The Hidden Children by Robert William Chambers Chapter 1 Page 53

rifle frock could be scarcely familiar to them,

A mischievous sergeant saluted me, grinning, saying it was but idle sport and no harm meant; and so, some laughing, others seeming to be ashamed, they made haste to clear out. I followed them, with a nod of reassurance to the wench, who might have been their drab for aught I knew, all camps being full of such poultry.

“Gallantly done!” exclaimed Boyd derisively, as I came slowly back to where he stood. “But had I been fortunate enough to think of intervening, egad, I believe I would have claimed what she refused the rest, Loskiel!”

“From a ruddied camp drab?” I asked scornfully.

“Her cheeks and lips are not painted. I’ve discovered that,”