“Found everything going on satisfactorily at home, George?”

“Yes, sir, all well.  Bob has turned out a great help to my father.  I was sure he would do well when he got the chance.  Of course, so long as I was there he had not much responsibility, but I could see then that he would make a good farmer.  Things have been going on just as well as when I was at home.”

“Are you going over there now?”

“Not until after breakfast, sir, anyhow.  I told them that I might look in some time in the morning, but that I could not say whether you might want me for anything.”

“No, I shan’t want you at all, George.  I told you so yesterday.  However, after breakfast I will walk over to the farm with you.  I only had time for a word with your father yesterday, but I told him that I would come over to see them sometime today.”

Accordingly, after an hour’s talk with his agent, Frank Mallett walked over to the farm with George.  The latter’s father and mother were both in the house, an unusual thing at that time of day with the former, but he had said at breakfast to his son: 

“You must look after things by yourself today, lad.  The Squire said yesterday that he would come over sometime, and I would not be out when he came, not for a twenty pound note.”

He and his wife came to the door when they saw Frank coming across the field towards the house.

“Well, Lechmere,” the latter said, when he came up.  “I am glad to see you and your dame looking so well and hearty.  I had not time to say more than a word to you yesterday, and I wanted to have a comfortable talk with you both.  I wrote you a line telling you how gallantly George had behaved, and how he had saved my life; but I had to write the day afterwards, and my head was still ringing from the sabre cut that had for a time knocked all the sense out of me, and therefore I had to cut it very short.  How gallantly he defended my life against a dozen of the enemy’s cavalry was shown by the fact that he received the Victoria Cross, and I can tell you that such an immense number of brave deeds were performed during the Mutiny that George’s must be considered an extraordinary act of bravery to have obtained for him that honour.”

By this time they had entered the farmhouse parlour.  George had not followed them in, but on inquiring where he was likely to find Bob, had gone off to join him.

“I was proud to hear it at the time, Squire; and when it was in the papers that our George had got the Victoria Cross, and all our neighbours came in to congratulate us, we felt prouder still.  Up to the time when we got your letter, we did not know for sure where he was.  He had said he meant to enlist, and from the humour that he was in when he went away we guessed it to be in some regiment where he could get to the wars.  We felt the more glad, as you may guess, from the fact that both the Missus and I had wronged him in our thoughts.  We learnt that before we got the news, and it was not until we knew that we had been wrong that either of us opened our lips about it, though each of us knew what the other thought.”