“Oh, Captain Murray,” said the boy sadly, “you must know.”
“Yes, my lad,” said the captain sadly, “of course I know.”
Chapter Thirty Nine.
At the Last Moment.
There was not much sleep for the boy that night, for he was in the horns of a terrible dilemma. What should he do? He turned from side to side of his bed, trying to argue the matter out, till his father’s fate, his duty to the King and Prince, the natural desire to help, his love for his mother, Captain Murray and his duty to the King and friendship for his brother-officer and companion, were jumbled up in an inextricable tangle with Drew Forbes and the attempt at rescue.
“Oh!” he groaned, as day broke and found him still tossing restlessly upon his pillow; “I often used to tell poor Drew that he was going mad. I feel as if I were already gone, for my head won’t work. I can’t think straight, just too when I want to be perfectly clear, and able to make my plans.”
It would have prostrated a cleverer and more calculating brain than Frank’s—one of those wonderful minds which can see an intricate game of chess right forward, the player’s own and his adversary’s moves in attack or defence—to have calmly mapped out the proper course for the lad through the rocks, shoals, and quicksands which beset his path. As it happened, all his mental struggles proved to be in vain; for, as is frequently the case in life, the maze of difficulties shaped themselves into a broad, even path, along which the boy travelled till the exciting times were past.
To begin with, nature knew when the brain would bear no more; and just at sunrise, when Frank had tried to nerve himself for a fresh struggle by plunging face and a good portion of his head into cold water previous to having a good brisk rub, and then lain down to think out his difficulty once more, unconsciously choosing the best attitude for clear thought, a calm and restful sensation stole over him. One moment he was gazing at the bright light stealing in beside his blind; the next he was in profound mental darkness, wrapped in a deep, restful slumber, which lasted till nearly ten o’clock, when he was aroused by a knocking at his door, and leaped out of bed, confused and puzzled, unable for a few moments to collect his thoughts into a focus and grasp what it meant.