Trapped by Malays | Page 5

sulky tone; "and when I was in fault I
never shuffled or prevaricated."
"Never, Archie, my lad," said the Major energetically. "It was bad form
of me, but I was angry with your father's son. My words were
ill-chosen, and there--there--I apologise."
"Oh no, sir!" cried the lad, warming up and speaking excitedly; "there
is no need for that. I suppose I have been in the wrong, but I did not
really know what I had been doing when you sent your letter."
"Of course you did not, my boy; but--er--I was not thinking of that. It
was about your conduct generally, and I had made up my mind to have
you here and give you what you would call a wigging,
Archie--eh?--wigging, sir! Dreadfully boyish expression!--and then, on
second thoughts, I said to myself, `Much better to have the lad in
quietly, break the ice and that sort of thing, tell him what I wanted to
talk about, and then make him sit by me at the mess, and put it to him
quietly over a glass of wine.' Understand, my lad?"
Archie's lips parted to speak, but the recollection of many old
kindnesses began to crowd up so that he could not trust his voice, and
he only nodded.
"That's right. You see, my lad, your father and I were boys together--
not perfect either. We used to quarrel frightfully. Well, sir, something
inside me began to remind me of old times, and make apologies for you,
and I was going to talk to you about being an officer and a
gentleman--and dignity of manner, and impressing yourself upon your
men--just point out that an officer can be kind to his lads and slacken
the discipline a little sensibly without losing tone or touch, but there
must be a proper feeling between officer and man. An officer need not

be a bully and a tyrant, but he must be firm. His men must respect him,
and see that the man who leads them knows his duty and is brave
almost to a fault; and knowing this, every man who is worth his salt
will follow him even to the death if duty calls. It is a grand position,
Archie, my lad--that of being a leader of men--and it is shared with the
General by the youngest subaltern who wears the Queen's scarlet. See
what I mean?"
"Yes, sir," said the lad in a deep, low voice.
"Well, sir," almost shouted the Major, "that's what I was going to say to
you, sir, over a glass of wine to-night, and put it to you that it was quite
time that you, a young man grown, should put away boyish things and
come to an end of tricks and pranks and youthful follies, and take upon
you and show that you are worthy of the great birthright-- manhood,
when--confound it all! I was nearly breaking out swearing!--in comes
to me that--hang him!--that overbearing bully--Yah! Tut, tut, tut, tut,
tut!--it put me out dreadfully, and I am speaking in haste, for Ripsy is a
fine, trustworthy man--my best non-com--to complain to me about you
making a chum, a regular companion, of that confounded, low-bred
cockney rascal, Pegg. Hang him! I'll have his peg sharpened and make
him spin in a more upright manner before I have done with him! Ripsy
told me that the fellow was on fatigue-work--takes advantage of the
freedom of his position to sneak off to your quarters to hatch some
prank or mischief or another; and I had to listen to his complaint and--
confound him!--to answer his question, `Is it right for a subaltern to
encourage a low-bred rascal like that to come to his quarters?' What do
you say?"
"It was my fault, sir, entirely."
"Yes; and that's your fault too, Archibald Maine. You take a fancy to
and make a companion of a private who bears the worst character in
this detachment. You see even now, sir, you have made so much of a
companion of him that you are ready to take the blame for his fault."
"In this case rightly, sir," said Archie, speaking with firmness. "I had
jerked your note out of the window, and as the poor fellow passed--"

"Poor fellow!" cried the Major irritably. "There, again!"
"I told him to pick it up and bring it in," continued Archie firmly; and
the Major grunted, for he was evidently cooling down.
"There! Humph! Dinner," grunted the Major again. "Now, quick! What
have you got to say?"
Archie was silent for a few moments, for the simple reason that he
could not speak, only stand trying to gaze steadily in the eyes of the
fine old officer, who was watching him intently with a look that forced
him to speak at last; but