Page:Augusta Seaman--Jacqueline of the carrier pigeons.djvu/147

Rh the animal's cries. The dog soon perceived that the intruder attempted no harm, and  settled himself in his former post.

Gysbert knew well why the Prince was attended by this faithful beast. Two years before at the siege of Mons, he had been surprised one night while asleep in his tent, by a party of Spaniards who had planned to  capture him. A little spaniel who slept in his quarters sprang up barking and scratching his hands. The Prince thus wakened found time to escape, but had it not been for  the faithful little animal, the Netherlands  would have lost their strongest protector. For the rest of his life, the Prince was never without a spaniel of the same breed who slept  nightly in his room.

Gysbert had ample time to note what manner of man was this his idol. His forehead was high, noble, and marked with many lines  of care. The expression of his face, even racked with burning fever, was of a tender,  strong and fatherly benignity. Near by lay