"The command that you obey, the kind you don't obey and the kind you half obey," said May.
The General laughed heartily at this. The recruit certainly had very droll ideas of tactics, but the instructor saw fit to enlighten him more precisely as to the meaning of military commands. After explaining more motions than May could have mastered in a month, the General cried,—
"Attention!"
"I'm looking," said May.
"Fall in," commanded the General.
"What shall I fall into?" demanded May, not offering to rise.
"Gay!" the General cried, dropping the military formality of a drill master and speaking as an annoyed relative, "I explained that to you only a moment ago! What do you think it means?"
"That you want me to get up, I suppose," May replied, rising and assuming the soldier's position, with a smothered sigh.
"Couldn't you put it in better form than that?" asked the General, patiently but reproachfully.
"I don't know," said May, rather listlessly. "You were just telling me about 'fatigue' things—my answer was a 'fatigue' answer!"