Late in the afternoon, however, came a brief battalion drill, followed by the glorious spectacle of dress parade.
After the regimental band had played the colors down the line, and the other ceremonies had been observed, Adjutant Wright took his post to publish the orders.
These were few, and the reading did not occupy long. As the officer returned the papers to the breast of his coat the men expected to see him step back. Instead, however, the adjutant sharply called:
"Battalion, attention! I am directed by the battalion commander to make an inquiry. Each man will pay close heed, and answer if he is able. Has any non-commissioned officer or private in this battalion heard, at any time lately, any man in the same squad room with him talk in his sleep in such a way as to indicate that the man talking in his sleep had any knowledge concerning the men who recently broke into and robbed the battalion commander's quarters? Any man having such knowledge will fall out."
There was a tense silence, but the ranks of the first battalion remained intact.
"If there is any non-commissioned officer or private who did not fully understand my question, he will fall out," continued the adjutant.
Still no man fell out.
"If the man who addressed the anonymous letter to the battalion adjutant is present he will step out," continued Lieutenant Wright.
Still the ranks remained unbroken.
Being at "attention," each man in the four companies was looking fixedly ahead. But curiosity was running wild under all those blue fatigue blouses!