Chapter 10: A Cavalry Raid.
Staunchly as Walter's troopers maintained the defence, they were sorelypressed, for the enemy still outnumbered them by three to one. Severaltimes the Hessians almost forced their way in, at one or other of thewindows, but each time Walter, who kept four men with him as a reserve,rushed to the assistance of the defenders of the windows and drove themback; but this could not last. The defenders were hard pressed at severalpoints, and Walter, feeling sure that his father would be up in a veryfew minutes, called the men off from their posts and stationed them onthe staircase.
With shouts of triumph, the Hessians burst in. The hall was filled with acrowd of furious soldiers, who hurled themselves like a wave at thedefenders of the staircase. All the pistols had long since been emptied,and they fought sword to sword. Walter had detached five of his littleparty to hold the top of the other staircase, should the assailants tryto force a passage there; and he had but ten men now, and several ofthese severely wounded, to hold the staircase.
Great as the advantage that the position gave the defenders, they wereforced up step by step, and Walter began to fear that he would be drivento the landing before succour came, when a crowd of figures suddenlyburst in at the hall door, and above the cracking of pistols, which atonce arose, he heard his father's voice:
"Down with the murdering dogs! No quarter!"
Taken wholly by surprise, ignorant of the force by which they wereattacked, and taken between two bodies of enemies, the Hessians turned tofly. Walter and his men at once pressed down upon them, while thenewcomers fell upon them with fury.
There was but little resistance, for the Hessians thought only of flight.Some burst through their assailants and gained the door; more fled downthe passages, and escaped by the windows through which they had entered;but more than thirty of them fell in the hall.
The instant resistance was over, Captain Davenant ran out with his men tosecure the horses. A few of the Hessians, who had escaped from the frontdoor, had jumped on the backs of the nearest animals and ridden off. Therest had fled on foot, and the exulting troopers counted seventy-twohorses remaining in their hands. Captain Davenant at once returned to thehouse.
"Where are you, Walter?" he shouted; but there was no answer. Gettingmore light, Captain Davenant searched hastily among the numerous bodiesscattered in the hall, and soon came upon Walter, who was lying,insensible, just at the foot of the stairs. The excitement had supportedhim so long as the defence had to be continued; but, as soon as succourappeared, and the assailants retreated, he had stumbled forward with hismen, and had fallen insensible from loss of blood at the foot of thestairs. Captain Davenant hastily examined him.
"Thank God," he said to Larry, who had smuggled himself over with thesecond detachment, "he has no other wound but this on the shoulder, andhas only fainted from loss of blood! Run upstairs, and snatch a sheetfrom one of the beds. We will soon make some bandages."
Larry did as he was ordered. Slips were torn off the sheets, and, aftercutting Walter's coat and shirt from his shoulder, Captain Davenant boundand bandaged up the wound. In the meantime, Larry had got some spiritsfrom the buffet in the dining room, and a spoonful or two were poureddown Walter's throat, and in a few minutes he opened his eyes. For amoment he looked confused, then he smiled at his father.
"You were just in time," he said. "We couldn't have held out muchlonger."
"Yes, we were just in time, thank God!" his father said; "but where arethe ladies?"
"In the drawing room. Mrs. Conyers has fainted."
Captain Davenant ran upstairs. Claire had succeeded in restoring hermother, who had just sat up when Captain Davenant entered.
"My daughter tells me that you have rescued us, you and your son," shesaid faintly. "How can I thank you enough?"
"Never mind that now, my dear lady," Captain Davenant said hastily. "Justat present, we have no time to lose. The fellows who have escaped willcarry the news to William's camp, and in half an hour we shall have aregiment of cavalry here. I must retreat at once, and carry my woundedwith me. What will you do? Will you stay here, or will you and yourdaughter come with us?"
"Oh, I will go with you, please. If I was sure my husband would come withthem, I would not fear; but he may not hear of it, and there is no sayingwhat they might do."
