Wonder possessed him; the thing was strange beyond his dreams of strangeness; he could, try as he would, make nothing of it. Then footsteps sounded—heavy, commanding footsteps that approached the door leading into the room from the main hall. Tom stood in the middle of the apartment bathed in the full glare of the lighted candles, waiting; the door opened and two British officers entered, each big, red-faced and imperious-looking, and each bearing upon the breast of his scarlet coat many glittering orders and decorations.
They were Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton and the Earl of Cornwallis!
CHAPTER XII
HOW TOM TOOK PART IN A MYSTERIOUS CONSULTATION
For a moment Tom Deering was rendered powerless by the sudden shock of the surprise; he stood staring at the two British officers with wide-open eyes. Then a feeling of helplessness swept over him—a sense of being caught—of having been lured into the clutches of his foes. He could not speak; at each tick of the clock he expected to hear them denounce him.
But they did not; they bowed to him silently and advanced to the table at the centre of the room and sat down; Tarleton was looking straight at him, but gave not the slightest sign of having recognized him; Cornwallis had taken up a quill from the table, and was tapping with it upon the table, a flickering smile upon his face.
“You seemed rather disturbed,” said he.
With a powerful effort Tom pulled himself together; he was caught, but there was no use in his showing the white feather, he thought. So he replied, quietly enough:
“I must confess to being slightly surprised, sir. But that is all.”
Cornwallis’ smile broadened.
“Just so,” chuckled he. “You did not expect to meet two British officers, I suppose.”