"Not guilty,—sir," Jogman muttered shamefacedly.
Sergeant Honk, as a witness, expressed his surprise by an almost imperceptible lifting of the brush of red hair which did service in lieu of eyebrows. The sergeant-major's lip curled slightly. The colonel's face remained immobile.
"Read the written statement of the Military Police, Mr. Adjutant," he commanded.
The adjutant did so. Each line was correct and convincing. The accused, when asked, declined to express an opinion on it.
"Who is the first witness?" the colonel asked.
"Sergeant Honk, sir."
"Sergeant Honk, what do you know of this case?" demanded the Colonel.
"Sir, h'on the afternoon of the twenty-first, at about four o'clock, h'I was talkin' to a lady h'on the main street of Paree-plaige, when h'I 'eard th' devil of a row—beg pardon, sir, it slipped h'out afore I thought."
"Go on;" said the colonel drily. "I daresay what you state is quite correct."
Thus encouraged, Honk resumed with morose enthusiasm: "H'I says to th' young lady, says h'I, 'Somethin's broke loose 'ere.' The women and men was a-screamin' an' runnin' into their 'ouses. H'I run to the corner as fast as me legs could carry me—" Jogman looked instinctively at Honk's queer limbs, as if he were about to do a mental calculation of his speed, but was immediately called to attention by the sergeant-major.