"
"Ransom don't know his advantages. This is pleasant, Daisy.
Now let us see. What were you and I about?"
"You were telling me something, Captain Drummond."
"What was it? Oh, I know. Daisy, you are under arrest, you
know, and sentenced to extra duty. The work you are to
perform, is to gather as many of these little pebbles together
— these white ones — as you can in five minutes."
Daisy went to work; so did the Captain; and very busy they
were, for the Captain gathered as many pebbles as she did. He
made her fetch them to a place where the little beach was
clean and smooth, and in the shadow of an overhanging tree
they both sat down. Then the Captain, throwing off his cap,
began arranging the white pebbles on the sand in some
mysterious manner — lines of them here and lines of them there
— whistling as he worked. Daisy waited with curious patience;
watched him closely, but never asked what he was doing. At
last he stopped, looked up at her, and smiled.
"Well! —" he said.
"What is it all, Captain Drummond?"
"This is your story, Daisy."
"My story!"
"Yes. Look here — these rows of white stones are the Russians;
— these brown stones are the English," said he, beginning to
marshal another set into mysterious order some distance from
the white stones.
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