" None were there to tell him that the hero
is greater than the poet.
As they neared their destination, the tide bore them in towards the
shore, and the mighty wall of rock and forest towered in darkness on
their left. The dead stillness was suddenly broken by the sharp _Qui
vive!_ of a French sentry, invisible in the thick gloom. _France!_
answered a Highland officer of Fraser's regiment from one of the boats
of the light infantry. He had served in Holland and spoke French
fluently.
_A quel regiment?_
_De la Reine_, replied the Highlander. He knew that a part of that corps
was with Bougainville. The sentry, expecting the convoy of provisions,
was satisfied, and did not ask for the password.
Soon after, the foremost boats were passing the heights of Samos, when
another sentry challenged them, and they could see him through the
darkness running down to the edge of the water, within range of a
pistol-shot. In answer to his questions, the same officer replied, in
French: "Provision-boats. Don't make a noise; the English will hear
us."[775] In fact, the sloop-of-war "Hunter" was anchored in the stream
not far off. This time, again, the sentry let them pass. In a few
moments they rounded the headland above the Anse du Foulon. There was no
sentry there. The strong current swept the boats of the light infantry a
little below the intended landing-place.[776] They disembarked on a
narrow strand at the foot of heights as steep as a hill covered with
trees can be.
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