Captain de Haldimar," he
concluded, slowly and deliberately, "you have lied."
Despite of the last insult, his prisoner remained calm.
The very observation that had just been made afforded
him a final hope of exculpation, which, if it benefited
not himself, might still be of service to the generous
Oucanasta.
"The onus of such language," he observed coolly and with
dignity, "falls not on him to whom it is addressed, but
on him who utters it. Yet one who professes to have been
himself a soldier, must see in this very circumstance a
proof of my innocence. Had I been sent out as a spy to
reconnoitre the movements, and to overhear the councils
of our enemies, the gate would have been open for my
egress; but that rope is in itself an evidence I must
have stolen forth unknown to the garrison."
Whether it was that the warrior had his own particular
reasons for attaching truth to this statement, or that
he merely pretended to do so, Captain de Haldimar saw
with secret satisfaction his last argument was conclusive.
"Well, be it so," retorted the savage, while a ferocious
smile passed over his swarthy features; "but, whether
you have been here as a spy, or have merely ventured out
in prosecution of an intrigue, it matters not.
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