"THE COMMANDER OF THE COMPANY HANDED HIM A SHEET OF PARCHMENT"
Ann had followed him. He bent his head and whispered to her:
"Go to our mother, but do not tell her."
She was trying to slip away, but she found her passage barred by the officer in command of the company.
"I regret it, madam," he said; "but I cannot let you pass until the house has been searched and we are assured the colonel is not here."
"I never told you he was not here," said Reginald. "I bade you search for him."
As he uttered these words, a door at the farther end of the hall opened, and the colonel came forward.
"What do you require of me?" he asked.
Before anyone could answer, Reginald handed him the paper.