with his musket at the French soldiers on the shore.
Twice his shots took effect; one man was wounded, and one killed.
Then whole companies of marines returned a musketry fire at him, to no
purpose. At his ease he hid himself in the long grass at the edge of the
cliff, and picked off two more men.

Here was a ridiculous thing: one man and a slip of a girl fighting and
defying a battle-ship. The smoke of battle covered miles of the great
gulf. Even the seabirds shrieked in ridicule.

This went on for three days at intervals. With a fine chagrin Richambeau
and his men saw a bright camp-fire lighted on the rock, and knew that
Ranulph and the girl were cooking their meals in peace. A flag-staff
too was set up, and a red cloth waved defiantly in the breeze. At last
Richambeau, who had watched the whole business from the deck of the
Victoire, burst out laughing, and sent for Elie Mattingley. "Come, I've
had enough," said Richambeau.

"There never was a wilder jest, and I'll not spoil the joke. He has us
on his toasting-fork. He shall have the honour of a flag of truce."

And so it was that the French battle-ship sent a flag of truce to the
foot of Perch Rock, and a French officer, calling up, gave his captain's
word of honour that Ranulph should suffer nothing at the hands of a
court-martial, and that he should be treated as an English prisoner of
war, not as a French deserter.

There was no court-martial. After Ranulph, at Richambeau's command, had
told the tale of the ascent, the Frenchman said:

"No one but an Englishman could be fool enough to try such a thing, and
none but a fool could have had the luck to succeed. But even a fool can
get a woman to follow him, and so this flyaway followed you, and--"

Carterette made for Richambeau as though to scratch his eyes out, but
Ranulph held her back. "--And you are condemned, gunner," continued
Richambeau dryly, "to marry the said maid before sundown, or be carried
out to sea a prisoner of war." So saying, he laughed, and bade them
begone to the wedding.

Ranulph left Richambeau's ship bewildered and perturbed. For hours he
paced the shore, and at last his thoughts began to clear. The new life
he had led during the last few months had brought many revelations. He
had come to realise that there are several sorts of happiness, but
that all may be divided into two kinds: the happiness of doing good to
ourselves, and that of doing good to others. It opened out clearly to
h