Later in the afternoon a squad of riders came galloping down the avenue. They drew up their horses at the yard gate, and one of them alighted, throwing his reins to one of the others. The children ran into the front parlor and peeped through the curtains. The soldier who had come into the yard had neither gun nor sword. He wore a heavy overcoat, and his spurs rattled as he stamped the mud and water from his boots. He removed his overcoat, lifted the knocker on the door and let it fall twice, and then walked back and forth on the piazza, with a quick, nervous step. He seemed to be restless and impatient.
The children’s grandfather went to the door and threw it open. The soldier lifted his hat with a gesture that was more familiar than deferential.
“Come in, sir,” said the grandfather. “We do not keep the door closed even on our enemies.”
“I am here,” remarked the soldier, curtly, “because I have a message for this house.”
He had a quick, nervous way of talking, and his eyes ran from the carpet on the floor to the pictures on the wall. One of these pictures was the portrait of a little boy, pale and wan, and the top of a crutch peeped from behind his shoulder. On this portrait the eyes of the soldier lingered, and he turned to it with a quick gesture. The children’s grandfather stood watching him. The old gentleman’s attitude was stiff and formal, and there was an expression of resentment on his face, for he recognized that the commander, the General of the Army of invasion, stood before him.
As for the soldier, his stiff red beard bristled, the lines in his weather-beaten face deepened, and his eyes sparkled. If he had noticed the attitude or expression of the other he ignored it.
“That is Little Crotchet,” he said, brusquely. “Where is he?”
The face of the children’s grandfather softened and his whole attitude changed.
“Little Crotchet is not here now,” he replied. He turned and walked to the window, which seemed to be blurred by the mist and the rain blown against it by the east wind.
The commander took a quick step forward and placed his hand gently on the grandfather’s shoulder.