The gay little china cup was slowly emptied. Hammy blinked eyes that were already growing sleepy, and sucked the moustache of white from his upper-lip with relish, remarking:
"I dwinked it all, and my tummy never shut. Now tell me what are ve confequences?"
"A mother without a son, for one thing." The keen, hawk-eyes were gentle. "But drink plenty of milk and eat plenty of bread and porridge and minced meat, and you'll live to see the Relief marching into Gueldersdorp one fine morning, boy."
"Unless I get deaded like Berta. And that weminds me what I wanted to tell so bad." The lips began to quiver, and the eyes brimmed. "Soldiers mustn't cwy, must vey?"
"Not while there's work to be done, Hammy. Would you like to wait now and tell me another day?" For the little round head was nodding against the row of medal-ribbons stitched on the khâki jacket, and the big round eyes kept open with difficulty.
"No, please. It's about the beasts—my beasts what you gived me. Winocewus, an' Lion, an' Tawantula, an' Tsetse, an' Black Bee—just like a weal Bee, only not so sharp at ve end.... Don't you wemember, Mister Colonel?"
"Of course I remember. The toy beasts I brought down from Rhodesia and gave to a little boy."
"I was the boy. And—you saided I was to let Berta have her share wof dem. And I did let her play wif all ve ovvers. But Winocewus had to be tooked such care wof for fear of bweaking his horn—an' Berta was such a little fing, vat—vat——"
"That you wouldn't let her play with Rhinoceros. And you think it wasn't quite fair, or quite kind, and now you're sorry?"
Hammy sniffed dolorously, and two large tears splashed down.