"Hurrah, my boy! My brave boy! You be a true Briton an' no mistake. I honour the empty sleeve. It is the badge o' a hero. Lord Nelson wore it afore you."
While the parents were asking of their son a thousand interesting questions about the war and his future prospects, Dorothy had conducted the two ladies to their sleeping-rooms.
Mrs. Gilbert looked round the humble adornments of the chamber, with a very dissatisfied air. The place appeared less attractive for being cluttered up with trunks and band boxes, which always give an air of discomfort to a chamber of small dimensions.
"What miserable cribs," she observed, shugging her shoulders. "Does the house afford no better accommodation?"
"This is the best and largest sleeping room. It was always occupied by your husband till he went abroad."
"By Lieutenant Rushmere," said Mrs. Gilbert, correcting her. "Stow those trunks away into the dressing-room, and that will give us more space to move about."
"There is no dressing-room."
"No dressing-room!" exclaimed both the women in a breath. Dorothy shook her head.
"They can be placed in the passage, Mrs. Gilbert, if you wish it. Shall I call up your servant to remove them?"
"Certainly not. She has my dog to feed and attend to. Cannot you do it yourself?"