1.Long before the capture of Quebec by General Wolfe，a large part of Canada was settled by the French.The early settlers “took their lives in their hands，”for in those days Indians lurked everywhere，making war upon the white men.
2.One sunny morning late in October 1692，thefair young daughter of SeigneurRocheres came outof the gate of the fort which formed her home，and，accompanied by a servant，walked down toward the river.She was expecting a visitor，Madame Fontaine，fresh from Paris，who was coming to keep Madeleine company while her father and mother were away in Montreal.
3.Suddenly the report of a gun was heard in the distance.“Laviolette，”said Madeleine to the servant，“run to the top of that hillock and see why the gun was fired.”The man went as he was directed，and Madeleine anxiously awaited his return.In a few minutes he camerushing down the slope，crying，“The IroquoisIroquois！Run for your life！”
4.Turning round，she saw some fifty Indians running to cut off her retreat to the fort；but Madeleine was too fleet for them.Seeing that they could not catch her，the Indians began to fire.Happily，however，their bullets failed to take effect.As soon as Madeleine was within hailing distance of the fort，site shouted bravely，“To arms！to arms！”
5.The inmates of the fort-her brothers （two mere boys），two soldiers，a servant （an old man of eighty），and a number of women and children-were in a state of panic；but Madeleine at once took command，and prepared for the defence of the fort.The gatewas barred，and breachesin the walls were hastilyrepaired.Then the brave girl hurried to the blockhousefor arms and ammunition.Here she found the twosoldiers hiding，terror-stricken，from the foe.One of them was standing near the powder with a lighted match in his hand.“What are you going to do with that match？”cried Madeleine.
“Set fire to the powder and blow us all up，to save us from the torture of the Iroquois，”was the sullen reply.
“You miserable cowards！”she cried，dashing the match from his hand and stamping out the flame.“Go and defend the fort！”and the men obeyed.
6.Madeleine supplied herself with ammunition，and taking a gun，said to her brothers，“Let us fight to the death！We are fighting for our religion and our country.”With these words the three young warriors went to join in the defence of the fort.And right gallantly they fought.The boys were born soldiers.The only tales which had enlivened their long winter evenings had been stories of heroic adventure，and they had been longing for an occasion like this.Inspired by their daring sister，they now made good use of their opportunity.
7.The Indians did not know how weak was thegarrisonof the fort，so they determined not to attemptan attack at once，but in the meantime to search for stragglers in the woods.While they were away，the canoe with the Fontaine family arrived，and reached the fort in safety，8.It was most probable that the Indians would attack the fort at night.When it grew dark，Madeleine assembled the garrison of six，and addressed them thus：“God has saved us from the hands of our enemies，but we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night.I shall take charge of the fort with the old man，and another who never fired a gun.The rest of you mustdefend the women and children in the block-house，which is the strongest place.And if I am taken，don‘tsurrender，even if the Indians burn me before your eyes！The enemy can’t hurt you in the block-house，if you make the least attempt to fight.”
9.And so they all went to their places.Every few minutes “All‘s well”rang out from fort to blockhouse.The Indians heard it as they gathered round their council fire to discuss the plan of attack，and as they heard the shout they thought the fort must be full of watchful soldiers.So once more the attack was postponed till dawn.
10.For a week the siege continued.During that time Madeleine took but hasty meals，and contented herself with brief intervals of sleep，sitting at a table with her head lying on her arms folded over her gun，ready for action.Her brothers imitated her，and never showed the slightest sign of fear.The Iroquois now and then showed themselves；but the crack of a musket and the whiz of a bullet warned them to keep out of sight.Day after day they camped in the woods till the garrison should be starved out.
11.After seven days the splashing of paddles was heard in the St.Lawrence，and a hail in French told the besieged that help had come at lash--the soldiers of the king.Madeleine posted a sentry at the gate，and walked down to the river.Saluting the officer in command，she said，“Sir，I resign my command.”
“Which could not have been more bravely held，”was the reply；and the soldiers marched into the fort to relieve the worn-out defenders.
The Indians had retired on seeing the soldiers，butthey were pursued and defeated.
12.The brave girl became a brave woman.She had many adventures among the Indians.Once，rifle in hand，she saved from the hands of the Iroquois a young Frenchman，who afterwards became the husband of his brave preserver.But in Canadian history she will always be most famous as the Heroine of Castle Dangerous.
