e name of that officer?" inquired Zulma.

"I do not know him, but I believe they call him Campbell."

"Coward, if not a traitor," exclaimed the girl, rising from her seat and
exhibiting her scorn by a strange contraction of features.

Whatever the cause, the conduct of Campbell was inexplicable. There
appears no doubt that he could have continued the assault successfully
after Montgomery's death, and it is more than probable that his triumph
would have insured that of Arnold. But there is no use speculating on
this. A great commander has said that war is largely made up of
accidents, favourable and unfavourable.

V.

THE INVALID.

Batoche displayed his usual foresight when he predicted that the
garrison of Quebec would soon slacken its vigilance. Arnold with the
small remnant of his shattered forces gave up all attempt at a complete
investment, but confined himself to an alert blockade. He burned the
houses in the suburbs that interfered with his plan of operations. On
his side, Carleton made a sortie or two to burn the rest of the houses
in St. Roch's, with the double purpose of clearing the spaces before his
guns and supplying the town with fire-wood, which was getting short.
With his two thousand men he could easily have pounced upon the five or
six hundred Americans and routed or captured them, thus effectually
raising the siege, but for some reason or other, which has never been
satisfactorily explained, he preferred to pursue the Fabian policy, and
trust to the return of spring and the arrival of reinforcements from the
sea for ultimate deliverance. He kept his troops well in hand, but it
was natural with the weary length of the siege and the long inaction
which followed the attack on New Year's eve, his men should get more or
less demoralized. The desertion mentioned in the preceding chapter was
followed by many others, especially of American soldiers whom he had
unwisely enlisted in one of his corps, instead of keeping them rigidly
as prisoners.

These men seized every opportunity to escape, and through them Arnold
soon became acquainted with all that was going on within the town. Among
these sources of information were long letters written by his captive
officers, in one of which it was stated that Captain Singleton's wound
having induced a serious inflamation of the lungs, he had been allowed
to be transported to the house of a private family. When Batoche became
possessed of this important int