Page 293 - A Jacobite Exile

And, in a state of utter bewilderment as to who could have learnt his name
and address, he went into the coffee room. There happened, at the moment,

to be but one person there, and as he rose and turned towards him, Charlie
exclaimed in astonishment and delight:

"Why, Harry, what on earth brings you here? I am glad to see you, indeed,
but you are the last person in the world I should have thought of meeting

here in London."

"You thought I was in a hut, made as wind tight as possible, before the cold
set in, in earnest. So I should have been, with six months of a dull life
before me, if it had not been for Sir Marmaduke's letter. Directly my father

read it through to me he said:

"'Get your valises packed at once, Harry. I will go to the colonel and get
your leave granted. Charlie may have to go into all sorts of dens, in search
of this scoundrel, and it is better to have two swords than one in such

places. Besides, as you know the fellow's face you can aid in the search,
and are as likely to run against him as he is. His discovery is as important to

us as it is to him, and it may be the duke will be more disposed to interest
himself, when he sees the son of his old friend, than upon the strength of a
letter only.'

"You may imagine I did not lose much time. But I did not start, after all,

until the next morning, for when the colonel talked it over with my father,
he said:

"'Let Harry wait till tomorrow. I shall be seeing the king this evening. He is
always interested in adventure, and I will tell him the whole story, and ask

him to write a few lines, saying that Harry and Carstairs are young officers
who have borne themselves bravely, and to his satisfaction. It may help
with the duke, and will show, at any rate, that you have both been out here,

and not intriguing at Saint Germains.'

"The colonel came in, late in the evening, with a paper, which the king had
told Count Piper to write and sign, and had himself put his signature to it. I