father," Terence said, to turn the
conversation.

"Never was better in my life, lad, except that I am obliged to be
careful with my leg; but after all, it may be that, though it
seemed hard to me at the time, it is as well that I left the
regiment when I did. Quite half the officers have been killed,
since then. Vimiera accounted for some of them. Major Harrison went
there, and gave me my step. Talavera made several more vacancies,
and Salamanca cost us ten officers, including poor O'Driscoll. I am
lucky to have come off as well as I did. It did not seem a very
cheerful lookout, at first; but since this young woman arrived, and
took possession of me, I am as happy and contented as a man can
be."

"I deny altogether having taken possession of you, uncle. I let you
have your way very much, and only interfere for your own good."

"You will have another patient to look after now, dear, and to fuss
over."

"I will do my best," she said softly, leaning forward and putting
her hand on that of Terence. "I know that it will be terribly dull
for you, at first--after being constantly on the move for the last
five years, and always full of excitement and adventure--to have to
keep quiet and do nothing."

"I shall get on very well," he said. "Just as first, of course, I
shall not be able to get about very much, but I shall soon learn to
use my crutches; and I hope, before very long, to get a leg of some
sort; and I don't see why I should not be able to ride again, after
a bit. If I cannot do it any other way, I must take to a side
saddle. I can have a leg made specially for riding, with a crook at
the knee."

Mary laughed, while the tears came in her eyes.

"Why, bless me, Mary," he went on, "the loss of a leg is nothing,
when you are accustomed to it. I shall be able, as I have said, to
ride, drive, shoot, fish, and all sorts of things. The only thing
that I shall be cut off from, as far as I can see, is dancing; but
as I have never had a chance of dancing, since the last ball the
regiment gave at Athlone, the loss will not be a very grievous one.

"Look at O'Grady. There he is, much worse off than I am, as he has
no one to make any particular fuss about him. He is getting on
capitally and, indeed, stumped about the deck so much, coming home,
that the captain begged him to have a pad of leather put on to the
bottom of his leg, to save the decks. O'Grady is a philosopher, and
I shall try to follow his example."

"Why s