"How is Walter, Captain Davenant?" Claire--who had been waitingimpatiently for her mother to finish--burst in. "He was wounded, andthere was such terrible fighting afterwards, and he has not come backwith you."
"He fainted from loss of blood," Captain Davenant said; "but I do notthink his wounds are serious.
"Mrs. Conyers, I can only give you five minutes. Take with you any jewelsor valuables you prize most. If they should arrive without your husband,they will be sure to sack and burn the house."
Captain Davenant now hurried downstairs. The wounded had already beencollected. There were but four so seriously wounded as to be unable towalk. Six had been killed. The wounded, including Walter, lay onblankets. Men took each a corner, and at once started to the spot wherethe boats had been left.
Captain Davenant told four men to wait at the foot of the stairs, whilehe went up to the drawing room. Mrs. Conyers and her daughter werealready prepared. Each had thrown a shawl over her head, and had in theirhands the dressing cases containing Mrs. Conyers's jewellery.
"Now, madam," Captain Davenant said, "if you will point out your platechest, I have four men below in readiness to carry it to the boat. It isno use leaving that to be divided between the marauders."
Mrs. Conyers pointed out two chests, in one of which deeds and othervaluable documents were kept, and in the other the plate, of which Mrs.Conyers had a considerable quantity. Two men seized each of them.
"Now, Mrs. Conyers, please accompany them as quick as you can to theriver. We will follow and cover the retreat. I think we have a fewminutes yet, before cavalry can arrive from the camp."
When Captain Davenant and the rearguard reached the bank, they found thatthe boats had already returned, after taking over the wounded and aportion of the detachment. The rest, with the two ladies and the femaleservants, at once took their places, and were taken across before anysound betokened the arrival of the enemy at the Hall.
"I sincerely hope, Mrs. Conyers," Captain Davenant said, as they landed,"that Mr. Conyers may accompany the first body of troops who arrive, forif not, I fear they will set fire to the Hall. They must have lostconsiderably over fifty men, and in their rage at finding no one on whomto wreak their vengeance, they will make no inquiry as to whom the housebelongs. Indeed, they will find no one there to ask. The servants of thehouse had already fled, and I sent my boy's servant, Larry, round to thestables to tell the men there to ride away with the horses. They willaccompany fifteen of my men, who mounted as many of the horses wecaptured, and are driving the rest to a ford some miles away. They are avaluable capture, and altogether, as far as we are concerned, we havemade a good night's work of it."
"But I do not understand now," Mrs. Conyers said, "how it was that youcame across just in time. How did you know that we were in such trouble?Because I am sure you would not have come across to attack the soldiersin our house, without some special reason?"
"No, indeed, madam, I certainly should not have made your house abattlefield. The fact is, our fortunate arrival is due entirely to myson. He made all the arrangements, without my knowing anything about it.He sent over his boy to one of your lads in the stable, and arrangedthat, if there should be any trouble in the house in the absence of Mr.Conyers, he should run down and signal across the river. Your daughter'smaid was to let the boy know what was going on within. It was not till hehad the whole business in train, that Walter told me anything about it.As it was his plan and not mine, and I could see he was extremely anxiousabout it, I left the matter in his hands, and authorized him to lead thefirst party across whenever the signal was made, night or day. Our boatswould only carry twenty-five men, and four of these had to return withthem. As Walt
er would have but a quarter of our force with him, I orderedhim, in case the signal was made and he crossed, not to attack until Ijoined him, unless the necessity seemed very urgent. I suppose heconsidered it was so, for he would hardly have fallen upon some eighty orninety troopers, unless he had deemed it most urgent."
"Thank God he did so!" Mrs. Conyers said, "for we owe him our lives, andmore. I cannot tell you all now. It is too horrible to think of. But Ishall never forget the thankfulness and joy I felt, when suddenly I heardthe noise of shouts and firing, and the men who were trying to tear mychild from my arms suddenly desisted and, rushing out of the room, leftus alone. I fainted then, and knew nothing more till I heard, in aconfused way, the sound of shouting and conflict, and Claire was bendingover me, telling me that your son was holding the stairs against theGermans, and that he was expecting help to arrive every moment.
