tears. 'They'll all think
we deserted you! Did you kill many of them, Tinling?'

'I didn't see any corpses,' he replied; 'but I shouldn't be surprised if
some of them died when they got home.'

'They may come again to-morrow night,' said Jack, more cheerfully.

'Not much fear of that--they've had their lesson. They were seized with
utter panic.'

'Which way did they go?' asked Guy, evidently bent on pursuing them.

'Oh, in all directions. But you wouldn't catch them up now; they ran too
fast for me even!'

'Then I shall go to bed,' said the entire army, in great depression. 'It
is a shame we couldn't be there. Good-night, General.' And, pointedly
ignoring poor Cecily, they marched off to their quarters. She looked
wistfully after them.

'They'll never forgive me--I know they won't!' she said to Tinling.

'Don't you mind,' he said, 'you acted very wisely. And, after all, these
raw young troops can never be depended on under fire, you know--I mean,
under arrows.'

Cecily drew herself up a little haughtily.

'I locked them in because I didn't want them to get hurt,' she said,
'not because I thought they'd be afraid.'

Uncle Lambert did not hear about the result of the engagement until the
following day, but then, to make up for any delay, he heard a good deal
about it. Even Clarence was not quite prepared for the enthusiasm he
showed.

'Splendid, my boy, splendid!' he kept repeating, while he hit him rather
hard on the back; 'you're a hero. A grateful country ought to give you
the Bath for it. I shall take care this affair is generally known.'

And the poor army looked on with hot cheeks and envious eyes. But for
Cecily, they might have been heroes, too!

Even Hazel seemed to have understood that a really brilliant victory had
been achieved; she brought Tinling a magnificent flag of pink glazed
calico, on which she had painted in crimson letters: 'Indians' Terror.'

'I did not think of making the motto "Seven at one blow,"' she said,
with a mischievous dimple.

'I like the other best,' said the General, unsuspectingly.

Jack and Guy went down to the camp as usual, but for some time they were
in very low spirits, in spite of their commander's well-meant efforts to
raise them.

'You'll do better next time,' he said kindly.

'But we've told you over and over again how it was!' they would exclaim.

'Yes, I know, I know. It's all right. I'm not complaining: I never
expected you to be as cool as I was,