ated, he could not claim to have done more than any other man who
was with him, where all did so well; and to the end of his days, be they
many or few, one of the proudest recollections of his life would be that
of the couple of dozen or so of men who fought side by side with him,
against tremendous odds, to save their fellow-countrywomen from falling
into the barbarous hands of murderous and treacherous savages.

Roars of cheers greeted the closing of this speech; and then they fell
to the discussion of Jim Steele's notion. For the idea had caught on.
It was determined that those who had fought that day should form the
nucleus of a corps to take the field under Lamont and Peters, and that
the said corps should be known as Lamont's Tigers.

"Dat is a goot name," said Grunberger, nodding his head approvingly.
"We will now drink de health of Lamont's Tigers. Chentlemen, name your
drinks."

This announcement was received with great applause. Then, paper and pen
having been requisitioned, every man there put down his name, pledging
himself to serve in the corps and also to do all he could to induce
desirable men to join it too.

Lamont had left them after his address, and was now examining the
defences of the place. As he stood in the gathering darkness it was
with a strange tingle of the pulses that he reflected upon the scene he
had just left. This popularity to which he had thus suddenly sprung was
not a little strange, in fact it was a little aweing. In what light
would Clare Vidal view it? And then, at the thought of Clare, he felt
more than devoutly grateful that he had been the means of saving her
from a horrible death--and with it there intruded for the first time
another thought. Had he thus saved her for himself?

Yes. The frozen horror with which he had received the announcement that
morning, that she was advancing deeper and deeper into certain peril,
and causing him to lose sight of his own fatigue and recent hardships,
to start off then and there to her aid, had opened his eyes; but--was it
for good or for ill?

"There you are at last, Mr Lamont," said Clare, as he entered the
living-room of the place. "We have been wondering what had become of
you."

She was alone. There was a something in her tone, even in her look,
which he had not noticed before--a sort of gravity, as though the old
fun and brightness had taken to itself wings.

"I've been going around seeing to things. Where's Mrs Ful