She pressed my hand and smiled sadly.
“Yes, I know you and your brother midshipman will be very brave and fight for us,” she said, with a quiet satisfied nod of the head, and I winced as I thought about Walters; but she did not notice it, and went on, “You had a very narrow escape, did you not?”
“Oh, I had to run and dodge about in the dark, and then came down a rope,” I replied; “but that was nothing much.” And as I spoke I could see that she was hardly paying any attention to my words, but watching the cabin-door and listening.
“Tell me how my brother is,” she whispered. “Is he quite safe?”
“Oh yes, and on guard.”
“He is so ill and weak, it frightens me,” she said; “but he will not listen to me and stay here.”
“No,” I replied, “how could he as an English gentleman at a time like this!”
She gave me a quick, half-resentful look; but her face lit-up directly and she smiled.
“I suppose you are right,” she said with a sigh. “It is so hard to be a woman, and not be able to help. I should not mind so much if I could be busy.”
“But there is nothing to do now, Miss Denning,” I said,—“that is, for you. There, I must go now.”