"Pardon me, sir, but wouldn't the appointment be better made at some later date?"
"Why?" shot out Colonel North.
"I fear I may not have as much force with a squad room as a sergeant should have, sir."
"Then you will have to develop that force," replied Colonel North dryly. "It's in you, I know."
Poor Hal! At any other time this much-wanted promotion would have been hailed joyfully. Now it seemed almost like wormwood.
CHAPTER VII
BACKING THE NEW SERGEANT
"CORPORAL OVERTON, B company, is hereby appointed a sergeant in the same company, the appointment to take effect immediately. Sergeant Overton's company commander will assign him to the charge of a squad room in B company."