He woke before dawn and went outside. The camp was still, nobody yet stirring. The only sign of activity was a lone sentry standing on the ramparts looking out across the grey, cold fields. Cole gazed at him wistfully, wishing he was that sentry right now. Thoughts of Penny came once more into his mind… her face, the sound of her voice, her laughter. Those eyes, always dancing with the light of inner happiness. What had happened to extinguish it? Sickness? But, for all three to have been stricken, that would mean it was something contagious, and therefore, a danger for everyone in the camp. Surely, the colonel would have imposed some form of quarantine, or even abandonment of the camp?
Blowing out a loud blast of air, he rubbed his face with his hands and decided to take his horse and rid
