"
"No doubt of it, Tom," said Henry, "and we'll all go together."
They had a little money of English coinage which was taken readily in
cosmopolitan New Orleans, and with two shillings they hired a levee
watchman, whom they judged they could trust, to look after "The Galleon."
Then, rifle on shoulder, they entered the fortified city by the gate
called _Chemin des Tchoupitoulas_. Spain, officially at least, was the
friend of the colonies and the enemy of England, and the sentinels at the
gate readily passed them after a few questions.
Here they asked again for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez, and the
statement of Lieutenant Diego Bernal that he could not be seen was
confirmed. He had arrived only a few hours before from a two days'
expedition down the river, and was now immersed in important papers that
had awaited his coming.
They saw the Governor General's house, a one-story building fronting the
river with a gallery on one side, gardens on the other, and kitchen and
outbuildings behind. They looked longingly at it, as they desired very
much to see Bernardo Galvez at once. But presently they passed on into the
Place d'Armes, a wide open space used as a review ground. At the very
moment they entered it a company of Spanish soldiers were going through
their evolutions, and, after the fashion of to-day, children and their
dark-faced nurses were watching them.
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