 
 " ' T is a wild night," he said to Jean, as the latter also 
 rose, and, with a yawn, stretched his lithe limbs, as might 
 a young panther, while a still fiercer gust of wind shrieked 
 down the chimney. 
 
 " Little doubt as to that; and it is a good thing to shut 
 out." 
 
 " I would that we might shut out all other evils as 
 easily," remarked Margot, who was making sure that the 
 closet door was latched, so that the stores within would be 
 secure from the cat. 
 
 She spoke with a significance which Jean did not fail to 
 observe ; and he asked, laughingly, " Wouldst like to shut 
 me out of doors, Margot? " 
 
 She did not answer; and going to her, the boy put an 
 arm around her shoulder as he added playfully, bending 
 his head so that he might look into her averted face, 
 " Has my song angered thee so that I am not to be 
 spoken to? " 
 
 She raised her eyes, and he saw tears glistening in them. 
 
 " How canst thou have the heart," she asked, laying a 
 hand on his arm, " to delight in hurting me, when I love 
 thee so truly? " 
 
 His face sobered, and he kissed her cheek. 
 
 " I tell thee, Jean, that Laro will ruin thy body and 
 soul, if thou dost not keep his songs and ways far from 
 thy life." 
 
 " Never mind Laro to-night," he replied, stroking her
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 9 1 
 
 cheek lovingly. " He is now far-off over the seas, and 
 may never again see France, nor I see him." 
 
 " I would be happier if I were certain of that," she said, 
 taking up the candle which was to light them to their 
 chambers above. 
 
 They parted as usual for the night, little thinking that 
 this was to be the last of earth's nights for one of them.
 
 CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 IT was the next morning the morning after the flame- 
 lit, awful night that witnessed the capture of Toulon 
 by the Revolutionists. 
 
 There is no need to repeat the story which history has 
 told of its horrors; of the bombardment and assault; of 
 the unspeakable woe that was visited upon those shut up 
 within the doomed city. The night was past; and now 
 had come the grief and sorrow of the living, to fill the day 
 with tears for the dead ; now had come the moans and 
 cries of the mangled and dying. 
 
 In one of the lower rooms of a small, partially burned 
 house, not far from the blackened ruins of her own cottage, 
 lay Margot, who had been killed while she and the boys 
 were making preparations for flight to a place of greater 
 safety. 
 
 The three were in the living-room, where her whirring 
 wheel had filled the peaceful silence of the evening before. 
 She had made up the bundle each one was to carry (tak- 
 ing pains that Jean should conceal upon his person the 
 money intrusted to her by the baron), when a large piece 
 of shell tore its way into the room and entered her breast, 
 killing her instantly. 
 
 Scarcely had the boys realized this when they found the 
 cottage to be on fire over their heads. But they had time 
 to half-carry, half-drag Margot's body to the street, and 
 thence to the house where it now lay, stretched upon a 
 rough bench and covered by a blanket, in this bare room, 
 filled with men, women, and children whom fire had ren- 
 dered homeless during the night. 
 
 Outside, before the house, stood a file of soldiers in the 
 uniform of the Revolutionary troops, at whom the home-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 93 
 
 less ones within stared apprehensively, as the sergeant in 
 command stood listening to a woman who had guided him 
 and his men to their present halting-place. 
 
 " In there you will find them," she said, in a dull, apa- 
 thetic way, pointing to the door ; " and with them is the 
 dead body of their mother, or whoever she was." 
 
 The sergeant thanked her ; and, after bidding his soldiers 
 to stand where they were, he went alone into the house, 
 the wretched occupants of which shrank away from him, 
 wondering what new horror was about to be meted out to 
 them for daring to be alive. 
 
 The bench upon which lay Margot stood in a far corner 
 of the room ; and near it, on the floor, Jean was stretched 
 asleep, with Pierre seated beside him, his arms across his 
 drawn-up knees, and his head sunk upon them. 
 
 He, too, appeared to be sleeping. But at the sound of 
 the soldier's voice he raised his head to look at him, while 
 a sullen light of grief showed for an instant in his heavy 
 eyes. This, however, softened into recognition, as he heard 
 the kindly tone and words. 
 
 " Ah, Pierre, I am glad to have found you ! " 
 
 It was Murier who said this ; and his dark face was full 
 of pity as, after glancing at the bench, he added, " I have 
 been sent here to find you, and " 
 
 He stopped ; for Jean, now awake, sat up and stared at 
 him. 
 
 " Good-morning, young m'sieur. And I regret 't is so 
 truly other than a good morning," said Murier, nodding, 
 and smiling grimly, as he looked down into the white face 
 and dark-circled eyes. 
 
 Jean, making no reply, rose to his feet, staggering as he 
 did so. 
 
 "Are you hurt, young m'sieur?" inquired the soldier 
 anxiously. " Or either of you injured in any way? " 
 And he turned to Pierre, who also had risen, and stood 
 nearest him. 
 
 " Hurt? " repeated the peasant lad. " Aye, most sorely
 
 94 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 in our hearts." With this he drew the cover from what 
 lay upon the bench. 
 
 " Poor dame ! " muttered Murier, his eyes resting upon 
 the calm white face. " The devil himself was unchained 
 last night; and he spared neither the strong nor the weak. 
 Poor dame the saints rest her kind soul ! " 
 
 Jean, appearing to disregard what was happening about 
 him, had been staring dully through the open door; and 
 Murier, noticing that he shivered, touched him upon the 
 arm to attract his attention. 
 
 " Young m'sieur," and the soldier now spoke more 
 briskly " you are to come with me. My colonel has 
 ordered that you be brought to him." 
 
 Jean glanced at Murier; then his eyes again sought the 
 open door as he said slowly, "Pierre and I are going 
 to Pere Huot. We are going to take Margot to his 
 house." 
 
 " Aye ; that is where I am ordered to take you," was 
 the sergeant's quick reply. "And Pierre also is to 
 come." 
 
 He was moving toward the doorway, when the same wo- 
 man who had guided him to the house came forward with 
 a cup of coffee, which she offered silently to Jean, while an 
 expression of deep commiseration showed in her haggard 
 face. 
 
 But the boy motioned her away as he exclaimed, turning 
 to Murier, "I will not go without Margot! " 
 
 "Surely not, young m'sieur," the soldier assented. 
 " Some of my men shall make a stretcher, and bring the 
 good dame after us." 
 
 He had, while speaking, drawn Jean to the door and 
 out of it, leaving Pierre to follow with the soldiers who 
 were to construct a litter, and bear Margot's body to 
 the convent of St. Sulpice, which was now Pere Huot's 
 home. 
 
 It is not necessary to describe what Jean and Murier saw 
 as they picked their way through the streets, some of them
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 95 
 
 half-filled with debris, and all of them bearing witness to 
 the horrors of the night before. 
 
 Jean was silent, with white face, and stony eyes that 
 stared vacantly ahead, while the soldier held his arm in a 
 close grasp, and occasionally uttered a few cheering words, 
 to which the boy seemed to pay no heed. 
 
 And so they went slowly along, until, in a narrow street, 
 which was comparatively free from evidences of the assault, 
 the two paused before the heavy, iron-studded door of a 
 gloomy-looking stone building, whose ivy-hung windows 
 were not much wider than the loop-holes of a fortress. 
 
 Murier lifted the ponderous brass knocker, to let it fall 
 with a peremptory clang ; and a few moments afterward 
 the door was opened cautiously, while through its crack 
 a single eye, under a shaggy brow, scrutinized him with 
 manifest suspicion. 
 
 " Open up, Martin. 'T is I, with the young m'sieur for 
 whom our colonel sent me," said Murier, pushing through 
 the doorway, and drawing Jean after him. 
 
 They were in a stone-paved, walled, and ceiled passage, 
 along which Murier led the boy until they reached the en- 
 trance to a large apartment ; and here, without a word, the 
 soldier left him. 
 
 As Jean stood upon the threshold of the dimly lit room, 
 as he stood leaning against the side of the doorway, his 
 eyes downcast, and the sound as of roaring waters in his 
 ears, he heard, even through this, Pere Huot's familiar 
 voice saying, " Thank our Holy Mother, my son, that I 
 see thee safe and unharmed, after this awful night." Then 
 a tremulous hand was laid tenderly upon his bowed 
 head. 
 
 A murmuring of other voices came to him ; and one of 
 them stirred Jean's benumbed senses strangely, half-delir- 
 ious as he was from all he had suffered and seen. 
 
 Lifting his eyes, he saw before him a face which seemed 
 to have shaped itself from out the drifting haze. It was 
 thin and careworn, with tumbled locks falling over the pale
 
 96 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 forehead ; and the gray-blue eyes were bent upon him with 
 a sympathy which aroused all his swooning faculties. 
 
 " Pizarro my Pizarro ! " he cried, springing forward ; 
 and the cry was lost in a gasping sob, as he fell senseless 
 upon the breast of Bonaparte, whose arms went around 
 the limp form as though to shield it from further harm.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
 
 THREE weeks later, and a sullen peace had fallen 
 over Toulon, broken only by occasional brawl- 
 ings in the streets, at times when the citizens 
 were so indiscreet as to voice seditious sentiments within 
 hearing of their conquerors. 
 
 Jean was still weak and emaciated from illness. But he 
 was able to sit in his room, or drag himself over to that of 
 Greloire, where the latter was slowly and impatiently re- 
 covering from wounds received during the final assault 
 upon the city. 
 
 From him the boy had heard and with outspoken in- 
 dignation of General (for such was his present rank, 
 conferred as a recognition of his services in capturing Tou- 
 lon) Bonaparte's departure, shortly after his own arrival at 
 the convent, which had been turned into a hospital. 
 
 " He went away and left me ! " Jean exclaimed angrily, 
 the color suffusing his cheeks. " Left me, when I was not 
 able to speak to him ! " 
 
 " You must remember that it is war-time, mon ami" ex- 
 postulated Greloire, " and that our general has orders to 
 obey, no matter how much they conflict with his private 
 affairs and wishes." 
 
 " But had he been in my place," was the hot retort, as 
 Jean's temper asserted itself, " I would not have left him 
 without a word of leave-taking; no, not for all the orders 
 that could be issued." 
 
 " I think I may take it upon myself to assure you that 
 he did not do this," said the soldier, who had listened un- 
 moved to the outburst, during which he watched a venture- 
 7
 
 98 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 some sparrow perched upon the window-ledge, and tap- 
 ping at the glass as if demanding its morning ration of 
 crumbs. 
 
 "What mean you, Greloire?" asked the boy, his anger 
 lost in eagerness. 
 
 "That I have reason to know he left a letter with Pere 
 Huot, and a farewell message, which the good father will 
 doubtless give you when he sees fit." 
 
 " Then why should not Pere Huot have told me so be- 
 fore?" demanded Jean, half rising from his seat beside the 
 bed. 
 
 "Easy, mon ami; sit still," said Greloire calmly. "Do 
 not get excited, else I shall regret telling you anything 
 about the affair. We have to remember that you have 
 been very ill." Tenderness now showed in his tone, and 
 he gently touched the thin hand resting on the coverlet. 
 
 But the boy scowled impatiently as he asked, " Where 
 has he gone, do you know where the Committee sent 
 him?" 
 
 The soldier hesitated, while he looked into the imperious 
 eyes fixed upon his face. Then, lowering his voice, he 
 said, " You will not speak of the matter not even to 
 Pierre?" 
 
 " No ! " The pale lips closed firmly as the monosyllable 
 came from them. 
 
 " A queer combination thou art, of boy and man," said 
 Greloire, more as if thinking aloud than speaking to the 
 subject of his thoughts. " I often wonder at myself for 
 giving thee such trust as I could give to few comrades of 
 my own age." 
 
 But Jean was not in a mood to care for compliments, and 
 let his clenched fist fall upon the bed with a force that em- 
 phasized his recovery of spirit, if not of body. 
 
 "Tell me," he said urgently, "where has he gone?" 
 
 " He received orders from Paris to make a thorough sur- 
 vey of the French sea-coast, and its fortifications. It is a 
 work which would take any other man a year or more to
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 99 
 
 accomplish ; but he, who is in no way like other men, is 
 sure to have it finished in a few months." 
 
 " That done, will he return here?" 
 
 " Nay, I rather doubt that," was the slowly spoken reply. 
 But, seeing the disappointment that clouded the young 
 face, Greloire added, " Yet that is something of which I 
 can know no more than yourself, man ami. I say what I 
 do only because of knowing that the army is in Italy ; and, 
 as ordered by him, I am to follow, when these infernal 
 wounds of mine will let me travel. Why not wait until you 
 see the letter of which I spoke? Perhaps it will tell you 
 far more than can I." 
 
 Late in the afternoon of this same day, Pere Huot, 
 sitting with Jean in the latter's room, had been informing 
 him of what had transpired since the morning Murier 
 brought him to the shelter and safety of his present abode. 
 
 He watched the boy's face carefully as he told him of 
 Margot's burial, and of Bonaparte's many visits to his bed- 
 side, while he lay tossing in delirium ; and the good priest 
 rejoiced within himself to see the look of dogged grief 
 soften into one of subdued gratification. 
 
 " He is a true and wise friend to thee, my son ; a man 
 whom I must respect and trust, although I can scarcely do 
 so much as regards the cause for which he battles," said 
 Pere Huot, a graver line narrowing his gentle mouth. " I 
 have much to consult with thee about as to the future, 
 Jean, as he and I talked it over; but I could not well 
 speak of such matters before, feeling it better to wait until 
 thy strength had somewhat returned. I have learned more 
 or less of the life led by Pierre and thyself, during this 
 dreadful siege, and regret sorely that my own weak health 
 made me so poor a guardian of thy father's son." 
 
 Jean's eyes dropped, and he began swinging his foot 
 uneasily; but he made no reply. 
 
 " I have heard of thy intimacy with this man Laro," 
 continued the priest, his kindly eyes now taking a 
 severe expression; "and I know enough of him to tell
 
 I oo Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 thee he is not the man for thee, being who thou art, to 
 have companionship with, to say naught of his being so 
 much thy elder. Margot was right in distrusting him." 
 
 The drooping head was lifted, and the fearless eyes 
 kindled through a mist of tears as they met Pere Huot's 
 reproachful look, which softened as Jean exclaimed, his 
 voice husky with a curious mingling of sorrow and passion, 
 "Name not Laro to me with poor Margot, Pere Huot! I 
 cannot will not, bear it ! All my life will I feel bitter 
 remorse at the thought of how I wilfully grieved her." 
 
 " So so ; that is well," said the priest gently. " Then 
 we will speak of it no more, my son. If thy heart be still 
 so tender of feeling, evil companionship can, as yet, have 
 done thee no lasting harm. But there are reasons why 
 now, even more than heretofore, thy associates and acts 
 should be such as accord with thine inheritance. And 
 speaking of this, my son, I have to ask where is the box 
 of papers Monsieur le Baron, thy father, intrusted to Mar- 
 got for safe-keeping? " 
 
 " The box of papers, Pere Huot," the boy repeated, as 
 if trying to recall something. " I cannot say ; I do not 
 know." 
 
 " Know not where it is ! " exclaimed the priest, with a 
 marked change of bearing and tone. " How is this? Mar- 
 got told me, when I urged her to bring it here for safe- 
 keeping, that she had hidden it away securely, in a place 
 known only to thee and herself." 
 
 "Yes," assented Jean, the horrors of that fearful night 
 flashing through his mind, and making his voice tremulous. 
 " Yes ; the box and bags of coin were hidden in a hole 
 beneath the hearth-bricks. And one of the first things 
 Margot did was to help me hide the money in my 
 clothing." 
 
 "I found it there, my son, when we undressed thee; 
 and I have it safely. But the box, the box what was 
 done with that?" 
 
 The good priest spoke urgently, almost impatiently,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 101 
 
 leaning forward, and looking fixedly into the boy's per- 
 plexed face. 
 
 The latter was silent for some little time, staring with 
 abstracted eyes at the floor. But at length he said, 
 after a heavy sigh, " I cannot remember to have seen the 
 box. We made up some bundles three, one for each 
 of us to carry; it must have been placed in one of 
 them." 
 
 " And what became of these bundles?" demanded Pere 
 Huot, his thin face flushed by the agitation he could not 
 wholly control. 
 
 " Burned, with the cottage," replied Jean, now looking 
 up with a start, as the priest, with an exclamation of dis- 
 may, fell back in his chair. 
 
 The low sun's quivering rays, pulsing from the dancing 
 shadows of the ivy outside, stole through the window, 
 bronzing the boy's black hair; they lay on the shoulder 
 of the priest's cassock, and rested along the high carved 
 top of the chair, whose arms his slender fingers were grip- 
 ping tightly, as he sat motionless, the brows scowling 
 deeply over his downcast eyes. 
 
 "What matter is it if the box was burned?" asked Jean, 
 in a tone implying how little importance he attached to 
 the fact. 
 
 "Know you not, my son, what this box contained?" 
 inquired Pere Huot, looking the boy in the face, and 
 speaking sternly. 
 
 " Yes some jewels and papers. What of them ? " He 
 spoke as if their existence or destruction were a matter of 
 indifference to him, and his careless eyes seemed to be 
 watching the ivy leaves. But into them, and over his face, 
 had come the reckless look of which Margot would have 
 so well known the meaning. 
 
 " Those papers were the proof and vindication of thy 
 birthright," declared the priest solemnly. " Thy mother's 
 marriage certificate was amongst them ; and the loss of 
 this may make trouble for thee."
 
 IO2 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The boy's eyes now turned from the window to meet 
 those of Pere Huot. 
 
 "Did Margot tell thee, father, of all that befell the 
 last night we passed at Languedoc ? " 
 
 " Yes, my son ; and I have waited for a fitting time to 
 speak to thee of the matter. General Bonaparte and my- 
 self talked of it as well ; and I must say that thou wert 
 cruelly and needlessly angered and wounded. But I was 
 grieved that thou shouldst have been led to the act that so 
 nearly made thee a murderer. Such a thing, in thee, was 
 heinous." 
 
 At this, Jean, trembling with anger, sprang to his feet. 
 
 " Did fitienne speak the truth? " he demanded, steady- 
 ing himself against his chair. 
 
 Pere Huot started, and looked alarmed, as he always 
 did at such indications of Jean's ungovernable temper. 
 And instead of answering the question, he said soothingly, 
 " Jean, Jean, my son, thou must learn to curb that wicked 
 nature of thine." 
 
 " Was it the truth, I say? " cried the boy, heedless of 
 the priest's irresponsive words. 
 
 " I cannot answer, when thou dost demand in such a 
 voice, and with such a look," was the reply, uttered with a 
 calmness which so affected Jean that he resumed his seat. 
 Then, with a quick and complete turning of his emotions, 
 he burst into a storm of sobs. 
 
 Pere Huot made a movement as if to go to him. But 
 he halted in this, and remained seated, saying nothing 
 until the sobbing had ceased and Jean was silent, with his 
 face turned toward the back of his chair. 
 
 " My son," then said the priest, " thou art too old to act 
 like a child; and such a wild temper as thine, if thou 
 canst not learn its control, must needs lead thee into ways 
 that will scourge thy soul with remorse, and embitter thy 
 life. But, Jean, my son," and now all trace of sternness 
 left Pere Huot's voice and face, " I am not without heart, 
 nor sense ; and I cannot hold thee, boy as thou art, to
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 103 
 
 meeting and bearing, as should a man, all the sore trials 
 which have befallen since our days of peace at Languedoc. 
 As to thy brother, we must forgive the dead, even more 
 freely than the living; and fitienne is now gone where he 
 should have thy forgiveness in full." 
 
 He paused, and Jean turned in his chair to look at him 
 questioningly. 
 
 " Yes, thy brother is dead," he continued still more im- 
 pressively. " I regret to tell thee that he was found guilty 
 of a crime the Great Committee never forgives that of 
 treachery. While seeming to serve their cause, he sold its 
 secrets to the English." 
 
 Jean's lips curled with scorn, but he made no spoken 
 comment. 
 
 " Iitienne now dead, thou, my son, art heir to the title 
 and estates, which, although declared confiscated, may yet 
 be rescued and saved to thee, through the influence of thy 
 friend General Bonaparte, who bade me tell thee this at 
 the proper time, and also to give thee this letter." 
 
 He drew a letter from the breast of his cassock, and 
 rising, laid it in the boy's hand, saying, as he did so, " But 
 we reckoned upon having those papers to substantiate thy 
 claim ; and now, since they are destroyed, it is difficult to 
 say what can be done." 
 
 Jean did not open the letter, but, with its folded edge, 
 traced the carving of his chair-arm as he said, without 
 looking at Pere Huot, who was still standing in front of 
 him, '* Father, did he did General Bonaparte wish me 
 to return to Languedoc, as Monsieur le Baron? " 
 
 " Ultimately, yes ; but meanwhile thou art to stop with 
 me here in Toulon." 
 
 There was silence, broken only by the soft sound of the 
 priest's sandalled feet, as he now walked slowly back and 
 forth, with hands clasped before him and head bowed upon 
 his breast, while Jean played with the unopened letter. 
 
 Presently the boy asked suddenly, as Pere Huot passed 
 his chair, " Why may I not go to him? "
 
 1 04 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The good father stopped and faced about. 
 
 " Go with General Bonaparte ! " he exclaimed, lifting 
 his narrow shoulders. " A soldier's camp is scarcely the 
 place for a boy like thee, nor one likely to educate thee 
 suitably for the position thy father's son must occupy in 
 the world." 
 
 " But I have no wish to assume any such position," said 
 Jean, as he sat more erect, and with a new light of resolu- 
 tion chasing all the dreams from his face. " I care nothing 
 for the title and estates upon which thou seemst to set 
 such great store." 
 
 Again the priest looked troubled ; but all he said was, 
 "No and why not? What new scheme has come into 
 that wilful head of thine? " 
 
 " One that has always been there," was the prompt 
 reply. " I could never be such a milksop as was fitienne. 
 I will " 
 
 Pere Huot lifted a hand in remonstrance, and his eyes 
 flashed in rebuke. But Jean, angry and reckless, went on, 
 disregarding entirely the attempted interruption, " I '11 be 
 no hypocrite, nor pretend to what I cannot feel. I have 
 hated fitienne all my life, and with good cause ; and I will 
 never say otherwise, now that he is dead. I would spurn 
 any title or position that had been his, despise myself 
 if ever again I lived beneath the roof that had sheltered 
 one who spoke such dastardly words of my mother ! " 
 
 Pere Huot, while a priest, was yet a man ; and a gleam 
 of ill-suppressed admiration lightened for an instant his 
 expression of disapproval, as he looked down at the high- 
 held head and spirited face, and listened to the hurried 
 breathing that sounded pantingly through the boy's dilated 
 nostrils. But he controlled this at once, and said calmly, 
 as he resumed his slow pacing, " What is this scheme of 
 thine, my son wilt thou tell me? " 
 
 Jean stooped and recovered the precious letter he had 
 let fall during this last outburst, and looked at it silently, 
 until Pere Huot repeated his inquiry. Then he answered
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 105 
 
 sullenly, and as if knowing with what little favor his words 
 would be received, " I want to go over seas, away from 
 France, away to the new world, and carve out a name for 
 myself gain fame and riches. I should die, like a wild 
 bird in a cage, to live such a life as men pass here. The 
 very thought of it is hateful to me." 
 
 "Ah! " exclaimed the priest, whose face now showed a 
 curious mingling of anger, sorrow, and contempt. " This 
 comes from Laro's teachings." 
 
 "No, father indeed no ! " cried Jean, all the fire gone 
 from his eyes. " I have always longed to live such a life 
 always ! " 
 
 "Always all of thy very long life, Jean, my son?" 
 said Pere Huot, a satirical smile touching his thin lips. 
 
 The boy's face became crimson, and he said nothing. 
 
 " We have talked long enough for the present, my son," 
 the priest added ; " and now I will leave thee. Read Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte's letter; and may it bring thy mind to 
 holding more worthy ideas for the future than those I have 
 just heard from thee. And Jean, my son," coming close 
 to him, and laying a caressing hand on the wilful head, 
 " I beseech thee, try and harbor kindlier feelings and more 
 Christian-like forgiveness for thy brother. If we cannot 
 forgive one another, no matter what provocation we have 
 received, how may we dare hope that God will forgive us 
 for our own faults, and absolve our erring souls? Ah, I 
 fear me, my son, that thy passionate soul is likely to have 
 a burden of sin that will call for vast forgiveness at the 
 end." 
 
 He left the room, closing the door softly, and Jean sat 
 staring out of the window, through which the sun's rays 
 now stole down to touch his brow. But, after musing a 
 few seconds, he roused himself with a quick, nervous 
 movement, and looked again at the letter. A moment 
 later he broke its seal ; and the thin paper seemed to 
 pulse with his own heart-beats as he read and re-read its 
 words :
 
 1 06 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Man ami, mon cher ami De Soto, I am grieved to the 
 heart that I must leave thee. But go I must, relieved by the 
 assurance that I leave thee in loving hands, which must soon nurse 
 thee back to that health I pray will always be thine. Pere Huot 
 will tell thee of our plans for thy future. If I have thy love, do as 
 the good father shall tell thee, and pray that we may soon meet in 
 happy days. Let Greloire bring good news of thee, to rejoice the 
 heart of thy 
 
 PIZARRO. 
 
 As Jean's eyes lingered over the final word, he seemed 
 to see the smile, half-rallying entirely tender, that was 
 the invariable accompaniment of their playful naming of 
 one another. He seemed to see it touch the firm lips, 
 which, with the pale, grave face, imagination now brought 
 vividly before him, so distinctly that he felt a thrill 
 from the mesmeric gaze of the calm eyes, their coldness 
 softening as they looked down at him. 
 
 All this faded away, and, with a gulping sob, sounding 
 like the cry of a lonely heart, the boy flung his head upon 
 his arms, and lay silent. 
 
 The sun sank low and lower, its last rays lingering like 
 a loving touch upon the dishevelled mass of curling hair 
 covering the young head so filled with warring thoughts 
 and emotions with dreamful schemes so far beyond its 
 years.
 
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, and the night before New Year's 
 day of 1795, saw the windows of the governor's 
 house ablaze with light, and a constant stream 
 of people coming and going through the wide-flung portals. 
 Selected musicians from the fort played for the dancers in 
 the ball-room, and entertained the large gathering of spec- 
 tators outside, who looked through the open windows 
 upon the flash of color and sparkle of gems, as the elite 
 of the city and province celebrated the annual ball given 
 by Don Francisco Louis Hector, Baron de Carondelet, 
 Governor and Intendant of Louisiana and West Florida. 
 
 Men, some in brilliant uniforms, and others in the 
 civilian's sober garb, chatted or danced with gorgeously 
 arrayed women, whose beautiful faces, bared shoulders, 
 and rounded arms, showed all tints of flesh, the snow or 
 faint cream of purest Caucasian blood being contrasted 
 with the sandal-wood or rich golden hues that hinted at 
 Indian or African ancestry; for, while the aristocratic 
 Caucasian might glance askance at the quadroon or octo- 
 roon belle, the latter held the right to dance at the 
 governor's ball, and in many cases their small hands and 
 fertile brains played a not small part in the manipulation 
 of political and commercial schemes. 
 
 In an apartment opening from the ball-room, several 
 men, whose years or tastes made cards more attractive 
 than dancing, were gathered about a table upon which 
 gold and silver were stacked in miniature towers before 
 the players, one of whom was saying, with an unconcealed 
 sneer, directed at a tall, handsome man, who, clad in the 
 British uniform, sat opposite, " M'sieur Stanley's hoard of 
 gold promises to be more than he can well carry away."
 
 io8 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The speaker was a wiry-looking little fop, a French- 
 man, of middle age, who was shuffling the pack for a new 
 deal. 
 
 The Englishman's lazy blue eyes were turned carelessly 
 toward his opponent, to whose remark he evidently dis- 
 dained to reply. 
 
 " Why not pay more attention to your cards, De la 
 Chaise, and prevent the pile increasing?" inquired a man 
 at the little Frenchman's side a man who greatly re- 
 sembled Laro, captain of the " Aigle," and erstwhile 
 patron of Le Chien Heureux. 
 
 De la Chaise not answering, the other continued, with 
 a malicious light now showing in the dark eyes fixed upon 
 the Englishman's impassive face, " Saw you the Count de 
 Cazeneau this afternoon, may I ask, Captain Stanley?" 
 
 The latter encountered, and appeared to understand, 
 the look of his questioner, and a steel-like glinting showed 
 in his eyes as he replied, " That is an odd inquiry to make, 
 Don Morales, inasmuch as I have it to recall that I met 
 you entering his house as I was leaving it." 
 
 "Very true; so you did," admitted Laro (for he it was), 
 speaking in a tone to indicate his having overlooked an 
 incident too trivial for serious remembering. 
 
 " So you did," he repeated slowly ; " and I was wonder- 
 ing if you left the count in the same devilish humor as 
 that in which I found him." 
 
 At this an angry red showed in the officer's cheeks, and 
 a gleam of wrath in his eyes. But, without looking again 
 at Laro, he picked up his cards and glanced at them; 
 then, with an oath, he threw them upon the table, gathered 
 his earnings, and strode from the room. 
 
 The others, aware that a game besides that with cards 
 was being played between these two men, a game of 
 whose true import they were ignorant, had been listen- 
 ing in silence. 
 
 It was generally suspected that Captain Edward Stanley 
 was one of the numerous worshippers of Count de Caze-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 09 
 
 neau's lovely daughter; and gossip had been unusually 
 busy with their names during the present week, at the 
 close of which the English officer, having concluded the 
 mission upon which he had been sent to New Orleans, was 
 to return to Mobile, where the garrison was composed 
 equally of British and Spanish troops. It was also under- 
 stood that Count de Cazeneau had no liking for the stal- 
 wart, calm-faced Englishman. 
 
 As soon as the latter left the card-room the other men 
 drew long breaths, as if relieved from a threatened climax, 
 knowing as they did that nothing aroused the governor's 
 ire more than to have brawling or disputes at his balls. 
 
 " Why did you try to prick him, Don Morales? " asked 
 one of the players, a tall, spare man, with gray hair and 
 heavy, overhanging eyebrows. 
 
 Don Morales laughed scornfully. 
 
 " Because it is worth something to kindle a little fire in 
 the cold blood of an English dog." 
 
 " It might be an unpleasant thing for all of us had the 
 fire broken out in the shape of a challenge, or, worse still, 
 a fight," said the tall man, as he drew in some shining 
 pieces and added them to the pile in front of him. 
 
 " Colonel Zachary is always most cautious," remarked 
 Don Morales, smiling satirically. 
 
 "But what is it all about?" inquired another of the 
 party. " Don Morales but asked a simple question. What 
 was there in it to justify any man, English or otherwise, 
 calling for satisfaction?" 
 
 " Yes," added a young American officer, looking to be 
 twenty-two or thereabouts, sitting beside Colonel Zachary ; 
 " what was there for him to get angry about, for angry he 
 was at something? It couldn't have been his cards, for I 
 looked at what he threw down." 
 
 " Never mind, Tommy, my son," said the colonel, whose 
 quiet good-nature and all-around likeableness did away 
 with any possible offence to be found in his words ; " and 
 never mind, gentlemen all. Don Morales, I think, knows
 
 no Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 what possible cause for a quarrel lay in his question to 
 Captain Stanley." 
 
 " See here, Don," inquired the quick-witted ensign, who, 
 although a recent widower, with a young boy, was in 
 secret one of Roselle's adorers, " is it that you know or 
 think he went to see Count de Cazeneau this afternoon, 
 and that his asking for the daughter's hand aroused the 
 old man's temper?" 
 
 A curious and not pleasant expression came to Don 
 Morales' eyes, and the colonel said, now speaking some- 
 what sternly as he touched the young man's arm, " You 
 are forgetting your usual code, Tommy, to say nothing of 
 your good sense. This is neither the time nor place to be 
 discussing such a sacred matter as a lady's affairs." 
 
 Ensign Stewart bit his lips, and appeared to be taking 
 himself to task ; but presently he broke out again with : 
 
 " I say, Don Morales, how is it that you and the old 
 count are so intimate? What sort of business is it that 
 you and he are engaged in ? " 
 
 Covert smiles, which the questioner failed to notice, 
 passed over many of the faces around him, and a tinge of 
 color showed for an instant on Colonel Zachary's sallow 
 cheeks. 
 
 Laro, without looking at Stewart, laid down a card as he 
 answered carelessly, " When you have been here suffi- 
 ciently long to know something of the cotton and indigo 
 raised by the count, and become aware of the fact that I 
 own the vessels that carry them to market, you will not 
 need to ask such questions." 
 
 "Oh, is that it? And for how long have you known 
 him?" asked the persistent young man. 
 
 " Since I brought him from France, two or three years 
 ago," said Laro, still with his eyes upon his cards. 
 
 " Is it true, what I have heard, Don Morales," now in- 
 quired De la Chaise, " that you sail for France in the 
 morning ? If so, I am of half a mind yes, three-quarters, 
 to ask you to let me take passage."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 1 1 
 
 " I carry no passengers," was the brusque reply, made 
 while the speaker was drawing in some winnings; and 
 Colonel Zachary, looking distinctly annoyed, remarked, " I 
 was not aware, Don Morales, that you kept the community 
 informed as to your sailing hours and destination." 
 
 " I do not," replied Laro, with a quick, meaning glance, 
 which the colonel met with a slight smile. " But there 
 seem to be those who know my business better than I know 
 it myself." 
 
 " When shall you be back here ? " asked De la Chaise. 
 
 " When my vessel reaches New Orleans."
 
 CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
 
 CAPTAIN STANLEY, who had returned to the 
 ball-room, wended his way amongst the dancers, 
 his progress impeded by some fair lady who 
 greeted him graciously often eagerly, and forced him to 
 pause for an interchange of vapid nothings. He then 
 visited all the apartments open to guests, until he was con- 
 vinced that the count had kept his daughter at home, for 
 better protection against further intercourse with the 
 handsome suitor he had rejected so scornfully that same 
 afternoon. 
 
 This he did with scant courtesy, but firmly, giving as his 
 reason that, while endorsing, to a certain extent, the dem- 
 ocratic and cosmopolitan ideas and practices of his adopted 
 country, he would see his daughter dead before permit- 
 ting an Englishman to become his son-in-law. 
 
 But English love, like other love, laughs at all the bar- 
 riers a stubborn parent may seek to interpose ; and Count 
 de Cazeneau's decision was not calculated to discourage so 
 strong-willed a man as Captain Edward Stanley. 
 
 He had acceded to his sweetheart's wishes by going, in 
 proper form, to her father; and, the matter having cul- 
 minated as the lovers had feared, nothing was left but an 
 elopement, for which, in view of the count's probable 
 refusal, all the plans had been arranged. 
 
 Poor little Roselle ! With her heart now, and for the 
 first time, absorbed by a love that was brave to dare all 
 things for love's sake, she had as much power to op- 
 pose Captain Stanley's will as has the victim which some 
 beast of prey has seized and is dragging away to the 
 jungle.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 113 
 
 It was shortly after midnight when a tall man, enveloped 
 in a long cloak, and followed closely by a stalwart negro, 
 who bore a sizable bundle upon his shoulders, looked 
 toward the brilliantly lighted windows of Count de Caze- 
 neau's house, whose inmates were evidently celebrating, 
 after the customary fashion, the New Year's advent. He 
 paused a moment in front of the rambling, low-built dwell- 
 ing, and then passed on, muttering words which were 
 scarcely a benediction upon its owner. 
 
 After a walk of some twenty minutes, the man and his 
 silent follower climbed the low wall that bounded the 
 count's domain, and, with the night wind rustling the de- 
 nuded cotton-stalks about them, struck off across the 
 broad fields until they reached the edge of some woods 
 that rose, a dark boundary line, at one side of the lonely 
 plantation. 
 
 Here they paused, and looked to where, quite a distance 
 away, the flames of two huge bonfires showed many fan- 
 tastic figures those of the slaves, who were, like irre- 
 sponsible children, celebrating, after the manner of their 
 race, the brief respite from labor accorded them by their 
 exacting master. 
 
 The native slaves, of whom the greater part had been 
 brought from the States farther north, clustered around one 
 pf the fires, the merry rasping of a fiddle furnishing an 
 accompaniment for their characteristic songs and dances, 
 while about the other were the imported negroes, mostly 
 Congoes, who retained much of their original barbarity, 
 and for whom the sullen " turn-turn " of a primitive drum 
 served a like purpose for their revels. A long line of 
 them, both men and women, the latter with gaudy-colored 
 skirts held high, were performing, vis-a-vis, a native dance, 
 advancing and retreating as their shrill voices came to the 
 listeners' ears in a monotonous, reiterative phrasing which 
 sounded like 
 
 " Sieur la coupe sieur ! 
 
 Sieur la coupe si ! " 
 
 8
 
 1 1 4 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The baying of a hound from the slave-quarters was 
 heard, faint, but clear, and the suggestive notes appeared 
 to bring disquiet to the man's dusky follower, for he began 
 to move restlessly, and glance about with manifest appre- 
 hension, while he drew closer to his master, who now, 
 wheeling about, pushed on into the wood. 
 
 He went forward with a confidence showing that he was 
 on not unfamiliar ground ; and a few steps brought the two 
 to a small clearing, where the semi-darkness was made a 
 little more cheerful by a flickering of red light, coming 
 through the chinks of the closed door, as well as from the 
 uncurtained window, of a small cabin. 
 
 The negro now hung back as he muttered tremu- 
 lously, " 'Fo' God, Marse Stanley, sho' yo' ain't gwine in 
 yonder?" 
 
 "Why not, you fool?" demanded Captain Stanley, turn- 
 ing with a threatening gesture. 
 
 " Marse Stanley knows fo' sho' dat Tate 's no fool when 
 hit comes t' fightin' Injuns, an' standin' ober Marse Stan- 
 ley's body t' tote hit off safe," was the humble reminder of 
 the speaker's past services. " But fightin' Injuns an' fight- 
 in' de real debbil hisself ain't de same t'ing. Dat ar 's 
 Zeney's cabin ; ewy nigger in New O'leans kin tell yo' de 
 t'ings Zeney kin do. I 'low, Marse Stanley, dat ef we goes 
 in dar, lak 's not she '11 git mad, an' voodoo us. Lak 's 
 not we '11 done come outen dat do' wid horns sprangin' 
 outen our heads, an' huffs on our feets." 
 
 He ended with solemn impressiveness, which was 
 answered by a scornful laugh, as his master, bidding him 
 remain where he was, stepped quickly forward and entered 
 the cabin. 
 
 A fire lit the interior, which was deserted, save for a 
 small, raggedly clad urchin of ten, whose black arms and 
 legs seemed to have long outgrown their scanty clothing. 
 He was roasting some yams in the ashes, and knelt with 
 his back to the door, while he crooned, all oblivious of the 
 intruder
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 1 5 
 
 " Snake bake der hoe-cake, 
 Set der frog ter watch hit. 
 Frog went ter sleep 
 An' der lizard come an' stole hit. 
 Bring back mah hoe-cake, 
 Yer long-tailed Nannie, oh ! " 
 
 The last word was accentuated by a low howl as the 
 singer saw the tall figure standing beside him. 
 
 "Where is Zeney?" inquired the officer, after glancing 
 about the cabin. 
 
 The boy stared with fright at his questioner, looming so 
 far over him in the firelight, which struck gleamings from 
 the breast of the uniform, where a slight parting of the 
 cloak-folds revealed scarlet and gold. 
 
 " Are you deaf, you black monkey ? Where is Zeney, I 
 say?" Captain Stanley repeated impatiently. 
 
 " Granny? She 's done gone t' keep New Y'ar's," stam- 
 mered the little negro, rising cautiously to his naked feet 
 and backing away from the officer's stern eyes. 
 
 The latter now understood how Zeney, having although 
 reluctantly given, through the late afternoon, such aid as 
 was in her power to the carrying out of her young mis- 
 tress' plans for an elopement, had then betaken herself to 
 the bonfires, where, appearing to join in the festivities of 
 her fellow slaves, she would be less likely to fall under her 
 master's suspicions when his daughter's flight should be 
 discovered. But her cabin was at the officer's service; 
 and this was of greater importance than the presence of 
 Zeney herself. 
 
 A rustling made Captain Stanley turn quickly ; and a 
 new light came to his face as his eyes fell upon a shrouded 
 girlish figure standing in the doorway, with a taller woman's 
 form behind her. 
 
 Down upon the river, hidden away under the overhang- 
 ing bank, amid the sedges and other water growth, was a 
 commodious boat that had been stored with all things need- 
 ful for the flight. The elopers and their servants were soon
 
 1 1 6 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 aboard ; and only the stars saw the craft pulled cautiously 
 up-stream by the strong arms of Tate, the faithful slave, 
 with the maid, Barb, on the seat behind him, while in its 
 farthest end were the two who, for love's sake, had cast 
 aside all former life, and broken all ties. 
 
 For Roselle, these were the ties of filial love and duty, 
 and for Captain Stanley those of honor ; for he had de- 
 serted his command, and was flying to the wilderness 
 farther north, to for the time at least hide, with his 
 new-found dream, amongst the friendly Choctaw Indians, 
 where he could count upon reasonable security from 
 pursuit. 
 
 And the woman, trusting him implicitly, faced an un- 
 known world, faced it fearlessly and undoubtingly, seeing 
 naught but the dawn of a perfect and fulfilled love, that 
 yielded to this man its uttermost depths of passion. 
 
 As for him, the loved one, this was by no means his first 
 experience of the sort; but he was honest, at least, in be- 
 lieving himself to be in earnest. 
 
 And so he held her close, as they sat side by side, his 
 cloak about them both, and her head pillowed over his 
 heart, while the slave's oars pulled the boat swiftly, their 
 rhythmic dip, or the occasional cry of a loon, being the only 
 sounds besides the rippling water to break the silence. 
 
 Some one has written that in love 
 
 " There is always one loved, and one who loves." 
 And thus it was with these two.
 
 CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
 
 ON New Year's day Laro left New Orleans for 
 France ; and when, seven months later, he sailed 
 away from Toulon, bound for the coast of Bar- 
 bary, with him were Jean and Pierre Lafitte. 
 
 The purposes of this story require but a general refer- 
 ence to Jean Lafitte's life during the fifteen years which 
 ensued after he left the country of his birth, and linked his 
 fortunes into those of Laro. 
 
 He was then a lad of fifteen. And, until he arose above 
 the consequences his heedless youth had imposed upon his 
 better self, his life was passed ashore and afloat, as best 
 served the immediate interests at stake ; at times taken up 
 by the cares and responsibilities of legitimate business, at 
 times passed amid scenes of wildest adventure and deadly 
 peril. He, while growing to manhood, alternated between 
 the counting-room and the quarter-deck, associating now 
 with men of probity and position, and again with despera- 
 does and cut-throats. 
 
 During this period, Laro known in New Orleans as 
 Don Morales de Castro was, in connection with Count 
 de Cazeneau and other more or less prominent men, en- 
 gaged in various speculative schemes, some of them being 
 within the law, and others outside of it. The former in- 
 cluded ventures in trading, mining, and timber-cutting, 
 whilst among the latter were smuggling and slave-trading. 
 These operations involved the ownership of many vessels, 
 together with the employment of many men, and, taken as 
 a whole, they were very successful. 
 
 Smuggling and slave-trading had always been within the 
 line of Laro's occupations, and they were matters to which
 
 1 1 8 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 he gave his personal attention, making many voyages to 
 and from the French and African coasts. 
 
 Then latterly, in addition to his other nefarious pursuits, 
 and under cover of letters of marque issued by one or an- 
 other of the newly formed South American republics, he 
 preyed lawlessly upon whatever commerce came within 
 his reach. 
 
 His ownbrigantine, the " Black Petrel," was of remarkable 
 speed, heavily armed (ostensibly for its own protection), 
 and carried a crew containing outcasts from all nations, 
 but skilful sailors and brave fighters. If they captured a 
 ship flying the flag of a hostile country, the prize was, 
 according to circumstances, taken into port for condemna- 
 tion, or destroyed at once. But, whatever might be the 
 nationality of a richly laden vessel encountered by the 
 " Black Petrel," the colors it flew had but little effect in 
 deciding its fate, or that of its crew. 
 
 In all these various schemes Lafitte was an interested 
 party ; and, in earlier years, he had been an actual partici- 
 pant in prosecuting some of them, his ability and skill 
 being such that, while still under twenty, he became Laro's 
 trusted lieutenant, upon whom devolved all duties to which 
 the former was unable or inadequate to give his personal 
 attention. 
 
 The tall, handsome lad of Languedoc, Paris, and Toulon 
 had'developed into a man possessing rare gifts of person 
 and mind, together with a store of energy and resource 
 which would have won success in any avenue of life. Him- 
 self a stranger to personal fear, he was quick to recognize 
 bravery in another, and his chivalrous nature was never 
 unresponsive to appeals from his less fortunate fellows. 
 Then, too, his alert faculties, rapid perceptions, and correct 
 judgment, together with an intuition which in these days 
 would have been reckoned as " second-sight," made him a 
 most valuable factor in Laro's operations, while he pos- 
 sessed a magnetic force which, besides giving him a power- 
 ful influence over his associates, and other men of his own
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 119 
 
 class, enabled him to keep within bounds the crews and 
 gangs of men under his immediate direction. 
 
 Such was Jean Lafitte at thirty, and such, in brief, had 
 been his life during this period one so filled with events 
 and adventures as to make his earlier years, and the actors 
 in them, more or less dim, according as they had fixed 
 themselves upon the receptive element of his nature. 
 
 Even Laro, the bluff and picturesque sailor who had ex- 
 erted so strong an influence upon the lad when they met 
 at Le Chien Heureux, was hardly recognizable in the 
 crafty and unscrupulous adventurer with whom later years 
 had made him so familiar, and with whom he was now 
 forced to be in such close contact. 
 
 As for Bonaparte, he had become Napoleon, the mon- 
 arch to whom crowns were baubles, and thrones were play- 
 things; who had recast the continent of Europe, and 
 opened a new chapter in the history of France. 
 
 Jean had received no word from him after the letter de- 
 livered by the hands of Pere Huot ; and grievous had been 
 the boy's disappointment as the months passed without 
 bringing any sign of remembrance from the man who was 
 the one greatest love of his life. 
 
 But his was a strong and healthful nature buoyant and 
 vibrant ; and, as the time went by, the acute edge of his 
 grief had been worn away, to be succeeded by a feeling 
 akin to apathy. He had been forsaken by him whom he 
 loved ; and, accepting this as a fact, he had relinquished 
 every hope of a future reunion. 
 
 All this had its natural effect; and, coupled as it was 
 with a vague but unchanging determination to follow the 
 career of adventure which had been his boyish purpose in 
 life, the personality of Bonaparte became less and less real, 
 until all that remained was a love which was, in itself, 
 largely an abstraction. 
 
 Margot was still a reality to him because of her repre- 
 senting so much of motherly care, and by reason of her 
 ever manifested love, of which he had found much to
 
 1 20 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 remind him in the unobtrusive loyalty and devotion of 
 Pierre. 
 
 The latter was now the only tangible tie connecting Jean 
 Lafitte with his boyhood, big-hearted, brave Pierre, slug- 
 gish in thought, but sound of judgment and clear of purpose ; 
 strong of arm and mighty in action, who now, as ever, stood 
 at the side of his foster-brother. He had, some two years 
 before, abandoned his sea-faring life, and, in partnership 
 with Jean, established a large smithy at New Orleans, where 
 the firm of Lafitte Brothers had become well and favor- 
 ably known through the work turned out by their skilled 
 slaves.
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
 
 IT was late in a sultry, almost breezeless evening in Sep- 
 tember, 1811, that the ship " Condor," belonging to 
 Laro and his associates, dropped anchor in the 
 harbor of Fort Royal, Martinique. 
 
 She was, for that day, enormously large, being of al- 
 most seven hundred tons burthen, and very broad of beam, 
 having been constructed for carrying to European ship- 
 yards the masts and spars cut in the North American 
 forests, and sent in rafts down the Mississippi to New 
 Orleans. But her lines were tolerably fine, she carried 
 a huge spread of canvas, and with a proper wind, could 
 hold her own against many a lighter and more slender 
 craft. 
 
 She had now but a single passenger, if such he could 
 be termed ; for it was Jean Lafitte, returned recently from 
 a mission which will be referred to more particularly later 
 on, and who had come from New Orleans for the purpose 
 of meeting Laro, whom he expected to find waiting at Fort 
 Royal. 
 
 This expectation was verified as the " Condor " entered 
 the harbor ; for from its deck Lafitte's keen eyes discerned, 
 amongst the lights showing from the few vessels anchored 
 about, the private signal of the " Black Petrel." 
 
 As the hawser tautened and the ship began to swing 
 to the tide, her captain, Jude, a stalwart Portuguese, ap- 
 proached Lafitte, and after saluting him, inquired, " Now, 
 my captain, what are your commands? " 
 
 " I will go ashore," was the reply ; " for there I shall 
 more surely find Captain Laro than aboard the ' Black 
 Petrel.' "
 
 122 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Darkness hid the grin upon Jude's swarthy face, the 
 derisive expression of which indicated clearly his opinion 
 of Laro's liking for the allurements to be found on shore ; 
 but he only said, " Will you take your luggage with you, 
 my captain? " 
 
 " No, I shall not need it. Keep all my things here until 
 I tell you where to send them. And order your boat's 
 crew to wait for me at the wharf." 
 
 Jude saluted again, and hastened forward to give his 
 orders, which were obeyed so promptly that before ten 
 minutes had elapsed Lafitte was being pulled ashore. 
 
 His search proved unavailing, although he ascertained 
 that Laro had been seen in the town ; and after visiting 
 several of the places where he was liable to be found, 
 Lafitte went to an inn not far from the wharves, and 
 ordered supper. 
 
 It was served inside ; but after eating, the young man 
 went out upon a balcony overlooking the water, where a 
 waiter brought him coffee and cigars. 
 
 Here he sat enjoying the coolness, while he sipped and 
 smoked, his mind dwelling upon the scenes through which 
 he had recently passed, and the forms one, more espe- 
 cially who had peopled them, when there came to his ears 
 the sound of a voice whose mellow resonance thrilled him 
 strangely, sending his thoughts whirling into the past, and 
 stopping half-way the cup he was carrying to his lips. 
 
 " No, thank you, landlord, for I have already supped, 
 and I wish only to take a breath of sea air outside, before 
 going to bed. And I trust you will not fail to have me 
 aroused in the morning, as we sail at an early hour." 
 
 The air was yet vibrating with the hearty tones as the 
 speaker came through the door ; and a lamp hanging from 
 the ceiling of the balcony flashed its rays into the face of 
 Greloire. 
 
 His head was bared, and the abundant hair was now 
 well streaked with gray ; he had grown stouter, with every 
 indication of good-living; but he still showed the unmistak-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 123 
 
 able carriage acquired by military discipline, although, 
 instead of a uniform, he wore the attire of a well-to-do 
 citizen. 
 
 There was little alteration in the expression of that frank, 
 sunny face ; and Lafitte knew at once that the brave, 
 soldierly friend of his boyhood was standing before him. 
 
 The recognition was not mutual; for Greloire, after a 
 careless glance at the younger man, crossed the balcony 
 and seated himself near the rail. 
 
 Lafitte was, for the moment, undecided as to what to do, 
 whether to reveal his identity, and risk hearing whatever com- 
 ments Greloire might make upon a name and career which 
 already had become known in two continents, or to remain 
 silent, and thus forego this unlooked-for opportunity for 
 knowing something definite in regard to the man who 
 was still dear to him he who was now Emperor of 
 France. 
 
 But all indecision was soon routed by the realization of 
 what was represented by the face and form so close to 
 him, and come to life, as it were, from the dead. The 
 sight of the candid face and frank blue eyes recalled, by a 
 curious mental process, their very antitheses that grave, 
 pale face, with its clear-cut features and calm gray eyes. 
 The living present seemed to animate the dead past; the 
 reality of Greloire gave actual life to the ideal Napoleon. 
 
 Lafitte rose and went over to where his old friend was 
 sitting. 
 
 " Pardon, monsieur," he said, bowing slightly as Greloire 
 looked up ; " but I think I have had the pleasure of meet- 
 ing you before." 
 
 "Possibly very possibly," assented the other, rather 
 indifferently. " I have met many men during my two 
 weeks' stay in Martinique." And he looked off across the 
 water as he flicked the ashes from his cigar. 
 
 " But," continued Lafitte, showing no annoyance at the 
 brusque manner he remembered so well, " I had the 
 pleasure of meeting monsieur many years ago, in France."
 
 1 24 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 "Ah," said Greloire, now more courteously, and with a 
 show of interest, as he turned to the speaker. " May I 
 ask when?" 
 
 " Long ago in Languedoc, and Toulon," replied Lafitte, 
 fixing his black eyes upon Greloire's face. " We met at Le 
 Chien Heureux, in Toulon ; and the last time I saw you was 
 at the Convent of St. Sulpice, where you were recovering 
 from wounds received in the final assault upon the city." 
 
 Greloire, who had risen slowly, was now looking up into 
 the eyes considerably above the level of his own, his face 
 showing an amazement so intense as to pale the healthful 
 hue of his cheeks ; and with one hand he grasped the rail, 
 as if to steady himself. 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! " he exclaimed, passing the other hand be- 
 fore his eyes. " What means all this, monsieur? I can re- 
 call but one who could speak such words a boy 
 
 " A boy then, and who now, as a man, stands before you," 
 interrupted Lafitte, a sudden emotion filling his low voice. 
 
 "Can it be possible that you are Jean Lafitte Lafitte, 
 the pi " 
 
 The word was cut short by a flash from the young man's 
 eyes, even as a sabre-stroke might lop off the hand raised 
 for a blow. 
 
 " The first is the name by which I was known in Toulon, 
 and my friends still use it. The second is a title given 
 to me by my enemies, and which I do not recognize as 
 appropriate." 
 
 He spoke with stern composure, and with a dignity well 
 becoming his tall, straight figure and refined face, while 
 Greloire stared at him in silent astonishment. 
 
 "Which of the two, monsieur, do you prefer to use?" 
 Lafitte added, now taking a step backward, but not remov- 
 ing his eyes from Greloire. 
 
 " Pardon me," said the latter, to whose face the blood 
 had been mounting swiftly, " for I intended no offence. It 
 was only that I was filled with amazement at seeing you 
 again, and spoke hastily without choosing my words."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 125 
 
 "And yet," replied Lafitte, in a tone whose bitterness 
 was apparent, "you but voiced the term you have heard 
 many times." 
 
 " I prefer to voice my own heart's dictates, face to face 
 with you," declared Greloire heartily. 
 
 " Then you prefer," began Lafitte, his face softening, 
 and his eyes taking a different light. 
 
 " To call you Jean, as I did years ago," Greloire broke in 
 impetuously, extending both hands, which were welcomed 
 by the firm grip of the younger man's sinewy fingers. 
 
 " Bien" the latter said. " Let it be so. And you what 
 shall I call you, marquis, duke, or marshal of France?" 
 
 A smile now circled the sensitive lips, and the voice held 
 a note of raillery. 
 
 " I will soon tell you," replied Greloire, now entirely at 
 his ease. " But first be seated, mon ami" 
 
 He resumed his chair, while Lafitte took another one 
 near him. 
 
 " Shall we have some wine ? " continued Greloire. " Our 
 friend the landlord has some fairly good vintages." 
 
 " Thank you no ; at least not for me." 
 
 " Then not for me. And perhaps it is as well, for I have 
 some papers to look over before retiring, which call for a 
 clear head ; and I must be astir early, as our ship sails soon 
 after sunrise." 
 
 " Then we have no time to waste upon trivial matters," 
 said Lafitte, in a tone of impatience which reminded Gre- 
 loire of the old days. " Tell me of yourself, and of Na- 
 poleon." 
 
 Lafitte endeavored to end the sentence as he had begun 
 it ; but his companion did not fail to observe a slight hesi- 
 tancy which preceded the utterance of the name of him 
 who was associated so closely with their former intercourse. 
 
 " The first will take but a short time," he replied laugh- 
 ingly ; " for I am not a nobleman, nor yet an officer. In- 
 deed I left the army six years ago, on account of sundry 
 attentions paid to my body and limbs by the enemies of
 
 1 26 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 France, who thus rendered me unfit for hard service against 
 them, and I am now Monsieur Felix Greloire, attache of 
 the emperor's household. As such I go upon various 
 missions ; and my business here relates to the settlement 
 of some matters connected with certain property belong- 
 ing to her Majesty the empress, who, as you know, is a 
 native of this fair island. A fine place it is, both as to cli- 
 mate and people ; but Louisiana is far more to my taste." 
 
 Lafitte appeared to observe the irrelevancy of this last re- 
 mark, for, with a keen look at Greloire, he said, " Louisiana ! 
 What do you know of Louisiana?" 
 
 " Much that is, of New Orleans, for I was there several 
 months, in the autumn of 1803, with Laussat, when the 
 Spaniards turned the province over to him as the emper- 
 or's representative." 
 
 " In the autumn of 1803? " repeated Lafitte. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I was then absent from Louisiana," said the young man, 
 after a moment's thought. 
 
 "So I learned, when I made inquiries for you. But I 
 heard something of you, and still more in regard to that 
 Spanish rascal who took you away from Toulon, not long 
 before I went there to get you myself." 
 
 Greloire put no special emphasis into his tone, although 
 his eyes were still bent upon the face of Lafitte, who was 
 looking away from him, and toward the water. But the 
 words cut into the young man's thoughts as an unexpected 
 dagger-thrust might have pierced his breast. 
 
 " What mean you by that? " he demanded, almost as if 
 resenting an affront, and turning quickly to meet Greloire's 
 intent eyes. 
 
 " This, tnon ami" was the slowly and distinctly uttered 
 reply, as if the speaker intended that every word should 
 find a common mark: "That when General Bonaparte, 
 late in October of 1795, sent me to Toulon, in order to 
 bring you to him at Paris, I found that you and Pierre had 
 already gone with Laro, bound for Louisiana."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 127 
 
 "Who told you this?" inquired Lafitte, with an entire 
 change of manner ; for now he spoke mechanically in a 
 perfunctory way, as if for the sake of saying something 
 while he collected his thoughts. 
 
 " A dozen people Thiel amongst them. I went first 
 to Pere Huot's house, and there ascertained that the good 
 priest was dead. I then visited Le Chien Heureux, and 
 learned what I have told you." 
 
 Lafitte turned again from Greloire, and settled down into 
 his chair ; and the latter saw the quick rising and falling of 
 the young man's breast as he folded his arms across it. 
 
 Presently Jean, without lifting his eyes, asked, in a stub- 
 born, dogged tone, and as though expecting an answer he 
 did not wish to hear, " Do you mean to have me under- 
 stand that he General Bonaparte sent you to Toulon 
 after me ? " 
 
 " Most assuredly. He, as I have already told you, sent 
 me in the autumn of '95. It was the first time he had 
 been comparatively free from care since leaving Toulon, 
 where he supposed you were still under the charge of Pere 
 Huot, being fitted for the career he our general had 
 planned for you, one that would keep you close to him, 
 and insure your future." 
 
 " How know you all this?" asked Lafitte, in the same 
 sullen way. 
 
 " From himself; for he knew what I thought of you, and 
 talked quite freely while giving me my instructions." 
 
 Lafitte had now recovered apparently, at least from 
 the effect wrought upon him by Greloire's surprising in- 
 telligence ; and, whatever might be his feelings, it was 
 evident that he did not care to make any further manifesta- 
 tion of them. 
 
 " Of course," he said, straightening himself in his chair, 
 and resuming his former manner, " I am greatly astonished 
 at what you have told me, for I had supposed, and with 
 good reason, that General Bonaparte had forgotten my 
 very existence, and that I must shape my own life."
 
 128 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 It was now Greloire who showed emotion ; and there 
 was a mingling of reproach and indignation in his voice. 
 
 " Mon Dieu / How could you think this of him, who 
 never forgets? He was in no position to send for you until 
 he had made himself firm with the government, and knew 
 something as to his own future. This did not come until 
 after he had repulsed the attack made by the National 
 Guard upon the Convention. It was early in October; 
 and as soon as matters were quieted, and he felt his posi- 
 tion secure, he lost no time in sending for you. He was, 
 before this, in one place or another, sometimes seeking 
 service, at others having every moment filled with im- 
 portant affairs. But he never forgot you ; and, when the 
 proper time came, both for him and yourself, he made 
 ready to receive you. Cannot you understand ? " 
 
 " Yes," was the reply, tinged by a note of sadness the 
 speaker could not wholly repress. "I see it now; and, 
 had I then known all you have now told me " 
 
 He paused, and Greloire added quickly, " Your name 
 might be one of the most illustrious in France." 
 
 " Perhaps, old friend perhaps," said Lafitte, in a tone 
 of deprecation, while a bitter smile touched his lips. " But 
 it was not to be, for fate had decreed it otherwise. The 
 emperor is called ' The Man of Destiny.' So, I think, am 
 I ; so are you, and all other men. Our futures are wrought 
 out before we are born, and acts of ours can change them 
 but little. The emperor's destiny has taken him in one 
 direction ; mine has taken me in another. This being so, 
 all that I can do is to remember him, and ever be grateful to 
 him for his interest in me and his goodness to me ; for what 
 he would have done, had not destiny ordained otherwise. 
 You will see him upon your return to France?" 
 
 " Surely, mon ami ; I am to report to him at once, 
 wherever he may be." 
 
 "Will you deliver to him a message from me?" 
 
 " With pleasure." 
 
 Lafitte, after glancing at his watch, rose, as did Greloire ;
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana I 29 
 
 and the two men, so strangely thrown together again, stood 
 confronting each other as the younger said, looking down 
 into the face of his old friend, " Give him my homage for 
 his own greatness, and for the splendor he has brought 
 upon France. Convey to him all my heart's gratitude for 
 his kindness and protection when I was a boy, and for what 
 he would have tried to make me as a man. Tell him that 
 I love him, and will ever love him, and that no sacrifice he 
 may wish or accept will be too great for me to make in his 
 behalf. Can you remember all this? " 
 
 " Every word ; and I will repeat it faithfully." 
 
 As Greloire said this he made a movement as if to resume 
 his seat; but Lafitte, extending his hand, said somewhat 
 hurriedly, " Thank you, my old friend ; and now I must 
 leave you." 
 
 "Why so soon? It is early yet." 
 
 " I know ; but there are important matters requiring my 
 attention, and I must look after them." 
 
 Lafitte spoke carelessly, with no sign of the struggle 
 through which he was still passing. 
 
 "You sail to-morrow?" he added inquiringly. 
 
 " Yes, at the early tide." 
 
 "Adieu, then, old comrade," said Jean, grasping Gre- 
 loire's other hand. " This may be our last meeting, but it 
 will not end our regard for each other." 
 
 " Indeed no, nor our thoughts of one another," was the 
 hearty response, accompanied by a tighter clasp of Lafitte's 
 slender fingers ; " and I trust it may not be the last, by 
 many, of our meetings. Are you never coming back to 
 France? " 
 
 " It is not likely. But who shall say? Destiny may yet 
 send me back to the land of my birth." 
 
 " I pray that it may be so. Meantime I thank all the 
 saints for bringing us together, and for the message you 
 have given me." 
 
 " And I am fully as grateful for the opportunity to send 
 it by you," said Lafitte. " You will not forget me? " 
 9
 
 130 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Never." 
 
 " Nor I you. Adieu, old comrade." 
 
 " Adieu, mon ami" 
 
 One final hand-clasp, and Lafitte turned away. But, 
 after taking a few steps, he faced about and went back to 
 Greloire, who stood as he had left him. 
 
 There was a momentary silence, while the two men looked 
 at each other. 
 
 " One thing more," then said Lafitte hesitatingly ; " one 
 more question, which you may answer or not, as you 
 choose." 
 
 " I will answer whatever question you may ask," declared 
 Greloire ; " and I will answer it upon my honor." 
 
 Lafitte appeared irresolute, as if the question were of 
 such grave import that he dreaded an unfavorable reply. 
 Then, laying a hand on Greloire's shoulder, he asked, 
 " What said he Bonaparte, when you told him that I had 
 departed from Toulon?" 
 
 " He seemed disinclined to believe me, and asked many 
 questions, as if to assure himself that I was not mistaken." 
 
 " Then what said he? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " You have told me all I wished to know, and I thank 
 you," said Lafitte, again holding out a hand, which Greloire 
 clasped firmly as he replied, " I have been honest with you, 
 mon ami." 
 
 " That I know, old friend. Adieu, and ban voyage." 
 
 " Adieu, and bonne fortune. " 
 
 With this they parted ; and Lafitte, returning directly to 
 the wharf, ordered the boat's crew to row him back to the 
 " Condor."
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
 
 IT is doubtful if, taking humanity as it is, the mind is 
 capable of experiencing a more acute feeling than 
 that of self-reproach, when this arises from the 
 contemplation of acts or omissions which have had a 
 controlling effect upon our own fortunes or happiness. 
 
 They may have been the result of impulse, or selfish- 
 ness; of hasty conclusions, or careless decisions; of 
 neglect to apply proper reasoning, or calm judgment. 
 They may have come from wasted opportunities ; from 
 indecision, or procrastination; from the failure to take, at 
 its flood, that tide which " leads on to fortune." 
 
 But, to whatever cause they may be attributed, the 
 thought of the facts themselves, and the realization of our 
 responsibility for them, can never fail to bring the most 
 poignant self-condemnation. 
 
 Such was the mental condition of Jean Lafitte after the 
 revelation made to him by Greloire. 
 
 He had, up to this moment, considered himself deeply 
 aggrieved by Bonaparte's apparent neglect ; and, looking 
 at the matter from the standpoint of youth, his ardent, 
 impulsive nature, and his unstinted love for the young 
 officer, his feelings were not without warrant. 
 
 But, in the light of Greloire's explanation, the man of 
 thirty could well see how unreasonable and hasty had 
 been the boy of fifteen ; how unthinking and rash ; how 
 utterly lacking in a proper appreciation of Bonaparte's 
 regard, and of how the manifestation of this was subject to 
 conditions and influences beyond the latter's power to 
 always control. 
 
 Not only did Lafitte see this, but there came also a 
 mental picture of the honorable life the splendid career
 
 132 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 he might have led, and the substantial rewards he would 
 have gathered, had he but placed greater confidence in 
 Bonaparte, and waited for him to show his affection in his 
 own way, and at his own time. He recalled the names of 
 those who had risen to position and power under the 
 consulate and empire, and thought how readily his own 
 might have been included upon this glorious roll of honor. 
 He thought how splendid would have been such a career, 
 even though it ended upon the field, in the service of his 
 emperor, and of France ; and how history might possibly 
 have written his own name upon the page illumined by 
 that of Napoleon. 
 
 Then he contrasted this with his actual life during the 
 past fifteen years, and realized how poor it had been in 
 purpose and achievement how worthless in worthy 
 results. He thought of the perils through which he had 
 passed, none of them incurred for the sake of honor, but 
 most of them for gain alone; of the lawlessness which had 
 marked so much of his active life ; of those who had been 
 his associates in it. 
 
 True it was that he had achieved a name ; but to the 
 world it was one of reproach, and put aside only by the 
 few who knew him as a man. 
 
 Such was the trend of Lafitte's thoughts that night, 
 long after he sought his cabin aboard the " Condor." He 
 reviewed his life, as it was now presented to him, and 
 compared it with what it might have been since he left 
 Toulon; and, with this introspection, there came innumer- 
 able incidents and details which long had slumbered in his 
 brain. 
 
 He thought of Margot, and her words returned to him 
 when, upon that last evening of her life, she had said that 
 Bonaparte was his good angel, and Laro his evil one. 
 
 Truly had her words been proven ; for now he knew the 
 former as he was, and would have been, while the passing 
 years had either increased, or made more apparent Laro's 
 coarseness and cruelty.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 133 
 
 It was only to the boy Jean that he had ever been 
 otherwise; but latterly something of a change had taken 
 place in this respect toward the man, especially after he 
 had refused to acquiesce in the adventurer's cherished 
 scheme that he, Jean Lafitte, should take as his wife, 
 Lazalie, the former's niece. 
 
 Surely the girl was beautiful, with a lithe, tigerish grace 
 of form, smooth olive skin, and burnished blue-black hair 
 shadowing a low brow, beneath which sparkled black eyes 
 that told her uncle's lieutenant all too plainly of the place 
 he held in her heart. 
 
 But the young man had, all through his wild life, held 
 within the innermost depths of his soul a sacred shrine, 
 kept closed and pure, where never the love for woman 
 had entered. Over its altar, faded and indistinct, yet 
 cherished as something white, above the blackness of 
 his life, lingered the teachings of his foster-mother, and 
 the remembrance of a sunny-faced, blue-eyed girl, who 
 had promised the boy to pray that he might be that which 
 he had so woefully failed to be, or had even sought to attain. 
 
 The past rolled in upon him like a smothering flood, 
 until, in a wild tumult of despair, he left his cabin and 
 went on deck. There he heard one of the watch whistling 
 to himself; and presently the man broke softly into the 
 words of the air: 
 
 " C'est I'amour, 1'amour, 1'amour, 
 Qui fait la monde a la ronde ! " 
 
 The song brought to mind again the blue-eyed girl's 
 face, and also that of her daughter, the little " Island 
 Rose," whom, late the previous May, he had piloted 
 through the woods, and down the rivers, from her dead 
 mother's home among the Choctaws. 
 
