e that his jerkin was
darkened in one spot with blood.

"How do you want me to talk, then, eh?"

"Sir Godfrey?--Scarlett Markham? Where are they?"

"Escaped," said a gentleman lying by, with careless levity. "Run for
it--broken through your lines, and got clean away."

"Not they," said the tall Cavalier, warmly. "Sir Godfrey Markham was
not the man to leave his friends in the lurch; and as for my young
friend Scarlett, he would have stood by us to the end."

"But they are not here?" said Fred, anxiously.

"Here, sir? No. They must be with your other prisoners."

"Other prisoners?" faltered Fred, turning pale, as a horrible thought
assailed him, and he darted a frightened glance at the burning Hall;
"there are no other prisoners but these."

"What!" cried the Cavalier, starting to his feet, and then turning
faint, so that he would have fallen, but for Fred's arm. "Thank you, my
lad," he said frankly; "a little weak, I suppose. Yes; I will lie
down."

Fred helped him into a reclining position again upon the turf.

"Tell me all you know about them, sir," said Fred, going down on one
knee to help the wounded officer. "Scarlett and I used to be great
friends. Did they escape right away?"

The Cavalier seemed at first to be about to respond in his old careless,
bantering, half-mocking way, but as he saw the eagerness of manner, and
the anxiety in the lad's eyes, his manner changed.

This was no ruse, he saw; no cunning trick to find out which way the
Markhams had gone, but a true honest feeling for one who had been a
friend, but was now transformed by political troubles into an enemy.

"Shake hands," he said warmly. "I like you, boy. I'll tell you all I
know."

Fred eagerly took the prisoner's hand, as the others looked on
curiously, their assumption of carelessness gone, and a dull look of
despair making its appearance in their eyes and at the angles of their
mouths. And as Fred took that hand, it was cold and damp, and the grip
was feeble, as its owner said slowly--

"Sir Godfrey Markham and I divided our little force, after drawing lots
for choice; I won the choice, and selected the task of making the sally.
It would have been too irksome to me to stay behind a barrier and wait
to be attacked. I suppose you know--your people were too strong for us,
and we were beaten back, followed by your men, till we were all together
struggling in the dining-room, from there into the hall, and then on the