"What is it, Batoche?"
"I have a granddaughter, little Blanche."
"Yes."
"She has been my inseparable companion from her infancy."
"Yes."
"Now that the war has broken out, she is much alone, and that troubles me."
"Where is she?"
"In our cabin at Montmorenci. Pauline Belmont desired to keep her in Quebec during the siege, but to this I would not consent, because I could not see her as often as I wished."
"Let me have the child, Batoche. I will replace her godmother as well as I can."
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, mademoiselle, but that is not precisely what I meant. I could not part from her for good, neither would she leave me. All I ask is this. I may be absent from my hut for days at a time. You know what military service is."