 The long, rough journey had given him rare opportuni- 
 ties for sounding the depths of the childish soul so close 
 to Nature that it seemed to worship the mother's God 
 through Nature, and Nature through God.
 
 I 34 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 He was known to her as " Captain Jean," a friend of her 
 grandfather, as " Captain Jean," whom she found such 
 a charming companion, and whom his escort of white 
 men and Indians respected and loved. She trusted him 
 fully, and their intercourse was free from restraint. 
 
 She talked to him of plants, and flowers, prattling wisely 
 of their healing powers, and repeating the lore taught by 
 her Indian friends. She sang to him songs learned from 
 the mother of whom, when she found that the young man 
 had known her, she delighted to speak. She had sung 
 and talked to him until much of his hardness was melted 
 for the time, as storm-clouds are dissipated by the happy 
 rays of a newly risen sun. 
 
 Recalling her now, while he paced the deck, with the 
 troubled waters of his soul casting ashore such woeful 
 wreckage for his contemplation, the thought of her white 
 purity, her silvery voice, her childish confidence, brought 
 to him a blessed peace.
 
 CHAPTER NINETEEN 
 
 ANIGHT had passed, and the island of Martinique 
 lay drowsing in the sleepiness of mid-day. The 
 sun sole despot of the sky had banished 
 every cloud to beyond the horizon's limits, and now filled 
 the pale blue sky with a glare that was metallic, as it 
 shimmered down upon the sea, which stretched a bril- 
 liant surface to the far-off sky-line. 
 
 In Fort Royal bay, before the sleepy town, lay three 
 ships at anchor. The one nearest shore was a brigan- 
 tine, beautiful in model and French in build ; she carried 
 a long eighteen-pounder amidships, and her bulwarks were 
 pierced for lighter guns. This was the " Black Petrel," 
 and she displayed the American ensign, now hanging 
 limp in the motionless air, as were the like colors shown 
 by the " Condor," rocking near-by in the lazy tide. 
 
 On the latter's deck, as on that of the brigantine, no life 
 showed. But on the English man-of-war that lay a short 
 distance off, making, with the two other vessels, the three 
 points of a triangle, the decks were spotted with scarlet 
 coats, some in groups, and some by themselves. 
 
 Down in the luxuriously furnished cabin of the brigan- 
 tine, Laro and Lafitte, seated, and in earnest conversation, 
 paused occasionally to scrutinize this craft. 
 
 " Perhaps she means no mischief," muttered the former; 
 " but the very flag she flies, and the red showing on her 
 decks, are enough to set my teeth on edge." 
 
 He spoke in Spanish, and Lafitte replied in English, 
 with a slight accent that indicated his foreign birth, 
 
 " You say you heard ashore last evening, as did I, that 
 she stopped only to fill her water butts, and is bound 
 farther south ? "
 
 136 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Aye," growled the other man, taking the spyglass 
 from the table and squinting through it at the obnoxious 
 neighbor, while Lafitte drummed softly on the oaken table, 
 a look of abstraction that came to his face suggesting that 
 his interest in the matter might not be so great as was that 
 of his companion. 
 
 The latter appeared to observe this, and with it the un- 
 usual moodiness of the younger man; for, laying down his 
 glass, he asked, with an expression of concern softening 
 his scowling face, " Jean, what ails you? " 
 
 " Why do you ask? " was Lafitte's impatient rejoinder, 
 as he took the glass and began adjusting the sight. 
 
 " I ask because you and I have not sailed the seas to- 
 gether these fifteen years without my coming to know the 
 color of the flag your mood flies," said Laro, pouring 
 some spirits into a tumbler. 
 
 Lafitte laid down the glass, and laughed a little bitterly ; 
 but he made neither reply nor comment. 
 
 " Did old De Cazeneau seem inclined to treat his grand- 
 daughter with kindness?" Laro inquired, after a short si- 
 lence, and as if considering it wise to change the subject. 
 
 " Yes, for all I could see ; and he is likely to do so while 
 she makes no demand upon his gold." 
 
 Laro uttered an oath, and drained his glass. 
 
 "That man has been growing more and more miserly 
 ever since his pretty daughter ran away with that cursed 
 Englishman, and I have often thought it might have been 
 money in my pocket if I had let Stanley's blood out of his 
 veins the night of the governor's ball before he levanted 
 with the girl. De Cazeneau has, for a long time, seemed 
 unwilling to risk much in the business, and yet demands 
 old-time profits. I tell you, Jean, that if it were not for 
 the hold he seems to have upon Governor Claiborne 
 and all the aristocracy, and might turn traitor if I let go 
 my grasp upon him, I would long ago have broken with 
 such a parsimonious old rascal." 
 
 Jean let this pass without remark ; but, as Laro replen-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 137 
 
 ished his glass, the young man said, " If you are not care- 
 ful you will get your brains as befogged as they were 
 when I tried to talk with you this morning." 
 
 The tone emphasized the disgust shown in the curling 
 of his clean-shaven lips. 
 
 But Laro laughed as he held up the glass, while his eyes 
 rested on Lafitte's handsome profile, its usual sea-bronzing 
 somewhat paled by his recent ten months ashore. 
 
 " Befogged, was I, my son? Yet not so much but that 
 I recall every word you told me of what has happened 
 since you left Lazalie and me on the Barra de Hierro, and 
 went to play gentleman awhile in New Orleans. By the 
 way, Jean," he added, as from an after thought, " that was 
 an odd thing for you to do, go off on a wild goose 
 chase to the Florida wilds to bring De Cazeneau's brat 
 away from the Choctaws." 
 
 There was a smouldering anger in Lafitte's eyes as he 
 turned them upon Laro's mocking face. 
 
 " I told you that the Indian runner, Bird-Wing, came 
 from his tribe to Count de Cazeneau, bringing a. letter 
 from Mrs. Stanley, imploring his forgiveness, as she was 
 dying, and beseeching his protection for the daughter she 
 must leave among the Indians. He asked for my services, 
 and I gave them gladly, for his daughter's sake." 
 
 The tone was wonderfully soft, and the speaker's face 
 held a light perhaps of reminiscence which evidently 
 puzzled Laro, who, with a laugh in which was more of 
 raillery than mirth, exclaimed, " Madre de Dios ! This 
 from you, who have ever shown such scorn for women ! " 
 
 All abstraction fled from the dark eyes now turned upon 
 Laro, and the scowl lowering over them was in no wise less- 
 ened as he added, " Ah, now I recall that night when you 
 were a lad, and when you and she seemed to find each 
 other's society so agreeable the night I brought her from 
 France, and we all lay snugly hidden in Thiel's stowaway, 
 with the guns of Toulon singing their last tune." 
 
 Lafitte remained silent, looking steadily at Laro, who,
 
 138 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 still in a mocking tone, asked, " Did you find her still such 
 a charming demoiselle? I dare swear you did not, if there 
 be truth in the reports that the Englishman left her long 
 ago left her to wear out her life among their red 
 neighbors." 
 
 Lafitte rose and went over to the port-hole, turning his 
 back as he answered, " I found her dead, with the Indians 
 mourning for her as for one well loved. Her child, with 
 her maid, Barbe 1 , a French woman, I brought to the count." 
 
 " What is the child called, and how old said you she 
 was? " Laro inquired, now in a more serious tone. 
 
 "She is fourteen, but such a pale little slip that she 
 neither looks nor seems her age. She bears the same 
 given name as her mother Roselle ; but the Indians 
 called her ' Island Rose.' Their cabin was on a small 
 island ; and, in spite of their rude surroundings, the mother 
 seems to have reared the child most carefully. The count 
 has formally adopted her, and she is now known as 
 Roselle de Cazeneau." 
 
 Lafitte said this with dignified coldness, and as if wish- 
 ing, by a full explanation, to dismiss the subject. But 
 Laro would not have it so. 
 
 "Aha, Captain Jean," he said, resuming his bantering 
 air as he poured more liquor into his glass, " only fourteen, 
 you say; and yet very near an age of danger." Then, with 
 an assumption of gravity, he added, " Take my advice, lad, 
 and have a care how you talk in such a softened fashion 
 of another woman when my Lazalie's pretty ears are close 
 enough to overhear; for these brown-skinned beauties 
 often find a way of ridding themselves of rivals, even 
 though such rivals be but fourteen, and pale blossoms, at 
 that. I know the blood running in my niece's veins; and 
 I can count very surely upon what she would do if she 
 found you giving to this pale-faced, Indian-bred flower 
 that with which you never deigned to favor her own 
 charming self." 
 
 At this Lafitte turned quickly from the port-hole, and
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 139 
 
 facing Laro, said sternly, " I have told you already, and I 
 now repeat it, that, strange as it may seem, there is in me 
 that which would make me never ask other than a true, 
 good woman to unite her fate with mine ; and to such a 
 woman my life would be contamination. Have done, I 
 say, talking to me of these things ! " 
 
 He threw himself into a chair ; and Laro eyed him curi- 
 ously for a moment before he asked, " Jean, what devil of 
 a mood possesses you this day?"- 
 
 There was no reply, and he continued, " Do you know, 
 boy, that for all the years we have faced dangers and 
 reaped gold together I know naught of your beginning? " 
 
 This, said in a half indignant, half persuasive way, 
 elicited no response; and the speaker, holding up his head 
 and expanding his chest, added, with a mingling of re- 
 proach and pride, " If you '11 not tell me of yourself, I will 
 tell you something to show you that the Laro you have 
 known is of as good blood as any aristocrat of France." 
 
 " How so? " inquired Lafitte, as if more for the sake of 
 peace than from any interest the matter had for him. 
 
 "It is in this way: The son of an Indian sachem was 
 captured and sold into slavery by those cursed Puritans of 
 New England ; he was bought by a Spaniard, who adopted 
 him as his son, and educated him in France. He married 
 a Spanish lady of rank ; and he was my father's great- 
 grandsire." 
 
 He paused ; but there was no remark from his auditor, 
 and he added, " The English killed my grandsire, and 
 after him my father, who were the original owners of the 
 Barra de Hierro." 
 
 Still no word from Lafitte, whose thoughts were evi- 
 dently far afield ; and Laro, striking his fist upon the table, 
 asked, " Now do you understand how readily I can bear 
 to see the flow of blood, especially that of the English? " 
 
 " Yes," replied the young man, smiling mechanically, 
 and passing a hand across his face, as if to brush away 
 previous thoughts. "Well, I myself have no love for
 
 1 40 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 the nation, although I Ve no Indian blood to color its 
 hatred." 
 
 " But I will swear that yours is the blue blood of aris- 
 tocracy," declared Laro, his eyes growing pertinaciously 
 inquisitive. 
 
 " What matters it, yes or no? " said Lafitte, anger now 
 showing in his face and voice. " What does it matter 
 whether I am the son of a prince or of a bourgeois, 
 whether I am an aristocrat or a sans-culotte f To you I 
 am, and have always been, Jean Lafitte, who is now your 
 associate in various schemes on sea and land ; and I am 
 also of Lafitte Brothers, blacksmiths, of New Orleans. 
 That is all I am all I will be ! " 
 
 A sharp retort was upon Laro's lips, to which the tum- 
 bler of spirits had been raised very frequently during the 
 conversation ; but Lafitte checked it by adding, in a busi- 
 ness-like manner, " Speaking of Lafitte Brothers, I am 
 reminded to ask you again if you will take my advice as 
 to this present cargo of slaves. I tell you that the gov- 
 ernor's recent proclamation will cause trouble, if you at- 
 tempt to bring them to New Orleans at present. Pierre 
 told me, only the day before I sailed, of some talk he 
 overheard between Governor Claiborne himself and two 
 gentlemen with him, when one of their coach horses cast 
 a shoe, and they were delayed at the smithy while our 
 men remedied the accident." 
 
 " Odd it is," said Laro, irrelevantly, " how content Pierre 
 seems to be to linger ashore these two years, as master of 
 a blacksmith shop, rather than be aboard ship, to meet 
 adventure and gather gold, for which he had ever such a 
 trusty and fearless trick. Odd, too, how he seems to have 
 as little time to spare for ladies as have you yourself." 
 
 " But what say you as to the cargo? " broke in Lafitte, 
 with manifest impatience, not a little of which arose from 
 the continued filling and draining of Laro's glass. 
 
 " Oh, I say, as seems to me I am always saying nowa- 
 days, that your idea is the right one," was the surly an-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 141 
 
 swer. " We '11 up sail at midnight, when we can reckon 
 upon slipping away from under the nose of that infernal 
 Britisher out there, and make for our own snuggery, where 
 Lazalie has, no doubt, been wondering at my being so long 
 away. Once in the channel that brings us to the Barra de 
 Hierro, and anchored before it, all the craft England can 
 send would have hard work to get at us. We will take the 
 niggers there for awhile, and turn them out on the Island, 
 to work our crops, until Claiborne takes another nap, and 
 forgets all about the recent agitation." 
 
 He had, while speaking, again picked up the spyglass, 
 and focussed it upon the man-of-war, where nothing was 
 changed among the red-coated loungers. 
 
 "Have you anything more to say to Jude?" inquired 
 Lafitte, after a few moments' silence upon his part, while 
 Laro was swearing at the enemy he was scanning. 
 
 " No," replied the latter, without taking the glass from 
 his eye ; " for, befogged as you thought me, I gave him 
 his orders this morning, before I came aboard this craft." 
 
 "Very well," said Lafitte, paying no attention to Laro's 
 covert defence of himself. " Then nothing remains to be 
 done until night." 
 
 "Nothing," the other man assented; and Lafitte left 
 him.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY 
 
 A MOTLEY combination of men and tongues was 
 found in the crew of the " Black Petrel." Span- 
 ish and Portuguese predominated ; but there were 
 also French, English, and Americans, together with a few 
 negroes, the latter being among the most brutal fighters 
 when the brigantine's entire force was brought upon deck. 
 
 During the day, and by reason of the mistrusted English 
 man-of-war, the crew, with the exception of such a number 
 as might naturally be lounging about upon the most peace- 
 ful and respectable craft, kept hidden below, beguiling the 
 time as individual taste prompted. 
 
 The sun was so low that it seemed to rest, a rayless 
 globe, blood-hued, upon the melted sapphire of the far-off 
 sea line, while the zenith was aglow with the tawny orange 
 and honey of a tropical sunset. 
 
 The " Black Petrel's " gunner, Lopez, an old follower of 
 Laro's, leaned against the taffrail, smoking, while he looked 
 scowlingly at the English vessel, whose colors, now stream- 
 ing in the freshening wind, flaunted, like a challenging 
 signal, to those of the other craft. 
 
 Near Lopez lounged Garonne, mate of the " Black Pet- 
 rel," a heavily built, brutal-faced Portuguese, as swarthy as 
 his companion. In the ears of both men were massive 
 rings of gold, and nothing in the garb of either marked 
 any distinction of rank. 
 
 Some distance forward, leaning against the bulwark, his 
 arms folded, and his stolid face turned toward the sinking 
 sun, was the statuesque form of Ehewah, the only Indian 
 aboard a young sub-chief of the Muyscas tribe, inhabit- 
 ing an island of the southern seas.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 143 
 
 He was too far from the other men to overhear their 
 talk, which would have been scarcely intelligible to him, 
 as they were speaking in a patois of their own tongue. 
 
 " I have been watching him, and I tell you the dog is 
 not to be trusted," the gunner was saying. " A few years 
 since the captain would have seen for himself, and without 
 any warning to sharpen his wits. But Laro seems now- 
 adays to have no eyes save for his rum ; and this, if he has 
 not a care, will lead us all into some infernal trap, where 
 we may feel the rope around our necks." 
 
 " Have a care, Lopez," said his companion sternly, 
 " that you get not the taste of another rope first, upon your 
 bare back, for showing disrespect to your captain." 
 
 " You have been over-free with that sort of rope already ; 
 and this lies at the bottom of what I thought it my duty to 
 warn you against," was the surly retort. " An Indian 
 never forgets the hurt he never forgives ; and forgiving is 
 something an Indian would scorn as we would scorn 
 cowardice." 
 
 Garonne, with an oath, asked what he meant. 
 
 " I mean to recall what may have slipped your memory, 
 as it is more than filled with such things. But I will stake 
 all the silver and gold that fell to my share from the fight 
 three weeks ago with the Spanish brig, that Ehewah will 
 never forget the splicing to the main-mast you gave him 
 for stealing your ruby. Every blow of the rope's-end 
 awoke a dozen devils in his heart ; and these will, sooner 
 or later, make a merry hell for you, and perhaps for all 
 of us." 
 
 Garonne, whose look of scowling anger had changed to 
 one of sneering scorn, uttered a burst of vile profanity, 
 and striking the taffrail with a broad fist, brown as mahog- 
 any, exclaimed roughly, " Let me hear no more such talk 
 from you, Lopez ; old messmates as we are, you are going 
 a bit too far. You prate like some old housewife in her 
 dotage. Any showing of what you hint would make the 
 Indian food for sharks; and any more such grumblings
 
 144 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 from you may lead me to forget old friendship, so far as 
 making the captain look beyond his rum, and see his gun- 
 ner spliced to the main-mast for a flogging." 
 
 Lopez, with an angry snarl, straightened himself, and turn- 
 ing away, saw Lafitte coming toward him. Garonne also 
 saw the latter, and advancing, said, " No sign yet, captain, 
 of a visiting boat from over there," indicating with his 
 thumb the man-of-war. 
 
 Lafitte nodded a careless recognition of the mate's re- 
 mark, and passed on to Lopez, who had again faced sea- 
 ward, his pipe held in his hand out of deference to his 
 superior, whom he had already saluted. 
 
 " I had thought that when the cool came the English- 
 man might have tried to board us, for an interview," the 
 young man remarked in the kindly tone his men knew as 
 well as they did the coldly imperious one that never failed 
 to hold in check the most lawless amongst them. 
 
 " Much better they keep away," said Lopez slowly, in 
 the English tongue one he spoke but imperfectly. 
 "Much better, sir; but to me it the surer shows that 
 we are watched." 
 
 " Well," said Lafitte, still looking at the vessel, " let 
 them watch their fill, while the daylight gives them the 
 chance. At midnight the wind will be of a sort the ' Black 
 Petrel ' needs, and we will give them a cleared patch of sea 
 to watch when the light comes again." 
 
 Then he asked, " What were you and Garonne quarrel- 
 ling over as I came up? " 
 
 Lopez scowled, and, although he knew that the dark 
 eyes, which no sign of disquietude ever escaped, were 
 bent searchingly upon his face, he was silent. 
 
 "What was it, I say?" repeated Lafitte, now speaking 
 somewhat sharply. " I know that you rarely lose your 
 temper; and, as you know, I never permit quarrelling 
 amongst ourselves, for it is sure to breed trouble." 
 
 Lopez glanced about and saw that Garonne and the 
 Indian had disappeared. Then, turning his eyes to Lafitte,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 145 
 
 he answered in a lowered voice, " Do not think I am be- 
 coming soft-hearted, my captain, that I have to say I fear 
 Garonne make harm for all, by bastinadoing a Muycas like 
 white man sailor. This I was telling him, and, Madre de 
 Dios ! it turned him to threaten to have me bastinadoed 
 for speaking." 
 
 Lafitte questioned the old man closely, and drew from 
 him the full cause of his foreboding. 
 
 The " Black Petrel " had as Lafitte knew already from 
 Laro some three weeks before encountered a richly 
 laden Spanish brig, bound for a West Indian port. A 
 fierce fight had ended in victory for the brigantine, after 
 which the prize was burned, and the survivors of its crew 
 set adrift in open boats. 
 
 There were twenty slaves aboard, together with a rich 
 cargo, and in the latter were found a number of uncut 
 gems, from which the Indian had been suspected of steal- 
 ing a large ruby, awarded to Garonne as part of his share 
 of the plunder. Ehewah, upon being accused, refused to 
 admit or deny the theft, and Laro, contrary to his usual 
 custom, had left the Indian to be dealt with as his accuser 
 saw fit. 
 
 Garonne, whose natural brutality had been increased by 
 generous imbibings of spirits taken from the despoiled 
 vessel, was not content with inflicting ordinary punishment 
 for such an offence, but had for several days in succession, 
 caused the Indian to be stripped, tied to the mast, and 
 flogged unmercifully, after which he was treated with un- 
 sparing severity by the mate, whose cruelty was tacitly, 
 at least approved by Laro, notwithstanding the fact that 
 Ehewah had been treated by him as a favorite since the 
 time he saved his captain's life by killing a deadly serpent 
 that had crawled into the latter's sleeping place. 
 
 " Ehewah's back bears scars that only revenge will 
 heal," declared Lopez in conclusion, and now speaking in 
 his own tongue. " He has been changed ever since. No 
 man ever had a kinder care or softer touch for a mate who
 
 1 46 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 was sick, or hurt, as I have to remember from the time, 
 two years ago, when I was laid up with a cracked head, at 
 Tobagga. But now he glares like a wild-cat when one of 
 us crosses his way, and he has not spoken ten words since 
 he was bastinadoed." 
 
 Lafitte's only comment was to bid Lopez keep silence 
 upon the subject, and to have a watchful eye upon 
 Ehewah.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 
 
 A~ MOST midnight, with a south-sou'-west wind that 
 was all the "Black Petrel" could desire for a 
 speedy filling of her sails, now being set to carry 
 her farther northward, to a safe retreat the island known 
 to Laro and his followers as the " Barra de Hierro." 
 
 Fort Royal and its harbor were silent as the desert of 
 sea, the sound of which, rolling in upon the shingle, was 
 all that broke and this but faintly the silence under 
 the velvet-like sky, where the Southern Cross stood out 
 from the planets and lesser stars, scattered like spangles 
 and gold-dust over the deep purple of the ether. 
 
 In such a scene earth seems at peace, and Heaven 
 closer. Yet, shut down in the hold of the " Black Petrel," 
 was a very hell of suffering, where the slaves taken from 
 the Spanish brig were brooding over their wretched fate, 
 and thinking of the kindred from whom they had been 
 torn, to go they knew not where ; while above them, in 
 the semi-darkness, their later captors moved rapidly about, 
 working with a celerity evincing familiarity with stealthy 
 flights from threatening dangers. 
 
 Aloft, on the lookout, was Lafitte, his mind in much the 
 same turmoil as during the night before, after his meeting 
 with Greloire. 
 
 He loathed his surroundings and associates as keenly as 
 would a man of higher calling and gentler deeds; more, 
 perhaps, for his nature was a mingling of passionate ex- 
 tremes. His faults had made possible his present environ- 
 ments ; and the knowledge of this brought with it a storm 
 of fierce remorse which a more conventional mind would 
 have been incapable of feeling.
 
 148 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The first years of his life with Laro, passed mainly along 
 the Barbary coast, were the darkest to review. Later, as 
 manhood came, and he had risen to power as a leader, 
 there had been, upon his part, less of violence and blood- 
 shed, while he had more than once brought upon himself 
 Laro's censure or scorn for being what the latter termed 
 " white-livered; " in other words, for showing mercy to the 
 vanquished, and insisting upon adherence to a code which 
 left some shreds of honor and self-respect. 
 
 This had and almost unconsciously to himself been 
 increasing during the past few years; and, like a current of 
 pure air through the foulness of a cavern, its influence had 
 been felt by some of the men under him those who, 
 while lawless enough to wrest a living from the world, 
 retained a lingering regard for decency and fair-play. 
 
 So it had come to pass that the men several hundred in 
 all who had formerly looked upon Laro and Lafitte as 
 one, knowing scarcely any distinction between them in the 
 matter of leadership, were divided into two factions, 
 one, a lawless, conscienceless mass of brutes, who never 
 thought beyond the hour, who regarded as proper prey all 
 men who possessed more than themselves, and to whom 
 blood-spilling for the attainment of selfish ends was a sort 
 of natural law. The other, while equally defiant of all laws 
 made by God or man, retained a certain regard for the 
 rights of others, provided this did not involve too much 
 self-sacrifice ; and they were opposed to the spilling of 
 blood, save in actual conflict. 
 
 Yet both factions were one in love for Lafitte, and in 
 growing impatience with Laro, whose uncertain moods 
 were marked by unexpected and unreasonable outbreaks, 
 such as might come from a lunatic, or wild beast. 
 
 More and more, during the past five years, Lafitte had 
 sought to keep himself and his own faction to themselves, 
 on their island stronghold in the gulf of Barataria. But his 
 interests, as well as the interests of those whose personal 
 agent he was, were too much entangled with Laro's to
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 49 
 
 make possible their separation, even had he sought to 
 bring this about. 
 
 Up in the lookout, rocked as in a cradle under the stars, 
 with the night wind soughing in the rigging as the brigan- 
 tine cut through the waves, leaving a flashing of white to 
 mingle with the gleaming phosphorescence of the dark 
 water, Lafitte now recalled that long-gone night when, after 
 meeting Laro in the streets of Toulon, the boy Jean had 
 set a seal upon the past; and a smile, half-pitying, half- 
 scornful, touched his brooding face, as if the boy had been 
 another, and not himself. 
 
 Nearly two years of life under the care of Pere Huot 
 had been passed in sullen indifference outwardly, but 
 resentful impatience within. From time to time the con- 
 tents of letters received by the priest from friends in Paris 
 had been read or repeated to the boy, who was thus kept 
 informed as to Bonaparte's doings : but the latter had not 
 written to him, nor to Pere Huot, since leaving the lad 
 in the priest's charge. He had gone to perform the duty 
 set for him by the committee, and afterwards joined the 
 army in Italy, whence he had been summoned to Paris 
 for consultation with the authorities as to a new form 
 of government: and then came the Directory, with him- 
 self at its head. 
 
 News of him was always that of his increasing influence 
 and power ; and this, together with his marriage with the 
 lovely Creole, Madame Josephine Beauharnais, had made 
 the boy's thoughts all the more bitter, there having come 
 a feeling that memory of him or thought of his welfare 
 must be crowded out from the heart and mind of the man 
 from whom he had hungered to hear. 
 
 " He has forgotten me ! " he had cried to himself, with 
 a mingling of sorrow and indignation. " All France loves 
 him now. Why should he care for me?" 
 
 The night when Pere Huot lay dead, Jean, wandering 
 aimlessly about the streets, met the tempter, but just 
 arrived from New Orleans. Three days later the " Aigle "
 
 1 50 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 left the harbor of Toulon ; and with it went Jean, and 
 his faithful adherent in right or wrong his foster-brother 
 Pierre. 
 
 "What matter if it be what he would not approve?" 
 the boy had asked himself angrily, as he watched the 
 sparkling breadth of sunny sea widening between himself 
 and France. "What matter now? He is too great to 
 think of me, or care what becomes of me. But I, too, 
 will become great, in my own way ! " 
 
 And now, at this eleventh hour, he had come to know 
 that he had not been forgotten. Amid all the adulation 
 of France, in all the increasing wonder of his power and 
 greatness, the heart a boyish resentment had ignorantly 
 stamped underfoot had been faithful to the lonely lad 
 whom Bonaparte supposed was abiding, by his wish, 
 at Toulon. 
 
 For a moment his despair awoke the impulse to let 
 himself fall into the sea, and so end it all ; for the theat- 
 rical strain of his French ancestry was strong in his 
 veins. But his life in America had already taught him 
 much of its people's philosophy ; and another self seemed 
 to separate from the despairing one, and ask if it were 
 not better to live down evil, rather than be overcome 
 by it. 
 
 Yet what was he to do, other than he was doing, 
 chained as he was to a past that made the responsibili- 
 ties of the present? 
 
 At last he shook himself together impatiently, realizing 
 that present duty demanded his keeping a sharp lookout 
 for the enemy, and retaining a clear head, in case of 
 pursuit; for he knew that Laro, having persisted in heavy 
 potations, was now sleeping heavily in his bunk, and 
 would be incapable of assuming responsibility, should 
 occasion call for it before morning.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
 
 THE day was coming, gray and heavy-looking, 
 with a misty cloud-bank in the east promising 
 fog later on. Overhead, the pale dawn was 
 extinguishing the stars above the sea that stretched, a 
 dull-green floor, in every direction. 
 
 Lafitte, asleep in his cabin, was aroused by a knocking 
 upon the door; and, to his instant query, Garonne's voice 
 replied, with a suggestion of satisfaction in its gruff tone, 
 " She is after us, sir, sure enough." 
 
 "Where away?" demanded Lafitte, when he had ad- 
 mitted the mate, and was making himself ready to go 
 on deck. Laro was already there, for he could be heard 
 shouting to his men. 
 
 " Heap up the shot, Lopez ! " he roared. " Heap them 
 knee-high, I say ; for that cursed Britisher shall swallow 
 them by the wholesale if she comes meddling here ! " 
 
 "Where away, I say?" Lafitte repeated, with a note 
 of sternness, as Garonne, instead of answering, had paused 
 in the doorway, and was looking intently over his shoulder 
 at something in the main cabin. 
 
 " Three points on the starboard bow, sir," the mate 
 now hastened to say, with an apologetic gesture. " She 
 is not yet to be made out clearly; but the lookout reports 
 her as very like the man-of-war we left in Fort Royal last 
 night." 
 
 Lafitte scowled, while he moved about hastily, looking 
 and acting but little like a man who could have been pos- 
 sessed of such a mood as had been his own, at midnight. 
 
 When he came from his room he found Garonne, who 
 had left him a few minutes before, still standing in the
 
 I5 2 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 outer cabin, and looking around keenly, as if something 
 were amiss. 
 
 Lafitte questioned him, and he replied that when enter- 
 ing the former's cabin he had seen the Indian, Ehewah, 
 glide from that of Laro, and disappear hastily, as though 
 not wishing to be observed. 
 
 Lafitte laughed lightly. 
 
 " If he was in there while you were knocking at my door, 
 Garonne, he would scarcely, unless he has suddenly become 
 deaf, fail to realize that he would surely be seen coming 
 out. What cause for suspicion can lie in his coming here? 
 You know well that he is in the habit of doing so, and that 
 Captain Laro permits it." 
 
 Garonne growled something under his breath doubtless 
 profanity ; but this was suppressed, as Lafitte seldom failed to 
 emphasize his disapproval of such language in his presence. 
 
 " Have you a positive reason for suspecting anything 
 wrong from Ehewah's being here now?" he demanded 
 sternly. 
 
 " Only that he has not been coming about here of late," 
 said Garonne sulkily. 
 
 "Has he been forbidden to do so?" was Lafitte's next 
 question; and Garonne admitted that he had not. 
 
 Then Lafitte, dismissing the subject, went above, fol- 
 lowed by the mate, who, as the former had long known, 
 was about the only man among his followers who had, in 
 secret, but little liking for him. 
 
 The sun had lifted above the horizon, but its rays were 
 dulled by the low-lying cloudiness stretching away across 
 the zenith from end to end, as would a gray wall. To the 
 southward the sky was clear; and defined against it like a 
 phantom ship that seemed to be sailing toward the " Black 
 Petrel," was a large craft which, growing more and more 
 distinct, appeared to have fresher wind than that now 
 partially filling the brigantine's sails. 
 
 Laro, standing beside Lafitte, as they both watched her, 
 muttered a curse.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 153 
 
 " She is getting the benefit of what we have had and 
 left, in the way of breeze. But we '11 trust the devil to 
 foul her hereabouts, and help us to better wind farther 
 along, although I am of half a mind to let her catch 
 us, if that be her intention; and then, if she tarries 
 to ask impertinent questions, give her a good dose of 
 iron." 
 
 " Better keep away, and mind our own matters, unless 
 she has the wish, and gets the chance, to interfere with us," 
 replied Lafitte moodily. 
 
 Both men were silent for a while, as they watched the 
 stranger drawing nearer. Then there came a noticeable 
 softening of Laro's face as he turned suddenly to Lafitte, 
 and laying a hand on his shoulder, said, in a tone which 
 caused the dark eyes to turn from the approaching ship 
 and rest wonderingly upon the speaker, " Jean, lad, dost 
 remember the old days, when we first met at Le Chien 
 Heureux, where I taught thee to sing ' As tides that flow 
 as winds that blow ' ? Madre de Dios but thou wert a 
 boy to make any man's heart hold thee close, as mine has 
 done all these years. And I wonder aye, oft do I won- 
 der, has my love of thee brought thee to lasting evil? I 
 have been rough with thee, lad, at times; aye, surely I 
 have of late. But my love for thee is the same this day as 
 it has ever been. Never doubt that, Jean, my lad, what- 
 ever befalls ! " 
 
 Startled at the manifestation of such a mood in Laro - 
 one, too, which so accorded with his own recent feelings, 
 Lafitte looked at him with a silence due to amazement. 
 
 " I had a strange dream last night, Jean," continued 
 Laro, in a tone curiously unlike his usual one; " a dream 
 I feel is meant as a warning. I told you yesterday of the 
 Indian blood in my veins ; and so you can better under- 
 stand the dream, and what it means to me, for it comes 
 only to those of my race whose end is near. But I have 
 no fear, and care nothing as to how my end comes 
 whether it be by shot, shell, or the sword."
 
 1 54 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 He stood more erect as he said this,. and spoke with an 
 air of braggadocio. 
 
 " But somehow it has stirred old times to light, Jean 
 this dream of mine," he added, relapsing into the odd 
 softness of look and voice. 
 
 " Rouse yourself, Laro, what has come to you ? " 
 said Lafitte sharply ; for he was beginning to wonder if 
 this were anything more than a new phase of maudlin 
 excitement. 
 
 But Laro remained silent, his eyes fixed upon the deck. 
 
 " What is this dream, which seems to have affected you 
 so powerfully? " presently inquired Lafitte, thinking that 
 perhaps it might be better to humor Laro than to show 
 disrespect for his peculiar mood. 
 
 The broad brown hand went again to rest upon Lafitte's 
 shoulder; and Laro looked off over the sea with eyes 
 which seemed for the moment to have lost all interest in 
 the approaching vessel. 
 
 " It was this, my lad : I sat at a table heaped with fruits 
 and wines ; and about me was such as makes the heart of 
 man glad to be alive. But suddenly there came a flash of 
 lightning, with an awful peal of thunder ; and looking out 
 upon a portico near me, I saw a form clad like an Indian 
 warrior, riding a horse black as the gates of hell. Straight 
 up the steps of the portico the steed galloped, and into the 
 room, where it circled around the table, until the warrior 
 drew his bow and let fly an arrow that struck my glass, 
 and sent the wine, blood-red, pouring over me and my 
 guests in a stream which grew, and grew, until it was a 
 red river flowing over the table, and washing it away ; and 
 I awoke, shivering, to see Ehewah standing by my bunk, 
 telling me that a craft was in sight which looked like the 
 Englishman." 
 
 Laro's bearing, so changed and softened, no less than 
 the dream he had related, made Lafitte feel at a loss what 
 to say. He could not deny that the recital had affected 
 him strangely, seeming to bring him into closer touch with
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 155 
 
 Laro as the latter added, " I have always known that to 
 dream of this Indian and his black horse means death to 
 one of my family." 
 
 The pressure of his hand grew heavier upon Lafitte's 
 shoulder, and he raised his eyes, now filled with a softer 
 expression than the young man had ever seen them hold. 
 
 "Jean, my lad, if anything happens to me, you will 
 always take care of Lazalie? Even though you have no 
 love to give the girl, you will let no harm come to her? " 
 
 The sound of her name brought Lafitte to his proper 
 senses ; and the perplexed look vanished from his face as 
 he exclaimed, " Man Dieu, Laro what nonsense are you 
 talking? You, to be so upset by a mere dream! Drop 
 all thought of it, and give your mind to more important 
 matters ; for if we are to reach the Barra de Hierro this 
 night we must put aside such unsubstantial things as 
 dreams, and keep a lookout for the Englishman." 
 
 The stranger was surely drawing nearer, and the past 
 twenty minutes had brought her close enough to be made 
 out distinctly. She was, beyond doubt, a man-of-war, and 
 presumably the same that had been the brigantine's neigh- 
 bor in Fort Royal harbor. 
 
 " Have you the gun in prime order, Lopez ? " asked 
 Lafitte, who now came and stood beside the old gunner. 
 " Ah, that you have, I see," he added with a smile, after 
 glancing at it, now divested of its tarpaulin covering, "and 
 I look to you for its proper handling, should occasion 
 arise." 
 
 Lopez, who stood with his assistants clustered around 
 him, replied with a grin, " Never you fear, my captain, but 
 that the gun and myself will give a proper account of 
 ourselves." 
 
 There now came a shout from aloft, the lookout announc- 
 ing that the approaching vessel was the Englishman, and 
 that she seemed to be preparing for action. 
 
 " Curse the wind why won't it hold with us ? " muttered 
 Garonne, standing near the group about the gun ; and
 
 156 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Lafitte noted the gleam of hatred that, for a second, made 
 Ehewah's face fiendish as he glanced at the speaker. 
 
 " Wind or no wind," returned Lopez, in a growl, " we 
 are taking our own course ; and if yonder gentlemen 
 trouble us, their own fault it will be if burnt fingers they 
 get for meddling." 
 
 " Stand by to take in the stun'sails ! " the voice of Laro 
 broke in. The captain seemed to have recovered fully 
 from his recent mood, and to have forgotten the dream 
 that inspired it. 
 
 " Lively, you dogs ! " he shouted. " Lively, there ; and 
 if that craft wants to overhaul us, let her make the trial." 
 
 The " Black Petrel " now changed her course, and the 
 other vessel did the same, this indicating that she intended 
 to give chase. But the brigantine was by far the better 
 sailer; and, had Laro chosen to run southward, he might 
 have escaped. 
 
 This, however, would have carried the " Black Petrel " 
 away from her proposed destination, a thing that Lafitte, no 
 less than Laro, scorned to permit, especially as the pursuer 
 was of a nation hated by both of them. They were there- 
 fore of one mind in the determination not to submit to 
 personal inconvenience on account of the Englishman. 
 
 The latter drew still closer as the day wore on, when a 
 little after noon, the fog-bank, which had been promised at 
 sunrise, rolled in over the sea, enveloping pursuer and 
 pursued as in the folds of a heavy blanket. 
 
 Lafitte was for keeping straight to their course ; but 
 Laro, with sulky persistence, claimed that their better 
 plan would be to anchor. He knew that early the next 
 morning should the fog lift by sunset he could reckon 
 upon reaching the channel flowing inward to the Barra de 
 Hierro ; and, although its bars and reefs, while familiar to 
 himself and his men, guarded a course the stranger could 
 not follow in safety, he did not care to risk pointing out 
 the way to his island retreat.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 
 
 AJ hour before sunset the fog rolled up, revealing 
 the man-of-war anchored near enough for the men 
 on her deck to be seen plainly without the aid of 
 a glass. They showed like spots of flame to those aboard 
 the brigantine ; and the slants of the sinking sun reflected 
 bright scintillations where they touched the brass of the 
 cannon. 
 
 The anchors of both vessels were raised at once, and the 
 chase was renewed, with the pursuer not a mile away, and 
 heading about southwest, which would soon bring her 
 within range of the brigantine, whose course lay due 
 west. 
 
 A curl of smoke soon rose from the Englishman's deck, 
 and a few seconds later there came the report of a gun. 
 
 " A pressing invitation for us to show our colors," 
 remarked Lafitte, as he watched the shot strike the water. 
 " Up with the flag of Carthagena," he added, turning from 
 the rail, and now speaking to the boatswain. 
 
 " No," replied Laro, with a roar of anger. " No Madre 
 de Dios ! It is my own flag they shall see." 
 
 Up to the brigantine's peak ran a compact ball. The 
 knot was drawn, and a flag fluttered to the breeze coming 
 in a freshened puff, over the water. 
 
 The flag was black; and its field showed two crossed 
 sabres, their whiteness emphasized by the sable back- 
 ground. 
 
 The Englishman now fired again, the shot falling about 
 midway between the two vessels ; but the brigantine, still 
 not answering, kept on her course.
 
 158 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 A short time passed, with the " Black Petrel's " crew un- 
 easy, and Lopez swearing softly in his native tongue ; for 
 Lafitte's counsel had prevailed with Laro, and the latter 
 was waiting. The pursuer then began a more persistent 
 firing with her bow-guns, but none of the shots reached 
 their mark. 
 
 Presently Lafitte, who was standing near Lopez, asked 
 quietly, " How would a shot work now? Try, and see." 
 
 The old gunner, with a shout due to his long repressed 
 feelings, set about levelling his gun, calculated the distance, 
 and obtained the proper elevation. Then, taking the match 
 from Shapira, his assistant, he waited until his eye struck 
 the right point aboard the Englishman. 
 
 There was a report, soon followed by a trembling of the 
 enemy's spars ; and the brigantine's crew crowded to see 
 the result, while the scowling face of Lopez broadened 
 with a grim smile as he saw the English sailors rushing up 
 the fore-shrouds. 
 
 " You have struck their foremast, just below the futtocks," 
 announced Lafitte, looking through his glass. 
 
 " Aye, sir; and I will sing them another such sweet 
 song," said Lopez coolly, watching his men reload the gun. 
 
 The enemy had meantime come a little closer, and was 
 dropping shot viciously about the brigantine. 
 
 " Lopez, make haste with the gun ! " cried Laro, with an 
 oath. " Give them a dose such as will set them to repair- 
 ing damages." 
 
 Although as yet no man had been killed aboard the 
 " Black Petrel," nor any seriously wounded, several bloody 
 faces and arms were showing, where splinters of wood had 
 left their mark. 
 
 " Keep a sharp lookout, Garonne, that she gets not too 
 near," growled Laro, who was jealously watching the 
 Englishman. " Keep her dancing about us ; and " turn- 
 ing to the crew " should she get close enough to try any 
 tricks with grappling-irons, have the cutlasses ready, my 
 hearties. And remember that it is no quarter."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 A sound, half roar, half snarl, came from the men ; and 
 the next moment there was a whistling amongst them as a 
 cannon-ball struck the bulwark in front of Laro, filling the 
 air with bits of wood, and then glancing into the water. 
 
 A large, sharply pointed piece of ragged wood struck 
 him in the side, and with a cursing cry he sank, face down- 
 ward, upon the deck, the blood from his wounds spattering 
 those nearest him, several of whom had been hit by the 
 flying splinters. 
 
 Lafitte sprang forward, and placing his arms around the 
 quivering form, turned the distorted face to the air. Then, 
 looking up at the gunner, who was staring wildly at the 
 sight, he cried, " Fire, Lopez, as you never fired before ! " 
 
 A prompt discharge followed the order, and a wild shout 
 of joy went up from the crew of the " Black Petrel." 
 
 The enemy's foremast was again struck, this time with 
 disastrous effect, as could be readily seen ; for her crew 
 were getting the sails off with all possible speed. Her 
 fore-royal and top-gallant sails were clewed up, and the 
 topsail-yard let go by the run, while the mast was swaying 
 perceptibly. 
 
 Her firing had ceased. Yet Lopez, paying no attention 
 to this, sent another shot the moment his gun was reloaded, 
 and, as the smoke cleared away, the Englishman's foremast 
 was seen going over the side, taking with it the top-gallant 
 mast and jib-boom. 
 
 Another chorus of yells arose from the brigantine, while 
 the old gunner, calmly observing the result of his work, 
 muttered, " That is what you get for meddling with the 
 'Black Petrel,' as has many another before you." 
 
 Meanwhile an evident excitement had been prevailing 
 among the live cargo beneath the hatches. And, now that 
 the noise and distraction on deck had subsided, and the 
 senses of the participants were absorbed by immediate 
 surroundings, shrill, though stifled cries came from below. 
 
 Garonne was one of the first to hear them, and, growling 
 profanity, he, accompanied by two of the crew, armed with
 
 160 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 marlin-spikes, went down to quiet the wretched creatures, 
 who had perhaps been hoping for rescue. 
 
 Laro, by Lafitte's command, had been borne to the main 
 cabin, where he was laid upon a divan ; and the brigantine 
 had been ordered to come to anchor. The enemy had 
 already done this, and, in her present crippled condition, 
 there was nothing to fear from her, as the distance between 
 the vessels was too great for advantageous firing, even 
 had the Englishman been in proper form to continue the 
 fight. 
 
 Lafitte was, of course, now in sole command ; and see- 
 ing, from the appearance of sea and sky, that the fog would 
 soon close down upon them again, he determined to slip 
 away under its cover, and that of the night. 
 
 It took but a few moments to give his orders ; and he 
 then went below. 
 
 Laro was breathing heavily, in broken gasps ; and beck- 
 oning to Lafitte, he asked to have sent away those who 
 were about him, still striving to check the blood that flowed 
 so freely as to soak the red of the divan until it showed 
 black. 
 
 " They can do me no good, my lad," he panted ; " and 
 I want to speak with you." 
 
 Lafitte sent the others away, and sitting down by the 
 dying man, took one of the hands that were already grow- 
 ing cold. 
 
 A curious complexity of emotions swayed him as he did 
 this ; for it is an awesome thing to face the presence of 
 death, even though it be in the company of one for whom 
 the heart has but scant affection or respect. 
 
 "Jean, you will take care of Lazalie?" And Laro's 
 black eyes, their mockery forever slain, looked at him with 
 appealing wistfulness. 
 
 Lafitte nodded, and pressed the hand he held. 
 
 " I thought you would ; for I have quarrelled with you 
 too often for showing mercy to enemies, not to know the 
 kindness of your heart."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 161 
 
 Lafitte remained silent, and Laro waited a moment, as if 
 gathering strength. 
 
 " She will have plenty of wealth, as you know ; see that 
 it is delivered to her safely, and kept securely afterwards. 
 The ' Black Petrel ' is yours, boy all your own ; Lazalie 
 and the men know that. Take the girl away, Jean ; take 
 her to the nuns, in New Orleans, as I should have done 
 before this ; and do you and she have the church say 
 masses for my soul. My soul ! " he repeated, in a quick 
 gasp. " To where will my soul go? " 
 
 As Lafitte's lips parted to speak, the dying man, as if 
 divining what he might be about to say, cried with a sud- 
 den burst of strength, " No, no, boy ; try to tell me no 
 soothing lies! Living, I never knew fear; and dying I 
 scorn it ! Ah Madre de Dios ! Christ have mercy ! " 
 
 And with this last cry, Laro's voice was stilled forever. 
 
 Lafitte's heart repeated the prayer, as he folded the 
 dead man's hands across the broad chest; and scarcely 
 had he done this when he was startled by the noise of a 
 commotion above him. 
 
 Stopping only to draw a blanket over the face and form 
 of the dead, he went on deck, where a number of excited 
 men were gathered on the side toward the enemy. All 
 of them were talking loudly and gesticulating, while they 
 appeared to be looking at something below ; and Lafitte, 
 having joined them, demanded to know what had happened. 
 
 But his glance had already followed the direction of 
 their eyes, and he saw one of the " Black Petrel's " smallest 
 boats being rowed by the Indian, Ehewah, toward the 
 English vessel ; and clinging to it, while his hoarse voice 
 poured forth a volley of menacing words, was Lopez. 
 
 Shapira, the assistant gunner, attempted to explain that 
 the men had noticed nothing until Lopez, who was super- 
 intending the swabbing of his gun, rushed, shouting and 
 cursing, across the deck and plunged into the sea. 
 
 Some of the crew thought he was attempting suicide, 
 or had become crazy, and were getting a boat ready to
 
 1 62 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 lower, when others, looking over the side, saw the Indian 
 pulling away from the brigantine, with Lopez swimming 
 in pursuit. 
 
 It now became evident that Ehewah had improved the 
 moments of confusion, when the crew's attention was ab- 
 sorbed by the wounding of Laro and his removal below, 
 to lower the boat, and, as Lopez doubtless surmised, with 
 the intention of joining the enemy, with the intention of 
 gaining their favor by betraying his former associates. 
 
 Lafitte stood by the side, perplexed for the moment as 
 to what was best to do. It would be dangerous to risk 
 firing at Ehewah, as this might injure Lopez; for although 
 the old gunner himself could have been trusted to fire 
 such a shot, no other man was likely to show the same 
 accuracy. And, too, there was the chance that Lopez 
 might, in some manner, prevent the Indian from carrying 
 out his treacherous purpose. 
 
 But Garonne now came shouldering his way through 
 the men, having just come from below. After a glance 
 seaward, his eyes turned to Lafitte ; then, with a copious 
 flow of profanity, he sprang to the gun and began tearing 
 away its partially arranged covering, at the same time 
 shouting orders to Shapira. But the latter hung back, 
 loath to risk harming his old comrade. 
 
 " Fire, Shapira, for it cannot harm Lopez ! " ordered 
 Lafitte. " Look for yourself." 
 
 Ehewah, still rowing swiftly, and paying no apparent 
 heed to the gunner, had covered much of the distance 
 between the brigantine and the man-of-war ; and figures 
 were gathered upon the latter's deck, watching the excit- 
 ing scene. 
 
 Lopez had loosed one of his hands from the boat's gun- 
 wale, and drawing his knife, hurled it at the Indian ; but 
 Ehewah dodged, and it fell into the sea. He then rowed 
 on, and Lopez, no longer shouting, attempted to draw 
 himself over the stern of the boat. 
 
 At this, the Indian had stopped rowing, and struck the
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 163 
 
 gunner over the head with an oar, continuing the blows 
 until Lopez released his hold and sank from sight, this 
 being a moment before Lafitte had commanded the Jewish 
 gunner to fire. 
 
 A roar as of angry wild beasts arose from the men on 
 the brigantine ; but it was lost in the louder roar of the 
 gun, whose discharge, however, seemed to have in no wise 
 affected the treacherous Indian. 
 
 A boat which had been lowered from the English ship 
 was now seen pulling rapidly to where Ehewah, still paus- 
 ing, appeared waiting for the gunner's body to rise. 
 
 This it soon did ; and the Indian, showing an agile 
 strength one would not have accredited to his slight 
 frame, drew it into the boat. 
 
 The shot fired by Shapira had splashed into the water 
 far from its mark; for the man's nervousness, together 
 with Garonne's fuming and blasphemy, aggravated his 
 lack of skill. 
 
 The crew of the brigantine saw Ehewah parley with the 
 men from the enemy's vessel, after which he rowed in 
 their company to the man-of-war; and Lafitte, watching 
 through his glass, saw the form of Lopez carried aboard 
 in their midst.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 
 
 LAFITTE, bidding Garonne accompany him, went 
 below, to Laro's cabin, now shadowy with the 
 approaching twilight. 
 
 Garonne lit the brass lamp swinging over the small 
 table, and turned to Lafitte, who stood looking about him, 
 as if for some sign of Ehewah's treacherous intentions, 
 when the gleam of a gold band, hanging over Laro's bunk, 
 caught their eyes. 
 
 It was a bracelet, which the Indian had always worn 
 upon his naked arm since the day Laro placed it there, in 
 a burst of gratitude to Ehewah for having saved his life. 
 Attached to the band was a piece of pearly shell, carved 
 in imitation of a human tooth, which was wont to repose 
 upon Ehewah's breast, among other charms and amulets, 
 attached to a gold chain. 
 
 Both Lafitte and Garonne knew enough of the Indian's 
 tribe-lore to understand that this was Ehewah's mute an- 
 nouncement of ended friendship and loyalty. 
 
 " Treacherous dog," snarled the mate. " If only I had 
 him here, to serve worse than before !" 
 
 " Had you been more merciful and just, we might not 
 have this to deal with," said Lafitte severely, tossing the 
 trinket upon the cabin table. 
 
 Garonne made no reply, but glared around with fury- 
 filled eyes. 
 
 " Are you sure the Indian's hands were empty when you 
 saw him come from here this morning?" inquired Lafitte, 
 disregarding the mate's looks and manner. 
 
 " Yes, my captain, I am sure they were quite empty ; 
 for when he saw me, he started, and one hand went to his 
 knife, as if he meant mischief."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 165 
 
 " He doubtless stole in here to perform what to him was 
 a religious rite, and having hung Laro's gift where we 
 found it, went his way, intending to attempt that which he 
 has now accomplished," mused Lafitte aloud. 
 
 Then, as if struck by an afterthought, he went to Laro's 
 bunk, and throwing aside the rich draperies, disclosed a 
 heavy wooden locker. 
 
 Its lid was, contrary to custom, unlocked; and when 
 Lafitte opened it, a disarranged collection of papers and 
 canvas bags showed within. 
 
 These he tossed and tumbled still more, in his search for 
 something he evidently failed to find ; for he rose and faced 
 Garonne, who had been looking on. 
 
 " It is as I supposed not a coin nor jewel touched, but 
 charts and papers gone, that are of more importance than 
 all the valuables. The rascal knows the way to the Barra 
 de Hierro ; and the charts he has taken will inform others, 
 showing them where to find what now belongs to the 
 Senorita Lazalie." 
 
 Garonne, forgetful of his usual restraint when in Lafitte's 
 presence, now broke forth into a flood of curses, which the 
 latter checked at once with, " Silence, sir ! Pour out your 
 blackguard temper as you will where I cannot hear ; but 
 alone with me, and here, with the dead so near us, I bid 
 you hold your vile tongue, if it cannot speak words to 
 which a gentleman may listen." 
 
 The mate turned to the cabin door, where he paused, 
 and asked in a voice trembling with the anger he dared 
 not show, " Have you any orders for me, my captain?" 
 
 " None, save to let the men have their supper at once, 
 and see to it that only half-allowance of grog is served. 
 The fog is coming in, and we will sail as soon as may be." 
 
 Like an army of shrouded ghosts, the fog was again 
 about the " Black Petrel," enclosing her in a world where she 
 was the sole tangible thing. But, as over a path familiar 
 to blind eyes, the hands that manned her could shape an 
 unerring course for their secure haven.
 
 1 66 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Long before midnight she was feeling her way north, 
 toward the mouth of the treacherous channel that would 
 bring the crew to their island stronghold, the Barra de 
 Hierro. 
 
 The south-southeast wind, as if favoring their flight, 
 blew softly, but steadily, tossing the mist over the faces and 
 garments of the men, each one of whom even Garonne 
 bore his part faithfully, and with entire loyalty to his 
 commander. 
 
 The stars were paling, and the fog was gone, when the 
 brigantine stole up the reef-beset channel leading to the safe 
 harbor of the Barra de Hierro ; and an hour later her 
 anchor was cast before a low-lying mass of land that was 
 still too distant for unfamiliar eyes to distinguish intelligently 
 by the dim light. 
 
 The shore was formed by bare rocks that rose, a barri- 
 cade of cliffs, from the seaward view ; but, when approached 
 by a small boat, these separated, to show numerous pas- 
 sages between themselves and the shingle of the island, 
 where the smooth sands were lipped by curling breakers 
 that washed unrestrainedly over the beautiful shells. 
 
 The early morning air was heavy with odors of aromatic 
 shrubs growing beyond the beach, and the carol of waken- 
 ing birds was filling it with music, when Lafitte came ashore, 
 leaving Garonne in charge of the brigantine. 
 
 His course lay inland, at first over waste fields, and then 
 cultivated ones, of sugar-cane, coffee, and tobacco. Then 
 came some banana and fig plantations, interspersed with 
 groves of palms and cocoanut trees, until, after a walk of 
 twenty minutes, he reached a clearing, in which stood many 
 small huts, evidently dwellings ; and apart from these rose 
 the walls of a stone building, surrounded by a high wall, 
 with circular towers at the angles. 
 
 This had always been Laro's home and stronghold, as 
 also that of his father and grandsire before him ; and, with 
 the small army of slaves kept upon the island, together 
 with the sailors and other followers, who came and went
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 167 
 
 according to their leader's orders, such a place of refuge 
 was in every way desirable, in case of pursuit, or in the 
 event of sudden outbreaks among his own men, which had 
 more than once made a few hours of unpleasant excitement 
 the natural sequence to the rough life led by them. 
 
 Lafitte crossed the open space, and stopping before a 
 stout oaken door in the wall, called for admission. But 
 there was no response ; and, after a longer silence than 
 suited his humor, he fell to striking upon the door, while 
 he called still louder. 
 
 This resulted in its soon being opened cautiously, to 
 show a stalwart giant, whose black face and naked arms 
 showed all the darker by contrast with the white cotton of 
 his raiment, draped in a barbaric fashion that told of its 
 not having known thread and needle. 
 
 " My young captain ! " he exclaimed in Spanish, a 
 pleased surprise lighting his grave face; and catching 
 Lafitte's hand, he kissed it as the latter replied, " Greet- 
 ings to you, Ezrah. Is it all well here ? " 
 
 " Yes, my young captain. All is well ; but it will be 
 more than well, now that you have returned." 
 
 Lafitte waited until the Arab (for such he was) had 
 closed and barred the gate ; and then, in a few words, he 
 told him of what had taken place, adding that Laro's body 
 would be brought ashore later in the day, for burial. 
 
 Ezrah listened with a face showing no emotion whatever, 
 save perhaps that of anger that the nation his master had 
 taught him to hate should have been the means of the 
 former's death. 
 
 His young mistress, the Senorita Lazalie, was of course 
 not yet awake; and Lafitte, after bidding the Arab to 
 leave her undisturbed, went to his own apartments. 
 
 The building was constructed after the Moorish, rather 
 than any other style of architecture, although it was de- 
 signed for defence, more than for any pleasure it might 
 give the eye. It was very spacious, and the rooms were 
 scarcely more than comfortably furnished, except in La-
 
 1 68 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 zalie's domain, where they were fitted up with a luxury 
 befitting the abode of a princess. 
 
 And as such the orphaned Spanish beauty reigned over 
 her uncle's followers and slaves. 
 
 She was now sixteen ; and, since leaving a convent 
 school in Seville, two years before, her entire time had 
 been passed upon the Barra de Hierro, to which Laro 
 her only living relative had brought her, and where she 
 had seemed fully contented with her luxurious and inde- 
 pendent life. 
 
 He had surrounded her with everything which might 
 minister to her pleasure. Her apartments were fitted with 
 the choicest furnishings, paintings, and bric-a-brac, to- 
 gether with musical instruments of every description, upon 
 many of which she was a skilful performer. She was (al- 
 though caring little for reading) supplied with the best and 
 most expensive books, and the latest available music was 
 always at her command. The richest of fabrics went to 
 make up her apparel, and the jewels with which she de- 
 lighted to deck herself would have adorned the caskets of 
 an empress. She had her own special slaves, of both 
 sexes, subject absolutely to her will; and these she treated 
 kindly or cruelly, as the impulse or whim moved her, being 
 responsible to no one for whatever severity she might see 
 fit to exercise. 
 
 So lived the Senorita Lazalie, her only companion being 
 the motherly Irish woman who had been the devoted nurse 
 of her early childhood. 
 
 Laro, of necessity, passed much of his time away from 
 the Barra de Hierro ; and, during his absence, Lazalie was 
 its head and ruler, except when Lafitte found it necessary 
 to visit the island. Then the Spanish girl gave place 
 and with entire willingness to the man whom, from their 
 first meeting, she had loved with all the fervor of her un- 
 curbed nature.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 
 
 THE sun was nearly two hours high when Lafitte 
 awoke from slumber, and prepared to make him- 
 self ready for the responsible and arduous duties 
 lying before him. 
 
 An immense earthen jar, standing in his dressing-room 
 and filled with fresh water, showed that some one, mindful 
 of his needs, had stolen in to supply them while he slept 
 But, disregarding this, he passed out of the house and took 
 the path leading to a near-by pool, set in a thick grove of 
 mangoes, where the water was in continual agitation from 
 the inpouring of several brooks, which, coming from the 
 hills, tumbled in cascades over the rocks on one side and 
 rushed away on the opposite side in a babbling torrent that 
 ran one of the many streams traversing the fertile island 
 into the sea. 
 
 Tossing his garments on the bank, Lafitte plunged in, 
 the cool flood sprinkling with crystal drops his face and 
 hair as the spray flew about him. Then he disappeared, 
 to emerge like a water god, with gleaming white chest and 
 arms, as a small negro showed himself, laden with towels 
 and a change of raiment. 
 
 The boy, after depositing his burden upon a seat roughly 
 hewn from a large ceiba tree, sat down to await further 
 orders, while a tiny monkey that had followed him sprang 
 to perch upon his shoulder, chattering and making faces at 
 the bather in the pool beneath. 
 
 Presently, espying the heap of clothing, the animal made 
 a dart at it, snatching at what had attracted his attention, 
 and sprang to seize a vine of parasitical growth that, 
 drooping from a ceiba tree, reached almost to the ground.
 
 7 o 
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 He caught it skilfully, and, still chattering, climbed 
 swiftly to the far overhead branches, a pair of the bather's 
 trousers trailing in his wake, and a fine linen shirt (caught 
 in some way upon the other garment) showing like a 
 retiring flag of truce. 
 
 Lafitte had not observed his antics until, with loud 
 whoops, the little negro, springing to his feet, made a wild 
 clutch at the vanishing apparel, and failing to catch it, 
 stood, still shouting at the mischievous animal, who now, 
 safely ensconced above, was attempting to array his small, 
 hairy body in the proceeds of his raid. 
 
 He apparently knew something as to the nature of the 
 garments, although he was not able to comprehend their 
 precise use ; for he drew the trousers about his neck and 
 shoulders, evincing much discomfort when the buckles and 
 other fastenings rasped unpleasantly against his skin. 
 And, while chattering angrily at this, turning his head 
 around as if seeking to ascertain what was amiss, he let 
 fall the shirt, which went fluttering down upon the up- 
 raised face of the irate little negro. 
 
 " Go after him, Nato ; climb and catch him," Lafitte 
 ordered, laughing in spite of his annoyance; and coming 
 from the water, he picked up one of the towels. 
 
 The boy removed the linen muffler from his head and 
 face, while he grumbled audibly. He was a Virginia 
 darkey, whom Laro had purchased in New Orleans. 
 
 " He done be a debbil, Mars' Cap'n Jean ; he done bite, 
 effen yer try ter 'fere wid him. Lak 's not he done tar' 
 yer breeches ter rags, effen he see me comin' arter him. 
 Yo' Pete, yer brack debbil ! " 
 
 His last remark, addressed to the monkey, was accom- 
 panied by a stone, to the throwing of which the animal 
 paid no attention beyond looking down gravely and si- 
 lently, as if reproaching his playmate for such unkindness. 
 
 " Never mind about all that. I tell you to go after 
 him, and make him drop my breeches, even if you can- 
 not catch him," said Lafitte, now rather impatiently. He
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 171 
 
 was partially dressed, and needed the remainder of his 
 apparel. 
 
 Nato, with a sullen look, proceeded to obey, and catch- 
 ing the same vine used by the monkey, he went up hand 
 over hand, his small form testing its strength but little 
 more than had that of the former, until, reaching a crotch 
 of the tree, he clambered into the branches, where the 
 monkey sat, chattering vociferously, as if aware of the 
 boy's design. 
 
 But now, with the evident intention of evading capture, 
 he skipped to the extreme end of a limb ; and during his 
 rapid flight one of the trouser legs caught in a twig, strip- 
 ping the garment from his body. It dangled a moment, 
 and then fell to the ground, and Nato came down, leaving 
 the monkey far out in the branches. 
 
 " Yer kin stay dar an' sw'ar yersef white in der face, fur 
 all I cares," was the boy's parting objurgation, as, a few 
 minutes later, he started to follow Lafitte to the house, 
 where breakfast was ready, and the housekeeper, Bridget, 
 was waiting to see the " young captain." 
 
 " Ma'am Brigida," as she was called, had been Lazalie's 
 nurse since the latter's infancy ; and it was her love for the 
 girl that had brought her to the Barra de Hierro. 
 
 Although having little liking or respect for Laro, she had, 
 at first, no suspicion as to the real nature of her surround- 
 ings. And while time and events had made her much 
 wiser, she had, up to the present, seen no way to better her 
 condition ; nor had she the wish so to do, if this would part 
 her from her young mistress. 
 
 She was wise enough to keep silent, and to refrain from 
 interfering with matters outside her own particular jurisdic- 
 tion. But many a wretched slave suffering from punish- 
 ment could tell of the kind woman who came to him 
 stealthily, bringing food and drink, or with cooling lotions 
 and healing salves had dressed the weals made by the 
 overseer's whip. 
 
 In Ezrah, the Arab, whom Laro had treated more as an
 
 172 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 under-officer than as a slave, Bridget had ever a safe con- 
 fidant and sympathetic abettor; and these two, like many 
 another, while despising the " old captain," were ready to 
 give their allegiance to the younger leader. 
 
 Lafitte breakfasted alone, attended by Ma'am Brigida, 
 with Nato curled up in a corner, devouring the fruit or 
 other food his master gave him occasionally, as to a 
 favorite dog. 
 
 Of all the negro boys on the island, it was well known 
 that Nato was Lafitte's favorite ; and the little fellow's 
 highest ambition was to attain sufficient growth and height 
 to become the body servant and constant attendant of the 
 only man, save Ezrah, who had never treated him with un- 
 deserved severity. 
 
 Ma'am Brigida had informed Lazalie of her uncle's death, 
 as narrated to the former by Ezrah ; and the girl had sent 
 word to Lafitte that she would see him later in the fore- 
 noon. 
 
 When he had breakfasted, Lafitte told Ma'am Brigida 
 and Ezrah of Ehewah's treachery, and what might be ex- 
 pected by reason of it. 
 
 He had during the night, while the " Black Petrel " was 
 speeding away from her crippled enemy, reviewed the 
 situation, and laid out a programme of what the English 
 would probably attempt, including in his calculations an 
 estimate of the time it would take them to repair damages 
 and then reach the island. He also had formulated what 
 was to be done as to preparations for flight, and for the 
 saving of such property as could be removed to New 
 Orleans or Barataria. 
 
 In view of Laro's dying request, he had considered care- 
 fully all the arrangements for Lazalie's immediate future, 
 which included that of Ma'am Brigida ; and this he unfolded 
 to the latter, after sending Ezrah to superintend the gather- 
 ing of such stores as were to be taken to the shore, pre- 
 paratory to putting them aboard the " Black Petrel " and 
 another craft, which was to sail under command of Ezrah,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 173 
 
 who, in addition to his other valuable attainments, was a 
 skilful navigator. 
 
 Still another vessel, which completed the trio now an- 
 chored off the Barra de Hierro, was to be manned by all 
 the roughest of Laro's followers, those in accord with 
 his ideas and practices ; and, under command of Garonne, 
 was to sail by a roundabout course to Fort Royal, in order 
 to notify the former's confederates of what had happened, 
 and leave them to tell Jude, when the " Condor " should 
 touch there upon her return. They were also to inform 
 such others as, according to custom, put in to Martinique 
 before continuing north to their most frequented strong- 
 hold. 
 
 As to the slaves, of whom there were several hundred, it 
 was not prudent to attempt taking them in a body to 
 Louisiana ; and Lafitte decided to, for the present, leave 
 by far the greater number of them upon the island, where 
 there was abundant food and shelter, and take with him 
 only a few, including such as Lazalie should select for 
 her own. 
 
 " Poor things ! And it 's surely a good day that's come 
 for them ! " declared Ma'am Brigida, when he informed 
 her of this. " Sure, I Ve no love meself for the English ; 
 but they 're not the sort to belave in fettering and b'ating 
 a fellow man, like a dumb baste, jist because his face is 
 black by the saints' will." 
 
 Lafitte smiled good-naturedly, but said nothing; and, 
 thus assured of his indulgence, she continued, " Holy 
 Mother ! But it sames like an answer to the prayers I Ve 
 been sending up this many a day and night, that I could 
 get me darlin' and self away from all this, and back 
 again where I could hear a church bell ring, and seek 
 counsel of a holy father, in case of need. But, Captain 
 Jean, dear, think ye that she '11 agree to be sint away 
 to the Sisters at New Orleans, as ye have planned, and 
 abide there? And where will yourself be all the time, 
 to be sure?"
 
 1 74 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 There was more to this, and in Ma'am Brigida's way 
 of saying it, than appeared in the words themselves ; for, 
 that her nursling's heart was given to Lafitte had long 
 been known to the faithful soul, who had feared, especially 
 of late, that it was a love in no way reciprocated or desired. 
 
 " It is difficult for me to say," he replied in answer 
 to her direct question. " My life must be as circum- 
 stances require ; and it is no life for the Senorita Lazalie. 
 As to that, neither is this island the place I should have 
 selected for her, had she been under my own care. But 
 now there has come a change ; and it is not only possible, 
 but necessary, that she and you go from here to such sur- 
 roundings as are proper for her and you. Her fortune 
 will be placed in safe hands ; and she will soon be able, 
 under the protection I can command for her in New 
 Orleans, to live as she pleases, for she has abundant 
 wealth." 
 
 He paused, as if considering something, and then added, 
 " You must tell this to her in your own way, and say that 
 to-night we must set sail for New Orleans." 
 
 Ma'am Brigida stared at him with an expression that 
 caused him to ask, " You hear you understand ? " 
 
 " Yes, I hear," she replied, in a tone suggestive of some- 
 thing more that might be said. 
 
 " Well," he asked a little impatiently. 
 
 " And I understand, too, Captain Jean. I understand 
 that if it 's yourself that 's to be taken out of her life 
 entirely, her heart will break." 
 
 " Hold your tongue ! " he commanded angrily, to add 
 with a shrug, as he checked himself, " You probably are 
 mistaken, as I hope is the case ; for any person would 
 be foolish to waste thought upon me. Go at once, and 
 tell your mistress what I have planned for her safety, 
 for we have no time to waste. She must be ready to 
 leave the island this very night. Tell her also that I 
 shall be pleased to do all in my power to assist her in 
 her preparations."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 175 
 
 He did not see the look Ma'am Brigida bestowed upon 
 him as she passed through the doorway, for he had thrown 
 himself into a chair, and was beholding a face, hearing 
 a voice far away, a childish face, and a gentle voice that 
 had said, when he left little Roselle at her grandfather's 
 door, " I shall never forget you, Captain Jean." 
 
 Pure, and so infinitely apart from his lawless life and 
 its environments, the Island Rose, and his thoughts of her, 
 seemed like a calm star shining in a heaven of blame- 
 less living which his inner nature longed to assimilate. 
 
 A rustle of draperies, a stealing of perfume like that 
 of jessamine flowers, a pair of soft arms thrown about 
 his neck, and a rain of passionate kisses on his face and 
 head, these roused him quickly, as a rich voice, broken 
 by tears, cried, " Jean, my own Jean, what is this I have 
 been told? You will cast me off, now that I am alone 
 in the world ! " 
 
 He tried to rise, and to unclasp the arms clinging to him 
 so closely that it was difficult for him to disengage them 
 without risk of hurting her. 
 
 Still clinging to him, she threw her supple form across 
 his knees. 
 
 " You have been so long, so long away, and I was so 
 glad you had come back to me ! Ah, Jean, will you not 
 know how dearly I love you ? I would follow you to death 
 if you would but say that you love me in return ! " 
 
 Jean Lafitte was a man, and possessed a man's nature. 
 But there was scarce an added throb to his heart-beats 
 as he looked down into the beautiful face. Its glorious 
 eyes, brilliant coloring, and full crimson lips affected him 
 with a sudden loathing, while he felt the velvety arms 
 around his neck. 
 
 He yet had the arrogance of youth ; and this gave 
 severity to his judgment, making him fail to consider 
 her girlishness and inexperience, her ignorance of con- 
 ventionalities, or to make excuses for her impetuous, 
 untrained nature.
 
 1 76 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Speak ! " she cried, showering kisses upon his clothing. 
 " Are you dumb, that you will not answer me ? Then I 
 will draw the words from your lips ! " And pulling his 
 head down, she kissed him. 
 
 At this, gripping her white arms with unconscious force, 
 he tore them from his neck, and pushed her from him as 
 he rose to his feet. 
 
 "Are you insane, Senorita Lazalie ? " he asked, in a 
 tone whose coldness caused her to shiver, as she stood 
 like a criminal before a judge. 
 
 " You are unnerved by what has come to you, and 
 do not know what you are saying," he continued, in a 
 low, even voice that affected her like an icy torrent rush- 
 ing into a tropical stream. " I will be your friend ; and 
 you must believe that you have my sympathy, and my 
 wish to be of all possible service to you." 
 
 She showed no recognition of his offer, but remained 
 silent, with drooping head and heaving breast. 
 
 "Forget what you have said, as shall I, and let us be 
 friends," he added, still calmly, but with kindliness. " Let 
 us work together, for there is much to be done. Remem- 
 ber," he said finally, in answer to a questioning look in the 
 face she now raised to him, " we must sail this night for 
 New Orleans, or the English may make us prisoners, and 
 deal out such insults to you as I might be unable to pre- 
 vent." 
 
 She made no reply, but turned and left the room.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 
 
 TWO stories of the building were above ground ; 
 how many there were below was known defi- 
 nitely to no one save Lafitte, Lazalie, and Ma'am 
 Brigida. Ezrah and a few of the sub-officers knew some- 
 thing of the vaults and passages; but they were ignorant of 
 the treasure concealed there, its bulk, value, and location. 
 
 Lafitte, not wishing the Arab to obtain more accurate 
 knowledge, proceeded, with the Irishwoman's help, to 
 empty the chests and pack their contents for removal. 
 
 When he threw back their covers, one after the other, the 
 lantern held by Ma'am Brigida flashed its light over piles 
 of rich stuffs, and ingots of gold, together with a great 
 quantity of jewelry and unset gems, each sort in a separate 
 compartment of its own. 
 
 Diamonds, white as steel, and clear as running water; 
 diamonds, blue and yellow, scintillated and blazed in the 
 rays of the light held above them by Ma'am Brigida's 
 trembling hand, while the woman gazed, wellnigh aghast, 
 at such a show of amassed splendor. 
 
 Then there were rubies, blood-red, rose-red, and lilac ; 
 turquoises, blue as summer's clear sky, and emeralds, green 
 as the grassy fields beneath ; opals, some of them large as 
 nutmegs, and of all colors, from pearl-gray to black, and 
 glowing with the heart of a fiery sunset; sapphires, green 
 and red, as well as blue ; sea-green beryls ; topazes, pale 
 and golden, orange and citron-hued ; pearls of various 
 sizes, shapes, and tints, singly or in long ropes, these and 
 ,many other jewels, lying in heaps of sparkling color. 
 
 " The saints keep us ! " exclaimed Ma'am Brigida, when 
 she was able to speak. " Little did I think all these days
 
 178 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 here that I was walkin' an' livin' above such splendor as 
 no king or quane could match ! " 
 
 " Have a care that no one knows of it now," warned 
 Lafitte. He was in shirt-sleeves, working as might any 
 sailor of his crews, breathing hard as he filled bag after bag, 
 and swathed it in disguising wrappings of coarse sacking. 
 " All this is now the Senorita Lazalie's, and I will leave it 
 in safe-keeping for her, while she is with the nuns, in New 
 Orleans. But, " he added, as if to anticipate what Ma'am 
 Brigida might say, " you understand that if afterwards there 
 is any need of my advice or assistance you have only to 
 let me know." 
 
 These words, however, conciliatory though they were, 
 served to arouse Ma'am Brigida's inherited combativeness, 
 for she asked, with considerable show of the indignation 
 she had manifested earlier in the day, " And how are we 
 to do that, we shut up with the nuns, an' niver knowin' 
 where you are, at all at all?" 
 
 Her manner had, during the latter portion of the fore- 
 noon, been undeniably chilly, from which Lafitte surmised 
 that she had found cause for resentment against him by 
 reason of the manner or appearance of her young mistress 
 after the latter's interview with him. 
 
 It could have been from no more definite knowledge 
 than this ; for he was sure that Lazalie's fierce pride would 
 never permit her to tell even her faithful old nurse of his 
 having repulsed her proffered love. 
 
 " I shall arrange all that, and have it understood, before 
 I leave you," was his curt reply, as he went on tying knots ; 
 and nothing more was said. 
 
 The chests were soon emptied, and the bundles lying 
 ready for removal. 
 
 Early in the afternoon the entire crew came ashore with 
 the body of their dead captain ; and all on the island were 
 given a half-holiday, in order that they might show respect 
 to its interment. 
 
 Rolled in blankets, in lieu of coffin, it was lowered into a
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 179 
 
 grave made by the slaves during the morning; and all 
 stood around in silence as the earth fell to it, shovelled in 
 by those who had toiled beneath cruelties ordered or in- 
 flicted by the brain and hands now stilled forever. 
 
 Lazalie was not present ; and Lafitte saw her no more 
 until evening, when, with high-held head and scornful air, 
 she joined him and the others at the table, to partake of 
 the last meal that would be eaten on the Barra de Hierro. 
 
 In the midst of it they were startled by the sudden 
 appearance in their midst of a bedraggled and weary form. 
 It was that of the gunner, Lopez, who, still wet from the 
 sea, and his garments torn by the thickets through which 
 he had pushed his way, dropped silently into a chair, 
 seemingly too worn out for speech. His face was white, 
 and a bandage enveloped his head. 
 
 It was as Lafitte had supposed and contemplated. 
 Ehewah, by help of the charts he had stolen, had gained 
 the enemy's favor; and the latter, in consequence of the 
 information furnished by the Indian, had lost no time in 
 repairing damages, and setting sail in pursuit of the 
 brigantine. 
 
 They were now lying off the east coast of the island, 
 preferring to wait until morning before venturing through 
 the treacherous channel to the opposite side of the Barra 
 de Hierro, where they believed their prey, resting in 
 fancied security, could be more easily overcome by an 
 unexpected attack. 
 
 Lopez, feigning to be more severely injured than was the 
 fact, had thus disarmed their vigilance, and, seizing an 
 opportunity to drop overboard, had swum ashore. 
 
 He told all this by piecemeal, in answer to Lafitte's ques- 
 tions ; and the latter then sent him out with one of his 
 fellows to change his wet clothing. 
 
 When he returned, after a short absence, many minis- 
 tering hands were busied in supplying him with food and 
 drink, while Lafitte, in the fewest possible words, told him 
 of the plan afoot.
 
 180 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 He had reason to believe, from the man's record, that, 
 like himself, Lopez was largely the creature of circum- 
 stances, and that he retained a spirit of humanity and 
 manliness greatly at variance with his lawless life. Lafitte 
 had long known him, for he had been a member of the 
 " Aigle's " crew; and boyish associations gave him a more 
 than ordinary place in the former's regard and confidence. 
 
 The large room where were gathered those who were to 
 sail that night, was full of dusky shadows, relieved here 
 and there by lights that streamed a quivering glow upon 
 swarthy faces and stalwart forms, amid which Lazalie, with 
 her rich beauty, and the honest homeliness of Ma'am 
 Brigida, made a marked contrast ; but, on account of the 
 prevailing excitement and confusion, there was but little 
 ceremony observed between the members of the household 
 and those who dwelt outside. 
 
 There was general rejoicing over Lopez' escape. But 
 this feeling was, in a measure, tempered by anger at 
 Ehewah's treachery ; and hard indeed would have been 
 the Indian's fate could any of those sinewy hands have 
 grasped his brown throat. 
 
 When the gunner's story was ended, a half-suppressed 
 roar had surged through the room, to be hushed by the 
 uplifted hand and reproving frown of Lafitte ; for Lazalie 
 had not yet left the table, but sat, with Ma'am Brigida 
 beside her, at its farthest end. Her red lips were parted 
 slightly, and an angry light glowed in her black eyes. 
 
 "Why did you fail to kill the Indian?" she demanded 
 imperiously, as if holding Lopez accountable for a grave 
 offence. 
 
 "Kill him?" repeated the old gunner, whose hand was 
 carrying to his mouth a huge piece of turtle meat. " Kill 
 him, Senorita Lazalie.? " 
 
 " Yes," was her haughty reply. " You should have 
 killed him." 
 
 "How was I to do that? " he asked with a scowl, as if 
 feeling the unjustness of her accusation. " I had wasted
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 8 1 
 
 my knife on the traitor, and it now lies somewhere off 
 Satan's Key ; my powder and pistols were sea-soaked ; 
 and he took good care to keep out of reach, after I came 
 to my senses aboard the English ship." 
 
 " I understand," she said, now in a more gracious tone ; 
 " and we are very glad you escaped. But," she added, 
 " what could have happened, that Ehewah should think of 
 committing such an act of treachery? " 
 
 The girl spoke musingly, her eyes bent upon the mahog- 
 any table, where, with a golden spoon whose handle 
 gleamed with tiny gems, she was idly tracing an invisible 
 figure. 
 
 Lafitte caught Lopez' eye ; and, obeying the command 
 he saw in the former's look, the gunner made no reply. 
 
 Lazalie appeared to have forgotten her question, for she 
 remained silent, and in a few minutes went to her own 
 apartments, -followed by Ma'am Brigida. 
 
 The meal was soon finished ; and then the men gathered 
 from the table the gold and silver plate, packing it into 
 canvas bags, which were borne to the shore, to be taken 
 aboard the "Black Petrel." 
 
 The greater part of the slaves, together with those 
 brought from the brigantine to be turned loose among 
 their sable fellows, were, of course, ignorant as to the plans 
 of their owner; and when they retired for the night, it 
 was to slumber but little less deeply by reason of their brief 
 respite from labor, while the new arrivals, half sick from 
 their long imprisonment, with its darkness and poor air, 
 slept far more soundly. 
 
 But, the next morning, the former, awakening in affright 
 at the lateness of the hour, and wondering why no over- 
 seer's lash had roused them long before, soon realized that 
 something unusual had befallen ; for the sun was not two 
 hours high when a compact body of scarlet uniforms and 
 shining guns was seen advancing from the island's shore. 
 
 The greater number of the frightened slaves fled inland, 
 to hide in the thickets and gullies. But some of the more
 
 1 82 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 intelligent sought the shelter of the stone stronghold ; and, 
 finding it deserted, they quickly shut and barred the oaken 
 gate. 
 
 It was not long before a storm of blows upon the gate 
 called some of them to it; and, looking through a loophole, 
 they saw the strangers gathered behind a commanding offi- 
 cer who was demanding entrance in the king's name. 
 
 The terrified slaves a few of whom understood the 
 words lost no time in obeying, and were soon assured 
 that no harm would come to them from the invaders, 
 whose leader, upon questioning the negroes, was made 
 aware of the condition of affairs. 
 
 Meanwhile, northerly sailed the " Black Petrel," with 
 Lafitte in command, and with him Lopez and a picked 
 crew, such men as he knew had his own cause at heart. 
 
 This northerly course from the Barra de Hierro was fully 
 as dangerous as was the channel leading in from east to 
 west; but as it was comparatively unknown to Ehewah, 
 and not upon the charts stolen by him, Lafitte concluded 
 there was little risk of encountering the enemy therein. 
 
 Lazalie and Ma'am Brigida, together with Nato and two 
 other slaves to wait upon the Spanish girl, also were on 
 the brigantine ; and Ezrah, in charge of the sloop, followed 
 as closely as possible, both vessels being laden with stores, 
 slaves, and treasure. 
 
 Garonne, with his ship, had sailed at sunset, taking the 
 northerly channel ; but it was several hours later when the 
 " Black Petrel " and her companion stole away, and took 
 their course for New Orleans. 
 
 The wind blew from the south and southwest during the 
 night, and by sunrise it had freshened to quite a lively 
 gale, bearing a touch of sou'east, so that the brigantine 
 was making a steady seven knots ; and Lafitte, leaning on 
 the rail, could see through his glass the sail of the sloop, 
 which Ezrah was keeping upon a true, if slower course, 
 while all about the waste of tumbling sky-rimmed waters 
 there was no other vessel in sight.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 183 
 
 It was noon when the "Black Petrel" reached New 
 Orleans ; and Lafitte came ashore immediately, bringing 
 with him Lazalie and Ma'am Brigida, whom he escorted 
 to their new abiding-place. 
 
 No others left the brigantine, as its commander's sole 
 business in the city was that of providing for the girl's im- 
 mediate future, after which he proposed sailing at once for 
 Barataria. 
 
 One of his most intimate friends was Philip La Roche, 
 a man of middle age, and a banker of New Orleans. He 
 was of fine family, of high social position, and a gentleman 
 of the strictest honor. 
 
 It was to his care that Lafitte committed Lazalie, after 
 seeing her quartered safely, in company with Ma'am 
 Brigida, at the Ursuline convent in the Place d'Armes. 
 
 He had purposed leaving Nato with them for a time ; 
 but the mother superior's evident disinclination as to this, 
 coupled with the boy's passionate pleading to go with his 
 master, led the latter to abandon his intention. 
 
 Lazalie had, during the voyage, preserved an air of calm- 
 ness to which was added an occasional touch of scorn; but 
 when, while they were alone, Lafitte bade her adieu, she 
 put out a detaining hand, as she stood with downcast eyes 
 before him. 
 
 Her sombre garments, with the hood of her cloak pushed 
 back, revealing the dishevelled hair, gave her the look of a 
 suffering saint; and Lafitte, who now saw her thus for the 
 first time, had never thought the gayly plumaged tropical 
 bird could appear so spiritual. 
 
 "When am I to see you again ? " she asked in a listless tone. 
 
 " That I cannot now say ; but the mother superior will 
 know how to communicate with me, if I am needed," he 
 answered gently, taking the two small, tremulous hands 
 she extended. 
 
 " And may I not return to the Barra de Hierro later on, 
 after a while?" she inquired, with a humility which sur- 
 prised him.
 
 184 Lafittc of Louisiana 
 
 " It would be most imprudent for you to do so for some 
 time to come, if ever, as you must surely know," he replied 
 firmly, looking down into her face. " The English must 
 have seized the island, and will doubtless hold it; and, as 
 Laro's next of kin, you can scarcely hope for success, 
 should you assert a claim to it as owner. But why wish to 
 go back, when you are in safety here, with a fortune which 
 will insure you perfect independence? What more can 
 you ask? " 
 
 He was somewhat impatient at the thought of her seem- 
 ing to care for such surroundings, failing, as he did, to 
 remember that the island was the only home she had ever 
 known. He failed also to realize that the rigid atmosphere 
 of the place to which he had brought her was already stir- 
 ring a homesick longing for the freedom of her former life. 
 
 " I ask your love, and I want to be with you ! " she ex- 
 claimed impetuously, snatching her hands away and throw- 
 ing her arms around his neck, while with a sobbing cry 
 she laid her head against his breast. 
 
 Lafitte's face hardened as his fingers closed about her 
 wrists and loosened her arms. 
 
 "That can never be, Lazalie never. I have never 
 known anything of love, and have no desire to learn of it 
 now. I am not worth any woman's loving; nor can I 
 afford to have any woman's fate linked with mine. Believe 
 this, and accept it, and let us part friends." 
 
 She turned from him, covering her face with her hands. 
 
 " Mr. Philip La Roche will call upon you in a day or 
 two. He is one whom you can trust, and with whom you 
 can advise safely; and I shall place your affairs in his 
 hands." 
 
 Lafitte had moved toward the door; and, turning at the 
 threshold, he added, " Adios, Lazalie ; and believe me 
 when I say that if you ever need my service as a friend, 
 you may count upon me." 
 
 She did not reply ; and when she uncovered her face he 
 was gone.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 
 
 THE island of Grande Terre, off the coast of 
 Louisiana, runs parallel with the mainland ; 
 and at its western end is a secure harbor, 
 reached by the Great Pass of Barataria, whose water is 
 from nine to ten feet in depth. 
 
 It was a comparatively easy matter for any good mariner 
 to sail as far as the eastern point of this island. But beyond 
 Grande Terre, and when the Gulf of Barataria was reached, 
 a different condition of things existed, making Lafitte's 
 stronghold at the opposite end very difficult of access. 
 
 The harbor of Grande Terre communicated with numer- 
 ous lagoons, bayous, and lakes, natural and artificial, many 
 of them leading into the Mississippi, and forming a laby- 
 rinth of tortuous watercourses flowing between sizable 
 islands, upon which the sea-rovers were as completely at 
 home as were their law-abiding fellows when within the 
 limits of New Orleans. 
 
 Here, on Grande Terre, were sold the captured cargoes 
 and prizes ; and people from all parts of Louisiana came 
 hither to purchase them, with no apparent attempt or desire 
 to conceal the object of their mission. Even in the streets 
 of New Orleans traders gave and received orders for the 
 purchase of goods at Grande Terre, doing it with as little 
 secrecy as would be employed regarding sales of merchan- 
 dise in the markets of any other city. 
 
 In New Orleans, as in other southern cities, it was cus- 
 tomary for many of the wealthier citizens to disappear in 
 the early spring, and remain away until late in the fall ; 
 and among these was Count de Cazeneau, who took with 
 him the greater part of his household. But it was not
 
 1 86 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 generally known that he went to one of the Barataria 
 islands ; and the few who were aware of the fact found it 
 wise to keep silent upon the matter. 
 
 The sun was so low that its reddening glow lay over the 
 water, turning it to a gold-covered floor ; and still Lafitte 
 had not returned to the "Black Petrel," which bore no sign 
 of life upon her decks, but lay apparently deserted, with 
 scarcely a breath of air ruffling the flag at her peak. 
 
 Jean Lafitte was, with Pierre, sitting in the dining-room 
 of his own house, of which, however, the latter was nominal 
 master. 
 
 It was at the northeast corner of Bourbon and St. Philip 
 streets; and not far away, between Bourbon and Dauphin 
 streets, was the shop where Pierre pursued ostensibly, 
 at least the peaceful vocation of a blacksmith, doing it 
 in a manner enabling him to keep well informed as to all 
 matters relating in any wise to the mutual interests of him- 
 self and his foster-brother. 
 
 "And so Laro is dead, and the Barra de Hierro in 
 English hands," Pierre was saying. 
 
 He had heard Jean's story, and now, stretching his long 
 legs, lay back more comfortably in his chair, where he had 
 been listening with a rigid pose that told of his interest in 
 the subject. 
 
 " Laro dead ! " he continued meditatively. " May the 
 merciful saints rest his wicked soul ! Only," in a more 
 practical tone, " I fear they will be forced to use a very 
 strong spy-glass in order to find it." 
 
 Jean made no reply, being occupied with lighting a 
 cigar. 
 
 " Now, lad," Pierre went on, in the tongue they gen- 
 erally used when alone with one another, " what is there in 
 all this that should make thee look so sad? It was a bad 
 day for both of us when we became mixed up in Laro's 
 life and ways; as much thou hast more than once admitted 
 to me. But for a long time thou hast been virtually 
 thine own master, with views and schemes of thine own ;
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 87 
 
 and, now that Laro is removed, it but makes it easier to 
 carry these into effect." 
 
 " Aye," was the quickly spoken assent. " But it may be 
 too late for such a thing." 
 
 Pierre's sleepy eyes opened wider as he looked across 
 the table at his foster-brother. 
 
 " Too late, I say," Jean repeated, his voice vibrant with 
 the feeling which had possessed him since the meeting 
 with Greloire. " What wouldst thou say, Pierre, if I 
 assured thee that I am heart-sick at thought of my life 
 what it must mean and be ; and that I would forfeit all 
 my wealth if but that we could be set back to that night 
 in Toulon when we stood beside Pere Huot's death-bed? " 
 
 Pierre straightened himself in his chair and looked 
 wonderingly into Jean's agitated face, while the latter, not 
 waiting for reply or comment, poured forth in rapid words, 
 ringing with passionate remorse, an account of his meet- 
 ing with Greloire ; but with its ending his voice became 
 tremulous, and rising to his feet he began pacing the 
 floor. 
 
 . There was silence, while Pierre seemed to be reviewing 
 what he had heard. Then he said, while a gentle look 
 softened the ruggedness of his face, " He loved thee, 
 Jean, most truly; and ah, lad, how truly does he hold, as 
 always, thine innermost heart ! " 
 
 Jean's lip curled in a sneer as he stopped abruptly and 
 threw himself into his chair. 
 
 " A fine showing I have made of what such love was 
 strong enough to keep me from doing ! I have made of 
 myself a man whose whole life's devotion would count for 
 nothing with him to whom the world now bends the knee." 
 
 " He is no saint," asserted Pierre, now with a growl, and 
 as if determined to defend Jean against self-recrimination. 
 " The world says he is selfish and hard that he has ever 
 sought his own aggrandizement." 
 
 " Dare not breathe to me one word against him ! " ex- 
 claimed Jean, striking his fist upon the table. " Let others
 
 1 88 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 say what they will, but I wish to hear none of it; nor will 
 you, if you love me." 
 
 Pierre lay back in his chair, lit a fresh cigar, and smoked 
 in silence, not ill-pleased to have changed his foster- 
 brother's self-condemnatory mood into one of impatience 
 with himself. 
 
 " Forgive me, Pierre, I meant not to speak so rudely ! " 
 Jean exclaimed the next moment, all trace of anger gone 
 from him. 
 
 " Let it go, then, as will I," replied Pierre, with perfect 
 good-nature. "Now tell me of thy plans, and what is to 
 become of the lovely Senorita Lazalie." 
 
 At this, Jean, putting aside his former mood, sketched 
 out clearly all his intended operations, telling in detail of 
 his interview with Philip La Roche, who with his widowed 
 sister, Madame Riefe't, would take the Spanish beauty 
 into their charge. 
 
 It was now some two months since the governor's edict 
 had been issued against the introduction of African slaves ; 
 and he had followed this by an address " To all whom it 
 might concern in the territory," stating that it had come 
 to his knowledge that well-laid plans existed to defeat and 
 evade this edict by way of Barataria; and, as Jean now 
 learned from Pierre, a rumor was afloat that the governor 
 contemplated setting a price upon the head of Jean Lafitte, 
 smuggler, slave-trader, and pirate. 
 
 " If this should come to pass, Pierre, New Orleans would 
 scarcely be the safest place for thee," said Jean. " It is 
 evident that the city is getting ready for a spasm of 
 virtue; and with a goodly bribe in sight, there can be no 
 telling how soon a brother of mine might be suspected, 
 and laid by the heels." 
 
 " It is only a rumor as yet," answered Pierre, with no 
 sign of anxiety; "and, together with the stories of bad 
 feeling growing between these states and England, it gives 
 the people a little of the excitement they ever seem to 
 crave. No," now more emphatically, " I will not be-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 189 
 
 lieve it ; for there are hundreds of friends and well-wishers 
 throughout Louisiana, to say naught of thy rich patrons, 
 who enjoy the governor's confidence, and have good 
 reasons for not desiring any curtailment of thy liberty or 
 operations." 
 
 " I wish there would be war declared against Great 
 Britain ! " declared Jean, with sudden animation, as he 
 nodded his acquiescence in Pierre's reasoning. " She has 
 been sneaking around this country ever since her whipping 
 here, trying, without appearing to try, to obtain another 
 hold upon it. She pretended to swallow her former dose 
 with proper grace ; but this was pretence, for the dose has, 
 even yet, lost none of its first bitterness. She never seems 
 to really know when she is well thrashed." 
 
 It was now Pierre's turn to nod. 
 
 "If war came," continued Jean, his eyes sparkling as if 
 with satisfaction at the idea, " do you know I think I 
 should go to the governor and offer all I have for his 
 assistance? " 
 
 " Ah? " said Pierre, with a slight elevation of his heavy 
 eyebrows. 
 
 " Yes ; for you and I, with our men, could then fight 
 like any respectable citizens in defence of this country 
 against the English." 
 
 " That might be," was Pierre's speculative remark. But 
 his tone changed as he added, bending his eyes, filled with 
 a meaning look, upon Jean's impassioned face, aglow 
 with a new and better enthusiasm, " And England hates 
 Bonaparte." 
 
 " Hates yes ; but fears, as well. Oh, if I can but help 
 lay low his most hated enemy, I shall feel, in dying for it, 
 the greatest happiness I ever knew." 
 
 Pierre whistled softly, and reaching for a flagon of wine, 
 filled two glasses. 
 
 " Here, Jean," he said, lifting one of them, " let us drink 
 to the overthrow of English power in any land wherein we 
 may abide, and long life and prosperity to him you love."
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 
 
 TWILIGHT was coming when Jean Lafitte took 
 his way to the house of Count de Cazeneau, 
 who, as the former had learned from Pierre, 
 was now returned to the city. To him must be reported 
 the recent events ; and Lafitte had reason to suspect that 
 the news of Laro's death would not be altogether un- 
 welcome, inasmuch as for two years past the relations 
 between the adventurer and the fastidious Frenchman had 
 been greatly strained. 
 
 To New Orleans at large Lafitte was known as " Captain 
 Jean," ship-owner, man of affairs, and benefactor of all 
 worthy projects and persons, one whose generous hand 
 was ever open to the needy, black or white, who sought 
 his assistance or advice. And many a kindly and ad- 
 miring glance was cast at him, as, clad in white duck, 
 with his handsome head and face shadowed by the broad 
 brim of a Panama hat, his graceful, athletic figure swung 
 leisurely along the streets, where, with the sunset, life was 
 awakening from the afternoon siesta. 
 
 Up the avenue of live-oaks, upon whose branches the 
 gray moss draped filaments looking ghostly in the twi- 
 light, he passed to the pillared portico of the count's 
 residence, and, as was his privilege, entered its wide door 
 unannounced. 
 
 The low strumming of a guitar coming from a near-by 
 room drew his footsteps toward it, and he was soon stand- 
 ing on its threshold. 
 
 No candles were lit, but a woman's white drapery 
 gleamed from the farther end, in an alcove-windowed
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 1 9 1 
 
 recess looking out to the western sky, where the evening 
 sky was glittering in the day's gray ashes. 
 
 A curious sensation thrilled the man's heart as he heard 
 a girl's voice singing softly 
 
 The swallows dart on happy wings ; 
 
 With spring the earth is fair ; 
 Forgotten now in joy it brings 
 
 Are winter's days of care. 
 But sad my heart, that was so light 
 
 When winter's ice and snow 
 Held mute the song of waters bright 
 
 That now so gladly flow. 
 
 'T was love that made my world so fair 
 
 Without the birds and bloom ; 
 Love made the days of winter wear 
 
 Sunshine through all their gloom. 
 But now the sun of love is set ; 
 
 The blue sea parts us wide. 
 With tears my longing eyes are wet 
 
 That look where love has died. 
 
 It was the Island Rose ; and the song was one her 
 mother had taught her, one Lafitte had heard the girl 
 sing during their journey from the Choctaw country. 
 
 " Mademoiselle Rose," he said, speaking very softly, as 
 the sweet voice died away, breathing the final words like 
 a sigh from a breaking heart. 
 
 He advanced into the room as she came toward him. 
 
 "Who is it what do you wish?" she inquired timidly, 
 and not a little startled. 
 
 " It is I, mademoiselle. Do you not remember me? " 
 
 " Ah ! " 
 
 It was a cry of joy; and two small hands, white as her 
 snowy draperies, were held out to him. 
 
 " It is my Captain Jean. And oh, how glad I am to 
 see you ! " 
 
 " Are you?" was all he was able to say in reply, as he 
 took her hands, and wondering to himself for being so 
 tongue-tied in the presence of this mere child.
 
 192 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Surely I am. So often have I asked myself during 
 this long summer where you were and what doing. Oh, 
 Captain Jean, I am so very glad you have come back. 
 And now you will stop in New Orleans?" 
 
 She spoke eagerly, fearlessly, as if happy in showing 
 her liking for him. 
 
 " I fear not, ma'm'selle. I am here for a few hours 
 only, on business, and came to see your grandfather." 
 
 Something in his reply seemed to chill the frankness of 
 her mood and bearing, and she drew her hands from his 
 clasp. 
 
 " He is somewhere about the house my grandpere," 
 she said, speaking slowly and in a constrained way. " I 
 will go and find him, tell him that you are here." 
 
 She moved toward the door, but he laid a light hand 
 upon her shoulder. 
 
 " Stay, wait a moment, for I wish to say a few words 
 to you." 
 
 She paused, and stood before him in the dusk that 
 made her face shadowy. 
 
 " You speak of the summer being long. Were you not 
 happy, ma'm'selle? " 
 
 The question was not without reason ; for, knowing as 
 he did the repelling coldness of her grandfather's nature, 
 Lafitte had, more than once, wondered as to her content- 
 ment amid these new surroundings. 
 
 She moved uneasily, and her head drooped ; but she 
 did not reply. 
 
 " Tell me, little Island Rose, were you not happy? " he 
 asked again, taking her hand. " Remember that it was I 
 who brought you here, I, who loved and revered your 
 mother. And I must feel the deepest regret to have been 
 the means of bringing her child to unhappiness." 
 
 His words, together with the caressing tone of his voice, 
 brought a return of her former manner; and he could see 
 a smile in the face raised to his, as she said, " No, I have 
 not been unhappy, Captain Jean ; yet I have often looked
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 193 
 
 back to the old free life, and to our journey together, 
 which was so pleasant. And," hesitating a little, " you 
 were so kind that I almost forgot my first grief that of 
 parting from my darling mother." 
 
 Lafitte felt her hand tremble, and there was a quaver in 
 the childish voice. 
 
 " Is not your grandpere kind to you? " he asked, with a 
 quiet persistency that recalled her thoughts to the present. 
 
 " Oh, yes," was her hasty reply. " He has been 
 means to be, very kind, I am sure. He has given me 
 many pretty things clothes, and jewels, and books 
 things of which I never knew before in all my life." 
 
 " Well? " asked Lafitte, as she stopped, for he felt that 
 something was troubling her. " Be frank with me, child ; 
 tell me whether or not your life is happy." 
 
 " It is, Captain Jean; and yet there are so many things 
 I do not understand. And I have a fear of my grandpere 
 which I cannot overcome. Then, too, he insists that I 
 shall be known as Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, for he told 
 me he would not have my father's name spoken under his 
 roof." 
 
 "And does this make you unhappy?" 
 
 " Oh, no. I was too young when my father left us 
 my mother and myself to remember much about him. 
 But I know he made my mother very unhappy ; and so I 
 cannot regret to be called as was my mother before he 
 brought her so much misery." 
 
 " Yet, little Rose, I feel that something is troubling 
 you," Lafitte declared confidently. " I wish you would 
 tell me what it is; and perhaps I can find the way to 
 make you as happy and contented as I want to feel you 
 are in this new home to which I brought you." 
 
 His voice, with its gentle insistence ; the firm pressure 
 of his hand upon her small fingers, these impelled her, 
 after a brief hesitancy, to say, speaking very softly, 
 " There seems to be some mystery about my surround- 
 ings, something in my grandpere's life I cannot under-
 
 194 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 stand ; and this makes me uncomfortable. And he has 
 such strange associates." 
 
 It was well for both the girl and the man that the dark- 
 ness hid the look of his face when he heard these words. 
 
 " On the island, where we spent the summer, such 
 rough, dreadful-looking men came to see him, and then 
 disappeared suddenly. I never spoke with them, for he 
 bade me keep out of their way ; but they frightened me, 
 for they looked wicked and cruel, and many of them were 
 as dark-skinned as our slaves. Some of them were 
 dressed so oddly, with red caps on their heads, and rings 
 in their ears. I could not but wonder why he should 
 permit such men to enter his house, and what could be 
 their business with him." 
 
 " There are many strange and rough-looking men about 
 New Orleans, little Rose, and we are obliged to come into 
 contact with them in business matters," said Lafitte. " I 
 know those of whom you speak, and I know they would 
 never harm you." And he patted reassuringly the hand 
 she had not offered to withdraw. 
 
 " But," he added, " you had better keep away from such 
 men, as your grandpere bade you ; for you must believe 
 that he loves you, and knows what is best for you. Re- 
 member, too, that so long as I live you can rely upon me 
 to keep you safe from whatever might harm you or make 
 you unhappy." 
 
 " Ah, that is pleasant for me to hear and to know, 
 Captain Jean," she replied, with childish frankness, releas- 
 ing her hand and laying it on his arm. " But," now with 
 some anxiety, " how can you ever be able to do much for 
 me, should I need you? It is long since I have seen you, 
 or known where you were ; and now you tell me you are 
 here but for a few hours, and will then go away again, I 
 know not where." 
 
 Although seemingly " 'twixt smiles and tears," she 
 spoke with an arch naiVete" that affected Lafitte most 
 curiously.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 195 
 
 " You know Zeney, the one called a witch, your grand- 
 pere's slave ! " he inquired with apparent irrelevance. 
 
 " Yes, of course," answered Roselle, surprise showing 
 in her voice. " She is a dreadful-looking old woman, with 
 big black eyes. At first I was afraid of her, but now I am 
 not, for she knew and loved my mother, and has talked to 
 me of her." 
 
 "So? Well, that is quite as it should be. And now, 
 little Rose," again taking her hand, " remember always 
 what I say to you now: Should you ever wish to tell me 
 anything, or need any service you think I can render, all 
 you need do is to tell Zeney, and then allow three days to 
 pass in which to see me or hear from me. Will you promise 
 to do this? " 
 
 He bent toward her with an earnestness in his manner 
 that caused her to wonder at the time and afterwards. 
 
 " Yes, I promise, and I thank you," she answered softly, 
 and left him. 
 
 A few moments later the Count de Cazeneau entered the 
 room and greeted Lafitte with a cordiality he accorded to 
 few men ; but the Island Rose did not return.
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 
 
 AFTER the death of Laro a new and somewhat 
 better order of things prevailed among the so- 
 called " Pirates of the Gulf." 
 
 Now under the direct leadership of Lafitte alone, and 
 with better opportunities for knowing his chivalrous nature, 
 the larger body of them followed unquestioningly his 
 more merciful and less lawless practices ; and not a few 
 of the men actually relished the changed conditions in 
 which they found themselves. 
 
 Boat-building was carried on by them upon a secluded 
 island of the Barataria region ; smuggled cargoes were 
 disposed of at Grande Terre and New Orleans, or taken 
 abroad ; and there was, in addition to this, a legitimate 
 business transacted, both in importing and exporting. 
 
 Lafitte now spent much of his time on Shell Island, 
 where was his own particular stronghold, and upon whose 
 shores was plied the trade of boat-building. 
 
 Yet his days were not all given to this peaceful occupa- 
 tion. Not only were there cargoes to be sold, and others 
 acquired for his ships, but large quantities of goods had to 
 be carried through the innumerable bayous and lakes with 
 which he and his men alone were familiar, and brought in 
 safety to his numerous clients. 
 
 It is difficult at this day to realize the power of Lafitte, 
 or to understand the immunity, and the reason for it, with 
 which he carried on his illicit pursuits. But it should be 
 borne in mind that the Gulf of Barataria and its surround- 
 ings were in almost a state of nature and sparsely inhab- 
 ited ; that, by reason of the streams and swamps, the 
 country was exceedingly difficult to traverse, except by
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 197 
 
 those who were cognizant of its mysteries ; and that these 
 were known to but few besides Lafitte and his men. 
 
 The former was its actual ruler; and, with his skill in 
 managing others and his exact knowledge of localities and 
 persons, he was able to administer affairs in a way to con- 
 serve his own interests. 
 
 He had an admirable system of communication between 
 the more important points, by means of which he was able 
 to keep informed of secret negotiations, to counteract 
 intrigue, and to blind the keen-sighted. 
 
 There were certain points where his agents and spies 
 concealed their reports, to be taken by him when it suited 
 his convenience. And, through Pierre and other emis- 
 saries in New Orleans, he was always kept in touch with 
 the drift of political and mercantile affairs. 
 
 Such was Lafitte's position during the two years suc- 
 ceeding Laro's death. 
 
 It is not necessary to give a detailed account of his 
 operations. But it may be said, as applying to this 
 portion of his life, that it was not easy to change the 
 current of evil which a boy's recklessness and a young 
 man's lawlessness had set flowing about him, more es- 
 pecially as his regret had not yet risen to assume the 
 better and stronger force of resolve. He was fettered 
 too closely by the interests of others, to dare, with his 
 sense of honor, mistaken though this might be, to 
 surmount his present entanglements, and declare his 
 true self before the world. 
 
 Yet, with all his disregard for the laws of man, he still 
 governed himself by a code inherited with his father's 
 blood, and which held him to an observance of the law 
 of honor and fair-play. 
 
 Quick to use force against force, he avoided all unne- 
 cessary violence ; and, if his adversaries met with harm, 
 it was for his and his followers' protection, and not from 
 wantonness. 
 
 Once, when attacked by a posse of revenue officers
 
 i 98 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 while he was carrying some valuable merchandise through 
 the bayou Lafourche, to be delivered at New Orleans, he 
 repulsed them speedily, and then apologized for the blood 
 his men had shed, saying to the leader of his defeated 
 foes, " I desire you to know that I am averse to such 
 strifes; but, at the same time, you will please understand 
 that I prefer to take life, or even to lose my own, rather 
 than lose my goods." 
 
 Garonne, who had been given a vessel of his own, had 
 gathered to himself the most unregenerate of Laro's fol- 
 lowers, and entered upon a career in which he observed 
 the same methods as his former commander, with the 
 result that he was finally brought to execution, together 
 with most of his crew, in a South American port. 
 
 Life at the Ursuline convent was, for many months, a 
 burden to Lazalie, and her whims and caprices made it 
 but little less so to the mother superior and nuns. But 
 they, with a lively remembrance of many generous favors 
 from Lafitte, felt that they must bear patiently with the 
 charge he had left in their keeping. 
 
 La Roche, as her banker and man of business, came 
 often to see his fair client, and ended by falling in love 
 with her a fact he was wise enough to keep to himself. 
 And, later on, he obtained Lafitte's consent to her remo- 
 val from the convent and taking a house of her own, 
 where, with Ma'am Brigida and a retinue of slaves, the 
 high-strung beauty seemed more contented. 
 
 Amid the turmoil of his life during this period, Lafitte 
 had little time, save in thought, for anything aside from 
 the immediate present its interests and responsibilities. 
 And of his thoughts, the happiest, as also the unhappiest, 
 was of two faces that, at quiet moments of the day, or in 
 the waking hours of night, rose, like stars, above the grow- 
 ing darkness of his life, and seemed to look down reproach- 
 fully upon him. 
 
 The one, a man's, with its pale serenity and magnetic 
 gray eyes, commanding and irresistible ; the other a
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 199 
 
 girl's, which seemed to bring with it the scents of the 
 wild woods, and their freshness at the breaking dawn 
 a face with clear violet eyes, set wide apart under deli- 
 cately arched brows, and free from affectation or tricks 
 of expression as those of a child. 
 
 He wondered often what was to be her future this 
 little Island Rose ? But a year or two more, and she would 
 be a woman in many ways she was one already. All 
 about was a world unknown to her confiding purity, and, 
 in many respects, more dangerous than had been that wild 
 isolated life in her island home among the Choctaws. 
 
 And there was none to give her sympathy or counsel 
 save her austere old grandfather, who had scarcely a 
 thought beyond his miserly hoardings.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY 
 
 WHEN the summer of 1812 had brought the 
 Cazeneau household to their Barataria home, 
 there befell something which struck Lafitte 
 with a new despair, and took from him all hope of ever 
 being asked to render little Roselle the smallest service, 
 even should the occasion or necessity arise. 
 
 Her childish trust in him became destroyed ; he saw her 
 shrink from him in terror and abhorrence. And this 
 awakened in him the knowledge that the as he supposed 
 paternal love he had been cherishing for the child of 
 her who had always been his ideal, was not the affection 
 of a father for his daughter, but the love of a man for a 
 woman. 
 
 The bitterest potion he had ever swallowed was now 
 working in his veins. Yet no one would have suspected 
 this, as he went his way, and for a time with greater reck- 
 lessness than before, although the rumor mentioned by 
 Pierre had now become a fact, inasmuch as the Governor 
 of Louisiana had issued a proclamation offering a reward 
 for Lafitte's apprehension. 
 
 This had come about by reason of the me'lee in the 
 bayou Lafourche, to which allusion has been made, and 
 which proved to be the chip which kindled to a blaze the 
 long-smouldering fire of wrath against the Baratarians. 
 
 When the information was brought to Lafitte, accom- 
 panied by a copy of the proclamation, he had, without 
 delay, taken a pinnace and set out for the extreme south- 
 erly side of Grande Terre, upon which was the Count de 
 Cazeneau's abode.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 201 
 
 Several feeble expeditions had, before now, been sent 
 against the so-called " outlaws." But, in this new and 
 more forceful move, Lafitte saw something to be heeded ; 
 and his first thought was of De Cazeneau of warning him 
 in time, so that he might leave Grande Terre while he 
 could do so in safety, and still retain his friendly relations 
 with the governor and authorities. 
 
 The count's house was a low, wooden structure, with a 
 puncheon-floored hallway, ten feet wide, passing through 
 it, and open front and rear. 
 
 In front of the house was a wide gallery, reached by a 
 flight of steps from the rankly growing sward, which 
 extended to the gravelly beach of the bay, stretching to 
 the south and southeast, and now lying blue and spark- 
 ling in the afternoon sunshine. 
 
 Beyond the house, at its back, and only a short distance 
 away, rose the forest, wild and unbroken as nature made it. 
 
 At the sound of Lafitte's feet upon the steps, a woman's 
 weazened face, wrinkled and scowling, its coffee-hue con- 
 trasting with wisps of gray, wiry wool showing from be- 
 neath a bright-colored bandanna, was projected from one 
 of the numerous doors opening from the hallway into 
 various rooms in the two wings of the building. 
 
 It was apparent that she recognized the visitor, for she 
 came out into the hall and, despite her age, advanced 
 briskly toward him. 
 
 " Ah, Zeney, there you are, looking as young as ever," 
 was his smilingly spoken greeting. 
 
 " Always you say words, Captain Jean, that please, even 
 when one knows they are not true." 
 
 He had addressed her in French, and she replied in the 
 patois of that tongue used by the negroes of Louisiana. 
 
 Lafitte laughed lightly. 
 
 " Is your young mistress well?" he inquired. 
 
 " Yes, she is well," Zeney answered, in a tone implying 
 that more might be said. 
 
 " Is she quite happy, Zeney? " A note of anxiety now
 
 202 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 appeared in his voice, and he moved nearer to the small 
 bent form of the old woman. 
 
 She shook her head vigorously. 
 
 " Happy? How could a wild bird be happy in a cage, 
 even if its bars were made of gold? " 
 
 She was about to continue, but Lafitte, as if not caring 
 to pursue the subject, asked, " Is your master here? " 
 
 Zeney nodded, and pointed to a closed door near them, 
 " He is in there, and alone." 
 
 Lafitte, turning from her, knocked at the door, and De 
 Cazeneau's voice answered, " Entrez." 
 
 This the former did, leaving the door ajar. 
 
 Nato, now a tall, wiry lad of sixteen, and devoted, body 
 and soul, to his master, was the only one to accompany 
 him to Grande Terre. He had seated himself upon the 
 steps, but too far away to catch the conversation between 
 Lafitte and Zeney, even had they spoken in a language 
 he understood. 
 
 But he watched them with curious eyes, having often 
 heard of Zeney ; and her reputed powers served to make 
 her an object of awe and aversion to him, as to most of 
 his class. 
 
 It was, therefore, with a sigh of relief that he saw her 
 disappear, after his master had gone inside. 
 
 He remained sitting on the steps, his chin supported by 
 two yellow palms, while a group of young negroes who 
 had drawn near to gape curiously at him, after the manner 
 of their kind, proceeded to converse in a way evidently in- 
 tended to attract his attention. 
 
 " Does yer know why dere 's white, an' brack, an' yaller 
 men on dis yer earf ? " 
 
 The question was propounded by a small, coal-black 
 boy, plump and merry-faced, his head decked by the broad, 
 drooping brim of a coarse straw hat whose missing crown 
 exposed a generous crop of sable wool. 
 
 He was answered by a chorus of wondering negatives, 
 while his companions drew closer, meantime sending fur-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 203 
 
 tive glances toward the steps, as if to assure themselves 
 that the stranger was being properly interested in their 
 sayings and doings. 
 
 The first speaker kept his laughing eyes fixed upon 
 Nato, as he said, drawing up his raggedly clad person with 
 would-be impressive dignity, " Well, des yer lis'en all yer 
 niggers, twill I tell 'bout it" 
 
 His auditors assumed a variety of positions, all of them 
 more conducive to comfort than artistic effect, and the 
 narrator continued: 
 
 " De fust an' onliest man in dis yer world were brack as 
 tar, an' so was de t'ree sons he had ; an' de sons was named 
 Ham, Eggs, an' Bacon. Somebody done tole 'em " 
 
 " How could somebody done tole 'em," a shrill voice 
 broke in, " when dey an' deir daddy was all der people on 
 der earf ? " 
 
 " Shet up yer talkin', yer 'Gustus ! " shouted the story- 
 teller; and quiet having been restored, he resumed in a 
 monotonous sing-song tone : 
 
 " As I tell yer, somebody done tole Ham, Bacon, an' 
 Eggs 'bout er ribber, miles an' miles away, whar, if dey 
 done went an' washed deirselves dey 'd turn white 's cl'ar 
 milk from deir daddy's cows. Come ter t'ink 't was on'y 
 Eggs got tole de fust; an' he kep' dat ar ter hisself, twill 
 he went an' tried it. An' lawsey ! He done come out on 
 der bank sho'-nuff all white. Goin' home he met Bacon, an' 
 tole him 'bout it. So den Bacon, he sot out ter do de same 
 t'ing. Wen he come to der ribber, bress yer, chillun, does 
 yer know dat ar ribber were so pow'ful low dat poor Bacon 
 couldn't on'y git hissef washed yaller dess er pale 
 yaller. Goin' home he done met Ham, an' done tole Ham 
 all 'bout it. So Ham, he sot out, an' runned to de ribber. 
 Wen he done got dar it were all dried up, desser lille bit 
 o' water lef, des' 'nough ter wet der pa'ms ob de han's 
 an' soles ob de feets. An' dat 's de why dere 's white, 'n' 
 yaller, 'n' brack men on dis yer earf." 
 
 Instinct, rather than any sound, had made Nato realize
 
 204 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 that a presence was near him; and glancing over his shoul- 
 der, he saw a girlish, white-clad form standing in the door- 
 way through which Lafitte had passed a few minutes before. 
 Her back was toward him, so that he could see only the 
 pink and white of one rounded cheek ; and he marvelled 
 at the length of two heavy braids of hair, glittering as if 
 powdered with gold dust, that hung far below her slender 
 waist. 
 
 Presently he saw one of her little hands go to her side, 
 as if she had been startled, or was experiencing some 
 strong emotion; and she stood with bended head, as if 
 listening. 
 
 Nato, entirely forgetful of his performing fellows, was 
 still staring at the girl when she started impetuously, and 
 went hurriedly down the hallway. 
 
 Led by curiosity, the boy jumped to his feet, and saw 
 her descend the steps of the back gallery, and go swiftly 
 into the woods, which seemed to swallow up the snowy 
 form and glittering hair swallow them so suddenly as to 
 leave in the boy's superstitious mind an uncomfortable sug- 
 gestion that she was not real flesh and blood, but a " sper- 
 rit," or perhaps a second voudoo priestess. 
 
 Within the room, near whose open door the girl had 
 stood, Lafitte and De Cazeneau were having a serious 
 conversation. 
 
 The latter was now much older and feebler than the man 
 we met that night at Toulon, awaiting, in the rocky hiding- 
 place of Le Chien Heureux, the signal for his departure 
 from France. 
 
 Of no more than medium height, he was so bent as to 
 appear even less, and was thin to emaciation. But the 
 lined, wrinkled face was patrician in feature, as were the 
 trembling, withered hands in shape ; and from under the 
 heavy white brows a pair of cold blue eyes looked out with 
 the keen avariciousness of a miser. 
 
 It was this weakness for gaining and hoarding gold that 
 had led to his consorting with those whom he despised as
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 205 
 
 social inferiors, and treated at times with scant courtesy. 
 To Lafitte this arrogance was shown less than to any of the 
 others ; and of late years he had met the young man as an 
 equal, showing him a consideration which he never had 
 thought of according to Laro. 
 
 He was examining some papers when Lafitte entered the 
 room, but he put them aside, and greeted his unexpected 
 visitor with a cordiality which, while by no means effusive, 
 was quite equal to that received by any member of his own 
 household. 
 
 Following the custom of the time, he reached out to ring 
 a bell for refreshments, when Lafitte, with an expressive 
 gesture, stayed his hand. 
 
 " No, M'sieur le Comte. I can tarry but a very short 
 time only long enough to impart the very important in- 
 telligence I came to bring you." 
 
 De Cazeneau now motioned Lafitte to be seated ; and 
 the latter continued, in the same hurried manner, " Before 
 we talk, I have to ask that you read this." And he held 
 out a paper he had drawn from his pocket. 
 
 The count, having put on his glasses, took the document; 
 and his wavering hands made the blue paper quiver as if 
 his own startled pulse-beats had stolen into it while he read 
 the contents aloud. 
 
 "Whereas the nefarious practice of running in contra- 
 band goods, which has hitherto prevailed in different parts 
 of the State, to the great injury of the fair trader, and the 
 diminution of the revenue of the United States, has of late 
 much increased ; and whereas the violators of the law, em- 
 boldened by the immunity of past trespassers, no longer 
 conceal themselves from the view of the honest part of the 
 community, but, setting the government at defiance, in 
 broad daylight, carry on their infamous traffic; and, 
 whereas it has been officially known to me that, on the 
 I4th of last month, a quantity of smuggled goods, seized 
 by Walter Gilbert, an officer of the revenue of the United 
 States, were forcibly taken from him in open day, at no
 
 206 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 great distance from the city of New Orleans, by a party of 
 armed men, under the orders of a certain Jean Lafitte, who 
 fired upon and grievously wounded one of the assistants of 
 the said Walter Gilbert; and, although process has issued 
 for the apprehension of him, the said Jean Lafitte, yet such 
 is the countenance and protection afforded him, or the 
 terror excited by the threats of himself and his associates, 
 that the same remains unexecuted ; and whereas the apathy 
 of the good people of the State in checking practices so 
 opposed to morality, and to the laws and interests of the 
 United States, may impair the fair character which Louisi- 
 ana maintains, and ought to preserve as a member of the 
 American union : 
 
 " I have thought proper to issue this, my proclamation, 
 hereby strictly charging and commanding all officers of 
 this State, civil and military, in their respective depart- 
 ments, to be vigilant and active in preventing the violation 
 of the laws in the premises, and in apprehending and secur- 
 ing all parties offending therein ; and I do solemnly caution 
 all and singular the citizens of this State against giving any 
 kind of succor, support or countenance to the said Jean 
 Lafitte and associates, but do call upon them to be aiding 
 and abetting in arresting him and said associates, and all 
 others in like manner offending ; and I do furthermore, in 
 the name of the State, offer a reward of five hundred 
 dollars, which will be paid out of the treasury to any per- 
 son delivering the said Jean Lafitte to the sheriff of the 
 parish of Orleans, or to any other sheriff in the State, so 
 that the said Jean Lafitte may be brought to justice." 
 
 The document bore date of March 24th, 1812. It ended 
 in the usual formal fashion, and was signed by Governor 
 Claiborne. 
 
 The Island Rose had heard the greater part of it read 
 in her grandfather's voice, low, to be sure, but with a 
 clear enunciation which made each syllable as distinct as 
 though she had been the reader instead of a listener. 
 And when he ended, she heard the voice of him hereto-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 207 
 
 fore known to her as " Captain Jean," and its tone was 
 one of banter. 
 
 " Well, M'sieur le Count, will you be the one to claim 
 this five hundred dollars, and do your governor and State a 
 brilliant service by delivering to them this body of mine? " 
 
 Then came her grandfather's sternly cold reply: 
 
 " What have I ever done, Captain Jean Lafitte, that 
 should lead you to suppose I would stoop to traffic in the 
 blood of my associates?" 
 
 It was this that made the small hand go fluttering toward 
 the girl's frightened heart. It was the revelation that her 
 " Captain Jean " was none other than Lafitte, the terrible 
 pirate, of whom she had heard such dreadful tales ! He 
 was the freebooter, smuggler, and outlaw the leader of 
 that fearful band of men she had shuddered to hear the 
 slaves mention ! And not only was her grandfather cog- 
 nizant of this, but he was this man's abettor his asso- 
 ciate and friend ! 
 
 There was now shown to her the meaning of all that she 
 had wondered over in secret the coming and going of 
 those swarthy, fierce-looking seafarers, whom her grand- 
 father had bade her avoid ; the many mysterious meet- 
 ings of men behind locked doors, at the New Orleans 
 house; her grandfather's sudden trips from home! 
 
 Her brain in a whirl, her heart terrified by dread of an 
 undefinable terror, she fled from the house, and into the 
 woods, wandering on, scarcely knowing or caring where, 
 until her steps were arrested by the matted thicket into 
 which she had penetrated with unseeing eyes. 
 
 Stopping to disentangle her dress, she looked about 
 with a shudder. She possessed one of those singularly 
 constituted temperaments given to presentiments, more 
 especially where evil was to follow ; and for several days a 
 foreboding had been upon her, growing until its dark 
 shadow cast a gloom over her waking hours, at times filling 
 her with positive fear, all the more intense because name- 
 less and unknown.
 
 208 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The veriest trifles would, during the day, make her start, 
 and cause her heart to beat affrightedly ; and at night, 
 when she tried to sleep, this strange dread would keep her 
 awake. 
 
 But now she thought that all was revealed to her. Her 
 presentiment had become a defined and terrible reality, 
 and it swept away her faith in humanity. 
 
 The man whom of all others she trusted in this new, 
 strange, and fettered world into which she had been 
 brought from the peaceful island home, where life had 
 been happy, and free from fear, he was the notori- 
 ous Lafitte, the " Pirate of the Gulf," who scuttled ships, 
 who murdered men and women, and whose hands were 
 red with blood, shed that he might plunder his victims.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 
 
 A she looked about her, in the tangled and 
 shadowy forest, where the night was already 
 coming darkly, a new terror arose within her, 
 and she sought to return by the way she had come, but 
 this was only to find her steps cut off by still denser 
 masses of forest growth. At length, however, pushing her 
 way resolutely through a thicket, she came upon a wide 
 cart track, discernible faintly in the fast fading light. 
 
 Knowing that at times her grandfather's slaves cut the 
 wood hereabouts, she set out to follow the track, hoping it 
 would lead to the house. 
 
 She hastened along while the gloom steadily increased 
 in the dusky aisles, filled already with shadows from the 
 lofty trees, until presently the wheel-marks ended, while 
 on every side were matted growths that she sought with 
 desperate but unavailing energy to push aside. 
 
 At last, pausing in despair, she realized that she must 
 have gone still farther into the forest. But, even as she 
 stood hesitating, there came a faint cry, like that of a child, 
 and a rush of hopefulness thrilled her at the thought of 
 something human being near in the gloom and oppressive 
 stillness. 
 
 Turning in the direction from whence the sound came, 
 she called loudly, and went that way, calling again and 
 again. But her own voice answered her in echoes through 
 a stillness that seemed to make the silence more heavy 
 when the sound had died softly away ; and again she heard 
 that fretful cry. 
 
 Then there fell upon her a freezing terror, as she sud- 
 denly recalled the slaves telling recently of a panther's 
 14
 
 21 o Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 voice having been heard at night, near the settlement ; 
 and she remembered that they had likened it to the crying 
 of a child. 
 
 Trembling with fright, she stood, glancing about in 
 terror, wondering which way to turn, when another sound 
 came faintly. It was a sound she had heard before, and 
 one no hearer could ever forget; a short, quick bark, 
 followed by a prolonged howl the cry of the timber 
 wolf! 
 
 Gathering her draperies closely, she sprang forward 
 again, all color gone from the dainty little face, now ashen 
 with fear, against which the bushes and low branches beat 
 unmercifully. On and on she sped, the thickets catching 
 and tearing her thin gown, and scratching cruelly her bare 
 arms and hands. But their paining was unheeded as she 
 fled wildly through the darkening forest, whither, she 
 knew not, but away from the horror behind her. 
 
 Again and again the fiendish cry rang out, to be suc- 
 ceeded by another, and then another, as if the first call 
 had summoned a multitude of wolves to the chase. Be- 
 fore many minutes a clearer chorus told her that the pack 
 was drawing near, and her faltering limbs seemed scarcely 
 able to bear her farther. But, for all her dainty femininity, 
 she had a man's heart for courage in the face of danger ; 
 and, as she still kept on, with clenched hands and panting 
 breath, a small cabin showed in a clearing before her. 
 
 A new strength came to her at sight of this refuge, and 
 she rushed toward it, to find only an untenanted ruin, with 
 its door fallen from the hinges. 
 
 But her strained senses heard a pattering that told of 
 the pursuers being close upon her trail ; and she darted 
 through the doorway, hoping that a ladder might be found 
 leading to the upper floor. 
 
 None was to be seen ; only the low, spider-webbed 
 rafters were above her, and through these showed the 
 green twilight of the woods. 
 
 But she saw upon the floor a large iron ring, which
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 2 1 1 
 
 indicated the entrance to a cellar; and seizing this, she 
 pulled at it with all her strength. 
 
 A small section of the floor lifted, creaking on rusted 
 hinges, and dashing wildly through dust and cobwebs that 
 rose with it, she plunged into the shallow opening, earth- 
 walled and floored, the dust filling her eyes and nostrils, 
 and half-choking her, as she panted sobbingly for breath. 
 
 The heart-beats shook her delicate form as she crouched 
 in the stifling blackness ; the blood like a torrent rushed 
 and pulsed in her veins, and sparks of light flitted before 
 her dizzy eyes. 
 
 But she was safe for the instant and too utterly worn 
 out by terror and exhaustion to look beyond the present. 
 Yet, a few moments later, she grew cold with an agony of 
 apprehension, when she heard the noise of her pursuers' 
 feet upon the flooring over her head, and their snuffling at 
 the cracks in the cellar door. She seemed to feel their 
 breath searing her upturned face, and imagined that she 
 could see their gleaming eyes ; and, crouching still lower 
 in the shallow hole, she hid her face in her dress, shivering 
 anew at the angry snarls and barks that broke out above 
 her, as if the hungry wolves were enraged at finding them- 
 selves baffled. 
 
 How long it lasted she scarcely knew, cramped as she 
 was in the darkness, aching, throbbing half-swooning, 
 with the dreadful creatures howling and snarling above her 
 head ; how long it was before the baying of beagles, faint 
 at first, sounded in her ears. 
 
 She uncovered her face, and raising her head, listened 
 breathlessly. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the sound, growing strong and 
 clear ; and then she heard the shouting of voices. 
 
 This brought a new fear, for might not these come 
 from those fully as much to be feared as were the wolves? 
 The island, as she knew, was several miles long; and she 
 had always known that it held others besides her grand- 
 father's household. But of these others she knew nothing.
 
 2 1 2 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 What if this deserted cabin were a rendezvous of Lafitte's 
 followers? What if she had but escaped the wolves to find 
 herself snared by these blood-thirsty men? 
 
 She listened tremblingly, a new dread encompassing her 
 as the voices of the beagles now broke out close to the 
 cabin. Then there was a rushing sound, followed by an 
 uproar indicating a fierce struggle. The glare of torches 
 came through the chinks of the boards, and the shouting 
 of men, mingling with the growling and yelping of animals, 
 made a distracting tumult over the girl's head. 
 
 At length the combat seemed to surge through the 
 cabin door, and a voice which she recognized as that of 
 black Zebo, one of her grandfather's most trusted slaves, 
 shouted, " Dar goes de last debbil, makin' for de woods ! 
 Shoot him, boys shoot eb'ry hide yer can see ! " 
 
 Roselle called to him, but her voice sounded faint and 
 unnatural to her own ears. Gathering all her strength, 
 she called louder; and this time a hasty step told of her 
 having been heard. Then the door was lifted, and the 
 blinding light of a torch flashed in her face. 
 
 "Take me out; take me home ! " she cried, raising her 
 arms appealingly, while she sobbed like a terrified child. 
 
 A man's voice, one she was too bewildered to recog- 
 nize, answered her. He laid his torch on the floor, so 
 that it flickered over the edge of the opening, and two 
 strong hands raised her to the floor above, where two 
 shielding arms went around her, holding her closely. 
 
 The girl, half-dazed, let herself rest in them unques- 
 tioningly, realizing only that she was safe sheltered and 
 protected. 
 
 " Little Rose, my precious little Island Rose ! " 
 
 A husky, shaking voice murmured these words against 
 her ear, where she felt the pressure of warm lips. 
 
 " Ah, thank God I have thee safe again ! " 
 
 The touch and words struck sharply through her be- 
 numbed senses; and with a cry of affright, she struggled 
 to free herself.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 213 
 
 "What is it?" asked Lafitte, now speaking firmly and 
 quickly. "Are you hurt, child are you injured in any 
 way ? " 
 
 Picking up his torch, he threw its light upon her shrink- 
 ing form, and, as she covered her face with her hands, the 
 wounds and dried blood upon them and upon her arms 
 caught his eyes. 
 
 " Dear God ! " And bending his head, he rained kisses 
 upon the tender, injured flesh. 
 
 " Do not do not ! " the girl commanded, now uncov- 
 ering her face, and looking up at faim with an angry light 
 sparkling in her eyes. " How dare you? " 
 
 Drawing back a step, Lafitte stared at her in amaze- 
 ment, until suddenly recalling what Nato had told him a 
 short time before, and realizing that what he had then 
 feared was indeed true, he stood before her speechless, a 
 new agony growing in his pale face. 
 
 For a moment she met his eyes unflinchingly. Then, 
 dropping her own, turned from him with a shudder, as she 
 said coldly, "I wish to be taken to the house, Captain " 
 
 She stopped as if checked at the thought of uttering his 
 name. 
 
 " In a moment, mademoiselle," he answered with the 
 cool courtesy he would have shown a stranger. "The 
 men and dogs are still chasing the wolves ; and it will be 
 well, before we leave here, to make sure that all the animals 
 are killed, or frightened away." 
 
 He walked to the doorway, and looked out into the 
 darkness, from which still came yells and cries, with the 
 occasional sound of fire-arms. 
 
 The stars were paling, and dawn was near; but the 
 trees interlaced too thickly for this to be observed. 
 
 Still standing in the doorway, with his back to her, he 
 continued, " Your grandpere has been alarmed, mademoi- 
 selle, on your account. He had sent for you to come and 
 bid me adieu ; and then, when your absence was dis- 
 covered, it was quite late. He was distracted, was Mon-
 
 2 1 4 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 sieur le Comte, as was Barbe, and Zeney all of us. But 
 I found some one who could tell of having seen you enter 
 the forest ; and, by help of the hounds, we found and 
 followed your trail." 
 
 He now turned to her; and seeing that she had sunk to 
 the floor, as if from weariness, his face softened. But, as 
 he started toward her, she raised her eyes, and he saw a 
 shudder go through her slender form. She looked up at 
 him as if fearful of his nearness. 
 
 The flare of his torch, which he had fastened in a crevice 
 immediately above her head, threw a flickering light over 
 her glittering, disordered hair, and, tired, worn as she was, 
 she was inexpressibly sweet to look upon. 
 
 "Are you cold?" he asked gently, and came no nearer 
 to her. 
 
 "No," was her mechanically spoken reply; and seeing 
 how she appeared to shrink from him, Lafitte turned away, 
 a bitter smile hardening his face as he resumed his post in 
 the doorway. 
 
 Presently, and without changing his position, he said, 
 " There can be no telling, little Rose, when you will see 
 me after this night, if indeed ever again. You have heard 
 something which has made you regard me as a stranger. 
 Be it so. But I must nevertheless venture to impress upon 
 you the fact that one word lisped of what you overheard 
 will surely imperil your grandpere's fortune and liberty 
 perhaps his life." 
 
 She said nothing, nor did he, for the space of a full 
 minute. Then, with his face still turned to the darkness 
 outside he resumed : 
 
 " If the day may ever come when you can think of me 
 with less condemnation, remember always what I tell you 
 now. I do not, nor can I ever, blame you. And, if I can 
 ever serve you, you have but to command me, always and 
 forever." 
 
 He ended softly, lingering over the closing words, and 
 turned to her with a mute entreaty struggling through
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 215 
 
 the anguish showing in his face. But Roselle sat silent, 
 with clasped hands and averted eyes. 
 
 Some of the slaves, who had returned from the hunt, 
 now sent up a joyous shout at sight of their " HI' Ma'm'- 
 selle " unhurt; and rising, she smiled upon them as they 
 gathered around her. 
 
 Two of them, under Lafitte's direction, made a seat of 
 their interlocked hands, and bearing her between them, 
 set out for the house, with flaring torches lighting the way. 
 Lafitte walked close behind the carriers and their precious 
 burden, to whom he felt that he had become but a little 
 less terrible than the wolves from whom she had escaped.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 
 
 THE proclamation of Governor Claiborne had but 
 little immediate effect upon the affairs of Barataria 
 and its free-acting denizens. 
 
 It resulted, however, in inducing Count de Cazeneau to 
 return to his New Orleans home earlier than usual ; and 
 Lafitte's house in the city was closed, while a trusted negro 
 overseer was left in charge of the blacksmith shop, with 
 orders to say that his master had gone away upon matters 
 of business. 
 
 It was to Grande Terre that Pierre had gone, feeling 
 that a time was near at hand for the joining of issues 
 between his confreres and the government, and wishing, as 
 always, to share the fortunes of his foster-brother. 
 
 On the western shore of Grande Terre, with several 
 miles of forest lying between it and De Cazeneau's house, 
 was the so-called " fort " of the Baratarians, standing upon 
 a grassy eminence dotted with magnificent live oaks, and 
 terminating at a bluff not many feet above the sea. 
 
 It consisted of a fair-sized building and several smaller 
 ones, all of wood, enclosed within a stockade ; and a few 
 cannon protected the fleet now consisting of two brigan- 
 tines, some small schooners, and sloops, and a large number 
 of smaller craft anchored in the harbor at the rear of the 
 island. 
 
 Outside the stockade were many huts, constructed of 
 logs, and with thatched roofs, where were always domiciled 
 a small army of Lafitte's retainers, while he when at 
 Grande Terre and a few of his sub-leaders had their 
 quarters inside.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 2 1 7 
 
 Shell Island, already mentioned, up one of the almost 
 inaccessible bayous, was his most frequent abode, where 
 he kept about him only a few devoted followers ; and here, 
 amid impenetrable forests, was conducted the building of 
 vessels. 
 
 Pierre Lafitte had, after leaving New Orleans, taken up 
 his abode within the Barataria fort, while Jean, as was his 
 custom, came and went, as accorded with his various 
 duties. Matters there were now more active than usual, as 
 an attack by the State authorities had been anticipated after 
 the issue of the governor's proclamation, and a strong 
 force had been assembled to meet it. But, following 
 closely upon this, had come other stirring events, which, 
 being of a less local nature, distracted attention from 
 Barataria. 
 
