SergeantDunhamdeliberatedmorethananhourontheproprietyofthisproposal。for，thoughsufficientlypromptwhenhismindwasreallymadeup，hewashabit-
uallythoughtfulandwary。Thehabitofsuperintendingthepersonalpoliceofthegarrisonhadmadehimac-
quaintedwithcharacter，andhehadlongbeendisposedtothinkwellofJasper。Stillthatsubtlepoison，suspicion，hadenteredhissoul。andsomuchweretheartificesandintriguesoftheFrenchdreaded，that，especiallywarnedashehadbeenbyhiscommander，itisnottobewonderedthattherecollectionofyearsofgoodconductshouldvan-
ishundertheinfluenceofadistrustsokeen，andseeminglysoplausible。InthisembarrassmenttheSergeantconsultedtheQuartermaster，whoseopinion，ashissuperior，hefeltboundtorespect，thoughatthemomentindependentofhiscontrol。Itisanunfortunateoccurrenceforonewhoisinadilemmatoaskadviceofanotherwhoisdesirousofstandingwellinhisfavor，thepartyconsultedbeingalmostcertaintotrytothinkinthemannerwhichwillbethemostagreeabletothepartyconsulting。Inthepresentinstanceitwasequallyunfortunate，asrespectsacandidconsiderationofthesubject，thatCap，insteadoftheSer-
geanthimself，madethestatementofthecase。fortheearnestoldsailorwasnotbackwardinlettinghislistenerperceivetowhichsidehewasdesirousthattheQuarter-