"Where is he? I long to see him, and give him my thanks and blessing."
"He is in that cottage yonder, which is at present our quarters," CaptainDavenant said. "I told them to send off a trooper to Limerick, for adoctor, as soon as they got across."
"But you assured me his wound was not dangerous," Mrs. Conyers saidanxiously.
"No, I am sure it is not. It is a severe wound, but not likely to haveserious consequences. But I fear that some of the men are in a far worsecondition."
"I shall install myself as head nurse," Mrs. Conyers said, decidedly. "Weowe so much to you all, that that is the least I can do."
"Very well, Mrs. Conyers. Then I appoint you head of the hospital. I willhave the four seriously wounded men moved into the cottage next to mine.You will be able to obtain plenty of assistance among the women of thevillage. O'Moore and I will move into other quarters, and leave thecottage to you and your daughter. Your servants can have the cottage onthe other side."
They had now reached the door.
"I will just go in and see him first," Captain Davenant said.
Larry was sitting by Walter's couch.
"Well, Walter, how are you feeling?"
"Oh, I am all right now," Walter said, "since Larry brought me word thatthe boats have brought everyone across safely. I was anxious before, youknow."
"How does your shoulder feel?"
"It throbs a bit, father; but that is no odds."
"Mrs. Conyers is coming in to see you. She is going to establish herselfhere, and O'Moore and I are moving out. She is going, for the present, tobe head nurse."
"That will be nice," Walter said; "but I sha'n't want much nursing."
"I don't know, Walter. A downright cut with a heavy cavalry sword is nota light matter, even when it falls on the shoulder instead of the head.But you had better not talk much now, but, when you have seen Mrs.Conyers, try and get off to sleep.
"Larry, do you see to moving our things out, at once."
So saying, Captain Davenant left the room, and a minute later Mrs.Conyers came in. She took the left hand that Walter held out to her.
"God bless you, my boy!" she said, softly. "I shall never forget whatClaire and I owe to you. All my life I shall be your grateful debtor, andsome day I hope that my husband will be able to thank you for what youdid for us.
"And now," she went on, in a lighter tone, "I am going to be your nurse,and my first order is that you lie quite quiet, and try to get to sleep.I will make you some barley water, and put it by your bedside. That isall I can do for you, till the surgeon comes to examine your wound.Claire wanted to come in to thank you herself, but the child has gonethrough enough for one night, so I have sent her straight to bed. I donot want her on my hands, too."
A few minutes later Larry, having established the two officers in anothercottage, returned and took his place by Walter's bedside, while Mrs.Conyers went out to see to the comfort of the other wounded. Half an hourlater, a surgeon arrived from Limerick. Two of the cases were pronouncedat once to be hopeless, the other two he thought might recover. Walter'swound he said was a severe one, but in no way dangerous. The sword hadprobably glanced off something as it descended, so that the edge had notfallen straight on the shoulder bone. It had, however, nearly taken offthe arm. Had it fallen truly, it would probably have been fatal.
After he had attended to the more serious cases, he dressed the wounds ofthe other men, several of which were quite as severe as that of Walter,although they had not incapacitated the men from making their way down tothe boats.
Captain Davenant had kept a watch towards the Hall. And as, in an hourafter they had crossed, no sheet of flame was seen arising thence, he wasable to tell Mrs. Conyers that he thought that it was safe, and thateither Mr. Conyers himself must have accompanied the troops, who would bythis time have unquestionably arrived there, or that some officer, awarethat the owner of the house was a friend, and with sufficient authorityover the men to prevent its destruction, must be in command.
In the morning, he had a long talk with her. He suggested that she andher daughter should accompany him into Limerick, and be sent, with a flagof truce, across the bridge to join her husband in William's camp. This,however, she positively declined to accede to.
