room was in
semi-darkness, one candle, along with the cards, having been upset
and knocked to the floor. Dick with uplifted cane stood over the
cowering Villecourt. Hearing the noise of the bursting door, and
doubtless thinking Villecourt's friends were coming to the rescue, he
wheeled and struck me a savage blow.

"How long I remained unconscious I do not know. I awoke with an aching
head on a pallet of filthy straw. The place I was in was in utter
darkness. I listened for any sound which might explain my situation.
The vile odours of a ship's hold, the sound of water, and a slight
sense of motion convinced me I was on shipboard! I felt in my pockets,
but they had been rifled!

"I fell asleep, or fainted, and was again awakened with an oath. I was
on board a ship bound from London to Norfolk, Virginia, and soon
learned that I not only was to work but would be sold on arrival there
for a sum equivalent to the cost of passage. How I toiled until I
secured my freedom!

"You know the rest, except my motive for not giving my full name. That
I scarcely know myself, but suppose shame at the condition in which I
found myself led me into the deception, and I adopted the first name
that suggested itself. Afterward, an explanation would have been
embarrassing and apparently of no value, yet I much regret the
mistake.

"What became of Dick Ralston I have never learned. He may have been
killed, and the crime laid at my door. The place he was in was one
convenient for such a crime. Had he lived I am sure he would have
prevented my being put aboard the ship, for he was as brave and loyal
to a friend as he was reckless. As for the name Allison, it is as
honourable as the other, and I intend now to retain it and hope you
will appreciate the wisdom of so doing.

"My life at times seems a failure, but that is when I am thinking of
the little of this world's gear I have accumulated for my family. In
you, beloved, and in our dear children, I am blessed beyond my
deserts. That you may forgive my unintentional deception, and never
have cause to suffer by reason of it, is my daily prayer. Believe me,
your affectionate husband,

"DAVID ALLISON."

CHAPTER XVIII

RODNEY RIDES WITH DISPATCHES

Rodney had been at home but a short time when he realized that
important events had occurred in his absence.

"Mother," he said one day, "it looks as though the king will have to