e palace, and hold it while a troop of
lancers stayed back to help preserve order in the town.

An hour later, they were forming a marching column to go out and give
battle to the rajah and his force, which lay, according to spies, ten
miles away, holding a patch of forest beyond the swift river which ran
from there to this town.

"Which will you do, Gil?" said my father; "come with me, or stay with
the major who is in command here?"

"I want to go back to my troop," I said sharply; and as I spoke, Brace,
who had before met me that morning, came in looking very careworn, and
with his uniform almost in rags.

"Ah, well," said my father; "here is your captain."

I hesitated for a moment, and then walked across to Brace, who moved
away to one of the windows.

"You wish to speak to me, sir?" he said coldly.

"Of course I do," I cried passionately; "why are you so ready to condemn
me unheard?"

"Say what you wish to say; we march in five minutes," he replied.

I could not speak, for the hot sensation of indignation which burned
within me.

"You are silent," he said, with a contemptuous shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, I am not surprised. I was making every effort possible, as soon
as I heard through spies that you were alive, to rescue you; but when--"

"Well, when what?" I said indignantly.

"Since you take that tone, sir," he retorted, "when I had the news
brought to me that you were perfectly unhurt, and had accepted service
with the rajah as his chief officer of artillery, why then of course I
gave you up."

"Who told you that?" I said hotly.

"One of the spies I sent in," he replied coldly.

"It was not true."

"Not true?" said Brace, bitterly. "Your appearance belies your words,
sir. Why, were you not occupying rooms in the rajah's palace?"

"Yes; as a prisoner," I said angrily.

Brace laughed mockingly.

"A prisoner in a newly designed artillery uniform, and wearing a
magnificent sword and belts, evidently presented by the rajah, I did not
know Ny Deen treated his prisoners so well; I thought he murdered them
at once."

I tried to speak, but for some moments no words would come, and it was
he who spoke first.

"Well," he said, "have you anything to say?"

"Yes," I said; "I want to come back into the troop. Can I have a
horse?"

"I have no means of looking after prisoners, sir," he said. "You can
only join your troop as a captured rebel against your queen."

I turned away, and foun