 War between the United States and Great Britain had 
 been waging for a year or more ; but it had not yet 
 threatened Louisiana, nor had any preparations been made 
 at New Orleans to resist an attack from the enemy. 
 
 But, in the summer of 1813, occurred the horrible 
 massacre at Fort Mims, in the Mississippi valley, occupied 
 by some two hundred and seventy persons, many of them 
 women and children, of whom all but seventeen were put 
 to death by the Creeks, one of the tribes which the English 
 had won over for allies. 
 
 Governor Claiborne had foreseen this threatened peril, 
 but was powerless to avert it, for Jiis forces were few 
 and scattered, while the Indians seemed innumerable, and 
 moved with wonderful activity. It appeared as if nothing 
 could prevent their progress southward, and consternation 
 reigned throughout the State. But the governor did all in 
 his power to restore confidence ; and not long afterwards 
 General Jackson utterly destroyed the Creeks at Talladega. 
 
 All this as has been stated served, during the clos- 
 ing months of 1813, to distract the attention of the authori- 
 ties from their meditated vengeance upon the Baratarians, 
 and the latter at least such of them as were sojourning
 
 2 1 8 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 at their island strongholds were, for the time being, 
 peaceful, law-abiding citizens. 
 
 Early in May, 1814, Jean Lafitte disappeared from the 
 view of his associates and followers, gone, only a trusted 
 few knew where ; and Pierre, who was now living at the 
 fort on Grande Terre, became nominal leader. 
 
 To the latter Jean's departure was an unspeakable relief; 
 for, since his coming to Grande Terre which had been 
 almost simultaneous with the return of the De Cazeneau 
 household to New Orleans Pierre had been at an utter 
 loss to account for the in his view wilful madness with 
 which Jean appeared to be possessed. 
 
 The latter had, with the governor's proclamation hanging 
 over his head, persisted in going again and again to New 
 Orleans, where he walked the streets in open daylight, and 
 met his clients unreservedly, thereby showing a lack of 
 prudence which was but little less than insanity, as Pierre 
 sought to make his foster-brother realize, only to have his 
 protests received with a bitter smile, or perhaps with a 
 show of irritation. 
 
 It was after one of these trips, in the early part of 1814, 
 that, upon returning to Grande Terre, he told Pierre of 
 having recently met Greloire, who had been for some time 
 in New Orleans upon a private matter of his own, but had 
 now gone back to France. 
 
 " My heart may be telling me wrongfully, Pierre," Jean 
 had said, as the two sat talking in their abode at Grande 
 Terre a cabin outside, but luxurious within, " but I have 
 a feeling that if I now go to the emperor, I may find the 
 opportunity for serving him ; and that this may prove to 
 him the love that has never died." 
 
 Pierre had been looking with troubled eyes at the worn, 
 tired face opposite, and a sudden contraction in his throat 
 made his voice husky when he replied, " Aye, go and 
 throw away your life, by serving him ! They say he cares 
 only for such as he can use." 
 
 Jean glanced at him angrily.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 2 1 9 
 
 " Nay, be not vexed with me," said Pierre gravely ; " for 
 I but repeat what I have so often heard ; and the thought 
 of your going away now, and on what may be a fool's 
 errand, makes my heart heavy with a weight caused by my 
 love for thee. Napoleon has thousands to serve him and 
 love him; but I what have I in the world, save thee? 
 And what thou art to me, I think these many years have 
 proved." 
 
 The anger died out of Jean's face, and his look changed 
 to one of affection ; but he answered with his accustomed 
 calmness. 
 
 "Why do you say 'now'? When has a better time 
 offered ? We can do but little business with matters as 
 they are at present; and you can attend to everything, the 
 same as would I." 
 
 " Perhaps," said Pierre, hesitatingly. " But what is it 
 that makes you think you may be of service to the emperor 
 and France ? " 
 
 " To say truth, I have no idea that is definite ; but I 
 feel an irresistible inclination to go, and see if the oppor- 
 tunity offers. Then I have a longing to see France again. 
 I would like to assure myself as to the chance of serving 
 him ; and, if this is not to be, I will return, and be here by 
 summer or fall, at the latest." 
 
 "And then?" inquired Pierre, a wistful look showing in 
 his stolid face. 
 
 "Eh?" said Jean sharply, as if not comprehending the 
 other's exact meaning. 
 
 " If you should find service over there, then what? " 
 
 Pierre's tone was composed ; but his restless feet dis- 
 turbed the hound sleeping in front of his chair, causing the 
 dog to change his location to one nearer the fire. 
 
 " Why," replied Jean, " then you can wind up our mat- 
 ters here, and come over to join me. Why not? " 
 
 "Why not, indeed? That is assuredly what I would do, 
 if" and Pierre hesitated for an instant " I could." 
 
 " And what can prevent? "
 
 22O Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Pierre stroked his heavy chin and puffed slowly at his 
 cigar. 
 
 " What is to prevent, I say? " repeated Jean, now speak- 
 ing somewhat impatiently. 
 
 " In such a case," Pierre replied deliberately, " there 
 would be a valuable cargo to come with me, and watchful 
 enemies here to blind. Then possibly, or most probably, 
 by summer or fall, with the English vessels patrolling the 
 waters around us, the safe getting away might not be so 
 easy a matter." 
 
 " Summer and fall are not now," was the oracular declara- 
 tion; "and by the time they come, it may be that the 
 English will have been made to slink home again, as once 
 before. I predict that such will be the case, perhaps before 
 they reach as far down the coast as this." 
 
 " I don't feel at all sure as to that," Pierre commented, 
 as he rose to cover the embers upon the hearth, doing 
 it with the same leisurely care that marked all his move- 
 ments and operations. Then, turning to Jean, he con- 
 tinued, as though there had been no interruption, " I tell 
 thee, lad, that Louisiana has always possessed a great 
 attraction for Great Britain." 
 
 " Grant it," said Jean, rising and stretching himself. 
 " Then all the more reason why, in case they succeed in 
 obtaining it, that we should wish to live somewhere else." 
 
 " Ah, but I am not saying that they will rule here ! " 
 exclaimed Pierre, with a showing of anger at thought 
 of the possibility suggested by Jean's words. " God 
 forbid ! " 
 
 " Amen to that," said Jean, laughing at the quick change 
 in his foster-brother's manner and look; and they soon 
 parted for the night. 
 
 It was a bright morning in May that the " Black Petrel," 
 with Jean Lafitte and a picked crew, and bearing a cargo 
 of rich merchandise (the larger portion of whose proceeds 
 he had promised to his men, in order to assure their 
 proper behavior), sailed from Barataria; and Pierre, his
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 221 
 
 heart filled with loneliness and misgivings, sat on the bluff, 
 watching her sails until they melted away on the horizon. 
 Yet, despite all this, it was an actual relief for him to 
 know that Jean, with his present reckless disregard for 
 threatening danger, was to be absent for a time from 
 Louisiana.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 
 
 THE winds proving unfavorable, it was not until 
 an evening in early July that the " Black Petrel " 
 anchored in the harbor of Bordeaux. 
 
 Lafitte slept aboard that night, and went ashore the 
 next morning, leaving the brigantine in charge of Lopez, 
 whom he had made first mate, and to whom he now gave 
 instructions as to the disposition of the cargo, coupled with 
 the information that he himself might be absent for several 
 days. 
 
 The morning sun was gilding the harbor and town, 
 while clustering roofs and spires seemed to invite Lafitte 
 to a peaceful rest; and a strange thrill ran through him 
 as he set foot on shore, and realized that it was the soil 
 of France. 
 
 Knowing the location of Greloire's house, he lost no 
 time in reaching it, and was admitted by a sleepy-eyed 
 servant, who looked somewhat suspiciously at this hand- 
 some, foreign-clad stranger, demanding, rather than re- 
 questing, to see his master. 
 
 " M'sieur is breakfasting," he explained grumblingly, 
 while he refastened the outer door. 
 
 But his surly manner changed promptly when the vis- 
 itor, after slipping a piece of gold into his hand, said, 
 " Your master has been expecting me, and will not object 
 to receiving me, even at this early hour. Take me to him 
 at once." 
 
 " Yes, m'sieur ; follow me, if you please." 
 
 He led the way through a spacious hall to a closed 
 door at the farther end; this he opened noiselessly, and 
 announced, " A gentleman whom m'sieur is expecting."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 223 
 
 Greloire was sitting with his back to the door, and had 
 not time to turn around before Lafitte's quick perception 
 noted that something was seriously amiss. The breakfast 
 was untouched, and Greloire, with both elbows on the 
 chair arms, sat motionless, his face sunk in his hands. 
 
 At the sound of the servant's voice he started hastily; 
 and the frown upon his usually insouciant face made it 
 look most unfamiliar as he glanced over his shoulder, to 
 see Lafitte's dark eyes bent upon him. 
 
 But, with a joyful exclamation, while a rush of pleasur- 
 able light changed his expression, he jumped to his feet 
 and turned around, with outstretched hands. 
 
 "Jean, Jean, lad ! It is truly thy very self! And thou 
 hast at last broken away, and come back to the old 
 fold ! " 
 
 Lafitte grasped the welcoming hands and shook them 
 cordially. But his eyes, still searching Greloire's face, 
 saw, beneath its look of momentary gladness, one of keen 
 anguish ; and the younger man wondered what trouble 
 had come to his friend. 
 
 " I cannot say as to that, old comrade," was his guarded 
 reply. " I have certainly broken away, for a time, at 
 least; but for how long, and to what purpose, the near 
 future must decide not I." 
 
 Greloire's face clouded again, but only for an instant; 
 and, placing a chair for his guest, he pressed him to take 
 breakfast. 
 
 This, however, Lafitte declined, explaining that he had 
 already partaken of the meal aboard ship. 
 
 " You sailors are surely early birds," said Greloire, who 
 had resumed his chair. 
 
 He spoke laughingly, and raised his cup to his mouth, 
 only to set it down again. 
 
 "Peste!" he exclaimed, ringing the bell. "It is cold 
 as English blood." 
 
 " Bring fresh coffee," he added, speaking to the servant 
 who answered the summons ; and Lafitte, happening to
 
 224 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 turn his head, saw the glittering black eyes of an Indian 
 fixed upon him. 
 
 But they dropped, as the slender, copper-colored hands 
 took the coffee-pot; and the lithe, curiously clad form 
 vanished noiselessly from the room. 
 
 " You are probably surprised," said Greloire, with a 
 smile, " to see a south sea Indian as a servant in my 
 house. The fellow has been with me these two years or 
 more, and I have found him quite useful." 
 
 "What is his name? " inquired Lafitte, with assumed 
 carelessness. 
 
 " Ehewah," replied Greloire, as he lifted the cover of a 
 dish containing creamed toast, still warm enough to send 
 up a faint vapor. " He was, strange to tell, aboard an 
 English man-of-war; and I happened to save his life dur- 
 ing a melee his hot temper invited one night down among 
 the London docks. He appeared to be very grateful for 
 this, and begged to serve me, which I let him do in the 
 way I have said." 
 
 The door now opened again, and Ehewah entered with 
 the coffee, which he placed upon the table, and was about 
 leaving the room, when he paused at the door, behind his 
 master's back, and gave Lafitte a keen glance, at the same 
 time laying a finger against his thin lips. 
 
 " I feel greatly flattered, Jean, that you should be in 
 such haste to see me," said Greloire, as he began to eat 
 doing it in a perfunctory fashion that indicated the per- 
 formance of a duty. 
 
 To Lafitte, Greloire's smiles appeared forced, and his 
 manner altogether unnatural ; but the former gave no 
 show to his thoughts as he replied, " That is the one 
 thing I have been trying to do this many a day, my 
 old friend. I have, since our meeting at Martinique, 
 been longing to see a clear way out of the position and 
 environments I have made for myself. This, until of 
 late, has not been quite possible ; but now I have come 
 to you."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 225 
 
 " And you are very welcome. But " with a keen 
 glance " why have you come? " 
 
 " To ask you to take me to the emperor, and, if it may 
 be, help me to find some way of serving him." 
 
 Greloire's fork fell upon his plate. 
 
 "The emperor!" he repeated, a cloud of anguish 
 sweeping all the brightness from his face. " Know you 
 not what has happened that he is no longer emperor of 
 France? " 
 
 " What ! " cried Lafitte, starting from his chair. Then 
 he added lightly, " You are jesting, or trying to surprise 
 me. Perhaps you will tell me that he is now ruler of all 
 Europe." 
 
 "Not I. Mon Dieu when I think of it, I feel that 
 never can I jest again ! But I am forgetting that you are 
 a sea rover, and not likely to hear land news quickly. I 
 am forgetting, too, that this is France, and not Louisiana ; 
 although I wonder you did not notice the flag upon the 
 H6tel de Ville. But the disastrous intelligence must now 
 have reached America; and it will, perhaps, better nerve 
 the English arm for striking at your adopted countrymen." 
 
 " But what mean you by all this?" demanded Lafitte, 
 rising to his feet. "What has happened of what are 
 you talking?" 
 
 " I can explain everything in a few words," replied 
 Greloire, evidently trying to repress his feelings, and 
 assume a calmness of manner. " The Russian campaign 
 was most disastrous, and the emperor returned, beaten. 
 The allies followed him to Paris, where he defeated their 
 three armies, one after the other, although he was out- 
 numbered five to one. But he lost many men, some of his 
 most trusted marshals turned traitors, and he was forced 
 finally to abdicate. Then the allies those who had been 
 proud of his friendship, and sought his aid in former years 
 sent him to Elba, as its ruler. Yes, mon ami, he who 
 was emperor of France, a man who has made England 
 and all Europe tremble, is now ruler of a paltry island not 
 '5
 
 226 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 much larger than this table; and France is once more 
 under the rule of the Bourbons ! " 
 
 He spoke with fast increasing anger, and ended by 
 springing from his chair and beginning to stride up and 
 down the room. 
 
 Lafitte, who had listened with wide-open eyes, seemed 
 scarcely able to comprehend all that he had heard. 
 
 "What is this you tell me? " he muttered slowly, amaze- 
 ment and rage giving a new look to his face. " Do you 
 say that the emperor is on Elba? " 
 
 " He is, and exiled there. I am telling you what all 
 Europe has known for weeks ! " cried Greloire passionately, 
 the tears streaming from his eyes. " I am telling you what 
 history must brand as the basest treatment ever accorded 
 a monarch." 
 
 " And I came, hoping that he could find use for my ser- 
 vices here in France." 
 
 Lafitte spoke despairingly; for again, as three years 
 before, had Greloire uttered words to stir the uttermost 
 depths of his nature. 
 
 " France holds many a heart with such a hope," declared 
 the ex-soldier bitterly. " But of what avail is it now?" 
 
 " Much, perhaps, if taken aright, and utilized properly," 
 quickly answered Lafitte, who seemed to have recovered 
 something of his accustomed courage. " I have ships, and 
 can promise even more than I now own. I have gold ; and 
 all I have (which I assure you is not a little) would be at 
 his command." 
 
 Greloire made no reply, but threw himself into his chair, 
 and covered his face. 
 
 " I have much to offer him," continued Lafitte persist- 
 ently ; " and all I have, even to my life, is his, if he will 
 use it." 
 
 But Greloire shook his head gloomily as he took his 
 hands from before his face. 
 
 " I fear it is all of no avail ; for they say that he is now 
 strangely indifferent to everything."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 227 
 
 It was some little time before Greloire was able to assume 
 any great amount of his usual composure ; and then, 
 complying with Lafitte's request, he gave the latter an out- 
 line of the causes which had led to Napoleon's overthrow. 
 
 The younger man listened attentively, asking questions 
 now and then, to make the statement clearer to him. 
 
 " I understand," he said decisively, when the story was 
 finished. " It was the combination of all Europe, at the 
 instigation of England, to crush one man, and with him, 
 the people of France." 
 
 " Precisely," was Greloire's equally decisive assent. " All 
 his former allies were massed against him ; but he kept 
 them at bay until he was betrayed, and left with but a 
 remnant of his army. He never fought more brilliantly, 
 nor with better judgment; and he was crushed by the mere 
 force of numbers. It was then that he abdicated ; and, as 
 he said, for the welfare of France." 
 
 Lafitte rose and went to an open window, through which 
 he looked out upon a small garden, embellished with a 
 variety of plants and shrubs. 
 
 Here he stood in silence, until Greloire, his mind cleared 
 for the time of emotion by his recent recital, lit a 
 cigar as he said, " In the face of such odds, and betrayed 
 by his generals, what could the emperor do?" 
 
 Lafitte did not appear to have heard the question, for, 
 turning suddenly, he asked, "Tell me, old friend do you 
 think it would be possible for me to see him? " 
 
 The eagerness of the inquiry caused Greloire to look 
 up in surprise, as if wondering what new idea might be 
 taking form in the younger man's brain. Then, settling 
 himself in his chair, and resting an elbow on the table, he 
 asked, as if expecting to discuss the matter, " Why should 
 you wish to see him ? " 
 
 But there was little of argument ; for Lafitte, with two 
 long strides, was at the opposite side of the table, upon 
 whose top he brought down his clenched fist with a force 
 that imperilled the china and glassware.
 
 228 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " For the best of reasons because I love him. Do 
 you understand ? " 
 
 " Yes, my impetuous young friend," was the reply, 
 accompanied by a smile that lightened the speaker's face 
 with its old-time expression. 
 
 " Bien. Then answer my question, Greloire, and tell me 
 if you think it possible that I can see him ? " 
 
 "Why not? He is, to be sure, under a certain sort of 
 surveillance ; for there is an English commissioner stationed 
 upon the island, who is supposed to report the emperor's 
 doings. But Napoleon's ordinary movements are quite 
 under his own control, I should say, judging from the little 
 I know. He receives many people who visit Elba in order 
 to pay him homage." 
 
 " Then surely I should be able to see him. But how can 
 it be arranged? Cannot you think of some plan?" de- 
 manded Lafitte, a mingling of pleasure and impatience 
 showing in his face as he again seated himself. "And 
 remember that you are to accompany me. You can, I 
 hope ; and you will? " 
 
 It was now Greloire's face that showed gratification ; and 
 there was no lack of it in his voice. 
 
 " That I can, and will, mon ami, and with delight ; for I 
 scarcely need tell you how I long to see the emperor. 
 How soon do you wish to start?" 
 
 " At once, for I can afford to lose no time. It must be 
 now," was the impatient reply. " But can you be at all 
 sure that he will receive us?" 
 
 " Nothing is sure, save that which is past," declared 
 Greloire, impressively, adding, after a moment's pause, 
 " but I wish you did not feel obliged to make such haste." 
 
 " I am forced to do it, and all the more because the 
 result seems uncertain. If I can serve him, I may not re- 
 turn to Louisiana, but, if I am to return, I must do so 
 speedily, owing to matters there." 
 
 There was a short silence, after which Greloire, who 
 appeared to have been turning something in his mind,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 229 
 
 exclaimed, " Bien! I believe I can see a very clear way 
 for ourselves." 
 
 " Yes, what is it ? " 
 
 " Do you remember Murier?" 
 
 " Murier Murier," Lafitte repeated thoughtfully. 
 " The name sounds like one I should remember, although 
 I cannot say why." 
 
 " Murier was with us in Languedoc, in the days of the 
 ' bonnet-rouge,' and was wounded at the chateau. It was 
 he who brought you to Bonaparte, that morning after the 
 storming of Toulon. Do you not remember?" 
 
 A grave look had been deepening in Lafitte's face, and 
 his voice had a softer tone as he answered, " Yes, yes, old 
 friend, I remember Murier. But what can he possibly 
 have to do with our project? " 
 
 " Much, as you will see when I explain. Murier and I 
 were much together, and much to one another close 
 comrades. He lost an arm at Wagram, was decorated, 
 and pensioned, and then went to Elba, where he has since 
 lived with his married sister, Madame Teche, whose hus- 
 band is a farmer. We will go first to Murier ; he is close 
 to the emperor perhaps in his service, and I doubt not 
 that he will be able to arrange for an interview. But of 
 this I am certain that he will welcome us, and do all in 
 his power to serve us." 
 
 " Good ! " exclaimed Lafitte, from whose face the re- 
 miniscent look had vanished. " And now, Greloire, let us 
 consult as to the details. How soon can we depart? " 
 
 Then, while the day grew, the two perfected their plans.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 
 
 LAFITTE deemed it advisable to inform Lopez of 
 the fact that Ehewah was in Bordeaux, and an in- 
 mate of Greloire's house, as by so doing, probable 
 trouble might be prevented should the gunner and Indian 
 chance to meet. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when he took his way toward 
 the wharves, from which a boat would take him out to the 
 " Black Petrel ; " and he had gone but a short distance from 
 Greloire's dwelling when a shrill whistle came to his ears. 
 
 A moment later he heard it again, and glancing over his 
 shoulder, saw Ehewah hastening to overtake him. 
 
 He now walked more slowly, until the Indian came up ; 
 and, while vouchsafing the latter no notice, he was never- 
 theless aware of the anxious look showing in the latter's face. 
 
 Presently the Indian spoke. 
 
 " Captain Jean, is it good or ill between us? " 
 
 " That remains to be seen," was the carelessly uttered 
 answer. 
 
 The Indian appeared somewhat disconcerted at Lafitte's 
 indifferent manner, and continued sullenly, " What Ehewah 
 did, was what he was driven to do. His wrongs called for 
 vengeance." 
 
 " I never did you wrong," said Lafitte coldly. 
 
 "No, no never, Captain Jean." 
 
 " Yet you tried to sell me to my worst enemy." 
 
 " Rage blinds the eye," was the dogged reply. 
 
 " Aye, so it does. And that is why rage is a luxury that 
 often demands a high price, as you may discover some day." 
 
 The Indian, as if tired of generalities, especially in a dis- 
 cussion wherein he was becoming worsted, returned to 
 personal matters.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 231 
 
 " Ehewah is sick of the white man's home, and of life in 
 this land ; he longs for his own island and people. Let me 
 go with you, Captain Jean. I will promise you my life, if 
 but you will take me back where I may get to my own 
 people once more." 
 
 The homesick longing that sounded in the words brought 
 a momentary softening to Lafitte's face, as he turned, for 
 the first time, and faced the Indian. 
 
 " I may not go over seas for some time to come, 
 Ehewah ; and, even if I could take you, it would not be 
 safe for you to go with me. Lopez, and other men who 
 have not forgotten the fight off the Devil's Key, and the 
 part you played in it, are aboard my vessel." 
 
 The Indian was silent, and a look of dejection came to 
 his face. 
 
 " Take my advice and remain where you are," con- 
 tinued Lafitte. " And if you desire to see your people 
 again, remember what I tell you now for the next two 
 weeks have a care how you roam about the city, or go 
 near the wharves. Monsieur Greloire tells me that you 
 have served him faithfully, and that he cares for you. 
 This being so, I promise you protection for the future, so 
 far as lies within my power. But you who know so well 
 our ways and code, know how little my protection would 
 avail, should you fall into the power of my men ; so I bid 
 you beware of them. That is all," he added, with a ges- 
 ture of dismissal. 
 
 Ehewah, without a word, glided away, and Lafitte went 
 to the wharves, where he found a boatman to row him out 
 to the brigantine. 
 
 Wild was Lopez' burst of rage over what was told him ; 
 but by force of persuasion, not unaccompanied by threats, 
 Lafitte succeeded in wringing a promise from the old 
 gunner that he would do the Indian no bodily harm, should 
 chance bring them together. 
 
 " Remember, Lopez," said Lafitte, after the promise had 
 been given, " that this is not the Barra de Hierro, nor our
 
 232 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 harbor at Barataria; neither is it New Orleans. You must 
 do nothing to jeopardize our safety, nor that of the ' Black 
 Petrel,' of which I am leaving you in charge until my 
 return." 
 
 " But, ah, sir," the old gunner replied wistfully, although 
 the words came through his set teeth, " if but the good 
 saints would set me face to face with the Indian on Grande 
 Terre ! " 
 
 Lafitte smiled satirically. 
 
 " The good saints should scarcely be credited with bring- 
 ing about such meetings." 
 
 " Perhaps not," muttered Lopez. " Then let the devil 
 do it, for surely he is the controller of Ehewah's ways." 
 
 " No more of this, Lopez," said Lafitte, now resuming 
 his air of authority, " for the matter is settled. You have 
 my commands and I have your promise. I have ever 
 known you to be a man of your word ; and so I leave you, 
 believing that the Indian is safe from harm at your hands 
 and those of the crew at least so far as you can control 
 the men. I am going ashore at once ; so come with me 
 to my cabin, as I have some instructions to give you in re- 
 gard to the vessel and cargo." 
 
 Lafitte and Greloire set out on horseback that same 
 evening, making no prolonged stop until Toulon was 
 reached. They arrived there early one afternoon, and 
 rested until the following morning; and the two Lafitte 
 more especially felt like ghosts returned to former 
 scenes as they rambled about the slightly changed streets. 
 
 They visited the localities associated with their previous 
 sojourn in the city, the site of Margot's cottage, and her 
 grave ; the convent, and the fortifications. Thiel was long 
 since dead, and Le Chien Heureux was now a much-patched, 
 disreputable caravansary, the resort of watermen and com- 
 mon sailors. 
 
 They left their horses at Toulon, and pushed on by 
 hired conveyance to Cannes. Then, in order to avoid sus- 
 picion, they crossed over to Leghorn, and chartering a
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 233 
 
 large fishing smack, sailed for Porto Ferrajo, the principal 
 port of Elba, where the emperor resided. 
 
 The island had then some thirteen thousand inhabitants, 
 and contained within its small area salt-marshes, moun- 
 tains, and forests. Its harbors and salient points were 
 fortified, and vineyards, mines, salt-works, and fisheries 
 gave its people abundant employment. 
 
 This was the little realm to which Napoleon had been 
 banished, and where he was expected to idle away the re- 
 maining years of his life, he who had controlled the fate 
 of Europe, and lifted France to shine with such resplen- 
 dent glory before the world ! 
 
 So mused Lafitte, as he looked about him, after landing, 
 while Greloire went up to a group of lounging fishermen 
 who were staring with stupid curiosity at the two strangers, 
 and asked the direction of the Teche farm. 
 
 It was about a mile inland ; and one of the younger 
 men offering his services as guide, he led the way from the 
 beach, across a grassy field, until, having passed through 
 a piece of woods, they came out upon an eminence over- 
 looking a fertile valley, planted with vines, as were also 
 the opposite hillsides. 
 
 Below lay a spacious wooden dwelling, and near it a 
 man, coatless, and with one shirt-sleeve swinging empty of 
 the arm that should have filled it, was walking slowly 
 about, a large dog following at his heels. 
 
 " Murier himself, by all that is fortunate ! " muttered 
 Greloire, raising a hand to better shade his eyes from the 
 glare of sunshine. 
 
 " That is M'sieur Murier, the brother of Madame Teche," 
 said the guide, pointing down at the figure. 
 
 " Aye, my man ; but, thanking you all the same, I have 
 not soldiered with him for twenty years to need an intro- 
 duction now," Greloire replied, with a jovial laugh that took 
 away any hint of brusqueness from his words ; and, after 
 putting a piece of silver in the fisherman's brown hand, 
 he dismissed him.
 
 234 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 As the two took their way down the hillside, toward 
 Murier, who had not as yet perceived them, and stood 
 with his head turned, as if watching something in the dis- 
 tance, Greloire, with a curious look upon his face, said, in 
 a tone that made Lafitte glance at him in surprise, " It is a 
 strange chance most strange ! Do you recall, Jean, 
 when last you saw Murier?" 
 
 " Yes. But what of that ? " 
 
 " This that now, after all these many years, you see 
 Murier again for the first time since that morning; and 
 that now, as then, he will conduct you to the same man. 
 To me this is most strange." 
 
 " But it is not the same as then," said Lafitte, with 
 marked bitterness of tone. " Then he wished to see me 
 sent for me. To-day it is I who seek ; and I may be refused." 
 
 "Talk not so, mon ami; but wait and see," answered 
 Greloire cheerily, after which he took a deep breath, and 
 sent his voice ahead in a vigorous and prolonged shout. 
 
 They were close enough to see Murier's perplexed face 
 as he turned quickly and looked toward them. But the 
 perplexity was lost in a glow of glad eagerness, as he came 
 forward and grasped Greloire by the arm, while the lat- 
 ter's hands caught the coatless shoulders and shook them 
 playfully. 
 
 " Aha, old comrade," Greloire cried laughingly, " I re- 
 joice to see that the Elba sun has made those cheeks of 
 thine less white than when I last saw them, in the hospital. 
 Thou art well?" And he looked keenly into the face 
 before him. 
 
 " Quite well, my dear Felix, I assure you," was the 
 more quiet reply, although the speaker's dark face shone 
 with pleasure. " But what happy fortune has brought thee 
 to this part of the world, to gladden my eyes?" 
 
 While speaking, he glanced at Greloire's companion, 
 who had removed his hat, and was running his fingers rest- 
 lessly through the heavy locks of dark hair lying upon his 
 moist forehead.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 235 
 
 u You shall know all about it later," said Greloire. " But 
 let me present you, Murier, to Captain Lafitte, of Louisi- 
 ana in the United States, you will understand. He is 
 my friend ; and I beg on his behalf your hospitality for a 
 short time, and the same for myself." 
 
 Murier extended his hand to Lafitte, who, with a few 
 courteous words, clasped it warmly. 
 
 " You see," Greloire added, " that I have no need to tell 
 him about you ; for he knows already what close comrades 
 you and I have been." 
 
 Murier smiled at this as he said, " Captain Lafitte, I am 
 happy to meet you. My brother-in-law is absent from 
 home ; but such poor hospitality as is his and mine will be 
 honored by your acceptance." 
 
 Murier's English was more halting than even that of 
 Greloire, and a smile of gratification lighted his face when 
 Lafitte replied in French, " I thank you, m'sieur, for your 
 kind greeting to a stranger whom you have no need to 
 address in the detestable English tongue." 
 
 A still more expressive gleam showed in Murier's eyes 
 as he heard the final words ; and Greloire laughed. 
 
 It had been agreed that Lafitte should be known to 
 Murier as Captain Lafitte, from America, who desired to 
 do himself the honor of paying his respects to the exiled 
 emperor. But as the three, at Murier's suggestion, now 
 went toward the house, Lafitte found himself possessed by 
 a strong inclination to make himself known to this man, 
 whose name and existence he had so long forgotten, but 
 whose face and form recalled vividly the past, and that 
 sorrowful morning of Margot's death, when he, a soldier 
 of the Republic, had led the half-crazed lad along the 
 horror-filled streets, and sought with such hearty sympathy 
 to turn his senses and thoughts from the scenes about them. 
 
 Spare of figure, and much more sinewy than Greloire, 
 with his dark locks still plentiful, and showing scarcely any 
 white hairs, Murier was less changed by the passing years 
 than was his old-time comrade.
 
 236 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 His face was marked by an infinite sadness, tempered 
 but slightly by his smile; and there was about him 
 a hushed, softened air, which told of mental, as well as 
 physical, suffering. This gave to his presence and manner 
 a pathetic dignity that was refining, more especially as one 
 listened to his low voice and careful speech, and noted 
 the empty sleeve swaying limply from his shoulder. 
 
 His emperor's misfortunes, no less than his own, had 
 changed the active bearing of the soldier to the dreamy 
 manner of the scholar. 
 
 " He will never be the same man again, m'sieur 
 never," sighed Madame Teche, a plump little dame, with 
 a marked resemblance in features to Murier. She was 
 sitting with Lafitte upon the veranda of her house, while 
 her brother and Greloire had gone inside to converse. 
 
 Lafitte had been drawing her out to talk of Murier, 
 whose personality appealed to him strongly ; and she, 
 nothing loath, had been pouring into the ears of this 
 charming American gentleman, whom she found so sym- 
 pathetic, the story of her love and anxiety for her only 
 brother. 
 
 Yet, when trying to repeat their conversation to her 
 husband, upon his return, she could recall scarcely a word 
 this " so charming American " had said. But she re- 
 membered distinctly that " he spoke French so perfectly, 
 like one of ourselves: and he was so grand-looking 
 such a very distinguished gentleman. His rich voice and 
 beautiful eyes were so sympathetic when I talked to him 
 of our poor brother and his broken heart." 
 
 Lafitte found her very entertaining, and was greatly 
 amused when she ventured to question him about America, 
 inquiring, with a delicate hesitancy, if he had scalped many 
 enemies, and if he could give her an imitation of the war- 
 whoop ! 
 
 He was trying to explain that these accomplishments 
 pertained exclusively to the Indians, and that being an 
 American did not necessarily imply the possession of
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 237 
 
 a red skin, or living in a wigwam, when her brother and 
 Greloire came out and joined them ; and the kindly little 
 woman bustled indoors to supervise the preparation of 
 a suitable dinner to be set before her guests. 
 
 The emperor's abode was a short way over the hills 
 from the Teche farm, in an opposite direction from the 
 beach; and Greloire was not long in realizing that he 
 had done well in seeking Murier, for the latter was 
 although not constantly in attendance upon Napoleon, 
 who showed especial favor to one associated with him 
 in happier times. 
 
 He had, upon this particular day, gone driving, toward 
 the interior of the island, but would return early in the 
 afternoon, when Murier was expected to report to him 
 for duty. 
 
 The emperor had, with his accustomed energy, already 
 made many improvements, in the way of constructing 
 dykes, bettering roads, and strengthening fortifications ; 
 and as in France, so here, he was winning the hearts 
 of all those about him. 
 
 The only person now exercising surveillance upon Elba 
 was the English commissioner, who happened to be absent 
 for a day from Porto Ferrajo. This was a fortunate cir- 
 cumstance for Lafitte and Greloire, as the commissioner 
 was supposed to keep a watchful eye upon the emperor, 
 and report his observations to the English cabinet. 
 
 Still as Greloire had said it was no uncommon 
 thing for travellers to visit Elba with the object of paying 
 their respects to Napoleon ; and Murier, after laying 
 Greloire's request before him, was to ascertain if he would 
 consent to receive his former soldier and the American 
 captain that same evening. 
 
 Thus had it been settled when Murier and Greloire 
 came out of the house and joined the two who were chat- 
 ting on the shaded veranda. 
 
 When their hostess took her departure, Lafitte turned 
 to Murier and asked abruptly, " How does your em-
 
 238 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 peror bear his exile? Seems he happy at all, or even 
 content?" 
 
 Murier, who was about to light one of the choice cigars 
 proffered by Lafitte from his goodly store of them, let fall 
 the burning tinder and put his foot upon it. Then, after 
 skilfully lighting another piece, he gave the questioner 
 a surprised look, but was silent. 
 
 " I beg you to tell me," urged Lafitte, " for the question 
 is prompted neither by curiosity nor unfriendly feeling. 
 The name of Napoleon is a most illustrious one in Lou- 
 isiana. You must also bear in mind that we are now 
 at war with England on our own account, and that we 
 are no friends of his enemies." 
 
 A look of pleasure came to Murier's face, only to fade 
 away as he replied cautiously, " I must beg you, M'sieur 
 le Capitaine, to have a care how you speak such words 
 here. All appears to be safe; but one can never be 
 sure what the very walls may hear and repeat." 
 
 " Pardon me," said Lafitte, lowering his voice. " But 
 I pray you to tell me what I have asked." 
 
 "Have you ever seen him? You speak as one who 
 admires yes, loves him." Murier spoke rapidly, and his 
 searching eyes showed a certain surprise at the eagerness 
 manifested in the younger man's face. 
 
 " I surely admire and love him," was the answer, hearty, 
 and yet evasive of Murier's question. "Cannot one do 
 this without having seen him?" 
 
 " Indeed yes, m'sieur," replied Murier, in a tone of 
 strong emotion. " Are there many hearts in America, 
 may I ask, who hold him thus? " 
 
 Lafitte hesitated a moment before answering with an 
 emphasis that left nothing for Murier to desire, " If they 
 knew him as do I, every heart would feel as does mine. 
 As it is, nowhere in France is his name held more sacred 
 than in Louisiana. Now, M'sieur Murier, will you not 
 answer my question?" 
 
 The truth and sincerity sounding in the words, together
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 239 
 
 with the speaker 's earnest manner and magnetic smile, 
 were not to be resisted. 
 
 " Certainly, M'sieur le Capitaine ; I will answer you 
 frankly. Whenever I have seen the emperor, which of 
 late has been frequently, it has been to see him tranquil, 
 almost to indifference." 
 
 Here Greloire, who had been listening with growing 
 indignation, broke into the conversation. 
 
 " And think you, Murier, that such a state of affairs is to 
 continue? Can you believe that his wonderful powers are 
 crushed lost in this indifference of which you speak? 
 No ! I believe that, sooner or later, he will rise, and " 
 
 " Sh-h ! " warned Murier, with a quick, imperative ges- 
 ture. " This is a time and place, old comrade, when it is 
 wise to do no believing aloud. Let us talk no more of 
 such matters, but learn from M'sieur le Capitaine some- 
 thing of that wonderful country of his Louisiana." 
 
 Greloire, still scowling, flicked the ashes from his cigar, 
 and Murier, addressing Lafitte, said smilingly, " It must be 
 a rich land, m'sieur, if this delicious cigar be a fair sample 
 of its products." And with the air of an 'appreciative 
 connoisseur, he exhaled a cloud of fragrant smoke. 
 
 The conversation now and to Murier's apparent relief 
 turned to Louisiana and its prospects, and the probable 
 outcome of the war between the United States and England. 
 
 Of the latter, however, little could be said ; for, in those 
 days of infrequent and slow communication, there was 
 small chance of Lafitte knowing, until his return to Bara- 
 taria, more of matters pertaining to America than he knew 
 when leaving Grande Terre. 
 
 The talk was interrupted by the reappearance of Madame 
 Teche, who summoned them to dinner ; and Greloire and 
 Lafitte, the former more especially, who had found 
 little enjoyment in the cuisine of the fishing smack, were 
 not slow in accepting the invitation. 
 
 By the time full justice had been done to the generous 
 meal, the hour had come for Murier to report for duty;
 
 240 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 and, promising to return with all possible speed, he left the 
 guests to be entertained by his sister. 
 
 The twilight was near, with the glow of sunset paled in 
 the valley, and the shadows climbing the hills outlined 
 sharply against the liquid glory of the cloudless sky, when 
 he returned with the information that the emperor would, 
 at eight o' clock, receive Greloire and his friend, the Amer- 
 ican gentleman ; and shortly afterwards they, guided by 
 Murier, took their way across the darkening valley, and 
 entered a grassy road that wound through a gateway of the 
 hills. 
 
 Save an occasional interchange of words between the 
 two old soldiers, nothing was said, while, thrilled by a 
 turmoil of thoughts and emotions, Lafitte, the cool, self- 
 contained leader of lawless men, now felt his heart fluttering 
 with the nervous anticipation of a woman about to meet 
 the man loved by her above all else.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE 
 
 WHEN Lafitte and Greloire were ushered into 
 Napoleon's cabinet, and the former's eyes fell 
 upon him he had for so many years longed to 
 see, his first sensation was that of pain. 
 
 Love alone had limned the picture the man's heart re- 
 tained of his boyhood's idol ; neither time nor care had 
 aged or marred the lines, nor dimmed with shadows its 
 glowing colors. But the present's reality banished all this, 
 and awoke the realization that the sacredly cherished 
 picture was but a memory. 
 
 The slender form was gone, lost in the personality of 
 the stout, middle-aged man, who, lounging in a velvet- 
 cushioned chair, looked at Lafitte carelessly coldly, as 
 at an entire stranger. 
 
 The eyes held the same mystic look in their gray depths, 
 and the face was still pale and classical ; but its lines were 
 hardened, and heavier than of old. The hair, worn much 
 shorter, was thinner ; yet it retained its brown hue, with no 
 sign of time's whitening touch. 
 
 The hands, once the sinewy ones of a young soldier, 
 were now as delicate as those of a woman. 
 
 The cream-white of his breeches, reaching to the knee, 
 and of the coat, with gold-embroidered cuffs and collar, 
 contrasted sharply with the red covering of his chair; and 
 the legs, clad in silk stockings, with the unusually small 
 feet, encased in low, gold-buckled shoes, were crossed 
 lazily. 
 
 His appearance and attitude bore out Greloire's remark, 
 that it was said the emperor was " strangely indifferent 
 16
 
 242 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 to everything." Every line of the listless face and relaxed 
 form indicated this. 
 
 As the ex-soldier approached and bowed low, a faint 
 smile lightened Napoleon's repellent expression, and he 
 said graciously, " Greloire, I am pleased to see you, and to 
 know that you have not forgotten one who thought highly 
 of you in more prosperous days." 
 
 The kindly manner and words produced a marked effect 
 upon Greloire, who seemed scarcely able to control the 
 emotion showing in his voice as he exclaimed fervently, 
 " Ah, Sire, I would let out my life-blood to bring back those 
 days to you ! " 
 
 " So, my old comrade? " And, for a second, a pleased 
 light warmed the gray eyes. " Thine was ever a true heart, 
 and years have taught me the value of such. But," he 
 added, with a return of his former manner, and looking at 
 Lafitte, " who is this you bring with you ? " 
 
 " Sire, Captain Jean Lafitte, of Louisiana," answered 
 Greloire, after a moment's hesitancy ; and Lafitte, coming 
 forward, bowed respectfully. 
 
 It required all his strength to hold in check the impulses 
 now making him, man as he was, dizzy and unstrung. He 
 had, after bowing, drawn himself up to the full of his un- 
 usual stature, and stood erect and graceful, his eyes bent 
 downward upon the emperor, and holding a look which 
 was, of itself, an appeal for recognition. 
 
 Every instinct and craving of his nature, impelled by all 
 the remembrances of his youth and all the desires of his 
 manhood, made him long to break through the icy reserve 
 that kept him aloof, and to throw himself at the feet of this 
 man, so changed outwardly, but still worshipped as of old, 
 and beseech the cold eyes to look upon him with the long- 
 ago confidence and love. 
 
 "Jean Lafitte," Napoleon repeated slowly, looking, not 
 at the former, but at Greloire. " I have heard the name 
 before, but not to the wearer's credit. I ask you, Greloire," 
 and his voice took a yet icier note, "you, who are his
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 243 
 
 sponsor, why Captain Jean Lafitte, of Louisiana, dare pre- 
 sent himself before me?" 
 
 Greloire flushed deeply, and seemed at a loss for a reply. 
 But not so Lafitte. The emperor's words, uttered in a 
 tone whose measured calmness suggested a mingling of 
 annoyance and contempt, acted as does the lancet of a 
 surgeon when it gives freedom to congested blood. They 
 brought to Lafitte, tensioned as he was in mind and heart, 
 a relief such as could have come through no other agency, 
 for they swept away the glamour of boyish sentiment, and 
 restored his manliness and individuality. 
 
 " I, Jean Lafitte, will answer your question, Sire ; I, Jean 
 Lafitte, of Louisiana ! And I say to the man whom my 
 boyish heart adored, and whom my man's heart loves, that 
 I dare present myself to him because I wish to offer for his 
 acceptance all I have of property and life." 
 
 As these bold words poured forth pulsing with passion, 
 Napoleon's first look of surprised anger gradually gave 
 place to a more pacific expression, one which Greloire, 
 who had been listening in alarmed amazement, was relieved 
 to see. 
 
 " I have ships, gold, men, at my command," Lafitte con- 
 tinued, with no lessening of vehemence ; " and all these, 
 with my own life, are his, if he can find use for them." 
 
 He stopped, and, with heaving breast and flashing eyes, 
 looked down into Napoleon's immobile face, while Greloire, 
 still apprehensive, divided his glances between the two 
 speaker and listener. 
 
 There was a short silence, and one that seemed heavy, 
 after the passionate voice had ceased. Then an icy tone 
 made sharp contrast as the emperor said, " These ships, 
 men, and gold, Captain Lafitte how is it that you come 
 to have them? " 
 
 There was a slight drooping of Lafitte's head, and he 
 did not reply. 
 
 " Were the ships and gold inherited by you, or gained 
 in honorable trade, or were they captured in recognized war-
 
 244 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 fare?" the pitiless voice continued. "Or perhaps they 
 were given to you by the state or country you have served, 
 as a reward for duty, or valor. And your followers the 
 men of whom you speak, will you describe to me the 
 flag under which they fight?" 
 
 Lafitte found it difficult to control himself to make his 
 voice and bearing accord with the respect he felt, and had 
 but now expressed, for the man whose sarcastic calm 
 turned back the impetuous torrent of his feelings. But the 
 tone in which he replied was quiet, although husky with 
 repressed emotion. 
 
 " Despite, Sire, the tales which have distorted my name 
 and acts, and which I perceive have reached your ears to 
 prejudice you against me, I claim that what I have of prop- 
 erty was personally gained by legitimate means in trad- 
 ing, and also by warfare which was perfectly honorable in 
 its way. I freely admit that I have stooped to employ, 
 for the attainment of my ends, men who might not be ac- 
 credited with the honor I claim for myself. But, as to this, 
 I ask you, Sire, who are sitting in judgment upon me, if 
 you would like that the world should hold you strictly 
 accountable for the morals of your soldiers, and for every 
 act they committed ? " 
 
 Greloire now laid a remonstrating hand upon Lafitte's 
 arm ; but it was shaken off impatiently as the latter ad- 
 vanced closer to the emperor, who, with eyes in which 
 shone a half-amazed, half-angry light, was looking up into 
 the glowing face above him. 
 
 " You know in your heart, Sire, without my presuming 
 to tell you, that such a thing would be flagrant injustice. 
 Yet it is this same injustice which you are heaping upon 
 me, who come to you with no thought of palliating my 
 faults no wish to make myself appear better than I am, 
 or may become. I have come with the same heart for 
 whose love you once cared, to pray that you let me serve 
 you, if I may, and die happy, in winning back the peace of 
 mind a reckless boy threw away."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 245 
 
 The words ceased, but their vibrations seemed to beat 
 upon the air with an inspiring thrill, like that which comes 
 from the sound of martial music. 
 
 " Mon Dieu / " murmured Greloire to himself. " If we 
 had an army of such men the world might be conquered ! " 
 
 A new light swept like a softening hand across Napo- 
 leon's austere face. 
 
 " Captain Lafitte, you are right," he said, with an entire 
 change of voice and manner. " You are right, sir, and I 
 ask your pardon." 
 
 He extended his hand ; and Lafitte, with a rush of new 
 emotions, bowed deeply, and pressed it to his lips. 
 
 As he raised his head, the emperor's fingers tightened 
 their clasp, and he rose to his feet. 
 
 " A man whose heart can treasure such love for me dur- 
 ing all these many years is surely one who should not be 
 misjudged," he said, looking up into the younger man's 
 face; "most surely not by me, and at such a time as the 
 present." 
 
 He spoke as he might have spoken twenty years before, 
 when addressing the boy Jean. 
 
 " The old days have never faded from my mind, nor has 
 my heart lost the memory of what made the tie between us. 
 I was pleased at the message you sent to me through Gre- 
 loire, from Martinique, for it made me hope that, greatly 
 as your environments had changed, your true nature re- 
 mained the same ; and what you have now said gives me 
 assurance of this." 
 
 As he uttered the final words he placed his arms around 
 Lafitte's shoulders and embraced him. 
 
 " Sire ! " 
 
 A volume of emotions spoke in that single word. 
 
 " Sire, my whole heart is grateful for these words of con- 
 fidence and esteem." Then, with a quick change to bitter 
 self-reproach, " No one can realize better than myself how 
 grave was the mistake I made ; and no man would make 
 greater sacrifices to undo it."
 
 246 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Tut, tut, boy," replied Napoleon, with all his old air 
 of affection, and tapping the shoulder upon which one of 
 his hands still rested, " when you have reached my years 
 you will know better than to waste time and thoughts in 
 useless regrets. Thou wert tempted sorely, I make no 
 doubt, and wert, after all, but a boy. And while I must 
 wish thou hadst shown greater trust in me, and hadst 
 stopped where I bade thee, still, all had to be as it was, 
 and is ; for such is destiny. Let the past go, Jean, my lad, 
 and look only into the future." 
 
 The expression of the emperor's face, the tenderness of 
 his voice, his use of the old-time manner of speech, these 
 combined to brim Lafitte's eyes with tears. But, annoyed 
 at such a display of weakness, he passed his hand impa- 
 tiently across his face. 
 
 " Perhaps it was destiny, Sire, as you say. But I would 
 gladly give my life, and all I can ever hope for on earth, 
 to undo the past. What I ask now is that you will permit 
 me, by accepting my services, to sooner make the future 
 as I wish it to be. You will, by doing this, give me the 
 happiness of feeling that I can make some slight reparation 
 for the past." 
 
 The emperor resumed his seat, and resting his hands 
 upon the arms of the chair, stared straight before him, 
 while Lafitte stood looking down at the seated form. Gre- 
 loire, meanwhile, with entire disregard of appearances, had. 
 sought recourse to his handkerchief. 
 
 "You owe me no reparation," at length said Napoleon, 
 lifting his eyes to the dark ones searching his face. " That 
 is due to me from many men ; but you are not one of 
 them." 
 
 " Then, Sire, give me the privilege of serving you." 
 
 There was another pause, during which the emperor 
 appeared to be engrossed in thought. Then, with a look 
 of infinite sadness, he said, " Jean, I am utterly helpless to 
 give you any opportunity of serving me." 
 
 "Helpless helpless, Sire)" exclaimed Greloire ex-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 247 
 
 citedly ; and Lafitte was about ^to add something, when 
 Napoleon raised his hand. 
 
 "Yes, helpless, because I am in the power of my ene- 
 mies; helpless, because the allies have their hands upon 
 the throat of France, and my armies are serving under the 
 flag of the Bourbons." 
 
 " But, Sire ! " expostulated Greloire, when what he 
 would have said was checked by another imperious gesture. 
 
 "Not another word from either of you. Matters are as 
 you know, and " with a deep sigh " my fortunes must 
 be governed by them." 
 
 Another pause ensued, Napoleon lying back in his chair, 
 and his two visitors looking at him in speechless despair. 
 Then the murmur of voices in an adjacent room caused 
 the emperor to rouse himself. 
 
 " It is not wise that you linger here," he said, dividing 
 his look between Lafitte and Greloire ; " for, to say nothing 
 of mine, your own safety may be imperilled. Perhaps 
 you are already regarded with suspicion. Jean, you will 
 stop this night with Murier, and you shall hear from me 
 again ; but do not venture to come to me unless I send for 
 you." 
 
 " And may I not do something for you? " urged Lafitte, 
 making a final appeal. 
 
 Napoleon's lips curled with a smile that yet held a touch 
 of mockery. 
 
 " What would you stop here on Elba, and pace its 
 shore, to count how many gulls you could see in an hour's 
 time? " 
 
 " Aye, Sire, if you so command," was the reply from lips 
 that smiled not. 
 
 The emperor uttered a mirthless laugh, and tapped the 
 chair-arms impatiently. 
 
 " No no ; a truce to levity. Go, you and Greloire ; 
 you must leave me, for I feel it unwise that you remain 
 another moment. You can do nothing nothing, for rne. 
 But I am glad to have seen you both of you ; and I
 
 248 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 thank you, Jean, my valiant ghost from the past, for your 
 offer and your love." 
 
 The emperor, as he spoke, leaned forward in his chair ; 
 and there was a caress in his smile and tone, as well as in 
 his touch upon Lafitte's hand. 
 
 " If ever a time should come, Sire, when I can serve you, 
 may I have the honor and happiness of receiving your 
 commands? " was asked longingly, as if with a new inspira- 
 tion, begotten by the emperor's manner. But the latter, 
 without answering the question, asked another. 
 
 " Shall you stop long in France? " 
 
 He, as also Greloire, watched Lafitte closely, until, after 
 a moment's hesitation, the young man looked down frankly 
 into Napoleon's face. 
 
 "Not for long, Sire not now. But Greloire knows 
 where any message can always reach me ; and I shall live 
 in the hope of receiving one. I must now return to Louisi- 
 ana ; but, Sire, believe me when I tell you that it will be as 
 a changed Lafitte. You will never, in the future, have 
 cause to think of me as you have heretofore with any 
 thought of reproach. And if I can find a way of wiping 
 the stigma from the name of Lafitte, in Louisiana, I will 
 do it." 
 
 Napoleon clasped his hand. 
 
 " And," continued the passion-shaken voice, " if ever 
 you have need of me ever want me, you have but to let 
 me know." 
 
 " And you would come to me? " 
 
 "Come to you?" said Lafitte, in a tone so emphatic 
 that the emperor made a gesture of warning. " Come to 
 you?" he repeated, in a lowered voice, whose tenderness 
 was vibrating. " Yes, Sire, through all the ships Eng- 
 land might seek to interpose." 
 
 " If this be so, Jean, then perhaps you may some day 
 hear from me. Meanwhile your adopted country (and I 
 hope I may some time see it) is at war with England, my 
 most implacable enemy ; and the conflict may afford you
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 249 
 
 an opportunity for freeing the name of Lafitte from 
 obloquy. And, when this is done, I would ask of you to 
 assume again your rightful name the one belonging to 
 your father's title and estates." 
 
 Lafitte started slightly, and stared at the immobile face, 
 whose gray eyes were looking off into space, as if the 
 speaker were revolving some new line of thought. 
 
 " My father's name and estates, Sire? Surely these are 
 but phantoms of the past, with which I, Jean Lafitte, can 
 have no connection." 
 
 The speculative eyes turned a smiling glance upon him 
 as the emperor said, " It is rarely a safe thing to aver what 
 may or may not lie in the future. All I ask now is that 
 you promise me that your lines of life, so far as you may 
 be able to control them, shall be laid with the single idea 
 of clearing the name by which you are known in Louisiana, 
 and with the intention of assuming, ultimately, the name 
 borne here in France by the boy I loved. I ask this for 
 your own sake, and also because of my interest stronger 
 than I think you now realize in your future." 
 
 Now taking Lafitte's hand, he added, 
 
 " You, who seem so desirous of serving me cannot you 
 promise me this? " 
 
 " Indeed, yes, Sire," was the fervent answer, as the 
 speaker bent to touch with his lips the hand pressing his 
 own. 
 
 " Be it so. Now " and the clasping hand released its 
 hold " you must leave me ; and be sure to remember my 
 wish that you remain with Murier until you hear from me. 
 Good-night, Greloire. Good-night, Jean ; and do not for- 
 get how rejoiced I am that my De Soto has returned to 
 me." 
 
 The words, with the old-time playful nickname, were 
 spoken smilingly, yet with an earnestness which gave them, 
 for Lafitte, the sound of a benediction. 
 
 The gray eyes and dark ones exchanged a last fleeting 
 glance of parting as Lafitte, following Greloire from the
 
 250 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 room, paused an instant in the doorway to look back. He 
 then went out into the peaceful night, his nerves still 
 feeling the clasp of Napoleon's fingers, and his mind 
 haunted by the sadness of the smile which touched the 
 calm face as the exiled emperor waved his hand in a final 
 farewell.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX 
 
 LAFITTE, quartered in one of Madame Teche's 
 dimity-hung chambers, slept little that night. 
 He reviewed again and again the meeting with 
 Napoleon, until his brain was in a turmoil of thought that 
 banished sleep. Then, too, as he wondered why he and 
 Greloire had been told to await some further communica- 
 tion from the emperor, the idea of a contemplated attempt 
 to escape suggested itself, starting a wild consideration of 
 possibilities in the way of decision and action. 
 
 If the emperor would go to America, might not he, 
 Lafitte, be the means of getting him there in safety? 
 
 He would find no empire there for his ruling, except 
 such as lay in the hearts that would welcome and protect 
 him ; but he could, at least, be free from the insulting 
 espionage of England. 
 
 Before parting for the night Greloire had said, in answer 
 to Lafitte's question as to the probable cause of their 
 detention, " Something has come to me which, strangely 
 enough, I had forgotten ; and this it may be that lies at 
 the bottom of the emperor's command that we wait until 
 we hear from him. But be patient, mon ami, until you 
 shall know his message." 
 
 It was late when Greloire went to sleep, still half-con- 
 scious of the footsteps in the room next to his own ; and 
 he awoke to see Lafitte standing by his bedside. 
 
 " Sacre is it morning so soon?" he inquired sleepily, 
 blinking at the sunlight stealing through the window. 
 
 " It is scarcely an hour after sunrise, Greloire, and I 
 regret to disturb you. But a messenger has just left a
 
 252 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 package with me, together with a written message from 
 the emperor, requesting that you and I leave the island 
 now, as speedily as possible." 
 
 "So? "said Greloire, rubbing his eyes. "Then it is 
 best that I leave this comfortable bed. Will you ascertain 
 from Murier what may be the prospect for breakfast?" 
 
 Lafitte departed ; and it was not long before Greloire 
 joined him below, where he was alone, pacing the veranda. 
 
 Stretching himself vigorously, and yawning as he inhaled 
 the fresh morning air, Greloire stood a moment looking off 
 to where Murier was talking with some laborers. Then, 
 turning to face Lafitte as the latter was walking past him, 
 he asked, " Did you say the emperor sent you a packet ? " 
 
 " Yes. And when I tore off the outer wrapping, I found 
 upon the inner one his request that I should not examine 
 it until we had left the island. What do you suppose can 
 be the meaning of this?" 
 
 Lafitte had come to a standstill, and stood leaning against 
 one of the veranda posts, facing Greloire, who regarded him 
 in silence for a moment before he answered musingly, " I 
 do not know, but suspect that I might make a fairly good 
 guess." 
 
 " What mean you ? " 
 
 " Wait, mon ami ; wait until you open the packet Then 
 I must tell you something that has escaped my mind until 
 now. But," he added, after glancing toward the door, while 
 a smile of satisfaction beamed over his face, " I have heard 
 our emperor say that the best thing to do was the next 
 thing to do ; and now it is our breakfast that is the best 
 and next, for here is Madame Teche." 
 
 Murier too, who was now ascending the veranda steps, 
 hailed Greloire. Lafitte he had seen already, having taken 
 the package to his chamber. 
 
 Breakfast was soon despatched ; and, after thanking 
 Madame Teche for her hospitality, her guests took their 
 leave, pursued, until out of hearing, by voluble farewells 
 and urgings to come again.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 253 
 
 Murier walked with them to the beach, which they found 
 deserted, with the full tide rolling in over the pebbled sand 
 in a hushed way, as if its mood were depressed. 
 
 Lafitte, drawing a scarlet handkerchief from his pocket, 
 waved it above his head ; and the master of the fishing- 
 smack replied with a speedy hulloa that came faintly across 
 the water. 
 
 " Shall you go back to the Italian shore, Felix ? " Murier 
 inquired. 
 
 "Hum I don't know," began Greloire, who had not 
 thought of the matter before ; and Lafitte added, " I shall 
 try and persuade the old fellow to sail straight for Cannes. 
 I think he will do this, if I make it worth his while ; and I 
 feel that I must return as speedily as possible to my ship." 
 
 A rowboat had put off from the smack, and was being 
 pulled rapidly shorewards, where the three stood watch- 
 ing it. 
 
 " Felix, shall you go straight home ? " asked Murier. 
 
 " Yes ; and I wish you would come with me." 
 
 Murier shook his head, and there was a deepening of the 
 shadow upon his face. 
 
 " Thank you, old comrade. I should like to do so; and 
 yet not. I doubt if ever I leave Elba, ever again see 
 France." 
 
 " Nonsense, man," Greloire said brusquely, laying an 
 arm across Murier's shoulder. " What is to keep you from 
 coming to visit me soon, and for long ? " 
 
 " Perhaps you may come to Louisiana some day," sug- 
 gested Lafitte ; " in which case I promise you a warm 
 welcome." 
 
 Murier thanked him, and then added, with an abruptness 
 quite out of keeping with his usual manner, " Have you 
 always lived in America, Monsieur le Capitaine ? Pray 
 excuse me if I seem to ask what I should not; but you 
 seem one of ourselves in your ways, and " his voice fell 
 " in your love for our emperor." 
 
 Lafitte hesitated, and glanced at Greloire ; but the latter
 
 254 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 seemed absorbed in watching the approaching boat, and, 
 having relit his cigar, had walked along the shore to the 
 point for which the craft was evidently making. 
 
 Lafitte now resolved to give rein to the impulse swaying 
 him ; and laying a hand on Murier's arm, he said, " I was 
 born in France, and am one with you in love for the em- 
 peror and France. And I wish to tell you now, Murier, 
 before I leave, that you are no stranger to me, nor should 
 I be one to you." 
 
 Murier stared in surprise. 
 
 " Can you see nothing familiar about me ? " And Lafitte, 
 smiling, bent his head nearer to the eyes searching his dark 
 face as if challenging a memory. 
 
 But Murier shook his head. 
 
 " Then I will help you. Can you recall one night in the 
 days of the ' bonnet-rouge,' when, at a chateau in Langue- 
 doc, you were wounded in a fight with the peasants, and 
 the emperor -then Lieutenant Bonaparte had a young 
 friend there ? And do you remember how, later, in Tou- 
 lon, the morning after the city was taken, your commander 
 sent you to find that same boy ? " 
 
 " Cielf" exclaimed Murier, his face brightening. "Now 
 I recall it all of it. The same eyes are yours, to be sure, 
 and he might, when a man grown, look like you. Am I 
 to understand, Monsieur le Capitaine, that you are the 
 boy? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Ah," said Murier, drawing a long breath, " I see now 
 I understand how it is that you came ; and I am all the 
 happier to have had you for my guest. It is an old love, 
 even as is mine," he added softly, extending his hand, " that 
 brought you here." 
 
 " All my life, since I was a lad, have I loved him." 
 
 The sound of Greloire's whistling now came to them. 
 He was pacing the beach, and performing the " Marseil- 
 laise," the latter being an air to which he would never 
 have dared give sound in his house at Bordeaux.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 255 
 
 " I remember it all now, Monsieur le Capitaine," said 
 Murier, " all but your name, which seems unfamiliar 
 to me." 
 
 " Well, never mind ; know me now as Captain Lafitte. 
 And let me hope you will not forget me, nor that if 
 ever you come to Louisiana I shall be most happy to see 
 you." 
 
 The fisherman had beached his boat near Greloire, who 
 now called to them, and stood waiting as they strolled 
 along to join him. 
 
 " Indeed, Monsieur le Capitaine Lafitte," replied Murier, 
 smiling as he uttered the name, " I shall not forget. Thank 
 you for the promised welcome; and let me say again how 
 very glad I am to have had the honor of entertaining you. 
 But I am not likely to leave Elba soon, if ever." And he 
 glanced at his empty sleeve. 
 
 As Greloire clasped his hand in farewell, Murier asked 
 reproachfully, " Why did you not tell me about Monsieur 
 le Capitaine who he was? Can it be that you had reason 
 to distrust an old comrade? " 
 
 " HelaSy Murier," was the half-jesting reply. " I must 
 ask of thee in turn if trust in an old comrade is lost in thee, 
 not to know that he has good reasons for all he does, or 
 does not." 
 
 A faint smile and a warm hand-pressure constituted the 
 only reply; and, after repeating his invitation, Greloire 
 followed Lafitte into the boat, which Murier helped the 
 fisherman to push off, and then stood, a lonely figure on 
 the beach, while the stretch of water widened between him- 
 self and his late guests. 
 
 As Lafitte had surmised, the captain of the smack was 
 easily induced to land his passengers on the French coast; 
 and they were scarcely under way before the former, ask- 
 ing Greloire to accompany him, went below, to open the 
 package. 
 
 It was somewhat bulky, and as his fingers broke the last 
 wrapping, a collection of papers, some of them discolored
 
 256 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 by years, others evidently of more recent date, fell upon 
 the cabin table. And in their midst shone the dull gold 
 frame of an ivory-painted miniature. 
 
 For a second Lafitte stared at this ; then, picking it up, 
 he looked intently at the gypsy-like face of the portrait. 
 
 The dark eyes, so like his own, seemed to hold an 
 appeal in their soft depths, and the small mouth, with its 
 dimpled corners, to ask, " Have you forgotten me? " 
 
 " Ah, man Dieu ! How came the emperor by this ? " he 
 cried chokingly, the sight of the beautiful face, which Mar- 
 got had taught htm to love as the mother whom he had 
 never known, making the past more real than the present. 
 
 Greloire, who was lighting a cigar, said dryly, " Examine 
 the papers, and if they do not tell you, perhaps I can 
 do so." 
 
 Lafitte glanced at them hurriedly. They comprised his 
 parents' marriage-certificate, and all the other papers, 
 together with the jewels, that had been in the small iron 
 box so many years ago. There were also more recent 
 papers, showing that the property in Languedoc had 
 been released from sequestration, and held in trust by 
 Napoleon, emperor of France, for "Jean, son and heir of 
 
 the Baron , and sometime known as Jean Lafitte, 
 
 of Louisiana, in North America." 
 
 All the documents were there, showing in detail the 
 legal proceedings, instituted and perfected under the Con- 
 sulate, and confirmed under the Empire. 
 
 As the last paper fell from his hand, Lafitte buried his 
 face in his crossed arms amid the heap of precious things 
 upon the table. 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! ah, mon Dieu ! To think yes, to 
 know that he has so well remembered me during all these 
 years so well guarded my interests ! And I the black- 
 hearted ingrate that I have been ! " 
 
 " Said I not always, mon ami, that he is one who never 
 forgets? " asked Greloire, with some emotion, and using 
 his handkerchief with a vigorous sound that seemed to
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 257 
 
 serve the purpose of a safety-valve for relieving that which 
 made his kindly eyes moist. 
 
 " Aye, indeed, most truly. But think think, man, how 
 it would have been could I but have known ! " 
 
 " We all make mistakes, my good Jean," said Greloire, 
 with an air which held an odd mixture of philosophy and 
 commiseration ; " and yours is to be pardoned as the mis- 
 take of a hot-headed boy. Recall how he looked at and 
 spoke to thee last evening, and do not despair." 
 
 Lafitte made no reply ; and it was not until after a long 
 silence that he spoke again. 
 
 " I cannot yet understand," he said, now more calmly, 
 " how the emperor came to have these things in his keep- 
 ing this miniature of my mother, these jewels, and the 
 papers, all of which my father gave into Margot's charge. 
 They were in the box that was hidden away under the 
 hearth of her cottage in Toulon, and were left there. Pere 
 Huot asked me about the box; but I could recaU nothing 
 in regard to it after that terrible night." 
 
 Greloire took several vigorous puffs at his cigar, and 
 straightened himself in his chair. 
 
 " I think I can explain the mystery," he began, with the 
 manner of one contemplating an extended recital ; " and 
 I wonder greatly that I should have forgotten to tell you of 
 this matter. When our emperor General Bonaparte he 
 was at the time sent me to Toulon, expecting me to re- 
 turn bringing you with me, he told me of Pere Huot having 
 written to him about the loss of a certain box of papers, 
 important to you and your future, and which presumably 
 had been left behind in your cottage, which was burned. 
 The emperor bade me discover, if possible, and in any way 
 I might see fit, whether or not the box was really destroyed, 
 as he hoped that some one, having found or stolen it, might 
 be induced to restore it if bribed by a reward offered in 
 his name. Pere Huot had written him of the box having 
 been hidden, as you have said, by Dame Margot, under a 
 loose brick of the hearth.
 
 258 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " I found the ruins of the cottage. But it was of no avail 
 to seek there for the box, as I ascertained that Pere Huot 
 had undertaken a like thing, with no result. I talked un- 
 reservedly, telling many people of the box, and of General 
 Bonaparte's wish to regain it, offering in his name a gen- 
 erous reward if the finder would bring it to me. After a 
 few days a woman brought me a small iron box, still 
 locked, and showing the effects of heat. She told me she 
 had been a neighbor of Dame Margot, and that in search- 
 ing the ruins she had found the box. I questioned her 
 closely, and became satisfied that she had feared to speak of 
 the matter, lest she might be accused of theft ; and, reluc- 
 tant to destroy it, and not daring to try and open it, she 
 had kept it hidden away for two years. 
 
 " I took it to the emperor, and he broke the lock in my 
 presence ; and after glancing over the contents, he told me 
 that my mission had been successful. I remember seeing 
 that pictare among the papers he took from the box ; and 
 he held it near me, as he looked at it, so that I could see 
 the lovely face. It is not the face any man would forget, 
 Jean ; and it holds a look of thyself." 
 
 Lafitte said nothing; and Greloire continued: "Tome 
 the matter was but one of many, in those busy days not 
 a matter for long remembrance ; and I thought no more of 
 it until this morning, when you spoke of the packet, and 
 wondered what it might contain. May I see the picture 
 again?" 
 
 He now spoke more softly, and stretched out his hand 
 for the miniature. 
 
 "It is a rarely beautiful face," was his low-spoken 
 criticism. 
 
 Lafitte, meanwhile, had risen, and was moving restlessly 
 about the narrow space of the cabin. 
 
 All the past was rolling in upon him, a sea of living 
 reality, so distinct and intense that the present appeared 
 dim and vaporous. 
 
 What had, but last night, seemed to him legitimate in
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 259 
 
 the light of his every-day world, as he met its events, now 
 looked honor-stained when confronted with the appealing 
 sweetness of the pictured face that had represented to his 
 boyhood all that was best and purest, and the present sight 
 of which had brought so vividly before his mental vision 
 the dimmed face of faithful Margot, and that proud, stately 
 man he had known as father, of whom he could recall no 
 word or act dictated by other than a sense of the highest 
 honor toward his fellows, and the most tender love for his 
 younger son. 
 
