expression of
face.

"Well, you see, the sentry only passes us once to every twice he
passes the casemate in the middle, and has his back to us twice as
long at a time."

"I should not have thought of that," Stauffen said. "Yes, I can see
that if we were escaping through this door, which seems to me
impossible, that it would be an advantage;" and he glanced at his
companion, as if to say that there was more in this fortunate young
officer than they had thought.

Among the officers who had served throughout with Frederick, the
manner in which Fergus had gained his promotion was well known. His
rescue of Count Eulenfurst and his family was the general subject
of talk at Dresden, and even putting aside the gallantry of the
action, it was considered that the army in general were indebted to
him, for having saved them from the disgrace that would have
attached to them had this murderous outrage been carried out
successfully. The manner in which he had saved half the Prussian
cavalry from destruction, by his charge through the Austrian
squadron, had similarly been talked over, in every regiment engaged
at Lobositz. Those who had been at Zorndorf were cognizant of the
fact that he had gained his majority by saving the king's life, as
this had been mentioned in the general orders of the day.

The regiment, however, to which the two officers belonged had come
down from Berlin but six months before; and had formed a part of
the command of Prince Maurice until Frederick had returned from
Zorndorf, and had, with a portion of the force of Prince Maurice,
marched out to compel Daun to abandon his impregnable position at
Stolpen. They had not particularly observed Fergus on their journey
south; and when, during the last two or three days of the march,
they had noticed him, they had regarded him as some fortunate young
fellow who had, by royal favour, received extraordinary promotion,
and had been pushed up over the heads of older men simply from
favouritism. Thus their manner towards him had been even more stiff
and ceremonious than usual.

"Do you think, then," Stauffen said, "that there is any chance of
our making our escape?"

"Oh, I have not had time to think about it, yet!" Fergus laughed.
"There is generally a way, if one can but find it out; but I have
no doubt that it will take a good deal of thinking before we hit
upon it, and if it does nothing else for us, it will be an
amusement through the long evenings to have