Chapter 23
THE FLAGSTAFF TOWER. Time pressing, the Commandant had gone straight from the orderly-room in search of Father Joly. As a soldier and a good Catholic he desired to be shriven, and as a man of habit he preferred the old Cure to Father Launoy. To be sure the Cure was deaf as a post, but on the other hand the Commandant's worst sins would bear to be shouted. "There is yet one thing upon my conscience," he wound up. "The fact is, I feel pretty sure of myself in this business, but I have some difficulty in trusting God." It is small wonder that a confession so astonishing had to be repeated twice, and even when he heard it Father Joly failed to understand. "But how is it possible to mistrust God?" he asked. "Well, I don't know. I suppose that even in bringing New France so near to destruct
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