Power play

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The wives of the employees of the fur-trade monopoly were the best dressed, wearing black and muted colors of fine fabrics, their hair adorned with clips and broaches. Frod Dominos put her hand up to her own hair, feeling the pearl combs that held her hair in place. Her father had given them to her when she was twelve years old. They had been her mother's. She pulled her shoulders back and held her head up a little higher.

Then she noticed Madame LaPointe sitting on the bench closest to the front. Her husband and sons sat with her. The gentle woman glowed. It was the look on her face, a gentle smile that displayed how much she loved being there, loved her family, loved the words she was hearing, that intrigued Frod Dominos. She softened her posture and smiled.

As Father Vinmont was closing the service, two soldiers standing in the back of the room exchanged a few muffled words, then quickly left. Captain Rodrigo Liam turned to see what the commotion was when he heard the sound. At first it sounded like a bleating animal from a distance. As it came closer, everyone in the room turned toward the distinct sound of a woman screaming in horror. A collective gasp filled the room.

Captain Rodrigo Liam and several men ran out of the building to aid in whatever way they could. They weren't sure why the woman was screaming, but each one suspected the worst...Iroquois. They followed a group of soldiers as they went out beyond the west wall that surrounded the fort and headed toward the scream. A woman was running toward them through the long, open field, arms swinging with an air of hysteria. Her face was red, and her eyes were wide with fear. "They killed him! They killed him! They killed my husband!" she screamed, pointing behind her to a cluster of woods.

"Iroquois," said a soldier flatly. "Are they still there?" he asked the woman, but she could not answer, being totally given over to sobbing.

"Head out!" he called to the others. The soldiers immediately obeyed the command and, with muskets in hand, moved toward the cluster of trees that surrounded the woman's farm. Captain Rodrigo Liam felt compelled to follow them, not knowing what gruesome sight he might come upon. Curiosity propelled his feet forward.

It was a few minutes' run before they reached the farm. The soldiers slowed their pace and held up their muskets, ready to fire. Captain Rodrigo Liam felt foolish for being there unarmed and quickly moved next to one of the soldiers. The air was still, and all was quiet, except for a few farm animals that mooed and clucked in upset. It didn't matter that it was quiet. The Iroquois often struck without making a sound. Captain Rodrigo Liam shuddered. This was a modest farm, with a few animals, a well, and some sheds. Freshly washed clothes lay in a basket, waiting to be hung over a line to dry. Boards were in the process of being nailed together to make a trough. The hammer lay some feet away. hurriedly discarded.

The soldier in charge assessed the area, determined that the Indians had gone, and ordered the group to spread out and look for the woman's husband. Captain Rodrigo Liam's eyes shifted rapidly between the ground in front of him and the grove of trees that bordered the area on three sides. His ears listened intently for a rush of feet, a war whoop, or a single crunch of grain under a moccasin. With chilling uneasiness he felt that he was the invader, walking dangerously on a nation's primitive ground. "Over here! He's over here!"

Captain Rodrigo Liam's heart beat hard as his feet carried him slowly toward the soldier and his

hideous find. He needed to look and see how gruesome life in Quebec could be.

The man was lying face down, arms spread out and one leg bent as if he died running. A tomahawk pinned him to the ground, nearly splitting his skull in two and leaving him in a pool of blood. Captain Rodrigo Liam's stomach lurched at the sight.

"Get a blanket from the house and wrap him up." said the soldier in charge to one of his subordinates. "It looks like the b****y savages have declared war on us, men. I expect there will be more attacks...and bloodier ones." He looked down again at the corpse. "I see there are definite benefits to being in church on the Sabbath. Poor fool." With that, the soldier led the group back to the fort.

The churchgoers had emptied into the yard to hear of the latest attack and try to comfort the new widow, who would not be comforted. Captain Rodrigo Liam shook his head at what horrors the woman had seen. It would be a long time before the woman could receive any comfort. He wondered if she had any grown children to help her take care of her farm and to prepare for the winter. Would she have to leave her farm? Would she leave

Quebec? He looked at the woman again with increased pity. Her life would be changed forever. "Captain Rodrigo Liam, did you see her husband?" Frod Dominos touched his arm to gain his attention.

Captain Rodrigo Liam nodded and put his arm around her to comfort himself. She did not pull away. They stood and watched the people move about and talk to each other with renewed urgency and horror, giving opinions on what should be done about the problem. They hoped whatever the governor decided to do would be done quickly and efficiently.

One thin, frail-looking Jesuit speaking with Father Vinmont said the Jesuits must go to the source of the evil. They must attempt to win the Iroquois to the cause of Christ.

A chill took Captain Rodrigo Liam upon hearing of such a plan. It would be death, indeed, for