"The Maud," motionless against the bank, kept his glasses to his eyes for some minutes before lowering them, with a gesture of annoyance and exclaimed—
"It's curious. That battery ought to be on 548 by now, but I can see no sign of it."
"You can't see 548 from here, sir. It's hidden behind that wood," said Tony, pointing as he spoke.
"What do you mean? There's 548," said the General, also pointing, but to a hill much farther to their right.
"No, sir—at least not according to my map."
"The Maud" snatched the map from Tony's hand. A second's glance was enough. On it Point 548 was marked as being farther to the left and considerably nearer to the enemy.
He turned on Tony like a flash.
"Good Lord! Why didn't you tell me that before?" he cried. "There must be two different editions of this map. Which one had they in your brigade when you went over there last night—the right one or the wrong one?"
But Tony, unfortunately, had no idea. His interest in tactics, as we have seen, was small, and his visit had not involved him in a discussion of the plan of battle. He had not even looked at their maps.
"The Maud" walked round in one small circle while he hummed eight bars. Then he said—