“So you have heard from Tom?”

“Yes, and he says that Robert Walden was killed at the very last of the battle.”

“It is as I said. I saw him go down and their feet trample him in the dust!”

“Was it Robert you saw?”

“Yes. With the telescope I had seen him all through the battle, walking unharmed where the bullets were flying thickest.”

“You did not tell us you saw him.”

“No. I did not want to alarm you.”

“And you saw him when he was killed?”

“I saw his sword flashing in the sunlight as the men in scarlet closed around him. A half dozen were thrusting with their bayonets, and yet he kept them at bay till they shot him.”