e nobody when
she came to tell it next day. She was too true a woman to want to part
with such a pleasure. Then she had--ah! must it be confessed?--a little
mischievous desire of her own to see how Mrs. Turner would take it, for
those who knew Mrs. Turner best were given to the belief that she would
far rather have the attention of the masculine element of the garrison
concentrated upon herself than shared with such undoubted rivals as
these would be; and so, with perfect truth, Mrs. Stannard's reassurance
took the form of these words:

"You see I could not make up my mind to let any one know until I had
told you, and I've been expecting you all the morning,"--and Mrs. Turner
was charmed. "But," said Mrs. Stannard, "tell me how you heard it. I
thought no one knew it but myself."

"Oh! Mr. Gleason telegraphed as a matter of course, to announce that
_he_ was escorting these ladies. It was quite a feather in his cap to be
able to show the commanding officer here that Captain Truscott intrusts
to him the duty of guarding anything so precious. When you get to know
Mr. Gleason better you'll appreciate that," said Mrs. Turner, with a
pout. "Captain Turner can't bear him, and dislikes to have me notice him
at all; and what I wonder at is his escorting them. Why is he not with
his company? And where is Mr. Ray? If the board has adjourned, I should
suppose that Mr. Gleason would be on duty with his men,--he is
Truscott's first lieutenant, you know,--and that Mr. Ray would be
rushing through to catch _his_ company. Why isn't he escorting them I
wonder? Perhaps Captain Truscott had reasons of his own for not
permitting that,--Ray _was_ smitten with her, I don't care what Mrs.
Raymond says. Have you heard where Mr. Ray is?"

"Not a word. I wish I knew," said Mrs. Stannard, wistfully.

"Have you--have you heard anything about his being in any trouble, in
anything likely to keep him from going with the regiment?" asked Mrs.
Turner, hesitatingly, yet watching closely Mrs. Stannard's face.

"Nothing in the least that is anything more than a very improbable
story, and one that I have too little faith in to repeat. Tell me what
news you have from the captain." And Mrs. Turner knew 'twas useless to
ask questions. She hurried through her visit, and tripped eagerly away
up the row to carry the news throughout the garrison, meeting Mrs.
Whaling coming down, and the latter had the start.

And so, before the setting of a second sun, Grace