As the lieutenant approached, Lecorbeau came forth to meet and greet
him. The Englishman was just on the point of grasping the Acadian's
outstretched hand, when a shrill cry of "Uncle Willie" rang in his ears,
and he found one of the children clinging to him rapturously. For an
instant he was utterly bewildered, gazing down on the sunburned fair
little face upturned to his. Then he snatched the child to his heart,
exclaiming passionately, "My Edie, my darling!" To Lecorbeau, and to
his wife and Pierre, who now appeared, the scene was clear in an instant;
and a weight of misery rolled down upon the heart of Pierre as he
realized that now he should lose the little one he loved so well.
For a few moments the child and her new-found uncle were entirely
absorbed in each other. But presently the little one looked around
and pointed to Pierre.
"Here's my Pierre!" she explained in her quaint French--"and there's
papa Lecorbeau, and mamma Lecorbeau, and there's little Jacques,
and Bibi, and Vergie, and Tiste. Won't you come and live with us, too?"
Her uncle covered her face anew with his kisses. "My darling," he said,
"you will come with me to Halifax, to mamma!"
"And leave Pierre?" she cried, her eyes filling. "I can't leave my
Pierre, who saved me from the cruel Indians."
This recalled the young man's thoughts to the mystery of the little
one's presence at Beausejour. Lecorbeau gave him a bench, and sitting
down beside him told the story, while Edie sat with one hand in her
uncle's clasp and the other in that of Pierre.
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