The end of it was, M. Radisson invited me to join his ships. "A beaver-skin for a needle, Ramsay! Twenty otter for an awl! Wealth for a merchant prince," he urged.
But no sooner had I grasped at this easy way out of difficulty than the Frenchman interrupts: "Hold back, man! Do you know the risk?"
"No—nor care one rush!"
"Governor Frontenac demands half of the furs for a license to trade, but M. de la Barre, who comes to take his place, is a friend of La Chesnaye's, and La Chesnaye owns our ships——"
"And you go without a license?"
"And the galleys for life——"
"If you're caught," said I.
"Pardieu!" he laughed, "yes—if we're caught!"
"I'd as lief go to the galleys for fur-trading as the scaffold for witchcraft," said I.
With that our bargain was sealed.