 And Bonaparte, the idol of his youthful heart, but for 
 so many years doubted and mistrusted, he had obtained 
 and treasured these proofs of the wayward boy's position 
 as that father's son and heir, while the son himself was 
 risking in alien lands the sacrifice of his rightful name and 
 heritage ! 
 
 An anguished silence kept him mute ; and Greloire, as 
 if understanding this, said nothing.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN 
 
 ON the fourth morning after reaching Toulon, the 
 two arrived at Bordeaux, where they found 
 Greloire's household in a high state of excite- 
 ment, with the prefect of police awaiting its master's 
 return. 
 
 Sometime during the previous night the house had been 
 entered through a window on the lower floor. Nothing 
 had apparently been stolen; but, in the morning, the 
 Indian, Ehewah, was found dead in his bedroom upon 
 the upper floor. 
 
 The body had not been disturbed, but lay as when 
 discovered. The hands were clinched tightly, the eyes 
 were wide open, and the throat was cut literally from ear 
 to ear. 
 
 As Lafitte and Greloire looked silently at the awful 
 sight, the former drew away the light cotton shirt from 
 over the dead man's breast, and showed, directly over the 
 heart, two deep gashes, forming a rude and bloody cross. 
 It was a symbol of the Baratarians, and signified that the 
 doom of a traitor had been sealed. 
 
 This was a confirmation of Lafitte's suspicions. But he 
 imparted nothing to Greloire, and soon left the house, 
 to return to the " Black Petrel," where he was greeted 
 joyously by old Lopez, who reported the cargo discharged, 
 and himself waiting orders. 
 
 To Lafitte's outburst in regard to the tragedy ashore, 
 and his demand for an explanation, the ex-gunner stared ; 
 a manifest perplexity proving his own ignorance of the 
 affair.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 261 
 
 He admitted that Ezrah had been missing since the 
 previous afternoon, and said that the Arab had, three days 
 before, come aboard and told, with much excitement, of 
 having seen Ehewah, and of the latter fleeing from him ; 
 also of how he had followed the Indian, and ascertained 
 his probable place of abode. 
 
 Some of the crew had been loud in vows of vengeance 
 for Ehewah's treachery, whereupon he Lopez had told 
 them of Lafitte's parting commands, adding that if he 
 himself could, for the moment, swallow his own desire for 
 meting out punishment, they should surely be able so 
 to do. 
 
 They had all, Ezrah included, appeared to acquiesce 
 in this, although Lopez admitted that the Arab had, ever 
 since, seemed unusually silent and sullen. 
 
 " It was surely he who did it, my captain," the old man 
 said in conclusion ; " for there was ever bad blood between 
 him and Ehewah. Ezrah was nearest the old captain 
 before the Indian saved his life from the snake ; and you 
 will remember how jealous the two always seemed to be 
 of each other. 'T was Ezrah, beyond a doubt, who made 
 the cross, for he has been missing since yesterday ; and 
 I think we shall never see him again, for he knows that 
 he has broken your orders." 
 
 The prediction proved correct, for nothing more was 
 ever heard of the Arab. 
 
 Before the week had ended the "Black Petrel" filled 
 her sails for Barataria, with Greloire's parting words of 
 advice repeating themselves in Lafitte's ears : 
 
 " Wind up your affairs in Louisiana, mon ami, and do 
 as the emperor desires return to France, and assume 
 your own name and rank." 
 
 So back to Louisiana he sailed, with his mind in a 
 turmoil that gave unwonted austerity to his manner, and 
 awed his crew into much speculation. 
 
 The fever of his first impulse having now abated, he 
 began to upbraid himself for having left Pierre, and won-
 
 262 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 dered if anything evil might have befallen his foster- 
 brother. Day by day, as the " Black Petrel " drew nearer 
 to Barataria, he kept himself busy by querying as to what, 
 if any, changes would be found there, and as to what 
 progress the war had made. 
 
 Louisiana, and especially New Orleans, must, in his 
 judgment, be destined to bear a share in the conflict, even 
 though this might not be until the eleventh hour ; for the 
 possession of the Mississippi and its valley had, for many 
 years, been a dream of Great Britain's ambition. 
 
 Night and day, thinking matters over, he resolved that 
 his next step would be to gather what he might of men 
 and shipping and wealth, and, in the hope of wiping all 
 stigma from his name, offer these to the Governor of 
 Louisiana, for use in warring against the English. And 
 the possibility of this opportunity being afforded him, 
 with its reward a pardon for himself and men, covering 
 all past offences the rehabilitation of himself before his 
 world, made his blood tingle. 
 
 This accomplished, he would return to France, assume 
 his father's name and rank, and stand ready to serve the 
 emperor. 
 
 And the Island Rose, how had she been faring all 
 this time, and what, amid the changed conditions he was 
 mapping out for himself, would be her place? 
 
 The remembrance of the last time he had seen her, 
 with her girlish face and form manifesting such shrinking 
 terror of him, had its sorrow now lightened by the hope, 
 so strong in his heart, that he would be able to redeem 
 himself in her estimation. And his love the first he 
 had known for a woman, was so intense that he was not 
 capable of serious doubt as to his ability to win, even 
 though the present held so little promise of success.
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT 
 
 THE " Black Petrel," keeping a sharp lookout for 
 English vessels, stole into the Gulf of Mexico? 
 and sped across it. Then, turning to the east 
 and north, Lafitte made for the western shore of Grande 
 Terre and the harbor of Barataria, where, in due time, the 
 brigantine dropped anchor. 
 
 The voyage had been a speedy one and made in safety, 
 although Lafitte now learned that several English vessels 
 had been seen off the mouths of the Delta. 
 
 It was the evening of his arrival. He and Pierre were 
 alone together, and, being able to count upon unlimited 
 privacy, they seated themselves for a full talk and com- 
 parison of notes, Jean to give Pierre the particulars of 
 his recent trip, and to hear from him an account of the 
 happenings at Barataria and New Orleans. 
 
 " I wish I might have been with you in Toulon," Pierre 
 said, with what sounded like a sigh, as he stretched his 
 legs to the hearth, where a bright fire blazed to dispel the 
 gathering dampness of the September night. 
 
 Jean, on the other side of the fireplace, shot a quick 
 glance at the moody face opposite, while Pierre, now with 
 folded arms and chin sunk on his broad chest, stared into 
 the flames. 
 
 " Art homesick for France, my brother? " the former 
 asked softly, using the old-time tongue in which these two 
 always spoke to one another in moments of unusual 
 feeling. 
 
 Pierre's face changed at once ; he smiled, and looked up. 
 
 " I never thought so, Jean ; but perhaps it may be that 
 I am. Certain it is that I have a longing to see France 
 again before I die."
 
 264 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Before you die ! " repeated Jean, a slight touch of 
 testiness in his tone. " Why do you talk thus? One would 
 think you were three-score, at least, instead of a stalwart 
 giant of half those years; " and he laughed, half-playfully, 
 half-deridingly. 
 
 There was no answering smile on Pierre's face, which 
 was again turned to the fire. But after a momentary 
 silence he said, abstractedly, as if thinking aloud, " I can- 
 not give a good reason for it, but there has of late been 
 something like a conviction growing upon me that I have 
 not much longer to live. I have tried to shake it off by 
 working ; and the preparations for sailing to France, with 
 the idea of joining you there, seemed to help me in the 
 effort. Perhaps " and he raised his eyes to Jean's won- 
 dering face " it is nothing more than you suggest 
 that I am homesick." 
 
 " We will wind up our affairs here and go to France," 
 declared Jean decisively. " Rouse thyself, Pierre, and 
 speak no more in such a fashion. What nonsense ! thou, 
 after all the dangers we have met and overcome together, 
 to have such a premonition ! I think, my brother," and 
 the tone brought a gratified sparkle to the other man's 
 eyes, " that thou hast missed me." 
 
 " Missed thee ! Aye, in every way, as I ever do when 
 we are apart. But somehow it was a taste worse this time, 
 perhaps because thou wrt away in France, where, as thou 
 hast said, I am growing homesick to go." 
 
 " And, as I have also said, we will go together, and 
 soon. We will return to Languedoc, thou and I, Pierre, 
 and see the old gardens, and roam in the park, and try to 
 be boys once more." The words ended with a joyous laugh. 
 
 " And read of De Soto, and Pizarro, and the tales of 
 Louisiana?" added Pierre interrogatively, a curious sad- 
 ness touching his voice. 
 
 " Nay, indeed not," replied Jean, sobering at once. "We 
 have lived too many practical chapters of a like sort, my 
 Pierre, to ever again enjoy the old book."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 265 
 
 " And the emperor," said Pierre irrelevantly ; " to think 
 of his keeping the little box of papers for thee ! " 
 
 " Yet it was like him to do such a thing," asserted Jean, 
 with vibrant tone and glowing face. " Ah, if but he were 
 back in France, and free from those cursed English ! " 
 
 "Aye," Pierre affirmed, a growl sounding in his voice. 
 " The English there on Elba, their power behind the 
 throne of France, and their ships sneaking in here to 
 snatch at Louisiana and the Mississippi. Cursed Eng- 
 lish, say I." 
 
 From what Pierre told him that night, Jean Lafitte knew, 
 as clearly as though he had remained at Barataria, all that 
 had transpired since his departure. 
 
 This had been shortly after General Andrew Jackson 
 defeated the Creek Indians at the battle called " Tohope- 
 kah," a disaster that broke their power, and compelled 
 the English to cease reckoning upon them as allies. And 
 after this signal victory General Jackson had been given 
 command of the Seventh Military District, which included 
 the State of Louisiana. 
 
 It was now very evident that New Orleans was to be at- 
 tacked as soon as the English could concentrate a suffi- 
 cient force for that purpose ; and Governor Claiborne had 
 called a session of the legislature, besides taking all other 
 measures in his power toward raising means for defence. 
 But the legislators were slow to co-operate with him ; and 
 the same malcontents whose scheming had already wrought 
 such harm to Louisiana were using all possible means to 
 neutralize the governor's efforts. 
 
 As Lafitte listened to all this, he congratulated himself 
 anew that the "Black Petrel" lay anchored safely before 
 Grande Terre. He felt also that no time could have been 
 more auspicious for making the offer he proposed to lay 
 before the governor, an offer of service by himself and 
 his followers, in consideration of pardon for all past mis- 
 deeds, whether actual or alleged. 
 
 When he voiced these thoughts and plans to Pierre, the
 
 266 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 latter agreed unreservedly; and both men were confident 
 of their ability to obtain the acquiescence of their fol- 
 lowers. 
 
 " But think you, Jean," inquired the more cautious 
 Pierre, " there is not reason to doubt if Governor Claiborne 
 accept our offer? I do not wish to dampen thy ardor; 
 but we must remember the threats he has made against 
 the Baratarians." 
 
 " He surely will not make the mistake of refusing our 
 services in such an emergency at a time when every 
 man able to bear a gun will be sorely needed in New 
 Orleans," was Jean's confident reply; and Pierre raised 
 no more doubts that night. 
 
 Among the other items of information he had given 
 (and which, although of slight interest to himself, were 
 otherwise to his listener), was that Count de Cazeneau 
 had, at La Roche's invitation, closed his house in New 
 Orleans, and gone with his granddaughter for a visit to 
 the former's plantation, La Tte des Eaux, near the head 
 of Bayou Bienvenu ; also that La Roche had taken this 
 occasion to persuade his ward, the Senorita Lazalie, to 
 join his house party. 
 
 " He is now a general in the state militia," Pierre added ; 
 "and" with a laugh "it is common talk in New Or- 
 leans that he is mad for love of the Spanish girl." 
 
 " And she? " inquired Jean carelessly, as he patted the 
 head of a hound crouched by his chair. 
 
 Pierre shrugged his broad shoulders. 
 
 " She is a woman ; who, therefore, may say what she 
 thinks, or will do or not do?" 
 
 Jean laughed as he knocked the ashes from his cigar. 
 
 " Thou hast a poor opinion of the fair ones, my Pierre." 
 
 " Have I? If so, it was thyself taught me the lesson." 
 
 The laughing face sobered at once, and a troubled look 
 came into the eyes fixed upon Pierre's half-mocking ones. 
 
 "Say you, Pierre, that I taught you any such lesson? " 
 
 " Aye, that you have, with your scorn of women and
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 267 
 
 their ways. Seeing through your eyes, I long ago 
 learned to look upon women as but snares, to love whom 
 brings mischief and the ruin of a man's heart." 
 
 Pierre wondered at the gentleness of the tone that an- 
 swered, " If ever I taught you such a thing, I taught, 
 and unknowingly, something I never believed myself; 
 for I think a true woman is a thing to reverence as the 
 saints, and that love in a man's life is like " He 
 stopped short, and his dark face took a dreaming look 
 as he gazed into the fire. 
 
 After a short silence he continued, "The lack of love in 
 a man's life is like a world without sunshine, or a lamp with- 
 out oil without light. And to live always in darkness 
 would make life little worth the living." 
 
 Pierre had been staring at him, and as he stared his 
 slumbering wits awakened. 
 
 In a groping but certain way, he began to rightly sus- 
 pect the possible cause of a hitherto puzzling change he 
 had noticed in his foster-brother, and, satisfied as to this, 
 he now blurted out, "Jean, my brother, tell me who is 
 she you love?" 
 
 Jean started, and his brows contracted in a frown. 
 
 " Thou art not angry with me, that I asked? " 
 
 " Angry ! " The word was repeated with a soft laugh, 
 as if the supposition were too absurd to call for refutation. 
 
 "And she loves thee in return?" Pierre ventured, en- 
 couraged by the laugh. 
 
 Jean shook his head, and a bitter sadness touched the 
 still smiling lips. 
 
 " Not love thee ! " exclaimed Pierre incredulously. 
 " Then she must be blind, or a fool," he added, in sudden 
 wrath. 
 
 " Neither the one nor the other, my Pierre," Jean an- 
 swered, as he rose from his chair. " I had never thought 
 to ask her love, nor knew that I loved her, when, by acci- 
 dent, she discovered that I was the terrible pirate, Lafitte, 
 and shrank from me as if I had been the plague, or death
 
 268 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 itself. That was long ago ; and I have not since laid eyes 
 on her." 
 
 There was a world of suppressed passion sounding under- 
 neath the ring of mockery in his voice, and Pierre saw his 
 hand tremble as he laid his arm against the stone support 
 of the chimney and looked down into the embers. 
 
 Pierre now rose and tossed his cigar into the fireplace, 
 appearing to think there was nothing more to be said. 
 But he turned quickly to Jean as the latter, laying a 
 hand upon his foster-brother's shoulder, added, " You 
 know my secret, Pierre ; for the present let it rest where 
 it is, and give no heed as to who she is. I may yet win 
 her; and I may not. If I do, then you shall know her, 
 and you will love her; of that I feel assured." 
 
 "Well may you, my Jean, if she is dear to thee; for 
 that she must now be to me." 
 
 " Aye ; and God bless thee for a true other self," said 
 Jean, grasping the other's hand. "That I could know, 
 without the telling. Still, it is pleasant to hear thee say 
 it. I will clear my name, Pierre thine and mine ; that 
 must be first. After that we shall see."
 
 CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 
 
 THE following day, Lafitte, accompanied by Pierre 
 and Nato, made a hasty trip to Shell Island, 
 where he found all as he had left it, and received 
 a hearty welcome from his followers. But when, early in 
 the afternoon, he returned to Grande Terre, it was to a 
 scene of great excitement. 
 
 An English war-ship a brig was to be seen in the 
 offing, and a boat from it, bearing a white flag, was ap- 
 proaching the island. 
 
 Lafitte, with his usual alertness of thought and act, bade 
 his men do nothing, and, leaving Pierre in charge of them, 
 went himself in a boat to meet the stranger, which as 
 he saw through a glass held, besides its crew, two officers 
 in the English naval uniform. 
 
 The two boats soon met; and there ensued an inter- 
 change of fierce glances between their crews. But the 
 eyes of the English sailors were lively with curiosity as 
 well as enmity, as they stared at the bared heads, brawny 
 arms, and hairy chests of the swarthy Baratarians, who, 
 for their part, indulged in looks filled with the hatred to 
 which they were unable to give audible expression. 
 
 The officers introduced themselves as Captains Lockyer 
 and McWilliams, of His Majesty's navy, bearers of a 
 message from Colonel Nicholls, commander of the forces 
 in Florida, to Captain Jean Lafitte, " Commandant at 
 Barataria." 
 
 " I will take the message, gentlemen," said Lafitte, when 
 they had stated their errand, " as it is not quite possible 
 that you will be permitted to land on the island."
 
 270 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 At this the officers conferred with each other in low 
 tones; then the one who had introduced himself as Captain 
 Lockyer, and who was the senior of the two, addressed 
 himself to Lafitte. 
 
 " We cannot do this," he said, while the tide drifted the 
 unfriendly boats closer to one another. " Our orders are 
 to see Captain Lafitte himself, and to place the message in 
 his hands ; and it is of the greatest importance to him, as 
 well as to ourselves, that we see him personally." 
 
 " Very well, gentlemen ; be it so," replied Lafitte. " But 
 in that case I must insist, for your own welfare, that you go 
 ashore in my boat, leaving your own to lie off the island 
 until this ' important business,' as you term it, is ended." 
 
 He spoke with cold courtesy; and his voice held the 
 suggestion of a sneer. 
 
 The Englishmen again demurred. 
 
 " Either that or nothing," added Lafitte indifferently. 
 " I cannot answer for your safety, nor for that of your 
 crew, if you presume to land upon Grande Terre in any 
 other manner." 
 
 After another and shorter talk together, the officers, 
 with manifest reluctance, consented to this ; and as the 
 boats were brought side by side, bare brown arms and 
 blue-clad ones united in holding them steadily, so that the 
 officers might board the Baratarian craft, while black eyes 
 and blue glared threateningly into each other. 
 
 "Bid your men keep off shore, and await your orders," 
 said Lafitte authoritatively, as they rowed away. 
 
 This Captain Lockyer did, and his boat fell astern, fol- 
 lowing slowly in the wake of the other. 
 
 The outlaws, wondering and excited, and with arms 
 ready for use, stood watching the returning boat, wherein 
 the hated English uniforms showed in seeming friendliness 
 with their own fellows and leader. But when Lafitte 
 stepped ashore, he bade them disperse, and motioned 
 his guests to precede him up the pathway leading from 
 the beach.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 271 
 
 They lost no time in doing this, scrutinized keenly by 
 the resentful and still puzzled outlaws, who, when the 
 scarlet uniforms disappeared inside the fort with Lafitte, 
 began muttering among themselves as to the meaning of 
 this strange proceeding. 
 
 " Your commandant has a snug retreat here," remarked 
 Captain McWilliams, glancing about the room into which 
 he and his companion had been ushered the "living- 
 room " of the house occupied by the two Lafittes. 
 
 " It serves," was Lafitte's curt reply, as he motioned his 
 visitors to be seated. 
 
 " I must beg of you to hasten and inform Captain La- 
 fitte of our arrival," said Captain Lockyer, with pompous 
 dignity. " Our time is valuable, young sir, and we have 
 much to talk over with your commandant." 
 
 These words seemed to make but little impression upon 
 Lafitte ; for, going to a buffet at one end of the room, he 
 took from it several cut-glass decanters and glasses, which, 
 together with a large silver box filled with cigars, he placed 
 upon the table. 
 
 " Permit me to offer you a glass of wine, or brandy, 
 gentlemen," he said, waving his hand toward the table ; 
 " and then you might care to join me in a cigar." 
 
 "Thank you no," replied Captain Lockyer stiffly, 
 while the other officer shook his head. The former then 
 added impatiently, " We have no time to waste. We came 
 here to talk not to drink nor smoke ; and we wish to see 
 your commandant." 
 
 " As you please," said Lafitte, in no wise disturbed by 
 his guests' impatience, for he seated himself near the 
 table and took a cigar from the box. " Then you may 
 proceed to talk, for I am at your service." 
 
 The two Englishmen glanced uneasily at each other; 
 and Captain Lockyer, growing redder of face, replied 
 angrily, " Our business is not with subordinates, but with 
 Captain Lafitte himself, Captain Jean Lafitte, the com- 
 mandant at Barataria."
 
 272 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " So you have informed me already, and that is why I 
 ask you to proceed ; for I am Jean Lafitte, the ' comman- 
 dant ' if such I may be called at Barataria." 
 
 Both officers stared at him in undisguised amazement. 
 Then they again looked at one another, but now as if for 
 mutual comfort, while they began to mumble confused 
 apologies. 
 
 " Proceed," Lafitte repeated, paying no heed to their 
 discomfiture, " for my time is quite as valuable as your 
 own. What do you want with me, what can any Eng- 
 lish colonel have to say to Jean Lafitte of Louisiana that 
 Jean Lafitte can care to hear?" 
 
 Leaning back in his chair, he folded his arms, and, as 
 he looked steadily at the two men, suppressed enmity sug- 
 gested itself in every feature of his handsome face. 
 
 They both started to speak, evidently anxious to placate, 
 as speedily as might be, this self-contained outlaw the 
 dignity of whose bearing had already impressed them 
 strongly, and upon whose aristocratic personality they 
 looked with secret astonishment, recalling the tales they 
 had heard of his fearlessness and ferocity. 
 
 " One at a time, gentlemen, if you please," he now said, 
 smiling coldly, as both officers began to address him. 
 
 Captain McWilliams, drawing himself up with much 
 dignity, became silent, and his senior asked, with seeming 
 incredulity, "You are really the commandant Captain 
 Lafitte?" 
 
 " I have told you that I am Jean Lafitte, whom Colonel 
 Nicholls has seen fit to designate as the ' commandant ' of 
 this territory you have taken the risk of invading. Am I to 
 understand that you wish witnesses called to identify me? " 
 
 "No; oh, no, certainly not, Captain Lafitte," Lock- 
 yer made haste to declare in a most deprecatory tone. 
 " Excuse me, I pray, if I showed any dispositon to doubt 
 your statement. But " his face reddening " you really 
 seem so much younger a man than we had been led to look 
 for, and er altogether so altogether so "
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 273 
 
 He floundered helplessly, and sank back in his chair, 
 while Lafitte, deigning no reply, sat cold and erect. 
 
 " You will pardon me, I trust ; I meant no offence," con- 
 tinued Captain Lockyer, running a hand through his scant 
 wiry locks until the hair over his forehead stood up like 
 the crest of an excited cockatoo. 
 
 "None is taken," replied Lafitte, with serenity; then, 
 with a touch of impatience in manner and voice, " And, now 
 that my identity is established to your satisfaction, proceed, 
 if you please, Captain Lockyer, and tell me why you have 
 done me the honor to seek me." 
 
 The officer, now more at ease, rose, and drawing from 
 the pocket of his coat a sealed package, laid it upon the 
 table, near where Lafitte's arm was resting as he looked 
 steadily at the two men whose trappings represented to 
 him the power that was holding caged upon Elba the 
 man for whose liberty and life he would have sacrificed his 
 own. 
 
 " There," said Captain Lockyer, resuming his seat, " is a 
 most important communication, intrusted to us by Colonel 
 Nicholls, for conveyance to your hands ; what it contains 
 will express, without further explanation from us, the nature 
 of our mission. We have orders to await your answer." 
 
 A tall clock in one corner of the room now began strik- 
 ing the hour of five ; and as the gong rang out, a miniature 
 ship, upon a painted ocean, set under glass below the face 
 of the timepiece, began to pitch as if from the force of a 
 heavy sea. The two officers noticed it at once, and, smil- 
 ing at each other, they rose, and crossing the room to- 
 gether, stood watching the little craft, which continued to 
 roll for several minutes after the last stroke died away, to 
 be followed by a tender melody which thrilled quaintly 
 into the quiet air. And three hounds, who had not re- 
 moved their suspicious eyes from the two strangers, now 
 rose from where they had been lying, near the hearth, as a 
 door opened and an old negro entered, with the apparent 
 design of making a fire.
 
 274 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 But he paused, and, like the hounds, eyed with small 
 favor the scarlet and gold uniforms in front of the clock. 
 His eyes then sought Lafitte, who was examining the 
 papers delivered to him by Captain Lockyer. 
 
 Lafitte glanced scowlingly at the negro; but his tone 
 was calm as he said, with a quick gesture of dismissal, 
 " Never mind the fire at present, Scipio ; and do not come 
 here again until I call you." 
 
 The intruder appeared surprised; but he said nothing, 
 and, after another unfriendly look at the officers, withdrew. 
 
 Captain McWilliams now seated himself upon the broad 
 sill of a window, and after motioning his companion to join 
 him, pressed the latter's arm as he glanced significantly at 
 the only picture in the room, hanging over the fireplace, 
 to which their backs had been turned. 
 
 The older man's eyes turned in the direction indicated, 
 and rested upon a fine engraving of Napoleon. Lafitte 
 had brought it home with him, a parting gift from Gre- 
 loire; and he and Pierre had, only that same morning, 
 hung it over the fireplace. 
 
 Captain Lockyer looked at it for a moment, then, purs- 
 ing his lips, turned his eyes toward McWilliams, and the 
 two men exchanged meaning glances. 
 
 Meanwhile, and apparently oblivious to their presence, 
 Lafitte was perusing the papers. And, as he read, he was 
 careful that his expression should not indicate the anger 
 and disgust within him ; for, absorbed as he seemed, he 
 was yet keenly observant of every movement and look of 
 the two officers. 
 
 The first paper ran as follows : 
 
 " I have arrived in the Floridas for the purpose of annoying the 
 only enemy Great Britain has in the world, as France and Eng- 
 land are now friends. 
 
 " I call on you, with your brave followers, to enter into the ser- 
 vice of Great Britain, in which you shall have the grade of a cap- 
 tain ; lands will be given to you all, in proportion to your respective 
 ranks, on peace taking place, and I invite you on the following
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 275 
 
 terms : Your property shall be guaranteed to you, and your persons 
 protected, in return for which I ask you to cease all hostilities 
 against Spain, or the allies of Great Britain ; your ships and vessels 
 to be placed under the orders of the commanding officer on this 
 station, until your commander-in-chief s pleasure is known ; but I 
 guarantee their value in all events. 
 
 " I herewith enclose you a copy of my proclamation to the in- 
 habitants of Louisiana, which will, I think, point out to you the 
 honorable intentions of my government. You may be a useful in- 
 strument in forwarding them ; therefore, if you determine, lose no 
 time. 
 
 "The bearer of this, Captain McWilliams, will satisfy you on 
 any other point you may be anxious to learn, as will Captain Lock- 
 yer, of the ' Sophia/ who brings him to you. We have a powerful 
 reinforcement on its way here, and I hope to cut out some other 
 work for the Americans than oppressing the inhabitants of 
 Louisiana. 
 
 " Be expeditious in your resolve, and rely on the verity of your 
 very humble servant." 
 
 Annexed to this were the instructions given to Captain 
 Lockyer, of His Majesty's ship " Sophia," by his senior 
 officer in the Gulf of Mexico, Sir W. H. Percy, captain 
 of His Majesty's ship " Hermes ; " and these read : 
 
 " Having understood that some British merchantmen have been 
 detained, taken into custody, and sold, by the inhabitants of Bara- 
 taria, I have directed Captain Lockyer to proceed to that place and 
 inquire into the circumstances, with positive orders to demand in- 
 stant restitution, and, in case of refusal, to destroy to his utmost 
 every vessel there, as well as to carry destruction over the whole 
 place, and, at the same time, I have assured him of the co-opera- 
 tion or all His Majesty's forces on this station. I trust, at the 
 same time, that the inhabitants of Barataria, consulting their own 
 interest, will not make it necessary to proceed to such extremities. 
 I hold out, at the same time, a war instantly destructive to them, 
 and, on the other hand, should they be inclined to assist Great 
 Britain, in her just war against the United States, the security of 
 their property, the blessings of the British constitution ; and should 
 they be inclined to settle on this continent, lands will, at the con-
 
 276 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 elusion of the war, be allotted to them in His Majesty's colonies 
 in America. In return for all these concessions on the part of 
 Great Britain, I expect that the direction of their armed vessels 
 will be put in my hands (for which they will be remunerated) ; also 
 the instant cessation of hostilities against the Spanish government, 
 and the restitution of any undisposed property of that nation. 
 
 " Should any inhabitants be inclined to volunteer their services 
 into His Majesty's forces, either naval or military, for limited ser- 
 vice, they will be received ; and if any British subject, being at 
 Barataria, wishes to return to his native country, he will, on joining 
 His Majesty's service, receive a free pardon."
 
 CHAPTER FORTY 
 
 WHEN he finished reading, which he had done 
 with a rapidity suggestive of carelessness, Lafitte, 
 who had absorbed every word, refolded the 
 papers, placed them in their cover, and slipped the pack- 
 age inside his coat, while his visitors, seeing that he had 
 finished, resumed their former seats ; and Captain Lockyer 
 was the first to speak. 
 
 " Now, Captain Lafitte, what have you to say to us, that 
 we may report to Colonel Nicholls ? " 
 
 He spoke cheerfully and confidently, as if there could be 
 no doubt of Lafitte's ready acquiescence in the proposal. 
 
 Before the latter could reply, Captain McWilliams added, 
 " It must surely be a most flattering outlook, that you 
 are now given such an excellent opportunity to vindicate 
 yourself and men in a proper and legitimate manner, after 
 the continued falsehoods and misrepresentations of these 
 Americans, who have even gone so far as to put a price 
 upon your head, and imprison your brother." 
 
 At this Lafitte's black eyebrows lifted slightly. 
 
 " Imprison my brother? " 
 
 "Yes. Is it possible you did not know of it?" replied 
 Captain Lockyer; and Captain McWilliams said, "We 
 regret to be the first to inform you of this sad fact; but it 
 is the truth. Your brother Pierre has been arrested, and 
 locked up in the gaol at New Orleans." 
 
 To Lafitte this was truly a surprise, although scarcely of 
 the nature his informants inferred. Had the statement 
 been correct, he had every reason to know that New Or- 
 leans had no gaol strong enough to retain Pierre Lafitte as 
 a prisoner. But, recalling his foster-brother as he left him
 
 278 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 on the beach, with their men, and knowing him to be now 
 waiting outside the house, he could not repress a smile as 
 he said, " I think, gentlemen, that my brother can take 
 care of himself; so we will not waste time in discussing his 
 fate." 
 
 "That is for you to say," declared Captain Lockyer, 
 with a bow from which his head was not raised before his 
 brother-officer asked eagerly, " And you will accept the 
 offer?" 
 
 "Do these papers cover the entire matter?" demanded 
 Lafitte, ignoring the question. 
 
 "Not altogether," began Captain McWilliams; then he 
 paused and looked at Lockyer, as if preferring that the 
 latter should explain. 
 
 This he did by enlarging upon the manifest and great 
 advantages to result for the " Baratarian commandant " 
 and his followers by acceding to the proposition, entering 
 the service of His Britannic Majesty, and placing all their 
 vessels under the control of the English. He added, with 
 much impressiveness, that, besides the rank of captain in 
 the British navy, he was authorized to promise Captain 
 Lafitte the sum of thirty thousand dollars in gold. 
 
 The latter listened silently, until Captain Lockyer had 
 concluded. Then, with an unmistakable curl of his lip, he 
 said, " Considering that your superiors accuse me of such 
 high-handed proceedings, and demand of me such whole- 
 sale restitution, it seems somewhat curious that my possi- 
 ble services should be reckoned as worth so high a price." 
 
 " They know that few men are so familiar with the 
 country hereabouts and the various approaches to New 
 Orleans," Captain Lockyer explained. "The price is none 
 too high for the assistance you are expected to render us. 
 Our duty to our king and country demands that we use 
 all measures for overcoming the Americans ; and, as they 
 are also your enemies, we urge you to join us in crushing 
 them." 
 
 " Yes ; some of them are truly my enemies," Lafitte ad-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 279 
 
 mitted. " But you must understand that I have many 
 friends amongst them." 
 
 " Even so," said Lockyer argumentatively. " And all, 
 friends and enemies alike, will, in the end, respect you 
 more highly if you seize this opportunity of establishing 
 yourself properly before them." 
 
 A flash leaped into Lafitte's eyes; but it was instantly 
 lost in a cold smile, as he replied, in a hard, incisive voice, 
 " I am ignorant of the ethics by which Englishmen are 
 governed ; but I have lived for many years in America, 
 and know its people well. And I have yet to learn that in 
 this country a man ever gained the respect either of friends 
 or enemies by committing an act of treachery." 
 
 The other men flushed, and it was evident that both 
 were angered. But Captain McWilliams replied with 
 forced calmness, " What we ask you to do can scarcely 
 be called ' treachery,' Captain Lafitte. I understand that 
 you are a Frenchman; and France and England are 
 friends." 
 
 Lafitte's glance wandered to the picture over the fire- 
 place, and rested there, while McWilliams continued, 
 "This is America, a nation that has imprisoned your 
 brother as its enemy, and has placed a price upon your 
 own head. We, the friends of France, your native country, 
 and seeking as well to be your own friends, come to you 
 with an honorable proposition for the acquisition of your 
 services, to enable us the better to put an end to this tire- 
 some war, and inflict merited punishment upon our mutual 
 enemy." 
 
 He spoke pompously, as one fond of listening to his 
 own words, and concluded with a comprehensive wave of 
 the hand, as if his argument were not to be refuted. 
 
 Lafitte, instead of replying, walked to the fireplace, and 
 standing beneath the pictured face, whose eyes seemed to 
 be regarding the group with cold intelligence, looked down 
 at the two seated men. His hands were clasped behind 
 him, and his eyes held a glitter that was menacing.
 
 280 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Surely you must agree that Captain McWilliams speaks 
 the truth," said the other officer, who had although with 
 an effort now regained his composure. 
 
 " I admit that Captain McWilliams, from his own stand- 
 point, argues the matter with ability," answered Lafitte, 
 with an indifference which, more forcibly than words, 
 showed his unwillingness for any discussion. " But " 
 tossing his head with a characteristic motion " there is 
 really nothing to be gained by talking of the rights or 
 wrongs of your most flattering offer. I agree with you in 
 saying that the matter is a most important one, for me, as 
 well as for yourselves so important to me that I cannot 
 decide it as speedily as you seem to expect, but must have 
 a few hours in which to give it proper consideration." 
 
 Both officers looked annoyed, and Captain McWilliams 
 expostulated. 
 
 " How can you possibly need to reflect upon a proposal 
 promising so much for you in the way of wealth and posi- 
 tion, as against an enemy who has proscribed you, and 
 branded you with infamy has loaded your brother with 
 chains, and imprisoned him as a malefactor?" 
 
 " It is very important," Captain Lockyer added, " that 
 we lose no time in pushing the operations already planned 
 against lower Louisiana. We must act at once ; and as 
 soon as we obtain possession here, our army will pene- 
 trate into the upper country, to make a junction with our 
 forces from Canada." 
 
 " It would appear," said Lafitte, as he threw the remnant 
 of his cigar into the fireplace and took another from the 
 box, "that you count upon no possible failure in your 
 plans." 
 
 " Failure ! " repeated Captain Lockyer, his face glowing 
 with confidence. " Indeed, no. Our plan of campaign is 
 perfected, and we are certain of success ; for there will be 
 little or no opposition from the Spanish and French in- 
 habitants of Louisiana, whose interests, as you will admit, 
 are with us, rather than with the United States."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 281 
 
 Lafitte did not comment audibly upon this sanguine pic- 
 ture, but smiled within himself to think how entirely the 
 speaker was at fault. 
 
 He looked, however, as if he were revolving in his mind 
 all that had been said, as he stood on the hearth, blowing 
 the cigar-smoke from before his face. 
 
 The two officers seemed waiting for him to speak, until 
 at last Captain Lockyer said, " Regarding our chances for 
 success, I will tell you that we expect excellent results from 
 an insurrection of the slaves, to whom we shall offer free- 
 dom as the reward for aiding Great Britain." 
 
 The cold indifference of Lafitte's face turned to sudden 
 sternness. 
 
 " Do you know anything of the negro nature, and how it 
 would show itself under such circumstances?" he de- 
 manded, adding, before they could answer him, "I do ; 
 and I warn you that what you propose doing would be 
 equivalent to unchaining the demons of hell." 
 
 The Englishmen looked uncomfortable ; but Lockyer 
 muttered something about " the fortunes of war," and 
 McWilliams said, " Considering the end we have in view, 
 we cannot afford to be too particular as to the means 
 we employ." 
 
 " So it would appear," replied Lafitte, with a cynical 
 laugh, " when you come to Barataria and offer such flatter- 
 ing terms for my own services." 
 
 They remonstrated in one breath; and McWilliams, 
 as if to avoid such an embarrassing topic, said, " But the 
 cruelty of the negroes can add little, after all, to the 
 punishment it has been decided to inflict upon New Or- 
 leans. The city is to be given over to fire and pillage." 
 
 This announcement, made with something of a dramatic 
 air, did not seem to make the expected impression upon 
 Lafitte ; for he passed it by, and said, somewhat impa- 
 tiently, and with unmistakable decision, "I repeat that 
 I cannot answer you before morning ; and such being 
 the case, I must request that you remain here over night.
 
 282 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 I promise to entertain you to the full extent of my poor 
 ability. But I must insist upon your keeping strictly 
 within this building this very room, and letting me lock 
 the door, as I cannot depend upon the mood of my men 
 during the night. To them many of them at least 
 the sight of a red uniform is the same as if they saw 
 the entire population of a certain country toward which 
 they have no very kindly feelings." 
 
 The two officers had risen, and now stood before him, 
 their faces showing mingled consternation and anger. 
 
 "Are we to understand, sir, that this is your decision? " 
 demanded Captain Lockyer excitedly. 
 
 " You are, unless you see fit to give up all further nego- 
 tiations with me." 
 
 " Then I presume we are powerless to do other than 
 accept your terms," said McWilliams, glancing at his 
 senior, who nodded a grim assent. 
 
 " That is a matter, gentlemen, for your own decision," 
 replied Lafitte, consulting his watch. 
 
 "And what of our crew, lying off shore?" inquired 
 Captain Lockyer. 
 
 " In case you see fit to accept what I suggest," answered 
 Lafitte, " you will send an order for them to return to the 
 brig, and to come for you at noon to-morrow." 
 
 The tone of quiet authority accompanying the words 
 appeared to leave no alternative for the British officers, 
 who could only nod their assent, evidently deeming it 
 more diplomatic to check the anger showing in their 
 faces. 
 
 " Here are writing materials," Lafitte continued, in the 
 same matter of fact way, " and if you will write the order 
 at once, I will see that it is delivered to your crew." 
 
 Captain Lockyer wrote the order, and handed it to 
 Lafitte, who put it in his pocket. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen," he continued, relaxing somewhat 
 his austerity of manner, " it is understood that you are 
 to be my guests for the night?"
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 283 
 
 " It would appear so," replied Captain McWilliams, 
 with a poor attempt at heartiness, " although uninvited 
 ones." 
 
 " And not particularly pleased at the prospect of enjoy- 
 ing Baratarian hospitality," Lockyer added with marked 
 acerbity. 
 
 Lafitte smiled, and moved toward the door. 
 
 " That you are forced to do so is an accident I regret 
 as much as do yourselves," he said. " But your experi- 
 ence must be classed with what you, a few minutes ago, 
 called ' the fortunes of war,' Captain Lockyer ; and I 
 will endeavor to make it tolerable for you at least so 
 far as lies in my power. Now I must leave you ; but 
 I will place you in the care of Scipio, a faithful old ser- 
 vant, who will attend to your comfort. You must be 
 ready for dinner?" 
 
 They bowed stiffly. 
 
 " Scipio will attend to this ; and do not, I beg of you, 
 hesitate in demanding all that our store affords. Mean- 
 while, you will find wine here, together with spirits and 
 cigars. Honor me by doing full justice to them. And 
 should you be inclined to read, you will find in that book- 
 case some works which may not be unfamiliar to you." 
 
 Calling the three hounds, he went out, closing the door 
 after him ; and the officers heard him lock it, and remove 
 the key. 
 
 Scipio soon appeared with a lighted lamp. This he 
 placed upon the table, and, taking no notice of those 
 present, proceeded to work, with the result that, in a few 
 minutes, a cheery fire was blazing. And, as the English- 
 men drew their chairs to the hearth, the old negro closed 
 and barred the heavy shutters, besides placing for the 
 night an iron bar across the already locked door. 
 
 " We seem to be prisoners, rather than guests," remarked 
 Captain McWilliams, in a tone too guarded for his words 
 to reach the partially deaf ears of Scipio, who was busy at 
 the table.
 
 284 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " It is a cheap price to pay, after all, if it results in 
 bringing him over to us," said Lockyer, in the same low 
 tone. 
 
 " Of that there can be no doubt," the younger man as- 
 sented, as he unbuttoned his tightly fitting coat, and pre- 
 pared to make himself comfortable. "He impresses me 
 as being a man of unusually decided character a very 
 prince of outlaws." 
 
 " He certainly appears to have been painted blacker 
 than his outward showing indicates." 
 
 Captain Lockyer made the admission with considerable 
 reluctance, adding, with a caustic smile, " Those hands of 
 his, and his manner, the whole ' cut of his jib,' suggest 
 the idea of his being quite able to hand a lady her fan with 
 the grace of a courtier; but they also suggest to me, at 
 least, his ability to clutch an enemy by the throat and hurl 
 him over a cliff, or make him walk the plank."
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-ONE 
 
 HAVING emerged from the building, Lafitte saw, 
 as he was locking the door, that many of his 
 men, armed with guns, had gathered within the 
 stockade, the greater number of them standing around 
 another log-house at the farthermost end, where two of 
 his sub-captains, Beluche and Dominique-You, had their 
 quarters. 
 
 The third, Catalon by name, and a native of Honduras, 
 whose cabin was outside the enclosure, stood in front of 
 this body of men, who seemed listening to what he was 
 saying to Beluche and Dominique-You, as the two sat, 
 smoking tranquilly, upon the platform before their house. 
 
 Catalon had been with those who rowed out to meet the 
 English boat ; and he was relating once more the details 
 of the affair, while the men were silently or otherwise 
 putting their own varying constructions upon the possible 
 meaning of the objectionable intrusion. 
 
 Lafitte passed quickly to the other door of his house, 
 and having ordered Nato, who was lounging upon the 
 step, to go inside with Scipio, to whom he now gave some 
 hasty, low-voiced instructions, he locked this door and 
 placed the key in his pocket. 
 
 He then went to the end of the stockade, and not see- 
 ing Pierre amongst the men gathered there, asked if any 
 one knew of the latter's whereabouts. 
 
 " He was outside, my captain, when last I saw him. He 
 was sitting on the bluff, smoking, and swearing that the 
 men should do no harm to that boat-load of beauties lying 
 off shore," replied Dominique-You, his swarthy face wrink- 
 ling with a grin.
 
 286 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " And it will take more than Pierre to keep the powder 
 cool, if this strain is to last much longer," said the aristo- 
 cratic-looking Beluche. "Will you tell us, Captain Lafitte, 
 why these English dogs are permitted to so long pollute 
 our air?" 
 
 He spoke in the purest French, with a drawling accent, 
 and waved a white hand, as if to waft away obnoxious 
 odors. 
 
 Lafitte looked at him sternly, but without replying; and 
 Catalon added, " Yes, my captain, tell us why they dare 
 come here, and for what, and how is it that you could 
 remain so long shut up with them?" 
 
 " Silence ! " commanded Lafitte ; and Catalon retreated 
 hastily, as if from personal fear. 
 
 " Since when," the former continued, " have I been ac- 
 customed to account to you for my doings?" 
 
 He did not wait for an answer, but, turning to face them, 
 he addressed all of the men : 
 
 " The exact meaning of the strangers being here is some- 
 thing which will be explained to you in time ; and that I 
 love them for the uniform they wear, you have no reason 
 to believe of me, any more than of yourselves. But there 
 are good reasons why I must be left to act as I choose, 
 until I have consulted with your leaders. There is a de- 
 cision to be made before explanations can be given you, 
 a decision that concerns all our interests, yours and mine 
 alike. You have never yet failed me in an emergency, 
 nor have I you ; so do not make the mistake of failing me 
 now, by doubts of my keeping faith with you, and acting 
 in your interest. My wish my command now is, that 
 you men, with Catalon, leave the stockade, and remain 
 outside where you belong, during the night, or until I 
 summon you here. It is your supper hour; disperse, and 
 put away those guns until you are told they are needed." 
 
 Some of the men growled dissent ; but as the greater 
 part of them, without replying, began to retire, the more 
 belligerent went with them.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 287 
 
 When they were gone, Lafitte turned to Dominique-You 
 and Beluche. 
 
 " Pierre and I will take up quarters with you for the 
 night, my captains, and while we are having supper, I will 
 explain matters ; and we four must decide upon the proper 
 course to pursue in regard to a most surprising offer these 
 strangers have been making." 
 
 The two men nodded, and Beluche, always more in 
 Lafitte's confidence than were Dominique-You or Catalon, 
 felt privileged to ask, " Did I not see you lock up the 
 Englishmen as prisoners?" 
 
 " Yes, for their own safety and ours, as I am obliged to 
 keep them here until to-morrow. And see you to it, Be- 
 luche, and you, Dominique, that none of the men approach 
 that locked door, while I find Pierre, and go to send the 
 English sailors back to their ship." 
 
 " Then they stop here all night those two English 
 dogs?" inquired Dominique-You, in an aggressively dis- 
 approving tone. 
 
 Lafitte looked at him angrily, but replied with quiet 
 firmness, "They do, because I wish it; because I know 
 what I am doing, as both of you will agree when I explain 
 the matter to you." 
 
 Beluche waved his hand in a deprecatory fashion as he 
 said, " You have no need to tell me that, Captain Lafitte ; " 
 and Dominique-You, as though wishing to appear no less 
 loyal, hastened to say, with an air of apology, " Of course, 
 my captain, I did not intend to question your right to do 
 whatever you see fit." 
 
 "That is well," replied Lafitte. "Have patience to be- 
 lieve that I mean you fair. Meanwhile guard that door 
 until I return ; and then it will be better to fasten the gates 
 for the night." 
 
 The shadows were falling fast, and the dampening air 
 was melodious with the notes of the mocking-birds that 
 filled the trees about the fort, while faint but sweet came 
 other fluting voices from the deeper woods, mingling with
 
 288 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 the occasional cry of an owl, or the reiterative note of a 
 whippoorwill ; and now and then the maniacal scream of a 
 loon came from the sedges. 
 
 On the edge of the bluff was Pierre, a gun across his 
 knees, and looking like a sentinel on guard, except that he 
 was stretched upon the ground, smoking. 
 
 The other men had disappeared, and the wreathing 
 smoke beginning to curl from the rude chimneys of their 
 cabins told that they were making preparations for supper. 
 
 It was, even amid such wild surroundings, a peaceful 
 scene ; for the subdued hum of voices, the faint rattle of 
 cooking utensils, and the murmur of the water washing in 
 on the beach below, were all that disturbed the silence. 
 
 Pierre's head turned quickly at the sound of footsteps 
 behind him, and he sprang upright as Jean said, " We must 
 row out there, and send those fellows back to their ship. 
 The officers will remain here for the night." 
 
 This was somewhat startling news; but Pierre's only 
 response was, " Are we to go unarmed? " And he glanced 
 at his gun. 
 
 " No, bring your gun ; it is as well to have it," replied 
 Jean, as he lit a small dark lantern he was carrying and 
 started down the pathway toward the beach. 
 
 " Is it well that you go unarmed, Jean? " 
 
 The latter's answer was to turn his head and smile over 
 his shoulder as he tapped his breast. 
 
 Nothing more was said until a small boat had been pushed 
 off. Jean sat in the stern, and Pierre, laying his gun across 
 the seat, picked up the oars and began to row with long, 
 steady strokes that sent the light craft speeding out toward 
 the English boat, showing black in the gathering dusk. 
 
 Jean now tied a handkerchief to an extra oar, and raised 
 it, making a white flutter in the shadows. 
 
 " Offered they a generous bribe? " Pierre inquired softly, 
 turning his head in order to make sure of the other boat's 
 exact position, while his powerful arms worked with the 
 smoothness of a piston-rod.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 289 
 
 " Indeed, yes. But why did you so readily guess their 
 errand? " 
 
 " Perhaps it was because I am not the fool I look," was 
 the rejoinder, accompanied by a laugh. 
 
 " They offer me the rank of captain in the English navy, 
 and thirty thousand dollars in cash." 
 
 Pierre gave a low whistle. 
 
 " And the price of all this honor and wealth? " he asked, 
 taking another backward glance. 
 
 " Pull a bit more to larboard ; we will stop at easy hailing 
 distance," said Jean, after turning half-way in his seat. 
 Then, in an entirely different tone, one of concentrated 
 rage, " The price is that we are to sell ourselves to the 
 English, and lead them, by our own paths and water-ways, 
 so that they may fall unexpectedly upon New Orleans, and 
 burn the city, after pillaging it. They are also to buy the 
 slaves with promised freedom, and then add to the ruin by 
 an insurrection." 
 
 Pierre, although of not so fine a mould as Jean, shared 
 the latter's dislike to profanity, and rarely indulged in 
 strong language. But he now uttered a terrible oath. 
 
 This was his only comment; and it was followed by 
 silence, until Jean announced, " Here we are ; and we '11 
 lie on our oars." 
 
 He sent a challenging shout over the water. It was 
 answered at once ; then came the sound of working oars, 
 and Lafitte called again, " Come no nearer. Captains Lock- 
 yer and McWilliams will remain on the island for the night, 
 and have sent you written orders. Stop where you are, 
 and I will bring them to you." 
 
 A short pause succeeded ; then a surly " Aye, aye," 
 came across the water, and the rowing stopped, just as a 
 fiery thread of the rising moon was lifting above the sea. 
 
 Pierre soon brought his boat alongside the other one, 
 and Jean, laying a hand on its gunwale, inquired, "Who is 
 in command here?" 
 
 " I am, sir," replied one of the men, rising so that his 
 19
 
 290 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 powerful form stood out above the others. " I 'm bo's'n 
 of the brig." 
 
 " Here are your orders," said Lafitte, handing the sealed 
 paper to the nearest man, who passed it along. " You are 
 to return to the brig, and report here at noon to-morrow." 
 
 " Aye, sir," replied the boatswain. " But," hesitatingly, 
 " how am I to know " 
 
 " Can you read?" interrupted Lafitte. 
 
 " Aye, somewhat, sir." 
 
 " Do you know Captain Lockyer's handwriting? " 
 
 " Aye, sir, if I should see it." 
 
 " Here," and Lafitte flashed the bright gleam of the 
 lantern he had taken from between his feet. " Hold the 
 paper so that the light will strike it. There that will 
 do. Can you make it out? " 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir; and it seems to look as it should." 
 
 "Very well," said Lafitte, closing the lantern. " Give it 
 to your officer in charge, and tell him that the message was 
 delivered to you by Captain Lafitte himself. Pull away, 
 Pierre," he added in a lower tone. 
 
 A confused murmur of surprise came from the crew; 
 and the boatswain, raising his voice as the other boat shot 
 away, called, "Aye, aye, sir; it shall be as you have 
 ordered. Is there nothing more, sir?" 
 
 " No ; pull away," was the curt reply from the already 
 dimming Baratarian boat. 
 
 Eight oars touched the water as one, and the English 
 boat went her way. 
 
 Pierre soon began to row more slowly; and Jean asked, 
 in continuation of their recent talk, " Heard you ever of a 
 more dastardly plan for white men to map out? " 
 
 " Not I," growled Pierre. " Even Laro, scoundrel as he 
 was, never did a worse thing. And if we decline this, Jean, 
 then what is it to be, or did they not do us the honor of 
 doubting our acceptance?" 
 
 " Barataria is to be overrun by the English ; our ships 
 and property confiscated ; and you and I, together with
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 291 
 
 our men, put to death as pirates, who have merited the 
 vengeance of Great Britain by our seizure of Spanish 
 vessels." 
 
 " Aye," said Pierre ; " but the Spanish ships were taken 
 under our commission from Carthagena, which is warring 
 with Spain. What has England to do with that?" 
 
 " The same she presumes to do with everything running 
 counter to her own ambitions and wishes, or when she 
 desires a pretext for committing still greater outrages." 
 
 " So ! " But Pierre's laugh had little of mirth in it. 
 " Louisiana offers a price for your head, and England 
 threatens to hang you if you will not help her destroy 
 New Orleans, so that she may have Louisiana by the 
 throat. A fine choice of favors, this, to select from." 
 
 It was now Jean who laughed as he said, " I forgot to 
 tell you of a bit of news with which these visitors surprised 
 me. Did you know that Pierre Lafitte was now confined 
 in the New Orleans gaol awaiting trial for felony?" 
 
 " Well, scarcely," replied Pierre, with a chuckle, as he 
 beached the boat, after which he sat motionless, staring up 
 into Jean's laughing face, until the latter leaped to the 
 sands. 
 
 " Neither did I, until they told me." And, while speak- 
 ing, he gave his handkerchief a sharp shake before putting 
 it away, as if to free the cambric from all association with 
 their recent mission. 
 
 "And what said you to them in regard to this?" in- 
 quired Pierre, picking up his gun and stepping from the 
 boat. 
 
 " Nothing, as it would not have been polite to question 
 the assertion of those so well versed in the recent news of 
 a city I have not seen for so long a time." 
 
 At this both men laughed as they started up the 
 pathway. 
 
 " They sent you the proposal by word of mouth, Jean?" 
 asked Pierre, when they had gone a few steps. 
 
 " No ; in due form, upon paper. The two officers are
 
 292 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 safely housed behind locked doors, with Scipio, for the 
 night; you and I will stop with Beluche and Dominique. 
 I have yet to tell them what you already know. We will 
 have supper together, we four, and look over these Eng- 
 lish papers ; then I will set forth my plans, which are well 
 formulated in my mind." 
 
 Pierre reached out and caught the shoulder in front of 
 him, and the two came to a sudden halt. 
 
 " Jean," he whispered, " you will never agree to this 
 thing, nor advise any further negotiation with England ? " 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! Not I, my brother." 
 
 They paused on the crest of the bluff, and looked around 
 them. The moon had lifted nearly all its disk, still a dull, 
 rayless red, showing like a smouldering fire amid the dark 
 vapors drifting raggedly across its face. All about was 
 deserted ; but the hum of voices told that the men were 
 inside their cabins, at supper. The stockade rose, a black 
 mass, save where its gates stood ajar; and several hounds 
 came running out to meet the two Lafittes as they entered. 
 
 " You said the British officers were quartered in our 
 house for the night?" said Pierre, when Jean had bolted 
 the gates, and the two were taking their way across the 
 enclosure. 
 
 " Yes, locked up snugly, with the keys of both doors in 
 my pocket. And Scipio is locked in as well, to look after 
 them and their comfort." 
 
 Again Pierre laughed unmirthfully. 
 
 " T is better assurance for them and their comfort that 
 the gates too are locked. Our men had all the tiger in them 
 roused at sight of the red coats ; and darkness whets the 
 appetite of tigers, and makes them prowl around for prey. 
 I know not why it is, Jean, but I have not the patience I 
 once had for dealing with these brutes when their school- 
 ing from Laro tries to get the upper hand."
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-TWO 
 
 UNDER the low, cane-thatched roof covering the 
 abode of Beluche and Dominique-You, they and 
 the two Lafittes ate supper in comparative silence, 
 owing to the coming and going of the slave, Juniper, who 
 waited upon them. But the meal over, with pipes and 
 bottles upon the cleared table, and Juniper shut apart in 
 his own domain, they proceeded to discuss the matter 
 whose contemplation had made their silence seem sullen. 
 
 " We had better have Catalon before I explain an offer 
 made to us by these Englishmen," said Lafitte, drawing a 
 package from his pocket and beginning to open it. " Will 
 you call him in, Dominique? And make sure that none 
 of the men enter the stockade." 
 
 Dominique-You went out, accompanied by Pierre, 
 who would watch by the unbarred gate until the former 
 should return with Catalon. 
 
 When the door was closed after them, Beluche, lighting 
 a cigar, muttered, " Caramba! As I thought; they would 
 seek to buy us." 
 
 "Would you like to serve Great Britain?" Lafitte's 
 mocking tone was repeated in the expression flashing from 
 his eyes, raised a moment from the papers he was holding. 
 
 " Serve Great Britain ! " Then, with another oath 
 and Beluche was, as a rule, too indolent for any very great 
 amount of emphasis "Aye, serve it as I like, and in a 
 way it would scarcely relish." 
 
 Lafitte smiled. " Then you and I are of one mind, as I 
 thought we would be. But wait a little, until you know 
 what we are offered." 
 
 Beluche's face became alert with a new thought.
 
 294 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Pardon, my captain," he said, pitching his voice in a 
 lower key, " if I ask is a very large bribe offered ; because, 
 in case the idea may not have occurred to yourself, I 
 would suggest that if the bribe be a great one, 1 would not 
 care to trust Catalon, and perhaps not Dominique, with 
 knowledge of the exact amount. It might prove too much 
 for their integrity; for both of them are growing dissatis- 
 fied with our present inactivity and manner of living." 
 
 "I myself, Beluche, have suspected such a thing; but 
 I appreciate and thank you for the precaution you show. 
 You and Pierre are, however, the only ones I had reckoned 
 upon trusting with the details of the bribe, which, after all, 
 is made to me alone, and concerns no one else." 
 
 " Still, my captain, should Catalon know of this, it might 
 tempt him to try for something similar, and perhaps at 
 your expense. I am not quite sure that Dominique could 
 be induced to sell us for his own gain ; but I have little 
 faith to give Catalon. He retains too much of the old cap- 
 tain's views and methods to be entirely one of your own 
 sort." 
 
 " I will tell neither of them anything but what we will 
 afterwards lay before all the men. Meantime I can rely 
 upon you, Beluche? " 
 
 He spoke hurriedly, for they heard the voices of those 
 for whom they were waiting. 
 
 " As yourself, my captain." 
 
 " Later on I should like to tell you all," Lafitte added 
 quickly, as the door opened, and Pierre, with Dominique- 
 You and Catalon, entered the room. 
 
 When they were all seated, Lafitte, in a low tone, and to 
 the accompaniment of occasional angry comments and im- 
 precations, principally from the last comers, read the two 
 papers, omitting however all mention of the money offered 
 to himself. 
 
 When he had finished, Dominique-You was the first to 
 speak. 
 
 " Ah, my captain, if but you would invite them out,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 295 
 
 those two English red-birds, and let us wing them as they 
 fly." 
 
 " Is that hard head of yours addled with drink, Domi- 
 nique," Beluche exclaimed testily, " that you talk with so 
 little sense? " 
 
 " Such a thing, Dominique-You, might gratify your own 
 private feelings, and show the honest sentiments of all the 
 other men," said Lafitte, as he refolded the papers. " But 
 I must ask that you remind yourself of the infamy it would 
 attach to us should those coming here under a flag of truce 
 be harmed, or treated with needless discourtesy." 
 
 " A thing it would be easier to remember if their jackets 
 were of a different color," remarked Catalon, after which 
 he poured a tumbler of spirits down his capacious throat 
 and then banged the glass upon the table. 
 
 " Red coats or blue, they are our visitors, under the 
 protection of a flag of truce," said Lafitte, looking sternly 
 about him. " And you must shoot me, before you shall 
 dare disgrace me and yourselves by harming them." 
 
 There was a short silence, while the speaker's flashing 
 eyes rested upon Catalon's sulky face. 
 
 " Now tell us, Captain Lafitte," spoke up Beluche, who, 
 like Pierre, had been smoking contemplatively, apparently 
 revolving what had been read, " tell us what you advise 
 as the course to be pursued. But, first of all, I declare 
 that never will I take up arms for England, against Amer- 
 ica or any other nation. As to that, I can count upon 
 enough followers to make it worth my while to sail away 
 southward, and stop there until this trouble is over." 
 
 He glanced at his companions, as if inviting their com- 
 ments, and, passing by the strong spirits, filled a small glass 
 with choice Canary from the generous decanter near his 
 elbow. 
 
 " And I am with you, Beluche," came in Dominique-You's 
 heavy voice. " Of that I am as sure as that I would like 
 to take a shot at those English birds, flag of truce or no." 
 
 He ended with an oath, as he took a deep draught from
 
 296 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 the huge tumbler of brandy in his hand, and looked defi- 
 antly over the rim of his glass into the face of his com- 
 mander. But he saw nothing there to indicate displeasure. 
 
 "And what say you, Catalon ?" inquired Lafitte, turning to 
 him as he sat staring into the fire, and chewing an end of the 
 scarlet silk handkerchief knotted around his brown neck. 
 " It is well that we learn how far England can count upon 
 service from you, before I show the course I intend to pur- 
 sue in this matter. I am assured, from what Beluche and 
 Dominique have said, that they will be with me ; that 
 Pierre is, I know already. So let us hear if you would 
 serve the English." 
 
 Catalon roused himself and looked up, his coarse-featured 
 face full of wrath. 
 
 " Never, by , Captain Lafitte ! I say as say Beluche 
 
 and Dominique. I may go away; but never will I fight 
 with red-coats for messmates, not I. If I caught one of 
 my men thinking of such a thing, I would shoot him down 
 as quickly as I would like to shoot those two of whom you 
 are taking such precious care across the yard." 
 
 A slight smile was Lafitte's only comment upon this out- 
 burst. Then, laying a hand on the tipped-back chair in 
 which his foster-brother sat beside him, he said, " And you, 
 Pierre, have you any objections to make? " 
 
 Pierre did not move his head, but turned his eyes to 
 the smiling face near him. 
 
 " Need you ask?" 
 
 Jean's hand rose from the chair to press its occupant's 
 broad shoulder, as, looking at the other men and speaking 
 decisively, he said, " It would seem that we are of one 
 mind in disdaining to accept these propositions." 
 
 " Aye," growled Dominique- You. 
 
 " I will now," Lafitte continued, " tell you that my idea 
 is to communicate promptly with the authorities in New 
 Orleans, offering them, for the city's defence, our services, 
 which the English appear to value so highly. The price I 
 shall demand is the granting to us of pardon for all past
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 297 
 
 offences, or supposed offences. To such of my officers and 
 men who may suffer materially, I will promise all the help 
 my private purse can give. What say you to this ? " 
 
 He glanced around the circle, his eyes resting finally on 
 Catalon and Dominique-You. 
 
 '' I say, my captain, that it is all very much to my taste," 
 replied the latter; and Catalon added as emphatically, 
 " Mine as well ! " 
 
 " And you, Beluche ; what say you? " 
 
 Beluche, who was sipping the last of his Canary, replied 
 slowly, " I say, without reserve, that I am with you in 
 everything that is for America as against England, and I 
 know that my men will be with me." 
 
 " Aye," added Catalon, " we can all fight with a better 
 stomach for Governor Claiborne than for King George." 
 
 " And what if Governor Claiborne refuse us the oppor- 
 tunity of fighting for him?" 
 
 The question was from Pierre, who had left his chair and 
 was knocking the ashes from his pipe into the fireplace. 
 
 " He cannot afford to refuse us," declared Beluche, with 
 unusual animation, before Jean could speak. And " Not 
 he ! " exclaimed Catalon and Dominique-You, speaking as 
 with a single voice. 
 
 " This, then, is our course," said Lafitte, as if Pierre's 
 question had been fitly answered, " and which, for the 
 present, must be kept strictly to ourselves, as our men 
 need not be told for several days to come. Meanwhile, in 
 the morning, I will answer Lockyer and McWilliams as I 
 find it best to do. And, Catalon, remember, you and 
 Dominique, see to it that the men are kept quiet, and 
 that nothing occurs to prevent my returning the two offi- 
 cers safely to their boat." 
 
 Dominique-You was silent, while Catalon muttered 
 angrily. 
 
 Lafitte, lighting a cigar, said nothing; but Beluche's 
 drawling tone checked the disgruntled one. 
 
 " Friend Catalon, be not such a blind fool as to risk cut-
 
 298 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 ting your own throat in such an important crisis. For 
 should you be the instigator of any unpleasantness for our 
 visitors, we would be forced to explain matters, and per- 
 haps, in the end, accede to an English demand for the 
 honor of giving you an English funeral." 
 
 Catalon did not reply, but, after another surly silence, 
 filled his glass and emptied it slowly. 
 
 Several times during the night Jean and Pierre, singly 
 or together, went outside to reconnoitre : but the hours 
 passed without disturbance. 
 
 Once, while Jean was pacing up and down beneath the 
 bright stars with the hounds for company, the sound of a 
 far-off wolfs cry changed, as would have the blast of a 
 trumpet, the current of his thoughts. 
 
 Was it really coming, and so near as it seemed, the 
 day for which he had longed, holding for him the chance 
 of redeeming himself in the estimation of the Island Rose? 
 And were not events seeming to shape for enabling him to 
 fulfil the promise made upon Elba, that he would erase 
 the stigma from the name of Lafitte in Louisiana? 
 
 A thrill of hope made new life spring within him; and, 
 with an unvoiced prayer, he lifted his wilful face to the 
 heavens, from whence there seemed to descend a strange 
 peace.
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-THREE 
 
 A sunrise a change had taken place in the appear- 
 ance of things about the stockade. Before the 
 now opened gates a brawny Irishman, one of 
 Beluche's trusted followers, fully armed, paced to and fro ; 
 and Lopez stood guard before the locked doors of Lafitte's 
 house. It had been decided that Catalon's mood was too 
 uncertain for entire reliance to be placed in him or his 
 men ; and, should these attempt to mete out vengeance 
 after their own taste, there was a suspicion upon the part 
 of the Lafittes and Beluche that Dominique-You and his 
 followers might catch the fierce contagion. 
 
 Some of those outside the stockade would come up 
 occasionally, alone, or in groups, to exchange words with 
 Miles Ford, the Irish sentry, or stand staring inside, where, 
 near the gates, a number of the more trustworthy men 
 were preparing their breakfasts. 
 
 These men had been selected by the Lafittes and 
 Beluche, and stationed inside to be there in case of trouble 
 at midday, when the English officers would leave the 
 fort. 
 
 As Pierre, Jean, and the two under-captains were finish- 
 ing breakfast, a messenger came to tell the former that 
 the " Star of the Gulf" had come to anchor in the harbor, 
 and was flying a signal for his presence on board. 
 
 " It is Zendanner, from Mexico, at last," he said, glanc- 
 ing at Jean ; " and I am glad to know of his safe arrival. 
 He should have been in a week ago." 
 
 " Why sends he not a boat here ? " mumbled Dominique- 
 You, his mouth filled with venison from the haunch before
 
 300 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 him, which he was lessening rapidly by the huge slices 
 transferred to his plate. 
 
 Beluche said nothing, but devoted his attention to a 
 game pie of his own making. 
 
 " Will you go, or shall I ? " Pierre asked, as Jean re- 
 mained silent. 
 
 The latter, like Pierre, knowing the full meaning of the 
 signal, replied that he would go aboard ; and, leaving 
 Pierre in charge of matters at the stockade, he took his 
 way to the harbor. 
 
 Returning in an hour's time, he was coming up the path 
 from the beach when he heard unmistakable sounds of 
 tumult, followed by the roar of the gun mounted upon a 
 pivot in front of his own house, as a protection against 
 possible disturbances. 
 
 More angry than startled, he raced across the interven- 
 ing space to the stockade, which he had no sooner reached 
 than, with cries of " Here is the captain ! " a few of the 
 outlaws, crowding into the open gateway, and expostulat- 
 ing with their fellows inside, disappeared. 
 
 Pierre, Beluche, and Dominique-You were standing upon 
 the steps of the house, shouting angrily at the rioters 
 for such they were, who, armed, and filled with murderous 
 lust, crowded before them, demanding " The two English 
 spies ! " 
 
 Lopez, at Pierre's command, had just fired the swivel 
 gun, taking care to aim it upward, with the hope of rout- 
 ing the mutineers by fear, rather than by bloodshed. 
 
 " Scatter, scatter get you gone ! " he was now yelling, 
 while making ready to fire a second charge. " Get you 
 gone, while you may, else this dose shall eat some of 
 you ! " And, lighting the match, he stood ready to 
 apply it. 
 
 Some of the more timid men fell to the ground, to 
 escape the expected charge of shot and slugs ; but a crowd 
 of the bolder ones, their eyes gleaming with fury, made a 
 sudden rush upon Lopez. One snatched the match from
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 301 
 
 his hand, some of them pinioned his arms, and others 
 turned the gun, pointing it directly toward the locked 
 door. 
 
 Then a cheer, sounding like the howl of wild beasts, 
 burst from the infuriated mob. 
 
 " If they'll not come out, then we can kill them through 
 the door ! " some one shouted, when there came the rush 
 of a tall, sinewy form, whose impetus knocked the rioters 
 right and left. 
 
 There was a flash of glittering steel, as Lafitte struck the 
 hand of the man applying the match, and a spout of blood 
 extinguished the flame as the match fell to the ground. 
 
 " Take that, for a warning, you mutinous scoundrels, who 
 seek to murder unarmed men ! " shouted a voice trembling 
 with rage such as was rarely manifested. " Disperse, you 
 cowards, before I can count five, or you shall be ridded of 
 legs as well as hands." 
 
