“I want to be quite clear as to my duty, in the future, sir. Do I understand that if any man or officer is found under the influence of liquor, anywhere in this ship, and at any hour of the day or night, he is to be reported at once to the orderly room, even though that officer should be, say, even the adjutant or yourself?” Barry said, gazing up at the colonel with a face in which earnestness and candour were equally blended.
The colonel gazed back at him with a face in which rage and perplexity were equally apparent. For some moments, he was speechless, while the whole orderly room held its breath.
“I mean—that you—you understand—of course,” stuttered the colonel, “that an officer must use common sense. He must be damned sure of what he says, in other words,” said the colonel, rushing his speech.
“But, sir,” continued Barry.
“Oh, go to the devil, sir,” roared the colonel. “The case is dismissed.”
Barry saluted and left the room.
“Is the man an infernal and condemned fool, or what is the matter with him?” exclaimed the colonel, turning to his adjutant in a helpless appeal, while the orderly room struggled with its grins.
“The devil only knows,” said Major Bustead. “He beats me. He is an interfering and impertinent ass, in my opinion, but what else he is, I don't know.”
It is fair to say that the sergeant major bore the chaplain no grudge for his part in the affair. The whole battalion, however, soon became possessed of the tale, adorned and expanded to an unrecognisable extent, and revelled in ecstasy over the discomfort of the C. O. The consensus of opinion was that on the whole the sergeant major had come off with premier honours, and as between the “old man” and the “Sky Pilot,” as Barry was coming to be called, it was about an even break. As for the Pilot, he remained more than ever a mystery, and on the whole, the battalion was inclined to leave him alone.
The chaplain, however, had partially, at least, achieved his aim, in that the regulations governing the canteen were more strictly enforced, to the vast improvement of discipline generally, and to the immense advantage of Harry Hobbs in particular.