The details of the proposed expedition being thus arranged, the captain
left the cabin with James, and the latter paced to and fro on the
quarterdeck, while the captain sent for the boatswain and directed him
to pick out four men who could swim well, and who were ready to
volunteer for desperate service.
While the captain was so engaged, James saw a naval officer staring
fixedly at him. He recognized him instantly, though more than four
years had elapsed since he had last seen him. He at once stepped across
the quarterdeck.
"How are you, Lieutenant Horton? It is a long time since we last parted
on the Potomac."
Horton would have refused the proffered hand, but he had already
injured himself very sorely, in the eyes of the squire, by his outburst
of ill feeling against James, so he shook hands and said coldly:
"Yes, your position has changed since then."
"Yes," James said with a laugh, "but that was only a temporary eclipse.
That two months before the mast was a sort of interlude for which I am
deeply thankful. Had it not been for my getting into that smuggling
scrape, I should have been, at the present moment, commencing practice
as a doctor, instead of being a captain in his majesty's service."
The words were not calculated to improve Horton's temper. What a
mistake he had made! Had he interfered on James Walsham's behalf--and a
word from him, saying that James was the son of a medical man, and was
assuredly mixed up in this smuggling affair only by accident--he would
have been released. He had not spoken that word, and the consequence
was, he had himself fallen into bad odour with the squire, and James
Walsham, instead of drudging away as a country practitioner, was an
officer of rank equal to himself, for he, as second lieutenant in the
Sutherland, ranked with a captain in the army.
Not only this, but whenever he went to Sidmouth he had heard how James
had been mentioned in the despatches, and how much he was
distinguishing himself. Everything seemed to combine against him. He
had hated James Walsham from the day when the latter had thrashed him,
and had acted as Aggie's champion against him. He had hated him more,
when he found Aggie installed as the squire's heiress, and saw how high
James stood in her good graces, and that he had been taken up by the
squire.
He had hoped that he had gained the advantage over him, when he had
come back a naval officer, while James was still a schoolboy, and had
kept aloof from the house while he devoted himself to the young
heiress. Everything had seemed going on well with his plans, until the
very circumstance which, at the time, seemed so opportune, namely, the
pressing James as a seaman on board the Thetis, had turned out so
disastrous. The letter, in which he had suffered his exultation to
appear, had angered the squire, had set Mrs. Walsham and her friend the
ex-sergeant against him, and had deeply offended Aggie. It had, too,
enabled the squire to take instant measures for procuring James's
discharge, and had now placed the latter in a position equal to his
own.
James, on his part, did not like Richard Horton, but he felt no active
animosity against him. He had got the best of it in that first quarrel
of theirs, and, although he had certainly felt very sore and angry, at
the time Richard was staying at the Hall, and seemed to have taken his
place altogether as Aggie's friend, this feeling had long since died
away, for he knew, from the letters of Mr. Wilks, that Aggie had no
liking whatever for Richard Horton.
"You were at Sidmouth in the spring, I heard," he said. "You found my
mother looking well, I hope?"
"Yes, I was there a fortnight before we sailed," Richard said. "I think
she was looking about as usual."
For a few minutes, they talked in a stiff and somewhat constrained
tone, for Richard could not bring himself to speak cordially to this
man, whom he regarded as a dangerous rival. Presently, the captain came
up to them.
"I have picked four volunteers for your work, Captain Walsham. They
were somewhat surprised, at first, to find that they were required for
a bout in a French prison; but sailors are always ready for any
hare-brained adventure, and they made no objection whatever, when I
explained what they would have to do. Next to fighting a Frenchman,
there's nothing a sailor likes so much as taking him in. Young
Middleton goes in command of the boat. He is a regular young pickle,
and is as pleased at the prospect as if a French prison were the most
amusing place in the world. He knows, of course, that there will be
some considerable danger of his being shot before he is taken prisoner;
but I need hardly say that the danger adds to the interest of the
scheme. It's a risky business you have undertaken, Captain Walsham,
terribly risky; but, if you succeed, you will have saved the expedition
from turning out a failure, and we shall all be under obligations to
you for the rest of our lives.
"Has Captain Walsham told you what he is undertaking, Mr. Horton?"
"No, sir."
"He is going to get taken prisoner, in the gig, in order that he may,
if possible, give the French the slip again, find out some way down
that line of cliffs, and so enable the general to get into the heart of
the French expedition. It is a grand scheme, but a risky one.
