An influx of fresh arrivals next poured into the park--the Chevalier
de la Corne, with his pretty daughter, Agathe La Corne St. Luc; the
Lady de Tilly and Amelie de Repentigny, with the brothers de
Villiers. The brothers had overtaken the Chevalier La Corne upon
the road, but the custom of the highway in New France forbade any
one passing another without politely asking permission to do so.
"Yes, Coulon," replied the Chevalier; "ride on!" He winked
pleasantly at his daughter as he said this. "There is, I suppose,
nothing left for an old fellow who dates from the sixteen hundreds
but to take the side of the road and let you pass. I should have
liked, however, to stir up the fire in my gallant little Norman
ponies against your big New England horses. Where did you get them?
Can they run?"
"We got them in the sack of Saratoga," replied Coulon, "and they ran
well that day, but we overtook them. Would Mademoiselle La Corne
care if we try them now?"
Scarcely a girl in Quebec would have declined the excitement of a
race on the highroad of St.
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