“Oh, yes. We ordered some coal from Sergeant Johnson. Come on, let’s start. Hi! Richards!”
And Richards came in with the stew in a tin jug such as is used in civilised lands to hold hot water of a morning. And so the doctor forgot the Colonel’s rage.
Late that night, after the doctor had gone, I called Davies.
“Davies,” I said, “where did you get that coal?”
“Off the ration cart, sir.”
“Was it ours, do you think?”
“Well, sir, I don’t somehow think it was. You see, the ration cart came up, and the man driving it was up by the horse—and I saw the bag o’ coal there, like. So I said to Lewis, ‘Lewis, you see to the rations. I’ll take the coal up quick!’ Then I heard the man up by the horse say, ‘There’s coal there for headquarters.’ ‘Oh, yes,’ I said, ‘that’s all right, but this here was ordered off Sergeant Johnson yesterday,’ I said. And I made off quick.”
“Good Lord!” I exclaimed. “Was Sergeant Johnson there?”
“No,” answered Davies. “He came later. I said to Lewis just now, ‘What about that coal?’ And he said Sergeant Johnson came just after and started kicking up some bit of a row, sir, about some coal; but Lewis, he said he didn’t know nothing about any coal, and the man at the horse he didn’t know who I was, sir; it was quite dark, you see, sir. Lewis said Sergeant Johnson got the wind up a bit, sir, about losing the coal....”
“Look here Davies,” I remarked solemnly, “do you realise that that coal was for headquarters ...”