"
"You have found the Mohawks a brave and loyal race," said Robert,
knowing the colonel was upon a favorite theme of his.
"That I have, Mr. Lennox. I came among them a boy. I was a trader
then, and I settled first only a few miles from their largest town,
Dyiondarogon. I tried to keep faith with them and as a result I found
them always keeping faith with me. Then, when I went to Oghkwaga, I
had the same experience. The Indians were defrauded in the fur trade
by white swindlers, but dishonesty, besides being bad in itself, does
not pay, Mr. Lennox. Bear that in mind. You may cheat for a while with
success, but in time nobody will do business with you. Though you, I
take it, will never be a merchant."
"It is not because I frown upon the merchant's calling, sir. I esteem
it a high and noble one. But my mind does not turn to it."
"So I gather from what I have seen of you, and from what Mr. Willet
tells me. I've been hearing of your gift of oratory. You need not
blush, my lad. If we have a gift we should accept it thankfully, and
make the best use of it we can. You, I take it, will be a lawyer, then
a public man, and you will sway the public mind.
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