Not until they were in a normal
physical condition did Colden or Robert ask them any questions and
then Willet said:
"Their ring about the fort is complete, but in the darkness we were
able to slip through and then back again. I should judge that they
have at least three hundred warriors and Tandakora is first among
them. There are about thirty Frenchmen. De Courcelles has taken off
his bandage, but he still has a bruise where Tayoga struck
him. Peeping from the bushes I saw him and his face has grown more
evil. It was evident to me that the blow of Tayoga has inflamed his
mind. He feels mortified and humiliated at the way in which he was
outwitted, and, as Tandakora also nurses a personal hatred against us,
it's likely that they'll keep up the siege all winter, if they think
in the end they can get us.
"Their camp, too, shows increasing signs of permanency. They've built
a dozen bark huts in which all the French, all the chiefs and some of
the warriors sleep, and there are skin lodges for the rest. Oh, it's
quite a village! And they've accumulated game, too, for a long time."
Colden looked depressed.
"We're not fulfilling our mission," he said.
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