"He has a long gray-colored face above his broad shoulders. I have heard of this Sieur Robert Cavelier de la Salle ever since he came to the province more than ten years ago, but I never saw him before. Is it true that Count Frontenac is greatly bound to him?"
"So true that Sieur de la Salle thereby got favor at court. It was at court that a prince recommended to him yon swart Italian in white and gold that he brought with him on his last voyage from France. Now, there is a man known already throughout the colony by reason of his hand."
"Which hand?"
"The right one."
"I see naught ailing that. He wears long gauntlets pulled well over both wrists."
"His left hand is on his sword hilt. Doth he not hold the right a little stiffly?"
"It is true. The fingers are not bent."
"They never will be bent. It is a hand of copper."
"How can a man with a copper hand be of service in the wilderness?"