"The chances are a hundred to one against you, Captain Walsham."
"That is just what the general said," James replied, with a smile. "I
don't think, myself, they are more than five to one against me; but,
even if they were a thousand, it would be worth trying, for a thousand
lives would be cheaply sacrificed to ensure the success of this
expedition."
"There are not many men who would like to try it," the captain said. "I
say honestly I shouldn't, myself. Anything in the nature of duty,
whether it's laying your ship alongside a Frenchman of twice her weight
of metal, or a boat expedition to cut out a frigate from under the guns
of the battery, I should be ready to take my share in; but an
expedition like yours, to be carried out alone, in cold blood and in
the dark, I should have no stomach for. I don't want to discourage you,
and I honour your courage in undertaking it; but I am heartily glad
that the general did not propose to me, instead of to you, to undertake
it."
"You would have done it if he had, sir," James said, smiling, "and so
would any officer of this expedition. I consider myself most highly
honoured in the general entrusting me with the mission. Besides, you
must remember that it is not so strange, to me, as it would be to most
men. I have been for four years engaged in forest warfare, scouting at
night in the woods, and keeping my ears open to the slightest sound
which might tell of a skulking redskin being at hand. My eyes have
become so accustomed to darkness, that, although still very far short
of those of the Indians, I can see plainly where one unaccustomed to
such work would see nothing. I am accustomed to rely upon my own
senses, to step noiselessly, or to crawl along on the ground like an
Indian. Therefore, you see, to me this enterprise does not present
itself in the same light as it naturally would to you."
"You may make light of it," the captain said, "but it's a dangerous
business, look at it as you will. Well, if you go through it safely,
Captain Walsham, you will be the hero of this campaign."
Late in the afternoon the tide turned, and the vessels began to drift
up the river. The four sailors had, of course, mentioned to their
comrades the service upon which they were about to be engaged. The
captain had not thought it necessary to enjoin secrecy upon them, for
there was no communication with the shore, no fear of the knowledge
spreading beyond the ship; besides, the boat had to be damaged, and
this alone would tell the sailors, when she was lowered in the water,
that she was intended to be captured.
A marine was called up to where the captain's gig was hanging from the
davits. James pointed out a spot just below the waterline, and the man,
standing a yard or two away, fired at it, the ball making a hole
through both sides of the boat. Another shot was fired two or three
inches higher, and the four holes were then plugged up with oakum.
All was now in readiness for the attempt. James dined with Captain
Peters, the first lieutenant and four officers of the general's staff
being also present, General Wolfe himself being too ill to be at table,
and Admiral Holmes having, early in the morning, gone down the river to
confer with Admiral Saunders.
"I drink good health and a safe return to you, Captain Walsham, for our
sake as well as yours. As a general thing, when an officer is chosen
for dangerous service, he is an object of envy by all his comrades;
but, for once, I do not think anyone on board would care to undertake
your mission."
"Why, sir, your little midshipman is delighted at going with me. He and
I have been chatting the matter over, and he is in the highest glee."
"Ah! He has only got the first chance of being shot at," Captain Peters
said. "That comes in the line of duty, and I hope there isn't an
officer on board a ship but would volunteer, at once, for that service.
But your real danger only begins when his ends.
"By the way," he asked, as, after dinner was over, he was walking up
and down the quarterdeck, talking to James, "have you and Lieutenant
Horton met before? I thought you seemed to know each other when I came
up, but, since then I have noticed that, while all the other officers
of the ship have been chatting with you, he has kept aloof."
"We knew each other at home, sir," James said, "but we were never very
good friends. Our acquaintanceship commenced, when we were boys, with a
fight. I got the best of it, and Horton has never, I think, quite
forgiven me."
"I don't like the young fellow," Captain Peters said shortly. "I know
he was not popular in the Thetis, and they say he showed the white
feather out in the East. I wouldn't have had him on board, but the
first lord asked me, as a personal favour, to take him. I have had no
reason to complain of him, since he joined, but I know that he is no
more popular, among my other officers, than he was in the Thetis."
