Florence was not so much impressed at first with the appearance of her pupils as their sex; and she kept her place, not a little vexed at her own want of thought in having neglected to make more particular inquiries concerning them.
“Walter—Fred,” said Mr. Aylwinne, “this is the young lady I have been telling you about. Go and shake hands with her.”
But the lads hesitated to leave his side, and Florence promptly said:
“Pardon me, sir—I cannot undertake the education of boys. I supposed that your wards were little girls.”
“Is it of any consequence so long as they are docile and intelligent?” asked Mr. Aylwinne, lifting his eyebrows.
“Certainly it is, sir,” replied Florence, who began to feel annoyed.
He saw this, and apologized gracefully for his own carelessness in not mentioning their sex before. Then, placing a portfolio of colored views before the silent boys, he came to her side.
“Miss Heriton, you may, and doubtless do, think it strange that I should select a female instructor for these poor children. I will tell you why I have done so. Their father was an English officer, whose duties had fixed his residence at a small station not far from Meerut. It was a dull life for a man of active habits; but his wife—a pretty, gentle woman—shared it; and to make it still less irksome, they had kept their children with them instead of sending them to England for their education. You remember the fearful mutiny that broke out at Meerut? Captain Denison was one of the first victims the brutal sepoys pounced upon, and his wretched wife barely saved herself and these two boys by flight.”
Florence began to look with awakening interest on the delicate lads of whom he spoke.
“Yes,” Mr. Aylwinne went on, “she fled; and braving all other dangers, hid in the jungle. But she was tracked there by the insatiate shedders of blood. When she found that they drew near her hiding place, she commanded her children to be still, whatever might happen; and then, with a mother’s devotion, started up and fled to lead her pursuers away ere they discovered that she was not alone.