 He had, while speaking, whirled the gun to its former 
 position, and lit another match ; and now, motioning Lopez 
 to his place, he stood looking at the mutineers, who, silent 
 and cowering, seemed unable to face his flashing eyes, 
 above which the uncovered hair waved as if moved by an 
 inward wrath. 
 
 The would-be murderers slunk away, and in ten minutes 
 all was quiet as though nothing untoward had happened. 
 
 After sending Pierre, who was something of a surgeon, 
 to attend the man he had wounded, Lafitte demanded from 
 his sub-captains an explanation of the mutiny. 
 
 Dominique-You stood, silent and sullen, leaving Beluche 
 to tell the story. 
 
 This was to the effect that there had been an unexpected 
 rush from outside ; that the men in the stockade had, at 
 the outset, tried the power of persuasion, accompanied by 
 that of their fists, but were preparing, as bidden by both 
 Pierre and Beluche, to fire upon their comrades, when La- 
 fitte appeared and put an end to the entente. 
 
 Lafitte received the explanation in cold silence, but with
 
 302 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 a look which warned Dominique-You as to what measures 
 would be taken in the event of another outbreak ; for a 
 few of the latter's followers had been amongst the other 
 mutineers, who were mostly Catalon's men. 
 
 Catalon himself had not been upon the scene, but re- 
 mained in his cabin, drinking and smoking, with no appar- 
 ent concern in regard to what was transpiring so near him. 
 
 " I suspect that we have Catalon's talk to thank for all 
 this," remarked Beluche to Lafitte, when Dominique-You, 
 still doggedly silent, had gone to his quarters and left the 
 others alone. 
 
 Lafitte nodded, and, after dismissing Beluche, with orders 
 to keep a sharp look-out, and summon him instantly, should 
 those outside show themselves at the gate, unlocked the 
 door of his house, and soon stood in the presence of his 
 wondering visitors.
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR 
 
 THE officers, needless to say, had heard the com- 
 motion outside, and were greatly puzzled to 
 account for it Scipio happening to come into 
 the room, they questioned him; but the old negro, pre- 
 tending to be deafer than was really the case, stared at 
 them blankly, and shook his head, and the Englishmen, 
 seeing that it was useless to seek any information in that 
 quarter, turned their backs upon him in dignified scorn, 
 while they conversed in low tones. 
 
 Out in his kitchen, the old negro, after bidding Nato 
 keep away from the fastened door, went unconcernedly 
 about his work, listening to the uproar outside, and grum- 
 bling to himself in French, because of being obliged to 
 serve these red-coated gentry. 
 
 " What yer done reckon 's de matter, Scipio ? " the 
 younger darkey asked. He was greatly scared, and his 
 eyes were rolling wildly. " Is dey gwine ter bust down der 
 do'? Whar 's de captain all dis time?" 
 
 " I cayen' say, seh," growled Scipio, in his mincing 
 Creole English. " I cayn' say vat dey matter, nor vat dey 
 do ; but eet is dey capitaine's ordaire zat we stay here 
 weed dey so-damn Ainglais until he come. So here we 
 stay teal dey door fall, or dey capitaine come to tell us go 
 out dey maison, An' I tell yo' come here an' wipe dey 
 deesh as I wash 'em." 
 
 The noise grew louder, until the cannon's discharge 
 shook the floor under the Englishmen's feet, bringing to 
 their minds the possibility of their crew having attempted 
 to join them. And, if this were so, they feared their men 
 were being treated roughly perhaps butchered.
 
 304 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " This is surely a nest of hell ! " declared Captain 
 Lockyer, who was pacing the floor excitedly, fuming at 
 being shut up in such a trap. 
 
 " I agree with you," assented McWilliams, who appeared 
 to be taking matters more calmly. " And the faces that 
 scowled around us when we landed suggested strong possi- 
 bilities of their owners being worthy followers of Beelzebub." 
 
 They now heard the angry shouting of a single voice; 
 and then silence seemed to fall over those outside. 
 
 " It is probably a row amongst themselves," McWilliams 
 continued ; and Captain Lockyer, stepping nearer to the 
 door, bent his head to listen. But he could hear nothing 
 through the thick oak. 
 
 When Lafitte entered, both officers were seated, facing 
 the door. But they rose and stood for a moment, while 
 their faces assumed a common look of austerity. Then, 
 resuming their seats, they waited for him to speak. 
 
 He was breathing rapidly, as if from excitement; his 
 face was pale, and his eyes still held the fire of recent anger. 
 
 He bowed, and, without seating himself, said with his 
 usual calm courtesy of manner, " I regret most sincerely, 
 gentlemen, to have subjected you to a confinement which 
 must have proved scarcely pleasant, to say nothing of the 
 disturbance outside, the noise of which you doubtless heard. 
 Some of my men made an attempt to molest you ; but, 
 happily for myself, as well as for you, I have made them 
 abandon the idea. You will now, I trust, acknowledge the 
 propriety of my having restricted your liberty while you 
 were on the island." 
 
 He paused, as if expecting a reply from them. But they 
 only bowed ; and resuming the air and tone he had assumed 
 during their former interview, he continued, "I have to 
 tell you, gentlemen, of my decision not to answer hastily 
 the very flattering proposal you have brought me ; a deci- 
 sion made necessary because of the numerous elements 
 which enter into the matter, and which require most care- 
 ful consideration."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 305 
 
 " But " Captain Lockyer began, when Lafitte inter* 
 rupted him. 
 
 " Pardon me, sir, I have not finished." 
 
 The Englishman's face reddened, but he remained 
 silent; and there was a moment's pause, until Lafitte 
 continued speaking, now more rapidly. 
 
 " It is not necessary, neither is it proper, that I give 
 any reasons for my present decision. But, if you still 
 require a final and definite answer from me, it will be 
 given you on the eighteenth day of this month, at noon, 
 upon an island called ' The Turtle,' lying off the mouth of 
 the East Pass. I have selected this place because and 
 you will doubtless agree with me I fear it will not 
 be well for either of you to come again upon Grande 
 Terre." 
 
 Both officers began to remonstrate and expostulate at 
 the length of time Lafitte had named ; but he checked 
 them by saying firmly, " Knowing best what I have to do, 
 gentlemen, I venture to assume that I am the proper judge 
 of the time needful to decide such an important matter." 
 
 This the Englishmen were compelled, although with 
 very bad grace, to accept as a finality. 
 
 They were, not long afterwards, taken to the beach, 
 escorted by Lafitte and a body of his trusted men, while 
 the unruly ones hung about with lowering looks and threat- 
 ening eyes, but offered no further violence. 
 
 Beluche and a crew of picturesque-looking outlaws rowed 
 the officers out to meet their own boat; and Lafitte 
 watched them from the shore until they were well away 
 from the island. 
 
 Upon returning to the top of the bluff he found Pierre 
 sitting in the shadows of the trees, scanning through a 
 spyglass the waters of the gulf, over to the east; and 
 scattered about in groups, talking amongst themselves, the 
 men were watching the boat that was to carry their hoped- 
 for prey to safety. For the English boat could now be 
 seen coming to meet Beluche, while, pearled by the shim-
 
 306 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 mering distance, the " Sophia " lay where she had been the 
 day before ; but now another ship was near her. 
 
 " Spies ! Death to the English ! " muttered some of the 
 outlaws to each other. " The bay is filling with them." 
 
 " Can the English fleet be gathering out there? " Pierre 
 asked, not removing the glass from his eye, as Jean sat 
 down beside him. 
 
 " Let me look a moment," the latter said, not answering 
 the question. 
 
 " If they are," continued Pierre, as he handed him the 
 glass, and glancing about, to make sure that none of their 
 followers could overhear his words, " may they not try to use 
 force, in order to bring a more speedy answer from you?" 
 
 " Even so ; we know how to fight." 
 
 There was silence, while the speaker's eyes took a 
 sweeping, comprehending look at the ships and surround- 
 ing waters. Then he said, speaking in a lower tone, " We 
 must, for the present, guard night and day against sur- 
 prise ; and that will be all to occupy the men until I can 
 hear from the governor in regard to the proposition we 
 will lay before him." 
 
 "Who will take it to New Orleans?" inquired Pierre, 
 adding quickly, as he saw his foster-brother hesitate, 
 " Surely not yourself, Jean ; never think you of such a 
 thing. Do not risk trusting Claiborne so far ; but let me 
 take the message." 
 
 " You ! No a thousand times no ! To repeat your 
 own words, I would not trust Claiborne so far. No, we 
 will send Beluche ; and Lopez shall go with him. There 
 is no reward for either of these two, and no proclamation 
 against them, save as they are known to be my followers. 
 Beluche and Lopez shall go to Claiborne ; and I will send 
 Nato with them, to find the Senorita Lazalie, for I must 
 know how she has been faring. Should the English get 
 into New Orleans it will be a poor place for her; and it 
 would be better that she stop indefinitely at Bayou Bien- 
 venue, with La Roche."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 307 
 
 " Would it not be well to give General La Roche some 
 hint of our proposal? " 
 
 " That I intend to do. Nato can be trusted to take a 
 message to him." 
 
 " I think the boy would be flayed alive for your in- 
 terests sooner than betray them," Pierre remarked, as he 
 raised the spyglass, and met the eyes of Beluche looking 
 up at him ; for the Baratarian boat, now freed of its un- 
 welcome passengers, was nearing the shore below. 
 
 " Yes, he can be trusted," Jean assented ; " and, owing 
 to his size and appearance, he will be less likely to meet 
 with interference." 
 
 When Lafitte, a little later in the day, having called his 
 men together, gave orders for a strict surveillance to be 
 maintained, and told them that they were to fire upon any 
 English boat or man approaching Grande Terre, a wild 
 cheer broke from them. Their good humor was entirely 
 restored ; the prospect of fighting rendered them hilarious ; 
 and the remainder of the day was spent in stocking the 
 fort, in view of a possible siege, in burnishing arms, and 
 getting in readiness for any action by the British fleet 
 which might be hovering about, ready to join the two 
 vessels now in sight. 
 
 Beluche and Lopez, with a small crew, departed that 
 same night upon their mission to New Orleans, taking with 
 them Nato, who was to be landed in the woods, about two 
 hours' fast walk from La Tte des Eaux, General La 
 Roche's plantation on Bayou Bienvenue. 
 
 Lafitte had, at the last moment, decided to change the 
 nature of his message to La Roche, and tell him nothing 
 of the English proposition. But, after asking him to per- 
 suade the Senorita Lazalie to remain at La Tete des Eaux 
 until matters in the city should become more settled, he 
 added, for La Roche's warning, that the " Sophia " and an- 
 other English war vessel had for two days and a night 
 past been lying a short distance off Grande Terre ; and that 
 he had strong reasons for suspecting others of the fleet to
 
 308 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 be in the neighborhood, awaiting reinforcements, in order 
 to attack Mobile. 
 
 He requested that this be repeated to Count de Cazeneau, 
 who he understood was now La Roche's guest, and added 
 that the " Star of the Gulf," with her Mexican cargo, was 
 in the harbor. 
 
 The latter information was sufficient hint for both the 
 count and La Roche, each of whom had a large interest 
 in Lafitte's Mexican silver mines. 
 
 Upon the day following Beluche's departure, the Bara- 
 tarians were surprised, and puzzled, to see the " Sophia" and 
 her consort sail away to the eastward ; and their departure 
 caused Lafitte to decide upon a visit to Bayou Bienvenue, 
 as soon as he should hear from Governor Claiborne. 
 
 Nato returned several days later, and brought a message 
 from General La Roche, urging Lafitte to come at once. 
 But he waited until the seventh day after Beluche's de- 
 parture, passing meanwhile from wonder to impatience at 
 the latter's delay, and at having received no message from 
 his emissaries in New Orleans. 
 
 Sufficient time had passed for assurance that he had no 
 need to suspect a ruse upon the part of the two English 
 vessels, although he and Pierre, together with some of their 
 men, had, at one time, been inclined to think the former 
 were attempting to throw the Baratarians off their guard, 
 and then, by a speedy return, surprise a poorly prepared 
 defence. But he now concluded that the British were 
 really so desirous of obtaining the Baratarians for allies 
 that they would do nothing to awaken their animosity. 
 
 Among other reasons for going to La Roche's plantation, 
 Lafitte wished to deliver in person the shares due the 
 former and Count de Cazeneau from the Mexican mines ; 
 and he was inclined to think that the general, from the fact 
 of sending such an urgent invitation by Nato, had some 
 important information to impart. 
 
 It was Nato who told Lafitte that Count de Cazeneau 
 had removed to Kanauhana, a small plantation adjoining
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 309 
 
 La Tte des Eaux. The boy said that the count had 
 purchased it, and was removing all his slaves and other 
 property from New Orleans. 
 
 Lafitte was, for reasons of his own, surprised at this 
 piece of information, and now summoned Baptistine, the 
 captain of the polacca upon which Nato had returned. 
 
 He Baptistine had set out for New Orleans upon 
 the morning of the " Black Petrel's " arrival. It was, there- 
 fore, some time since he had seen Lafitte ; and now, as he 
 entered the room where the former sat awaiting him, he 
 exclaimed with unfeigned pleasure, " A thousand times 
 welcome back, my captain ! " 
 
 He was a trim, graceful little man, with long black eyes 
 that sparkled with good humor, and teeth whose whiteness 
 contrasted sharply with the smooth brown of his face. He 
 had always been a favorite with Lafitte, who had reason to 
 know of the marvellous strength lying in the small, wiry 
 body, and how much resource was concealed by the often 
 inconsequent manner. 
 
 He responded cordially to Baptistine's enthusiastic greet- 
 ing, and, after bidding him to be seated, pushed a box of 
 cigars nearer to his elbow. 
 
 Having done this, he filled a glass of liquor for him, 
 showing a courtesy that emphasized friendly regard, and 
 then asked for news from the city. 
 
 Much of what Baptistine had to tell was already known 
 to Lafitte ; but the former added to this by saying that 
 the ferment among the citizens of New Orleans appeared 
 to be growing more violent each day. There was talk that 
 when General Jackson arrived he would find but scanty 
 support; and the little man ended with: " If, my captain, 
 the fools begin to fight among themselves, what will hinder 
 the English from stealing in upon them, while they are 
 busy calling one another names?" 
 
 He spoke in French ; and Lafitte replied in the same 
 tongue, " Truly they are fools, to quarrel among them- 
 selves at such a time as this. Of course," he added, drop-
 
 2 1 o Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 ping generalities, " you saw our men before you left the 
 city." 
 
 " I did, my captain. They arrived the second day be- 
 fore I left, and told me I was to pick up Nato off the 
 Owl's Point. Captain Beluche went ashore with Lopez 
 as soon as ' The Lady Inez ' dropped anchor ; and neither 
 of them had been heard from when I left." 
 
 " Did the men tell you why Beluche went to New 
 Orleans?" 
 
 Baptistine's round face grew still rounder with surprise. 
 
 " Nothing, my captain not a word. Indeed, they told 
 me that they themselves were wondering what the errand 
 might be. But surely you must know why Captain Beluche 
 went." 
 
 Baptistine's voice was tinged with indignation ; for his 
 suspicions, like those of his fellows, were easily aroused. 
 But he looked relieved when Lafitte said with a smile, 
 " Oh, yes, I know accurately as to his errand ; and so shall 
 you, in a few days. You have heard " his smile now 
 showing the hint of a sneer " of our recent visitors? " 
 
 "Yes, my captain, both from our men aboard 'The 
 Lady Inez ' and also from the men here, after I arrived." 
 
 " That is well ; but do not encourage the men to talk of 
 the matter at least for the present." 
 
 " That surely I will not do, my captain, if you so bid 
 me." 
 
 " Well, I so bid you, as a favor to me. Now let me hear 
 if you know of what Nato has been trying to tell me. 
 It seems that Shapira has sold his place to Count de 
 Cazeneau." 
 
 " Shapira has not sold only rented it, to M'sieur le 
 Comte, for the winter, as the count is far from well, and 
 does not wish to return to the city until matters there 
 promise less of excitement." 
 
 " And his granddaughter is with him? " inquired Lafitte, 
 in a tone giving Baptistine no hint of how the questioner's 
 pulses were thrilling.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 311 
 
 "Yes, my captain; she, and all his household every 
 one. He has brought all his slaves from New Orleans, and 
 come to live at Kanauhana. It was Shapira himself who 
 told me this when I saw him at the Owl's Point. He said 
 he was tired of playing planter, and would sooner be back 
 here at Barataria." 
 
 "Aye; I always thought he was too good a sailor to be 
 long happy as a peaceful landowner," said Lafitte, tossing 
 his cigar into the fireplace. 
 
 " Yet who so happy as Shapira, two years since, when 
 he found that his dead uncle had left Kanauhana to him? " 
 
 The little man spoke meditatively, and in a way to in- 
 dicate considerable envy of his former comrade's good 
 fortune. 
 
 " Even so," assented Lafitte. " But the Jew is too good 
 a sailor, and too young, to be contented with the unevent- 
 ful life of a planter. Where is he stopping now, and what 
 doing? " 
 
 " He told me that he intends offering his services to 
 General Jackson ; and, being so fine a shot, he can surely 
 render a good account of himself." 
 
 Lafitte nodded, and again asked, " But where is he liv- 
 ing, now that Count de Cazeneau occupies his place?" 
 
 " I asked him that question, my captain ; but he laid a 
 finger along that hooked nose of his, and winked at me as 
 he said that if ever I sought him, he would not be found 
 intruding upon the hospitality of M'sieur le Comte. Of 
 course the men had to hear us talk, with me on the boat, 
 and Shapira standing upon the Owl's Point ; so I take it 
 that he intended me to understand he was living below, in 
 the Raven's Cave. You know, my captain " 
 
 " Never mind speaking of the Colonneh," Lafitte broke 
 in, with a warning gesture. " Be careful," he continued in 
 a low voice, " how that place is mentioned ; we may, be- 
 fore long, have need of it for important purposes." 
 
 Baptistine said nothing, but nodded wisely. 
 
 The so-called Colonneh, meaning Raven, was the Chero-
 
 3 1 2 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 kee name for a hiding-place known to but few of Lafitte's 
 men ; and Cherokee also was the name Kanauhana 
 of the plantation, taken from the hominy produced there, 
 " Ka-nau-ha-na " being the Indian term for the crushed 
 corn, cooked to the consistency of paste. 
 
 The night it was of the seventh day after Beluche's 
 departure that Lafitte left Grande Terre for General La 
 Roche's plantation, with sundry bags of silver hidden in the 
 cabin of the polacca that was to convey him up the narrow 
 water-way to Lake Borgne, whence his course lay westerly, 
 up Bayou Bienvenue, an obscure stream, at whose head was 
 the plantation. 
 
 Lafitte and his crew knew the blind, devious way as does 
 the landsman the smooth, often-trod path leading home- 
 ward ; and the Baratarians feared it, either in daylight or 
 darkness, as little as did their land brother the pebbles that 
 might lie along his road. 
 
 The shores were thickly timbered, and grew into a jungle 
 of forest, where the night came quickly, and densely dark, 
 under the overhanging boughs that interlaced overhead, 
 often shutting away the sky. 
 
 Now and again a panther's scream, or the whining cry 
 of a wild-cat, made the darkness seem still more dismal ; 
 and the booming note of the alligator was heard along the 
 sluggish water. 
 
 But little cared Lafitte as to the nature of his surround- 
 ings ; for, from out the darkness, he seemed to see the pure 
 face and violet eyes he was about to look upon after all 
 these eventful months.
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE 
 
 THE twelve months elapsing since the September 
 afternoon that witnessed Rose de Cazeneau's 
 disillusion in regard to her trusted " Captain 
 Jean " had been uneventful ones for her, until very recently, 
 when she had met Lazalie under General La Roche's hos- 
 pitable roof, and, for the first time in her life, found a girl 
 friend. 
 
 The dark beauty and indifferent manner of the Spanish 
 girl possessed a strange and powerful attraction for the 
 gentle-natured Rose; and Lazalie, feeling the other's ad- 
 miration and liking, had reciprocated in a way that brought 
 to the surface her better and more womanly self. 
 
 The past three years, during which she had, through 
 General La Roche and his widowed sister, mingled in the 
 most select society of New Orleans, had refined and polished 
 the untamed girl of seventeen who came from the " Barra 
 de Hierro," knowing little restraint beyond that of her own 
 imperious will, and revelling in a freedom fostered by the 
 worship of her indulgent uncle's lawless followers. 
 
 As to Laro himself, she had acquired but a faint idea of 
 his real life and calling, little more than she knew upon 
 the day he had taken her and Brigida from the Spanish 
 convent, where she had been placed by her father, at the 
 death of his beautiful Irish wife ; and both parents had died 
 before Lazalie was ten years of age. 
 
 It might therefore be said of her, as of Jean Lafitte, that, 
 owing to Laro's life and acts, she had been made to appear 
 other than her true self. 
 
 General La Roche, understanding something of this, and 
 helped to a fuller knowledge by what Lafitte had imparted
 
 3 1 4 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 to him of the girl's history, exerted himself, aided by his 
 sister, who was wealthy, and of social prominence, to 
 have Lazalie's surroundings such as should eradicate the 
 effects of a lawless past from a nature he believed to be 
 truly refined and lovable. 
 
 The result had been that his protegee responded fully 
 to his expectations; and the general was as Pierre had 
 told Jean reported to have fallen in love with her. 
 
 But, as is often the case, Dame Rumor knew more than 
 did some of those directly concerned; for the general's 
 sister and Lazalie herself were ignorant as to his sentiment, 
 which was of the sort possible only to men of his age and 
 uprightness of life half-fatherly in protective tenderness, 
 and yet possessing all the ardor of a younger man's passion. 
 And, taking it for granted that she could not return his af- 
 fection, he had concealed the truth, lest the pleasant rela- 
 tions between them might be imperilled. 
 
 He had noted with satisfaction the growing intimacy 
 between his ward and the dainty little granddaughter of 
 De Cazeneau ; and when, after a few weeks' sojourn as his 
 guest, the count had rented the adjoining plantation, and 
 removed to Kanauhana, La Roche, with whom the Island 
 Rose had always been a prime favorite, persuaded the grand- 
 father to let her remain a while longer at La Tete des Eaux. 
 
 The general had also for a guest at this time the son of 
 an old friend, Colonel Thomas Stewart, of Kentucky, who, 
 sending young Harold to New Orleans upon a matter of 
 business, had asked for him La Roche's hospitality. 
 
 The young man, just out of college, was filled with 
 enthusiasm over this, his first visit to New Orleans, where, 
 in former years, his father had been a frequent sojourner. 
 
 The slaves were the only ones astir at La T6te des 
 Eaux when Lafitte, after landing at the Owl's Point, 
 and with two sailors carrying the silver belonging to La 
 Roche and De Cazeneau, took the way toward the planta- 
 tion, passing through woods where scarcely a ray of sun- 
 light filtered between the pines and moss-hung oaks.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 315 
 
 Baptistine was in command of the polacca, which 
 was to lie off the Owl's Point, awaiting Lafitte's return. 
 He had, however, been ordered to leave the crew in 
 charge for a few hours, while he ascertained if Shapira 
 was really at the Colonneh, and who, if anyone, might 
 be keeping him company in the cave. 
 
 La Roche and the two girls were breakfasting when 
 Lafitte arrived. Brigida, who was superintending certain 
 domestic matters in a front room of the house, was the 
 first to see his approach ; and putting down a valuable 
 vase from which she was wiping invisible dust, rushed 
 from the room and descended the stairs so quickly that 
 Chloe, the diminutive maid who was assisting her, stood 
 gaping in amazement, until, peeping through the window, 
 she grinned with pleasure at the sound of Lafitte's voice 
 responding to Ma'am Brigida's effusive greeting. 
 
 The warm-hearted Irishwoman ushered him directly 
 into the breakfast room, with " Sure, here comes a 
 stranger ye '11 not be sorry to see." 
 
 The remark was intended for the benefit of her young 
 mistress, who, notwithstanding the glow of surprise that 
 deepened her rich color, and made momentary confusion 
 show in her face, assumed the quiet control of manner 
 taught by the world in which she now moved. 
 
 General La Roche, with the impetuosity of a much 
 younger man, sprang from his chair and crossed the 
 room to grasp Lafitte's hand, welcoming him in words 
 which were but carelessly heard ; for the new-comer 
 glanced from Lazalie, who had followed her host's move- 
 ments, to the childish figure still seated at the table, 
 to the lovely face, flushing and paling by turns, while 
 the violet eyes, with a startled and yet not altogether 
 displeased light showing in them, were raised to meet 
 his own. 
 
 She rose slowly, and stood as if hesitating. But Lafitte, 
 after bending low over Lazalie's hand, came straight 
 toward the younger girl, an expression, half-appealing,
 
 2 1 6 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 half-defiant, in his face, which she alone could observe, 
 as his back was toward the others. 
 
 She appeared to have acquired new dignity and woman- 
 liness as she stood looking up at him ; and, recalling as he 
 did her shrinking aversion of him at their last meeting, he 
 did not dare address her in other than a formal fashion. 
 
 So, not offering to touch her hand, he said, with a bow, 
 " I hope, mademoiselle, that I find you quite well." 
 
 She answered in a low voice, her manner, with the color 
 still going and coming in her cheeks, suggesting nothing 
 more than unusual shyness. 
 
 Turning from her, and while Albert, the butler, showing 
 as much pleasure as he thought it dignified to manifest, 
 was, by his master's order, preparing another place at the 
 table, Lafitte told General La Roche of the sailors who 
 were waiting outside with their burdens ; and the gen- 
 eral, preceded by Lafitte, started to leave the room as 
 a cheery whistling, accompanied by the sound of footsteps 
 upon the oaken stairs, announced that Harold Stewart was 
 coming down for breakfast. 
 
 Lafitte was already in the hall, and La Roche, pausing 
 a moment, turned back to say, in a carefully lowered tone, 
 " Senorita Lazalie Mademoiselle Rose, I must warn both 
 of you to have a care how you mention the name of 
 Lafitte in the hearing of young Stewart. Remember," he 
 added with unmistakable emphasis, " he must be ' Captain 
 Jean,' and no one else, so long as he is here with us." 
 
 Lazalie nodded, with a smile of appreciation ; but Ma- 
 demoiselle de Cazeneau looked with troubled eyes at the 
 general as he hurried out. 
 
 She was greatly puzzled, as indeed she had been more 
 than once during the past year, to understand how it was 
 that people for whom she could have nothing but respect 
 should seem to find no objection to fraternizing with 
 the dreadful Lafitte ; and she was beginning to wonder 
 how much of untruth there might be in the terrible stories 
 she had heard concerning him.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 317 
 
 Yet as she argued to herself he must have done 
 something very dreadful, else the governor would not 
 have offered a reward for his capture. 
 
 She shuddered at thought of his being taken prisoner, 
 to be treated as a criminal, and her quick wit told her 
 the reason of her kind-hearted host's anxiety. For mis- 
 fortune would surely come to his household should the 
 governor know that one who had been proscribed as 
 an outlaw was received as a guest at the La Roche 
 plantation. 
 
 She recalled, too, how Lafitte had warned her of danger 
 to her grandfather should she ever hint of the latter's 
 association with himself. 
 
 It was all a perplexing puzzle; and the girl sighed as 
 she stirred her chocolate. 
 
 Lazalie, hearing the sigh, laughed as her white teeth bit 
 into her toast. 
 
 " Why do you sigh so woefully, my little Rose, and look 
 so tragic? These gentlemen have their secrets to preserve, 
 especially just now, when one cannot be sure that his 
 neighbor will not betray him for a chance to curry favor 
 with the governor, or is not scheming for opening the way 
 to the English." 
 
 " But none of us here would betray any one to the 
 governor, and Harold Stewart is not English," declared 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, just as that young man entered 
 the room. 
 
 " That I am not, Miss Rose," he assented laughingly. 
 " Who dared assert to the contrary? Was it you, Senorita 
 Lazalie ? " 
 
 "Is not your father English? " she asked, with a mock- 
 ing smile, as he seated himself at her side. 
 
 " Not he. He, like myself, was born in Kentucky. My 
 grandfather, to be sure, came from England to Virginia. 
 But in what have I offended, that you should bring that 
 misfortune up against me? " 
 
 Lazalie laughed, but deigned no reply ; and, with a swift
 
 3 1 8 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 change in the expression of his honest blue eyes, the young 
 man looked at the troubled face opposite him. 
 
 " I think, Miss Rose, from what I heard as I came in, 
 that you were defending me against something. Please 
 accept your humble servitor's grateful thanks." 
 
 Her reply, whatever it might have been, was checked by 
 the entrance of General La Roche and Lafitte ; and young 
 Stewart stared surprisedly at the tall, straight form follow- 
 ing his host. 
 
 " Mr. Stewart," said the general, " I wish to present you 
 to my friend Captain Jean, who has come to see me upon 
 a matter of business. Mr. Stewart " now speaking to 
 Lafitte, as the young man rose and took the former's ex- 
 tended hand " is the son of an old friend, whom I think 
 you have met in past years. He was then Ensign Tommy 
 Stewart, but now he is, if you please, Colonel Thomas 
 Stewart, of Kentucky, a member of General Jackson's 
 staff." 
 
 " I remember having met him in New Orleans, some 
 years ago ; and I am pleased to make the acquaintance of 
 his son." 
 
 Lafitte's mellow, yet incisive voice ; his erect carriage 
 and courtly bearing, the very clasp of his long, sensitive 
 fingers, all these made their impression upon young 
 Stewart, who set himself to wondering as to the identity of 
 this fascinating stranger, whose handsome face, with its 
 classical features, was distinctly un-American. 
 
 Meanwhile, as the breakfast proceeded, accompanied by 
 a general and inconsequent chatter, Lafitte's keen eyes 
 took note of the way in which the young man looked at 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau ; and it seemed to him that not 
 only was she conscious of Stewart's attention, but that it 
 embarrassed her. 
 
 A fury, sudden and savage, possessed him at the thought 
 of this handsome young stranger daring to covet what was 
 to him, who had known her so long, the most precious 
 thing in all his world. But the next moment, moved by a
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 3 1 9 
 
 cold, sullen sense of justice, he asked himself if this boy, 
 with a past which was doubtless unsullied, and with his 
 manhood yet unlived, were not a more fitting claimant for 
 her, one more likely to gain a return of love than he 
 himself, so much older in years, to say nothing of his law- 
 less past and uncertain future.
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-SIX 
 
 Y Jove ! " exclaimed Harold Stewart. " By Jove, 
 Senorita Lazalie, what a fascinating fellow this 
 Captain Jean is ! " 
 
 The two were sitting in a shaded summer-house, Made- 
 moiselle de Cazeneau having disappeared immediately 
 after breakfast, making as Brigida told Lazalie the 
 excuse of wishing to see her grandfather, at Kanauhana. 
 
 Lazalie did not answer the young Kentuckian, but held 
 a spray of honeysuckle before her eyes, that, alight with 
 mocking amusement, were bent upon his earnest face as he 
 continued, " What a magnificent figure he has ! And he 
 carries himself like a prince." 
 
 " Ah are you acquainted with many princes? " 
 
 " And what a rich coloring he has ! " the young man went 
 on, heedless of the jesting question. " What fine teeth, 
 and splendid eyes ! " 
 
 Lazalie laughed merrily. 
 
 " You seem fairly enamoured of Captain Jean.'' 
 
 " Surely you cannot deny that he is very handsome." 
 
 " I might, if it suited me to do so. But I am too lazy to 
 quarrel about his looks, or even to discuss them," she re- 
 plied with marked indifference, stroking her cheek with 
 the fragrant spray. 
 
 " Of what country is he a native? " 
 
 "Why do you ask me such questions?" Lazalie de- 
 manded, a slight petulance now showing in her voice. 
 " Why not go to him, if you are so curious? " 
 
 Stewart laughed rather oddly. " It is queer, because he 
 seems so genial and courteous, but do you know, I cannot 
 imagine myself asking him any question of a personal 
 nature. "
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 321 
 
 " Ah," she said, with a trace of earnestness, "you are 
 impressionable, and have felt the ' Lafitte hauteur,' as it is 
 called." 
 
 " The what? " he asked, looking puzzled, and wonder- 
 ing at the start she gave and the troubled look upon her 
 face, as her hands and the honeysuckle dropped into her 
 lap. 
 
 " The ' Lafitte hauteur,' " young Stewart repeated ; 
 " Lafitte ! Why, that is the name of the famous pirate of 
 whom I have heard so many tales." 
 
 " Yes," Lazalie assented, quick to see a possible way out 
 of her dilemma. " And they say that he is repellently 
 haughty in his manner." 
 
 " Oh, I see," said Stewart, smiling at his own acumen. 
 " The ' Lafitte hauteur ' is your synonym for that trait ; 
 and that is why you apply it to this self-contained Captain 
 Jean." 
 
 Lazalie nodded smilingly, while the young man won- 
 dered anew at her momentary annoyance, and again at her 
 evident relief. 
 
 " Have you known him long? " he inquired, not appear- 
 ing to be greatly affected by her former rebuff. 
 
 " Yes, for several years," she answered carelessly, add- 
 ing, as though feeling little interest in Captain Jean, " I 
 wonder why Rose slipped away alone. She always likes 
 to have me go with her." 
 
 If Lazalie could have seen her little friend, her wonder 
 would have been increased. 
 
 Up in the room assigned to her at Kanauhana, and 
 made invitingly cosey for their beloved young mistress by 
 Barb6 and Zeney, the latter, by the way, never failing to 
 show her jealousy of the French woman's closer relations 
 with Mademoiselle Rose was that young lady, lying, a 
 tumbled mass of pale blue draperies, upon a large, old- 
 fashioned divan. Her head and face were buried in the 
 pillows, and she was sobbing convulsively. 
 
 There was a considerable showing of dainty ankles, as
 
 322 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 her small slippered feet hung limply over the side of the 
 couch ; and near it her broad-brimmed hat lay on the floor, 
 as if tossed there by an impatient hand. 
 
 It was thus that Zeney found her; and the old negress, 
 pausing on the door-sill, exclaimed shrilly, " La-la-la ! 
 What is this ? Precious bird, tell Zeney who it is that has 
 brought tears to the light of her eyes." 
 
 She spoke in the French patois of her fellows, but with a 
 better accent and choice of words. 
 
 The sobs ceased ; but the face buried itself still deeper 
 in the pillows, and a little hand waved her off impatiently. 
 
 " Tell old Zeney, honey," the negress urged, as she 
 crept to the divan and crouched on the floor beside it. 
 "Tell your old Zeney what wicked tongue has spoken 
 words to make her little ma'am'selle weep." 
 
 She had now taken the small white hand, and was 
 caressing it tenderly. 
 
 " No one has made me weep," declared a voice half- 
 strangled by tears. " It is only it 's only oh, I cannot 
 tell what it is ; only I am miserable ! " 
 
 The hand was snatched away, and its owner sat up, 
 revealing to Zeney's troubled eyes a dishevelled fleece of 
 sunny hair, a flushed face, and reddened eyelids. 
 
 " It is that proud Spanish missy ! " exclaimed Zeney, 
 with sudden anger. " I don't like her. She has made 
 you cry. Come home, my honey ; don't you stay where 
 she is." 
 
 "Lazalie has nothing to do with it," was the reply, 
 uttered with a spirit and emphasis that appeared to restore 
 the speaker's composure. " She knows nothing of it, I tell 
 you. It is," with manifest indecision " only that I felt 
 unhappy and I cannot tell myself why. But " as if 
 determined to find a reason "I wish that Captain Lafitte 
 had not come to see General La Roche this morning." 
 
 " La-la," said Zeney, a new light creeping into her 
 shrivelled face, while she nodded her turbaned head until 
 her long ear-rings clicked against the string of gold beads
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 323 
 
 tightly encircling her skinny neck. " Then good Captain 
 Jean is still alive, and well ! I am glad so glad." 
 
 " Why should you be glad ? What makes every one love 
 him so ? " demanded her mistress petulantly, as she wiped 
 her face and eyes with the morsel of cambric and lace serv- 
 ing her as a handkerchief. 
 
 "Why should I not be glad, my pretty one? Aye, so 
 long as Zeney lives, she has reason to be glad when all is 
 well with Captain Jean." 
 
 "But why should you be?" repeated Mademoiselle de 
 Cazeneau, her manner softening somewhat at Zeney's 
 evident sincerity. " And why should you, and every one, 
 like him so much such a wicked, dreadful man? " 
 
 The adjectives were indisputably harsh more so than 
 the manner in which they were uttered ; and the violet 
 eyes held a suggestion that the speaker would not object 
 to knowing that her application of them was misplaced. 
 
 " Wicked dreadful ! " echoed Zeney, shaking her head 
 violently. " No no, never is Captain Jean either of 
 these. And why should I not like him, when, but for him, 
 my grandson, the only living thing I have of my own on 
 earth, would long ago have been dead brought out of 
 prison, and hung by the neck? " 
 
 At this, Zeney's bowed shoulders were clasped impulsive- 
 ly by two small hands, and Mademoiselle de Cazeneau sat 
 more erect. 
 
 " Why, Zeney, I never knew you had a grandson. Tell 
 me all about him." 
 
 " Yes, Missy, I had one ; and, thanks to Captain Jean, I 
 have one now. I raised him from a baby, for he had no 
 daddy or mammie. He was good when he was little ; but 
 when he grew up he made friends with wicked ones and 
 was led to do wrong. One night, in New Orleans, he was 
 caught in a house, stealing some jewels. They took him 
 to prison and said he should be hung. Then I went to 
 your grandpere, M'sieur le Count, and he told me he wanted 
 Juniper no more that it was good for him to be hung."
 
 324 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " That was very cruel ! " exclaimed Rose, adding softly, 
 " Poor Zeney ! " 
 
 The negress did not appear to notice the interruption ; 
 but a rapt look came into her face as she went on with her 
 story. 
 
 " Captain Jean was there, and heard me pray to M'sieur 
 le Count to save my boy, who was as dear to me as if we 
 had been born white and free. Nothing said Captain Jean 
 then, at the time. But next day Juniper was gone, no one 
 knew where ; and I thought they had killed him in the night. 
 But Captain Jean came soon, and told me that Juniper had 
 gone to Barataria to live with him, and that I was to grieve 
 no more. He gave me some gold, and said he would be 
 kind to Juniper, and try to make him a better ntgre" 
 
 " Do you say that Captain Jean did this? " 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau's bosom was rising and falling 
 in a way to show that she was agitated ; and a new light 
 had driven all the petulance from her eyes. 
 
 " Truly he did, my sweet ma'am'selle. You must under- 
 stand " and the old negress uttered a significant chuckle 
 " that keys are often turned in the gaol locks when 
 Captain Jean wishes it; although it will not do to whisper 
 this. But it is truth I have told you; and I, as well 
 as many another, could tell you more tales of his good- 
 ness to poor people those who were unfortunate, and 
 oppressed." 
 
 " But, if he does so much good, and is so loved, why 
 have I heard such terrible tales of him? " was the wistfully 
 asked question. 
 
 " Lies ride horseback, but truth walks." And Zeney 
 shrugged her lean shoulders. 
 
 " But Mamman Zillah once told me," said Mademoiselle 
 de Cazeneau, with the air of one seeking to remove un- 
 pleasant doubts from the mind, " that years ago when she 
 belonged to a man up at Contraband Bayou, she saw Cap- 
 tain Lafitte and two other men go into the woods, with a 
 horse. They had shovels and picks ; and she followed them
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 325 
 
 to see what they would do. She saw them digging a hole, 
 like a grave ; but it was a big chest they dug up. And 
 there was gold in the chest, for she saw it when the men 
 began filling some bags. Then she was so frightened for 
 fear they would see her that she ran home to her cabin. 
 And " here Mademoiselle de Cazeneau's eyes opened to 
 their full width, and her voice took a minor note, while her 
 manner became imbued with horrible suggestiveness " a 
 few hours later she saw the horse come out of the woods, 
 with the bags across its back ; but only Captain Jean came 
 out of the woods with the horse." 
 
 Zeney laughed derisively, and again shook her head. 
 
 "That story came on horseback, Missy, along with the 
 others you have heard, and Zillah ought to be well whipped 
 for telling such a wicked lie. If she ever saw such a thing, 
 then the two men had gone off in some other way to look 
 after their own business, which was what Zillah ought to 
 have been doing." 
 
 But Mademoiselle de Cazeneau was, although apparently 
 against her own will, still unconvinced, for she added im- 
 pressively, " Zillah said that they afterwards found the two 
 men dead, in the woods. And I have heard other stories, 
 too, of how he has made men jump into the sea, when 
 he burned or scuttled their ships, and took all they had 
 on board." 
 
 " Captain Jean steal ! Captain Jean murder ! " cried 
 Zeney, her eyes flashing with indignation. " Such things 
 he never did ; and all such stories are lies black lies. 
 How can you believe them, or think of them, my honey, 
 when you once thought him so good and noble?" 
 
 The question was unanswered ; and Zeney, after a mo- 
 ment's pause, added, " If there is any truth in such talk, 
 it was wicked Captain Laro who did these things; but 
 Captain Jean never ! " 
 
 " Laro Captain Laro ! " said her young mistress, with 
 a puzzled little frown, and raising a hand to push back 
 the clustering hair from her now cooled cheeks. "Ah,
 
 326 . Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 yes ; it comes to me. I have heard my mother speak of 
 him ; it was he who brought her from France." 
 
 " It was he, too, who brought Captain Jean here to 
 Louisiana." 
 
 "He did?" the girl asked in surprise. "And did you 
 know him then when he was a boy ? " 
 
 The negress nodded. " He seemed a comrade then, 
 young as he was, of the captain's a comrade in busi- 
 ness. He was a wicked very wicked, man a ' scal- 
 lerat, this Captain Laro ; and it was surely he, and not 
 Captain Jean, who did the wicked deeds you have heard 
 about, my honey." 
 
 "And where now is Captain Laro, do you know, 
 Zeney?" 
 
 " Dead and gone, Missy so I've been told. And if 
 so, then he is down with the devil, I reckon," answered 
 the old woman grimly, rising to her feet as Lazalie's voice 
 was heard from the hall below, calling, " Rose, my little 
 Rose, where are you ? "
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN 
 
 ZENEY, who had little liking for the Spanish 
 beauty, now took herself off; and the two girls 
 soon went downstairs together, to see the Count 
 de Cazeneau, whom, feeble and emaciated, they found 
 lying back among the pillows of his chair. 
 
 They did not remain long; but his granddaughter was 
 wishing to ask permission to stop with him. So, when 
 Lazalie said it was nearing the dinner hour, and that they 
 must return to La Tte des Eaux, Rose ventured, although 
 quite timidly, to express her desire; for, in spite of all 
 her advances, she had never succeeded in thawing the icy 
 distance he persisted in preserving between them. 
 
 But the count, with the same courtesy with which he 
 would have answered Lazalie, waved the request aside, 
 adding that he needed her for nothing, and preferred that 
 she should return to the hospitality of General La Roche. 
 
 On the floor, near the count's chair, were two sacks, 
 which both girls saw were the counterparts of those 
 brought to General La Roche's house that same morning ; 
 and an old negro one who seemed trusted in his master's 
 affairs was on his knees, having just finished tying the 
 mouth of one of them. 
 
 His master then, as Lazalie and Rose entered the room, 
 making a motion for him to desist, he had subsided to the 
 floor, apparently waiting for the call to be ended; and 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau felt that her grandfather was 
 desirous that his visitors should leave him. 
 
 This they soon did, and were half-way across the first 
 field, when Lazalie put an arm about the shoulder of the 
 slight figure beside her.
 
 328 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 "Little Rose, when I found you, I saw that you had 
 been crying, and I Ve been wondering about it ever since. 
 Will you not tell me what has been troubling you?" 
 
 But her companion was silent, and looked somewhat 
 embarrassed. 
 
 " Had your grandfather, or any one, been scolding you? 
 If so," Lazalie added with sudden fierceness, " I will go 
 back and make them sorry for it." 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau shook her head. 
 
 "Is it that Captain Jean has been frightening you?" 
 Lazalie persisted, now with a smile. 
 
 Rose paid no heed to these queries, but, lifting a pair 
 of earnest eyes to the dark, brilliant face, asked, "Tell 
 me, Lazalie, have you long known Captain Jean ? " 
 
 A quizzical gleam flashed into the Spanish girl's smile. 
 
 " Do you know, my infant, that you are the second one 
 who has asked me that same question this morning?" 
 
 Then she laughingly related her conversation with young 
 Stewart, including the annoying slip she had made, telling 
 gayly how the young man had himself covered this up, 
 and averted any embarrassment which might have arisen 
 from it. 
 
 The younger girl listened with an abstracted look, 
 making no comment; and when the story was finished 
 she repeated her question. 
 
 " But have you long known Captain Jean, Lazalie, 
 please tell me ? " 
 
 Lazalie came to a halt, and her lids narrowed as they 
 dropped over her sparkling eyes, from which all laughter 
 was gone. 
 
 " Known him long? Yes, and no. I doubt if any soul, 
 even those nearest him, can claim truthfully to know 
 that man. I lived for many years in my uncle's house, 
 where Captain Jean also lived ; that is, he came and went. 
 But, for the last three years, I Ve not seen him until this 
 morning." 
 
 "Was your uncle's house in New Orleans?" Rose ven-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 329 
 
 tured to inquire, and not quite understanding why she 
 did so. 
 
 " No," answered Lazalie, starting to walk on, her sensi- 
 tive nostrils dilating and contracting, as if she might be 
 angered at some thought of her own. " No, my little 
 Rose ; it was on an island he owned, far from here. It 
 was Captain Jean who brought me to the sisters in the 
 city, when my uncle died, and who afterwards placed me 
 under the care of General La Roche." 
 
 Something in her tone something in her -face her 
 manner, caused a suspicion to flash through Mademoiselle 
 de Cazeneau's mind, impelling her to say, before realizing 
 that she had uttered the words, " Lazalie, do you love, or 
 hate, Captain Jean?" 
 
 Lazalie turned so fiercely that her small companion was 
 startled, and, regretting her query, hastened to say, " You 
 speak kindly of him ; yet your eyes seem to hold no kind- 
 ness for him. I myself, do you know, I really dread him. 
 I cannot help it, because of the .stories I have heard of 
 him. Yet Zeney has been telling me, this very morning, 
 that the wicked stories are not true. And he did one 
 good thing for her saved her grandson from being hung." 
 
 She stopped, and looked earnestly at Lazalie, as if seek- 
 ing some confirmation of Zeney's good opinion. But there 
 was no response, and, knitting her brows perplexedly, Rose 
 continued, " I cannot tell what to think about the man ; 
 for Zeney says it was not Captain Jean who killed men and 
 burned their ships, and was a wicked pirate, but that these 
 things were done by another man, whom Captain Jean was 
 with, and who is now dead. This bad captain did cruel 
 things; and people say falsely that Captain Jean did 
 them." 
 
 " Did Zeney tell you the name of this other man this 
 wicked captain, who did such cruel things?" inquired 
 Lazalie, with assumed carelessness; and her companion 
 could not see the sullen fire in the dark eyes now staring 
 straight ahead.
 
 y 30 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Oh, yes ; he was called Captain Laro." 
 
 Rose was startled by a peculiar laugh from Lazalie, 
 whose face was still turned away. But the hardening curve 
 of the red under lip, to be seen in profile, told her that 
 she had said something to affect the Spanish beauty 
 unpleasantly. 
 
 She could not help feeling uneasy; and after a short 
 silence added, with the wish to say something which might 
 give no offence, " Is it not rather odd that it was this very 
 Captain Laro who brought my mother over from France ? 
 I loved to hear the story of how they were hidden away in 
 an underground place, beneath an old inn, at Toulon, the 
 night they sailed for Louisiana, and of how the ground was 
 being shaken by the cannon-firing between the people in 
 the city and the Revolutionists outside." 
 
 Lazalie's face had regained much of its usual expression, 
 and Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, feeling somewhat reas- 
 sured, slipped her hand within the rounded arm of her 
 friend. 
 
 " And my mother told me of such a handsome boy who 
 was in the place with them that night one this Captain 
 Laro said he was as fond of as an own son. He had come 
 to see them off; and my mother gave this boy a ring, and 
 promised to pray for him. She said he was unlike any 
 other boy she had ever seen, with the bravery and manner 
 of a man grown." 
 
 A curious look was in the black eyes that glanced side- 
 wise as Lazalie asked, " What was the name of this wonder- 
 ful boy ? " 
 
 "That I do not know; my mother never thought to 
 mention it. But I always loved him, because of the way 
 she talked of him." 
 
 Lazalie laughed. " Shall I tell you his name? " 
 
 " You ! How can you possibly know it? " 
 
 " I happen to know, because I have heard the same tale 
 from my uncle, who knew this boy at that time. The boy 
 is now known to you as Captain Jean Lafitte."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 331 
 
 " Captain Lafitte ! " was the amazed, half-incredulous 
 exclamation. 
 
 Lazalie nodded. 
 
 " Captain Jean Lafitte ! " repeated Rose de Cazeneau, 
 her voice faint with astonishment. " And yet," she added, 
 as if trying to grasp the wonderful fact, " he told me, when 
 he brought me to my grandpere, that he had known my 
 mother; but I supposed he had met her in New Orleans." 
 
 " Was it Captain Jean who brought you from the Choc- 
 taws?" asked Lazalie, now surprised in turn. She had 
 heard the tale of the elopement, years before, of Count de 
 Cazeneau's only child, and of the Island Rose being brought 
 from the Indian country after her mother's death; but this 
 was her first knowledge that Captain Lafitte had been con- 
 cerned in the final act of the sad drama. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau nodded, but seemed disin- 
 clined to enter into details ; and fortune favored her in 
 this, for Lazalie said, " There is Captain Jean, now." 
 
 He was coming across the fields toward them, appar- 
 ently on his way to Kanauhana. But, just as they noticed 
 him, he took a sharp turn to the left, in the direction of 
 the timber, where, at the edge of the woods, two men stood 
 as if awaiting his approach. One of them was Shapira, who 
 was leaning on a long gun ; and his companion was 
 Baptistine. 
 
 "That man with the gun is the one from whom grand- 
 pere rented our new plantation," said Rose, as the two girls, 
 walking slowly, watched Lafitte's tall figure approaching 
 the waiting men. " I wonder where he lives. He is 
 always about the fields and woods; yet there is no house 
 for many miles, except General La Roche's, and the one 
 at Kanauhana." 
 
 Far in the depths of the wood upon whose edge Shapira 
 and Baptistine stood, and upon the domain of Kanauhana, 
 was the entrance to the so-called " Colonneh." 
 
 It was apparently nothing more than a ragged fissure of 
 earth, choked by vines and tangled forest-growths, and
 
 332 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 suggesting only the lair of a wild beast, or deadly serpent. 
 But, some years before, an Indian had imparted its secret 
 to Lafitte ; and Shapira's deceased uncle, the former owner 
 of Kanauhana, had been one of Barataria's most faithful 
 agents. 
 
 In past days the Colonneh had been the receptacle for 
 large quantities of goods awaiting transport to their owners, 
 or the day upon which they were to be sold at auction. 
 
 Beginning at the fissure, a narrow passage, earth-walled 
 above and on the sides, led a short distance through slimy 
 mud, that soon became firm, where a path descended 
 abruptly, to reach the shore of a sluggish stream. 
 
 Here, for the initiated few, three boats always lay, to be 
 used in crossing to the opposite side, where, up another 
 bank, a path led to a level space, from which opened several 
 cell-like chambers, whose natural accommodations had been 
 increased by the hand of man. 
 
 It cannot be told who was the first to discover the Col- 
 onneh ; perhaps some fugitive Indian, fleeing for life, 
 with such vengeance at his heels as made him reckless of 
 dangers from the unknown. But it was gratitude for favors, 
 as well as gold in hand, that had caused the Cherokee 
 chief, Volooteeka, to reveal its secret to Lafitte, after the 
 Indian owners had been forced to leave its neighborhood. 
 
 The stream, after passing through the Colonneh, ran for 
 some distance between dry earth-banks, until, reaching the 
 open air, it broadened into a sizable bayou that wandered 
 deviously through the forest, to join at last another stream, 
 whose course led to the vicinity of Lafitte's stronghold upon 
 Shell Island.
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT 
 
 GENERAL LA ROCHE and Lafitte had held a 
 long consultation, during which the latter had 
 told his host of the recent visit from the English 
 officers; of their proposition; and of Beluche's departure 
 for New Orleans, for the purpose of laying the Baratarian 
 offer before the governor. 
 
 He spoke unreservedly, having had many proofs of La 
 Roche's loyalty ; although the latter had not hesitated to 
 remonstrate against his friend's occasional lapses from a 
 strict observance of the law that law which the general, 
 as an officer of the State, and a friend of its governor, felt 
 bound to respect. 
 
 But his reproofs and advice had always been taken good- 
 naturedly by Lafitte, who would laugh rallyingly at what 
 in no wise interfered with the strong friendship existing 
 between the two men. 
 
 La Roche, like Lafitte, wondered at Beluche's unex- 
 plained failure to return. He also expressed surprise that, 
 in the face of such an unusual and important event, he had 
 not been sent for by the governor, with whom his relations, 
 both personal and official, were very close, and who, he 
 felt assured, would not decide the matter upon his own 
 responsibility. 
 
 " I must go to the city this afternoon, or to-morrow 
 morning at the latest," the general had said, when the 
 consultation was ended, and the clock on the mantel of his 
 study had, by chiming twelve, caused Lafitte to rise, say- 
 ing that he must go over to Kanauhana, and see Count de 
 Cazeneau. 
 
 " But you will return soon? " said La Roche, as he also 
 rose. " You must surely return for dinner, if for no other
 
 334 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 reason than because the count is very feeble these days, 
 and not a very entertaining host. I imagine, too, that the 
 domestic affairs at Kanauhana are in rather an unsettled 
 state." 
 
 Lafitte, nothing loath, and thinking of the sweet face he 
 would see at the table, promised to return. 
 
 He was back within an hour, but saw nothing of Made- 
 moiselle de Cazeneau until all were seated at dinner, when 
 young Stewart was giving a lively account of something 
 that had occurred that forenoon, while he was hunting. 
 
 The story created considerable laughter; and Lafitte, 
 noticing the softened look and gracious manner of the 
 Island Rose toward himself, ascribed them, as well as the 
 fearless glances with which she met his eyes, to an entirely 
 wrong cause. 
 
 They would have made him very happy, being so like 
 those he had formerly known, had it not been for the be- 
 lief that love for another man was now tempering her 
 feeling and attitude toward himself, just as the reality of 
 his own hopeless love was giving his bearing toward 
 Lazalie a gentleness he had never before accorded the girl, 
 and which, despite her cool reception of his advances, 
 brought a brighter color to her cheeks, and awakened in 
 her heart a strange thrill of hope. 
 
 For, with women of Lazalie's temperament, love dies 
 hard, if indeed it can be said to die at all. 
 
 Lafitte was telling himself that he had been brutal in his 
 treatment of her in the Barra de Hierro days, needlessly 
 harsh in repelling the passionate betrayal of her girlish 
 heart that last morning on the island, and again when leav- 
 ing her at the convent. He therefore, as the dinner pro- 
 gressed, devoted himself almost entirely to her, and paid 
 little apparent heed to Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, whose 
 attention Harold Stewart seemed happy in monopolizing. 
 
 But Rose, noticing the evident sympathy existing be- 
 tween Lafitte and Lazalie, grew constrained and silent, and 
 felt curiously pained at being ignored.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 335 
 
 The effect of Zeney's defence of Lafitte, and Lazalie's 
 surprising information that he was the boy whom her 
 mother knew, had, taken in connection with her former 
 admiration for him, greatly shaken her recent prejudices ; 
 and, with womanly inconsistency, she felt hurt because he 
 was unable to realize this alteration in her feelings. 
 
 From pain, she soon passed to anger, the exact source 
 or nature of which she could scarcely have analyzed. But 
 its immediate effect was that she entered into a seeming 
 flirtation with the young Kentuckian, who was only too 
 pleased to respond. 
 
 All this furnished a new and singular illustration of 
 love's blindness, these four " playing at cross purposes," 
 and wilfully misunderstanding one another; while, beaming 
 upon them from the head of the table, was General La Roche, 
 his eyes and heart filled with unsuspected admiration and 
 love for the beautiful Spanish girl, who so far as could 
 be inferred from appearances regarded him simply as her 
 friend and banker. 
 
 Just as dinner was over, a mud-bespattered negro and 
 horse appeared before the outer door, the former bearing 
 a letter from Governor Claiborne to General La Roche, 
 ur g m g his immediate presence in New Orleans. 
 
 " Why, you black scoundrel," thundered the general, 
 his face ablaze with wrath, after he had read the letter and 
 glanced again at its date, " this is five days old, and should 
 have reached me four days ago ! " 
 
 The frightened messenger looked woefully at his left 
 arm, which was in a sling, and explained that, a short dis- 
 tance from New Orleans, down by the little Bayou d'Or, 
 his horse had fallen and broken a leg, while he himself, 
 pitching over the animal's head, had been stunned, and 
 lay until found by some negroes living in a cabin near by, 
 who had bandaged his arm and shot the horse. 
 
 "Well, what of that?" demanded the general irritably, 
 his usual kindly consideration lost for the moment. "Why 
 did n't you get another horse, and push on?"
 
 336 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The negro claimed to have done so, after being obliged 
 to lie-abed all the first day, and walk the next, there being 
 no horse or mule to be found in the neighborhood of his 
 mishap ; and, as evidence of his inability to have delivered 
 the message sooner, he called attention to the disreputable- 
 looking animal he had finally secured. 
 
 " Well, well," said the general, now in a more pacified 
 tone. " It seems that it could n't have been avoided 
 the delay; so I must make the best of it, and I hope the 
 governor will do the same. Here, boy," tossing him a 
 handful of silver, " take this, for doing as well as you have. 
 Lead that skeleton around to the stables if he is able to 
 walk, and astonish him with food ; then go to the kitchen 
 and get something for yourself." 
 
 The negro, grinning with delight, picked up the coin, 
 touched his wreck of a hat, and led the horse away, 
 while La Roche, after explaining the matter to his guests, 
 begged them to make themselves at home during his 
 absence. 
 
 " Come inside with me, while I make ready to start," 
 he said to Lafitte, after ordering his horse to be saddled ; 
 " I want a few words with you." 
 
 "What is the excitement, general?" inquired young 
 Stewart. " Do you suppose there can be any new demon- 
 stration from the English?" 
 
 La Roche, just entering the house, paused in the door- 
 way to look over his shoulder and shake his head. 
 
 " I think not; I presume it is only some of our own 
 matters to be discussed." 
 
 But when in his own room, he handed the letter to 
 Lafitte, and fuming about, lit a cigar, while giving instruc- 
 tions to his valet in a most impatient fashion that bespoke 
 mental disturbance. 
 
 The governor had written him that, having received, 
 from, an unexpected quarter, a proposal promising 
 valuable support for the defence of New Orleans, he 
 had called a meeting of officials and prominent men of
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 337 
 
 the city, at which he the general was urged to be 
 present. 
 
 " I see," said Lafitte, after perusing the letter, " that 
 the conference was to have taken place two evenings 
 ago." 
 
 The two men sat facing one another, with the negro 
 valet coming and going as he packed his master's saddle- 
 bags ; and La Roche, who was staring moodily at noth- 
 ing, appeared not to have heard the remark. 
 
 Lafitte spoke again. 
 
 " Of course you noticed that this conference was set for 
 two evenings since? " 
 
 " Yes damn it ! " replied La Roche, rousing from his 
 abstraction. " But L^doubt if Claiborne takes any decisive 
 action before I can get to him. As to that," he added, 
 " there is but the one thing to do ; and that is " 
 
 He checked himself, and glanced at the negro boy, whom 
 he ordered to close the door, then, when this was done, 
 said, "You'll stop here until I return?" 
 
 Lafitte shook his head. " No ; I shall get back to Bara- 
 taria. Beluche must now be there ; and perhaps a mes- 
 senger is on the way here, sent by him." 
 
 "Then why not wait until the messenger comes ? " 
 
 " Because it is not always prudent to wait for uncer- 
 tainties." 
 
 " Well, then that 's an end to it," said La Roche. 
 "But I trust you '11 not fail to come and let me celebrate 
 with you over this delightful change in your affairs. You 
 will be placed in the position I have always felt that you 
 deserved, and wished to see you occupy." 
 
 " You think, then, that there can be no doubt of Bara- 
 taria's offer meeting with favor?" 
 
 " How can there be?" was the dogmatically put ques- 
 tion. " Claiborne will not be so foolish so lacking in 
 foresight, at such a time as this. But," now showing a 
 little anxiety, " even should he refuse, you will not go over 
 to the British?" 
 
 22
 
 338 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The flash of Lafitte's eyes would have been sufficient 
 answer to this. But he said quietly, "In such a case I 
 shall remain neutral." 
 
 "And if the British attack Barataria?" suggested La 
 Roche. 
 
 " Then Barataria will defend herself."
 
 CHAPTER FORTY-NINE 
 
 LAFITTE, after the departure of General La Roche, 
 permitted himself the solace of tarrying an hour 
 or so longer, although he exchanged scarcely 
 half a dozen words with Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, 
 as they, with Lazalie and Harold Stewart, sat on the broad 
 veranda. 
 
 "Are you taking up arms for Louisiana, may I ask, 
 Captain Jean?" the younger man ventured to inquire; 
 apropos of a discussion they had been having in regard to 
 the war and its probable result. 
 
 " I hope to be able to do so," was the guarded reply. 
 
 Lafitte's tone and manner were faultlessly courteous; 
 but there was in them something to check further inquiry, 
 even from one less sensitive than Stewart. 
 
 " Heavens ! " sighed Mademoiselle de Cazeneau. " What 
 a dreadful thing it is this talk of war ! First it was those 
 horrible Creeks who threatened us, and now it is the 
 English." 
 
 " Which do you prefer, Miss Rose the Creeks, or the 
 English ? " asked young Stewart, who sat next her, and who, 
 as he spoke, with a teasing smile upon his lips, leaned 
 forward to look into her face. 
 
 " For my part, I prefer the Indians," declared Lazalie, 
 lazily swaying a large black fan, its spangles glinting in 
 the afternoon light. 
 
 The young man turned quickly to the speaker. Her 
 face was unsmiling, and an angry fire was in her eyes. 
 
 " Prefer the redskins ! " he exclaimed. " I cannot ad- 
 mire your taste. I have no liking for the English; but 
 they are surely better than the Creeks."
 
 340 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " I disagree with you altogether," replied Lazalie, with 
 a wilful toss of her head, and shutting her fan with a snap. 
 " The Indians, in their cruelty, are never so inexcusably 
 cruel as the English. They may be bad enough ; but I 
 maintain that the English are far worse." 
 
 "Oh, Lazalie, how can that be true?" asked Mademoi- 
 selle de Cazeneau, straightening her slight figure. " The 
 Indians do such fiendish things to their enemies." 
 
 " And is that the way you stand up for your friends, my 
 little Rose?" demanded the Spanish girl, with smiling 
 raillery. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau's face flushed, and she re- 
 plied with considerable warmth, " I admit that the Indians, 
 as friends and neighbors, are very kind ; but we are now 
 speaking of them as they are on the war-path." 
 
 Lazalie did not reply. Her eyes were fixed upon Lafitte, 
 who, unconscious pf this, was looking into the younger 
 girl's animated face. His expression was an absorbed 
 one, as if he might be trying to solve a problem of his 
 own devising. 
 
 " Captain Jean," said the Spanish girl, a half-mocking 
 smile curving her lips, "why are you so silent?" 
 
 He started from his evident abstraction. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Sefiorita but what was it you 
 said?" 
 
 His eyes turned toward her, but only for an instant; 
 then they wandered off toward the belt of forest trees, 
 whose stirless branches were gathering bosky shadows. 
 
 She laughed, and shot a curious look at his averted 
 face. 
 
 " I want to know " and her voice held a pronounced 
 insistence " what you have to say as to the choice be- 
 tween an English and Indian enemy. Will you not take 
 my side against these other two, who prefer English cruel- 
 ties, rather than those of the Indians? " 
 
 " There is little choice when war and self-interest do 
 away with customary restraints," Lafitte replied, with an
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 341 
 
 air of but slight interest in the matter under discussion. 
 " But the Indians are cruel by nature, by inheritance and 
 training ; and so, in being cruel, they are merely true to 
 themselves. It must be admitted that the history of this 
 country shows the Indian to have been cruel in defence of 
 his rights, which the white man has tried to usurp, while as 
 for the English they practise cruelty for conquest and 
 aggrandizement." 
 
 " I am answered, and Captain Jean agrees with me," 
 Lazalie declared, nodding triumphantly at Rose and Harold 
 Stewart. " What he has said is precisely what I think ; and 
 that is why I like the Indians better than the English 
 because the Indians are honest in their cruelty. The 
 English, although pretending to be the earth's elect, can 
 be fully as cruel ; they are therefore far more blamable 
 and despicable for their actions, which are prompted by 
 selfishness and tyranny." 
 
 Lafitte did not reaffirm his carelessly expressed opinion ; 
 but, recalling the plan laid before him by his English 
 visitors at Barataria, to be put into operation after the 
 capture of New Orleans, he felt entire acquiescence in 
 Lazalie's views. 
 
 He was unaccountably anxious and depressed ; there 
 seemed to be something in the air about him that set his 
 nerves a quiver, and filled him with strange feelings. 
 
 He could, of course, attribute this to the tension he was 
 under by reason of having no direct tidings from Beluche, 
 as well as to his disquietude over what he feared were un- 
 mistakable signs of Rose de Cazeneau's growing attach- 
 ment for Harold Stewart. 
 
 As for that handsome young gentleman, no one could 
 see him in her presence, and fail to detect the state of his 
 heart. 
 
 It was after three o'clock when, with a reluctance of 
 which his manner gave no hint, Lafitte rose and signified 
 that he must be going. 
 
 " Will you not come again soon ? " asked Lazalie, a new
 
 342 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 wistfulness showing in her face and voice, as he extended 
 his hand to her. 
 
 " Yes, I think so," was his smiling reply, while, for a 
 second only, he held her ringers in a formal clasp. " Surely 
 in less than two years, which I think is the time since we 
 last saw one another." 
 
 It had been three years ; yet the girl disdained to remind 
 him of a fact for which he cared so little as to remember 
 incorrectly. But the brightness faded from her face, as, 
 waving her sparkling fan with measured slowness, she sank 
 again into her chair. 
 
 "Shall I see you in New Orleans? " inquired young 
 Stewart, shaking hands with Lafitte. " I will soon be there 
 myself, as I have decided to go to General Jackson and 
 ask him to accept myself and my gun, which weapon I 
 shall hope to change into a sword." 
 
 His boyish frankness was not to be resisted by Lafitte ; 
 and the latter's kindly feeling was increased by Stewart's 
 strong facial resemblance to Greloire, as he had appeared 
 in early life. He therefore, while not answering the young 
 man's query, replied, with a warmth he had not before 
 shown, "You begin modestly, Mr. Stewart; but I under- 
 stand that modesty is a quality General Jackson likes to 
 see, and is liable to reward." 
 
 Harold laughed significantly. " I ought to know that, 
 Captain Jean, from what my father has told me. By the 
 way, did I not understand that you knew him when he was 
 in New Orleans?" 
 
 " I met him several times, years ago," answered Lafitte, 
 somewhat constrainedly. " I was then scarcely more than 
 a boy ; and it is not probable that Colonel Stewart would 
 be able to recall my existence." 
 
 " To me, sir, such a thing seems very unlikely," declared 
 Stewart, with marked emphasis, and looking with manifest 
 admiration at the elder man. 
 
 Lafitte's only reply was a smile ; and turning to say adieu 
 to Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, he saw that she had left the
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 343 
 
 veranda, and was standing on the lawn, some little distance 
 from the house. 
 
 She was looking off toward the woods, and said, as 
 Lafitte paused beside her, " There is the man from whom 
 grandpere rented Kanauhana, sitting under a tree, with his 
 gun." 
 
 " He expects to see me before I go, and is waiting for 
 the opportunity," Lafitte explained, his voice softening as 
 it always did when addressing her. 
 
 She glanced up at him, the sensitive color showing in 
 her cheeks, now dimpling with the old days' trustful smile, 
 as she met the look he bent upon her. 
 
 The voices of Lazalie and Harold Stewart came in gay 
 bantering; and the two were evidently paying little atten- 
 tion to the man and girl below the veranda. 
 
 The violet eyes and the dark ones looked into each 
 other ; then a shapely brown hand possessed itself gently 
 of a small white one. 
 
 " Oh, Captain Jean, I am so sorry so very sorry ! Will 
 you not say that you forgive me ? " 
 
 She spoke impulsively, in a half-whisper: and the other 
 small hand was now laid over the back of the brown one. 
 
 Her look and words, the faint pressure of her fingers, 
 sent a wild joy through his veins. 
 
 " Forgive you, child ! " His tone was as low as her own. 
 " What can I ever have to forgive in you, little Rose? " 
 
 She wondered afterwards at the husky tremulousness of 
 his voice, which seemed vibrating with his fierce heart- 
 throbs. 
 
