Charge! Part 47

"Of course I did, two days ago, by the surgeon. It's not gentlemanly of your Colonel. Go and tell him that I feel well enough to move now, and that I desire him to send me with a proper escort, and under a white flag, to make an exchange of prisoners."

"Well, I'll take your message," I said; "but-"

"Yes, go at once," said Moriarty, "and bring me back an answer, for I'm sick of this place."

He turned away, and, without so much as a glance at Denham, lay back, staring up at the sky.

"Well," said Denham when we were out of hearing, "of all the arrogance and cheek I ever witnessed, that fellow possesses the most. Here, what are you going to do?"

"Take the message to the Colonel," I replied.

"Going to do what?" cried Denham. "Nothing of the kind."

"But I promised him."

"I know you did; but you must have a fit of delirium coming on. It's being too much up in the sun."

"Nonsense," I said. "I've no time for joking."

"Joking, my dear boy? Nothing of the kind. I'm going to take you to the doctor; he'll nip your complaint in the bud."

"Absurd," I cried. "Come with me to the Colonel."

"What! To deliver the message?"

"Of course."

"No, Val, my boy. I like you too well to let you go to the old man. Do you know what he'd do?"

"Send me back to our friend there with a message as sharp as a sword. Of course I know he will not send him across to the Boers."

"My dear Val," said Denham solemnly, "let me inform your ignorance exactly what would happen. I know the chief from old experience. He'll sit back and listen to you with one of those pleasant smiles he puts on when he's working himself up into a rage. He'll completely disarm you-as he did me once-and all the time, as he hears you patiently to the end, he'll think nothing about my lord Paddy there, but a.s.sociate you, my poor boy, with what he will consider about the most outrageous piece of impudence he ever had addressed to him. Then suddenly he'll spring up and say- No, I will not spoil the purity of the atmosphere this beautiful evening by repeating a favourite expletive of his-he'll say something you will not at all like, and then almost kick you out of his quarters."

"I don't believe it," I said.

"That's giving me the lie, Val, my boy. He'll be in such a rage that he'll forget himself; for, though he's a splendid soldier, and as brave a man as ever crossed a charger, he is one of the-"

"What, Mr Denham?" said the gentleman of whom he spoke, suddenly standing before us. "Pray speak out; I like to hear what my officers think of me."

Chapter Thirty Two.

Denham s.h.i.+vers.

I wanted to dash off-not from fear, but to indulge in a hearty roar of laughter-for Denham's countenance at that moment wore the drollest expression I have ever seen upon the face of man.

"I-I-I beg your pardon, Colonel," he stammered at last.

"For backbiting me, sir," said the Colonel shortly. "I could not help hearing your last sentence, for you raised your voice and forced it upon me. Now, if you please, I am one of the-what?"

"I was-I was only telling Moray here, sir, that you were-er-er-very pa.s.sionate, and that if-"

"Pa.s.sionate, am I?"

"Yes, sir," stammered Denham. "No, no; I beg your pardon, sir. I didn't mean to say that."

"I presume you are saying what you consider to be the truth, Mr Denham," said the Colonel coldly. "Now, pray go on: and that if-"

"If he came to you with-with a message, sir, that he has just received, you would kick him out of your presence."

"Humph!" said the Colonel sternly. "Just this minute, sir, you said of me what you believed to be the truth; but now you have been saying what you must know to be false.-Pray, what was the message Moray?" he added, turning to me.

There was only one thing to do, and I did it, giving Moriarty's message to the end.

"The insolent, conceited idiot!" said the Colonel scornfully. "You need not go back to him with my answer; but if you come across him again and he asks what I said, you can tell him this: that at the first opportunity I shall hand him over to my superior officers, as one of Her Majesty's subjects found with arms in his hand fighting against the British force after taking service with her enemies, and doing his best to impress Englishmen to serve in the same ranks.-Mr Denham, I should like a few words with you in the morning."

He turned upon his heel and strode heavily away, with his spurs clinking loudly and the guard at the end of his scabbard giving a sharp c.h.i.n.k every now and then, as, field-gla.s.s in hand, he climbed to the top of the wall to take a look round at the positions of the enemy before the evening closed in.

"Well," said Denham at last, looking the while as if all the military starch had been taken out of him, "you've done it now."

I could keep back my laughter no longer.

"Somebody has," I cried merrily.

"Yes," he said dolefully; "somebody has. Oh, I say, Val, you oughtn't to have told tales like that."

"What?" I cried. "How could I help it?"

"Well, I suppose you couldn't," said my companion. "But there never was such an unlucky beggar as I am. What did he want to come upon us just at that moment for? Oh dear! oh dear! and I got to face him to-morrow morning! I say, can't we do something to put it off-something to make him forget it?"

"Impossible," I said.

"Oh, I don't know; try and think of a good dodge-a sortie, or doing something to make the Boers come on to-night. If we had a jolly good light he'd forget all about it, and I shouldn't hear any more about the miserable business. Here, what can we do to make the Boers come on? I might get killed in the set-to, and then I should escape this awful wigging."

"Who ought to go and see the doctor now?" I said. "Who's going mad?"

"I am, I believe, old fellow; and enough to make me. It's enough to make a fellow desert. Here, I know; I'll do something. It's all the fault of that miserable renegade. I'll go in and half-kill him-an insolent, insulting brute!"

Just then Denham, who was as fearless as any man in the ranks when out with the corps, started violently in his alarm; for a hail came from high up on the wall in the Colonel's familiar voice; and upon looking up, there he was, gla.s.s in hand, looking down at us.

"Denham," cried the Colonel, "run to the Major. Tell him to come here to me at once, and bring his gla.s.s."

"Yes, sir," cried my companion.-"Come with me, Val. My word! He gave me such a turn, as the old women say; I thought he'd heard me again. Hurrah, old fellow! there's something up, and no mistake. I shan't get that tongue-flogging after all."