ughed.

"It is all very well, Teddy; but it is just as well, for you, that
you did not show your face up at the house during the last three
days. It is not Bob who has been blamed. It has been entirely you
and me, especially you. The moment she read his letter, she said at
once that you were at the bottom of it, and that it never would
have entered Bob's mind to do such a mad thing, if you had not put
him up to it; and of course, when I came back from seeing you, and
said that you admitted that you knew what he was doing, it made the
case infinitely worse. It will be a long time before she takes you
into favour again."

"About an hour," the doctor said, calmly. "As soon as she finds
that Bob has come back again, with the fruit; and that he has as
good as saved the lives of scores of women and children; she will
be so proud of him that she will greet me as part author of the
credit he has gained--though really, as I told you, I had nothing
to do with it except that, when I saw that Bob had made up his mind
to try, whether I helped him or not, I thought it best to help him,
as far as I could, to get away.

"Now, we must get some porters to carry the boxes up to your house,
or wherever he wants them sent.

"Ah! Here is the governor. He will be pleased to hear that Bob has
got safely back."

Captain O'Halloran had, when he found Bob's letter in his room on
the morning after he had left, felt it his duty to go to the town
major's office to mention his absence; and it had been reported to
the general, who had sent for Gerald to inquire about the
circumstances of the lad's leaving. Captain O'Halloran had assured
him that he knew nothing, whatever, of his intention; and that it
was only when he found the letter on his table, saying that he had
made up his mind to get beyond the Spanish lines, somehow, and to
bring in a boatload of oranges, for the use of the women and
children who were suffering from scurvy, that he knew his
brother-in-law had any such idea in his mind.

"It is a very gallant attempt, Captain O'Halloran--although, of
course, I should not have permitted it to be made, had I been aware
of his intentions."

"Nor should I, sir," Captain O'Halloran said. "My wife is,
naturally, very much upset."

"That is natural enough," the governor said. "Still, she has every
reason to be proud of her brother. A man could risk his life for no
higher object than that for which Mr. Repton has undertaken this
expedition