 This, and his look, held her mute, while he drew both 
 her unresisting hands against his breast. 
 
 " God in Heaven bless you for those words. Only 
 there can never be any forgiveness between us, save as 
 you may give me Heaven, by forgiving me. Try and 
 trust me, child. Try and believe that I am not the mon- 
 ster you have thought me. Do this, and you can save me 
 from what has been an earthly hell."
 
 344 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 She looked startled ; but the glad light showing in her 
 eyes was assurance that she was not offended by his pas- 
 sionate pleading. 
 
 " Adieu, now," he whispered, bending so close that his 
 breath stirred the bright hair rippling over her forehead. 
 " Adieu, and God's angels keep you. I hope to see you 
 soon again." 
 
 He was gone ; but her hands still tingled from his close 
 touch, and his low, tense voice still thrilled her ears. 
 
 She stood looking at the tall, athletic figure striding 
 rapidly away over the lawn, and then across the fields, to the 
 woods. The man with the gun also had seen it, and stood, 
 as if waiting, until Lafitte reached him, when they entered 
 the timber, Lafitte in advance, and were lost amid the trees. 
 
 With a joyously beating heart that made her inclined to 
 weep as well as sing, the girl ascended with fleet steps to the 
 veranda, and was entering the house, when Lazalie called to 
 her, and young Stewart added remonstratingly, " Cruel Miss 
 Rose, pray do not run away again, as you did this morning." 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau answered hurriedly, to the 
 effect that she was going for a piece of embroidery, and 
 fled to her room. And when there, she, instead of per- 
 forming her ostensible errand, locked the door, and threw 
 herself upon the bed. 
 
 She was laughing, but with tears crowding to her throat, 
 and trying to get into her eyes, where, for appearance's 
 sake, she did not care to have them show. 
 
 She did not ask herself why it was, what it meant, or 
 what it might mean, to her life. She knew only a half- 
 delirious joy, such as never before had come to her. 
 
 Ah, how (as she now admitted to herself) she had 
 missed him out of her life her brave, handsome Captain 
 Jean! How she had missed his chivalrous, protecting 
 friendship, the latent strength and decision showing in 
 all he did and said ! How she had missed the gentleness 
 and reverence with which he always addressed her, the 
 kindly deeds he was always striving to do for her !
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 345 
 
 She had missed him so greatly that her world had been 
 a waste place for lack of him and of her faith in him. 
 
 How could she have permitted herself to believe the 
 wicked falsehoods to which she had listened? How un- 
 just and cruel they were how base and cowardly ! And 
 now, with her womanhood fully awakened by his look, his 
 tone and words ; with all the love of her heart going out 
 to him, and telling her that she belonged to him, she said, 
 with a recklessness quite equal to his own, that, even if the 
 tales had been true, they should make no difference to her, 
 so long as he was what he seemed now. 
 
 She found much comfort in recalling all that Zeney had 
 told her that same morning. 
 
 " Good old Zeney," the girl declared to herself. " She 
 shall have a new pair of beautiful gold ear-rings ; and I 
 shall tell her so to-morrow." 
 
 Harold Stewart was, for the remainder of the day, greatly 
 puzzled over Mademoiselle de Cazeneau's demureness. 
 She appeared to be entirely absorbed in the intricate 
 stitches of her embroidery, and sat silently, with an air of 
 not ill-satisfied preoccupation, while he and Lazalie talked, 
 or sang to one another's accompaniment on the piano or 
 guitar. 
 
 So passed the afternoon, but, in the evening, Mademoi- 
 selle de Cazeneau, in consequence of the others' urgings, 
 took the guitar and sang the song which she had always 
 associated with the journey from her Indian home : 
 
 Beneath the storm that racks the sky, 
 The summer roses sigh. 
 Whipped by the blast, their petals fly ; 
 Rain-drenched, they strew the earth, and lie 
 Scattered beyond recall. 
 
 The storms will pass, and after rain 
 The sunshine come again. 
 But warmth and brightness all are slain ; 
 For summer roses, torn and slain, 
 Can bloom again no more.
 
 346 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 As the melody died away, Lazalie said with an air of 
 remonstrance, " Ah, little Rose, that is too sad. Try again, 
 and take from my heart the ache you have put into it." 
 
 And Harold Stewart added, assuming a mock-lugubrious 
 look that illy became his frank face, " Please do, Miss Rose, 
 for I am almost ready to weep. Be charitable, and sing 
 something to cheer me." 
 
 "What shall it be?" she asked, dropping her white lids 
 to shut away the ardent fire burning in his blue eyes. 
 
 " Something lively and gay ; something stirring. Can't 
 you give us a pirate song, for instance?" 
 
 The girl hesitated, but only for a moment; then, with a 
 look of mingled mischievousness and defiance, she went to 
 the piano. 
 
 The room rang with a few bold, resonant chords ; and 
 ere the vibrations had ceased, she began, in a voice that 
 did not seem her own, the " Song of the Buccaneers." 
 
 An expression of amazement made Lazalie's face stern, 
 and a sudden glitter, as of tears, shone in her black eyes. 
 But young Stewart saw nothing of this, his attention being 
 entirely absorbed by the song and singer. 
 
 While Mademoiselle de Cazeneau was singing the final 
 verse, Lazalie rose quietly from her chair; and when the 
 last strain of rollicking melody sprang from the younger 
 girl's lips, she felt the firm pressure of a hand upon her 
 shoulder. 
 
 "Tell me, Rose, where did you learn that? " 
 
 A gay laugh was the only response, while Stewart ap- 
 plauded vigorously, and begged for a repetition of the song. 
 
 But Rose shook her head ; and Lazalie exclaimed, " No, 
 no ! I could not endure to hear it again." 
 
 That night, as Barb was brushing Mademoiselle de 
 Cazeneau's hair, preparatory to rebraiding it, Lazalie, 
 looking very tall in the clinging folds of her scarlet silk 
 wrapper, entered the room. 
 
 " I will do that, little Rose'," she said, in her usual im- 
 perative fashion. " I want to talk with you."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 347 
 
 After bidding Barb go to bed, her mistress resigned 
 herself to the white, skilful hands that deftly threaded the 
 sunny lengths of soft hair, until Lazalie asked and her 
 voice held a curious note of sadness, " Will you please tell 
 me, Rose, how you happened to know that old pirate 
 song?" 
 
 As there was no immediate reply, Lazalie continued, 
 " It has strange associations for me. I have not heard it 
 in years; and I never expected to hear it here, and be 
 reminded of all it brings back." 
 
 Her voice had an uncertain sound, and the last words 
 were spoken tremulously. 
 
 Rose looked at the beautiful dark face reflected in the 
 mirror before her, as she answered softly, " I heard Captain 
 Jean sing it." 
 
 " Did he teach you you, of all others in the world 
 such a song as that?" 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, surprised at the indignation 
 sounding in the Spanish girl's voice, turned to look up 
 into her face. 
 
 " No oh, no, Lazalie. He sang a few words of it one 
 night, when we were camping ; and I begged him to sing 
 all the verses. He did so, to please me, and laughed when 
 I asked him several times afterwards to sing it for me. 
 That is the way I happened to learn it." 
 
 " When you were camping? You mean when he brought 
 you from your Indian home?" 
 
 " Yes. I was to him nothing more than a child, to be 
 amused and diverted ; and I have always remembered how 
 good he was to me." 
 
 " Yes ; he can be very kind when he chooses," said La- 
 zalie, her tone sharp with sarcasm. " But children and 
 niggers seem to be the ones who most frequently make 
 him so." 
 
 Her hands trembled slightly as she now began gathering 
 her friend's hair for the second heavy braid. 
 
 It was evident, however, that her mind was burdened
 
 348 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 with something of which she desired to speak ; for, as she 
 separated the strands, she said nervously, " Little Rose, I 
 think I will tell you a secret ; only I fear it may lessen your 
 love for me, or perhaps change it into another feeling." 
 
 " No, Lazalie, never ! " was the earnest and emphatic 
 reply. " I am sure that nothing can ever do that." 
 
 "No? Well, I should like to think so," said Lazalie, a 
 richer color coming to her face. " But there is something 
 you may hear of me ; and I would prefer to tell it myself, 
 and now." 
 
 She paused, not from irresolution, but to gather her 
 voice, which had shown signs of breaking. 
 
 " It is that Captain Laro, of whom you told me this fore- 
 noon, was my uncle." 
 
 " Oh, Lazalie ! " gasped Rose, recalling all she had said. 
 " How can you ever " 
 
 " Never mind, child," the Spanish girl interrupted, in a 
 tone which might have been reassuring, had it not been for 
 the bitterness tinging it. " You told nothing that was not 
 true ; and you did not tell half if you knew it. But I knew 
 nothing of this when he was alive. He was always very, 
 very good to me; and I must not cannot, speak un- 
 kindly of him now. That old song was one of his. He 
 sang it often ; and so did " 
 
 She checked the name upon her lips, and said, instead, 
 " Many others at our island home. But never let me hear 
 you sing that song again, my pure, sweet little Rose." 
 
 The finished braid dropped from her hands, and kneeling, 
 she laid her cheek against Rose's pink-clad shoulder as she 
 said, with what sounded like a sob, " Tell me that you do 
 not despise me for what I have told you." 
 
 " Dear, dear Lazalie," replied a tender voice, while a 
 soft, warm cheek was laid against the darker one, " how 
 could you ever think I would do such a thing? I am filled 
 with sorrow for speaking as I did of your uncle. But, 
 dear, how could I know?" 
 
 "Never mind, child," said Lazalie again, kissing the
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 349 
 
 perturbed face. " You said nothing but the truth ; and 
 you could not have imagined that it was a matter affecting 
 me. Let us never speak of it again. But I am so relieved 
 to have told you that now you know the very worst of 
 me, and yet can love me." 
 
 " Indeed yes more than ever." And Lazalie's kiss 
 was returned.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY 
 
 THE sun was nearly two hours high on the follow- 
 ing day when the boat bearing Lafitte back to 
 Grande Terre stole out from the wooded mouth 
 of the Bayou, where the dark water left the shadows of 
 the forest, to mingle with the sparkling current of the gulf, 
 curling, in a smother of foam, like hissing yeast, over the 
 beach below Barataria's stronghold, and stretching away, 
 blue and glittering, with weltering spaces of violet gloom 
 cast by the clouds that sailed beneath the clear, turquoise- 
 hued sky. 
 
 Looking toward the island, Lafitte noticed an unusual 
 volume of smoke lingering above the tree-tops, and won- 
 dered why the men had so much fire at this hour of the 
 day. Then, turning his eyes to the east, he saw a fleet of 
 vessels apparently going down the gulf. 
 
 Snatching a spyglass, he soon found this to be the fact ; 
 and he saw that some of the vessels resembled his own, 
 several of which were gone from their accustomed moor- 
 ing-places. 
 
 " Go to the west landing," he said to Baptistine, without 
 removing the glass from his eye. 
 
 Baptistine gave the order, and then returned to his 
 former place, where Lafitte stood sweeping the gulf and 
 Grande Terre, his manner indicating newly awakened sus- 
 picion. 
 
 While the boat sailed down the island's shore the smoke 
 against the southwest sky showed more dense, and Bap- 
 tistine, pointing to it, said, " That smoke looks to be not 
 innocent camp-fire nor chimney smoke, my captain."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 351 
 
 Lafitte was about to reply, when the boat came abreast 
 of an opening in the trees, through which some of the 
 buildings were seen to be on fire. 
 
 A chorus of exclamations and execrations broke from 
 Baptistine and the crew, and one of the latter cried out, 
 " This is the work of those cursed English ! " 
 
 Lafitte raised his hand to command silence. 
 
 " Yonder vessels did it, rather than the English," he said, 
 in a voice husky with rage, as he pointed to the disappear- 
 ing fleet. 
 
 "And they are flying the United States flag! " shouted 
 another of the crew, who had taken the spyglass lying near 
 him, and was looking through it. 
 
 " Shall we venture to land, my captain? " inquired Bap- 
 tistine. 
 
 " Draw closer," said Lafitte, turning to the crew, who 
 were staring with fury-filled eyes at the seemingly deserted 
 island. " Draw closer, and I will signal. But be in readi- 
 ness to turn about, in case I wish to head for Shell Island." 
 
 He waited until the boat was nearer the shore, and then, 
 arching a hand over his lips, sent a water-bird's shrill call 
 ringing out twice over the water. 
 
 Not ten seconds passed when a similar call came from 
 the island, followed by the appearance of a figure upon the 
 edge of the timber. 
 
 It was Nato, who waved his arms wildly and came 
 scrambling down to the beach. 
 
 His torn clothing, his scratched and bleeding face 
 emphasized his half-frantic terror, and brought to Lafitte 
 the conviction that, during his absence, some dire disaster 
 had fallen upon Grande Terre. 
 
 In a most disjointed fashion, and accompanied by hys- 
 terical sobbing, Nato told all that he knew of a story which, 
 for bad faith and harsh procedure, has few equals in history. 
 
 Early that morning soldiers from several vessels had de- 
 scended upon Grande Terre. There had been desperate 
 fighting ; and all the Baratarians who were not now lying
 
 352 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 dead on the bluff above had been carried off as prisoners. 
 Not only this, but, before leaving, the conquerors had set 
 fire to the buildings, and had taken with them all of La- 
 fitte's vessels for which they could find crews. 
 
 Nato, Juniper, and Scipio had fled from the stockade to 
 the thicker woods and more impenetrable part of the island ; 
 but they became separated, and the boy had seen nothing 
 more of his two companions. 
 
 " Dey was dose Britishers, Marse Cap'n," he declared 
 between his sobs, and digging his fists into his eyes. 
 " An' dey was cruel as ingins. Dey eben killed all der 
 dogs." 
 
 The men began to mutter curses ; but Lafitte checked 
 them. 
 
 " What was the color of their coats ? " he asked of 
 the boy. 
 
 " Dey wore blue coats, Marse Cap'n." 
 
 " As I thought," said Lafitte calmly, turning to his men. 
 " No British enemy has dealt us this blow ; it was the 
 Governor of Louisiana." 
 
 He then started up the bluff, the others following, with 
 Nato bringing up the rear. 
 
 Before pausing to investigate the extent of the disaster, 
 or to examine the many dead forms lying about, Lafitte 
 set his men to work checking the flames. When this was 
 accomplished, he ordered Baptistine to have the men bury 
 their dead comrades ; and he himself went amongst them, 
 to note who had fallen, dreading, until he had finished his 
 task, lest his eyes might rest upon Pierre's dead face. 
 But Catalon was the only leader found among the slain 
 Baratarians. 
 
 Jean Lafitte was never calmer than now, when it seemed 
 as if irretrievable misfortune had overtaken him ; his low 
 voice and collected manner gave no hint of the volcano 
 seething within, making his face murderous with vengeful 
 light. 
 
 Inside the stockade were many signs of a fearful hand-to-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 353 
 
 hand fight. The house of the Lafittes was unharmed, 
 although there were indications of its having been set on 
 fire; but the flames appeared to have died out of them- 
 selves. 
 
 Blood was upon the steps, and upon the oaken floor of 
 the living-room. Tables and chairs were overturned and 
 broken ; and, in the silence, amid the mutely speaking 
 debris, the clock was tinkling its little melody that followed 
 the hour of four. 
 
 Near it, in a pool of blood which suggested something to 
 make Lafitte's cheek pale under its swartness, was Pierre's 
 hat, and the haft of a knife he had worn in his belt. 
 
 Jean stood motionless, staring at these, until Nato, creep- 
 ing into the room, aroused his attention ; and turning to 
 the boy, he demanded to know when he had last seen 
 Captain Pierre. 
 
 " Marse Cap'n Pierre?" stammered Nato, his eyes rov- 
 ing about the room. " He was done settin' yonder, by dat 
 'ar table, readin' sump'in', an' waitin' for Scipio ter fotch 
 breffus. I war out in de kitchen, wid Scipio, an' we all 
 hearn tunderrin' guns let go pow'ful sudden. An' goler- 
 mighty, Marse Cap'n Jean, 'fo' yer could say ' Amen,' 
 dar was er let go all ober de place, a-shootin' an' killin' ; 
 an' right dar I lit out fo' der woods, 'long o' Scipio an' 
 Juniper, an' I nebber see Marse Cap'n Pierre no mo'." 
 
 " You were not a very brave soldier, were you, Nato?" 
 said Lafitte, with what seemed the shadow of a smile 
 something that touched his lips, and was gone. 
 
 For a moment the boy hung his head in shamed silence. 
 But looking up, he saw that his presence was forgotten, and 
 wondering what his master was staring at so rigidly, fol- 
 lowed his glance, and saw the bare space over the mantel. 
 
 " Golermighty, Marse Cap'n Jean, ef dey ain't done 
 toted off de new picter ! " 
 
 Lafitte motioned him to be gone, and following slowly, 
 closed and*itocked the door. 
 
 There was nothing more to be done at Barataria. All 
 23
 
 354 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 the men, save Baptistine and his crew, appeared to have 
 been killed or captured; the buildings were burned or 
 despoiled; the vessels taken. Lafitte, therefore, putting 
 aside as best he could all emotion and anxiety, gathered 
 what was left of his portable property, and, with Baptistine 
 and his crew, together with Nato, Juniper, and Scipio (the 
 latter two having, late in the day, come from their hiding- 
 place in the woods), took his way to Shell Island. 
 
 The older negroes could tell him little more than Nato 
 had already related. Neither could they give him any 
 information bearing upon Pierre's probable fate. There 
 was left only the hope that he had escaped to Shell Island, 
 where he might be found, alive at least, if not unhurt. 
 
 But in this Lafitte was disappointed. Dominique-You 
 and some of his men had escaped ; but the former had 
 seen Pierre, who appeared to be wounded, carried to a 
 boat, and taken out to the ships. 
 
 It was not until some time after this that Lafitte gathered 
 a reliable account of the affair, and knew the reason for this 
 murderous descent upon Barataria. The facts were these : 
 
 Beluche had been received amicably by Governor Clai- 
 borne, who, after reading Lafitte's letter, setting forth in 
 detail the recent offer from the English, listened to all the 
 Baratarian messenger had to say, and informed him that 
 he must, before deciding upon a reply, consult with certain 
 other officials. He then, however, while treating Beluche 
 and Lopez with perfect courtesy, held them as prisoners. 
 
 The conference, in pursuance of invitations similar to 
 that received by General La Roche, was held promptly; 
 and a large majority of its members having refused to 
 believe the truth of Lafitte's statements, Governor Clai- 
 borne, although himself in favor of accepting the Baratarian 
 proposition, allowed the others to over-rule him. 
 
 This decision was, however, kept from the knowledge of 
 Lafitte's messengers, as was also the fact that a large 
 armed force was quickly organized to descend upon Grande 
 Terre.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 355 
 
 Before the expedition left New Orleans, Beluche and 
 Lopez, with their men, were incarcerated in the common 
 gaol and their vessel was seized. But one of the crew was, 
 by a generous bribe and promise of pardon, induced to 
 act as guide ; and he it was who piloted the fleet, and gave 
 information that caused the Baratarians to be surprised. 
 
 More bitter than ever before were Lafitte's thoughts that 
 night and the following day. The bright horizon that had 
 seemed to promise him a fairer morning than he had ever 
 hoped to behold, this was now obscured by dense 
 clouds, blacker than ever his life had known. 
 
 All seemed hopeless, so hopeless that, as he reviewed 
 the situation, he became stunned beyond all ability to feel 
 the rage which at another time would have been likely to 
 control him. 
 
 But, true to his nature, he did not permit himself to be 
 overwhelmed by the great disaster and sorrow that had 
 come upon him. A trusty messenger had been dispatched 
 at once to a point not far from New Orleans, where were 
 those to be relied upon for the latest news from that city ; 
 and, upon the third day after the attack upon Grande 
 Terre, the messenger returned with information that de- 
 termined Lafitte to proceed there at once. 
 
 Pierre was at New Orleans, in gaol, wounded ; some said 
 mortally, others declared that he was dying. 
 
 Leaving Dominique-You in charge, Lafitte set out by 
 the inland water-ways to reach a spot where he knew a 
 horse would be at his command upon which to make the 
 remainder of his journey to the city. Meantime he had, 
 the day before, sent Baptistine to La Te~te des Eaux to tell 
 General La Roche (if the latter, as he reckoned, had now 
 returned to his plantation) of all that had happened at 
 Barataria, and to receive from him any message he might 
 wish to send. 
 
 Wrapped in a long dark cloak, with the broad brim of 
 his hat making a deeper shadow over his face, Lafitte, as 
 he stepped aboard the craft that was to convey him from
 
 356 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Shell Island, looked a commanding figure of stern sorrow. 
 It was twilight, with the evening star showing dimly where, 
 through the forest boughs, came occasional glimpses oi 
 the sky, and a light scud, flying across the paled blue, 
 promised a storm. 
 
 "" The rising wind was soughing about the place, where 
 were groups of men, standing, or lounging on the grass, 
 while they smoked their pipes and talked in low tones. 
 
 From the woods about them the whippoorwills called, 
 the owls were hooting, and a bat would now and then dart 
 from the forest's gloom to circle overhead in pursuit of 
 insect prey. 
 
 The men were reluctant to see their leader risk going 
 into New Orleans, but none of them dared express this 
 feeling in words, except as they talked among themselves. 
 
 " If any harm comes to him we 'd better join the Eng- 
 lish, and help burn New Orleans," said one, as they 
 watched Lafitte's boat pulled up the stream. 
 
 "Caramba!" growled a Spaniard. " It is to the cutting 
 of the illustrious Senor Governor's throat I would prefer to 
 give my attention." 
 
 " So would I," declared a Yankee, lounging next to the 
 last speaker. " It is the governor's fault that Grande 
 Terre was attacked. Captain Lafitte said so." 
 
 " Aye, we all know that," affirmed several voices; and 
 Nato, unable to endure the hint of harm coming to his 
 master, rose from his place on the edge of the group and 
 stole away to join Scipio and Juniper, who were sitting by 
 themselves before the door of Lafitte's cabin. 
 
 But here he found the same topic under discussion, for 
 Scipio was saying to the younger negro, as if in reply to an 
 assertion the latter had made, " Zey all so dam ! Zey 
 Anglaise an' zey 'Merican, bose so dam ! Yo' Juniper, 
 ef zat le capitaine he come back nevvair, den yo' bettair 
 run vamose avay, lek le diable. Zey git yo' to choke 
 wiz rope 'roun' yo' neck, ef zat yo' lose dey protection of 
 le capitaine."
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE 
 
 NIGHT in New Orleans, where the former gay life 
 of the streets had for many weeks been hushed 
 by the threatened calamity of an attack, or 
 possible siege. 
 
 Within doors the anxious occupants exchanged gossip 
 and opinions as to the latest movements of Jackson and 
 the English, while some of them devised schemes and 
 plots for the protection of themselves, or the furthering 
 of selfish ends. 
 
 The air of the city, muggy and lifeless as the thunder 
 showers of the day had left it, was still more unbearable 
 inside the walls of the gaol, where, on the upper floor, 
 in a cell whose one narrow, iron-barred window faced the 
 east, lay Pierre Lafitte. 
 
 There was no light, save from the growing whiteness 
 of the moonbeams, already barring the floor at the foot 
 of the rude bed which the kindly hearted gaoler had pro- 
 vided for the wounded man, whom the loss of blood had 
 made pitiably weak, and whose strained, spasmodic breath- 
 ing told of greater and more lasting hurt. 
 
 The gaoler's wife kind of heart as was her husband 
 came in with a jug of water, and filling a cup, held it to the 
 stricken man's lips while gently raising his head. 
 
 "Is not that better?" she inquired in French, as she 
 laid him back upon the pillow and placed the cup on 
 a stool that held the dripping jug. 
 
 Pierre sighed, and stretching out a feverish hand, laid 
 it against the cool clay of the jug.
 
 358 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 "Yes; it is like the streams of Barataria. And what 
 would I not give for a breath of the winds blowing over 
 Grande Terre? " 
 
 " La-la," the woman said consolingly, placing her hand 
 on his burning forehead. " Get thee well, M'sieur Pierre, 
 so that you may feel them blow again." 
 
 She knew the identity of this prisoner, and, like many 
 another, had reason to know of his thoughtfulness and 
 generosity. 
 
 Her husband now called to her, and she hastened from 
 the cell, letting the door remain open. 
 
 The gaoler was evidently speaking from the foot of the 
 narrow stairway ; and his wife, leaning over the balustrade, 
 replied to him shrilly, every word coming distinctly to 
 Pierre. 
 
 " The priest is here, waiting the one Father Philipe 
 sent to see M'sieur Pierre," the gaoler said. " Shall he 
 come up now?" 
 
 " What looks he like, Ambrose is he old or young? " 
 the woman inquired. 
 
 " What matter is it how the shaveling looks, and who 
 could tell his age? They all look as one, covered by 
 their black devil's garb." 
 
 " Hush, Ambrose ! Shame on thee for such impiety," 
 said his wife severely. Then, in a less irate tone, " Wait 
 there a moment, until I see." 
 
 She re-entered the cell, and came close to the bed. 
 
 " M'sieur Pierre, I trust you will not be angry with me 
 that I sent this afternoon to Father Philipe, and asked that 
 a priest be sent here for your comforting." 
 
 " That was very kind of you, madame, but " 
 
 He paused in his slow speech, and the good woman 
 exclaimed urgently, " Oh, surely you will not refuse to see 
 him ! Surely, M'sieur Pierre, you will not do that ! He 
 will give you comfort, if nothing more. And, too, after 
 sending to Father Philipe, how can I risk offending him 
 and the priest below?"
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 359 
 
 For a moment Pierre was silent, and, as she thought, 
 reluctant. 
 
 " Is it Father Philipe of the Coeur de St. Jean?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " Surely, m'sieur ; and a saint himself," she answered 
 quickly, hearing, as she thought, a wavering in Pierre's 
 tone. " A saint, everyone says. I heard that he was 
 sick; and it must be true, as he has not come himself 
 he who always tries to visit the afflicted and unfortunate." 
 
 " Very well, then, madame : you may send the priest 
 to me," said Pierre, wearily, and wondering if by any 
 chance he might here find a channel through which to 
 communicate with Jean ; for he had recalled the name 
 as that of one of the latter's friends. 
 
 The woman, well pleased, took her departure, leaving 
 the door open as before. She had reason to know how 
 little risk there was in this, for death was rivetting its 
 icy chains upon the man within, binding the strong limbs 
 that nevermore would bear Pierre Lafitte out to sunlight 
 and freedom. 
 
 She soon returned, bringing a lighted lamp, which she 
 placed upon the floor, near the foot of the bed ; and 
 Pierre, closing his eyes to shut away the glare, did not 
 see the tall, black- robed form that entered with her, 
 and then motioned her to leave the room. 
 
 As she did so, the priest walked to the window and 
 stood looking out, his back turned to the bed, until 
 the last echo of the woman's footsteps died away. Then 
 striding hastily to the door, he closed it softly, and, 
 throwing back his cowl, revealed the pale face of Jean 
 Lafitte. 
 
 Most unpriestly was the hard, rebellious curl of the 
 mouth, and the haughty poise of the head unpriestly the 
 anger flashing from the black eyes that looked down at 
 Pierre. But their expression changed to one of infinite 
 sorrow as they rested upon the white face, whose look told 
 Jean that he had come none too soon.
 
 360 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Pierre, my brother," he said, taking care to lower his 
 passionate voice to almost a whisper, as he dropped upon 
 his knees beside the bed. " My poor Pierre, tell me who 
 brought this upon thee." 
 
 Pierre's face became transfigured with joy, but he made 
 no answer. 
 
 " Tell me who it was that hurt thee ; for him must I hate 
 as I never hated man before," urged Jean, now taking the 
 nerveless hand lying on the coarse coverlet. 
 
 Pierre smiled, as his hot fingers clasped the cool ones 
 that seemed throbbing with passion and revenge. 
 
 " Nay," he murmured ; and his voice, although weak, 
 held yet a note of old-time humor. " Nay, Jean, that 
 would be a puzzle whose answer is beyond me. The bul- 
 lets that found me were meant for any one of us ; and the 
 knife-thrust in my side was given by a man I never saw 
 before. And," he added grimly, after a moment's pause, 
 " no other on earth will ever receive another thrust from 
 him." 
 
 " Then thou didst not leave him for me to deal with? " 
 
 " No; for I left the blade of my knife in his heart. But 
 ah, my Jean, what treacherous work it was, what a base 
 return for thy frankness and generosity ! " 
 
 Jean tossed his head impatiently. 
 
 " Let us not waste time in talking of that. There is now 
 but one thing to consider, my brother, and that is the get- 
 ting of thee from this place. It is for that I have come, and 
 as soon as I knew thou wert hurt. Father Philipe has 
 every reason to help me; so I went to him, feeling that a 
 priest would not be denied thee. Fortune helped me still 
 more, when a message came from the gaoler's wife to 
 Father Philipe, saying that his ministrations were needed 
 by thee. His conscience troubled him ; but he let me 
 have my way for to-night, and will himself come to see 
 thee in the morning." 
 
 " Did the woman send him word that Pierre Lafitte was 
 dying?" asked the wounded man.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 361 
 
 Jean started to his feet. 
 
 " Say not such a thing, my Pierre. If she did, it was 
 but the silly thought of a woman; and I cannot, with 
 patience, hear thee repeat it." 
 
 He seemed cheered by his own words, and his voice had 
 its usual ring of confidence and decision. 
 
 " I will soon have thee out of this," he resumed, as he 
 stood beside the bed, " and down to Shell Island, where 
 every comfort shall be thine. But, first of all, let me take 
 a look at thy apartment and its surroundings." 
 
 He glanced about the cell, taking in every detail of its 
 shape and construction ; then, going to the window, he 
 was looking out, when Pierre said, in a voice so solemn as 
 to sound utterly unlike his own, " Come back, Jean ; come 
 and sit on the bed, beside me, as thou didst when we were 
 boys together in Languedoc." 
 
 Again the hot hand clasped the cool one, while the sad 
 voice continued, " Listen to me, Jean, and do not interrupt, 
 for I feel my time to be shorter than you think. I am 
 dying, and thank God that I can die with thee near me. 
 Having this, I ask for nothing more. 'T is useless for thee 
 to talk of escape. Escape I shall, and soon ; for the gov- 
 ernor will not care to hold the body after the spirit has 
 left it." 
 
 Jean had again knelt by the bed, and now laid his cheek 
 upon the hot hand clasping his own, while Pierre's arm 
 went slowly about his foster-brother's neck. 
 
 " The surgeon told me that if the blood came again 
 from my side I must reckon my life by minutes ; and the 
 blood is coming now, my brother. Nay, never mind," 
 as Jean started impulsively " for canst do nothing. Let 
 me talk to thee ; that is all. Let me tell thee that I have 
 no fear of death none, even now, when I am going out 
 to I know not what, and lacking that which our faith teaches 
 us we should have, if we are to be saved. We have never 
 talked of such things you and I. Yet I tell thee now, 
 Jean, that I have ever accepted God, the same as I did His
 
 362 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 sunshine, and all else He gave. Lying here, drifting to 
 death, I have been reviewing my life ; and I cannot find 
 that I ever knowingly, and for my own sake, did any man 
 wilful harm. I have ever, in my heart, tried to keep un- 
 soiled the faith in Christ's redemption the faith my mother 
 and Pere Huot taught us. If ever I unwittingly did harm, 
 I believe that Christ will forgive me ; and so I can com- 
 mend my soul fearlessly to Him, even though it must go 
 to His mercy without help of priest or last communion." 
 
 Pierre's slow, labored speech told its own story of his 
 weakness and the pain he was enduring; and Jean, seeing 
 this, might have checked him. But he realized what great 
 peace his brother was finding in this last earthly declara- 
 tion of faith, and hope for the future. 
 
 He therefore remained silent, his face bowed over Pierre's 
 hand, until he thought the latter had finished. But, as he 
 raised his head, and was about to speak, a slight motion 
 from Pierre stayed the words upon his lips. 
 
 " This, Jean, is enough of myself, which I tell thee only 
 for thy comfort, when thou shalt think of me ; for well I 
 know thou wilt never forget me, be thy years many 
 or few." 
 
 The clasp of his fingers tightened slightly, but there was 
 no answer, save the look in Jean's face, and the heaving of 
 his breast. 
 
 " Enough of me," Pierre repeated, in a voice which, 
 while distinct, was weaker than before. " And now thou 
 wilt tell me, Jean, who it is that has shared thy heart with 
 me? Is it the Sefiorita Lazalie, as I have sometimes 
 thought? Surely thou wilt forgive me for asking the 
 question? " 
 
 " What can it matter now, my brother such a thing as 
 love of mine ? " 
 
 Jean's head was lifted a little, and his husky, uncertain 
 voice was so filled with despair as to give a tinge of indif- 
 ference to his words. 
 
 " As I know thy nature everything." And the weak
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 363 
 
 fingers tightened again. " I wish I could know that she 
 would love thee as thou dost deserve ; that she would go 
 with thee back to Languedoc leave forever this cursed 
 life of Louisiana." 
 
 " Do not let us talk of it," urged Jean, speaking with 
 tender authority. " All I had hoped for is now but a 
 bygone dream. It can never be realized ; for, after what 
 has happened, my name can be nothing but one of infamy, 
 and I would never ask a woman to share it." 
 
 "And is it the Senorita?" asked Pierre, gently, yet 
 insistently, laying his free hand upon the bowed head. 
 
 " No, it was Count de Cazeneau's granddaughter," 
 answered a smothered voice. 
 
 "The little ' Island Rose,' as the Indians called her?" 
 said Pierre, with a surprise and pleasure which seemed to 
 give him new strength. " Ah, Jean, I am glad. I saw her 
 only once ; but that is sufficient for me to know that she 
 is true, and pure of heart the one I would have thee 
 love. But do not despair, my brother, for surely it will 
 come out well for thee; I feel that it will." 
 
 He stopped for a few moments, as if to gather more 
 strength; and when he spoke again his tone was more 
 incisive. 
 
 " Jean, I can see it all as it will be, if thou wilt do as 
 I say." 
 
 " What is that? " And Jean, lifting his head, looked into 
 the changed eyes, now holding a new and strange ex- 
 pression one that was plainly discernible even in the 
 faint light. 
 
 " Go to the governor, in person, or, better still, go to 
 Jackson when he shall come. Renew the offer, and show 
 the original papers sent to thee by the English. Thou 
 hast them safely?" 
 
 " Yes, they never have left my possession." 
 
 " Good. Take them to the governor, and to Jackson. 
 I heard that Claiborne would have accepted thy proposi- 
 tion, but was over-ruled by the others. I beg, as the last
 
 364 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 thing I can ask of thee on earth, to show the papers to 
 Jackson. Promise me to do this, and all will be well with 
 thee and thine." 
 
 The eager voice was hushed. Then, in the silence, 
 Jean raised his head, and the two men, with hands clasped, 
 stared into each other's eyes, the one pair eloquent with 
 pleading that, for the moment, mastered the death-light 
 shining under the pallid brow; the other pair blazing 
 with the rage that leaped forth through their despairing 
 sorrow. 
 
 "Wilt thou not promise this?" Pierre whispered. 
 
 Another brief silence, and then Jean answered with a 
 passion he tried vainly to repress. " I would not, to save 
 my life, give this promise to another. But, my Pierre, as 
 thou hast asked it from me yes." 
 
 His voice was broken, and he bent his head as would 
 an humbled penitent. 
 
 The moon's rays had stolen up until the shadows of the 
 window-bars lay across the clasped hands, and struggled 
 faintly along the whitewashed wall, untouched by the 
 light from the dimly-burning lamp. 
 
 " Then can I go in peace," had come like a sigh from 
 the paling lips, as Jean's head was laid against Pierre's 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Put out the lamp," added the dying man ; " let us have 
 only the moonlight." 
 
 This done, Jean resumed his place by the bed, and again 
 took the hand lying so white in the moon-rays. 
 
 A deep, struggling sigh stirred the silence. 
 
 " What is it, my Pierre art thou in pain ? " 
 
 There was no reply. 
 
 " Pierre, my brother, tell me art thou in pain ? " Jean 
 repeated, conscious that the hand he held lay heavy, and 
 was growing cooler. 
 
 He laid it tenderly on the coverlet, and, rising, pulled 
 the bed out, so that it was bathed in a flood of moon- 
 light.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 365 
 
 The whitening radiance touched the half-parted lips and 
 wide-open eyes of a face whose cold pallor would show even 
 whiter in the morning's sun. 
 
 Truly had Pierre's premonition been verified; never 
 would those sightless eyes behold the France he had 
 longed to see once more.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO 
 
 THE morning of September 14 was clear and cloud- 
 less, with the brisk wind distending the canvas of 
 H. B. M. brig " Sophia," as she made her way 
 toward the little island off the East Pass known as " The 
 Turtle." 
 
 It was a mere patch of rank vegetation, and, seen from 
 a distance, looked much like the upper shell of the reptile 
 whose name it bore. 
 
 There had been little doubt amongst the English as to 
 Lafitte's decision ; and their opinion had been strengthened 
 to a certainty by reason of the recent attack upon Bara- 
 taria, the details of which had been reported to Captain 
 Percy. 
 
 It was therefore with a very complacent mind that Cap- 
 tain Lockyer looked ahead at the little island lying on the 
 heaving water, with the noonday heat shimmering in a 
 dazzle of prismatic coloring over its green growths. 
 
 He was feeling confident and elated over the prospec- 
 tive outcome of his negotiations ; and a few bars of " God 
 Save the King," came, flute-like, from his puckered lips, 
 as he stared at the bit of land which his small boat was 
 rapidly approaching. 
 
 He was soon ashore, and glanced around expectantly; 
 but no one was to be seen. A flock of water-fowl rose from 
 the rank grass in front of him, and flew farther inland ; and 
 a pair of pelicans, startled from their ruminations in a near-by 
 thicket, flapped heavily away. 
 
 While looking mechanically at the awkward birds, his 
 eyes were attracted by a large piece of white paper, out- 
 spread upon the impaling thorns of a bush only a few yards
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 367 
 
 off. He went toward it, and soon read what wrought a 
 decided change in his expression of complacency, besides 
 bringing an oath from his lips. 
 
 Then, plucking the paper from the bush, he crushed it 
 in his hand, and turning about, went back to his boat, 
 where, with a look of disappointment and rage that told 
 his crew of something having gone wrong, he ordered them 
 to push off. 
 
 The paper he was carrying back to the " Sophia" as the 
 result of his mission contained only these words : 
 
 SEPTEMBER 14, 1814. 
 
 I will accept no favor from, and conclude no terms with, those 
 who make allies of Indians, who incite slaves to insurrection, and 
 whose own cruelty matches well that of their savage associates. 
 
 JEAN LAFITTE. 
 
 It was not until the " Sophia " had lifted her anchor that a 
 woolly head and pair of shining eyes rose from a bit of 
 tangled undergrowth directly opposite the bush upon which 
 the paper had been displayed, and Nato hastened to the 
 other end of the island, where a boat containing Dominique- 
 You and two of his men awaited him. 
 
 As they pulled away from the beach, Nato gave a satis- 
 fied chuckle, and said, in reply to Dominique's impatient 
 inquiry, " Yes, sah : de redcoat, he done come sure 'nuff, 
 an' der paper ye done stuck on de bush he toted off in his 
 coat. Reckon he was pow'ful mad, too, Massa Dominique, 
 kase he swore like der debbil." 
 
 " Ver' well damn him," was Dominique's growling 
 comment. " It was well for the British red-bird that La 
 Capitaine order me, stop here in boat, an' not go ashore." 
 
 Matters at Shell Island had now come to be clearly de- 
 nned and understood. All the men knew, from Lafitte's 
 statement to them, of the English attempt to buy their 
 allegiance and service ; they knew also of the threatened 
 vengeance if that offer was rejected. And Lafitte had little 
 trouble in persuading them to acquiesce in his proposed
 
 368 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 offer to Jackson, when the latter should arrive in New 
 Orleans. 
 
 But he was careful to conceal from his followers all 
 knowledge of the disastrous attempt already made, lest 
 this might cool their patriotism. He had, with respect to 
 this, and after much argument, persuaded Dominique-You 
 to agree upon keeping silence. 
 
 Prison doors were not so easily opened as in the past. 
 Beluche and Lopez were still under confinement, together 
 with their crew, and the recently captured Baratarians. 
 
 The days at Shell Island passed monotonously. Once, 
 in October, Lafitte made a trip to La Tte des Eaux, where 
 he found only Lazalie and Madame RiefSt, General La 
 Roche's sister, who had, for the present, closed her New 
 Orleans house, and was stopping in what her brother con- 
 sidered a safer locality. 
 
 The general himself spent much of his time in the city; 
 and Mademoiselle de Cazeneau was now at Kanauhana, 
 where her grandfather was dying. Harold Stewart had 
 gone to New Orleans, where he was awaiting the arrival 
 of General Jackson, having already received a military 
 appointment from Governor Claiborne. 
 
 After hearing from Lazalie of Rose, and her loneliness, 
 picturing her beside her grandfather's deathbed, and re- 
 calling the look upon her upraised face when he left her, 
 and the words she had uttered, Lafitte longed to see her, 
 if only to extend his sympathy. 
 
 But this he would not do, feeling that, as matters were 
 with him, it might be stealing from her innocence that 
 which he had no right to seek. 
 
 Then, too, if she had heard of the recent happenings at 
 Barataria, what might she now be thinking of him? 
 
 It was a question he could not answer, and he shrank 
 from the possibility of seeing her again recoil from him, as 
 once she had done. 
 
 That she would have heard of his disaster there was 
 little doubt ; for Lazalie had met him with both hands ex-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 369 
 
 tended, and a dimness of tears in her eyes as she said, 
 " Captain Jean, I am so glad to see you again, and that 
 you were not forced to accept the governor's hospitality. 
 And we were all so sorry for your brother's " 
 
 She hesitated ; and Lafitte said quietly, but with unmis- 
 takable firmness, " I thank you truly, Lazalie ; I under- 
 stand what you would say, and thank you for it. But 
 please let us talk of something else." 
 
 Mindful of Rose's love for marsh-lilies, he had brought 
 a large bunch of them from Shell Island, where they grew 
 in great luxuriance and beauty ; and now handing them to 
 Lazalie, he requested that she give them to Mademoiselle 
 de Cazeneau, with his compliments. 
 
 " Then you will not go over to Kanauhana to-day?" she 
 asked, while inhaling the fragrance of the flowers. 
 
 Before he could reply, Madame Rieft, who had entered 
 the room and overheard Lazalie's question, exclaimed 
 volubly, " Is it not pitiful to think of that poor child over 
 there, with only the negroes about her, and that snappy 
 old Barbe ! " 
 
 " But you know, dear madame," Lazalie said, with 
 marked remonstrance, " that she seems to wish to be 
 alone. Both of us," she added, now looking at Lafitte, as 
 if to assure herself that he was not thinking her negligent, 
 " have offered to go to Rose ; but she refused to have 
 it so." 
 
 "Oh, yes, of course," admitted Madame RiefSt, as she 
 sank into the nearest chair and carefully arranged her 
 skirts. " But I still maintain that it seems a pity, for what 
 can such a child know of death? Mercy! When I was 
 her age the very idea of seeing any one die would make 
 me fly from the house." 
 
 She spoke theatrically, with uplifted brows and raised 
 hands; for the erratic, fashionable Madame was, in person 
 and manner, more decidedly French than was her brother. 
 
 " We are not, however, all alike in that respect, I take 
 it," said Lazalie nervously, for she felt that, in the face of 
 24
 
 370 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 recent events, such talk must be jarring to Lafitte, and she 
 wondered what might be his thoughts as he stood looking 
 through the window toward Kanauhana. 
 
 Madame Riefe't's frivolous remark had brought before 
 him the picture of that little island where he had first seen 
 the figure, scarcely more than a child's, clad in a gayly- 
 fringed buckskin dress, with beaded leggings and moc- 
 casins, and clinging to a still form from which the breath 
 had but just departed. 
 
 " Speak once more to your little Rose ! " she had wailed. 
 And he, hardened by frequent contact with death, could 
 not, until now, realize the full depth of such a sorrow. 
 
 Would it be thus when her grandfather died? No, he 
 answered, finding a strange comfort in the thought; for 
 Count de Cazeneau had been too repellent of her timid prof- 
 fers of affection. He had given her his name, his protection, 
 and his wealth ; but his love had been unknown to her. 
 
 This, although to be regretted during the count's life- 
 time, was as Lafitte told himself well for her now ; for 
 one sorrow such as she had sustained brings with it all the 
 suffering that any young heart should be called upon to 
 endure. 
 
 This he now understood far better than on the day when 
 he, a stranger, looked down upon that passionately grieving 
 daughter. He knew that he had not, at the time, been cap- 
 able of a sympathy now brought home to him by the very 
 recollection of her sorrow. 
 
 He realized it now, when he had that moonlit cell to 
 remember; the dead face lying in the silver radiance; the 
 unseeing eyes ; the parted lips, forever mute, but which, a 
 moment before, were murmuring words that, in the last 
 instant of earth-thought, as in all the years agone, were for 
 him and his welfare. 
 
 This it was that made Jean Lafitte's face look pale and 
 his manner seem stern, as, after forcing himself to listen 
 for awhile to Madame Rieft's volatile chatter, he took his 
 departure.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE 
 
 EARLY in December, 1814, General Jackson arrived 
 at New Orleans. 
 Lafitte had, some time before this, at Shell Island, 
 seen a copy of the proclamation issued by Jackson while 
 yet at Mobile, after the general had received from Gov- 
 ernor Claiborne a full statement of the proposition made to 
 Lafitte by the English, together with the Baratarian leader's 
 offer of service on behalf of himself and his followers. 
 
 This proclamation was addressed to the people of Loui- 
 siana ; and, after summoning them to take energetic meas- 
 ures for defence against Great Britain, it went on to say : 
 
 " I ask you, Louisianians, can we place any confidence 
 in the honor of men who have courted an alliance with 
 pirates and robbers? Have not these noble Britons 
 these honorable men, Colonel Nicholls and Captain W. H. 
 Percy, the true representatives of their royal master done 
 this? Have they not made offers to the pirates of Bara- 
 taria to join them and their holy cause? And have they 
 not dared to insult you by calling upon you to associate, as 
 brothers, with them and these hellish banditti? Confident 
 that any attempt to invade our soil will be repelled, the un- 
 dersigned calls not upon either pirates or robbers to join 
 him in the glorious cause." 
 
 It cannot be said that this merciless arraignment of him- 
 self and his men produced any particular effect upon La- 
 fitte's mind beyond assuring him that Jackson, unlike the 
 governor's conferees, believed that the English had sought 
 the aid of the Baratarians. 
 
 This, of itself, would prove a strong point in his favor, 
 and place him upon a firmer footing, when he should re-
 
 372 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 new the proposition to Jackson himself. And knowing, 
 as he did through his agents, of the comparatively defence- 
 less condition of New Orleans, and of the disaffection ex- 
 isting amongst a large portion of its citizens, he felt that 
 his offer might meet with more desirable results than had 
 attended the former one. 
 
 Between eight and nine o'clock of an evening toward the 
 middle of December, Jackson and Governor Claiborne were 
 seated in the library of the latter's residence, engaged in 
 an earnest discussion of some of the many perplexing ques- 
 tions with which they were confronted. 
 
 Jackson, now in his forty-eighth year, was not only one 
 of the most notable and picturesque figures of the south 
 and southwest, but his strong personality had already im- 
 pressed itself upon the country at large. 
 
 His- adventurous life had enveloped him in an atmos- 
 phere of romance ; his rugged integrity and stern sense of 
 justice had won the respect of enemies, even as the sim- 
 plicity and lovableness of his character, together with his 
 homely, democratic ways, retained the affection of friends, 
 while his personal intrepidity and acceptance of the " Code 
 d'Honneur" appealed powerfully to the more impulsive 
 element of the nation. 
 
 A lawyer by profession, he had been Public Prosecutor, 
 and Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee ; he had 
 also been a Representative and Senator in Congress from 
 this, his adopted State. When, in June, 1812, war was 
 declared against Great Britain, he had already, in antici- 
 pation of the event, raised a brigade of three thousand 
 Tennesseeans, who were among the first volunteers offered 
 to the government. 
 
 He served with credit, although without any special op- 
 portunity for distinction, until the winter of 1813-4, when 
 he avenged the massacre of Fort Minis by inflicting upon 
 the Creek Indians a series of disasters which destroyed 
 them as a nation. 
 
 This had brought him into national prominence ; and in
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 373 
 
 May, 1814, he was appointed major-general in the regular 
 army of the United States, succeeding William Henry 
 Harrison, who was destined to occupy the presidential 
 chair four years after it had been vacated by Jackson. 
 
 Near the table, and facing the fire, sat the tall, sinewy 
 figure, clad in the blue and buff uniform already well known 
 to the people of New Orleans. 
 
 Under a broad, high forehead, from which the wiry hair, 
 touched slightly with gray, was pushed back as if by im- 
 patient fingers, the deeply-set eyes, stern in their usual 
 expression, emphasized the iron will expressed by the 
 firm, lean jaw and thin lips, the latter, with their down- 
 turning corners, looking as if made only for uttering words 
 of command or of biting sarcasm. 
 
 Claiborne was eight years younger only forty, and of 
 a different mould. He, like Jackson, had gone in early life 
 to Tennessee, had been a Judge, and Representative in 
 Congress. But his experience was far less strenuous ; and 
 having been appointed Governor of Mississippi in 1801, 
 and of Louisiana in 1803, his life had been comparatively 
 free from the struggles and vicissitudes which had marked 
 Jackson's career. 
 
 He was more of a courtier and diplomat than was the 
 other man ; and, as he sat, dressed in the height of fash- 
 ion, leaning back in his chair, one shapely hand resting 
 upon the table, and the other occasionally stroking his 
 smooth chin, he scarcely looked like one capable of coping 
 successfully with the unruly elements which threatened to 
 dominate the existing crisis. 
 
 But he was a man of courage and resource, of sterling 
 sense and intense patriotism. His task had been a diffi- 
 cult and perilous one ; his necessities had been great, and 
 his means of little value. He had, however, by coolness 
 and strategy, kept the disloyal and malcontent spirit from 
 manifesting itself in dangerous demonstrations, while at the 
 same time doing his uttermost to strengthen the city's 
 material defences.
 
 374 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " We are too weak, by far, I tell you, Claiborne," Gen- 
 eral Jackson was now saying with irascible emphasis, " and 
 without anything like a sufficient force to meet what is now 
 at our very doors. I feel to be frank with you some 
 doubt of our ability to sustain the present enthusiasm of 
 these people who were talking so lately of capitulating 
 to damned Britishers." 
 
 " Capitulating ! " echoed the governor. " Surely, gen- 
 eral, at this late day, and in the face of the pledges they 
 have made, neither the legislature nor the citizens would 
 return to any such idea." 
 
 " I am not so sure of that, if they were forced, as are you 
 and I, to realize that the enemy outnumbers us ten or 
 more to one," growled Jackson. " Only " bringing his 
 fist down upon the table with a force that rattled the lamps 
 and papers " if I catch them talking of such a thing, 
 I '11 blow them and their crazy old Capitol to the skies." 
 
 Before the governor whose back was to the door 
 could reply to this outburst, he became aware that a third 
 person had entered the room ; and he glanced over his 
 shoulder to see who it might be, while his face showed 
 the irritation he felt at any one presuming to interrupt 
 him at such a time. 
 
 But his expression changed to one of mingled anger 
 and consternation; and Jackson, who had been sternly 
 regarding the intruder, started to his feet. 
 
 The new-comer had closed and locked the door, and 
 tossed his long cloak upon a chair. This done, he removed 
 his hat, and let the light fall plainly upon a handsome, 
 regular-featured face, the swartness of whose lower part 
 was several shades deeper than that of the forehead. 
 
 After bowing respectfully, he stood silent, while his 
 black eyes searched with curious intentness the stern face 
 of General Jackson, whose right hand had stolen into the 
 breast of his coat. 
 
 The governor, who had risen when he saw the key 
 turned in the door, now made a step or two toward the
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 375 
 
 chair where lay his sword ; but the stranger, picking up 
 the weapon before Claiborne could reach it, presented it to 
 the latter with a graceful bow, coupled with a courteous 
 " Permit me, sir." 
 
 Then, turning quickly to Jackson, he added, extending 
 both arms to their full length, either side of him, " Surely 
 General Jackson will not fire upon an unarmed man ! " 
 And he advanced to the table. 
 
 Governor Claiborne's face had reddened angrily as he 
 took his sword from the stranger's hands and replaced it on 
 the chair; and Jackson's expression changed somewhat, 
 as, with " Assuredly not, sir," he withdrew his hand from 
 the pistol. 
 
 " I beg, gentlemen, that you will pardon my intrusion," 
 said their unknown visitor, " until you shall hear the ob- 
 ject of my mission. And I pray you to believe that I 
 come here for no other reason than a desire to be of use 
 to you, and to the country both of you serve." 
 
 Jackson, after, with an impatient hand, whirling his chair 
 around to face the speaker, resumed his seat; but the 
 governor, still standing, demanded hotly to know how it 
 was that he had entered unannounced. 
 
 " Do not blame your people, governor, for they are 
 not at fault. My errand made it necessary that I should 
 reach you and General Jackson unobserved ; and I im- 
 proved the opportunity to enter while the sentry was not 
 looking." 
 
 He did not think it necessary to explain that the sentry, 
 a former Baratarian, had taken care to look in an opposite 
 direction. 
 
 "May we know your name, sir?" inquired Claiborne, 
 stiffly, and with a haughtiness of manner in which there 
 was no sign of softening. 
 
 " I am the man whom your excellency has been pleased 
 to proclaim an outlaw, and for whose capture you have 
 offered a reward of five hundred dollars ; the man " now 
 fixing his piercing eyes upon Jackson's face " whom,
 
 376 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 with his followers, you, sir, have branded as ' hellish ban- 
 ditti,' and as the ' pirates of Barataria.' I am Jean 
 Lafitte." 
 
 Jackson straightened himself, and again his hand moved 
 toward his breast; but he checked it, while muttering some- 
 thing below his breath. And the governor's eyes turned 
 in the direction of his sword ; but he made no attempt to 
 regain it. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I pledge you my word," added Lafitte, a 
 touch of bitter irony now tinging his voice, " that I seek 
 you with no weapons, and that my sole means of defence 
 consist in what I have to say, together with the papers I 
 bring for your consideration." 
 
 " You are a bold man, Captain Lafitte, to venture into 
 New Orleans, to say nothing of presenting yourself here," 
 was the governor's unconciliatory response. 
 
 Lafitte bowed, as if acknowledging a compliment, and 
 drawing a package from his breast, held it across the table 
 toward General Jackson, who was still staring at him, as if 
 in wonder at his youth and appearance. 
 
 " I ask, general," he said, " that you, and you, also, 
 Governor Claiborne, will accord me the honor to read the 
 original documents I received some time ago from your 
 enemies, and in respect to which I understand my state- 
 ment was condemned as false. I have come to ask this of 
 you, and to renew, in person, the offer made through my 
 agents, whom, by the way, you, Governor Claiborne, im- 
 prisoned as malefactors." 
 
 Claiborne flushed, but did not reply ; and Jackson, taking 
 the package, made a motion as if to open it. Then, 
 instead of doing so, he laid it on the table, and again 
 looked searchingly into the face whose dark eyes met, with 
 unflinching frankness, the speculative regard of his own. 
 
 " Be seated, Captain Lafitte," said Governor Claiborne, 
 with rather reluctant courtesy. 
 
 The former bowed slightly in recognition of the 
 invitation, but remained standing as he continued, with
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 377 
 
 increased emphasis, " The statements I made were true, 
 and my former offer was submitted in perfect good faith, 
 inspired by an earnest desire to fulfil my duty to the 
 country in which I have made my home, and whose laws I 
 have never been found guilty of transgressing. All I 
 asked in return was that the names of myself and my 
 followers should be freed from the obloquy which has 
 unjustly become attached to them." 
 
 Lafitte's words and manner were full of stern dignity, 
 and Claiborne made neither reply nor comment. But his 
 face flushed again, and he declined to meet the significant 
 look the speaker bent upon him. 
 
 Jackson, however, accepted the implied challenge. 
 
 " Have you never been accused of smuggling, and slave- 
 trading, Captain Lafitte, and of being a privateer?" he 
 asked, in a tone of dry sarcasm. 
 
 "Accused, yes; but never convicted," was the quick 
 reply, "although all my dealings have been within the 
 knowledge of the authorities, and I was constantly in and 
 about New Orleans. I was once, as Governor Claiborne 
 will tell you, indicted ; but I was tried before an impartial 
 judge, and acquitted by a jury composed of the foremost 
 citizens of the State." 
 
 Jackson's face expressed surprise, and he glanced inquir- 
 ingly at Claiborne, who nodded, as if in affirmation of the 
 statement. Then the former, again turning his stern eyes 
 upon Lafitte, asked, " How is it with you in regard to 
 privateering? " 
 
 " Let me ask how is it with you, General Jackson, and 
 with your own country, in regard to privateering?" And a 
 curl of scorn touched Lafitte's lips. " Tell me, I pray you, 
 sir, how many scores of vessels, flying the flag of the 
 United States, are, at this moment, preying upon foreign 
 commerce?" 
 
 " But only upon the commerce of Great Britain, with 
 whom we are at war," declared Jackson, his grim features 
 relaxed but only for an instant by a satisfied smile ;
 
 378 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " and they are acting under regular letters of marque and 
 reprisal." 
 
 " True ; and the vessels in which I have been interested 
 acted under letters of marque from the Republic of Car- 
 thagena, and sailed under the flag of that nation. Never, 
 since I controlled them, have they interfered with the ships 
 of any nation excepting Spain, with whom, as you are 
 aware, the Republic of Carthagena is at war." 
 
 Jackson was silent, and glanced scowlingly at Claiborne, 
 who was tapping the table abstractedly, and appeared ab- 
 sorbed by his own reflections. 
 
 " I thank you, general," Lafitte resumed, speaking with 
 less emphasis, " for the opportunity you have given me to 
 explain these matters. And, without going into them 
 farther, I wish to assure you once more that my former 
 offer was made from legitimate and patriotic motives." 
 
 Jackson bowed, as if in acquiescence. 
 
 " But," demanded Lafitte, a sudden rush of indignation 
 sounding in his voice, " how was it received? My motives 
 were impugned, my statements branded as false; my 
 messengers were imprisoned. And, as a fitting sequence 
 to this, an armed expedition was sent to Barataria; my 
 men were butchered, or taken prisoners ; my vessels seized, 
 and my other property destroyed. In addition to this, 
 and harder than all else, my foster-brother, after being 
 mortally wounded, was brought to New Orleans, thrown 
 into the common gaol, and left there, to die." 
 
 Again Jackson looked at Claiborne, as if expecting some 
 reply. But the governor seemed somewhat discomposed, 
 and, as if to divert the course of Lafitte's words, asked with 
 an air of surprise, "Your foster-brother? Was not Pierre 
 Lafitte your own brother, as was always supposed ? " 
 
 " No, sir. There was no tie of blood between us; but 
 we had been bound, since our boyhood in France, by a 
 bond far stronger than that of blood by mutual affection 
 and confidence." 
 
 The fire had died out of the speaker's eyes, and his voice
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 379 
 
 was attuned to the gravity of his words. But this was only 
 for the moment; and, with an impatient toss of his head, 
 as if to throw off the mood which had fallen upon him, he 
 continued in a tone, which, low as it was, vibrated with 
 intense passion, " This brother of mine, who was one with 
 me in my former offer, and who was prepared to do his 
 part toward making it successful, he was murdered by 
 those men whom he was trying to assist; and his dying 
 request to me was that I should do as I am doing to-night 
 see General Jackson, and urge his acceptance of our 
 proposition." 
 
 Lafitte had been standing all this time. But now, as he 
 finished speaking, he seated himself and folded his arms, 
 while his face took an expression of stoical indifference 
 contrasting sharply with the impassioned words that had 
 just poured from his lips. 
 
 Jackson and Claiborne looked at one another, as if each 
 were waiting for the other to speak, until the former, while 
 he fingered the package he had taken from the table, said 
 in a tone whose gravity held something akin to tenderness, 
 " Captain Lafitte, you understand, of course, that I, an 
 officer of the army, cannot criticise in your presence any- 
 thing that took place prior to my assuming command here. 
 But, speaking as a man, and as one who has had his own 
 share of hardship and sorrow, I may venture to extend to 
 you my regret and sympathy for the trouble and bereave- 
 ment that seem to have been yours." 
 
 Lafitte bent his head silently, and the governor was about 
 to speak, when Jackson added, " Let me say furthermore, 
 that, as a lover of my country, I can appreciate fully the 
 motives which induced your original offer, and your 
 present renewal of it." 
 
 " I thank you, sir." 
 
 Claiborne, who had been fidgeting impatiently, now 
 hastened to say, " You will do me the justice, Captain 
 Lafitte, to believe that I wished to accept your offer. But 
 my personal views were overruled by those upon whose
 
 380 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 judgment I relied; and the expedition to Barataria was 
 sent at their instigation not mine." 
 
 " And yet," said Lafitte, with dry sarcasm that brought 
 a faint smile to Jackson's firm lips, " you are the Governor 
 of Louisiana." 
 
 Claiborne winced ; but before he could answer the 
 thrust, Lafitte added, with a shrug of his shoulders, " But 
 it matters not at whose instigation the outrage was com- 
 mitted. The facts are as I have stated, and what is past 
 must stand. Now, General Jackson, may I ask that you 
 open that package, and read the papers it contains ? " 
 
 " I will, sir," was the reply. " But, before doing so, I 
 take it upon myself to say to you that, no matter what may 
 be the outcome of this affair whether your proposition 
 be accepted or refused, your men shall at once be released 
 from custody; and they, as well as you, shall have safe- 
 conducts from the city, or my protection here, should you 
 or they prefer to remain." 
 
 He had been opening the packet, and did not look at 
 Lafitte as the latter said, " Again I thank you, sir." 
 
 As Jackson perused the first paper, the impressions he 
 gathered were plainly observable in his look, and half- 
 audible comments. Now his face would be shadowed by a 
 deep scowl, and his stiff hair would bristle still more aggres- 
 sively as he ran his fingers through it. This would be fol- 
 lowed by a derisive curling of his lips, or an impatient 
 exclamation ; and this in turn by a gesture of contempt 
 
 " Fine bombast," he growled, before going very far. 
 Then, a little way on, " Sophomorical rubbish ! Savors of 
 Eton, with some of George the Third's silly meanderings." 
 And so on, until the end was reached. 
 
 Claiborne had seated himself closer to Jackson; and 
 presently, the latter, with an exclamation of the strongest 
 disgust, handed him the paper. 
 
 " Here, Claiborne, you have seen a copy of this ; but you 
 had better refresh your memory by reading the original." 
 
 The governor took the paper, and had begun to read it,
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 381 
 
 when, chancing to glance at Lafitte, he was puzzled by the 
 expression of the latter's face. 
 
 He was leaning back in his chair, his lips half-parted, 
 and his face softened by a glow seeming to come from an 
 inward light, as his eyes rested upon something hanging 
 against the wall, back of the governor. 
 
 It was an engraving of Napoleon, one that, as the gov- 
 ernor knew, was brought from Barataria by a soldier from 
 whom he an ardent admirer of the emperor had 
 rescued it. 
 
 The thought of this made him in the new light thrown 
 by Lafitte's accusations with reference to the attack upon 
 Barataria feel uncomfortable; for, should Lafitte recog- 
 nize the picture as his own property, its present possessor 
 would be placed in an unenviable position. 
 
 He had forced his eyes back to the paper, whose con- 
 tents he recalled quite accurately. But now, with the im- 
 pression already made upon him by Lafitte, and the latter's 
 face as he had just seen it intruding itself between his 
 eyes and the writing, he was forced to acknowledge to him- 
 self that, pirate and outlaw as he had been named, the 
 Baratarian leader had shown the greatest generosity and 
 patriotism, together with a personal courage which ap- 
 pealed strongly to his the governor's sense of loyalty 
 and chivalry. 
 
 Possessed by this feeling, he glanced again at the 
 younger man, to see him still looking in the same direction, 
 apparently oblivious of all surroundings, while his rapt 
 expression made the governor wonder. 
 
 Little could he have guessed the nature of the thoughts 
 giving rise to it; and, even could he have known, his 
 wonder would but have been increased. 
 
 Jean Lafitte's heart was in communion with that pictured 
 face, and with its original, whom he seemed to be once 
 more facing upon Elba, looking into the eyes that had 
 rested so kindly upon him at the last, and hearing the voice 
 uttering words of old-time affection.
 
 382 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 He had missed the picture from its place over his hearth 
 at Barataria ; but, knowing there were others like it, he had 
 no thought that he was looking upon what had been his own. 
 
 Presently, with a sigh indicating relief, Jackson handed 
 the last paper to Claiborne, and leaning forward, with his 
 elbows upon the arms of his chair, said, his voice showing 
 more of contempt than anger, " Most edifying assortment of 
 reading, to be sure, Captain Lafitte. Are these all these 
 four papers, two of them addressed to you, Captain Percy's 
 instructions to his subordinates, and the proclamation to 
 the people of this State ? " 
 
 " These are all, general ; and they contain all the infor- 
 mation within my power to give you now," Lafitte replied, 
 with a mildness contrasting with Jackson's tone and man- 
 ner as would a strain of soft music after the clanging of 
 hammers upon brass. 
 
 When Claiborne had finished reading the last paper, he 
 and Jackson looked at each other curiously. 
 
 The former's eyes asked, " Are we to trust this man, or 
 is this but another phase of his duplicity? " 
 
 But Jackson's declared, " Here is the opportunity to 
 obtain the men and arms of which we are in such desperate 
 need." 
 
 Still no word passed between them; and Claiborne 
 began to refold the papers, while the general turned to 
 Lafitte. 
 
 " It is a fine offer you have received all you can 
 possibly desire." 
 
 "A fine offer, general, as you say; yet it fails utterly 
 to cover what I desire." 
 
 " What, do you not desire wealth, and honor a fine 
 position in His Majesty's service?" demanded Jackson 
 satirically. 
 
 "Such, for instance, as Benedict Arnold received from 
 a like source? " 
 
 The question came quietly, but with a keen irony that 
 brought a flash of approval from Jackson's probing eyes.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 383 
 
 " I wish will take, nothing that England can ever 
 have to offer me," Lafitte added, with sudden fierceness. 
 " I hate the nation, and its ways ! Nothing could induce 
 me to accept, now or ever, any terms from the English." 
 
 The first unguarded evidence of anything like cordial 
 liking now manifested itself in Jackson's face. Yet there 
 was nothing of this in his voice as he said, " May I ask, 
 then, Captain Lafitte, if possibly some motive of personal 
 revenge brought you here to-night with a renewal of your 
 offer ? " 
 
 Lafitte's face flushed through its swartness; then it 
 paled, and grew stern. 
 
 " I have never heard, sir, that General Jackson was 
 lacking in generosity. I am, in coming here, actuated 
 solely by what I consider the most honorable course; for, 
 strange as it may seem to you, I still claim to know what 
 honor is, or should be. I love Louisiana as I hate Great 
 Britain." 
 
 He had risen, and was looking down, his eyes flashing, 
 and his nostrils dilated, upon the two seated hearers. 
 
 "I understood that you needed soldiers most of all, 
 artillerymen ; that you also needed arms cannon and 
 muskets. I came to proffer all I have left of men and 
 resources, for your use, and that of Louisiana. I ask no 
 pay for myself only for my men, if you will ; if not, 
 then I will try to take care of that, and they are yours 
 without pay. The one thing I demand is what I have 
 stated already a full pardon for my men and myself 
 a pardon for all offences or alleged offences against the 
 laws of this State or of the United States." 
 
 The effect of these words upon Jackson appeared in 
 his face, as he nodded significantly to Claiborne. But 
 the latter, cautious as ever, said, with incisive calmness, 
 " These papers, Captain Lafitte, are of great importance, 
 and seem to bear the stamp of genuineness. I do not wish 
 to offend your feelings, sir ; but you must surely under- 
 stand my position as Governor of Louisiana. I therefore
 
 384 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 ask you this : What authority have I, aside from your 
 own statement, for assuming them to be authentic?" 
 
 "None, Governor Claiborne, at this moment," replied 
 Lafitte, his face showing the anger which, although held 
 partially in check, made his low tone ominously vibrant. 
 " But, until you can ascertain from what you may consider 
 a more reliable source the truth of my statements, you 
 are welcome to hold me as your prisoner." 
 
 " And, Claiborne, if you do," thundered Jackson, at last 
 giving rein to his true feelings, and pounding the table 
 emphatically, " if you presume to do such a thing, by the 
 Eternal, I '11 release him in five minutes ! You must 
 remember that the city of New Orleans is under martial 
 law." 
 
 The governor, with a smile, waved his hand, as if to 
 brush aside the idea of such a contingency, and turning 
 again to Lafitte, said with the same deliberation as before, 
 "There is one more question my duty requires me to ask." 
 
