"You'll learn in a moment."
"Has some high government official died, and are all the troops at the fort to attend the funeral?"
"No such bad luck; at any rate, you won't have to go into mourning." So saying, the officer led Jermyn into the club, where the wondering man found several officers of his own rank, and all bachelors. As Jermyn entered, all arose, with glasses in their hands, and one of them shouted:
"Here's Jermyn!"
"Jermyn!" shouted the others in chorus, after which each man drained his glass and refilled it. Then some one shouted:
"Hats, off gentlemen! Here's 'Her!'"
"Her!" responded the chorus, and again the glasses were drained.
"What are you fellows talking about?" asked Jermyn, with a savage frown.
"Don't lose your temper, old fellow," said one of the party. "You know that we're not given to prying into the personal affairs of our comrades, but this information came to us unsought."
"Not only unsought," said Lieutenant Prewser, "but we did all in our power to avoid getting it—didn't we, Groston?"