XXX

On Parole

I was wakened⁠—indeed, we were all wakened, for I could see even the sentinel shake himself together from where he had fallen against the doorpost⁠—by a clear, hearty voice hailing us from the margin of the wood:

“Blockhouse, ahoy!” it cried. “Here’s the doctor.”

And the doctor it was. Although I was glad to hear the sound, yet my gladness was not without admixture. I remembered with confusion my insubordinate and stealthy conduct; and when I saw where it had brought me⁠—among what companions and surrounded by what dangers⁠—I felt ashamed to look him in the face.

He must have risen in the dark, for the day had hardly come; and when I ran to a loophole and looked out, I saw him standing, like Silver once before, up to the mid-leg in creeping vapor.

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