COLVILLE OF THE GUARDS BY JAMES GRANT AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAMERONIANS," "THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER," ETC., ETC. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON: HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1885. _All rights reserved._ CONTENTS I. The "Flying Foam" II. Ellinor III. The Gale IV. Alone! V. In the Bala Hissar VI. The Fort of Mahmoud Shah VII. The Fugitive VIII. The Ghilzie IX. A New Snare X. The House by the Fleethen XI. In Hamburg Still XII. The Plot Thickens XIII. With Roberts' Column XIV. The Battle of Charasiah XV. Enough Done for Honour XVI. The Fate of Ellinor XVII. Among the Birks of Invermay COLVILLE OF THE GUARDS. CHAPTER I. THE 'FLYING FOAM.' When Ellinor, whom we left some pages back in a very perilous predicament, opened her eyes again it was on an unfamiliar scene--the cabin of a ship--and on several male faces, all of which were also unfamiliar save one; and her eyes half closed again, as she was too weak and exhausted to disentangle the confusion of her thoughts and, half imagining she was in a horrible dream, would have striven to sleep but for the wet and sodden garments that clung to her. 'What has happened?' she moaned. 'Where am I?' 'Safe aboard the "_Flying Foam_,"' said the voice of the man who had rescued her, the sailing-master of that vessel, Mr. Rufane Ringbolt, whom we shall erelong describe more fully. Her miserable plight and imminent peril had been seen from the deck by that personage, who at once had a boat lowered from his craft, which lay at anchor in the Elbe. He had saved her, and in a spirit of mischief--or not knowing what else to do with her--had brought her on board the yacht of his employer, Mr. Adolphus Dewsnap, whose present companion and bosom-friend was Sir Redmond Sleath, whose first emotions of perplexity and evil on Ringbolt bringing off a lady changed to those of blank astonishment and high triumph on recognising in the half-drowned girl--Ellinor Wellwood! Dewsnap rubbed his hands with satisfaction. They had just landed two or three peculiar lady friends at the Brandenburgerhafen to go back to London by steamer, or remain in gay Hamburg as they listed, and already the _Flying Foam_ seemed a little lonely. 'By Jove, you look more beautiful than ever, Ellinor!' exclaimed Sleath, taking her hands in his, as she reclined helplessly on a sofa. 'My friend, Mr. Dewsnap--let me introduce him--Miss Ellinor Wellwood. This is a most unexpected joy!' 'I am glad of the accident which gives me the honour of making your acquaintance, Miss Ellinor,' responded Mr. Dewsnap, near whom she recognised the grinning visage of Mr. John Gaiters, Sleath's devoted valet.