Page:War Drums (1928).pdf/306

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Now as I rode beside Almayne, with Lachlan and Jolie riding just ahead, there was a Shadow on my Heart; for I said to myself: Lachlan McDonald is of the Wilderness and must dwell there: he must return to his People in the Land of Tallasee or be false to his Trust. But Jolie is of England. She has known the Lights of London. Will they not beckon her to come back?

So I mused, like a pessimistickal old Fool, because by now I should have known this Woman.

When we were come out upon a wooded Eminence whence we could look down upon Fort Prince George, we reined in to enjoy the noble Prospect; and Lachlan and Jolie sat their Horses close beside me, so that I heard what passed between them.

"Where lies Tallasee?" she asked.

He pointed to the Southwest.

"A far Journey," she said thoughtfully. "Far from here and very far from London and the Hills of Hampshire."

She saw that his Eyes were troubled and she smiled at him.

"We shall live there," she said, "and I shall be the Wife of Lachlan McDonald, Prince of the Muskogee Nation and Chief of the Family of the Wind. I shall be very happy in Tallasee and I shall not pine for England."

He gazed at her strangely, and his black Eyes were marvellously bright.

"Sometimes," he told her, "we shall visit Charles