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Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919

"The Free Rangers A Story of the Early Days Along the Mississippi"


"Do you think that we are made of such stuff as that miserable renegade,
Braxton Wyatt?"
Alvarez did not flinch. His words had been delivered with extraordinary
emphasis, and they carried the ring of his own conviction. His great plan
possessed him, and he saw before him an instrument of which he could make
good use.
"I do not ask you to go against your own people," he replied. "Remain in
Louisiana. Great work can be found here for you and your friends. And
where Kaintock is concerned another way could be made. It is far from the
Eastern colonies, divided by mountains, the forest, and Indians. Where
could they find a better friend to whom to turn than the King of Spain?
And they will surely need a powerful friend!"
Henry gazed at him in amazement, and yet he felt a certain respect for the
scope and largeness of the man's plan, repellent though the plan was to
him. He saw that Alvarez was not an ordinary man, that he was one with
whom the people for whom he cared would have to reckon. But he was not
afraid, nor was he tempted for a moment by the promise of a glittering
future that Alvarez held out to him. He felt an immense indignation, but
he was still master of himself, and he replied quietly.
"I could not leave my own people, nor would any of my comrades.


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