d to see you,
indeed, but you are the last person in the world I should have
thought of meeting here in London."

"You thought I was in a hut, made as wind tight as possible, before
the cold set in, in earnest. So I should have been, with six months
of a dull life before me, if it had not been for Sir Marmaduke's
letter. Directly my father read it through to me he said:

"'Get your valises packed at once, Harry. I will go to the colonel
and get your leave granted. Charlie may have to go into all sorts
of dens, in search of this scoundrel, and it is better to have two
swords than one in such places. Besides, as you know the fellow's
face you can aid in the search, and are as likely to run against
him as he is. His discovery is as important to us as it is to him,
and it may be the duke will be more disposed to interest himself,
when he sees the son of his old friend, than upon the strength of a
letter only.'

"You may imagine I did not lose much time. But I did not start,
after all, until the next morning, for when the colonel talked it
over with my father, he said:

"'Let Harry wait till tomorrow. I shall be seeing the king this
evening. He is always interested in adventure, and I will tell him
the whole story, and ask him to write a few lines, saying that
Harry and Carstairs are young officers who have borne themselves
bravely, and to his satisfaction. It may help with the duke, and
will show, at any rate, that you have both been out here, and not
intriguing at Saint Germains.'

"The colonel came in, late in the evening, with a paper, which the
king had told Count Piper to write and sign, and had himself put
his signature to it. I have got it sewn up in my doublet, with my
father's letter to Marlborough. They are too precious to lose, but
I can tell you what it is, word for word:

"'By order of King Charles the Twelfth of Sweden. This is to
testify, to all whom it may concern, that Captain Charles
Carstairs, and Captain Harry Jervoise--'"

"Oh, I am glad, Harry!" Charlie interrupted. "It was horrid that I
should have been a captain, for the last year, and you a
lieutenant. I am glad, indeed."

"Yes, it is grand, isn't it, and very good of the king to do it
like that. Now, I will go on--

"'Have both served me well and faithfully during the war, showing
great valour, and proving themselves to be brave and honourable
gentlemen, as may be seen, indeed, from the rank that they, though
young in years, have both