"My brother Tom, no doubt. Laid him a poodle to a pork-pie that I’d be at the front first, and here I am." "Ah! an amachure, I preshume," said Captain O’Hare, glancing at his civilian costume. "Sure, an’ I hope you’ll like it, for ’tis not all beer and skittles. And that reminds me; ’tis time we cleared the decks for supper. You’ll stay and take pot-luck, Mr. Dugdale?" "Thank you, sir! but, you see—well, we had a little wager—in short, thank you, sir!" O’Hare looked puzzled, and still more as he noticed a smile on the faces of the rest of the company. "Never mind, Grampus," said Smith with a nudge, "they can fight it out another time, and meanwhile you’ve saved your breeches." At this moment Rifleman Giles Ogbourne entered the room. "Please, sir," he said to Jack, "there’s a Mr. Vaughan at the door as would like to see you. I was to say ’twas he that borrowed your horse a while ago." "Show him in," said Jack. "Beg pardon, sir, but he says as he would like to see you alone." "Oh, very well!" said Jack, rising, and he followed Giles from the room. *CHAPTER III* *Palafox the Man, Palafox the Name* A Letter from Saragossa—An Invitation—Bad News—Spanish Apathy—Bonaparte—Jockeying a Nation—A Message from Head-quarters—More Puzzlement The visitor was awaiting Jack beneath a dim lamp in the vestibule. "You won’t mind coming into my bedroom?" said Jack, after an interchange of greetings. "It’s the only place where we can be alone." He led the way, struck a light, and noticed that the stranger was bespattered with mud from head to foot. "I’m scarcely fit to come into a house at all," said the latter apologetically; "but as things are, no doubt you’ll excuse me. I had better introduce myself. My name is Vaughan, and I am acting as private secretary to Mr. Stuart, our minister at Madrid. As I told you, I have ridden in with important despatches for Sir John Moore; I happened to be with Castaños’ army, and as I came through Saragossa on my way to Madrid I was entrusted by General Palafox with a letter to you, which I promised to deliver to you in person if I should come across your regiment. Here is the letter." He handed the paper to Jack, who looked at it in surprise. "General Palafox!" he said. "I don’t know him. He is the Spanish general who defended Saragossa recently, isn’t he?" "Yes. I assure you it was he who gave me the letter." "Will you sit down while I look at it?" Jack hastily broke the seal. "I should add," said Vaughan, who had thrown himself wearily into a chair, "that if I failed to find you, I was to carry the letter to your father in London, whither I am proceeding at once."