“She wanted to come ever so long ago, Mr Lacey said, and now he is going to bring her. Hadn’t you better let me give you a shampoo, sir?”
“Miss Deane coming here with the lieutenant—to this wretched place?”
“Well, she ain’t coming to see the place; she’s a-coming to see you.”
“No, no, Jerry! Go and tell Mr Lacey she mustn’t come.”
“Likely! Now just look here. You want to keep all about yourself quiet, and sits upon me when I says go to the colonel and out with it all, like a man—now don’t you?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll wait my time,” said Dick; and he added, softly, “If I live.”
“And then, as soon as things are a bit different to what you like, back you goes to the old style, and begins giving your orders. Now just fancy me going to the guvnor’s quarters and saying to him, ‘Hi! you, sir, you’re not to bring Miss Deane to the horspittle to-day.’
“‘Who says so?’ says he.
“‘Dick Smithson, Esquire.’
“And then he says, ‘You go and tell Dick Smithson he’s a common soldier, and if he ever dares to send me such a message as that again, I’ll report him to the colonel for insubordination’—that’s the word, sir, ‘insubordination.’ I’ve picked up a deal since I’ve been in the army; and, as we used to learn at school—and precious little it was!—‘positive insolence; comparytive, insubordination: s’perlative mutiny.’”