d knelt in
overwhelming gratitude to thank the God they worshipped for the mercy
vouchsafed to those so near to them. He--the two-faced villain--held in
his pocket at that moment the letter with which he meant to crush the
woman who had dared to hold him aloof.

As yet, however, he had no intention of immediately using it. For the
time being, the general rejoicing among the ladies made it possible for
even a shirk like Gleason to be among them a good deal. They could talk
of nothing but how splendid it was to be with the regiment, and how
admirably this or that officer had behaved, and one would suppose that
such conversation would have been galling to an able-bodied listener;
but that pachydermatous quality, to which allusion has been made, stood
Gleason in good stead. He smiled serenely at all their shafts, and spoke
of the deeds of the regiment quite as though he had been an active
participant. He hung around Truscott's quarters a good deal, bringing
all manner of trivial items of news from time to time, and even
manufacturing them that he might have an excuse to see the ladies. He
was so constantly there on pretext after pretext that he overdid the
matter,--annoyed both the ladies by his persistency and his covert
allusions to Wolf and occasional flings at Ray. They begged Mrs.
Stannard to devise means to rid them of him at last; and one afternoon
when he appeared at the door and walked past the servant into the hall,
as was his custom, the maid had twice to repeat,--

"The ladies beg to be excused," before he would hear it.

"Say to Mrs. Truscott, with my compliments, that I have some further
news of the regiment," he said, in a voice he knew would penetrate the
rooms on the second floor, and it did; but Mrs. Stannard was there. He
had already called and spent an hour that very morning, and the ladies
had determined to check it.

"Mrs. Truscott's compliments," said the maid, smilingly, as she came
tripping down the stairs. "The ladies are lying down, and would he
please leave word. If it was anything important, of course Mrs. Truscott
would come."

"Oh, no," said Gleason, loudly; "say I'll call this evening after
retreat."

But when he came they were all on the piazza, Mrs. Stannard, too, and he
knew that he could not be too careful what tidings or rumors he
manufactured in her presence. Again, on the following morning, he
presented himself with similar plea. This time the ladies begged to be
excused.

"W