"Of course I do," I cried passionately; "why are you so ready to condemn me unheard?" "Say what you wish to say; we march in five minutes," he replied. I could not speak, for the hot sensation of indignation which burned within me. "You are silent," he said, with a contemptuous shrug of his shoulders. "Well, I am not surprised. I was making every effort possible, as soon as I heard through spies that you were alive, to rescue you; but when--" "Well, when what?" I said indignantly. "Since you take that tone, sir," he retorted, "when I had the news brought to me that you were perfectly unhurt, and had accepted service with the rajah as his chief officer of artillery, why then of course I gave you up." "Who told you that?" I said hotly. "One of the spies I sent in," he replied coldly. "It was not true." "Not true?" said Brace, bitterly. "Your appearance belies your words, sir. Why, were you not occupying rooms in the rajah's palace?" "Yes; as a prisoner," I said angrily. Brace laughed mockingly. "A prisoner in a newly designed artillery uniform, and wearing a magnificent sword and belts, evidently presented by the rajah, I did not know Ny Deen treated his prisoners so well; I thought he murdered them at once." I tried to speak, but for some moments no words would come, and it was he who spoke first. "Well," he said, "have you anything to say?" "Yes," I said; "I want to come back into the troop. Can I have a horse?" "I have no means of looking after prisoners, sir," he said. "You can only join your troop as a captured rebel against your queen." I turned away, and found myself directly after face to face with Haynes and Doctor Danby; but as I went up, the former turned his back and walked away, while the doctor blew out his cheeks and looked very fierce at me. "Doctor," I said, holding out my hand, but he did not take it. I laughed bitterly, thinking that they would all apologise to me some day. "Brace thinks I have not been wounded," I said, signing to him to accompany me into another room. His whole manner changed in the instant, and he was looking at me with interest. "Eh? wounded?" he cried. "Let's see. Ah, head. Humph! Only a bad crack. Healing all right. Put on your iron pot again, and don't let it fret the place." "Oh yes; that's all right," I said; "but my arm: shall I ever get the full use of it again?" "Arm? Let's see." I removed the loose tunic, and he turned up the delicate silk shirt I wore, to become wrapt at once in the interest of his profession, as he examined the wound carefully. "Brace says you have not been hurt, does he?" cried the doctor. "Tell him to mind his guns, and not talk about what he does not understand. Why, it's a beautiful wound, my dear boy--a splendid cut. A little more draw in the cut, and the budmash who did it would have lopped it clean off. Here, who was your surgeon?" I told him.