"It's lonely, isn't it?"
"It might be, but I always have something pleasant to think about."
Beatrice did not press the question further. "What time does the first watch end?"
"Oh, along about midnight."
"I'll stay with you," said the girl impulsively; "I had a long sleep this afternoon, and I'd love to help watch. May I?"
Robert's heart beat loudly, but he controlled his voice. "Of course you may," he said.
When Ronald's task was finished, he led Queen into the Fort. "Twenty-four," mused Beatrice. "He's skipped one, or else I didn't count right."
"Twenty-four?" repeated Robert, inquiringly.
"Yes," she said. "He had to take Queen around twenty-five times because he was bad this morning and tried to make me think I'd eaten Major. I don't like things like that."