nothing about it; and the
marshal forbade me to speak to you, when you were brought in last
night. He merely said that you had done a very gallant action."

"There was nothing very gallant in it, Lindsay; but it turned out
very fortunate."

Then he gave a very brief account of the previous evening's events.

"Well I should call that a gallant action, Drummond, if you don't.
It is no joke for one man to tackle six, and those not ordinary
marauders but Pomeranian soldiers. Of course, it was somewhat lucky
that you had rid yourself of three of them, before the other three
entered the room; and had it not been, as you say, for that girl,
things might have turned out differently. Still, that does not
affect the matter. It was a gallant business.

"What happened when you came in?"

"I don't know much about what happened. At first I made some sort
of report to the marshal, and then I believe I fainted. When I came
to, I found that they had bandaged up my shoulder, and poured some
wine down my throat. I felt very shaky at first, but I know that I
drank some wine, and was then able to give some sort of account of
what had happened. The king was there, then, and asked me
questions; but whether or not he was there, at first, I cannot say.
I have a vague idea that he told the marshal, too, that he promoted
me; but I am not quite sure about that, nor do I know how I got
here."

"Well, if you are not mistaken about your step, I congratulate you
most heartily. It is seldom, indeed, that anyone gains one in six
weeks after his first appointment. I thought myself lucky, indeed,
in getting it after serving only two years and a half; but I got it
simply on nomination as one of the marshal's aides-de-camp. It is
customary to get promotion, on such appointment, if there has been
two or three years' previous service.

"Well, you have drawn the first blood in this campaign, Drummond;
and have not been long in giving very striking proof that your
month's hard work in the fencing school has not been thrown away."

The conversation was broken off by the entry of the marshal,
himself.

"Pooh, pooh, Fergus!" he said, as the latter rose, "there is no
occasion for saluting in a bedroom. I am glad to see you looking so
much better. You could not have looked more ghastly, when you came
in yesterday evening, if you had been your own wraith.

"There, lad," he said, handing him a parchment. "It is not usual to
have a new commission on promo