"but, though I was awfully sorry such a thing should happen to an
officer of the Sutherland, I was obliged to refuse to do so, as I
thought it was my duty to hand the note to you."

"Certainly it was, Mr. Middleton," the admiral said. "There can be no
question about that."

"I wonder that you even suggested such a thing, Captain Walsham," the
general remarked. "This was not a private affair. The whole success of
the enterprise was jeopardized."

"It was, sir," James said quietly; "but you must remember that, at the
time I asked Mr. Middleton to tear up the note, it had ceased to be
jeopardized, for I had got fairly away. I am under great obligations to
Mr. Linthorne, and would do much to save him pain. I regarded this act,
not as one of treason against the country, but as one of personal
enmity to myself, and I am sure that Lieutenant Horton, himself, did
not think of the harm that his letter might do to the cause, but was
blinded by his passion against me."

"Your conduct does credit to your heart, Captain Walsham, if not to
your head," General Wolfe said.

The admiral rang the bell.

"Tell Lieutenant Horton that I wish to speak to him, and order a
corporal, with a file of marines, to be at the door."

The messenger found Lieutenant Horton pacing the quarterdeck with
hurried steps. On the receipt of the message, instead of going directly
to the admiral's cabin, he ran down below, caught something from a
shelf by his berth, placed it in the breast of his coat, and then went
to the admiral's cabin. The corporal, with the two marines, had already
taken his station there. The young officer drew a deep breath, and
entered.

A deadly fear had seized him, from the moment he saw the signal of
James Walsham, although it seemed impossible to him that his treachery
could have been discovered. The sudden summons at this hour of the
night confirmed his fears, and it was with a face almost as pale as
death that he entered the cabin.

"Lieutenant Horton," the admiral said, "you are accused of having
assisted in the escape of the pilot, who was our prisoner on board this
ship. You are further accused of releasing him with the special purpose
that the plans which General Wolfe had laid, to obtain information,
might be thwarted."

"Who accuses me?" Richard Horton asked. "Captain Walsham is my enemy.
He has for years intrigued against me, and sought to do me harm. He was
the companion of smugglers, and was captured by the