FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129  
130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>   >|  
were called upon to predict what your fate is likely to be. It seems to me that you have an equal chance of becoming a French marshal, or being broken on the wheel. Here you are, not yet seventeen. You have, as I doubt not, somewhat interfered with the king's plans, and caused him the loss of one of his personal friends. You have twice rescued a noble lady from the hands of her abductors. You have brought disgrace and death upon a member of one of the most powerful families in France. You have earned the gratitude and friendship of one of the leading nobles of Southern France, that of the fiance of his daughter, and of the daughter herself. As soon as this affair spreads abroad, you will be the object of general remark and attention. You have rendered the regiment to which you belong proud of you, its junior ensign, and made Paris emphatically too hot to hold you. "If all this is done before you are seventeen, what may we expect when another ten years have passed over your head?" "You had better wait for the ten years to pass, O'Neil," Desmond laughed; "by which time, perhaps, you and O'Sullivan will both have learned wisdom, and will see that, because a man happens to have gone through a very exciting adventure without discredit, it by no means proves him to be anything in the smallest degree out of the way." Chapter 8: To Scotland. Two days later the regiment was paraded, but no order had been received for their start, and their destination was still uncertain. The officers stood in a group, awaiting the arrival of the colonel, who entered, accompanied by Colonel Wauchop and several other Irish officers. As there had been no notice of an official inspection, there was a general feeling of surprise at the appearance of the visitors. The colonel rode up to the group of officers. "Gentlemen," he said, "I must ask you all to accompany me to the common room. I have news of importance to give you." He and those with him dismounted, and, followed by the wondering officers of the regiment, went into the large room where they gathered in the evening. "The news that I am about to give you is of an important and happy nature. His Most Gracious Majesty has decided to send an expedition to Scotland, where the whole country is ready to rise in favour of our lawful king." A cheer broke from his hearers. "Many Scottish and Irish gentlemen," the colonel went on, "have been selected to accompany it. Among
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129  
130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
officers
 

regiment

 

colonel

 

daughter

 

France

 
accompany
 
Scotland
 

general

 
seventeen
 

Wauchop


selected

 

Colonel

 
accompanied
 

arrival

 
entered
 

appearance

 
visitors
 
surprise
 

gentlemen

 

notice


official

 

inspection

 

feeling

 

awaiting

 

French

 

paraded

 

Chapter

 

marshal

 

uncertain

 

destination


received

 
chance
 

Gentlemen

 

nature

 

important

 
gathered
 

evening

 
Gracious
 

Majesty

 
country

favour
 

expedition

 
lawful
 
decided
 

common

 

predict

 
importance
 

Scottish

 
hearers
 

called