rest of the prisoners were marched away. In half an
hour the officer returned.

"General Lacy will be glad if you will accompany me to his
quarters. He gladly accedes to your request."

Lacy occupied one of the houses at Hochkirch which had been spared
by the flames. The aide-de-camp conducted Fergus to an empty room.

"The general is away at present," he said, "but will see you, as
soon as he returns."

When alone, Fergus burst into tears. It was indeed a heavy loss to
him. Even before he came out, he had come to regard Keith with deep
respect and admiration. He had heard so much of him, from his
mother, that it seemed to him that their relationship was far
closer than it really was, and that Keith stood in the position of
an uncle rather than of his mother's cousin. Since he had been in
Germany he had been constantly with him, save when he was away with
the king; and the genial kindness, the absence of all formality,
and the affectionate interest he had shown in him had been almost
of a fatherly nature. It was but a poor consolation to know that it
was the death Keith would, of all others, have chosen; and that,
had he survived the campaign, he would probably have been obliged
to retire from active service; or to take some quiet command, where
his inactivity would speedily have chafed him beyond bearing, after
so active and stirring a life.

Two hours later the officer entered the room, and said that General
Lacy had returned, and would see him. The general was alone when he
was shown into his room, and his face evinced a momentary surprise
when his eyes fell on Fergus. Promotion was not very rapid in the
Prussian army, and he had expected to see a man of between thirty
and forty. The sight of this young officer, with the rank and
insignia of major, and wearing on his breast the Prussian order,
surprised him.

"I am sorry indeed for your loss, Major Drummond," he said in
English. "Sorry for my own, too; though it may well be that, in any
case, Keith and I should never have met again. But we were comrades
once and, like everyone else, I loved him. What relation was he to
you?"

"He was my mother's first cousin, general; but they were always
dear friends, and have for years written regularly to each other;
and it was settled that I should come out to him, as soon as I was
old enough. 'Tis upwards of two years since I did so, and he has
been more like a father than a cousin to me, during that time."

"You ha