nees to pray
that Eagle might be safe. But I had only just begun to stammer out my
appeal when there came a sharp tapping at the door. "Let us in--let us
in!" Milly's voice cried, and Mrs. Dalziel quaveringly repeated the same
words.

I shot back the bolt, and the two in their nightgowns almost fell into
the room. Milly, crying, seized me in her arms and begged me to forgive
her for all her unkindness to me. We should probably be dead in a few
minutes or hours, and she wanted to die at peace. As she faltered on,
Mrs. Dalziel sobbed that Tony would be killed, and their fears made me
brave. I was suddenly convinced that there had been no raid and said so.
"I'm sure there's nothing to be afraid of," I insisted stoically.
"Remember, we've heard only three cannon shots, or sounds like shots.
There'd be constant firing if there had been a Mexican surprise. And
there _couldn't_ have been a 'surprise' after all the warnings we had.
Anyhow, a handful of Mexicans wouldn't dare, with all those troops and
guns on the spot."

"But what can have happened if it isn't an attack?" wailed Mrs. Dalziel.
"If only my son were here!"

"Did the shots come from our side of the river, or the other?" Milly
asked, speaking more to herself than to me, for one was as ignorant on
the subject as the other. "_I_ couldn't tell for sure, could you?"

"No," I said. "I hadn't thought of the other side. I just took it for
granted it was our own guns firing for some reason or other."

"But _what_ reason?" persisted Milly. "Why should they fire three shots
in the dead of the night, and then stop?"

"Perhaps it's maneuvers, or a firing drill, or something," I hazarded
weakly, feeling all the time that it was nothing of the sort.

"Perhaps," Mrs. Dalziel and Milly both agreed, looking a little relieved
by my silly supposition.

"Shall we hurry up and dress ourselves and go downstairs?" I suggested.
"See what a lot of people are in the streets. The whole town's surprised
out of its wits, and wild to know what's happened. Why shouldn't we
know, too?"

"Oh, yes, let's go down," cried Milly. "By this time Therese is certain
to be in mother's room, in hysterics and nothing else! We'll make her
stop and drape herself in a blanket and dress us."

"Thank goodness I can dress myself, and in five minutes," I said. They
went hesitatingly out, forgetting to close my door, and before I could
do so myself I heard Therese's voice across the hall.

I didn't stop