The canoe gains speed and McGauran leans back, resuming his safe position inside the hull. Below, the lake starts to turn to earth and when he looks ahead, the sight of the Mount Royal, though still far away, snatches the breath out of him. They’ve reached the island and are flying south, towards the Saint-Lawrence River, but when he tries to see, the wind and snow blind him. After minutes of this race, the boat begins to slow down again and McGauran wipes his eyes, peering at the scene below. It’s the port! And there’s that church, Notre-Dame de Bon Secours, with its open armed statue welcoming him home. Before he realizes it, the canoe is whizzing over the market place where he and Honoré used to get lost on Sunday afternoons. Then as the boat maneuvers its way up the Place d’Armes Squar
