"You may consider yourself pretty lucky to have had this trip to Boston, Seth," he said in a tone of paternal patronage, that showed he wished his companion fully to appreciate his good fortune. "Not many of my men have ever been here, and none of them I'm sure has ever seen the Governor, and you will not only see him, but may have a chance to speak to him."
"I do, indeed, think myself lucky, and I'm more obliged to you for bringing me here than I can tell you, sir," responded Seth, with a conviction that left no doubt as to his sincerity and quite satisfied the Major, who smiled in a kindly way upon him, and, patting him on the shoulder, said:
"That's all right, Seth. I brought you along just because I thought you'd get more good out of the trip than almost any of the other fellows, and I guess I haven't made a mistake."
This implied compliment warmed Seth's heart and helped to brace him up for the ordeal of appearing before the famous Governor, of whom he had heard so much.
They were promptly ushered into the great man's presence. Governor Shirley, Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces in North America, although now well past sixty years of age, had lost little of his vigor and none of his enterprise, and, despite his being a lawyer by profession, took a keener interest in martial matters than in anything else. The one supreme ambition of his life was to overthrow the French power and make the whole North American continent an English possession, and to the fulfilment of this great purpose he devoted himself with an energy and determination that were altogether admirable.
In Major Rogers he had a man after his own heart—one who shared to the full his hatred of the French, and his passionate desire to see them driven back across the Atlantic, and he did not hesitate to say that had he only been a younger man he would have liked nothing better than to become a Ranger himself, and pit his daring and skill in scouting against French and Indian wiles.
His reception, therefore, was entirely gracious, and when the Major presented Seth, who felt very much abashed, he said to him genially:
"And so this is one of your young men, Major. He seems to be made of the right stuff."
Then, addressing Seth, he added: "How do you like being a Ranger? Do you prefer it to being in the ranks?"
Seth lifted his head and with glowing countenance replied heartily: