“May be serving under another name,” suggested the major, whom the story did not at all interest.
“Is it probable? Nowadays men are only too anxious to be known as enlisting for the flag. And there are big chances for promotion for men who have served before. He wouldn’t be likely to miss those chances by changing his name and refusing to admit he was a veteran. No, it’s a bit mysterious. And—”
A redoubled chorus of yells from the car brought the several officers in the compartment instinctively to their feet. Crowding to the door, they peered out over each other’s shoulders into the traveling bedlam.
The humorist had just put a capstone on his achievement of wit by creeping slyly up behind the old man whom he had been bombarding with peanut-shells, and emptying the entire residue of the paper-bag’s contents down the back of his patient victim’s neck.
The exploit brought forth tumultuous applause from the uncouth crowd of onlookers near by.
Dad, who had smiled amusedly as each peanut of the earlier volleys had chanced to hit him, now laughed aloud in tolerant mirth. He had seen new-comers far more mercilessly hazed in his earlier army days. To him the rude fun was the mere animal spirit of a gathering of children, bent on larking it while out for a holiday.
And while he did not greatly enjoy the task of scraping harsh peanut-shells from between his collar and his neck, it struck him as decidedly amusing that a full-grown man like this partly drunk bargee should find joy in such foolishness and that others should deem it funny enough to send them into recurrent and boisterous guffaws.
He was glad, though, that they could laugh. It would shift their thoughts from the grief of leave-taking. He was quite willing to be the butt of their laughter so long as it served so good a purpose.
The bargee, however, was far from pleased at his victim’s tolerant attitude. He would have preferred to see the old man stamp and swear in impotent rage or mumble piteously futile threats at his tormentor.
To achieve some such end he came around in front of Dad and, hands on hips, leered down at the pleasantly smiling target of his clownish activities.