“Pegg!”
“Yes, sir—I should have pegged out.”
“What! deserted?”
“Yes, sir. Sounds bad, don’t it?”
“Disgraceful!”
“Yes, Mr Maine, sir; but ain’t it disgraceful for a sergeant to be allowed to hit a poor fellow a whack with that cane of his just because he’s a bit out in his drill?”
“Drop it, Pete.”
“And ’im obliged to stand up stiff, and dursen’t say a word?”
“Didn’t you hear me say, ‘Drop it’?”
“Yes, sir—and one’s blood b’iling all the while!”