"I never heard a word against him, sir," James said earnestly. "His
uncle, Mr. Linthorne, has large estates near Sidmouth, and has been the
kindest friend to me and mine. At one time, it was thought that Horton
would be his heir, but a granddaughter, who had for years been missing,
was found; but still Horton will take, I should think, a considerable
slice of the property, and it would grieve the squire, terribly, if
Horton failed in his career. I think it's only a fault of manners, sir,
if I may say so, and certainly I myself know nothing whatever against
him."
"I don't know," Captain Peters replied thoughtfully. "Just before I
sailed, I happened to meet an old friend, and over our dinner I
mentioned the names of my officers. He told me he knew this Mr.
Linthorne well, and that Horton had gone to sea with him for the first
time as a midshipman, and that there was certainly something queer
about him as a boy, for Linthorne had specially asked him to keep his
eye upon him, and had begged him, frankly, to let him know how he
conducted himself. That rather set me against him, you know."
"I don't think that was anything," James urged. "I do not much like
Horton, but I should not like you to have a false impression of him. It
was a mere boyish affair, sir--in fact, it was connected with that
fight with me. I don't think he gave a very strictly accurate account
of it, and his uncle, who in some matters is very strict, although one
of the kindest of men, took the thing up, and sent him away to sea.
Horton was certainly punished severely enough, for that stupid
business, without its counting against him afterwards."
"I like the way you speak up in his defence, Captain Walsham,
especially as you frankly say you don't like him, and henceforth I will
dismiss the affair from my mind, but I should say that he has never
forgiven it, although you may have done so."
"That's natural enough," James laughed, "because I came best out of
it."
To Richard Horton, the news that James Walsham was about to undertake a
desperate enterprise, which, if he succeeded in it, would bring him
great honour and credit, was bitter in the extreme, and the admiration
expressed by the other officers, at his courage in undertaking it,
added to his anger and disgust. He walked moodily up and down the
quarterdeck all the afternoon, to think the matter over, and at each
moment his fury increased. Could he in any way have put a stop to the
adventure, he would instantly have done so, but there was no possible
way of interfering.
The thought that annoyed him most was of the enthusiasm with which the
news of the successful termination of the enterprise would be received
at Sidmouth. Already, as he knew, Aggie regarded James as a hero, and
the squire was almost as proud of his mention in despatches as if he
had been his own son; but for this he cared but little. It was Aggie's
good opinion Richard Horton desired to gain. James Walsham still
thought of her as the girl of twelve he had last seen, but Richard
Horton knew her as almost a woman, and, although at first he had
resolved to marry her as his uncle's heiress, he now really cared for
her for herself.
On the visit before James had left home, Richard had felt certain that
his cousin liked him; but, since that time, he had not only made no
progress, but he felt that he had lost rather than gained ground. The
girl was always friendly with him, but it was the cool friendliness of
a cousin, and, somehow, Richard instinctively felt James Walsham was
the cause.
In vain he had angrily told himself that it was absurd to suppose that
his cousin could care for this fellow, whom she had only seen as an
awkward boy, who had been content to stop away from the house, and
never go near her for weeks. Still, though he told himself it was
absurd, he knew that it was so. When the conversation happened to turn
upon James, she seldom took any part in it; but Richard knew that it
was not from indifference as to the subject. There was a soft flush on
her cheek, a light in her eyes, which he had never been able to call
up; and, many a time, he had ground his teeth in silent rage, when the
squire and Mr. Wilks were discussing the news received in James's last
letter, and expressing their hopes that, ere long, he would be back
from foreign service.
Although by no means fond of encountering danger, Richard felt that he
would gladly pick an open quarrel with the man he regarded as his
rival, and shoot him like a dog--for in those days, duels were matters
of everyday occurrence--but there was no possibility of doing this, at
the present juncture; and, moreover, he knew that this would be the
worst possible way of ridding himself of him; for, were James to fall
by his hands, his chances of winning Aggie would be hopelessly
extinguished.
"No," he said to himself, "that is out of the question; but I will do
something. Come what may, he shall never go back to Sidmouth."
The squadron drifted up beyond Cap Rouge, and anchored, at the top of
the flood, an hour before daybreak. The gig was lowered, and James
Walsham, amid many good wishes and hearty farewells from the officers,
took his place in her, by the side of the midshipman.
"Look out for my signal," he said. "Any time, after today, you may see
it."
"We will see it if you make it, my boy," said the captain, who had come
on deck to see him off. "Don't you fear about that. If you make your
signal, you may rely upon it, our boat will be ashore for you that
night."
