Again a ringing laugh was carried far out over the waters.
"We men should always have you with us, Mrs. Manning, to keep away the blues!" exclaimed the Chaplain, "and to that end I am just praying for that castle of ours to be speedily finished."
"One would think," returned Helen, elevating her eyebrows, "when the builders work so hard, that the castle does not need your prayers. Would it not be better to pray for the arrival of a lady companion for the only lady in the camp, lest she might get the blues?"
"That's what I say," cried the Doctor, energetically. "It's a deuced shame to have Madame alone at the fort without a single lady friend, and the sooner we secure a suitable companion for her the better."
"Rather rough on you, Manning!" exclaimed Cummings, serenely.
"'Pon my word, Doctor, I'll have to call you out, even if you are a Frenchman," said Harold, with a laugh.
"You know what I mean," returned the young man, his face flushing. "It was a Frenchman's thought. I cannot think fast in English, you know."
"Worse and worse!" exclaimed Cummings, with a laugh.
Harold bit his lip.
"How pretty that sunset is, with its deep golden yellow, so different from England!" said Helen, who did her best to repress a sigh. With all these men around her, even with her husband by her side, she was still alone.