"Kit," said Mackenzie, as he joined the group, "I wish you'd go over to your mother—she isn't well. Bee is with her, but perhaps you could do something."
"I'll go at once," replied Katherine.
"And I must go home," said Mrs. Franklin. "If I can do anything, just let me know."
Ronald and Lieutenant Howard were standing near the gate, and Forsyth stopped there when Mackenzie and Katherine went on home. "It's usual in such circumstances," Ronald was saying, bitterly, "to call a council of war."
"And by the Lord," flashed the Lieutenant, "there shall be a council of war! What are we—children, or fools?"
Ronald put a friendly arm across Forsyth's shoulders. "What do you think about it, old man?"
"I haven't thought about it. I'm not a soldier, you know, and I'm not supposed to think. Of course, I'll obey orders, and if it comes to trouble, here's one more man to fight—I'm with you to the last."
"Bully for you!" said Ronald. "If the Captain would listen to reason, there wouldn't be any trouble; but he won't—I know him too well."
"He is only one man," put in the Lieutenant, with sinister significance.