"In the first place," she said, "I consider that it is my duty to nursethe men who suffered for our sake. In the next place, after what we wentthrough last night, I refuse absolutely to place myself and my daughterin the hands of the ruffians who disgrace the cause of William. Hitherto,as a Protestant, I have been an adherent of that cause, as has myhusband. Henceforth, I am an Irishwoman, and as such abhor a cause whichcan employ such instruments, and inflict such atrocities upon Ireland. Iwill write a letter to my husband, telling him exactly what has happened,and how we have been preserved, and say that nothing will induce me totrust myself and Claire among William's troops, but that I shall remainon this side of the Shannon. If, as I trust will not be the case, theEnglish force their way across the river, I shall make for Galway, andthence take ship to England, where we can join him. I intend to remainhere as long as I can be useful as a nurse, and I shall then retire, withClaire, to Galway, where I have some relations, with whom I can stayuntil matters are decided."
Mrs. Conyers at once wrote the letter, which Captain Davenant carriedhimself into Limerick, as he was going in to report the occurrences ofthe preceding night. The governor immediately sent the letter across,with a flag of truce. General Sarsfield, who was in command of thecavalry, expressed himself highly pleased with the result of the raidacross the Shannon, and appointed three officers to raise another troopof horse with the captured animals, which had arrived before morning atBallygan, and to place themselves under Captain Davenant's command.
"Your son must be a lad after your own heart," he said to CaptainDavenant. "It was indeed a most gallant action, thus, with twenty-fivedismounted men only, to attack a strong troop of Hessians. I hope that,as soon as he is well enough to mount a horse again, you will introducehim to me. Keep your troop in readiness for a move, for I mean to beatthem up before long."
"Can't I see Walter today, mamma?" Claire asked, after Captain Davenanthad ridden off. "It seems so unkind, my being in the house with him, andnot going in to tell him how sorry I am that he was wounded."
"Not today, Claire. He is very flushed and feverish this morning, and Imust not have him excited at all."
"But I would not excite him, mother. I would only go in and speak to himquietly."
"Even that would excite him, my dear. I will tell him that you want tocome in and see him; but that I think you had better not do so, for a dayor two."
But even without the excitement of Claire's presence, Walter became morefeverish, and by evening was talking wildly. The excitement and anxietyhe had gone through were as much responsible for this as the wound, andby midnight he knew no one. The surgeon, who came over in the evening,ordered cloths constantly soaked with fresh water to be placed round hishead, and that he should be given, whenever he desired it, barley watersharpened by apples boiled in it.
Mrs. Conyers and Larry sat, one on each side of his couc
h, and once ortwice, when he was lying quiet, Claire was allowed to steal in and lookat him; but at other times Mrs. Conyers kept her out of the room, for, inhis feverish talk, Walter was constantly mentioning her name, and tellingher he would come to her.
Mrs. Conyers was troubled and perplexed in her mind. Regarding Claire asa child, and Walter as a lad of eighteen, the thought that any seriousconsequence would arise from their intercourse at the Hall had notoccurred to her; but now she could not doubt that, on Walter's part, atleast, a serious attachment for her daughter had sprung up, and Claire'sface and manner told her a similar story. She was but sixteen, but,having been her mother's companion and friend, she was older than manygirls of the same age. Mrs. Conyers would rather that it had not been so,for she foresaw much sorrow for Claire. She had thought that herdaughter, as a wealthy heiress, would some day make a good match, andWalter, whose fortune, in any case, would be but a small one--for sheknew that his father's estates had passed from the family--was a soldieron the side she believed would be the losing one. Still, she felt that hehad earned a right to Claire, and resolved that, come what would, if itturned out that Claire's affections were really given to the lad, sheshould have her support and championship with her father.
For two days the fever continued, and then the care of his watchersprevailed, and Walter sank into a quiet sleep, from which he awokesensible and refreshed.
