By November the war was over in Canada, and the declaration of peace heralded far and wide. Moreover, it was whispered among officers and men at Penetang that Sir George would soon be leaving them, and that the wet earth, due to the fall rains, was the chief cause of his delay. He had, in fact, received orders to transfer himself and body-guard over land to Little York as soon as the road was favorable for the march.

This matter, however, he kept for a time to himself. In some things he consulted his staff before acting, while in others, perhaps equally important, he kept his own counsel. It was this trait in his character that gave him the reputation of possessing a bit of the will of the Iron Duke. Possibly for the same reason he had been chosen to lead the midwinter march to Penetang. Hence the officers of his staff rarely questioned him concerning his plans for the future; although they talked among themselves pretty freely about any prospective change.

In the meantime Helen did her best to fill her position to the satisfaction of all at the new Fort. Sometimes the strain was very severe upon her, notwithstanding the kindness and courtesy of the men. In this regard Cummings surpassed them all. He hovered around longer, was the first to come and often the last to go; would read her thoughts, forestall her actions, and often, when unobserved, that piercing look of his would appear for a moment. Still, agitation would not have time to occur, as with bow and smile he would pass on.

Gradually the aversion which Helen felt for him became less poignant. Yet, as the weeks followed each other in quick succession, she felt more and more unhappy.

Harold was much concerned about her, and dreading the approach of illness desired her to consult the Doctor; but she only laughed, and declared that it was the extra duty of being Lady Bountiful that was wearing upon her, and that when winter arrived, she would be well and strong again.

Sir George also watched her keenly. In a bantering way he often tried to read her thoughts, but his efforts usually ended in the relation of some amusing tale to make her laugh and forget.

But Sir George was not the only observer. Lieutenant Smith had his eyes open, and at last, seizing an opportunity when alone with the Colonel, he decided to have his say.

"May I have a private talk with you this morning, Sir George?" he asked, with some trepidation. It was a bold thing to interview his superior officer upon such a subject—and this he well knew.

The Colonel gave him a keen glance for a moment before he answered:

"Yes, but not until noon. This morning I want you to summon all the officers to my room immediately after drill. I have something important to communicate."

There was much speculation among them during the next hour or two, and punctually at twelve o'clock they were all present.

Sir George cast his eye over each as he entered.

"Gentlemen," he said in a decisive tone, as he took his seat, "the time has come when it is advisable to make a change in our arrangements here. I find that to carry out orders from England it will not be necessary to maintain quite so large a force at Penetang. The war is over. We have not had any fighting since we arrived, and a smaller body of men will be sufficient to man our garrison. It must be remembered also, that one of the main objects to which Penetang will be devoted will be ship-building for the lake service. Our engineer, Captain Payne, will require to remain, and in the coming year his force will be increased. But as our garrison is now in a satisfactory condition, we can afford to part with some of our men without in any way sacrificing its interests. After thinking the matter out carefully, I have finally decided to leave the Fort under the command of Captain Payne. The rest of the officers will remain with him, with the exception of Captain Cummings, who, with fifty men, will accompany me by trail to Little York, and from there to Montreal. Weather being favorable, we shall march in three days."

"Egad, sir!" exclaimed Captain Cummings, "I always understood that I was to have command of the Fort whenever you left. Why so sudden a change?"

"I have already explained," said the Colonel, coldly. "The movements of a body of infantry are never regulated by cast iron rules, neither are those of its officers."

"Can no change be made, sir?" said Cummings, his face flushed and angry. "I would much rather remain and do what I can for the growth of the place than go east again."

"My orders are decisive," said the Colonel, rising to his feet, indicating that the conference was over. "In three days everything must be ready for the march of fifty men under the command of Captain Cummings for Little York, now known as Toronto. I shall also march with the company. As many details have to be attended to, all officers will require to assist at once in carrying out the arrangements."

In a very few minutes Sir George was alone in his room. He folded his papers, put them away and, opening the door, said to Emmiline:

"Tell Mrs. Manning that I wish to speak with her."

Helen soon appeared. She suspected nothing of what had occurred. Still, her eyes were bloodshot. She had been weeping.

"My child," said the Colonel, taking her hand. "Come into my room for a moment." As he closed the door, she looked up into his face with questioning surprise.

"You are a brave girl," he said, "and if you were my own daughter I should be proud of you; but there are some things even you cannot bear. As you know, I have decided to place the care of the Fort in younger hands, but I am not going away alone. Captain Cummings will return to the east with me.

"Oh, thank God, thank God!" she exclaimed with a sob, and unable to restrain her feelings any longer, her face flooded with tears.

"Hoity, toity, my dear. I didn't expect all this," cried the Colonel in distress. "If I had known things had come to such a pass I would have sent the rascal away long ago."

With a strong effort Helen controlled herself.

"Oh, do not mention it again, please," she pleaded, "or his name either. Harold even does not know it. I just thought it was something I had to bear, but it was killing me. How can I ever thank you enough?"

For answer the good old Colonel stooped down and kissed the weeping woman.

Three days later, the fifty men with Sir George and Captain Cummings at their head started for Toronto. Adieux were said, but somehow Lieutenant Smith did not find it necessary to have his conference with the Colonel.