"
"All that you say is true, Walter, and no one can regret it more than I
do. Still, I do think that you would be worse off under France than under
England. Louis would drain the island of its men to fill his army. He
uses you only as a cat's paw in his struggle against England and Holland,
and would not hesitate to turn you over to England again, did it at any
time suit him to make peace on such terms; or to offer Ireland as an
exchange for some piece of territory he coveted, beyond his frontier."
"I know my father is very much of your opinion," Walter said, "and that
he has no confidence whatever in the King of France, and considers that
French interference is responsible for the want of success which has
attended us. At any rate, there is scarcely one of us who does not hate
the French, and certainly, if we had to choose between the two countries,
we should choose England."
When it became dark, a troop of cavalry mounted, and with Colonel
L'Estrange and Walter in their midst, rode out of camp. They went for
several miles, and then Colonel L'Estrange said:
"We are now well outside the limit where you will be likely to meet any
of our scouting parties. Two miles further along this road, you will come
to the village of Mulroon.
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