An answer had been received from Mr. Conyers, on the same afternoon thathis wife's letter was sent to him. He had been in council with the king,when an officer came in with the news that some Hessians had ridden in,saying that the troop to which they belonged had ridden out to a largehouse, two miles beyond the spot at which the regiment was quartered, andhad there been attacked by a body of Irish troops, who had killed alltheir officers, and three-quarters of the troop.
"Knowing where the regiment was quartered, it at once struck me that thehouse might be our own, and, on the trooper being brought in, I foundthat it was so, and obtained permission from the king to accompany theregiment of Danish horse, who were at once sent out. The king gavestringent orders to the officer in command that the house was to berespected, and a guard was to be placed there to protect it frommarauders. You can imagine my anxiety, as I rode out, and how it wasincreased when I found the place absolutely deserted. From the trooperwhom we took with us, we learned something of what had taken place. Hehad been in the garden, but the officers and nearly half the trooperswere in the house. Suddenly, the sounds of a conflict were heard within.Then many of his comrades jumped from the windows, and, as they reportedthe number of the assailants was not large, an attack was made upon thehouse. After considerable loss, an entrance was effected, and they weregradually overcoming the defenders, when they were attacked in the rearby a fresh body of the enemy, and only a few of them managed to maketheir escape.
"The appearance of the house fully corroborated his story. The inside waspiled with dead, who were found scattered all over the house. Among themwere a few men in the uniform of one of the Irish cavalry regiments. Thiswas some alleviation to my terrible anxiety. Had the assailants been abody of peasants, I should have feared that they had wreaked on you andClaire the hatred which they feel, I own not unjustly, towards the king'sforeign troops. As they were regular soldiers, I had hopes that they hadonly carried you off as hostages.
"One of the female servants was found below, killed. No pursuit waspossible, as we could find no one of whom to inquire by which way theenemy retreated; but, in the morning, we found that the horses of theHessians had been ridden to a spot some miles up the river, where theyhad swam or forded the stream. There was a strong party of the enemy onthe opposite side. My anxiety was terrible, till I received your letter,and you may imagine how great a shock it was to me to learn the frightfulscene through which you had passed, and how my sentiments changed towardsthose whom I had regarded as your abductors, but whom I now learn wereyour saviours.
"I have read that portion of your letter to the king, who is furious atthe evil conduct of his troops. He has, all along, done everything in hispower to repress it; but when not under his immediate eye, it seems as ifall discipline was lost, and the troops behaved rather as a horde ofsavages than as soldiers. After what had happened, I cannot blame you forthe opinion you express in your letter, or for your determination not totrust yourself and Claire in this camp, although I am sure that the kingwould send a detachment of his own Dutch guards with you to Dublin. Itrust that you will, as soon as the work you have undertaken is over, goto our cousins at Galway, and take ship without delay to England, where Iwill at once join you, when I hear of your arrival there.
"Please express to Captain Davenant and his son the extreme obligationunder which I feel towards them, and assure them that I look forward tothe time when this unfortunate struggle shall be at an end, and I canmeet them and thank them personally. It will be a satisfaction to you tobe able to inform them that I have, this morning, obtained from the kinga peremptory order on the commission in Dublin, to stay all proceedingsin the matter of Captain Davenant's estate near Bray, which was on thelist of confiscated properties. I am forwarding this by one of the royalmessengers, who leaves with despatches today, and, when I visit Dublin, Ishall do myself the pleasure of calling on Mrs. Davenant, and of settingher mind at ease."
While Walter had been at his worst, his father had been away for only afew hours. After his interview with Sarsfield in Limerick, a messengerarrived from that general, ordering Captain Davenant to bring his troopinto the city at once. It was four in the afternoon when he arrived, andhe at once went to General Sarsfield's quarters.
