CHAPTER

      I the man in the cloak
     II the toilet of the chevalier
    III the mutilated hand
     IV an Aeneas for an Achates
      V the horn of plenty
     VI an Achates for an Aeneas
    VII the philosophy of Perigny
   VIII the last rout
     IX the fifty pistoles
      X the masquerading ladies
     XI the journey to Quebec
    XII A ballade of double refrain
   XIII ten thousand livres
    XIV Breton finds A marker
     XV the supper
    XVI the poet explains
   XVII what the ship brings
  XVIII the master of ironies
    XIX A page from mythology
     XX A warrant or A contract
    XXI an ingenious idea
   XXII madame finds A droll book
  XXIII A marquis dons his baldric
   XXIV A dissertation on charity
    XXV orioles and prerogatives
   XXVI the story of Hiawatha
  XXVII Onondaga
 XXVIII the flash from the flame
   XXIX A journey into the hills
    XXX brother Jacques’ Absolvo te
   XXXI the hunting hut
  XXXII A gallant poet
 XXXIII how Gabrielle Diane loved
  XXXIV absolution of Perigny
   XXXV brother!

NOTE

The author has taken a few liberties with the lives of various historical personages who pass through these pages; but only for the story’s sake.  He is also indebted to the Jesuit Relations, to Old Paris, by Lady Jackson, and to Clark’s History of Onondaga, the legend of Hiawatha being taken from the last named volume.

THE GREY CLOAK

CHAPTER I

The man in the cloak.

A man enveloped in a handsome grey cloak groped through a dark alley which led into the fashionable district of the Rue de Bethisy.  From time to time he paused, with a hand to his ear, as if listening.  Satisfied that the alley was deserted save for his own presence, he would proceed, hugging the walls.  The cobbles were icy, and scarce a moment passed in which he did not have to struggle to maintain his balance.  The door of a low tavern opened suddenly, sending a golden shaft of light across the glistening pavement and casting a brilliant patch on the opposite wall.  With the light came sounds of laughter and quarreling and ringing glasses.  The man laid his hand on his sword, swore softly, and stepped back out of the blinding glare.  The flash of light revealed a mask which left visible only the lower half of his face.  Men wearing masks were frequently subjected to embarrassing questions; and this man was determined that no one should question him to-night.  He waited, hiding in the shadow.

Half a dozen guardsmen and musketeers reeled out.  The host reviled them for a pack of rogues.  They cursed him, laughing, and went on, to be swallowed up in the darkness beyond.  The tavern door closed, and once more the alley was hued with melting greys and purples.  The man in the cloak examined the strings of his mask, tilted his hat still farther down over his eyes, and tested the looseness of his sword.