"As a lad," went on the Commander-in-Chief dreamily, "I once entered an examination for horsemanship at the military school at Gleis. My uncle knew the officer who was examining the candidates, and thoughtfully sent him a dozen of champagne and a box of cigars on the eve of the examination. The champagne was,—if I mistake not,—Perrier Jouet of a vintage year, and the cigars the finest that are grown in the island of Cuba. I was not a particularly good horseman in those days, but I passed the examination—with honours."
The Captain received the information in stolid silence. The history of the remote and somewhat disgraceful episode did not particularly interest him. The General deposited his finished cigarette in a porcelain tray, and extracted a fresh one from a tin box on the table.
"Your cigarettes are really excellent, Captain," he mused. "Pray keep me company."
Von Hügelweiler acceded to the invitation.
"You draw, I presume, certain inferences from the incident I have just mentioned?" the Commander-in-Chief went on.
"No, General."
"None whatever?"
Von Hügelweiler smiled.
"None," he said, "unless you suggest that I should be wise to send you a dozen of champagne and a box of cigars."
The General vouchsafed no answering smile to his subordinate's facetious suggestion. He merely shook his head in pensive silence.