"Let the men dismount, Captain Davenant, and let them and the horsesfeed. We have a long ride before us tonight. I have just heard thatWilliam's siege artillery is coming up, under a weak escort, and I meanto get round in the Dutchman's rear and destroy it. He shall find thatLimerick is not to be taken as easily as he expects.
"He has had a disagreeable sample of our quality today. A deserterbrought in news of the exact position of his tent, and our artillery havebeen giving him such a peppering that, from the church tower, we see thathe has been obliged to move his camp."
As soon as it was night, four hundred cavalry were in the saddle.Sarsfield placed himself at their head, and rode twelve miles up theShannon to Killaloe. Crossing the river there, he made a wide sweep withhis cavalry, until he was in the heart of the Tipperary mountains, inrear of William's camp.
Quietly as the expedition had been carried out, it was impossible that solarge a body of horse should ride through the country unperceived, and agentleman of county Clare, named O'Brian, thinking that he would gainhonour and advantage by reporting their passage to William, set out forthe British camp. Being unknown there, he was a long time before he couldget access to the king. The officers to whom he spoke paid littleattention to his story about a body of Irish horse passing through thecountry, and were much more interested in gaining information from him asto the state of the stock of cattle, sheep, and pigs in his part of thecounty; for, owing to the terror excited by the conduct of William'ssoldiers, the people for many miles round had driven off their stock andleft the villages, and provisions were already becoming scarce in thecamp.
At length, however, one of those to whom he had spoken mentioned hisstory to the king, who at once sent for him, and saw the importance ofthe news he brought. O'Brian himself had no idea of the object ofSarsfield's expedition, but the king instantly guessed that it was thesiege train. He therefore ordered a large body of cavalry to beimmediately despatched to meet the artillery on its way, and protect itinto camp.
All day, Sarsfield remained in concealment among the mountains, until,towards evening, the train came in sight, moving slowly with its escortof two troops of dragoons along the high road. He watched it until ithalted, and encamped for the night, in a field beside the highway. Hewaited until the horses were picketed, and the men engaged in makingtheir encampment for the night. Then the Irish cavalry burst down fromthe g
len in which they had been hiding. The officer in command sounded tohorse, but it was too late; before the men were in the saddle, the Irishwere upon them, and in a moment the two troops of dragoons were dispersedor killed.
Sarsfield's men at once set to, to collect the powder waggons, pontoons,and baggage of every description. The great guns were filled with powderto the muzzle, and then buried two-thirds of their length in the earth.The whole mass of siege equipage was piled above them, and a train ofgunpowder was laid to the store in the centre. The men then drew off to adistance. A match was applied to the train, and the whole blew up with atremendous explosion.
The shock was heard in the faraway camp of William, and he knew that hiscavalry had arrived too late to avert the catastrophe he feared. Theyhad, indeed, just arrived within sight of the spot when the explosiontook place. They rode on at full speed, only to find the vast pile ofruined woodwork blazing furiously. The Irish cavalry was seen in thedistance, leisurely retiring; but, although the English pursued for ashort time, the Irish easily evaded them in the darkness among the hills.The whole of William's cavalry in camp were sent out, when the explosionwas felt, to endeavour to cut off the Irish horse; but Sarsfield was wellacquainted with the ground, and retired with his troops safely across theShannon, having struck a terrible blow against the designs of William.
The king, however, found that, in spite of the measures Sarsfield hadtaken, two of the guns remained uninjured by the explosion. These werebrought to the camp, and another heavy gun was fetched from Waterford,together with a small quantity of ammunition. The regiments were at onceset to manufacture fascines for the siege, and this work proceededquickly, the orchards and plantations furnishing an abundance of wood.The fascines were used for filling up ditches, and the advances againstthe town were pushed forward with vigour.
But the besiegers were not allowed to carry on their work unmolested, fora constant fire was kept up by the guns on the walls, and the besiegedmade several sorties, driving back the working parties, destroying theirwork, and retiring before any considerable bodies of troops could bebrought up to attack them. The three heavy guns were, however, broughtinto position at a short distance from the wall, and began to play uponit.
