"Well, suit yourself about it," said Tom indifferently; "any way to keep peace in the family. We'll call it detached service you're on, then, instead of a leave of absence."
The matter being settled, next day I rode Prince over to the fort and began looking up material to begin the work in hand. By searching the adjutant's office and quartermaster's store I found the requisite blanks and books for opening up a full set of company accounts, including muster and pay rolls, for I found the lieutenant had little or nothing in the way of papers except the invoices of property he had received. Having duly established an office in one of Lang's rooms and got everything ready for business, I said to the lieutenant:
"Now, Mr. Lang, in order that you may get the full benefit of my services in this work, it is best that you have your first sergeant and company clerk in attendance here whenever they can be spared from their other duties, and let me be instructing them, so that they can continue the work after I get things straightened out for them."
"A good idea," he admitted. "I'll go over to his office and have a chat with the sergeant about it, and if he thinks he'd like to learn your style of keeping accounts I'll invite him to come over and see how you do it and bring his clerk along."
"Why, lieutenant," I said in some surprise at this evidence of slack discipline, "I thought you were in command of the company."
"So I am; so I am. Why?"
"Well, in that case, it's your place to order the attendance of your sergeant and clerk and their place to obey promptly."
"Yes, yes. That's the way you do in the regulars, I suppose; but, you know, we ain't so particular in the volunteers, and I find it's best to keep on good terms with my first sergeant 'cause he'll make trouble for me if I cross him."
"Well, excuse me; I forgot myself," I replied with ill-concealed disgust. "I wasn't employed by you to teach you discipline. But if you can persuade your sergeant to come over, I'll see if I can interest him in these papers."
But the sergeant refused to take instructions from "one of them swell-headed regulars who think they know it all." The company clerk, however, cheerfully placed himself under my tutelage and picked up the work rapidly.