"Can I do anything else for you?"
"Nothing, thank you. Except--Major! I wish I could get you to appreciate Johnson."
"This is not an easy moment, Jackanapes."
"Let me tell you, sir--he never will--that if he could have driven me from him, he would be lying yonder at this moment, and I should be safe and sound."
The Major laid his hand over his mouth, as if to keep back a wish he would have been ashamed to utter.
"I've known old Tony from a child. He's a fool on impulse, a good man and a gentleman in principle. And he acts on principle, which it's not every--some water, please! Thank you, sir. It's very hot, and yet one's feet get uncommonly cold. Oh, thank you, thank you. He's no fire-eater, but he has a trained conscience and a tender heart, and he'll do his duty when a braver and more selfish man might fail you. But he wants encouragement; and when I'm gone----"
"He shall have encouragement. You have my word for it. Can I do nothing else?"
"Yes, Major. A favor."
"Thank you, Jackanapes."