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Show N0 HERO THIS BfySZkjgfiL, saved. Ws bsve not yet passed the great man. Thr Is soms chatter among the men. They are marching at ease. ' I turn in the saddle, catch Sergeant Simpson's eyes and smile. I say, "I hope everybody enjoyed the circus stunt." Laughter With Me There Is laughter, but I feel It Is with me, ft ' The command comes down, "March at attention." I give C section the order. A mln-Tute mln-Tute latere am giving the "eyes I right." and saluting the great man 'on his horse. He returns my salute. Bob wslks quietly like an old ruffian ruf-fian who has signed the pledge. But for days my battle with Bob is one of the Jokes of the mesa. I do not mind for I know that the last laugh was with me. e e Here are Mary and I settled In our farmhouse as if we were to be here forever. I go down to Bracken-hurst Bracken-hurst one evening and drive my car up by night and we garage it in the wagon shed. I take Mary for drives. We get to know some of the Ebchester people and I find myself ploying tennis. We give one or two informal little parties to which we ask Fairfax and Hallard. Mary and my C. O. are Instantly friends. She 'likes Mm as much as T do. I Almost It would seem as if we were here for the duration of the i war. and this summer weather adds to the illusion. Apparently those in authority are still afraid of Invasion or of a disastrous raid and the 81st is one of the last trained divisions left in England. Rumor is busy but our quiet orderly life goes on. We have divisional sports and a horse show. Fairfax and Tom take a prise, but I do not exhibit myself with Bob. I Christmas. Fairfax has gone on leave to Cheshire. I have taken my wife and left her in Randall's hands. Randall is really a marvelous person. He talked to me like a father, but a father with understanding. I am not to worry. He will send me a wire directly di-rectly the business is over. But how I hated leaving her alone in our house, though the two elderly maids are kind without being fussy. "I'll try and get leave and come down to you. dearest." XVI I was Jealous of that fellow Mur-chison. Mur-chison. Though Mary may not have been conscious of it I suspect that he had touched her Imagination, and part of my restlessness was a reaction due to Jealousy. I may have felt that by rejoining the army I was taking the stage again and was appearing as the plumed hero to impress the feminine souL Again I sit with these new friends round the mess table, and we are alljood fellows together. It migM be regarded as a perfect parlner-ship. parlner-ship. with Fairfax as the senior member. There appear to be no jealousies. He t too wise and impartial im-partial to ahow favors. But we are in no danger here. I ask Fairfax if there is any reason why my wife should not Join me in rooms. I assure him that it will make no difference in my work. "By all means, Brent." Mary to Rest I have insisted on Mary gaving up her commandanLship. She can rest and be quiet here, and at the moment she has two elderly servants ser-vants who can be trusted to look after the house. I manage to find comfortable rooms in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Ebchester. It means biking in and out, but that's no hardship. We bave a garden and an orehara sit in, and khaki does, not crowd too close upon us. Though the khaki world is my world and I am working hard to make it so. This unit is thorough, and though Fairfax may be the most tolerant of C. O.'s, he can be fierce for efficiency. I have been given C section, but my knowledge of drill does not exist. I cannot even move the men off In fours, but after a month's mugging of infantry and stretcher drill and of watching a very capable sergeant at work, I get the hang of the thing. I have my section out and drill it myself. At my first attempt with all those eyes watching me to see if I shall make an aas of myself I feel hor- ribly nervous, but I do not make an ass of myself and I feel master j of my voice and of the men. I wish to be completely efficient in my knowledge of a Field Ambulance's Ambu-lance's functioning and of ita interior in-terior economy. I memorise the equipment. I give my men gas drill and stretcher drill, and I Invent war games and make the men deal with hypothetical wounded. I find that they respond to my keenness. I want C section to be the section in the ' 202 F. A Hallard as adjutant has A section,1 Margetson B, with Ciibbs under him. Margetson is rather a shy person and sometimes his orders are fan-; tastic. Gibbs has a stentorian voice, and much confidence, but he is like- j ly to be laiy We can beat B section sec-tion as we like on a field day. but! A and Hallard are worthy rivals. Mora