"So that's you?" he remarked.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
"Impertinent as usual," he went on. "How dare you answer me?"
"I beg your pardon, sir," I replied. "I thought you had questioned me."
"Oh, you did, did you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, don't think another time. I don't like troopers who think. You've got no business to think. D'ye hear?"
"Yes, sir."
"What? Don't you understand me? I tell you not to answer. Do you understand?"
Warned by what he had just told me, I shut up. Whereupon the Lieutenant, turning towards the Sergeant, remarked, "Sulky brute, that fellow."