hero, for he'll have done the finest
thing he ever did in his life."

"Oh, nonsense, Ben! You and all of you must mind the poor old fellow
does nothing foolish."

Ben growled and shook his head, for his ideas were not at all in
accordance with his young master's.

"You need not look so sour, Ben," Roy hastened to say. "Master Pawson
will get his deserts some day."

"Yes, sir," said the old soldier, sourly; "his sort generally seem to in
this precious world. His deserts seem to be your father's fine old
property to wallow in, and get fatter and rounder-faced every day. He'd
better not go and sit and read big books belonging to your father atop
of either of the towers when I'm nigh, sir, for I'll pitch him off as
sure as he plays the fiddle."

The men laughed.

"Oh, you may grin," said Ben, "but I mean it. You know, I s'pose,
Master Roy, as they've emptied his room and carried everything into your
father's library,--fiddle and all. Oh, how I should like to smash that
caterwaulin' thing!"

"I did not know it, Ben," said Roy, thoughtfully. "I keep away from
there as much as I can. But I say, Ben," he continued, smiling, as he
laid his hand upon the old soldier's knee, "your wound is hurting you a
good deal to-day."

"Awful, my lad, awful; it's getting better, but it feels as if a hungry
dog was gnawing the bone."

"I thought so."

"Why, how did you know, my lad?" said Ben, innocently.

"Only by your manner. But look here," continued Roy, "I want very badly
to see that place where the enemy got in."

"Ay, and so do I, sir. I've lain awake at nights with that place
worrying me more than my big chop as ought to ha' been well by this
time. I don't understand it yet, only I expect as he let 'em in. So he
filled all the long underground passages with the men, and got 'em there
ready to go up the towers when the signal was given? I daresay he give
it with his miserable squeak of a pipe."

"I'm going to ask General Hepburn to let me see the place."

"And he won't let you, of course. You'll have to give the sentries
something, and perhaps they may."

"No; I'm not going to do anything underhanded, Ben. I shall ask the
general himself."

"Oh come, I like that, sir," said Ben, derisively. "He didn't do
anything underhanded along with Fiddler Pawson, did he?"

"Wound shooting, Ben?" said Roy, drily.

The old soldier chuckled, and the boy rose and went straight to the
general's snug quarters in a