Courage Than I She seems to have so much more courage than I bave. Or is s woman supported at such times by the Inspiration In-spiration of the other life that Is In her? Mary has a daughter. Randall wires that all is well I show the telegram to Fairfax and he promises prom-ises to put me up immediately for three days' leave. I have aeen my daughter, and I cannot pretend that the creature haa any beauty. Its queer crumple of a face is mottled and red and there is hardly any hair on ita head; its eyes are a vacuous blue. The women, of course, are in ecstasies and assure me that they can discover dis-cover a likeness to me in this puckered puck-ered monkey. And yet I feel a queer tenderness towards ths grotesque gro-tesque piece of proud flesh. A part of me has gone to the making of 'it and I suppose that in a year or I two if I survive I shall be trailing small Joan round by the hand and feeling myself a large and wonderful wonder-ful fellow. And perhaps twenty years hence I shall be suffering the Inevitable fate of most fathers. My daughter will be tolerant, but brightly pat-. pat-. ronizing! I I am back in Ebchester. and bit-lleted bit-lleted in barracks. Holly Farm is an 'anachronism without Mary. Also, the winter is taking itself with extreme ex-treme seriousness. We have had six inches of snow and it is lying. Biking Bik-ing to snd from Holly Fsrm would havs been too superfluous snd I havs left the car at Brackenhurst. I prefer the male comfort of the mess snd its human contacts. I have more than a feeling that our I time is growing short here and that !we men will soon be together where lour hsppy family will be put to the supreme test. Continued Friday Copyright, 1837, for The Telegram Man After Own Heart Simpson, my senior sergeant. Is A man after my own heart, fresh-faced fresh-faced and forty and thickset, with a temper that never wears thin. I shall be. glad of Simpson over there. Horses! We sre supposed to be mounted officers. Fsirfax is a good horseman and used to hunting; Hallard Hal-lard and Gibbs are both keen, but I have never been astride a horse. The S.-M. of our transport agrees to give me private riding lessons and I go out early in the morning before breakfast, and when the business busi-ness is not too public. It is a form of exercise that chastens my pride. Besides, formal occasions may demand de-mand my appearance on horseback. S.-M. Banyard has chosen for me a quiet beast, but the wretched animal seems to divine my Inno-cense. Inno-cense. It will respond to a word from Banyard. but it treats me with deliberate inattention. I bring Bob sugar and try to ingratiate myself. Banyard assures me that I am getting on splendidly, but I always wish I could get off. Also, my posterior seems more sensitive sen-sitive than it should be. Pride goes before a fall. I ride round one morning to Holly Farm and show myself off to Mary. Bob behaves like a gentleman and has his nose stroked. Next day we parade and march out on one of those formal occasions. My place is with my section. The whole division is out for a route march and an inspection and for the first mile Bobs behavior Is flawless. I don't know what Irks the wretched beast. Perhaps he is bored. I hear later that he snd Fsirfax's mount are particular friends. He sets off with me at a canter up the line of march. I can't stop the animal and all the men's hesds are turning. Bob carries car-ries me to the heed of our column and places himself placidly beside Fairfax's Tom. Fsirfsx turns a startled head and looks at me reproachfully. "What are you doing here, Brent?" "Don't ask me, sir, ask my damned horse!" He is able to see the Joke, but my position is impossible on so formal an occasion. The general is waiting for us up the road. "You had better get off snd fall out. Brent, unless you csn msnage the brute." I pull angrily at Bob's mouth, but without effect I give him the spurs snd for the next minute or two I am absorbed in a scramble iin and out of a hedge. The unit goes by snd I am awars of grinning grin-ning faces. Bob and I are left to settle the matter, for the Field Ambulance Am-bulance is at the tail of the brigade. But my blood is up. I'm not going to be mads a fool of by this creature. crea-ture. I use spurs and crop and language lan-guage and suddenly Bob becomes as meek as mutton. I suppose he could have pitched me off had his blood been up like mine, but I am to discover dis-cover that Bob, like many men, is Just a bluffer and trying it on. Apparently " he decided that this funny business is not worth while. Victory! He trots respectfully up the road after those swinging legs and slogging boots. He suffers me to put him in his place and he remains there, walking debonairly. I am |