Another moment, and the boat pulled away from the side of the ship.
"Take it easy, lads," young Middleton said, "only just dip your oars in
the water. We have but three miles to row, with the stream, and don't
want to be there till the day begins to show."
The oars had been muffled, and, noiselessly, the boat dropped down the
stream, until she neared Cap Rouge, then they rowed in towards the
French shore. The day was just beginning to break, in the east, as they
neared the spot where the French camp was situated. It stood high up on
the plateau; but there were a small number of tents on the low ground,
by the river, as some batteries had been erected here. They were but
two hundred yards from the shore when a French sentry challenged. They
gave no answer, and the soldier at once fired.
"Keep about this distance out," James ordered. "Row quietly. I will
stand up, as if I were watching the shore."
As soon as the shot was fired, it was answered by shots from other
sentries. A minute later, a drum was heard to beat sharply, and then,
in the faint light, a number of French soldiers could be seen, running
at full speed towards the shore. The shots fell thickly round the boat,
and one of the men dropped his oar, as a bullet struck him on the
shoulder.
"Pull out the plugs," James said.
The oakum was pulled out and thrown overboard, and the water rushed in.
"Now turn her head from the shore, as if we were trying to escape."
So rapidly did the water rush in through the four holes that, in a
minute, the gunwale was nearly level with the water.
"Turn her over now," James said, and in a moment the boat was upset,
and the men clinging to the bottom.
A shout of exultation rose from the shore, as the boat was seen to
upset, and the firing at once ceased.
"Swim towards the shore, and push the boat before you," the young
midshipman said. "They won't fire any more now, and we have finished
the first part of our business."
Pushing the boat before them, the men made their way slowly towards the
shore, striking the land half a mile below the point where they had
overturned. The French soldiers had followed them down the bank, and
surrounded them as they landed. The holes in the boat explained for
themselves the cause of the disaster.
An officer stepped forward.
"You are our prisoners," he said to James.
The latter bowed.
"It is the fortune of war," he said. "Your men are better shots than I
gave them credit for," and he pointed to the holes in the boat.
He spoke in English, but the officer guessed his meaning.
Some of the Indians and Canadians soon came flocking down, and, with
angry gestures, demanded that the prisoners should be shot; but the
French officer waived them off, and placed a strong guard of his own
men around them, to prevent their being touched by the Indians. The
young midshipman spoke French fluently, having been specially selected
by the captain for that reason; but it had been agreed, between him and
James, that he should not betray his knowledge of the language, as he
might, thereby, pick up information which might be useful.
They were at once conducted before Bougainville.
"Do you speak French?" he asked.
James shook his head. The midshipman looked as if he had not understood
the question.
"It is clear," the French officer said to those standing around him,
"that they came in to reconnoitre the landing place, and thought, in
the dim light, they could run the gauntlet of our sentries' fire. It
was more accurate than they gave them credit for."
"The boat was struck twice, you say?"
"Yes, general," the officer who conducted them into the tent replied.
"Two balls right through her, and one of the men was hit on the
shoulder."
"The reconnaissance looks as if Wolfe meant to attempt a landing here,"
Bougainville said. "We must keep a sharp lookout. I will send them on
to Quebec, for the general to question them. He will find someone there
who speaks their language. I will send, at once, to tell him we have
captured them. But I can't very well do so, till we have a convoy
going, with regulars to guard it. If they were to go in charge of
Canadians, the chances of their arriving alive in Quebec would be
slight.
"Let the sailors be placed in a tent in your lines, Chateaudun, and
place a sentry over them, to see that the Indians don't get at them.
The two officers can have the tent that Le Boeuf gave up yesterday. You
can put a sentry there, but they can go in and out as they like. There
is no fear of their trying to escape; for, if they once went outside
the lines of the regulars, the Indians and Canadians would make short
work of them."
The officer led James and the midshipman to a tent in the staff lines,
whose owner had ridden to Quebec, on the previous night, with
despatches, and motioned to them that it was to be theirs. He also made
signs to them that they could move about as they chose; but
significantly warned them, by a gesture, that if they ventured beyond
the tents, the Indians would make short work of them.
For a time, the prisoners made no attempt to leave the tent, for the
Indians stood scowling at a short distance off, and would have entered,
had not the sentry on duty prevented them from doing so.
