then turn southward through the
rocky cuts and forest aisles until he reaches the main highway; then
follow on through the beautiful groves, through the quiet village,
across the bridge that spans the stream above the falls, and then, only
a few hundred yards beyond, there lies Hawkshurst and its bevy of
excited, whispering, applauding, delighted girls. If he meet officers,
all he has to do is put on a bold face and trust to his disguise. He
means to have a glorious time and be back, tingling with satisfaction on
his exploit, by a little after midnight. In five minutes his quarrel
with Stanley is forgotten, and, all alert and eager, he is half-way up
the heights and out of sight or hearing of the barracks.

The roads are well-nigh deserted. He meets one or two squads of soldiers
coming back from "pass" at the Falls, but no one else. The omnibuses and
carriages bearing home those visitors who have spent the evening
listening to the band at the Point are all by this time out of the way,
and it is early for officers to be returning from evening calls at the
lower hotel. The chances are two to one that he will pass the village
without obstacle of any kind. Billy's spirits rise with the occasion,
and he concludes that a cigarette is the one thing needful to complete
his disguise and add to the general nonchalance of his appearance.
Having no matches he waits until he reaches the northern outskirts of
the Falls, and then steps boldly into the first bar he sees and helps
himself.

Coming forth again he throws wide open the swinging screen doors, and a
broad belt of light is flashed across the dusty highway just in front of
a rapidly-driven carriage coming north. The mettlesome horses swerve and
shy. The occupants are suddenly whirled from their reposeful attitudes,
though, fortunately, not from their seats. A "top hat" goes spinning out
into the roadway, and a fan flies through the midst of the glare. The
driver promptly checks his team and backs them just as Billy, all
impulsive courtesy, leaps out into the street; picks up the hat with one
hand, the fan with the other, and restores them with a bow to their
owners. Only in the nick of time does he recollect himself and crush
down the jovial impulse to hail by name Colonel Stanley and his daughter
Miriam. The sight of a cavalry uniform and Lieutenant Lee's tall figure
on the forward seat has, however, its restraining influence, and he
turns quickly away--unrecognized.

But