I understood from him that you represented one of the oldest families in that section." "There were but very few here before us," he answered, with undisguised pride.

"Mostly wilderness outcasts, _voyageurs_, _coureurs de bois_; but my grandfather's grant of land was from the King.

Alphonse de Beaucaire, sir, was the trusted lieutenant of D'Iberville--a soldier, and a gentleman." I bowed in acknowledgment the family arrogance of the man interesting me deeply.

So evident was this pride of ancestry that a sudden suspicion flared into my mind that this might be all the man had left--this memory of the past.
"The history of those early days is not altogether familiar to me," I admitted regretfully.

"But surely D'Iberville must have ruled in Louisiana more than one hundred years ago ?" The Judge smiled.
"Quite true.