man shifted his hold from ear to shoulder and led Philip through one
of those doors which he had thought of exploring by daylight. It was not
daylight yet, and the room, large and bare, with an arch at each end and
narrow little windows at the sides, was lighted by horn lanterns and
tall tapers in pewter candlesticks. It seemed to Philip that the room
was full of soldiers.

Their captain, with a good deal of gold about him and a very smart black
moustache, got up from a bench.

'Look what I've caught, sir,' said the man who owned the hand on
Philip's shoulder.

'Humph,' said the captain, 'so it's really happened at last.'

[Illustration: 'Here--I say, wake up, can't you?']

'What has?' said Philip.

'Why, you have,' said the captain. 'Don't be frightened, little man.'

'I'm not frightened,' said Philip, and added politely, 'I should be so
much obliged if you'd tell me what you mean.' He added something which
he had heard people say when they asked the way to the market or the
public gardens, 'I'm quite a stranger here,' he said.

A jolly roar of laughter went up from the red-coats.

'It isn't manners to laugh at strangers,' said Philip.

'Mind your own manners,' said the captain sharply; 'in this country
little boys speak when they're spoken to. Stranger, eh? Well, we knew
that, you know!'

Philip, though he felt snubbed, yet felt grand too. Here he was in the
middle of an adventure with grown-up soldiers. He threw out his chest
and tried to look manly.

The captain sat down in a chair at the end of a long table, drew a black
book to him--a black book covered with dust--and began to rub a rusty
pen-nib on his sword, which was not rusty.

'Come now,' he said, opening the book, 'tell me how you came here. And
mind you speak the truth.'

'I _always_ speak the truth,' said Philip proudly.

All the soldiers rose and saluted him with looks of deep surprise and
respect.

'Well, nearly always,' said Philip, hot to the ears, and the soldiers
clattered stiffly down again on to the benches, laughing once more.
Philip had imagined there to be more discipline in the army.

'How did you come here?' said the captain.

'Up the great bridge staircase,' said Philip.

The captain wrote busily in the book.

'What did you come for?'

'I didn't know what else to do. There was nothing but illimitable
prairie--and so I came up.'

'You are a very bold boy,' said the captain.

'Thank you,' said Philip. 'I do _want_