"Do not talk too loudly," James said. "It is probable that, in a camp
like this, there is someone who understands English. Very likely they
are playing the same game with us that we are with them. They pretend
there is no one who can speak to us; but, very likely, there may be
someone standing outside now, trying to listen to what we say."
Then, raising his voice he went on:
"What abominable luck I have! Who could have reckoned upon the boat
being hit, twice, at that distance? I thought we had fairly succeeded.
The general will be in a nice way, when he finds we don't come back."
"Yes," Middleton rejoined, "and to think that we are likely to spend
the winter in prison, at Quebec, instead of Old England. I am half
inclined to try and escape!"
"Nonsense!" James replied. "It would be madness to think of such a
thing. These Indians can see in the dark, and the moment you put your
foot outside the lines of these French regulars, you would be carried
off and scalped. No, no, my boy; that would be simply throwing away our
lives. There is nothing for it, but to wait quietly, till either Wolfe
takes Quebec, or you are exchanged."
The prisoners were treated with courtesy by the French officers, and
comfortable meals were provided. In the evening, they went outside the
tent for a short time, but did not venture to go far, for Indians were
still moving about, and the hostile glances, which they threw at the
prisoners, were sufficient to indicate what would happen to the latter,
if they were caught beyond the protection of the sentry.
"Bougainville was right in supposing that prisoners would not be likely
to attempt to escape," James said, in a low voice. "The look of those
Indians would be quite sufficient to prevent anyone from attempting it,
under ordinary circumstances. It is well that my business will take me
down the river towards Quebec, while they will make sure that I shall
have made up the river, with a view of making my way off to the ships,
the next time they go up above Cap Rouge."
"It will be risky work getting through them," the midshipman remarked;
"but all the same, I wish I was going with you, instead of having to
stick here in prison."
"It would be running too great a risk of spoiling my chance of
success," James said. "I am accustomed to the redskins, and can crawl
through them as noiselessly as they could themselves. Besides, one can
hide where two could not. I only hope that, when they find I have gone,
they won't take it into their heads to revenge my escape upon you."
"There is no fear of that," the midshipman said. "I shall be sound
asleep in the tent, and when they wake me up, and find you are gone, I
shall make a tremendous fuss, and pretend to be most indignant that you
have deserted me."
The two prisoners had eaten but little of the meals served to them that
day, putting the greater portion aside, and hiding it in the straw
which served for their beds, in order that James might take with him a
supply, for it might be three or four days before he could be taken off
by the ships' boats.
"I suppose you won't go very far tonight?" the midshipman said,
suddenly.
"No," James replied. "I shall hide somewhere along the face of the
cliff, a mile or so away. They are not likely to look for me down the
river at all; but, if they do, they will think I have gone as far as I
can away, and the nearer I am to this place, the safer."
"Look here," the midshipman said. "I am going strictly to obey orders;
but, at the same time, it is just possible that something may turn up
that you ought to know, or that might make me want to bolt. Suppose,
for instance, I heard them say that they meant to shoot us both in the
morning--it's not likely, you know; still, it's always as well to be
prepared for whatever might happen--if so, I should crawl out of camp,
and make my way along after you. And if so, I shall walk along the
edge, and sometimes give two little whistles like this; and, if you
hear me, you answer me."
"Don't be foolish, Middleton," James said seriously. "You would only
risk your life, and mine, by any nonsense of that sort. There can't be
any possible reason why you should want to go away. You have undertaken
to carry this out, knowing that you would have, perhaps, to remain a
prisoner for some time; and having undertaken it, you must keep to the
plans laid down."
"But I am going to, Captain Walsham. Still, you know, something might
turn up."
"I don't see that anything possibly could turn up," James insisted;
"but, if at any future time you do think of any mad-brained attempt of
escaping, you must take off your shoes, and you must put your foot
down, each time, as gently as if the ground were covered with nails;
for, if you were to tread upon a twig, and there were an Indian within
half a mile of you, he would hear it crack. But don't you attempt any
such folly. No good could possibly come of it, and you would be sure to
fall into the hands of the savages or Canadians; and you know how they
treat prisoners."
"I know," the boy said; "and I have no wish to have my scalp hanging up
in any of their wigwams."
It was midnight, before the camp was perfectly still, and then James
Walsham quietly loosened one of the pegs of the canvas, at the back of
the tent, and, with a warm grasp of the midshipman's hand, crawled out.
