right instrument beside him, and with it
the piece of cloth with which he scoured it, and the leather for a
polisher, and then sat thoughtfully down to watch the satisfied look of
intentness in the boy's countenance as he held the copper horn so close
to his face that he could breathe upon it without moving his head, and
then go on polish, polish, slowly, till by degrees the movement of his
hand became more slow, his eyes gradually closed, his head fell
sideways, and he sank to sleep.

"Poor fellow!" said Pen thoughtfully. "But he can't be worse, or he
wouldn't sleep like that."

Pen rose carefully so as not to disturb the sleeper, and cautiously
peered outside the hut-door, keeping well out of sight till he had
assured himself that there was no enemy visible upon the slopes of the
valley, and then, taking a few steps under the shelter of the trees, he
scanned the valley again from another point of view, while he listened
intently, trying to catch the sound of the tramping of feet or the voice
of command such as would indicate the nearness of the enemy.

But all was still, all looked peaceful and beautiful; and after stepping
back to peer through the hut-door again to see that Punch had not
stirred, he passed round to the back, where he could gaze in the
direction of the fall and of the track by which the peasant-girl had
hurried away.

"I wonder whether she will come back again," thought Pen; and then
feeling sure that they would have another visit from their new friend,
he went slowly back to the hut and seated himself where he could watch
the still-sleeping boy and think; for there was much to dwell upon in
the solitude of that mountain valley--about home, and whether he should
ever get back there and see England again, or be one of the unfortunates
who were shot down and hastily laid beneath a foreign soil; about how
long it would be before Punch was strong enough to tramp slowly by his
side in search of their own corps or of some other regiment where they
would be welcome enough until they could join their own.

These were not inspiriting thoughts, and he knew it must be weeks before
the poor fellow's wound would be sufficiently healed. Then other mental
suggestions came to worry him as to whether he was pursuing the right
course; as a companion he felt that he was, but as a soldier he was in
doubt about the way in which his conduct would be looked upon by his
superiors.

"Can't help it," he muttered. "I