"I can't give you the exact dates, but we have been advised of their arrival these last few weeks."
"Warm clothing in May? A very seasonable provision! But it's all of a piece. How about those fuzes?"
"To what do you refer, may I ask?" said Mr. Faulks very blandly; but his blood was boiling at the indignity of being lectured thus by a young man altogether new to the office.
"It is all in this morning's Times. The siege is at a standstill; the fuzes won't fit the shells. There are plenty of 10-inch fuzes, but only 13-inch shells. Who is to blame for that?"
"Our ordnance branch, I fear. But it shall be seen to: I will address a communication to the head, calling his attention to the error."
"And when will he get the letter?"
"In the course of the next two or three days."
"And his reply will take about the same time to reach you, I suppose?"
"Probably: more or less."
"Where is the office of the ordnance branch? In this house?"