"Ha! the money, it is gone!" he cried. "You take my money too! This is the coup de grace truly But, a l'Anglaise!"
"It is not after the English fashion," put in Dave, who understood the French fairly well. "We are honest people here, and, as my father says, you have no right to come here and raise a quarrel."
"The money—all gone!" muttered Jacques Valette. The loss appeared to sober him for a moment. "Fifteen pounds, ten shillings—all gone!"
"Do you mean to say you had fifteen pounds and ten shillings?" questioned
James Morris.
The French hunter and trapper nodded. "Oui! oui!"
"And you haven't it now?"
Jacques Valette shrugged his shoulders. "Not a shilling! All is gone! You haf it!" And he shook his hand in Dave's face.
"Don't dare to accuse my son of theft!" exclaimed James Morris angrily. "He has nothing of yours."
A perfect war of words followed. Jacques Valette insisted that, on coming to the post, he had had a pistol and the money mentioned. As they were now gone he felt certain that Dave had taken them. He could not or would not tell where he had been previous to his journey to James Morris' place.
"You lost them before you came here, that is certain," said James Morris.
"I want no more from you. Get out!" And he forced the Frenchman to leave.
Jacques Valette walked away slowly, muttering all sorts of imprecations in
French under his breath.