Celia hardly heard the leave-takings, her mind was so happily busy with this bit of rare praise from one whose respect was well worth earning. And half an hour afterward, as Lanse stooped to gather her up and carry her up-stairs to bed, she looked back at Captain Rayburn, who still sat beside her couch, and said, with softly shining eyes:
"The colonel almost wouldn't be the second lieutenant if he could, Uncle Ray."
Lanse, lifting his sister in his strong arms, remarked, "I should say not. Why should he?"
Celia and Captain Rayburn, laughing, exchanged a sympathetic, comprehending glance.
CHAPTER VI
Three times Jefferson Birch knocked on his sister Charlotte's door. Then he turned the knob. The door would not open. "Fiddle!" he called, softly, but got no reply.
"You're not asleep, I know," he said, firmly, at the keyhole. "I can see a light from outside, if you have got it all plugged up here. Let me in. I've some important news for you."
Charlotte's lock turned and she threw the door open. "Well, come in," she said. "I didn't mean anybody to know, but I'm dying to tell somebody, and I can trust you."
"Of course!" affirmed Jeff, entering with an air of curiosity. "What's doing? Painting?"