The lad listened attentively, but he could not hear the slightest
sound. The sentinel was striding up and down in front of the tent,
humming the air of a French song as he walked. Half an hour passed
without the slightest stir, and the midshipman was sure that James was,
by this time, safely beyond the enemy's camp.
He was just about to compose himself to sleep, when he heard a
trampling of feet. The sentry challenged, the password was given, and
the party passed on towards the general's tent. It was some thirty
yards distant, and the sentry posted there challenged.
"I wonder what's up?" the midshipman said to himself; and, lifting the
canvas, he put his head out where James had crawled through.
The men had halted before the general's tent, and the boy heard the
general's voice, from inside the tent, ask sharply, "What is it?"
"I regret to disturb you, Monsieur le General; but we have here one of
the Canadian pilots, who has swam ashore from the enemy's fleet higher
up the river, and who has important news for you."
The midshipman at once determined to hear what passed. He had already
taken off his shoes; and he now crawled out from the tent, and, moving
with extreme caution, made his way round to the back of the general's
tent, just as the latter, having thrown on his coat and lighted a
candle, unfastened the entrance. The midshipman, determined to see as
well as hear what was going on, lifted up the flap a few inches behind,
and, as he lay on the ground, peered in. A French officer had just
entered, and he was followed by a Canadian, whom the midshipman
recognized at once, as being the one who piloted the Sutherland up and
down the river.
"Where do you come from?" Bougainville asked.
"I swam ashore two hours ago from the English ship Sutherland," the
Canadian said.
"How did you manage to escape?"
"I would have swam ashore long ago, but at night I have always been
locked up, ever since I was captured, in a cabin below. Tonight the
door opened quietly, and someone came in and said:
"'Hush!--can you swim?'
"'Like a fish,' I said.
"'Are you ready to try and escape, if I give you the chance?'
"'I should think so,' I replied.
"'Then follow me, but don't make the slightest noise.'
"I followed him. We passed along the main deck, where the sailors were
all asleep in their hammocks. A lantern was burning here, and I saw, by
its light, that my conductor was an officer. He led me along till we
entered a cabin--his own, I suppose.
"'Look,' he whispered, 'there is a rope from the porthole down to the
water. If you slide quietly down by it, and then let yourself drift
till you are well astern of the ship, the sentry on the quarterdeck
will not see you. Here is a letter, put it in your cap. If you are
fired at, and a boat is lowered to catch you, throw the paper away at
once. Will you swear to do that?'
"I said I would swear by the Virgin.
"'Very well,' he went on; 'if you get away safely and swim to shore,
make your way without a minute's delay to the French camp at Cap Rouge,
and give this letter to the general. It is a matter of the most extreme
importance.'
"This is the letter, general."
He handed a small piece of paper, tightly folded up, to Bougainville,
who opened it, and read it by the light of the candle.
He gave a sharp exclamation.
"Quick!" he exclaimed. "Come along to the tent of the prisoners. I am
warned that the capture was a ruse, and that the military officer is a
spy, whose object here is to discover a landing place. He is to escape
the first opportunity."
The three men at once ran out from the tent. The instant they did so,
the midshipman crawled in under the flap, rushed to the table on which
the general had thrown the piece of paper, seized it, and then darted
out again, and stole quietly away in the darkness. He had not gone
twenty yards, when a volley of angry exclamations told him that the
French general had discovered that the tent was empty.
The night was a dark one, and to prevent himself from falling over tent
ropes, the midshipman threw himself down and crawled along on his hands
and knees, but he paused, before he had gone many yards, and listened
intently. The general was returning to his tent.
"It is no use doing anything tonight," he said. "Even an Indian could
not follow the track of a waggon. At daybreak, Major Dorsay, let the
redskins know that the prisoners have escaped, and offer a reward of
fifty crowns for their recapture, dead or alive--I care not which. Let
this good fellow turn in at the guard tent. I will talk to him in the
morning. Good night!"
The midshipman kept his eyes anxiously on the dim light that could be
faintly seen through the tent. If the general missed the paper, he
might guess that it had been taken by the fugitives, and might order an
instant search of the camp. He gave a sigh of relief, when he saw the
light disappear the moment the French officer had entered the tent, and
then crawled away through the camp.