But I must go to headquarters, to prepare
the Prince for this extraordinary scene. My information will be well
taken, for it will give him a hearty laugh at present, and put him on his
guard against laughing when it might be very mal-a-propos. So, au revoir,
my dear Waverley.'
CHAPTER VII
THE ENGLISH PRISONER
The first occupation of Waverley, after he departed from the Chieftain,
was to go in quest of the officer whose life he had saved. He was
guarded, along with his companions in misfortune, who were very numerous,
in a gentleman's house near the field of battle.
On entering the room where they stood crowded together, Waverley easily
recognised the object of his visit, not only by the peculiar dignity of
his appearance, but by the appendage of Dugald Mahony, with his
battleaxe, who had stuck to him from the moment of his captivity as if he
had been skewered to his side. This close attendance was perhaps for the
purpose of securing his promised reward from Edward, but it also operated
to save the English gentleman from being plundered in the scene of
general confusion; for Dugald sagaciously argued that the amount of the
salvage which he might be allowed would be regulated by the state of the
prisoner when he should deliver him over to Waverley.
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