The dissensions between the Irish commanders still continued, and, beyondSarsfield's raid against the battering train, nothing was done to annoythe enemy in the rear, although, had any vigour been shown, the Irisharmy lying idle west of the Shannon could have moved across, and speedilystarved out William's army by cutting off all supplies. Even as it was,provisions could only be collected by sending out strong bodies of troopsto plunder the country; for the peasantry had been goaded into fury bythe evil conduct of the troops, and were now in a state of insurrection,cutting off and murdering all stragglers, and driving in small parties.
William had good reason to regret that he had brought with him so small acontingent of British troops, owing to his doubts whether they could bedepended upon, and his poor opinion of their bravery; for, since the daysof Agincourt, English troops had been seldom seen on the Continent, andwere consequently held but in small esteem there. He had with him now aregiment of English grenadiers, and a few line regiments, but the bulk ofthe army was composed of his Dutch troops and foreign mercenaries. Thelatter had shown, at the battle of the Boyne, that their courage was notof a high order, while their excesses had not only produced a bitterfeeling of hatred against them throughout the country, but had doneimmense harm to the cause, by rendering it next to impossible to obtainprovisions.
Walter's progress towards recovery, from the day when he recoveredconsciousness, was very rapid. The fever, though severe, had been short,and he gained strength almost as rapidly as he had lost it. The morningafter he had come to himself, Mrs. Conyers brought Claire in to see him.
"Here is a young lady who is very anxious to see how you are getting on,Walter," she said cheerfully; "and, now you are going on so well, I shallhand you over a good deal to her care, as some of the others want myattention badly. You must not talk much, you know, else we shall behaving you getting feverish again."
So saying, she left the room.
Claire had stopped timidly near the door. The change which four days hadmade in Walter's appearance shocked her, and she scarcely recognized, inthe pale drawn face, the youth who had burst in, sword in hand, to herrescue on that terrible evening. The tears were running fast down hercheeks, as she approached the couch.
"Why, what is the matter, Claire?" he asked. "You must not cry. I am allright again now, and in a week shall be on horseback, I hope."
"Oh, Walter, what can I say?" she said. "To think that you should havesuffered so, for us!"
"There is nothing dreadful about it," he said, smiling. "A soldier mustexpect to get wounded, sometimes, and a slash from a German sword is nota serious matter. I am only too glad that I got it in your cause,Claire--only too glad that I was able to be of service to you--and yourmother," he added in afterthought. "It makes me very happy, to think Ihave been useful to you, only I would rather that you didn't say anythingmore about it. I am quite content and happy, as it is, and, if it hadbeen my life, I would have gladly given it."
"I won't say any more, if you don't wish it," Claire said quietly, "but Ishall think of it, always.
"And now," she said, with an effort, "mamma said you were not to talkmuch, and you look quite flushed already, so you must lie quiet, and Iwill read to you, or work, if you like that better."
"I don't care which it is," Walter said, "so that I can look at you;" andthis time Claire's cheeks were a good deal redder than Walter's.
Mrs. Conyers returned in half an hour, and found Claire sitting working,while Walter lay looking at her.
"I think, Claire, you had better take your work in the next room again,"she said. "Walter looks flushed, and I don't think your visit has donehim any good. You have been talking too much."
"It has done me an immense deal of good, Mrs. Conyers," Walter protested;while Claire exclaimed that they had hardly spoken a word, which indeedwas the truth, for Walter had been feeling too dreamily happy to want totalk, and Claire had felt so shy and embarrassed, with Walter watchingher, that she had been unable to hit on a single subject for remark.
Another two days, and Walter was well enough to get up and lie on a couchof heather, covered with the blanket, which Larry had prepared for him inthe next room. His voice had recovered its natural ring, and Claire hadgot over her unaccustomed shyness; and Mrs. Conyers, as she moved in andout, heard them laughing and chatting together, as they had done ten daysbefore at the Hall.