"
And so the people were still singing and rejoicing down in the
village when the two conspirators for the peace of the country
went to sleep for the night. It seemed to Gordon as though he
had hardly turned his pillow twice to get the coolest side
when someone touched him, and he saw, by the light of the
dozen glow-worms in the tumbler by his bedside, a tall figure
at its foot.
"It's me--Bradley," said the figure.
"Yes," said Gordon, with the haste of a man to show that sleep
has no hold on him; "exactly; what is it?"
"There is a ship of war in the harbor," Bradley answered in a
whisper. "I heard her anchor chains rattle when she came to,
and that woke me. I could hear that if I were dead. And then
I made sure by her lights; she's a great boat, sir, and I can
know she's a ship of war by the challenging when they change
the watch. I thought you'd like to know, sir."
Gordon sat up and clutched his knees with his hands. "Yes, of
course," he said; "you are quite right. Still, I don't see
what there is to do."
He did not wish to show too much youthful interest, but though
fresh from civilization, he had learned how far from it he
was, and he was curious to see this sign of it that had come
so much more quickly than he had anticipated.
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