“Here we are again, then, sir!” he cried, in his sharp military way. “I thought I’d just sit down here for a bit on the chance that you might come up and like to have a word or two to say to me.”
He looked very hard at Rodd as he spoke, and the boy felt his face burn, while the next moment there was a sensation as if the cool wind were fanning his hot cheeks.
“Come out to speak to me, didn’t you, sir?” said the sergeant.
Rodd was silent for a few moments, for his throat felt dry, while he passed his tongue over his lips to moisten them.
“No,” he said, at last, with an effort. “I came up here to see if you had gone, and watch you back to the prison.”
The sergeant laughed softly, and thrust one finger into the bowl of his pipe, before sending out a fresh cloud of smoke.
“Ah,” he said, “I am not surprised. Well, here we are. Do you want to say anything to me?”
Rodd opened and shut his lips again, but no words came till he made an effort, and then said, with his utterance sounding very dry—
“You want to speak to me?”
“Right, sir. Yes, I do. You remember when I came upon you up yonder by that pool?”