We turned to go.
“What about you, Jones?” said the Colonel suddenly. “Have you any intention of running away?”
I looked as surprised as I could. “Good Lord, sir!” I said. “Do you think I’m such a fool as to think of it with a groggy knee like mine?”
The Colonel laughed. “There’s no saying with you fellows,” said he; “but that’s all right now.”
Hill and I walked up the garden together.
“That five-mile circle is pretty beastly,” he grumbled.
“There’s always the jail,” I said. “The Spook can push you in there if necessary later on.”
“That’s so!” Hill brightened up. “He nearly pinched you for parole too! I thought you were in for it!”
“So did I,” I laughed, “but I wriggled out of it.”
I was quite wrong. Half an hour later the Colonel came to my room. He handed me a document.