Mrs. Carey looked up to see if Bugbee were serious; and then she laughed heartily and rather loudly, while he held up his hands with an alarmed expression.
"Hush!" and the frown of the old man was something to remember. "They observe as much formality as if he were in Windsor Palace."
"Well—he will be there to-day, will he not?" and Mrs. Carey looked innocently at the banker.
He came closer and bent his broad, bare poll to her as he spoke:
"No! He will never see Windsor again."
"But the Royalists—will they not raise the King's flag to-day?" Still the guileless surprise in her face, which had its effect on old Bugbee.
"Yes; they will strike to-day at Aldershot—and they will be defeated."
"How do you know? Have they not plenty of men?"
"Men? Men are only in the way. They have no money."
"And the King? Will he be taken?"