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ALARUMS AND EXCURSIONS At the last cottage a transitory gleam of common sense flickered across me, and, turning on Charlotte, I sternly ordered her back. The small maiden, docile but exceedingly dolorous, dragged reluctant feet homewards, heavy at heart that she was to behold no stout fellows slain that day; but Harold and I held steadily on, expecting every instant to see the environing hedges crackle and spit forth the leaden death.

'Will they be Indians?' asked my brother (meaning the enemy) 'or Roundheads, or what?'

I reflected. Harold always required direct straightforward answers—not faltering suppositions.

'They won't be Indians,' I replied at last; 'nor yet Roundheads. There haven't been any Roundheads seen about here for a long time. They'll be Frenchmen.'

Harold's face fell. 'All right,' he said: 'Frenchmen'll do; but I did hope they'd be Indians.'

'If they were going to be Indians,' I explained, 'I—I don't think I'd go on. Be 45