Malcolm himself, when questioned, neither denied nor acknowledged the
fact, but turned it off with a joke and a laugh. He was soon as much at
home in his old regiment as if he formed a part in it, and when not
required by Ronald passed the greater part of his time with his former
comrades. As was natural, the opinion entertained by the men as to
Leslie's identity was shared by the officers. The avoidance by Ronald of
any allusion to his family, his declining when he first came among them
to say to which branch of the Leslies he belonged, and the decided manner
in which Colonel Hume, the first time the question was broached in his
hearing in Ronald's absence, said that he begged no inquiries would be
made on that score; all he could assure them was that Leslie's father was
a gentleman of good family, and a personal friend of his own -- put a
stop to all further questioning, but strengthened the idea that had got
abroad that the young volunteer was the son of Colonel Leslie.
Early in January the 2d Scottish Dragoons marched for Dunkirk, where
twenty thousand men assembled, while a large number of men of war and
transports were gathered in the port. One day, when Ronald was walking in
the street with Malcolm at his heels, the latter stepped up to him and
touched him.
"Do you see that officer in the uniform of a colonel of the Black
Musketeers, in that group at the opposite corner; look at him well, for
he is your father's greatest enemy, and would be yours if he knew who you
are; that is the Duke de Chateaurouge.
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