 The dark eyes, still brilliant with anger, looked at him 
 inquiringly; and Jackson's long fingers beat an impatient 
 tattoo upon the arm of his chair as he watched the two 
 men standing near him, the governor's head reaching but 
 slightly above the shoulders of the younger man. 
 
 "Assuming," Claiborne continued, "that everything is 
 as you say, and that your proposition is accepted, what 
 security have I, as governor of this State, and responsible, 
 not only to its people, but to the President, that you will 
 fulfil your agreement? " 
 
 Jackson, with an impatient glance at Claiborne, started 
 to speak; but he checked himself as Lafitte, standing still 
 more erect, answered coldly, " My personal manhood and 
 honor. Ask any merchant of New Orleans with whom 
 I have had dealings if ever I failed to fulfil my contracts. 
 Ask any bank in New Orleans if my paper has ever been 
 dishonored. No man, woman or child, white or black, 
 who knows my name, but will tell you that I always keep 
 my promises."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 385 
 
 " Well answered ! " And Jackson, every vestige of 
 reserve now swept away, rose from his chair, and coming 
 around the table, extended both hands, which Lafitte 
 grasped cordially. 
 
 Claiborne's manner underwent a marked change, al- 
 though it was still somewhat formal as he said, " Captain 
 Lafitte, I cannot do otherwise than believe you to be 
 sincere, and to admire the motives which have led you to 
 take this most honorable course. I am pleased to be able 
 to recognize in you a good and loyal citizen ; and my 
 proclamation against you will be revoked in the morning. 
 Meanwhile, in token of amity between us, here is my 
 hand, sir." 
 
 Lafitte, after a momentary hesitation, took the extended 
 hand, and bent his head with a courtesy cold as that which 
 had marked Claiborne's former manner. 
 
 Jackson evidently determined not to accept the gov- 
 ernor's attitude as a criterion for his own, said, with in- 
 creased friendliness: "Captain Lafitte, I shall commend 
 you to the President, by the very next post, and furnish 
 him with a full statement of this matter. But " glancing 
 at the clock on the mantel opposite him " it is late, and 
 I must return to headquarters. I shall look for you to 
 report to me at nine in the morning, to talk over matters 
 in detail. I must know precisely as to the amount of 
 assistance I am to count upon from you ; and there are 
 other things about which I wish to consult you. I under- 
 stand that no man is so familiar as yourself with the country 
 to the south and southwest of here. Is this true?" 
 
 " Yes, general, as I think I may say without egotism." 
 
 " So I supposed ; and I shall have some questions to 
 ask of you in regard to it. My knowledge of the country 
 is not entirely complete, and I wish to obtain all possible 
 information respecting the roads and waterways." 
 
 " I shall be happy to serve you, sir, to the best of my 
 ability; and I thank you, gentlemen both of you, for the 
 favor you have shown me."
 
 386 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The sudden huskiness of Lafitte's firm voice was the 
 only indication of his pent-up feelings, as he added, " To- 
 night, General Jackson, I thank you in words ; but I hope 
 to soon manifest my gratitude in a more substantial form 
 one that shall cause you no regret for the justice you 
 have shown to Jean Lafitte of Barataria." 
 
 He left them his departure being as rapid and quiet as 
 had been his appearance; and Jackson, turning to Clai- 
 borne, said, with a smile of grim satisfaction, " I believe 
 that we can save New Orleans ; and if we do, by the 
 Eternal, a good share of the credit will belong to the men 
 whom I called ' pirates and robbers/ and approved of your 
 hanging ! " 
 
 " He seems in no way," remarked the governor irrelev- 
 antly, while he stroked his chin in a contemplative fashion, 
 " the sort of man I had been led to suppose." And, rising, 
 his excellency accompanied General Jackson to the street 
 door. 
 
 Lafitte had, with head erect and heart buoyant, gone out 
 into the starlit night, feeling, and with good reason, that 
 his wishes, hopes, prayers, were about to be answered. 
 
 He had now, at the age of thirty-four, and after a career 
 the like of which had come to but few men, won the respect 
 of the foremost man of either continent. 
 
 Now for one final stand, even though this must be in the 
 face of battle and bloodshed ; and then, if life were left 
 him, adieu forever to the name with which his career had 
 been linked. 
 
 Adieu to Louisiana, and back again to France, and his 
 rightful name, back to him who had made all this 
 possible.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR 
 
 THE December sunshine lying about La Tte des 
 Eaux gave a warmth and brightness that would 
 have made the season of the year scarcely to be 
 realized by one born to New England's ice and snow ; and 
 the cold breeze stirring among the trees would have been 
 but the frosty breath of early fall, turned by the sunrise to 
 dews that drenched the grass and few fallen leaves. 
 
 General La Roche was hurrying through breakfast, 
 while his saddled horse, in charge of a mounted negro, 
 pawed impatiently as he stood waiting for his master. 
 
 La Roche had returned home only the day before, for a 
 brief visit, and to assure himself that all was well with his 
 household, consisting now of his sister, Lazalie, and Rose 
 de Cazeneau. 
 
 Even at this, the last hour of his stay, some of the items 
 of news he had brought from the city were being discussed 
 and enlarged upon. 
 
 The water-courses leading from the gulf were being 
 watched most vigilantly, as it was from this quarter that 
 an attack was likely to come ; and a body of men had been 
 recently stationed by Jackson in the neighborhood of 
 Bayou Bienvenue, in deference so it was reported to 
 the opinion of Lafitte. 
 
 Besides six gunboats on Lake Borgne, watching the 
 water-passes, there was on shore a large force of men, with 
 no less a commander than Dominique-You ; and many of 
 his own followers were to be found amongst the soldiers 
 under him. Others of the Baratarians were with Beluche, 
 at Bayou St. John ; and the former " outlaws " were also
 
 388 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 mingled with the soldiers at Forts St. Philip and Petites 
 Coquilles. 
 
 The outlook in the city was much as it had been since 
 Jackson's latest victory that of drawing to his support 
 the erstwhile malcontents, and those who were lukewarm ; 
 and any one who now whispered of capitulation would have 
 been risking his life. 
 
 " A curious change of affairs," remarked Madame Riefet, 
 to whom her brother had been narrating all these particu- 
 lars, " that General Jackson should now be trusting so 
 much to the Baratarians, who, only last September, were 
 denounced by him, as well as by every one else." 
 
 She was preparing her brother's second cup of coffee, 
 and now placed it on Albert's extended tray. 
 
 The general laughed as he took the cup. 
 
 " Well yes. In September they were * pirates,' and 
 ' hellish banditti ; ' but in December they are privateers, 
 and their leaders are gentlemen. Yet I can assure you 
 that they are brave fellows and tremendous fighters, and 
 just the men needed now to help save New Orleans." 
 
 He happened to glance down the table, and wondered 
 a little at the expression his words seemed to have kindled 
 in the glowing face of Rose de Cazeneau, who asked, 
 " And Captain Jean is on Jackson's staff ? " 
 
 " Not exactly that, Mignonne, although he might as well 
 be, for he appears to be one of the general's most trusted 
 officers, and is here, there, and everywhere. He has been 
 several times in this neighborhood, although none of you 
 have known it. You see he has no time for social calls 
 scarcely any for eating and sleeping." 
 
 " That reminds me to tell you, general," Lazalie said, 
 her tone and air showing considerable indignation, " that 
 three days ago, when I was rowing, with Nebo, and 
 not half way up the bayou toward Lake Borgne, two men 
 and they were Baratarians, I am sure came out of 
 the woods and hailed me from the bank, warning me to go 
 no farther. They had guns, and Nebo was frightened.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 389 
 
 They asked where we came from, and where we were 
 going, questioning us as if we were British spies. I would 
 not answer, but let Nebo row back, as he begged me to do, 
 and they called after us, saying that we must not come that 
 way again." 
 
 " Oh, my dear, and you never told me a word of this ! " 
 exclaimed Madame Rief^t, pausing in her task of daintily 
 wiping, with her napkin, the fluffy lace of her undersleeve, 
 which had barely grazed her plate. 
 
 Lazalie, putting a purple grape between her scornful lips, 
 glanced sidewise, but offered no excuse for silence in 
 regard to the matter which had so evidently roused her 
 ire. 
 
 She had recently developed a fancy for rowing, a pastime 
 in which Mademoiselle de Cazeneau joined occasionally, 
 and one that Madame Rieft permitted with outspoken 
 reluctance. 
 
 The two girls had formerly ridden a good deal ; but this 
 had been stopped by General La Roche, owing to his 
 knowledge that the country near his plantation was filled 
 with soldiers. 
 
 It was then that Lazalie had taken to exercising upon 
 the water; for, to a girl of her restless nature, quietude 
 was an impossibility. 
 
 " I can readily imagine," said General La Roche, refer- 
 ring to what she had related, " that these men might have 
 been lacking in the courtesy to which you are accustomed ; 
 but their rough exteriors covered the best of intentions. 
 Pray do not row that way again," he added earnestly. 
 
 Lazalie looked mutinous, and wilfully ignored his un- 
 concealed anxiety. 
 
 " You will not? " he urged. 
 
 " But why not? " she demanded petulantly. 
 
 "Well," he began, with some hesitancy, " Captain Jean, 
 as I have told my sister, seems to think that the British 
 will soon appear in this neighborhood; and I am half 
 inclined to agree with him."
 
 390 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Madame Rieft uttered a faint scream. 
 
 " But you told me that only Captain Jean thought this ! 
 Why should he know more about it than General Jackson, 
 or any one else? Oh, dear! If they should come, we 
 would be right in their path ! " 
 
 " You would probably be as safe here as at New Orleans, 
 Louise," declared her brother, consolingly, " but it is 
 dimcult to believe that they will attempt a descent upon 
 the city from this quarter. They surely will not be 
 such fools as to risk having their vessels stuck in the mud 
 of the bayous." 
 
 " But oh, dear oh, dear, Philip ! " exclaimed Madame 
 RiefSt, not much comforted, " I hope they will not come 
 this way." 
 
 " So do I, sister mine ; and so does every one. We ex- 
 pect them to come straight up the river, so that we can 
 blow them, as Jackson says, to a certain place he men- 
 tioned." 
 
 She looked at him reprovingly, but Lazalie showed her 
 white teeth in an appreciative smile. 
 
 As for Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, her thoughts ap- 
 peared to be straying, for with an abstracted air she was 
 crumbling the muffin on her plate. 
 
 But her eyes became riveted upon the general's face 
 when, while folding his napkin, he said animatedly, " How 
 could I have forgotten to tell you a most surprising piece 
 of news about Captain Jean ? That young man is a puzzle 
 to me." 
 
 "What now?" asked Lazalie with marked interest, as 
 La Roche pushed back his chair and looked at his watch. 
 
 " Oh, never mind the time, Philip," added his sister im- 
 patiently. "The city will not vanish if you should stop 
 here an hour or two longer." 
 
 " Perhaps so, my dear perhaps so. But I have an en- 
 gagement to meet, and do not care to hurry my horse over 
 the miles between here and the place where I must be by 
 early afternoon."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 391 
 
 " But, General La Roche, what is it you were about to 
 tell us of Captain Jean? " asked Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, 
 whose eyes had not left the general's face, and whose 
 cheeks were flushing with additional color. 
 
 " Just this," answered La Roche, smiling at her, and then 
 glancing at the others in a way to show that he was about 
 to startle them: "It appears that Captain Jean has the 
 honor of a personal acquaintance with Napoleon." 
 
 " What ! " chorused the three amazed hearers ; and 
 Madame Rief6t murmured, in an awe-stricken tone, " Cap- 
 tain Jean knows the French emperor ! " 
 
 La Roche nodded. 
 
 " But he is emperor no longer, my dear, nor was he 
 such when Lafitte knew him." 
 
 "But how can such a thing be possible?" Lazalie began 
 when Madame Riefet, having recovered herself, interrupted 
 with: "Tell us all about it, Philip. How could he know 
 Napoleon, and where did you hear such an improbable 
 story? " 
 
 " From himself," was the laconic reply, accompanied by 
 a look of great satisfaction. 
 
 The general was filled with exultation at his ability to 
 give his sister who had frequently expressed her dislike 
 of his intimacy with Lafitte a piece of information which 
 he was quite aware would, with her a worshipper of the 
 illustrious Corsican place the Baratarian leader in a 
 position second only to him whose acquaintance he could 
 claim. 
 
 " I cannot credit such a thing," she declared. 
 
 " You could, and you would, had you been where I was, 
 to hear what he said to General Jackson. It came about 
 in this way: A week or ten days ago, Lafitte rendered an 
 important service, of a private nature, to Claiborne, and 
 the governor urged him to name something as a reward 
 for his services. What Lafitte asked was a picture of 
 Napoleon, which it seems was his own property, although 
 he was not aware of it at the time. It had been looted by
 
 392 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 one of our men during that September attack on Bara- 
 taria, and Claiborne had rescued it, being about as mad 
 over Napoleon as you, yourself, sister mine ; and Lafitte 
 had seen it hanging on the wall of the governor's study. 
 
 "The other day, at headquarters, I was present when 
 Jackson and Lafitte were having a conference, during 
 which the general spoke of the matter, and rallied Lafitte 
 upon the sentimental price he had named for so valuable 
 a service ; he added that probably, like all Frenchmen, he 
 made ' a sort of male Madonna out of Napoleon.' 
 
 " I wish you could have seen Lafitte's face when he an- 
 swered, ' I revere him as the man I have known and loved 
 since I was a young boy, and who has been as truly my 
 guardian angel as ever a good Catholic could pray the 
 Holy Mother to be.' And I wish you could have seen 
 Jackson's face as he heard this." 
 
 Madame Rief6t gasped, and the two girls exclaimed in 
 amazement. 
 
 " It was in France, then, that Captain Jean knew him?" 
 Madame said wonderingly. 
 
 " Naturally, Louise, as Napoleon has never been in this 
 country." The general now consulted his watch, and 
 added, "I must be off; and, by the way, let none of you 
 mention the surprising fact that I have just related, as it 
 might not be pleasing to Captain Jean. He said no more 
 than I have repeated, and was unmistakably averse to en- 
 larging upon the subject." 
 
 " He always seems averse to talking of himself, or of his 
 past life," Lazalie said, as if thinking aloud, while they rose 
 from the table ; and Madame RiefSt remarked rather severe- 
 ly that it was perhaps because there was some disgrace 
 connected with his past, and that this it might be which 
 had made him leave France. 
 
 The look of resentful indignation which this uncharitable 
 comment brought to Mademoiselle de Cazeneau's face was 
 softened somewhat when the general, laying a hand on 
 either of his sister's plump shoulders, said, as he kissed
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 393 
 
 her cheek, " For one so naturally kind of heart as you are, 
 Louise, it is curious what wrongful things you occasionally 
 think in regard to other people." 
 
 After he was in the saddle, and the ladies were standing 
 on the veranda to see him depart, he warned Lazalie that, 
 for the present at least, she should confine her aquatic ex- 
 cursions to the immediate vicinity of the plantation. Then, 
 observing the perturbed expression his words had brought 
 to Madame Riefet's face, he added that they were not to 
 worry about the English, as the latter were not at all likely 
 to appear in the neighborhood of Lake Borgne.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE 
 
 LESS than a week later, one early afternoon, the 
 members of the household at La Tte des Eaux 
 were startled by the booming of cannon in the 
 direction of Lake Borgne. 
 
 The sound, although faint, was alarmingly suggestive, 
 when coupled with Lafitte's prediction, imparted by Gen- 
 eral La Roche on the morning of his departure from the 
 plantation. Madame Rieft, with the two girls, stood for a 
 time out of doors, listening to the unmistakable roar of 
 battle, jarring the air with sullen reverberations. Then, 
 half-frantic with alarm, the former began fluttering wildly 
 about, while, with characteristic kysterique, she gave evi- 
 dence of her emotions. 
 
 Her younger and calmer companions said little. The 
 color was somewhat paled in Mademoiselle de Cazeneau's 
 cheeks, and her eyes widened with manifest apprehension ; 
 but Lazalie evinced no sign of fear, and gave scarcely any 
 indication of unusual excitement. 
 
 There were but few of the male slaves left upon the 
 plantation, as all the available ones had been taken by their 
 master to New Orleans, to do their share in its defence ; 
 and those left at La Tte des Eaux, helpless as frightened 
 children, came flocking from their quarters to gather about 
 the " big house," chattering among themselves, or begging 
 their no less distracted mistress to save them. 
 
 " Go hide in the woods ; hide in the woods, all of you ! " 
 she screamed ; and, after summoning her maid, she fled 
 toward the house.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 395 
 
 "What are you going to do, Madame Rieft? " Rose de 
 Cazeneau asked, as the lady flew past, with her maid, a 
 quadroon girl, following weeping in her wake. 
 
 " Pack up what I must try and save from those miserable 
 English, who, no doubt, are coming this way ; and you and 
 Lazalie had better come with me and do the same. Then 
 we can hide in the woods, along with the slaves, for I see 
 no other place for us to go." 
 
 She spoke hysterically, with a plenitude of tears, and 
 fairly flying up the veranda steps, disappeared within the 
 house. 
 
 What had happened was this : An English fleet, with 
 twelve hundred men, had, with the intention of throwing 
 an attacking force across Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain, 
 sailed into Lake Borgne and opened an attack upon the 
 Americans, whose presence was a surprise to the enemy, 
 as Captain Lockyer, commanding the latter, had under- 
 stood that this point was defenceless. 
 
 A fierce battle followed, resulting in a partial victory for 
 the English; and this had been won in the face of diffi- 
 culties either unforeseen, or imperfectly understood. 
 
 Owing to the shallowness of the water, the larger ships 
 could go no farther than the entrance to Lake Borgne ; 
 and it had taken three days to transfer to smaller vessels 
 the troops and supplies needed for immediate use. This 
 had been a severe task ; and some of the smaller vessels 
 had afterward grounded in the mud, which General La 
 Roche, like others, had counted upon as a means of dis- 
 couraging an attack from this quarter. 
 
 But the work had been accomplished, and the British 
 were now masters of Lake Borgne. 
 
 It was Shapira who, late in the afternoon, brought this 
 news to La Tte des Eaux; and from him the ladies 
 learned, for the first time, of how Lafitte, who had been 
 anticipating such a contingency, endeavored, some time 
 before^ to prepare for them a safe refuge, in case his 
 apprehensions should be realized.
 
 396 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Unknown to them, or even to General La Roche, Shapira 
 had, for many weeks, been enacting the part of guardian 
 over the general's household, this position having been 
 assigned to him by Lafitte, with detailed instructions as to 
 his movements. 
 
 The house was soon in a bustle of preparation, the in- 
 mates packing hastily the few things they were to take 
 with them in their flight, and concealing such property as 
 would be likely to attract thieving hands among the enemy, 
 who would, with little doubt, visit the plantation, as Shapira 
 reported the woods about Lake Borgne to be filled with 
 British soldiers. 
 
 He had taken the precaution to post several slaves in 
 the woods, with strict orders to give immediate warning in 
 case a single red coat should be seen approaching the 
 plantation. He did not mention the fact that he himself 
 had, at an early hour that morning, seen two of them not 
 three miles from La Tte des Eaux. Indeed he said noth- 
 ing which might cause unnecessary alarm ; but, with rest- 
 less eyes watching in every direction from which danger 
 might come, he assisted in the preparations for flight, 
 submitting with exemplary patience to Madame Rieft's 
 erratic orders, and encouraging the other women by word 
 and act. 
 
 Madame Riefet, when not absorbed by other matters, 
 did not hesitate to express her reluctance toward accept- 
 ing the assistance of this swarthy, brigandish-looking man, 
 whom she had never before seen, and whose very existence 
 had been unknown to her. 
 
 " He may be leading us to even worse things," she 
 declared helplessly, pausing in her flight from one place to 
 another, while giving impracticable instructions to Ma'am 
 Brigida, Barb, and Violet, her own maid. 
 
 " Oh, dear Madame Rieft," Lazalie protested, " surely 
 this man is trustworthy, or Captain Jean would never have 
 sent him to us." 
 
 " He says that Captain Jean sent him ; but how are we
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 397 
 
 to know? Such a strange, fierce-looking man as he is! 
 He looks capable of luring us away, only to rob us 
 himself." 
 
 " I know something of him," spoke up Mademoiselle 
 Rose. " He is the man of whom grandpere rented Kanau- 
 hana. Did n't you know it? " 
 
 " Yes," Lazalie added, before Madame Rieft had time 
 to frame a fitting reply, " and we have seen him many times 
 about the woods here. Rose and I once saw Captain Jean 
 talking with him ; and I think he is very obliging." 
 
 " But all this he tells us of a cave, where we can hide, 
 right here on the plantation, yet which no one has ever 
 heard of before, and no one, excepting Captain Jean and 
 himself, seems to know anything about, sounds very strange 
 and incredible. Did your grandpere know of this cave, 
 Mignonne? " 
 
 " I do not know, but I think not. / never heard of such 
 a thing. Yet, madame, it surely is safer to trust this man, 
 who tells us that Captain Jean sent him, than to stay here 
 and risk a visit from those dreadful soldiers." Mademoi- 
 selle de Cazeneau shuddered, and looked out of the win- 
 dow, as if fearing to see those she had named. 
 
 " We dare not stay, and so we must trust him," said 
 Madame, with a weak attempt at resolution, as she slid a 
 jewel-box into the bundle Violet was preparing to fasten. 
 
 Old Zeney had come over from Kanauhana, having 
 insisted upon being taken away with her beloved young 
 mistress ; and she now entered the room to announce that 
 Captain Jean was below stairs. 
 
 Never had his arrival at the plantation been so welcome 
 as now. Madame Rieft, catching up her out-of-door 
 wraps from the bed, ordered that the various bundles be 
 brought downstairs ; for the phlegmatic Barb had fin- 
 ished tying up the last one as Chloe handed Senorita Lazalie 
 the lace scarf for her head, while Ma'am Brigida was fasten- 
 ing the long cloak she had insisted that her nursling 
 should wear.
 
 398 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Zeney hastened to help her mistress with her wraps, 
 while the girl was listening to the voice now urging 
 Madame Rief6t to hasten. It seemed very near, for Lafitte 
 in his anxiety had come part way up the staircase ; and 
 the sound brought all the wonted color back to Rose de 
 Cazeneau's cheeks. 
 
 " Heavens ! How fortunate, and what a comfort, to have 
 such a man come to our assistance ! " said Lazalie, as she 
 and Rose followed Madame Rief6t so closely from the 
 room that one of them trod upon the long train of the 
 elder lady's rich gown, which was plucked hastily out of 
 the way as its wearer exclaimed testily, " Finely arrayed 
 we are, to go trailing through bushes and briars, and ex- 
 ploring underground places! Oh, dear if only I had 
 thought to wear a more suitable dress ! " 
 
 " You may feel yourself fortunate, Madame Riefe't, that 
 you are able to leave here by daylight, and not, like 
 some people I know, be roused from sleep to find your- 
 self a prisoner in English hands," said Lafitte, as they 
 joined him on the stairway. 
 
 He had, while speaking, lifted his hat; and as he 
 glanced from one to another of the three faces near him, 
 his eyes rested for an extra second upon the one always 
 uppermost in his thoughts. 
 
 As they were descending the stairs, he called to Sha- 
 pira, who was standing on the veranda, and then hurry- 
 ing down, gave the latter some instructions which the 
 others did not hear as they passed out of the house and 
 faced the slaves, now huddled into a terrified mass, with 
 their faces full of despairing expectancy. 
 
 Some of the women began lamenting wildly when they 
 found that they were not to go away. But Lafitte, in his 
 usual authoritative fashion, quieted the hubbub, and or- 
 dered Shapira to take them to the Colonneh, which 
 as he now decided was not to be used as a hiding-place 
 for those whom he himself had, so unexpectedly, been 
 able to assist.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 399 
 
 One of his own craft, commanded by Baptistine, was 
 lying off the Owl's Point, awaiting the signal which would 
 announce the coming of Lafitte, who, bent upon a pri- 
 vate mission in the neighborhood, had not reckoned upon 
 the present denouement. 
 
 But now, in view of all the circumstances, he consid- 
 ered this, the boat, a more desirable means for convey- 
 ing the ladies directly to Shell Island, where now were 
 only old Scipio, Juniper, and the boy, Nato. 
 
 Waiting therefore until he saw Shapira start for the 
 Colonneh, followed by the now quiet slaves, Lafitte, who 
 had meantime explained his plan to his own charges, 
 told them to follow him, and set out hurriedly in an 
 opposite direction from that taken by Shapira and his 
 dusky retinue.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX 
 
 THE forest was darkening with late afternoon 
 shadows as the fleeing party followed, in com- 
 parative silence, the tall form that led them. 
 
 Lafitte moved rapidly, with noiseless footfalls, turning 
 now and again to say some word that might give courage 
 to the others, or pausing to hold aside a branch that 
 drooped too low over their pathway, which, but for his 
 leadership, would have been but a trackless labyrinth of 
 trees and tangled thicket. 
 
 Madame Riefe~t, in her bewilderment at the surroundings, 
 and with increasing conviction that every step was taking 
 them farther from the dreaded English, forgot to ask any 
 questions in regard to Shell Island, forgot even to 
 inquire into the matter of the cave, so near her brother's 
 door, and yet unknown to him or his people. 
 
 Lazalie's early training now stood her in good stead, 
 enabling her to accept everything with a philosophical calm 
 that would not have been possible had her former life been 
 like that of the past few years. 
 
 And Rose de Cazeneau had not lived among the Indians 
 without being imbued with something of their calmness 
 and stoicism in the face of danger. 
 
 To this was added her implicit faith in him who moved 
 so steadily before her, with erect head and lithe limbs, 
 whose eyes and ears, as she well knew, were keenly alert 
 for her safety. 
 
 At length the party emerged from the deeper shadows 
 of their wooded way, and came into a cleared space, where 
 the knoll known as " The Owl's Point " projected into the 
 bayou ; and halting here, Lafitte looked about him, while
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 401 
 
 the others stood grouped a little distance away, awaiting 
 quietly his movements. 
 
 But before he could give the signal to Baptistine, whose 
 craft was concealed around the bend of the bayou, two men 
 burst from the cover of a thicket opposite Lafitte, a gun 
 was levelled at his breast, and a hoarse voice shouted, 
 " Surrender, you cursed pirate ! " 
 
 Rose de Cazeneau, with a wild cry, rushed between the 
 weapon and Lafitte, while Barb6, who had been staring 
 as though he were a ghost at the holder of the gun, 
 echoed the shriek of her mistress. 
 
 " Do not do not shoot your child ! " she screamed ; 
 and, at her words, old Zeney, who stood nearest the 
 stranger, gave him one searching look, and rushed in turn 
 between her mistress and the gun, just as it shot out a jet 
 of flame. 
 
 A second report mingled so closely with the first as to 
 make them seem but one ; and Zeney, with the man who 
 had shot her, fell to the ground. 
 
 All had happened so quickly that Lafitte, who was, for 
 an instant, unnerved by Rose de Cazeneau's effort to save 
 him, had scarcely time to draw a pistol before his unknown 
 assailant fell dead, as if from the discharge of his own 
 weapon, which had killed Zeney. 
 
 In their surprise and fright, and by reason of the confu- 
 sion, no one except Lafitte had comprehended any mean- 
 ing in the words which followed the wild cry of Barb, who 
 now stood sobbing hysterically, with her arms around her 
 half-swooning mistress, while Lazalie, with dilating nostrils 
 and blazing eyes, sought to release herself from Madame 
 Rief6t. That lady, beside herself with fright, was implor- 
 ing the girl to stay with her, seeming to be filled with the 
 idea that to go nearer the spot where were Barb and her 
 mistress was to invite additional disaster from the dead 
 man's companion, who stood silently beside the prostrate 
 form. 
 
 Baptistine, who had heard the shots, reached the shore 
 26
 
 402 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 in a small boat, pulled by some of his t crew, soon after 
 Shapira appeared at the edge of the thick woods from 
 whence had come the bullet that had killed Zeney's 
 slayer. 
 
 The English sailor, at Lafitte's command, now surren- 
 dered his arms to Shapira, and was promised freedom, in 
 exchange for a truthful statement of the motive which 
 brought his companion and himself to the spot. 
 
 He said that the other man had been unknown to him 
 until that same morning ; and all he now knew of him was 
 that he was a scout, picked up from among the Indians, 
 and bought to serve the English. Captain Lockyer, who 
 was in command of the English fleet upon Lake Borgne, 
 having learned that Lafitte was in that vicinity, had selected 
 this scout to find and capture the man upon whom he 
 longed to execute personal vengeance. His orders had 
 been to bring Lafitte to him, alive, if possible, and dead, 
 rather than not at all ; and the sailor, having been one of 
 the crew who rowed the British officers to their mortifying 
 conference at Grande Terre, had been sent with the scout 
 .in order to identify Lafitte. 
 
 Such was the end of the man in whom Barb had recog- 
 nized the brilliant officer of former years, recognized, 
 despite the shock of grizzled hair, and the changes wrought 
 by time and a lawless life in the face and form that had 
 tempted the new year's elopement. 
 
 Meantime, Baptistine had landed ; and leaving his men 
 in the boat, he came leisurely to where Lafitte was question- 
 ing the English sailor. The Baratarian's shrewd eyes had 
 glanced over the scene; and the fallen bodies, the group 
 of excited women, all that he saw, told his alert percep- 
 tions what had presumably taken place, while the sight of 
 his commander, standing unharmed, and Shapira's attitude, 
 as he leaned upon his gun, assured him that the danger, 
 such as it might have been, was past. 
 
 Hence his nonchalant, strolling gait to where Lafitte 
 stood.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 403 
 
 The latter saw him at once, and interrupted himself to 
 bid Shapira see that the sailor awaited his further orders. 
 Then, drawing Baptistine aside, he gave him instructions 
 in regard to placing the ladies and their maids aboard his 
 boat. 
 
 Madame Rieft, nothing loath to leave the neighborhood 
 of the two still forms, sought to hurry the girls away. 
 
 " But it seems very dreadful to leave poor Zeney lying 
 there," said Rose, with a tearful backward look, as Lafitte 
 was assisting her into the small boat. 
 
 " It is not possible to do otherwise, child," he answered 
 gently, tightening his pressure upon the small hand he was 
 holding. " All that can be done for her now, I will see is 
 done before I join you. Will you not trust me to do 
 that?" 
 
 The expression of the tear-stained eyes raised to meet 
 his look answered him without the need of speech. 
 
 "You are not coming with us?" she began, when Ma- 
 dame Rieft interrupted her with a shrill " Not coming 
 with us ! Oh, Captain Lafitte, we cannot go without you. 
 And these strange men! Indeed" now angrily "we 
 will not ! " 
 
 He had put Rose aboard the boat, and turned to assist 
 Lazalie, while he answered Madame Rieffct's outburst 
 calmly, although there was evidence of impatience held 
 in check. 
 
 " I intend to escort you personally to Shell Island, ma- 
 dame ; but it is best that you all go aboard the boat my 
 captain here has waiting around the point. He will take 
 you to it, and then return for me, as I have a duty here 
 which I cannot very well perform until you and the other 
 ladies have gone. There may be other Englishmen prowl- 
 ing in the vicinity ; and the sound of the firing may bring 
 them this way. If this should happen, I can manage mat- 
 ters to far better advantage by knowing that you are out 
 of harm's way." 
 
 Madame made no reply, but permitted him to place
 
 404 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 her in the boat. Ma'am Brigida followed her, Violet 
 coming last; and the sailors pushed off as Baptistine 
 sprang aboard. 
 
 "Why does not Barb come with us?" Madame Riefe"t 
 demanded abruptly, as she saw the French woman walk to 
 where Shapira was bending over the body of Zeney, in- 
 tending as ordered by Lafitte to carry it into the 
 woods for burial. 
 
 " The boat is already loaded sufficiently, my lady," 
 Baptistine took it upon himself to reply; and Lafitte 
 answered from the shore, " Barb will come with me ; there 
 is something I wish her to do, Madame Riefet, if you will 
 kindly permit." 
 
 Madame nodded ; and Rose, from her place in the stern 
 of the boat, gave him a look eloquent with gratitude. She 
 understood that he wished to comfort her as much as might 
 be, by having one of her own sex assist at the burial of 
 the faithful Zeney. 
 
 He had, unnoticed by the others, laid a detaining hand 
 on Barbels arm, and whispered, " I wish to speak with you ; 
 wait here until the boat returns." 
 
 She gave no sign of having heard him, but stood silently, 
 until, as Violet was following Brigida into the boat, she 
 turned and walked over to where lay the dead.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN 
 
 THE amber light of sunset was tipping the tree- 
 tops, and the gloom of coming dusk made blacker 
 shadows gather in the hollows and recesses visible 
 through the aisles of brown trunks. 
 
 A faint breeze stirred the gray moss festooned among 
 the trees, swaying it, like ghostly draperies; and the oft- 
 reiterated cry of an owl echoed eerily 
 
 Lafitte, while waiting for Baptistine to return with im- 
 plements for making a grave, left Shapira to look after the 
 prisoner, and drew Barb6 aside in order to question her 
 more closely. 
 
 He was, after hearing what she had to say, convinced 
 that she was not mistaken in her statement, although 
 there were no papers nothing in the way of further 
 identification found upon the dead man. 
 
 Barb acquiesced readily in Lafitte's decision that Rose 
 de Cazeneau should never be told the truth. 
 
 " Of what use, m'sieur, would it be to tell her?" the 
 woman said, speaking in French, after her usual slow 
 fashion, as he rose from beside the body he had been 
 searching. 
 
 " No use at all," she continued, " save to make the child 
 more unhappy. She has had no reason for loving this 
 man, and has always been told that he died long ago, when 
 she was but a baby." 
 
 Barbe", with a shudder, had turned and walked away, La- 
 fitte following her as he said, " Be it understood then, that 
 no one, except you and me, is to know the truth. I do 
 not think the others noticed your words. But if any if
 
 406 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau did, you must deny having 
 spoken them, or make some plausible excuse." 
 
 She pursed her lips resolutely, and nodded. 
 
 Great was the disgust of Shapira and the two men who 
 returned with Baptistine when they found that it was 
 Lafitte's wish to bury the Englishman, as well as Zeney. 
 Even Baptistine's black brows went up in a surprised dis- 
 approval which he wisely refrained from putting into 
 words. 
 
 Quick to note this feeling, Lafitte, with a peremptory 
 gesture, ordered the English sailor to take one of the 
 shovels, and dig, adding as he snatched a second one from 
 its wrathful-faced holder, " And I myself will help you, as 
 I find I can depend upon no one to carry out my wishes." 
 
 " Nay, nay, my captain ; that is what I will do for you, 
 although it is a strange pleasure you take in burying the 
 man who tried to kill you, and he a Britisher, at that." 
 
 Shapira, having said this, placed his gun in the hands of 
 the nearest Baratarian, and laid hold of a shovel, when 
 Baptistine, with a furious exclamation, one oddly out of 
 place upon his usually riantelips, turned upon his sullen 
 followers and demanded to know what they meant by show- 
 ing such disrespect. He then gave them to understand 
 that it was their duty to dig a grave for every Englishman 
 in the country, if such were their leader's pleasure. 
 
 The dead were soon laid in the hastily prepared graves ; 
 the earth was shovelled over them, and some pieces of 
 fallen trees placed above, to guard against any disturb- 
 ance from denizens of the woods. 
 
 The patch of clear sky over the Owl's Point was now glori- 
 fied by the afterglow of sunset, and from it the dark water 
 of the bayou was catching a reflecting glint of crimson. 
 
 Barb stood looking down at the sluggish stream, wait- 
 ing for Lafitte, before taking her place in the boat holding 
 the two sailors, one of whom, while lighting his cigar from 
 the pipe of his companion, was still grumbling at his 
 recent task.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 407 
 
 But his comrade at length silenced him with: "Avast 
 there, an' stow such lush, ye Portugee monkey. Our cap- 
 tain don't love the English divils any more than yourself. 
 But sure it 's Miles Ford that loves the captain enough to 
 belave he has good r'asons of his own for all he may do ; an' 
 I '11 not sit still an' hear ye call him names behind his back." 
 
 In the sunset-bathed clearing, Baptistine stood near 
 Lafitte as the latter gave Shapira some parting orders. 
 He was to take the English sailor to the neighborhood 
 of La Te"te des Eaux, and let him find his way from 
 that point to his comrades. 
 
 In answer to Lafitte's inquiry as to how Shapira came 
 to leave the helpless slaves to seemingly shift for them- 
 selves, the Jew had explained how his suspicions had been 
 aroused early in the day by seeing two men, one of them 
 in a British sailor's dress, apparently scouting in the 
 woods. Shots which did no harm were exchanged 
 between himself and the strangers, after which the latter 
 disappeared. He had not, when at the plantation, con- 
 sidered it wise to mention the incident, although he took 
 the precaution of posting some slaves on the lookout 
 while preparations were making for flight. 
 
 Then, later on, after he had brought the slaves and 
 goods to the Colonneh, he experienced a feeling of appre- 
 hension which impelled him to set out briskly upon the 
 trail of Lafitte and his party. 
 
 " And, as matters turned out, it is as well that you did 
 so," said Lafitte in a tone that was, of itself, commendation 
 sufficient to bring a look of gratification to Shapira's dark 
 face. " Keep the slaves and property inside the Colonneh, 
 and, in a day or two, I will have Baptistine bring them 
 to Shell Island. You yourself had better come with them 
 perhaps? " The last word was a question. 
 
 Shapira made a wry face, and pulled his coon-skin cap 
 still farther over his forehead. 
 
 " It does not suit me, my captain, to be hiding there 
 with the women and slaves begging your pardon for
 
 408 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 saying so. No, once the niggers and goods are at 
 Shell Island, I shall take myself and gun to New Orleans 
 and General Jackson. Now that the Britishers have come 
 into Lake Borgne, it is nearer the city that the music will 
 soon be piping up." 
 
 It was comparatively early when Lafitte's party, weary 
 from the excitement of the day and the fatigue of their 
 long march through the woods, betook themselves grate- 
 fully to such accommodations as Baptistine's small craft 
 afforded for rest and sleep. 
 
 The night had closed in darkly as the boat slipped away 
 beneath the starlight, made dimmer by the walling forest 
 lining either bank of the bayou. 
 
 It was some time after this that Lafitte, while picking 
 his way along the deck, a lighted lantern swinging from 
 his hand, came upon a cloaked female figure sitting 
 well astern upon a coil of rope, and his foot struck sharply 
 against a small object, sending it swiftly toward her. 
 
 Holding his lantern lower to see what this might be, 
 the rays struck across the white hand and wrist of Rose 
 de Cazeneau as she reached forward and picked up an 
 exquisite ivory fan, whose jewelled sticks caught the light 
 glimmeringly. 
 
 " Oh, it is Madame Rieft's pet fan, one Monsieur 
 Laussat gave her in place of one he broke, when she 
 danced with him at the governor's ball." 
 
 " Laussat, Napoleon's agent, who came to negotiate 
 the transfer of Louisiana? " asked Lafitte in a low tone, 
 as he placed the lantern behind him and seated himself 
 beside the girl. 
 
 The darkness, and the softly lapping water, with her 
 nearness to him, filled the man with a sense of being alone 
 in the world with her, while all its turmoil and dangers 
 were as if forever shut away. 
 
 " Yes ; she told Lazalie and me of it. And is it not 
 too bad? Some of the sticks are broken; it must have 
 dropped from one of the bundles."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 409 
 
 Her voice sank low and lower, and a fluttering, like 
 that made by the wings of a startled wild bird, sounded 
 in it. 
 
 Lafitte's hand had stolen over one of hers, and now held 
 it close. 
 
 "Why are you here, little Rose, and not asleep, like 
 the others, as you ought to be? You must be very 
 tired." 
 
 " I was ; but I could not sleep, and came up here for 
 some air. It tired me still more to lie down in the cabin 
 and not be able to keep my eyes shut. It was warm, too ; 
 and then I kept seeing it all over again." 
 
 She stopped abruptly, and he felt the shiver that ran 
 through her shoulder where it touched his own. 
 
 " Do not let us speak of it, and try not to think about 
 it," he said urgently, holding in check the mad desire to 
 throw his arms about her and kiss the pale face now turned 
 to look at him. 
 
 The suppression made his voice tremulous as he asked, 
 forcing a laugh, and taking the fan from her hand, " Do 
 you understand the language of the fan? " 
 
 " Somewhat," she answered, wondering at his apparent 
 change of mood. " Lazalie has told me of it." 
 
 " Ah," said Lafitte, with a touch of what might have 
 been either playfulness or sarcasm, " then you have had 
 an excellent teacher. Yet I doubt if she ever evolved for 
 you a sentence I should like to see if you can read." 
 
 " What is it? let me try," she replied, her thoughts 
 as he intended they should be diverted. 
 
 " I wonder if there are enough sticks in this small 
 bauble," he continued, not seeming to have heard her; and 
 bending his face closer, he counted them. 
 
 " One, two, three, four yes, here are the eight, and 
 five to spare, for all the fan is such a tiny one." 
 
 Then, having placed it in her hand, he added, speaking 
 more softly, " There are the eight sticks, little Rose. Can 
 you read what they say to you from me ? "
 
 410 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 The girl sat with bended head, her eyes fixed on the 
 open fan she could see but indistinctly. 
 
 She was assailed by a torrent of sensations, awakened to 
 life by the undertone of Lafitte's words and manner, for 
 whose meaning intuition furnished the key, although the 
 sentence made up of the eight ivory sticks was unknown 
 to her. 
 
 "Can you read it?" he whispered, lowering his face to 
 look into hers and again possessing himself of her hand. 
 
 Pure love between two kindred souls is, at times, a mar- 
 vellously mystical thing when a blinding flash of light 
 carries the clearest understanding, without the aid of 
 words. 
 
 At the sound of his voice, with his lips so close that his 
 breath stirred her hair, at the thrill of his touch, at 
 the mere realization of their being alone together, a strange 
 exultation possessed the girl, lifting her spirit from its 
 bodily enthrallment ; and, half-swooning, yet acutely sensi- 
 ble, she read, as surely as though he had uttered them, 
 " No words may say how I love you ! " 
 
 It was as if an angel voice spoke to her inner senses ; 
 and dropping the fan into her lap, she covered her face 
 with her hands. 
 
 "Can you read it?" he whispered once more, feeling 
 that she was quivering, as from a nervous chill. 
 
 " No," she murmured faintly ; but adding, woman-like, 
 and in a stronger tone, " Tell me ! " 
 
 He laughed, and rose to his feet. The laugh came from 
 his exulting heart; and extending his hands to her, he 
 said, with a new decision of manner, " Come, little Rose, 
 this is very delightful, but not at all good for you. What 
 would Madame Rieft say to me if she knew where you 
 were at this moment? I will take you below; and then 
 you must go to sleep, like a good child." 
 
 He took her hand, and she permitted him to lead her 
 down the narrow stairway to the cabin below. 
 
 " Some day and soon," he said, as he left her at the
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 411 
 
 door of her little stateroom, " I will tell you, if indeed you 
 know not already, what the fan said." 
 
 There was a smile in his voice ; and something else, as 
 well, that made her lashes droop to touch the flushed 
 cheeks.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT 
 
 MADAME RIEFET found little to cavil at in 
 the neat and comfortable, if somewhat primitive 
 arrangements at Shell Island, which Lafitte and 
 his party reached the afternoon following their departure 
 from La Tte des Eaux. 
 
 Madame and the two girls were quartered in his own 
 cabin, the prevailing atmosphere of which was owing to 
 the jumble of foreign furnishings that filled it teak-wood 
 and lacquer. 
 
 The outside door opened into a large, square living- 
 room, at whose farther end, and directly opposite the 
 entrance, was a huge fireplace, roughly made, in which 
 the cheery fire of logs was now very acceptable, as there 
 was a touch of chilliness in the air, redolent with wild-wood 
 odors. 
 
 From either side of the living-room, doors opened into 
 sleeping apartments ; and a ladder led through an opening 
 overhead to the floor above. 
 
 In these lower sleeping-rooms the beds were of carved 
 teak-wood, and, after the Indian fashion, were suspended 
 by heavy cords from the ceiling of rough logs, while in the 
 living-room the handsome settees at either side of the 
 fireplace were of Japanese woods and manufacture. And, 
 although the dining table was of common pine, smaller 
 tables and chairs of India and Chinese woods, elaborately 
 carved, made the place a curiously incongruous, yet ex- 
 ceedingly comfortable, den. 
 
 Madame Riefe't, whose luxurious home held no such 
 store of costly furniture and draperies, looked about with 
 considerable amazement.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 413 
 
 " What a very beautiful chair, Captain Lafitte ! I never 
 saw another one like it," she said, passing her fingers 
 appreciatively over the dragons forming the arms of a 
 chair he had drawn up, after urging her to be seated near 
 the fire ; for the lady had complained of feeling chilly. 
 
 " It is yours, my dear madame, if you will honor me by 
 accepting it," he replied instantly, with a smile ; and turn- 
 ing a deaf ear to her voluble remonstrances, he went out 
 to the kitchen, where Scipio was, with Juniper's assistance, 
 preparing a meal for the new-comers. 
 
 Rose de Cazeneau was beside Lazalie, on one of the 
 settees, with the Spanish girl's arm around her; and the 
 two were watching the flames, before which sat Madame 
 Riefet. 
 
 After the excitement of the previous day, and not yet 
 having recovered from their fatigue, the ladies were dis- 
 posed to be more silent than usual ; but presently Lazalie 
 remarked, glancing around her, " How cheerful and pleas- 
 ant it seems here ! It is almost as if Captain Jean had 
 known we were to come, and had prepared for our re- 
 ception." 
 
 " If so, then I wish he might have known still more, so 
 that my brother would have prepared for our protection 
 at La Tte des Eaux, and thus saved us from this wild 
 flight," said Madame RiefSt, as though determined to be 
 dissatisfied. 
 
 " I suppose," she added, sighing deeply, " those dreadful 
 brutes of English soldiers are now going through the house, 
 pulling everything about. And, oh all the beautiful 
 linen that had to be left ! I presume they will destroy 
 everything they cannot steal." 
 
 " For my own part, I am so thankful to have escaped 
 them that I cannot muster up the slightest regret over 
 anything I have left for them to steal," declared Lazalie, 
 who had been thinking of that other flight, when she left 
 the Barra de Hierro, and escaped to New Orleans. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Cazeneau had, so far as appearances
 
 414 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 went, nothing to say upon the subject, which was now 
 dropped. 
 
 Since Jackson and Claiborne accepted the allegiance of 
 Barataria, Shell Island had been deserted by those who had 
 made its former life boisterous. Only Scipio, Juniper, and 
 Nato had remained ; and to these were now added Baptis- 
 tine and his crew, who were to stop only for the night. 
 Lafitte alone knew, at first, how he had kept the three 
 negroes, together with a generous supply of provisions, 
 upon the island, so that they should be available in case 
 emergency made it desirable to convey Rose de Cazeneau 
 to a safe retreat; but, later on, he had, for reasons of his 
 own, taken Baptistine and Shapira into his confidence. 
 
 "I cannot understand, Captain Lafitte," said Madame 
 Riefe't, with the air of being somewhat annoyed at the fact, 
 " how you came to have such a correct opinion in regard 
 to the possible movements of the English, so much 
 clearer ideas than those of any one else even my 
 brother." 
 
 They were all at the table, upon which Scipio and his 
 coadjutors had placed the preliminary courses of a most 
 appetizing meal; and the old negro was devoting much of 
 his attention to Mademoiselle de Cazeneau, urging her to 
 let him put the various dainties upon her plate. 
 
 " Jes' yo' please try dese bit ob feesh, lil' Missy, wid a 
 bit ob dese hominy; an' after dat, a nice slice ob ven'son," 
 he said coaxingly, evidently wishing to air his English, or 
 else supposing that she did not understand French. " La 
 Capitaine Lafitte, he say ole Scipio done know bes' in dey 
 worT how cook eem." 
 
 She smiled up into his face, but offered no objection to 
 his helping her ; and Lafitte, who was watching the two, 
 did not appear to have heard Madame Rieft's remark, 
 which was now repeated rather sharply, as if that lady were 
 bent upon acquiring the information she sought. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, madame," he said, starting slightly, 
 and turning to her.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 4 1 5 
 
 " I wish you to tell us how you happened to entertain 
 the opinion which has resulted in such benefit to us I 
 mean in regard to what the English were going to do?" 
 
 Her tone was quite caustic, and her sharp dark eyes re- 
 garded him speculatively over the rim of her sherry glass. 
 
 " I had, for some time, felt a misgiving that something 
 of the sort was likely to occur, and I therefore prepared 
 for it ; that was all, madame." 
 
 He spoke hurriedly, and as if the matter held little in- 
 terest, while his eyes went back to the violet ones now 
 looking at him. 
 
 " But, if you thought this, why was it that others my 
 brother, for instance did not? " Madame persisted, put- 
 ting down her glass, and taking up her fork with a vigor 
 suggestive of an inclination to enforce an answer by stick- 
 ing the silver prongs into Lafitte, rather than into the juicy 
 venison steak upon her plate. 
 
 " That, madame, is a matter I can no more explain than 
 can you yourself," he replied smilingly, but scarcely glanc- 
 ing at her. 
 
 " But you warned General La Roche, by telling him 
 what you thought," declared Lazalie, " for he told us so, 
 himself." 
 
 " Yes, senorita ; I informed him of it several weeks 
 since." 
 
 " And what did he say? " asked Lazalie; and Madame 
 Rieft answered with : 
 
 " You remember, Lazalie, that he, like others, declared 
 such a thing to be impossible." 
 
 " General La Roche smiled at the idea," answered 
 Lafitte, with a careless shrug of his shoulders. 
 
 " Well, I, for one, am thankful for your forethought, 
 which has saved us from a meeting with those hateful 
 Englishmen," said Lazalie, with a flash of her eyes that 
 bespoke the inheritance of her uncle's hatred of that 
 nation. 
 
 " Indeed, yes, Captain Lafitte ; all of us have cause to
 
 4 1 6 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 feel most grateful to you," Madame now admitted, in a 
 more amiable tone. " But to think," she added, " of that 
 cave being on the plantation, and none of us knowing 
 anything about it?" 
 
 " Its secret was given to me some years since by an Indian 
 chief," said Lafitte, and then, as if wishing to drop the 
 matter, asked Madame Rieft if she wished any message 
 taken to her brother, as that night must find him returning 
 to New Orleans, in order to report to General Jackson. 
 
 " If you can go why may not we?" she inquired with 
 alacrity. " Surely, Captain Lafitte, you do not intend to 
 go off and leave us alone in this desolate place?" 
 
 " Here is surely the safest place for you at present, 
 madame." He smiled encouragingly at Rose de Cazeneau, 
 who was looking perturbed, while Lazalie shot a scornful 
 glance at Madame, as if impatient at her show of fear. 
 
 " It would not be possible for me to conduct one lady, 
 to say nothing of three, into the city by the route I must 
 take," Lafitte continued. " Baptistine will take me part 
 of my way, and will return within three days with your 
 slaves and the other property left in the cave ; and my 
 slaves, with your own, will surely enable you to be com- 
 fortably housed here until it is possible to convey you to 
 the city. I shall, no doubt, be able to come and go in the 
 interim ; and General La Roche will probably do the same. 
 Meantime, dear madame, I repeat that, until the English 
 shall have been driven from about New Orleans, this little 
 island is the safest retreat you could possibly have. It lies 
 entirely out of the way of any surprise from either the 
 English or Americans, for none of them know the way 
 hither, and few of them are aware of the island's exist- 
 ence." 
 
 Madame, with a sigh, sought relief in a silence that was 
 acquiescing; and she could not but admit to herself that, 
 in the present annoying predicament, the mysterious life 
 of Barataria had proved to possess certain advantages.
 
 CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE 
 
 LATER in the day, Madame Rieft, who had been 
 attacked by a nervous headache, was lying down 
 in one of the bedrooms on the lower floor, and 
 Lazalie sat reading aloud to her, the Spanish girl's rich 
 voice being the only sound to break the stillness of the 
 cabin, where in the open doorway Rose de Cazeneau sat 
 listlessly, her chin in her palms, and her eyes straying to 
 the primitive out-of-door world around her. 
 
 Nature had made the place very beautiful ; and, shut 
 away in its solitude and peace, it was difficult for one to 
 realize that the clamor of war was so close at hand. 
 
 Except for the cleared spaces near the cabins, forest 
 trees rose all about, and, along the river, reached by a 
 path leading from the door of Lafitte's house, their roots 
 were almost in the water. 
 
 The surroundings were rich with a splendor of tropical 
 verdure ; and from out the thicker forest lying back of the 
 cabins a crystal stream bubbled along its tortuous way, 
 tumbling down between ferny boulders and making moss- 
 rimmed pools that, mirror-like, reflected the dainty growths 
 nodding over them. 
 
 So quiet was the place that the sound of voices echoed 
 as in a dryad's world of peace and irresponsible nature, 
 where the lulling song of water, the rustle of leaves, and 
 the music of unseen birds broke, for a moment's space, 
 the calm, only to make its hush all the greater. 
 
 Amid such environments Rose de Cazeneau felt at home ; 
 for, since her babyhood, nature had been her foster-mother, 
 and its phases her most intimate friends. 
 27
 
 4 1 8 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 So wrapped was she now in dreams as not to know that 
 Lafitte had come from Scipio's domain, and through the 
 room back of her, until, standing above her, he asked 
 gently, and with a smile, " Are you performing guard 
 duty, little Rose? Must I give the countersign before I can 
 pass out?" 
 
 A vivid flush mantled her cheeks as she sprang up and 
 turned to face him. 
 
 " I am sorry if I startled you," he said, coming outside ; 
 and taking off his broad-brimmed hat he pushed the 
 curling locks from his forehead. 
 
 " It was only that I had forgotten myself in my surround- 
 ings," she explained, her eyes lowering before his curiously 
 intent gaze. " They remind me of my old home." And 
 she waved one hand in a comprehensive gesture. 
 
 " Yes, I think this is somewhat like your island home," 
 he assented, still looking at her as before, with an expres- 
 sion as if he might now be regarding her for the first time. 
 Then, as if from impulse, he took her hand. 
 
 " Little Rose," he said, a slight tremor sounding in his 
 voice, " I must, as you know, leave here to-night, and there 
 can be no telling when I may return, or what may happen 
 before you and I meet again. I have a story to relate 
 one I have longed to tell you ; and I have a strong desire 
 arising from something far more than mere sentiment 
 as to the place where I should like you to hear it. The 
 spot is not far from here only a little way through 
 the woods. Will you come with me, and listen to my 
 story?" 
 
 "Shall I not tell Lazalie? Perhaps she will wonder 
 she and madame, if they miss me." 
 
 She spoke hurriedly and nervously ; but, lifting her eyes 
 to his, she saw such an impressive solemnity in their dark 
 depths that something impelled her to add, in the sub- 
 missive tone of an obedient child, " Yes, Captain Jean, I 
 will come with you." 
 
 As the man and girl took their way side by side, Lazalie
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 419 
 
 appeared in the doorway. Her eyes blazed, and her scarlet 
 under-lip was caught fiercely between the white teeth, as 
 she saw Lafitte reach out one hand to clasp that of his 
 companion, while with the other he cleared a bush from 
 the path. Then they moved on, and were shut from sight 
 by the trees. 
 
 " Aha ! I thought so ! " the Spanish girl said to herself, 
 the last word ending in a sigh, as she turned away and 
 began pacing the floor. 
 
 " I hate him, and I ought to hate her. Hate her? No, 
 I cannot do that, my sweet Rose. You are not responsible 
 for having the same fever that once possessed me. And 
 who could help loving you ? As for him, he long ago 
 gave me to understand plainly that I might claim nothing 
 more than friendship from him." 
 
 She laughed bitterly as that last day on the Barra de 
 Hierro rose before her, bringing with it an increase of color 
 to her cheeks at thought of her past lack of maidenliness. 
 
 " Do I really love the man now, or is it only my injured 
 pride that would make him love me? Make him! Pah, 
 what is the worth of love that has to be forced ? There 
 is no question of forced love with La Roche, and he has 
 been very good to me. He is a man, every inch of him, 
 and a very handsome man." 
 
 Her face softened, her haughty head drooped, and the 
 angry fire died from her eyes. 
 
 Ma'am Brigida now appeared at one of the bedroom 
 doors. She was rubbing her eyes, whose appearance, to- 
 gether with her flushed cheeks and dishevelled hair, told 
 that she had but just aroused from slumber. 
 
 " Madame is asleep ? " she asked in a whisper, coming 
 over to where Lazalie stood looking out of the doorway. 
 
 The girl nodded. 
 
 " Oh, my treasure, why would ye not let me read to 
 her ? Sure that swate throat must ache with the doin' 
 of it." 
 
 Lazalie only smiled, and went outside to sit on the step,
 
 420 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 while Brigida, after ensconcing herself on the door-sill, 
 continued to lament over her nursling's self-imposed task, 
 ending with, " The sound of your swate voice lulled me off 
 to sleep, so it did ; otherwise I 'd have been as wide-awake 
 as yerself. To be sure, I 'm tired ; an' by the same token 
 we all are tired, after such crazy doin's as yesterday brought 
 to us. An' Zeney lyin' dead, shot like a dog by that crazy 
 spalpeen of a British spy, an' lyin' buried out in the woods, 
 with niver a coffin. Ach anee anee ! I wonder what- 
 iver calamity will be fallin' on us next. But, thanks be 
 to Captain Jean, we 've been spared the worst that might 
 have come to us." 
 
 Meanwhile, and scarcely forty yards from the lamenting 
 Brigida, Rose de Cazeneau stood with Lafitte beside what 
 seemed from the wooden cross marking it to be a 
 grave. It was a long, narrow mound, already rich with 
 brilliant wood-growths ; and the forest shut it away from 
 sight of the cabins. 
 
 Obeying silently the motion of his hand, she seated her- 
 self upon a fallen tree, where the moss, thick as a rug, 
 made a covering soft as velvet. Lafitte then sat down upon 
 the ground before her, with his back against the mound, 
 the cross making a rest for his bared head. 
 
 "This, little Rose, is Pierre's grave, Pierre Lafitte, 
 known to the world as my brother; and never was a 
 brother more true of heart or lovable than he, although 
 not a drop of kindred blood ran in our veins." 
 
 The listening girl's amazement was manifest not only in 
 her face, but in her voice, as she exclaimed, " What ! 
 Pierre Lafitte not your brother, Captain Jean ? " 
 
 " No, nor any blood relation whatever. But of this I 
 will tell you presently. What I wish to say now is, that he 
 talked to me of you, little Rose, just before he died ; your 
 name was the last that came from his lips." 
 
 "Mine?" she said in surprise. " I spoke to him only 
 once, Captain Jean, and then it was but a few words, when 
 he came to the house, seeking grandpere."
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 421 
 
 " Yes ; but he saw you more than once, even if you did 
 not know it do not remember it. And once was suffi- 
 cient for what I mean." 
 
 A new fire now drove the sad look from his eyes, fixed 
 upon Rose, who sat with eyes downcast, and hands clasped. 
 
 He sighed, and gave his head an upward toss, as if to 
 throw off the thoughts begotten by his allusion to Pierre's 
 death ; and then, as if reading from a book, he told her of 
 the Languedoc home, where he and Pierre had spent their 
 childhood ; of his father, Monsieur le Baron ; of Napoleon, 
 the young officer of his boyish idolatry. He told of 
 Margot, and Pere Huot of all the persons connected 
 with his life. 
 
 Rose listened intently, her face reflecting the feelings 
 and emotions aroused by Lafitte's story ; and, more than 
 once, a mist of tears dimmed the violet eyes, perhaps a 
 moment before filled with indignation. 
 
 He omitted altogether, or touched lightly upon, what- 
 ever might have shocked her, leaving out any mention of 
 Etienne, beyond saying that the maliciousness of an elder 
 half-brother had been the cause of his leaving his father's 
 house and assuming the name of his foster-mother. 
 
 He said little in regard to his life with Laro, but told 
 fully of the meeting with Greloire, at Martinique, which 
 had aroused his better self. 
 
 At this, a small hand stole from its fellow's clasp, and 
 was held out to him. He took it, and pressed his lips to 
 the soft fingers. Then, after releasing it gently, he went 
 on with his narrative. 
 
 He told of his visit to Elba; of the interview with Na- 
 poleon ; of the promise he had made, and his efforts to 
 fulfil it; of his temporary loss of resolution after the 
 descent upon Barataria, and of its full renewal at Pierre's 
 death. 
 
 As he described that scene in the moonlit cell, her tears 
 flowed freely ; and at sight of them a strange smile touched 
 Lafitte's lips.
 
 422 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 " Ah, my Pierre," he murmured, bending to lay his face 
 against the wood-flowers upon his foster-brother's grave, 
 " other eyes than thy Jean's can weep for thee ! " 
 
 As he raised his head Rose de Cazeneau stretched out 
 both hands to him. 
 
 " Captain Jean oh, Captain Jean," she sobbed, " how 
 could I have had such hard, wicked thoughts of you? It 
 surely was because I never knew you until now ! " 
 
 "And do you know me now?" he asked, sitting erect, 
 and clasping the extended hands. 
 
 She looked down into his face, filled with a light such 
 as the face of Jean Lafitte had never before shown. 
 
 " Do you know me now, little Rose? If so, then it is 
 well; for that is what I wished should be before I depart 
 forever from Louisiana." 
 
 " Depart forever from Louisiana ! " she repeated ; and 
 the dismay in her voice made his heart leap. 
 
 "Would you care would you miss me?" And his 
 clasp tightened upon her imprisoned hands. 
 
 "Rose my little Island Rose," he said, seeking to 
 look under the lashes that swept her cheeks, " when my 
 duty to New Orleans and Jackson is ended, as ended it 
 soon must be, I shall return to France, to be Monsieur 
 le Baron, my father's son, in the old Languedoc chateau 
 a thing my emperor's love has made possible, and 
 which will enable me to be nearer him, the man I have 
 shown you how I loved and still love. Will you go with 
 me, little Rose, to be presented to him as my baronne 
 as my wife ? " 
 
 The tears were running from beneath the lowered lashes 
 as she laid her cheek against one of the hands that held 
 her own ; and a bird's song thrilled out with joyous melody 
 as he reached up and drew her face to him. 
 
 There is an eastern legend telling that when Paradise 
 was fading from earth an angel plucked and saved a single 
 rose, which, ever treasured, is imbued with fragrance 
 immortal.
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 423 
 
 To every mortal is given, sooner or later, a breath of 
 this fragrance, which brings joy beyond all that earth 
 can give. 
 
 This hour had surely brought to the storm-tossed, ever- 
 battling soul of Jean Lafitte his breath of the angel's rose 
 of Paradise, to abide, as a benediction of unspeakable 
 peace, forever.
 
 CHAPTER SIXTY 
 
 THE battle of New Orleans had been fought and 
 won. 
 It proved, so far as the result of the war was 
 affected, a needless victory, inasmuch as, fifteen days 
 before, at Ghent, a treaty of peace had been concluded 
 between the United States and Great Britain. 
 
 But the triumph was, in its completeness, and by reason 
 of the means through which it had been achieved, of 
 inestimable and lasting benefit to this country. 
 
 It proved that the spirit which had inspired the men 
 of the Revolution still animated those who survived that 
 memorable struggle, and that it had descended, unim- 
 paired, to their sons ; that the bravery and devotion which 
 had created the Republic were still alive for its preserva- 
 tion. It proved that American freemen, although lacking 
 in discipline, and poorly armed, could repel and defeat 
 a greatly superior force of veteran soldiers, rich with all 
 the material and panoply of war, the flower of Britain's 
 army, fresh from its victories in Spain. 
 
 History tells how much of Jackson's success was due to 
 the loyalty, intelligence, and bravery of Lafitte and his 
 Baratarians; it says, aside from this, that but for the 
 warning and information given to the former by Lafitte, 
 New Orleans could not have been saved. 
 
 During the short campaign preceding the battle of 
 January 8th, 1815, the Baratarians, through their intimate 
 knowledge of the country, proved themselves invaluable as 
 spies and scouts ; and when the two armies met in conflict, 
 the experience and skill of the former " outlaws," as artil-
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 425 
 
 lerymen and riflemen the rapidity and accuracy of their 
 fire, their coolness and judgment these not only contrib- 
 uted directly and powerfully to the result, but inspired 
 with confidence the American troops many of them raw, 
 and ill accoutred amongst whom they fought. 
 
 General Jackson was quick to recognize this, during the 
 battle and afterwards, in his Reports and General Orders. 
 
 In one of the latter, dated January 15, 1815, he said, 
 after paying a high tribute to Lafitte: 
 
 " Captains Dominique-You and Beluche, lately comman- 
 ding privateers at Barataria, with part of their former 
 crews, and many brave citizens of New Orleans, were sta- 
 tioned at batteries Nos. 3 and 4. The general cannot 
 avoid giving his warm approbation of the manner in which 
 these gentlemen have uniformly conducted themselves 
 while under his command, and of the gallantry with which 
 they have redeemed the pledge they gave at the opening 
 of the campaign, to defend the country." 
 
 Ten days after the battle all that was left of Pakenham's 
 defeated army had embarked for England, and the city of 
 New Orleans gave itself up to joy and festivity. 
 
 At a dinner given by Governor Claiborne, at which 
 Lafitte was an honored guest, the latter's health was pro- 
 posed by the governor; and Jackson, after joining in the 
 toast, stated that he should bespeak for Captain Lafitte a 
 high official position at the hands of the President of the 
 United States. 
 
 But the former Baratarian leader, after an eloquent re- 
 sponse, declined the general's offer, and then announced 
 his approaching marriage to the granddaughter of the late 
 Count de Cazeneau. 
 
 This was received in a way that again brought him to 
 his feet in order to bow acknowledgments of his fellow- 
 guests' good-will. 
 
 Governor Claiborne then proposed the health of the 
 bride-elect, and when this had been drunk with all the 
 honors, General La Roche, in replying on behalf of
 
 426 Lafitte of Louisiana 
 
 the young lady, announced his own engagement to the 
 Senorita Lazalie. 
 
 Renewed applause now broke forth, to be checked by 
 Jackson, who said, after a vigorous thumping upon the 
 table had restored order, " Gentlemen, let us, if you please, 
 make a little less noise, for fear those outside may think we 
 are, because of the absence of the ladies, lacking in proper 
 dignity." 
 
 Young Harold Stewart, who was seated nearly opposite 
 the general, ventured, with the assurance of a favorite to 
 reply with boyish enthusiasm, " But, General Jackson, we 
 don't have a Captain Jean Lafitte to toast every night ! " 
 
 " No ; nor are we old campaigners accustomed to have 
 boys lift up their voices in our midst every night. Eh, 
 colonel? " 
 
 The twinkle in Jackson's eyes gave the negative to the 
 sarcasm of his words ; and the smilingly spoken question 
 was put to a brown-haired, broad-shouldered officer a few 
 seats below. 
 
 Colonel Thomas Stewart, handsome in middle age as he 
 had been in youth, laughed. 
 
 " No, general not as a usual thing ; but then, you see, 
 Harold is a chip of the old block." 
 
 The good feeling of Jackson, Claiborne and the citizens 
 of New Orleans toward Lafitte, and their appreciation 
 of the loyal and important services rendered by him, ex- 
 tended to all his once outlawed followers : and President 
 Madison, in his proclamation of pardon, used these 
 words : 
 
 " But it has been represented that the offenders have 
 manifested a sincere repentance ; that they have aban- 
 doned the worst cause for the support of the best ; and 
 particularly that they have exhibited in the defence of 
 New Orleans unequivocal traits of courage and fidelity. 
 Offenders who have refused to become the associates of 
 the enemy in war, upon the most seducing terms of invi- 
 tation, and who have aided to repel his hostile invasion
 
 Lafitte of Louisiana 427 
 
 of the territory of the United States, can no longer be 
 considered as objects of punishment, but as objects of 
 a generous forgiveness." 
 
 Beluche received an important official appointment in 
 South America; and after the death of Dominique-You, 
 some years later, the city of New Orleans erected a monu- 
 ment to his memory. 
 
 It is true that some of the more adventurous Baratarians 
 relapsed into their former pursuits ; but their operations 
 were carried on [in foreign seas, and Louisiana knew them 
 no more. There is also good reason for suspecting that 
 one of these, more intelligent than his fellows, assumed 
 the name of their former great leader, and, in 1819 or 
 1820, made a stronghold upon the site of what is now the 
 city of Galveston in Texas. 
 
 From this came one of the stories relating to Lafitte's 
 career subsequent to the battle of New Orleans ; another 
 being that he resumed his former practices, and had been 
 drowned at sea, while still another states that he died in 
 Yucatan. But a fourth story claims that he was, as late 
 as 1830, seen in France, and that, some years after this, 
 his widow was known to be living in a chateau near the 
 upper bank of the Loire. 
 
 Certain it is that, with the sails of the " Black Petrel " turn- 
 ing slowly from the golden glow of sunset, near the land, 
 to the cold gray of the far-off sea line, and then to pearl, 
 ere they faded from sight, vanished Lafitte of Louisiana. 
 
 " Things that make and things that mar 
 Shape the man for perfect praise ; 
 Shock and strain and ruin are 
 Friendlier than the smiling days."
 
 UP AND DOWN THE 
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 " Lafitte of Louisiana." 
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