n hospital. Duncombe's a bit uneasy about him. I'm going on again to
see him. Will you come?"

"Of course," I said eagerly.

"Come along, then. We'll take the lamp, or some sentry may be popping
at us."

"The wind will puff it out in that narrow passage."

"Not as I shall carry it," replied my companion; and he led off, with
his broad-brimmed felt held over the flickering wick, in and out among
the fallen stones between the walls, nearly to the other side of the
court. Here another covered-in patch had been turned into a fairly snug
hospital by hanging up two wagon-tilts twenty feet apart, after clearing
away the loose stones; and a certain number of fairly comfortable beds
had been made of the captured corn-sacks.

On reaching the first great curtain Denham called upon me to hold it
aside, as his hands were full; and as I did so I caught sight, on the
right-hand side, of our doctor down on one knee and bending over his
patient, whose face could be seen by the light of a lantern placed upon
a stone, while his voice sounded plainly, as if he were replying to
something the surgeon had said.

"Only me, Duncombe," said Denham. "Just come to see how Wren is."

"Better, thank goodness," said the doctor. "He seemed to come-to about
five minutes ago."

"I am glad, Wren," said Denham, setting down the lamp beside the
lantern.

"Thank ye, sir," said the poor fellow, smiling. "Moray's come with me
to look you up." The wounded man looked pleased to see me, and then his
face puckered up as he turned his eyes again to the doctor and said:

"I don't mind the crack on the head, sir, a bit. Soldiers deal in hard
knocks, and they must expect to get some back in return. I know I've
given plenty. It's being such a soft worries me."

"Well, don't let it worry you. Help me by taking it all coolly, and
I'll soon get you well again."

"That you will, sir. I know that," said the man gently. "But I feel as
if I should like to tell the Colonel that I was trying to do my duty."

"He doesn't want telling that, Sam," said Denham. "Of course you were."

"But I oughtn't to have been such a fool, sir--such a soft Tommy of a
fellow. I knew he was a humbug; but he looked so bad, and pulled such a
long face, that I didn't like to be hard. `Here, sentry,' he says, as
he sat up with his back to the wall, just after you'd gone, `this right
leg's gone all dead again. It's strained and wrenched through the horse
lying upon i