"Yes, sir; and as soon as they've finished their two-gun battery. Now, by rights, we ought to go and destroy that work, and spike their guns; but they've got the advantage of us with all that horse, and if we tried they'd cut us up before we could get at it. Only chance is to try and do it at night, if we can't dismount the guns with ours." A hasty breakfast was eaten, and then the sergeant went up to the newly mounted guns on the top of the square tower, where Roy promised to join him as soon as he had been to visit the wounded man. "Tell him I mean to come as soon as I can, my lad," said Ben, "but it won't do him any good for me to come now. Wounded man's best left alone till he gets over his touch of fever. But tell him I'm sorry he's down, and that I shall very much miss my best gunner. It'll please him, and it's quite true." Roy nodded, and in due time went to the hospital-room, where he tapped lightly, and the door was opened by the old housekeeper, who looked rather pale; but Lady Royland, who was seated by the wounded man's bedside, rose and came to her son. "Yes," she said; "go and speak to him; but don't stay many minutes, for he must not talk much. A few words from you, though, will do him good." Roy glanced towards the bed, which was close to one of the windows looking out on the court-yard garden, and he could see that the man was watching him intently. "Go to him. I'll leave you and come back when I think you have been here long enough." The door closed behind Lady Royland and her old assistant as Roy made for the couch, expecting to see a painful sight of agony and terror; but, as he approached, the man's countenance expanded into a broad grin. "Don't be hard on a poor fellow, captain," he said, just as Roy was ready with a prepared speech about being sorry to see the man in so grievous a condition. "Hard upon you, Sam! What for?" "Sneaking out o' all the fun like this here! 'Taren't my fault, you know. I didn't want to stop in bed; but my lady says I must, and that she'll report me to you if I don't obey orders. I say, let me get up, sir. It's just foolishness me lying here." "Foolishness! What! with that bad wound?" "Bad, sir? Why, you don't call that bad. If he'd cut my head off, I'd ha' said it was." "How?" cried Roy, unable to repress a smile. "How, sir? Why--oh! o' course not. Didn't think o' that; I s'pose I couldn't then. But I say, Master Roy, sir--I mean cap'n, I'm just ashamed o' myself letting her ladyship wait on the likes o' me!" "Why should you be, Sam? Haven't you been risking your life to defend us?" "Me? No, sir, not as I knows on," said the man, staring. "Well, I do know; and now you are not to talk." "Oh, sir! If I'm to be here I must talk." "You must not, Sam. There, I came to see how you were." "Quite well, thank ye kindly, sir." "You are not. You have a bad wound."