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Show 92 THE l.!I.Y AND TilE TOTEM. nacho was my closC!st fl'icnJ. I demand it in compensation for my own suffc:rings." "It is yours, Lachane! You have tho right!" "Thanks, mes (l11tis! And now for tho plan. You ha\'C resoh• ed on none yourselves. Jl carken to mine." They lent willing ears, and .Lach:mc continued. His counsel was that Captain Albert should be advised of an unusual multitude of deer on one of the " hunting islands" in the neighborhood. These islands arc rcm:u·kablc-somo of them-for the luxuriance and beauty of their forests. Here, the deer were nccustomed to assemble irt great numbers, particularly when pressed by clouds of Indian hunters along tho main; nor were they loth to visit them at other sca!!Qns, when the tides were low and the seas smooth. S"imming across the dividing rivers, and :mus of the sea, nt such periods, in lit.tle groups of five or ten, they found here an almost certain refuge and favorite browsing patchc11. To one of these islands, Barre, or some other lcf!8 obj(' ctionnbl'J po~n, wns to beguile Captain Albert. His for.dncss for the chase was known, nnd was gratified on all convenient occaRions. lie was to be ad\·ised of numerous herdiJ upon the island, which passed to it the night before. '.fllcy had been seen crossing in the moonligl1t ftom tho main. Lachanc, meanwhile, possessing himself of the canoe which his friends llad just employed, armed with weapons which they were to provide, was to place llimsclf in a. convenient shelter uron tho island, and take such a position as would enable him to se ize upon the first safe oppmtunity for striking the blow. Numerous details, not necessary for our purpose, but essential to that of tho co"Ds.pirators, were suggested, discussed, and finally agreed upon, or r<>jccted. Lachane simply concluded with repeating his demand for the LACIIANE1 TilL DELIVEUER. 93 privilege of tho first blow-a claim f:lrthcr insisted upon, as, iu tl1e event of failure, he who had already incurred the doolll of outlawry, and had offended against hope, lllight thus save othr.rs harmless, who occupied a position of greater security. We need not follow tlJe nrrangemcut of the parties. Enough, that, wh<>n tlu"ly were discussed fully, the three sepnrated-BnrrC and l1is companion to regain tho fort, and Lachane to embark in the cnnoc, ere day should. dawn, for the J.estincd islet where he was equally to find. security and vengeance. Everything succeeded to the wishes of the conspirators. Albert, who wns passionately fond of the chase, was easily persuaded by the representations of Barr6 nnd his comrades. The pinnace was fitted out at an early hour, and, attended by the two conspirators, and some half dozen other persons, the greater number of whom were supposed to bo as l10stile to the tyrant ns themselves, tho Captain set forth, little dreaming that he should be the hunted instead of the hunter. l}ierro Renaud, by whom ho was also accompanied, was the only person of tho party upon whom ho could rely. But neither his creature nor himself had tho slightest apprehension of the da11gc.r. Tho jcmlou.sics of tho despot seemed for the moment entirely at rest, and, as if in tho exercise of a pleasant novelty, Albert threw aside all the terrors of his authority. lie could j est when tho fit was on him. He, too, llaJ. his moments of play; !l. sort of feline faculty, in tho exercise of which the cat and the tiger seem positi\·ely amiable. His jests were echoed by his men, and tl1cir laughter gratified llim. But there was one exception to the general mirth, which arrested his attention. Nicholas Darre alone preserved a stern, unbroken compo~urc, which thll gay humor of his superior failed entirely to overcome. Nothing 110 much vexes superiority aa |