But he smiled one of those smiles
of his, and I got right over it.
"Dear little lady," he said, "I wonder if there is any tea left for me?"
Was there! I should think so; and I thought to myself, as I led the way
into the dining-room, that he was probably just as hungry as his men.
While I was making a fresh brew he said to me:--
"You must forgive my giving my men Hades right before you, but they
deserved it, and know it, and under the circumstances I imagine they did
not mind taking it. I did not mean you to give them a party, you know.
Why, if the major had ridden up that hill--and he might have--and seen
that party inside your garden, I should have lost my commission and
those boys got the guardhouse. These men are on active service."
Then, while he drank his tea, he told me why he felt a certain
indulgence for them--these boys who were hurried away from England
without having a chance to take leave of their families, or even to warn
them that they were going.
"This is the first time that they have had a chance to talk to a woman
who speaks their tongue since they left England; I can't begrudge it to
them and they know it.
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