There was a good deal of skylarking going on, and much ingenuity was often displayed in devising practical jokes. In the evening the men would gather on the forecastle and smoke and tell yarns, those who had already seen service being eagerly listened to as they told tales of hairbreadth escapes or thrilling deeds.
Jack and his comrades were thus sitting one fine night, when Sergeant Linham, taking his pipe from his mouth, blew violently down his nose, and prefacing his remarks with his usual exclamation, said, ‘Now I want to know what in all goodness have the Turks to do with this affair? What are we going to fight the Russians for, and where are we going to begin, for no one at present seems to know?’
‘You want to know a good deal, sergeant,’ said a trooper named Pearson. ‘As far as I can make out, the Czar’s trying to collar Turkey, and we’re going to stop him. Anyway, we’re going to have a dust-up; that’s all I care about.’
‘Just like all the other fools,’ said Linham scornfully; ‘no matter what the reason so long as we fight; but I want to understand.’
‘A very laudable wish, sergeant,’ said a friendly voice from behind, and turning they saw Cornet Leland, cigar in hand, among them. The men would have jumped up, but the cornet bade them keep seated.
‘Would you mind telling us, sir, what we are going to fight about?’ said Linham. ‘I suppose there is a cause.’
‘I suppose there is,’ laughed Leland; ‘but it’s a very involved one. My uncle has deeply studied the question, and he tells me we have been partly led into this affair by the French Emperor, who is compelled to make war on somebody to prevent his country from dwelling on awkward questions at home.’
‘Just what I should have expected,’ growled Linham; ‘we’re the cat’s-paw to get the chestnuts out of the fire as usual.’
‘There may be some truth in that,’ said the young officer; ‘but, of course, there are other causes. The Czar of Russia is practically a fanatic, with a raging hatred of Moslems; this he makes a pretext for wishing to take Constantinople under his protection. The other nations cannot agree to this, especially we who govern millions of Moslems in India. The Czar has poured an army into Turkey, and we are going either to drive it out or defend the country against fresh inroads, and the French are going to help us.’
‘Then we’re not bound for Russia at all?’ said Sergeant Linham in some disgust.