As she spoke, the young man in the tattered Southern uniform, stained with the blood of two wounds, reeled and fell unconscious in the doorway.

When Harry came back to the world he was lying in a very comfortable bed, and all the pain had gone from his head.  A comfortable, motherly woman, whom he recognized as Mrs. Simmons, was sitting beside him, and Colonel Leonidas Talbot, looking very tall, very spare and very precise, was standing at a window.

“Good morning, Mrs. Simmons,” said Harry in a clear, full voice.

She uttered an exclamation of joy, and Colonel Talbot turned from the window.

“So you’ve come back to us, Harry,” he said.  “We knew that it was only a matter of time, although you did lose a lot of blood from that wound in the shoulder.”

“I never intended to stay away, sir.”

“But you remained in the shadowy world three days.”

“That long, sir?”

“Yes, Harry, three days, and a great deal of water has flowed under the bridge in those three days.”

“What do you mean, colonel?”

“There was a military operation of a very sharp and decisive character.  When you fell in the doorway here, Mrs. Simmons, who happened to be in the kitchen, ran at once for her brother, Mr. Jarvis, a most excellent and intelligent man.  You were past telling anybody anything just then, but he followed your trail, and met some of us, led by Sergeant Whitley, who were also trailing you.”

“And Slade and Skelly, what of them?”

“They’ll never plunder or murder more.  We divined much that had happened.  You were ambushed, were you not?”

“Yes, Slade and Skelly fired upon me from the bushes.  I shot back and saw Skelly fall.”

“You shot straight and true.  We found him there in the bushes, where your bullet had cut short his murderous life.  Then we organized, pursued and surrounded the others.  They were desperate criminals, who knew the rope awaited them, and all of them died with their boots on.  Slade made a daring attempt to escape, but the sergeant shot him through the head at long range, and a worse villain never fell.”

“And our people, colonel, where are all of them?”

“Most of the soldiers have gone on, but the members of our own immediate group are scattered about the valley, engaged chiefly in agricultural or other homely pursuits, while they await your recovery, and incidentally earn their bread.  Sergeant Whitley, Captain St. Clair and Captain Mason are putting a new roof on the barn, and, as I inspected it myself, I can certify that they are performing the task in a most workmanlike manner.  Captain Thomas Langdon is ploughing in the far field, by the side of that stalwart youth, Isaac Simmons, and each is striving in a spirit of great friendliness to surpass the other.  My associate and second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Hector St. Hilaire, has gone down the creek fishing, a pursuit in which he has had much success, contributing greatly to the larder of our hostess, Mrs. Simmons.”