The bishop had fled on the night before to
the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
to cross the river at once.
"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally got
separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out of
the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they
had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and the
French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made off
with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were all
nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being near, I
joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was a
simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very hopeless."
"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with a
smile.
"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."
"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures, Mr.
O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps.
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