Hawthorn put him
straight to bed, and stayed with him listening to his trouble till tired
out and exhausted he fell asleep. When Dudley came to bed he found him
clutching the letters tight in one hand, and muttering in his sleep,
"God first, the Queen next, and then Master Roy!"
Once in the night he was roused by Roy's grasping hold of his
bedclothes.
"Dudley, are you asleep?"
"No," was the sleepy answer, "aren't you well?"
"Yes, but I can't sleep. Tell me, was it my fault? Did I send Rob to his
death? I wanted him to go. Did I make him go?"
"Of course you didn't," and Dudley now was wide-awake. "He wanted to go
first, and you didn't like it, don't you remember?"
"Yes, I think he liked going; but if he hadn't heard that song perhaps
he would never have gone, he would never have wanted to be a soldier."
"He did a lot of good out there. I don't think he will be sorry now."
Roy settled down to sleep again comforted; but for the next few days he
seemed quite unable to give his mind to his lessons, and after some
correspondence with Miss Bertram, it was arranged that he and Dudley
should go home from Saturday to Monday. It was a sad home-coming, and
when Roy saw Rob's Bible his grief burst out afresh.
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