“Just behind the Third,” I replied, pointing over in that direction.
“Well, come over there with me, I want to speak to them,” he said, and we went over, I wondering what he was going to say, and was more than astonished when I found the surprise in store for me. They all sprang to attention, and then, with me standing by his side, he made them a long speech, which all the other companies round could hear also, and said that he was promoting me to sergeant on that their great regimental “Slava day.” Generally you are just promoted, and it is entered in the books in the ordinary way, and it was a very great honour to have a public sort of ceremony like that, especially on such a day. They all shouted “Jivio” three times for me when he had finished, and, though I felt extremely shy and embarrassed, I was very much pleased.
All the officers in the regiment and a great many of the men came up and shook hands with me afterwards, and congratulated me, and the Commander of the battalion sent his orderly off for some spare stars which he had, and fixed my second ones on my shoulders there and then.
Later on the General of the First Army, who was one of the guests, when he heard I was one of his soldiers, also added his congratulations; in fact, I have never in my life had so much handshaking and patting on the back.
Presently the Crown Prince arrived and the rest of the guests. The whole regiment, headed by the band and the regimental flag, marched past him and saluted, and to see these fine healthy-looking fellows, with their swinging stride, you would never have guessed they were the same men who had gone through that terrible retreat in the Albanian mountains and arrived at Corfu in such a deplorable condition two months before.
The guests all sat down to lunch in the big marquee, and after that there were songs, dancing, etc. The Crown Prince had to leave early, but said he would come back again later on.
I had invited two of my friends from the English hospital, and they enjoyed themselves immensely, and we all—guests, officers and men—danced the “Kolo” and all the other Serbian national dances together until evening.
Later on there was another big lunch and a great many speeches from the representatives of the English, French and Italian Allies. True to his promise Prince Alexander came back later in the afternoon, specially to chat with the soldiers, among whom he walked about in the friendliest manner, enquiring after their families, how they had been wounded, etc., etc. It was easy to see how popular he is with his Army, and how pleased and proud the men were as they crowded round him.
We kept it up the whole day and late that night after all the guests had gone, in spite of the fact that we should have to be astir very early next morning, as we were to embark for Salonica.
We had a very hot, dusty tramp down to the embarking stage, and I had very bad luck, as I lost my dog “Mali,” who was a most faithful little brute, though it would be hard to describe his breed. He was a stray who had attached himself to an officer and afterwards been handed over to me, and he was always at my heels, never quitting me for a moment and sleeping in my tent. Even when I was dancing the previous day he had nearly upset several people in his anxiety to keep close to me. It was only about half an hour before the boat sailed that I missed him. In the immense crowd of soldiers he had lost sight of me for a moment, and then could not trace me, and someone eventually told me that they had seen him starting back along the hot, dusty road to camp looking for me, and, as I dared not miss the boat on his account, I had reluctantly to give up the search.