“Well, Doctor Kelly, when do you think the czar will be here?”

The doctor did not reply, but Michaeloff said quietly: 

“He arrived this afternoon.”

“He did!” Charlie exclaimed excitedly.

“Why did you not tell me before, Doctor Kelly?  Has he been asked about my exchange, and is the Swedish officer still here?”

“He is here, and you will be exchanged in the morning.

“I have other things to see about now, and must say goodnight; and if you should ever fall into the hands of our people again, and Doctor Kelly does not happen to be near, ask for Peter Michaeloff, and he will do all he can for you.”

“Then I am really to be exchanged tomorrow, doctor?” Charlie said, as Doctor Michaeloff left the room.

“It seems like it.”

“But did not you know?”

“No, I had heard nothing for certain.  I knew the czar had come, but I had not heard of his decision.  I congratulate you.”

“It is a piece of luck,” Charlie said.  “I thought it might be months before there was an exchange.  It is very good of the king to send over so quickly.”

“Yes; and of the czar to let you go.”

“Well, I don’t see much in that, doctor, considering that he gets a captain in exchange for me; still, of course, he might have refused.  It would not have been civil, but he might have done it.”

“What did you think of my friend, Charlie?”

“I like him.  He has a pleasant face, though I should think he has got a temper of his own.  He has a splendid figure, and looks more like a fighting man than a doctor.  I will write down his name, so as not to forget it, as he says he might be able to help me if I am ever taken prisoner again, and you did not happen to be with the army.  It is always nice having a friend.  Look at the difference it has made to me, finding a countryman here.”

“Yes, you may find it useful, Carstairs; and he has a good deal of influence.  Still, I think it probable that if you ever should get into a scrape again, you will be able to get tidings of me, for I am likely to be with the advanced division of our army, wherever it is, as I am in charge of its hospitals.

“You had better turn in now, for I suppose you will be starting early, and I have two or three patients I must visit again before I go to bed.  This is your room, next to mine.  I managed, after all, to get it changed.”

“That is very good of you, doctor, but it really would not have mattered a bit for one night.  It does look snug and warm, with that great fire.”

“Yes, the stoves are the one thing I don’t like in Russia.  I like to see a blazing fire, and the first thing I do, when I get into fresh quarters, is to have the stove opened so that I can see one.  This is a second room of mine.  There were three together, you see, and as my rank is that of a colonel, I was able to get them, and it is handy, if a friend comes to see me, to have a room for him.”