"Hello, Major," he called, almost cheerfully. The gun didn't look cheerful, though. It was pointed at my head.
"Fancy meeting you here, Colonel," I said, trying to match his joviality. Somehow it didn't quite come off.
Joe was walking beside me, waving at the colonel, beaming all over with happiness.
"I see you found your man," Walsh said.
I turned rapidly. Joe nodded and kept grinning, a grin that told me he was getting a big kick out of all this. Like a kid playing a game.
I faced Walsh again. "Okay, what's it all about, pal?"
"Colonel," Walsh corrected me. "You mustn't forget to say Colonel, Major." He emphasized my rank, and he said it with a sort of ruthless finality.
I waited. I could see he was just busting to tell me how clever he'd been. Besides, there wasn't much I could do but wait. Not with Walsh pointing the stun gun at my middle.
"We've come a long way since the Academy, haven't we, Major?"
"If you mean in miles," I said, looking around at the plants, "we sure have."