Helm glanced at him curiously; then his gaze, always gravely thoughtful,
wandered back to me.

"We are to evacuate the Fort," he said quietly.

"Evacuate?" echoed the Frenchman, as if the word were displeasing. "'T
is a strange military act, in my judgment, and one filled with grave
peril. Does such decision come from a council?"

"There has been no council," broke in Ronan, hastily. "The commander has
not honored his officers by calling one. Such were the orders as
published on parade this morning."

He would have added more, but Helm warned him, by a sudden look of
disapproval.

"I understand," he explained quietly, "that the instructions received
from General Hull at Detroit were imperative, and that Captain Heald was
left no discretion in the matter."

"I have not yet discovered the man who has seen the orders," exclaimed
the Ensign hotly, "and we all know it means death."

Helm faced him sternly.

"A soldier's first duty is obedience," he said shortly, "and we are
soldiers. Gentlemen, will you not come in?"