Before Mr. Balcombe could express his surprise, the officer repeated:
"Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte, the enemy of England."
"But how can that be?" asked Mr. Balcombe, hardly understanding. "Bonaparte was on Elba months ago; what has England to do with him now?"
"Surely—" began the captain; then recalling himself, "but I forgot how far St. Helena is from the rest of the world. After Napoleon escaped from Elba in February, he gathered a great army. But the Allies, with our Iron Duke at the head, met him near Brussels, and there in June was fought the great battle of Waterloo. Thousands were killed, brave English as well as French. That battle marked the downfall of Napoleon, and soon he was England's prisoner."
Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe, as well as their children, listened eagerly, absorbed in a story they now heard for the first time.
"So they send him here?" It was Mr. Balcombe who first spoke.
"Yes; no spot in Europe can hold him. Even on Elba he had begun to establish a kingdom. He reached beyond that little island, and now he has had his Waterloo."
"It is clear, then," said Mr. Balcombe, "why they have sent him here. This is a natural fortress and it belongs to England."
"Yes," said the officer; "England knows that here, in her keeping, Bonaparte will never again escape to torment the world."
After a few more words of explanation on the one hand and of surprise on the other, the visitors withdrew.