“Mean to do!” I said in a tone of surprise. “Why, I mean to retreat with all the remainder of our army as quickly as we can in order to get out of the way of those fourteen thousand invincible British veterans who will soon be united in one force.”
“Now stop that, Dick,” said Albert entreatingly. “Don’t be too hard on a fellow.”
“All right,” I replied; “go to sleep again.”
Without further ado I left the tent, and found Whitestone waiting outside in some anxiety.
“You stayed so long,” he said, “I thought perhaps the fellow had killed you.”
“Not by any means as bad as that,” I replied. “I found him to be a very pleasant young man, and we had a conversation long and most interesting.”
“About what?” Whitestone could not keep from asking.
“About many things,” I replied, “and one thing that I learned was of special importance.”
“What was that?”