“How do you know?”
“Sergeant told me. Grinned at me and said they didn’t mean to have any one go out that way, nor yet come in at twelve o’ clock at night.”
“Indeed!” said Roy, to whom this news was troublous, interfering as it did with sundry misty notions in which he had indulged about retaking the castle, or all making their escape.
“Yes, sir; that general aren’t a bit of a fool. Wouldn’t be at all a bad officer, if he was on the right side. That other chap wouldn’t be a bad sort o’ sergeant either, if he knowed his duty to his king and country. But there’s going to be a fight some day ’twix’ him and me.”
“Nonsense! While we are prisoners we must behave ourselves, Ben.”
“Oh, must we, sir? What call’s he got to get grinning at me? I’ll make him grin the wrong side of his mouth if he don’t look out.”
“Yes; you are getting rusty, Ben,” said Roy, merrily.
“Then why don’t you make some plan, sir?” whispered the old sergeant in an earnest whisper. “Let’s make a bold stroke for it, and retake the castle. Think of what your father would say if you did. Why, if the king was to hear of it, he’d be that pleased, he’d send for you to the palace and make a knight of you at once.”
“Poor king!” said Roy, sadly. “Perhaps by this time he has no palace to call his own.”
“And he won’t have, unless some of us shows we’ve got the right stuff left in us.”