The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX. No. 1002, March 11, 1899

Vol. XX.—No. 1002.]
MARCH 11, 1899.
A YOUTHFUL PIANIST.
All rights reserved. ]
A TALE OF THE FRANCO-ENGLISH WAR NINETY YEARS AGO.
By AGNES GIBERNE, Author of “Sun, Moon and Stars,” “The Girl at the Dower House,” etc.
A BARRED WINDOW.
ow the next fortnight passed, Roy never afterwards could recall. He was sick and dazed with the shock he had had, grieving for Will Peirce, and all but hopeless. He had ceased to care for food, and, though he slept much, passing hours at a time in heavy doze, it was not the kind of sleep to rest him. Life at this time seemed awfully hard to live. Sometimes he envied little Will.
The Colonel, who had spoken to him that day, spoke to him again often when they met in the yard; and Roy was grateful, but he could not rouse himself. He had lost all interest in what went on around him. He hated the yard, and he always kept as far as possible from the spot where that terrible exposure had taken place.
His one longing was to know how the other poor boys in the hospital were; but accounts in that direction were uncertain and not to be relied upon.
About a fortnight later, one cold afternoon, he was leaning against the wall at the further end, hardly thinking, only drearily enduring. He became aware of a man coming across the yard, carrying a large basket, or hotte , piled up with loose wood—not a gendarme, but evidently one employed in the fortress on manual work.