“Scarcely anything,” replied Marcus.
“Yah! And after all the pains I took with you! Didn’t I always say that an army on the march must always look well after its foraging? No commander can expect his men to behave better than a bottle.”
“Look here, Serge,” cried Marcus, laughing, “why don’t you speak out plainly what you mean? What have men got to do with bottles?”
“Oh, a good deal sometimes,” said the man, chuckling. “But that’s only my way. You can’t hold a bottle up, no matter whether it’s a goat-skin or one of them big jars made of clay, and expect to pour something out of it if you haven’t first put something in?”
“No, of course not,” said Marcus, who was busy polishing the point of his spear with a tuft of dried grass.
“Well, men’s the same as bottles; if you don’t give them plenty to eat and drink you can’t get plenty of fighting out of them. Always see to your foraging when you are on the march. I always do, and I have got something ready for us both now. But look here, my lad, this isn’t at home, and I’m not going to drive out the swine, and you are not going to your wax table. We are soldiering now, and whether it’s two thousand or only two, things are just the same. We have got to keep a sharp look-out for the enemy.”
“You didn’t,” said Marcus, quickly, “or you would have seen me following you.”
“That’s right,” said Serge, “and it was because I could think of nothing else but about being such a bad un as I was and forsaking my post. I dursen’t look back either, for fear that I should see someone following me. But that’s all over now; you and me’s joined forces, and we must go on straight. I don’t think it’s necessary, but we will just take a look round for danger before we sit down to enjoy our breakfast.”
“Enjoy?” said Marcus, dubiously.
“Yes, that’s right. We shall both have company over it. It’s been precious dull to me, being all alone. So now then; take the lead, captain, and give the orders to advance for a scout all round before we sit down to our meal.”